News Items - July 4 2026
Trump’s UFC Cage Fight Is an Apt Metaphor for a Nation Built on Colonial Violence by Jesse Hagopian on July 2, 2026 at Truthout
"As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, the country faces rising authoritarianism, ongoing state violence against Black communities, a worsening affordability crisis, widening wars, climate catastrophe, attacks on immigrants and LGBTQ+ people, and an escalating siege on critical education. We can no longer afford to leave the meaning of 1776 to Donald Trump, establishment Democratic Party politicians, billionaire-funded media outlets, or the sanitized narratives found in many textbooks. Only by confronting the republic’s colonial foundations — and recovering the traditions of freedom forged by those who resisted them — can we pursue a different future."
250 Years of Lies, 500 Years of Uprising by the NDN Collective on July 2, 2026
The so-called “United States” is celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 2026. We, the first people of this land, do not have to look far to spot the hypocrisy of celebrating a document that calls our ancestors “Merciless Indian Savages.” Today, we witness a country that proclaims “freedom” while kidnapping our immigrant neighbors without due process, passing laws that encourage harassment and discrimination against our LGBTQ and two-spirit relatives, and pulling out every political, legal, and military strategy to suppress any form of dissent against the state. At the start of this nation, the government ratified over 350 treaties with Native Nations – and then proceeded to break every single one of them. Just as it was clear to our ancestors, it remains clear to us now: this colonial experiment has failed at building anything resembling a true democracy.
Post 47: PLEASE WATCH + SHARE: Important Disability Policy Alert by Gaelynn Lea on June 26, 2026 (There is a transcript of the video under the video itself)
"We need to create a future that we want to see, and the truth is, is that this is not really about medical care. It’s about slashing benefits down to the bone and then saying, “Oh, I’m sorry, we don’t have the services in the community for you, so here’s your other option... It’s called living in an institution.” And so that is a sneaky and dishonorable argument in the Olmstead Memo."
The Supreme Court’s ruling on trans athletes is legal scapegoating Opinion by Suzanne B. Goldberg on June 30, 2026 at MS Now
"Whatever your views on transgender athletes and sports, it is important to see the bigger picture here: These bans are about far more than athletics. In this moment, a campaign against transgender people in the United States has produced hundreds of anti-transgender laws and policies across the nation. These measures aim to restrict transgender people in nearly every corner of civic life, including restrooms, passports, drivers’ licenses, military service and school activities."
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