April 5, 2025

How Love Wins This Week (Apr 4, 2025)

Hard Wins: Cases won, orders issued, legislation passed, etc.

• Susan Crawford won the Wisconsin Supreme Court race: Democrats’ win in Wisconsin court race also is a big loss for Elon Musk [AP]
  • Related, a powerful essay from organizer and Wisconsin voter Garrett Bucks: All the money in the world... [The White Pages] -- Their power and influence is already waning, but we are just getting started. They are desperate, but we are still building. They want us to give up, to turn on one another, but we have our arms wide open.
• Judge pauses Trump administration plans to end temporary legal protections for Venezuelans [AP]
• Federal judge says she will temporarily block billions in health funding cuts to states [AP]
• Alabama can’t prosecute groups who help women travel to get an abortion, federal judge says [AP]
• Judge blocks firing of intelligence agency employees who worked on DEI programs [AP]
• Judge orders White House to restore legal aid to unaccompanied migrant children [NPR]
• Trump administration violated court order by pausing FEMA grants, judge rules [Reuters]
• Montana Adult Trans Bathroom Ban Blocked In Court: "No Evidence" It Protects Women [Erin in the Morning]
  • Meanwhile, following a brave act of civil disobedience, Transgender student’s arrest for violating Florida bathroom law is thought to be a first [AP]; Trans Woman Arrested, Sent to Men’s Jail For Entering Florida Capitol Bathroom [Erin in the Morning]

Soft Wins: Cases filed, legislation introduced, etc.

• In defense of free and fair elections: Nonprofit groups and Democrats sue Trump administration over election executive order [AP]; States sue to block Trump’s election order, saying it violates the Constitution [AP]
• Pentagon watchdog to review Hegseth’s use of Signal app to convey plans for Houthi strike [AP]; Pentagon watchdog will probe 'Signalgate,' in response to senators [News from the States]
• Scientists sue NIH, saying politics cut their research funding [AP]
• Musk's cuts at US Social Security agency are illegal, lawsuit claims [Reuters]
• US Senate passes bill aimed at stopping Trump tariffs on Canada [NPR]; Senate rebukes Trump’s tariffs as some Republicans vote to halt taxes on Canadian imports [AP] -- This effort has been seen as unlikely to get past the House, but who knows?
• Top Republican leads bill to reassert Congress’ tariff power amid Trump trade war [Politico]
• E.U. Prepares Major Penalties Against Elon Musk’s X [NY Times]
• As part of the lawsuit filed by Perkins Coie pushing back against a recent executive order, About 500 law firms sign brief challenging Trump’s executive orders targeting the legal community [AP]

Fighting the Good Fight: Protests, unofficial actions, and inspiration

• Angry protesters from New York to Alaska assail Trump and Musk in ‘Hands Off!’ rallies [AP]
• Cory Booker breaks a 68-year-old Senate record with a 25-hour speech [NPR]; With a nod to America’s civil rights legacy, Sen. Cory Booker makes a mark of his own [AP]. See also this very nice summary by V on Under the Desk News [@underthedesknews on Instagram]
• Amidst Flood of Anti-Trans Bills, Georgia Democrats Walk Out [Erin in the Morning]
• Judge dismisses New York mayor's corruption case, slams Trump administration 'bargain' [Reuters] -- The dismissal of the Eric Adams corruption case is perhaps an odd one to chalk up in the "wins" column, but on balance it's a win for the rule of law. The judge called out and refused to condone game-playing by the DOJ. Usually an order to dismiss would run maybe two pages, whereas here, the judge devoted fully 78 pages to his full opinion and order.
• Blowback over attempts to bully the state of Maine into complying with a Trump order targeting trans student athletes: Social Security’s acting leader faces calls to resign over decision to cut Maine contracts [AP]
• Microsoft employee disrupts 50th anniversary and calls AI boss ‘war profiteer’ [The Verge] -- The link also includes the full text of Ibtihal Aboussad's email to her fellow employees, delivering a damning indictment of Microsoft's role in enabling Israeli military action against the Palestinian people, and calling for others likewise to take action.
• A good explainer from Isaac Saul on the critical importance of due process for everyone: Why due process still matters. [Tangle]
• Lessons from history: In 1944, the Nazis invaded Norway and took over the government, and 10,000 teachers banded together to keep Nazi ideology out of Norwegian schools. [@stephaniehson on Instagram)
• Also very cool: These Everyday Artifacts Tell the Story of Harriet Tubman’s Father’s Home as Climate Change Threatens the Historic Site [Smithsonian Magazine]
• For small everyday ways you can resist fascism: Dirt in a Cog Zine [Invisible Histories]

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