WE’RE NOT DOOMED: Fri July 17, 2026
I don’t know about you, but for me this week was just a lot. It was hot and overwhelming. But maybe these stories will help you end the week on a better note.
We got data and ICE center wins plus a ballot measure you don’t want to miss…
And we’re starting in Montana?
Tue, June 16 - The Montana Plan has surpassed enough signatures to get on the November ballot.
This measure would “curb election spending by “artificial persons,” eliminate anonymous money, and put Montanans’ voices back at the center of our democracy,” according to their website.
Essentially, The Montana Plan is an attempt to circumvent Citizens United in the state. Or more like, bring back their old laws. Back in 1912, Montana passed the Corrupt Practices Act which banned corporations from being treated as individuals in elections, but it was ruled unconstitutional 100 years later thanks to Citizens United.
Now, of course, there is very little chance that SCOTUS will okay this plan if it goes into effect, but, like with most things, the goal is to get people angry enough that they act.
Rick Hansen, of the Election Law Blog explained:
There is a political benefit in pushing such a measure and in galvanizing public support against the Supreme Court’s damaging approach to issues of money in politics. . . .
Passing such a measure and having the Court strike it down is a way of reminding the public that the Supreme Court is the entity standing in the way of achieving a fair balance between robust political competition and not allowing the ultra-wealthy to have disproportionate political power in society.
So even though this has very little chance of staying law, if it becomes law, I think it’s still incredibly worth while and it’s very exciting that they managed to get almost 50k signatures, well over the 30k threshold in their very short 13 week time frame with only grassroots organizing and volunteers.
The more angry we can get people at the Supreme Court, the better, in my view.
Thu, June 18 - Back in June, DHS announced that they were scrapping several new detention centers, and one of these was in Social Circle.
This detention center had been in the news, mostly because, in a town of 5k that voted 73% for Trump, and pretty much unanimously rebuked this center.
City Manager Eric Taylor said:
The feedback from the very beginning was that the community didn’t want it, and this community was unified against it.
The biggest concern is that we don’t actually know why this was canceled, and DHS hasn’t communicated with Taylor or anyone in the local government about it at all. But it was, so we’ll take the win.
And as usual, this was only possible because of the work put in, especially by local Indivisible group Boldly Blue, to make it possible.
Member Gereth Fenley said:
It’s a joyous day in showing that sometimes the little guy can win against the really big federal government.
And that’s exactly what happened. This small town was able to come together and convince DHS, at least for the time being, that they aren’t welcome.
As Senator Raphael Warnock said in a statement about Social Circle and Oakwood, another town that also had their center scrapped:
When we stand up and speak out, the power of the people is more powerful than the people in power.
And that’s true across the entire country. If we keep fighting back, they can’t win.
Tue, June 23 - Two Republican County Commissioners were not reelected thanks to their support of the massive Kevin O’Leary Data Center.
Boyd Bingham was ousted by Vance Smith with 52% of the vote. Smith will go on to face Alan Williams in the general.
Meanwhile Lee Perry lost to Nathan Tueller with 53% of the vote, and Tueller will be unopposed in the general.
Before the election Bingham posted in a since deleted Facebook post that his hands were tied, and he had no choice but to support the gargantuan center:
We approved a project area that if we had voted no to, would have brought lawsuits that our county would lose. Taxpayer dollars would have been spent, not insurance money since we had no legal basis to stand on for a no vote.
But Perry argued, after the election that if he had known this would cost him reelection, he might have handled it differently if he could go back:
I wouldn’t vote differently, but I would push back against the state and make them come out publicly and tell everybody why they’re forcing it down our throat.
Good lesson for any elected official considering just going along with data centers.
And, as always, this just proves that voting, in every election, no matter how small, is one of the most important things we can do.
So those are today’s stories. I hope you learned something and it makes you ready to find your place to fight back!
Remember our voices are our superpower, but only when we use them!
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If you made it to the end of this post, comment with 🦈 (a shark [tank]) cause, last I checked, sharks are not part of the Utah ecosystem.
