WEâRE NOT DOOMED: Wed May 28, 2026
The most important thing to remember right now is that the fight itself is more than half the battle. When we stop fighting back is when they win, even when we when we lose, it matters that we filed the lawsuit or showed up at the protest.
And sometimes, we win, in the end, like in MichiganâŚ
Tue, April 21 - Monroe High Schoolâs 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 girlâs 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 theyâre 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, itâs 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 didnât 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 wasnât 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.
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 âHidden Valley Ranch.â
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.
Unless the People are granted relief for the violations of CEQA outlined below, the Cityâs 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:
Letâs be clear: Weâre 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 donât know if I believe that. Iâm 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.
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. Itâs 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 âDoyleâ 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 donât know if this will be successful, but, as the lawsuit says:
As the State of Alaskaâs Legislative Affairs Agency has noted, â[A]t this point every federal court that has issued a substantive ruling has rejected DOJâs claims. No federal court has ruled in favor of DOJ.â
So that sounds like some pretty good odds. And regardless of if itâs 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, weâre 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, itâs your superpower!
