Three Wins Today, July 29, 2025
I just got back from the dentist after not going for a year because I really really hate the denist, it feels like you’re a ragdoll being poked and prodded as hard as they need to without remembering there are nerves there. I’m lucky, I have the ability to go as often as I need to, I just don’t, but god, it’s such BS that dental care isn’t considered part of healthcare even before the TrumpCare bs.
Anyway, let’s talk about some happy things, shall we?
Wed, July 23 - LATimes reported that US attorney, Bill Essayli is having a really terrible time trying to get any grand jury to indict LA protesters from the June deployment of the National Guard and Marines. LAT writers, James Queally and Brittny Mejia wrote:
On the overheard call, according to the three officials, Essayli, 39, told a subordinate to disregard the federal government’s “Justice Manual,” which directs prosecutors to bring only cases they can win at trial. Essayli barked that prosecutors should press on and secure indictments as directed by U.S. Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi, according to the three officials.
When Essayli is having a bad day, that typically means something is going right.
They continue:
The three officials who spoke to The Times on condition of anonymity said prosecutors have struggled to get several protest-related cases past grand juries, which need only to find probable cause that a crime has been committed in order to move forward. That is a much lower bar than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard required for a criminal conviction.
Essayli can’t even get the grand jury to agree that there is any probable cause at all. I’d say this is a massive win for LA and proof that Angelenos stick together and support each other against the US government trying to have more power over our city than our local electeds
Wed, July 16 - Many immigration lawyers and law firms filed a lawsuit, with help from ACLU Florida, against DHS and ICE for not allowing the men kept at the Everglades Concentration Camp to speak with their lawyers. The lawsuit says:
Defendants in this case have blocked detainees held at the facility from access to legal counsel. No protocols exist at this facility for providing standard means of confidential attorney-client communication, such as in-person attorney visitation and phone or video calls that are available at any other detention facility, jail, or prison. The only way that detained people can communicate with the outside world is via infrequent access to collect pay phone calls that are monitored and recorded, and last approximately five minutes.
Somehow, this isn’t even the most chilling thing happening at that facility. It’s been almost two weeks since this lawsuit was filed, so hopefully we get an update soon!
Wed July 23 - Amy Sherald, best known for her portrait of Michelle Obama, has canceled her Smithsonian September exhibition, the first show for a Black contemporary artist in the Portrait Gallery, because they wanted to include a caveat for her “Trans Forming Liberty” piece. In her letter canceling the exhibit, quoted by the New York Times, she told Lonnie Bunch, Secretary of the Smithsonian:
I entered into this collaboration in good faith, believing that the institution shared a commitment to presenting work that reflects the full, complex truth of American life. Unfortunately, it has become clear that the conditions no longer support the integrity of the work as conceived.
It is always a win when someone stands up to the admin and refuses to let their work be watered down to play better under their bigotry. Hopefully, one day soon, we will see the first Black contemporary artist on display in the Portrait Gallery, but that day will not be in September.
So I hope these wins help you continue to fight for a better world, cause it will happen, as long as we don’t give up.
Our voices are our superpower, but only when we use them!
Particularly hopeful/helpful wins today. Thanks
Good to read, Ariella!