TakeAction Minnesota Weekly Wrap  
 

 

Dear John,

 

We say this pretty regularly, but there was a lot going on in the world this week. DACA was heard at the Supreme Court, a right-wing coup happened in Bolivia, more billionaires decided to run for president, teachers in Little Rock went on strike, and more.

 

We can’t possibly cover it all in our fairly brief digest, so want to know what you’re paying attention to. Send us articles to read, podcasts to listen to, or videos to watch. We’ll share some of them on social media or in next week’s digest.

 

Here’s what we’re reading, watching, and listening to this week:

 

1. Nelsie Yang

Excuse us if we gloat a little bit, but our friend and co-worker Nelsie officially was declared the winner of her City Council race last Friday. But she isn’t finished organizing yet. Read more.

2. Stephen Miller

Blatant – but not surprising – evidence of the white nationalist senior advisor to Trump came out this past week. Catch up on commentary in the NYTimes.

3. Anti-Semitism 

“This wave of violence is the result of a dangerous political ideology that targets Jews and anyone who does not fit a narrow vision of a whites-only America. We have to be clear that while antisemitism is a threat to Jews everywhere, it is also a threat to democratic governance itself.”

 

Bernie Sanders wrote a powerful, personal essay about how to fight Anti-Semitism. Read it here.

4. Three-Antler Deer

We're mesmerized. See it here.

5. Kentucky 

Meet the populist challenger, State Rep. Charles Booker, stepping up to run against Mitch McConnell. Read more and make sure to watch his video. 

6. Justice & Liberation

Political imagination is the seed of change. Check out Rep. Ayanna Pressley's plan to reshape the criminal legal system. Read more.

7. #StopRxGreed

Here’s a pleasant surprise this week: the federal government actually sued Big Pharma over the patents for the HIV medication Truvada. Read more here.

8. Amazon

Amazon spent $1.5 million to take over the City Council in Seattle. It failed because of people-powered electoral campaigns. Read more.

9. Megan Rapinoe

“In kindness and in caring and in giving a shit and sharing—that’s abundance. That’s the kind of culture we want to live in.”

 

A reader tipped us off to this story: Megan Rapinoe started acceptance speech at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards by thanking Colin Kaepernick for his courage and it just got better from there. You have to watch this video. (You can also read the transcript here.)

10. Free Quilty! 

Quilty is a cat in a shelter in Houston who just wants freedom for himself and his friends. #UnbreakableSolidarity Read more.  

That’s a wrap. Have a great weekend.

 

-- Patrick Burke and Kenza Hadj-Moussa