Data Centers are dropping like flies, and other stories...
We're NOT Doomed: Tue July 14, 2026
Chances are, you’re not gonna like what I say in this essay.
And I just have to be okay with that. Cause, at the very least, all this information needs to be available in one place for someone to reference.
We have to talk about Lindsey Graham.
Graham was the last surviving member of the Three Amigos, one of the closest groups of friends in DC. They consisted of, former Democrat and Vice Presidential nominee, Joe Lieberman, Former Presidential nominee, John McCain and Lindsey Graham.
They did everything together, not just in the Senate, but in life too.
In an interview with the Kunhardt Film Foundation in 2017, Lieberman said:
I mean it’s such a—the three of us are so diverse in the states we come from, Connecticut, South Carolina, Arizona, our religious backgrounds, our life experiences, and yet we hold some values and policies in common and it drew us together. We also I think just enjoyed each other’s company.
This isn’t me saying that Graham was a good person when he died, or that you should mourn his death, but to hopefully explain why some Democrats are, and why that’s not the worst thing to happen this week, by a long shot.
Graham was a deal maker. He was the Republican that Democrats interacted with the most.
Dick Durbin explained to the Guardian:
Lindsey was part of every important policy issue and an indispensable player in every Senate ‘gang’. He was a fierce Republican partisan one day and a key bipartisan ally the next.
And I keep bringing up Ukraine because that was one issue he fought tirelessly in support of on our side. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, to PBS, I believe, that he “was here with our people when it was most needed. Lindsey was a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer.”
Graham abandoned most of his values in favor of not getting on Trump’s bad side, but Ukraine was one he wouldn’t budge on. And he is the ONLY reason the US is still their ally at all.
When we simplify Graham to the most evil person to ever be evil, there’s a lot of context missing. And I personally don’t think it’s helpful. ESPECIALLY when it has become another excuse to shit on elected Democrats.
Don’t get me wrong, he was pretty terrible at the end, yes, I promise, even with this whole essay, I still feel that way.
As Dan Baer, a former State Department official under President Barack Obama told PBS, “His moral flexibility over the last few years has been disappointing to many who saw him as a principled patriot.”
That’s a cult for you. Kroenig added in that same article, “As a good politician, he recognized Trump commanded the Republican Party and the Republican base and if you tried to work against him you'd get nothing done."
I wonder who Graham would have been in the end if Trump wasn’t a cult leader. It’s honestly sad to think about.
So hate him, I do.
But also understand that most elected Democrats probably don’t.
He was the main person that gave them any shot of ever getting through to Trump on anything, and sometimes, like with Ukraine, he succeeded.
Doesn’t mean that he didn’t cause immeasurable harm.
He did.
There are many communities that he really harmed. And even though many insist he was just playing the game, that doesn’t excuse what he did in the name of that game. It is never okay to diminish the harm someone caused in favor of moderating their views. But knowing the full picture is important too.
And speaking of the full picture, the most normal thing Trump has ever done was demand that South Carolina Governor, Henry McMaster to appoint Graham’s sister, Darlene Graham Nordone to his Senate seat.
That’s very normal. It’s usually a spouse or child, as they know their family member and their values best. And yes Nordone was his sister, but he was also her guardian. He raised her after their parents died when he was 22 and she was 13. So it’s more like his child replaced him than his sister.
And if she decides to run for his seat for the special primary? She hasn’t given any indication that she wants to, but that’s normal too. Rep Adelita Grijalva won the special election to replace her dad when he died in 2025. Rep Debbie Dingell replaced her husband when he retired in 2014. It’s normal.
And finally, for the love of god, stop mentioning Stephen Colbert. Republicans have a special primary. We do not. We have the incredible Dr. Annie Andrews running for Senate. Lift her up. Talk about her. Don’t diminish her by talking about Colbert. We need her to be as strong as possible.
I was not a fan of Lindsey Graham, but there’s some nuance here that many spent the weekend refusing to acknowledge. I hope this changes that.
And remember, your vote is your voice and that voice is your superpower, but ONLY when you use it!
Reno, Nevada
Mon, June 1 - What started as a 30 day data center moratorium back in May, became a data center moratorium till August 2027 after a 9 hour special city council meeting that mostly consisted of public comment against data centers.
The most important name you need to know here is Councilmember Meghan Ebert, who, like many her colleagues is running for reelection this year.
While this extended moratorium was introduced by Council Member Devon Reese, it was Ebert who made sure the decision included language explicitly stating that the moratorium cannot end until there are actual regulations in place.
She is also concerned that Reese is only doing this because he is running for Mayor and that he will immediately flip on this if he wins. She told Nevada Current:
My community does not have trust that this body will follow through on any promises. So I need to have something in code, and I need to show my community that they will be protected, and that this isn’t a political stunt
And it’s important to mention one other player, Councilmember Kathleen Taylor, who was not just against the August 2027 moratorium but also the only member of the city council who voted against the original 30 day moratorium. And she’s also running for mayor.
And, the one negative, the smaller data centers that are already in progress, will still be completed. Which sucks, but those larger ones really won’t be happening anytime soon.
So this is a reminder of the power of a good elected official, and of fighting back against injustice. I can almost guarantee you, no moratorium would have happened at all without people fighting back.
Chelmsford, England
Fri, June 12 - Chelmsford is a city in Essex and on June 20, Essex held their Pride parade. Leading up to that, the city council commissioned several artists to draw queer art across the city in shop windows.
Some of it was TERF friendly, as in, it didn’t mention trans people, and some of it very much wasn’t.
Hayley Wells painted “There is no LGB without the T” on Toast, a local coffee house.
And Bucky Ringsell drew a tiger with top surgery scars that said “Proud of my Stripes” inside the local Lush store window.
Of course, terfs were outraged by Ringsell’s design. As far as I can tell, the only thing Chlemsford did to quiet them was remove Rigsell’s design from their Facebook posts showcasing the murals. I’ve seen nothing to suggest it was actually removed in person.
And Ringsell even posted on Instagram:
The mural is part of a city-wide Pride campaign. I designed and painted this tiger to support and represent trans folks who have undergone top surgery
— myself included. Being proud of your scars (aka stripes) is something everyone can take inspiration from, regardless of your journey.
Would I love if Chlemsford City Council hadn’t removed the photo from their Facebook page? Yes, of course. But if that’s all they did, and the artwork was still up in person, that’s still a very loud statement, especially in England. And that matters.
Kentucky
Mon, June 15 - Instead of focusing on something Governor Andy Beshear has no control over, let’s focus on something he does.
Ahead of Juneteenth, he signed an executive order creating the Freedom Trails Pardon List. This pardons 43 people and counting who had been criminalized for helping free those enduring enslavement in the 1800s.
He signed the order with Rev. Andrew Baskin, professor emeritus, specifically in the African and African American Studies department at Berea College and James Prichard, a historian focusing on Kentucky during the Civil War Era.
As he was signing it, he explained to the girl standing next to him, who I can only assume is Baskin’s daughter:
We get to make a pretty loud statement that what they did was right, they shouldn’t have been prosecuted for it, and while we can’t go back in time and change that, we can certainly recognize their actions as heroic today.
This is not a complete list either. Beshear wants to pardon everyone he can. So if you know someone or have a family member who should be on this list, you can email the governor at FreedomTrailPardons@ky.gov.
This is an ongoing process, and, as Prichard said during the signing, at a time:
when there seems to be an effort to sanitize our past, that this part of our history is no longer swept under the rug and becomes a part of Kentucky’s soil.
That’s what makes this story so incredibly powerful. Not just that Beshear is doing this at all, but that he’s doing this when the federal government wishes he was doing literally anything else.
I hope these stories invigorate you and make it easier for you to fight back! Remember, our voices are our superpower, but only when we use them!
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And if you read to the end, comment 🐯(a tiger) cause I can’t get enough of that window art.