We're NOT Doomed: Fri, June 5, 2026

Imagine if we protest data centers so completely they aren't a thing in 12 months

Will the dignity of politics ever come back after Trump?

I don’t know.

And it’s not just the Republicans, Democrats have lost it too.

I don’t mean swearing. I just want to be very clear about that. I don’t mean being more casual either.

I mean how Democrats talk to each other. I mean candidates not caring about alienating the people who will probably need to vote for them in the future.

The Steyer campaign really depresses me. Watching the way he talked about Becerra is so infuriating.

And yes I am fully aware of how Becerra’s supporters treated Steyer and Steyer supporters, but it wasn’t coming from Becerra.

He didn’t need to take PAC money because he’s a billionaire, he pretty much bankrolled his entire campaign single-handedly. Becerra didn’t have that same luxury. So Steyer was comparing apples and oranges. And he kept doing it over and over again.

But this isn’t new this year. I will never forget how Katie Porter acted after she lost to Senator Adam Schiff.

She accused him of rigging the election because he was running campaign ads again Steve Garvey, the Republican, rather than her. He wanted to run against a Republican in the general election, not a fellow Democrat.

That’s not rigging the election. That’s refusing to play the jungle primary game.

That’s treating this like a normal primary where one Dem and one Republican should go to the general election.

But she complained that he made nasty ads against the Republican and not her.

With Steyer, we’re seeing what it looks like to run a nasty campaign against a fellow Democrat. Cause he certainly wasn’t running against Steve Hilton. I don’t like it, do you?

And it’s not just Steyer, it’s happening ALL OVER THE COUNTRY. I just see it the most with Steyer because I’m a California voter.

Every election seems to be full of hate now. Every election where the two more more Dems running agree on at least 80% of things.

One candidate’s primary supporters are not going to be enough to win them the general election, but when these candidates alienate their Dem opponent so completely, how can they expect to get votes from that opponent’s supporters?

We’re all on the same side. The side that wants to save Democracy and strengthen voting rights. The side that wants to protect the queer community and abortion rights. The side that wants teachers to be paid more and healthcare to be affordable, if not completely free. The side that believes in the climate crisis and science at large.

Our differences exist, but they’re about how to solve these problems not that they exist in the first place.

And, in fact, with Steyer and Becerra, it’s not even that. It’s about what they will say out loud vs in private meetings.

And that’s the biggest reason I didn’t vote for Steyer. He and Becerra feel the exact same way about single payer healthcare. But Steyer would only admit to the challenges in making it happen in a private meeting and then accused Becerra of not caring when he said it in public.

How are we supposed to grow our movement when destroying each other is the main goal?

It’s hard to want to root for anyone when we’re so conditioned to use any excuse we can to tear down the person with values closest to ours rather than those who have no values at all.

People constantly talk about how dignity is dead on the right, but we’re not in much better shape on the left either.

So, will dignity come back after Trump?

I think we’re the ones who have to decide that.

Colorado

Tue, April 21 - Governor Jared Polis signed Legal Protections for Dignity of Minors into law.

This bill makes sure that when minors change their name, it does not have to be a matter of public record. Currently, like adults, the civil court petition can be found by anyone. This would make those records private.

There are all sorts of reasons a child’s name change shouldn’t be public, including for getting out of abusive situations or religious purposes, and of course, most dangerous now, changing their name as a trans individual.

The bill was introduced bicamerally, meaning in both the House and Senate. Senators Katie Wallace and Chris Kolker introduced it in the Senate, while Reps Meg Froelich and Lorena Garcia introduced it in the House.

Before the bill passed, Senator Wallace said:

Passing this bill is simple, but its impact is profound. It gives children the safety and dignity they deserve, and it treats their private life with the same care we afford in other sensitive cases.

Which is more important now than ever. As Republicans continue their war on children, it’s vital to protect them in every way possible.

I haven’t seen another bill like this. I love the creativity to try and close all the loopholes, and I hope other states follow suit.

Seeing bills like this become law makes me feel less Doomed!

Ypsilanti, Michigan

Wed, April 22 - On March 3, Ypsilanti City Council voted in favor of a 12 month ban on data centers thanks to a lot of noise demanding it. On April 14 the Charter Township Board of Trustees did the same.

The proposal then went to the Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority and they agreed to the ban which is now in effect.

These 12 months need focused on “the necessity of rigorous, science-based due-diligence analyses, which are to be completed prior to the approval” of any of these data centers.

The biggest issue, according to Ypsilanti’s government is that the sewage system would be stretched to it’s limits and as Doug Winters, attorney for the township said, if they had gone forward “there’d be no other building going on in the township — residential, commercial and industrial — until that wastewater treatment plant was expanded.”

And that’s not even mentioning the fact that these two facilities would have totaled 924 acres. Which is still a number that boggles my mind.

I’m so glad that they are taking another look. And who knows, maybe in 12 months, these massive data centers will be so thoroughly rebuked that they won’t happen at all. Now that really makes me feel less Doomed.

Delaware

Wed, April 22 - DE ACLU held their Lobby Day for their Every Vote Counts campaign.

The campaign is about pressuring the legislature to pass voting rights legislation. This includes bills: restoring the right to vote for the formerly incarcerated, protecting and broadening early-in-person and vote-by-mail and implementing same day voter registration.

For instance, in Delaware, you have to register to vote 24 days before an election. Which means those who have recently moved to the state can’t vote no matter how prepared they are.

One lobbyist, Sally Barclay, a poll greeter, shared a story about having to turn someone away:

A man came up and told me that he had just moved to Delaware from California a week prior...He had studied up on the candidates, knew who he was going to vote for, found the polling place, got himself there, and was very discouraged and upset that he wouldn’t be able to vote.

It’s stories like this that can hopefully change the conversation. And that’s what lobbying is all about.

And this work has already been successful. Because of the Every Vote Counts campaign, these bills are working their way through the legislature already.

HB 88 and 108 which are about the formerly incarcerated and same day voting respectively are currently waiting to get a vote on the House floor.

While SS 1 for SB 2 and SB 3 w/ HA 1, which cover early in person and no excuse absentee, have passed the full legislature once and need to pass a second session to be codified into the constitution.

If you live in Delaware, the best way to make these bills a reality is to call your legislators. I know the focus is always on DC, but you can call your State electeds just the same and I highly encourage it.

Just this campaign makes me feel less Doomed, but if these all actually become law? I’d feel even less Doomed.

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“Less Doomed” and “even less Doomed” are different things, right?

Well, who cares they’re both good. And I hope you feel at least one of those after reading these stories too.

Remember, our voices are our superpower, but only when we use them!