We're NOT Doomed: May 28, 2026
The fight itself is more than half the battle
Before this month ends I have to acknowledge that May is Celiac Disease Awareness Month.
Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disease that I have. It means that my body cannot process the gluten protein at all. If it enters my intestines, they shut down, entirely and I am unable to get any sort of nutrients.
There are a lot of misunderstandings about Celiac. The biggest one is, of course, that it is an allergy, or an intolerance. It’s actually about the immune system. My immune system is programmed to see gluten as a virus and completely shut down.
It doesn’t matter how much or how little gluten, the result is the same. This is why cross contamination is such a big thing. Even a small crumb could make my body sick for months. Think of gluten as glitter. It gets EVERYWHERE, and you have to be really diligent to clean it up.
Which is why going out to eat is so scary. Cause, for me, being gluten free isn’t a fad, it keeps me alive, and many many people just see it as a joke.
Illinois is doing something about this. They passed a law that went into affect in January requiring Celiac Disease to be included in the training a restaurant’s food safety manager must go through. Which is a huge step in Celiac Disease Awareness.
But it’s not just food. It’s also medication.
Sometimes I feel like I might be confused for MAHA because I am so wary of medication. Even though it’s unregulated I would rather take supplements every single time, cause at least they SAY “gluten free.”
It’s not that gluten is consistently used to bind meds, but there is no FDA requirement for pharmaceutical companies to test for ANY allergens. So all I know is that they don’t include gluten containing ingredients, but they don’t test to make sure they’re actually gluten free.
There are a few exceptions, Walgreens “Free and Pure” over the counter line being one. They DO test all their drugs to 20ppm of gluten, which is the industry standard. For the first time in my life, I have headache meds. That was never something I had access to before.
But that’s about it. I have an IUD cause the birth control Kaiser now carries is no longer a safe brand. I had an infection but couldn’t have antibiotics, cause the last time I did, when I had pneumonia in 2014, I WAS glutenated.
Luckily there’s a bill in Congress called the ADINA Act. It stands for Allergen Disclosure in Non-Food Articles Act, and it would bring the US into the 21st century.
A lot of countries already have this. Like you have to list potential allergens on food items, this would require the same thing for non food items, like medication.
The bill currently had 17 cosponsors, 10 Dems and 7 Republicans, but it needs a whole lot more attention to actually pass.
Cause, it’s been introduced in various forms since Dem Rep Tim Ryan introduced it in 2012. Most people reading this have probably never heard of Rep Tim Ryan, and that tells you just how long it’s been introduced. And it’s never passed. It’s never even been voted on in committee.
But things are hopefully different now. Cause Adina Togal is a girl. A girl with INCREDIBLE parents, Seth and Jennifer, who are shouldering this fight personally.
It’s not just a statistic of how many people have been affected by the lack of labeling, it’s a girl that these elected officials can see stand in front of them who is lucky to be alive today, after being given medication containing her allergens at camp in 2022.
As someone who is chronically ill, in large part thanks to having been born with Celiac and going undiagnosed for the first three years of my life, the ADINA Act would change everything for me.
So, as this Celiac Disease Awareness Month comes to an end, I beg you, please call your Rep and ask them to make this a priority. It’s completely bipartisan, it might actually have a chance of passing this year, if we can get enough attention on it, that is.
Monroe, Michigan
Tue, April 21 - Monroe High School’s Athletic Director, Chet Hesson, has FINALLY been reinstated.
Back in December, a parent filed a title XI complaint with the Federal Government over a supposed trans girl on the Ann Arbor Skyline High School girl’s volleyball team. Their child was on the Monroe High School team and they were sharing a locker room.
So an investigation started.
About a week later, Hesson was interviewed by the queer non-profit publication, Uncloseted Media. In his interview, he supported this child:
I just, you know, my heart goes to them, whether they’re trans or not, just having that much negative eyeball on you, is like, incredible. The amount of pressure that you feel as a 16, 17 or 18 year old, to have to deal with that, it’s like, I would not wish that on anybody.
He was put on administrative leave the next day.
On March 19th, 30 elected officials sent a letter demanding his reinstatement. This included the entire Ann Arbor state legislative delegation, plus 9 city council members.
The letter says, in part:
The decision to punish an educator and school leader simply for showing compassion to a vulnerable student who had become the subject of intense, targeted, and hateful bullying by adults is unconscionable.
The investigation, completed on April 10, found that Monroe Public Schools didn’t do anything to violate XI.
The final straw seemed to be when dozens of alumni wrote their own letter to the school district. In it, they said that this suspension goes against the values of the school and instead
It suggests that empathy and professionalism are liabilities rather than strengths in educational leadership.
And FINALLY, on April 21, he was reinstated. The announcement came in a letter from District Superintendent, Andrew Shaw, who said:
While this investigation has concluded, as we stated previously, the feedback we received during this process remains invaluable. As we move forward, the District remains dedicated to reviewing our internal administrative and operational procedures.
Which honestly makes it sound like they still think they did the right thing putting him on leave.
And he would probably still be on leave if it wasn’t for the community coming together to admonish this unacceptable decision by the district.
The School district makes me lose hope, but seeing our power, will make me feel less Doomed every single time.
Poway, California
Tue, April 21 - Attorney General Rob Bonta is suing the city of Poway and the home building company Shea Homes over their violations of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) while building “Hidden Valley Ranch.”
The last Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was completed in 2003, but things changed when, in October, the builders began to find bones and artifacts. The San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians believe it is a Native burial ground.
When thing change and new information is uncovered, the CEQA requires a new EIR, and that has not happened. And, according to AG Bonta, the city of Poway has done absolutely nothing to make it happen. There has been no communication with the tribe or Shea Homes.
The lawsuit reads:
Unless the People are granted relief for the violations of CEQA outlined below, the City’s actions and inactions challenged herein may result in potentially irreparable damage to tribal cultural resources and information important to California history and prehistory.
And as Bonta said in a statement:
Let’s be clear: We’re not stopping projects unnecessarily; we are asking cities and developers to comply with the law.
And Steve Cope, chairman of the San Pasqual Band reiterated that as well:
These suits do not seek to stop the project, but to ensure full consideration and redress of its adverse impacts, including on our heritage, ancestors, funerary items, environmental integrity, and culturally and religiously important resources throughout the area.
The city insists they were never informed of this potential lawsuit until it was made public, saying:
Until very recently, and with no opportunity to understand or potentially cure any violations of CEQA, the city received no indication that a CEQA violation was being pursued.
I don’t know if I believe that. I’m much more inclined to believe Bonta, who has been fighting for the California Native communities his entire time as AG, getting involved in three separate tribal lawsuits against various counties and municipalities.
And seeing Bonta fight like this for the Native community that is so often left behind, makes me feel less Doomed.
Alaska
Tue, May 5 - The Alaska Public Interest Research Group has joined the lawsuit as a plaintiff, against the DOJ accessing unredacted Alaskan voter rolls. They join League of Women Voters Alaska and Alaska Black Caucus.
When the DOJ requested these voter rolls back in May 2025, Alaska was one of only 21 states to hand them over willingly. The ACLU of Alaska is arguing that since Alaska is one of 11 states in the country with a privacy amendment in their constitution, it goes against the state constitution to hand over unredacted private information to the federal government.
The DOJ now has access to all voters full name, date of birth, drivers license number and last four digits of their social security number. It’s a pretty scary thought to consider this government having any of that, let alone all of it.
The goal of the lawsuit is to demand the DOJ destroy all information they received from Alaskan voters and stop them from removing voters from the voter rolls.
Yolandous “Doyle” Williams, Board Chair for Alaska Black Caucus said:
Sharing unredacted voter registration data not only invades the privacy of Alaskans but also threatens to silence the voices of those who have fought tirelessly for their right to vote.
I don’t know if this will be successful, but, as the lawsuit says:
As the State of Alaska’s Legislative Affairs Agency has noted, “[A]t this point every federal court that has issued a substantive ruling has rejected DOJ’s claims. No federal court has ruled in favor of DOJ.”
So that sounds like some pretty good odds. And regardless of if it’s successful or not, the fight itself is more than half the battle.
Remember, authoritarianism can only win when we lose hope and stop fighting back. And a lawsuit like this just gives me more hope, so therefore, we’re not Doomed.
I hope these stories helped you feel less Doomed too!
And no matter what, keep using your voice, cause, as you know by now, it’s your superpower!