Tuscon City Council UNANIMOUSLY put the people first
Listen to me. As of last night we didn’t know anything about DC, other than Reuters saying Trump was planning on sending in the national guard, or whatever wording he used.
A lot of people made posts asking where the Dems were, why weren’t they speaking up? Those same people also made a lot of posts with a whole lot of speculating based on virtually nothing. If you look at any Dem’s account now, it’s filled with info about DC and warnings and calls to action, because there is now more to go off of than just a source in Reuters.
We could all learn something from our Dems last night. Sometimes “immediately” is not the right time to make a statement, certainly, when there’s no facts to base a statement on.
Disinformation spreads the quickest when being the first becomes more important than being correct. And part of being an elected official is focusing far more on the latter. I wish it was an important part of being on social media too.
With that said, I will always focus more on being correct, and checking my sources before sharing anything (I will screw up, but I’m only human after all.) That’s a big reason that I only cover three wins per day. I know that I can cover that many and still give accurate information, anything more than that and I feel like I only have enough time if I cut corners.
So, here are today’s Three Wins, fully researched as always.
Yesterday - Brave Space Alliance, Chicago Therapy Collective, Equality Illinois, Indivisible Chicago and Trans Up Front IL held “Unite For Trans Youth Lives Rally” in Chicago’s Federal Plaza.
The caption to the video above says:
From hospitals cutting off gender-affirming care to federal rollbacks of emergency mental health services, transgender youth are being stripped of the right to exist, thrive, and access life-saving health care across the nation and even right here in Chicago.
Illinois is a sanctuary state for transgender rights — yet major institutions are walking back care and leaving families in crisis.Today we demanded:
👉 Immediate restoration + expansion of gender-affirming care
👉 Protection of 988 LGBTQ+ crisis services & The Trevor Project contract
🗣️ Rise up and fight back for trans youth! 🗣️I haven’t included a protest in an episode in a while now. And the “LA 24/7 Music Festival” taught me that people are just desperate to see large numbers of people fighting back and don’t really care if it’s current, just the idea that it could be is enough.
People are fighting back every single day, and sure you can say you’re not seeing it because it’s begin suppressed, but, in reality, we are trained to think small means useless, if it’s less than 100k, for instance it doesn’t matter. But it does. Every single protest, every single time we use our voices in any way, it’s making a difference.
And this one is a great example of that.
Wed, Aug 6 - The Tuscon City Council unanimously rejected Project Blue, yet another Amazon Web Service data center plan. Just watch the sheer joy in the room immediately after the vote.
It’s yet another example of the power of our voices, as Mayor Regina Romero said:
Tucsonans have spoken out loudly and clearly and I hear you,. It is my responsibility to create guardrails to protect Tucson from this industry that is already here in Arizona.
Never think for a second that you are wasting your time by trying to make a difference. You have more power than you give yourself credit for.
Thurs, Aug 7 - The ACLU sued New Hampshire on behalf of NEA New Hampshire and several school districts. On July 1, a new law went into effect banning DEI, not just in relation to race and sexual and gender identity, but disability too. It is a horrific assault on the first amendment, and, like many of you, I didn’t even know it was happening. The lawsuit begins:
Our schools cannot fulfill their role as the nation’s “nurseries of democracy,” without teaching students about the world, including
the historical and lived experiences of people of different races, genders, and abilities….An inclusive education means ensuring that students with disabilities receive the access to which they are entitled under federal law. An inclusive education means ensuring that transgender students are protected from discrimination. An inclusive education means ensuring that girls are provided meaningful sports opportunities.
I will keep you posted on this case, even with everything happening in the country, I do think the lawsuit will be successful. Most of them on similar subjects have been so far, and adding disability makes this just slightly less partisan.
So, it’s just another reminder that there are wins every day, and they won’t happen unless we actively fight back.
Our voices are our superpower, but only when we use them!
That’s my mayor, that’s my city council! ¡Cuando luchamos, ganamos!
Also, people need to stop with the “where are the dems??” They’re working to try to mitigate the disaster people voted in. Project 2025 had this all laid out but voters decided it didn’t matter. Now people want a separate press conference for every new crisis.
Always appreciate your work, Ariella. All three of these wins happened because people came together to fight for their values.
Congratulations to all!