Leaders: Profiles in Courage and Cowardice
Profiles in Courage
🤝 Today We’re All Dodger Fans – Owners & Players Rebuff Federal Agents
June 23, 2025
LA Dodgers ownership, coaches, and players stood united last week in rejecting a federal request to set up immigration operations in the stadium parking lot. In a bold act of organizational courage, the team responded to rising community pressure and affirmed its loyalty to the city and fan base — which includes thousands of migrants and immigrant families.
⚖️ Law Firms That Stood Up to Trump Are Winning in Court
May 28, 2025
More than a dozen law firms were targeted by Trump for employing or representing his enemies, and most of them agreed to do pro bono work for the president and government in exchange for being removed from his crosshairs. A few, however, pushed back, challenging Trump’s actions in court. Three of those cases have been decided, and in all three of them the law firms won, and bully Trump lost.
🤝 Pritzker Calls Trump Administration a “5-Alarm Fire”: Says We Must Defend Democracy NOW
May 25, 2025
Governor J.B. Pritzker (Dem, IL) continues to speak out about the dangers of the Trump administration. Pritzker is urging Americans to step out of their comfort zones to do everything necessary to defend democracy.
🌐 Senators: Abandoning Human Rights Leadership Threatens U.S. Credibility and Moral Authority
May 14, 2025
Ed Markey (D, Ma.), Chris Van Hollen (D, Md.), Jeanne Shaheen (D, N.H.) and 12 Senate colleagues warned that abandoning the U.S. global leadership position on human rights will make America and the rest of the world less safe.
🗳️ Nebraska Congressman Bacon Only Republican to Vote Against Trump’s Gulf of America Bill
May 8, 2025
Don Bacon (R, Neb.), citing other pressing issues and global unrest, says “Renaming bodies of water is not a priority and sends a bad message to the rest of the world.”
🗳️ “We Can’t Just Sit Back and Watch,” De Niro Says
May 13, 2025
Upon receiving the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Robert De Niro said the U.S. is “fighting like hell for the democracy we once took for granted.”
🤝 Worcester, MA, Leaders and Citizens Resist ICE Efforts to Detain Family
May 8, 2025
Courageous citizens in Massachusetts collectively resisted the detainment of a local family by a team of ICE agents, at one point forming a human chain around family members. Local school committee candidate Ashley Spring was actively involved in the resistance, along with numerous others.
Sen. Cory Booker
May 5, 2025
Senator Booker delivered a historic 20-hour speech on the Senate floor opposing the Trump administration’s assault on voting rights and civil liberties. His sustained presence and unapologetic critique brought renewed attention to federal overreach and democratic backsliding.
Harvard University
May 5, 2025
Harvard refused to comply with sweeping demands from the Trump administration, which threatened nearly $9 billion in funding. Instead, the university filed suit, citing infringements on academic freedom and the First Amendment. Their resistance represents institutional courage at a critical time.
Profiles in Cowardice
📊 Today It’s NOT Great to Be a Florida Gator
June 4, 2025
The DeSantis-appointed Florida Board of Governors has overturned the unanimous choice of the university’s own Board of Regents, rejecting Santa Ono as the next UF president. This cowardly reversal — driven by right-wing political pressure — signals that Florida’s top public university now takes its orders from culture war operatives, not academic leadership. The damage to UF’s credibility will be immediate and lasting.
Columbia University
May 5, 2025
Facing pressure from the Trump administration, Columbia agreed to demands that included overhauling protest policies and academic oversight, in exchange for the reinstatement of federal funding. Critics argue this sets a dangerous precedent for academic autonomy under political duress.
🤝 Minnesota Hospital Assists ICE in Worker’s Arrest
May 5, 2025
Hospital leadership in Marshall, MN cooperated with ICE in a deceptive arrest of a longtime immigrant employee by luring him to a fake meeting. The Minnesota Nurses Association condemned the action as a betrayal of medical ethics and patient trust.