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Evening Shade Resistance Rising Saturday - April 19 [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-04-19
WELCOME TO THE EVENING SHADE A SANCTUARY OF SANITY AFTER A LONG HARD DAY OF FIGHTING FASCISM YOU WILL FIND in the DIARIES a LOT of POLITICS (Or NOT As the CASE MAY BE) AND EVEN MORE CRITTERS THE PERSON who MAKES the FIRST COMMENT WILL GET TWO CRITTERS EVERY PERSON WHO COMMENTS WILL GET A CRITTER RULES IN THE DIARY WHEN YOU FIND SOMETHING in the DIARY that you LIKE YOU CAN REPOST IT AS COMMENT in the DIARY ===================== CALENDAR OF RESISTANCE EFFORTS 50501: MORE RESISTANCE ======================
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I’m doing the heavy lifting on this Shade very early in anticipation of joining the Earth Day “gathering” at the Minnesota state capitol on Saturday. As usual, I’m leaning heavily on News from the States and since I won’t have much for current events, I’m leaning on things that are closer to the “The Twinkies of the world of news.”
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I’ll start off with this. It comes via Arkansas Advocate, but it’s really a Maine story. It’s also national. Thank you, Angus King. It’s very good.
An urgent warning on 250th anniversary of Paul Revere’s ride
On April 18, 1775, Paul Revere famously rode through the streets of Massachusetts to warn residents about the approach of British troops, which culminated in the Battle of Lexington and Concord that kicked off America’s war for independence. Now, 250 years later, U.S. Sen. Angus King is giving his own warning over what he sees as the imminent collapse of American democracy under President Donald Trump. In an interview with writer, historian and Lincoln County resident Heather Cox Richardson, Maine’s independent senator discussed why this inflection point in American history is so resonant today. “I believe we are in one of the most dangerous places our country has been in since the founding, because what is happening before our eyes is the collapse of the constitutional structure that the framers designed to protect us from the inevitable abuse that comes from the concentration of power,” King said, explaining that the U.S. Constitution purposefully divided power between the Legislature — or Congress — the President and the courts. “But here’s what’s happening right now,” he said, “is that the executive branch is seizing more and more power.✂️
Preaching to the choir, but if it gets a few more decibels of information out to the public, I love it. If only the larger megaphones out there would give him the mic.
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I mocked Arkansas at some point this last week, with something like putting “At least we’re not Arkansas” on South Dakota license plates. I went to their section in News from the States and unfortunately my opinion hasn’t changed much. It’s hard to find good news coming out of Arkansas. I take some solace that Bill Clinton was their governor before he became president, so they can elect a Democrat.
Say what you will about President Clinton, at least he didn’t pay $20,000 for an IKEA lectern like Sarah Sanders did. He also balanced the budget, which, for all of their braying, no Republican in the last 100 years has managed. Many thanks to my lovely ex-wife for pointing that out to me last night.
Via Arkansas Advocate
Mississippi’s education miracle: A model for global literacy reform
In a surprising turnaround, Mississippi, once ranked near the bottom of U.S. education standings, has dramatically improved its student literacy rates. As of 2023, the state ranks among the top 20 for fourth grade reading, a significant leap from its 49th-place ranking in 2013. This transformation was driven by evidence-based policy reforms focused on early literacy and teacher development. The rest of the country might want to take note. That’s because Mississippi’s success offers a proven solution to the reading literacy crisis facing many states – a clear road map for closing early literacy gaps and improving reading outcomes nationwide.✂️
I went in to the article with a cynical outlook: “How bad do your schools have to be that you look to Mississippi with admiration?”
Mississippi going from 49th in the country to in the top 20 in literacy is pretty impressive. Applause to Mississippi for accomplishing that.
If that solution leads to improved literacy, who could possibly be against it? No, I’m not going to let cynicism creep into this editorial.
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Also from Arkansas Advocate,
Bill regulating transgender Arkansans’ bathroom use heads to House despite public pushback
The Arkansas House will consider a bill denounced by advocates for transgender Arkansans on Wednesday, the final day of the 2025 legislative session. Senate Bill 486 would allow Arkansans to sue for damages if they encounter someone in a bathroom, changing room, shelter or correctional facility who does not align with the “designated sex” of the restroom. The bill narrowly passed the House Committee on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs on Tuesday after 15 people spoke against it and no member of the public spoke for it. “The intention here is to make it so that trans people cannot exist in public,” said Maricella Garcia, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families’ race equity director. “If you cannot use the restroom, you cannot go out in public.”✂️
This was included because, although it’s disappointing that the bill is being considered, there was pushback, so I’ll count it as good news.
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From New Jersey Monitor :
Business groups, police union spar over data privacy law
A coalition of businesses and the state’s biggest police union are sparring over a New Jersey law meant to protect prosecutors, judges, and cops by shielding their home addresses and phone numbers from disclosure.✂️ John Molinelli, a former Bergen County prosecutor, is the coalition’s spokesman. “Daniel’s Law serves a noble purpose, but the law is broken,” Molinelli said in a statement last week.✂️ New Jersey enacted Daniel’s Law in 2020. It’s named after federal Judge Esther Salas’ son, Daniel Anderl, who was slain at the judge’s home that year by a gunman who wanted to harm Salas. Since state legislators passed the law soon after Anderl’s death, they have expanded it several times to protect additional public workers, including child welfare investigators.✂️
It’s an interesting topic and an interesting article. It’s not too long, so I encourage you to read it if you have any interest.
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Since to me, this has a lot of very neighborhood flavor, via Minnesota Reformer
From south Minneapolis to the DOJ, Trump’s vision of a post-civil rights America is becoming real
South Minneapolis along East Lake Street is a thriving immigrant neighborhood with block after block of family-run restaurants, churches and more businesses than you can shake a stick at, ordinarily serving a bustling foot traffic. As Sahan Journal reported not long after inauguration day, employees there are now scared to come to work. Customers are afraid to walk in the door. ICE raids and the threat of them frighten an entire populace witless, wreaking economic havoc. Undocumented immigrants already had to worry about being exploited by unscrupulous employers. In President Trump’s America, those who need protection are instead being targeted; the outrageous, mistaken deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador is just one example we know about. The U.S. Department of Justice, which not long ago prided itself on its independence, has now become a key lever in Trump’s effort to reverse the gains of the Civil Rights Movement. The first step was freezing the work of the Civil Rights Division, as the Washington Post first reported, “halting much of its investigative activity dating from the Biden administration and not pursuing new indictments, cases or settlements, according to a memo sent to the temporary head of the division.” ✂️
It really just reinforces what most here already believe. But the description in the first paragraph is what I love about living here.
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I’m including this because it’s a VER Y local story and colorful.
From WyoFile
My first thought had been: “A city? In Wyoming???” It’s set in Jackson Hole, which is a beautiful town (absolutely true), and not at all a tourist trap. /s.
Forest-dwelling raptor, aka ‘flying mountain lion,’ goes for groceries in the city
Bryan Bedrosian’s best guess is that the bird was out on the hunt. One thing for certain is that the northern goshawk, perched in a Pinedale aspen, wasn’t in its standard habitat. Goshawks, the largest of North America’s three accipiters — acrobatic bird-eating specialists — typically dwell in the forest. Yet this hawk, an adult male based on its pale plumage and thin vertical chest stripes, was in a town surrounded by the sagebrush-dominated high desert. Bedrosian, an avian biologist who works as the Teton Raptor Center’s conservation director, has seen this behavior before.✂️
I expected an anecdote about the hawk displaying more scavenger behavior and beating shoppers up as they left the Hy-Vee or something. This is not that story.
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Via Virginia Mercury
Virginia launches new dashboards to track maternal deaths, improve pregnancy outcomes
With Black Maternal Health Week underway, Virginia is rolling out a new set of tools aimed at tackling one of the most urgent health disparities in the country: the disproportionate rate at which Black women die during pregnancy and childbirth. Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Thursday announced the release of two new dashboards — one tracking maternal mortality and the other pregnancy-associated deaths — alongside an upgraded Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Dashboard that breaks down preterm birth, infant mortality, low birthweight and prenatal care data by region, race, and ethnicity. “More moms are alive today because of the unprecedented work of the Virginia Department of Health, the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services, health care providers and community partners,” Youngkin said in a statement. “Today’s launch is another key step to provide the data needed for this all-hands-on-deck mission. We are making significant strides, but we will not stop working until every baby in Virginia is born to a healthy mom.”✂️
Such a good thing that even Glenn Youngkin has to get behind it.
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I’ll close off with this via West Virginia Watch
ACLU-WV sues Trump administration officials over Marshall student’s revoked visa
The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a Marshall University graduate student whose visa was “unlawfully” revoked as a part of an immigration crackdown by President Donald Trump’s administration. More than 1,000 international students at 160 colleges and universities across the country have had their visas revoked or their legal status terminated since March, according to a report by the Associated Press. That includes students at colleges and universities in West Virginia. The Marshall student, identified in a Friday news release as S.V., was one month away from graduating when his visa was revoked, according to the ACLU-WV. The student received an email stating that his F-1 visa was being revoked and later learned that he was “identified in a criminal records check,” the news release said.✂️
It’s striking to me how many more of what I consider upbeat stories I find coming out of West Virginia than I do out of Arkansas. I’m going to chalk it up to editorial decisions.
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The Jukebox is here. anotherdemocrat is hosting and getting ready for an AIDS ride.
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Today is…
NATIONAL AUCTIONEERS DAY
Each year on the third Thursday in April, National Auctioneers Day recognizes those who hold auctions and take our bids all year long. According to the National Auctioneers Association, it is estimated nearly a quarter-trillion dollars in goods and services are sold by professional auctioneers every year.✂️
Start at 2:23 (about half way through). I tried copying the URL at current time and pasting/embedding that URL in (‘?t=143’ — time = 143 seconds or 2:23), without success. 4:43 long video.
Can I get one dollar?!?!?!
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NATIONAL NORTH DAKOTA DAY
On April 19th, National North Dakota Day recognizes the Peace Garden State. #NationalNorthDakotaDay Long before Lewis and Clark traveled up the Missouri River, the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara arrived in North Dakota. During the Corps of Discovery, the team camped at Fort Mandan along the Missouri River for the winter. Here, their translators, Sacagawea and Charbonneau, joined the expedition. Sacagawea would also give birth to her son, Jean Baptiste. ✂️
5:52 long video...
You knew I couldn’t ignore that.
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NATIONAL GARLIC DAY
Each year on April 19th, National Garlic Day celebrates a vegetable also known as the stinking rose. The fragrant and potent root has been seasoning dishes for thousands of years.✂️
Since it’s spring and Shadesters were talking about it on Tuesday, a relatively long (18:08) video about growing garlic.
There is a restaurant in San Fransisco called The Stinking Rose whose tag line is “We season our garlic with food!” They serve garlic ice cream!!! I’ve been there and had the ice cream. The restaurant is very good and the ice cream was better than expected.
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The Shade is open. Have at it, everybody.
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Musical interlude:
[END]
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