In the emotional days following the November 2016 election that put President Donald Trump in power, no one had any idea they might find a shred of solace in words scribbled on a mundane office supply. But underground, in the depths of a New York City subway station, a powerfully expressive initiative fueled by thousands of Post-it Notes was underway. 

In the weeks that followed, thousands of people in search of catharsis paused their commutes to write down rejuvenating messages of hope, solidarity, and reassurance and stick them to the walls for all to read. Soon a colorful mosaic of an estimated 50,000 Post-its, now known as the Subway Therapy project, spanned the walls of Manhattan’s Union Square station.

It was a simple act during an especially dark time, but the colorful collection of Post-its helped the country’s outlook seem a little bit brighter. 

For nearly 40 years, Post-its have been a go-to resource for annotating documents, writing to-do lists, and leaving reminders. But somewhere along the line people around the world realized just how multi-functional the sticky squares could be. 

Image: Vanessa Carvalho/Brazil Photo Press/LatinContent/Getty Images

In pop culture, Post-its have been used for infamous break ups and vow writing, and in the real world, people use them to , make , create art, and even like Apple’s Steve Jobs. In the past few years, sticky notes have also been used to aid in something far more impactful: peaceful protest. 

The power of post-election Post-its 

I first spotted the Subway Therapy Wall on Thursday, Nov. 10, my first day back in the Union Square station since the Nov. 8 election.

Happening upon the words of complete strangers — simple messages like, “Your emotions are valid,” and “We need each other,” — was a reminder that goodness still existed. And after talking to others who contributed to or encountered the wall, it’s clear I wasn’t alone.

“I was in a state of shock,” said 23-year-old Chelsea from Yakima, Washington (who preferred not to share her last name,) recalling how she felt in the days after the election. “It felt as if the floor had been pulled from underneath me — like I was going through the five stages of grief simultaneously.”

“I could write anything I wanted and not have to worry about feeling alone.”

In an attempt to do something productive with her negative feelings, Chelsea traveled New York City for the first time.

“I actually stumbled upon the wall without even knowing it existed,” she said. “That moment when I looked up from what I was doing and I saw that wall filled with those colorful bits of paper was indescribable. It was as if I could see the strings connecting everybody in their need for change. It was a therapy session that was free and I could write anything I wanted and not have to worry about feeling alone.”

Chelsea read as many notes as she could, absorbed the messages, and says she finally felt like things might be alright. “Those pieces of paper were tiny messages to us as humans that we can be change. If we try hard enough.”

“To see it manifested in one place was viscerally powerful.”

“It was a coming together of strangers across the country who wanted to make a simple statement that this is wrong and not normal, and we don’t need to accept it,” Sarah Flourance, a 31-year-old from Alexandria, Virginia said.

Flourance, who traveled to New York to visit a friend after the election in hopes that it would lift her mood, said she spoke with a few strangers at the wall, some of whom were in tears. “Right after the election, the isolation is what got to me and a lot of other people,” she said. She felt the display helped ease her feelings of hopelessness.

Kevin Nadal, psychologist and professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the Graduate Center at City University of New York says he also contributed a Post-it to the wall.

He wrote a message of solidarity to “the most marginalized populations whose rights would be threatened” by Trump’s rise to the presidency, and said the expansive unity of strangers helped restore hope for him.

“I wanted people to know they weren’t alone,” Nadal said. “I definitely felt scared, betrayed, and angry. The Post-it wall was validating.” 

And while he knew others in New York City would share his post-election sentiments, Nadal said seeing seeing all those emotions “manifested in one place was viscerally powerful.”

So why Post-its?

In early 2016, well before the November election, “Subway Therapy” creator Matthew “Levee” Chavez set up a table, two chairs, and a sign that read “Secret Keeper” in a New York City subway station.

His setup included a blank book in the hope that passerby might decide to unload some internal stress by writing their secrets down on paper. Despite this, he often found that people preferred face-to-face conversations.

“For the next eight months or so, I had individual conversations with people that would stop by to sit and talk…About whatever they wanted to talk about.” 

After the election, he said things changed.

Image: Volkan Furuncu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Chavez says he believes that “during crisis, writing can be a more effective and accessible form of expression than conversation.” It’s what inspired him to bring sticky notes and writing materials into the subway that November. The Post-its helped him reach a wider audience, since several people could write their thoughts down simultaneously, rather than waiting to chat with him one-on-one.

“The wall took a form that was fun, beautiful, and expressive,” Chavez recalled. “In mass, sticky notes are incredibly inviting and they definitely helped people to open up.”

A history of Post-it protests

Though it’s been nearly two years since Chavez’s Subway Therapy project, many of the notes have since been archived online and in several books, and memories of the wall remain for those who contributed or passed by. Though Chavez helped create one of the most memorable Post-it Note protests in recent history, his was far from the first.

In 2011, Wisconsin residents used the tactic when they protested policies by Republican Gov. Scott Walker that would weaken in-state unions. In addition to months of marches and other organizing efforts, protesters left hundreds of Post-it Notes at the Wisconsin State Capitol entrance in an attempt to share their concerns. Despite the protests, Walker’s proposal ended up passing.

Image: Allen Fredrickson/Icon SMI/Corbis via Getty Images

Later that year, Post-its made their way to London to serve as a beacon of light in the wake of a divisive act of violence. In August 2011, riots broke out across London in protest of a deadly police shooting that killed local resident Mark Duggan. In Peckham, London, thousands of community members responded to the tragedy with a “Love Wall” covered in notes with messages of hope and unity. The sentiment was so powerful that it spread to walls in Manchester and in other areas of London.

Image: Thomas Campean/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

The people of Hong Kong also used Post-it Notes to show support for the pro-democracy movement of 2014, when many called for the resignation of leader Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying. During what’s since come to be known as the “Umbrella Revolution,” activists and protesters wrote words of encouragement and their reasons for demonstrating on Post-its, creating a colorful display outside government offices. People in Sydney even covered the walls of Australia’s Hong Kong House in solidarity.

The benefits of sticky note self-expression

While expressing oneself via Post-it Note has shown to be a therapeutic and unifying response to large-scale events, these notes can also provide comfort to individuals on a day-to-day basis.

“Self-affirmations are really helpful in helping to negate any harmful self-doubts or cognitive distortions,” Nadal said, explaining that writing positive, reassuring messages on Post-it Notes “can help in increasing one’s self esteem and decreasing any cognitive distortions.”

A 2007 study by Gail Matthews, a psychology professor at California’s Dominican University, found that the act of writing one’s goals down seems to make a person significantly more likely to accomplish those goals. The study also found that writing reminders or to-do lists before bedtime may help people fall asleep faster. 

<img class="" data-credit-name='screengrab/subway therapy‘ data-credit-provider=”custom type” src=”https://i.amz.mshcdn.com/Ub8jratz0xe6_OAr_RilIgzTqsQ=/fit-in/1200×9600/https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fcard%2Fimage%2F873095%2Fa75317fa-3ed3-4055-8aa5-b615d47bb07d.png&#8221; alt=”Post-it Notes from the Subway Therapy Wall.” data-fragment=”m!7176″ data-image=”https://ift.tt/2CSOn97; data-micro=”1″>

It’s clear the humbler Post-it has made the transition from bland office supply to powerful statement maker. Remi Ken, the global Post-it business director for 3M, said that the product’s move beyond the confines of the workplace has only encouraged the brand more.

“Everyone who uses a Post-it Note puts their own unique touch on it — and it’s exciting to see how consumers make it their own,” she wrote in an email. “We believe in getting your thoughts out and your voice heard — and our products are the tool to help people do that.”

Post-it Notes may be small, but they have the power to make mighty statements.

Tonala, Chiapas, Mexico – Resting in the shade of a row of trees, Orvelina Lizeth Melendez reached into her purse, pulled out a small, clear plastic bag and carefully removed her husband’s death certificate. The tattered paper travelled nearly 1400km with her from her hometown of Tegucigalpa, Honduras to Tonala in Chiapas, Mexico.

“They killed him right in front of me,” Melendez said, recalling the moment gang members burst into her family’s home more than three years ago.

Melendez was pregnant and she and her four children were at home asleep at the time.

The death certificate includes very little information. Fredis de Jesus Ferrera Lemus. Age 31. National identification number. Parent’s names. Date and location of death. The cause of death is listed as “violent”, and underneath it, the document briefly expands on the cause, stating that it was craneofacial trauma from a gunshot wound.

But the document could become vitally important as she makes her way to the US border to apply for asylum.  

Melendez is one of thousands of Honduran and other Central American migrants and refugees on a US-bound caravan currently in southern Mexico. 

She has no idea why her husband, a garbage truck worker, was killed, and she does not expect to ever know. Ninety percent of homicides in Honduras go unsolved.

“It was left at that. When you’re poor, deaths remain in impunity. It is a very dangerous neighbourhood,” Melendez said.

Violence, poverty, health

Many Hondurans are fleeing violence, whether it is gang related, political, or for other reasons. Many are also looking to leave a life of poverty and unemployment. And some migrants and refugees are fleeing because they or their children suffer from disabilities or health conditions that require attention they are unable to obtain in Honduras.

Melendez left for all three of those reasons. Her brother Jimy, who is also travelling with the group, suffers from speech and hearing problems. The cause is unknown and gang members have been trying to recruit the 28-year-old. 

One of Melendez’s sons also has special needs due to a primary immunodeficiency health condition, diagnosed two years ago. Now six years old, Joshua Eliel Ferrera Melendez has juvenile onset Still’s disease. A form of systemic arthritis with no known cause, the disease affects the entire body, sometimes including internal organs.

Along with her husband’s death certificate, Melendez also carries a clinical summary of Joshua’s condition and treatment.

The main reason I am travelling today: to give my children a better life and to better feed my family in Honduras.

Orvelina Lizeth Melendez , Honduran asylum seeker

There is no known cure for Still’s disease, but managing the condition requires ongoing treatment. Joshua requires several medications, but the main treatment is human immunoglobulins administered intravenously every month at the hospital. Manufactured from blood plasma, immunoglobulins contain antibodies Joshua lacks.

“My son is very special and I do not have the means to give him the medications. The medicines are very expensive,” Melendez said, her voice slightly cracking.

Melendez was forced to leave Joshua, along with three of her other children, with her mother. She said there’s no chance he would have survived the journey.

For Melendez, finding work in the US is the best option for making enough money to support her family and provide for Joshua’s care. 

Hospital Escuela, the public hospital where Joshua receives his treatment, has been chronically understaffed and under-equipped for years. The building leaks, it is nearly always over capacity and patients and their relatives often have to go elsewhere to purchase medications and basic supplies for procedures, including syringes.

Sometime Hospital Escuela has the human immunoglobulins Joshua needs, but sometimes it does not. Each monthly treatment is $830 and the hospital asks Melendez to pay for a quarter of the cost.

Although doctors and social workers sometimes help with the cost, Melendez questioned how a single mother of five was supposed to earn $200 for treatment, in addition to providing for her family.

“That’s the main reason I am travelling today: to give my children a better life and to better feed my family in Honduras,” she said.

‘We’re not criminals’

Melendez, along with her other family members in the caravan, including Jimy, have heard bits and pieces of US President Donald Trump administration’s characterisation of the migrant caravan, as well as the measures the US government is taking to stop them from crossing the border from Mexico. 

Earlier this week, the administration announced more than 5,000 US military troops are being sent to the border in preparation of the caravan. Trump said on Wednesday that number could grow to more than 15,000.

Those troops will likely meet a fraction of the caravan participants, most of whom are only carrying a small bag on a their back. Melendez brought a small bag and now also has a few things stashed in the back of a stroller donated along the way. Most of her belongings, including the stroller, are to clothe and care for her four-year-old daughter she brought with her.

The caravan is also still more than 1,000km away. And those who do make it, plan on applying for asylum at an official port of entry.

Despite the threat, Melendez and most of the others are undeterred.

“We are not criminals. We are not going to commit crimes. We just want to go work,” she said.

“We are going to continue. We are going to head north.”

The timeline just got a whole lot darker. 

Still recovering from getting roasted for the time the Texas GOP tried to go after Beto O’Rourke for being cool, Ted Cruz has made a last ditch effort to be relatable.

Cruz tweeted a picture of the Zodiac Killer’s cryptic cipher on Wednesday, adding a festive “Happy Halloween.” 

It’s not the first time Cruz has acknowledged the meme that claims he was the the Zodiac Killer. Last year, he replied to a tweet with the same cipher. 

This time around, it didn’t go over so well. Twitter users chastised him for trying to jump in on the joke. 

Others posted their own ciphers. 

Most Twitter users thought Cruz’s attempt at being relatable was distasteful, considering the Zodiac Killer’s murder spree claimed at least five victims. The killer remains unknown. 

Ted … what are you doing?

Sri Lanka has plunged into a bitter power struggle after the surprise sacking of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe by President Maithripala Sirisena.

Wickremesinghe’s replacement, Mahinda Rajapaksa, is a former president appointed by his successor and ex-rival for the top job.

The political crisis in Sri Lanka is threatening to spiral out of control and undermine stability in South East Asia.

One person was killed and two others wounded when the bodyguard of a deposed minister opened fire into a crowd of protesters.

Parliament has been warned of a “bloodbath” if the constitutional crisis isn’t solved.

So, is it a constitutional coup?

And what are the implications both at home and in the region?

Presenter: Imran Khan

Guests:

Dilanthe Withanage – former government adviser in Sri Lanka

Alan Keenan – Sri Lanka project director at International Crisis Group

Jehan Perera – executive director of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka

Source: Al Jazeera News

Shirtless Liam Hemsworth in a “PG-13” setting is only part of this sensational sales pitch. 

So, yeah. We know you’re in. 

Rebel Wilson’s new romantic comedy Isn’t It Romantic is set to take tired idyllic tropes and spin them into modern-day satiric gold. One part Pitch Perfect reunion, one part I Feel Pretty spin-off with just a sprinkling of Groundhog Day, this lovey-dovey sendup spotlights the cynical Natalie, played by Wilson, as she comes to terms with her newfound existence in… a romantic comedy. 

From a “gay sidekick” to a Vanessa Carlton soundtrack, Natalie’s new universe is basically an AI-written rom-com, the perfect foil to Wilson’s tongue-in-cheek comedy style. Adam DeVine, Priyanka Chopra, Betty Gilpin and, it bears repeating, a shirtless Liam Hemsworth round out the cast. 

I don’t know which I’m more excited about: Bumper and Amy getting back together or Liam using his real accent! Who can say! 

Isn’t It Romantic hits theaters Valentine’s Day 2019. 

This year’s US midterm elections have already been historic. In the primaries, a record number of women, Native Americans, and Muslim candidates ran for office.

And as Americans gear up for the November 6 vote, there are several candidates looking to make history again. 

From the first expected Muslim congresswomen to the first expected openly gay governor, here’s who to look out for: 

Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar

Set to become the first Muslim congresswomen

Both Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar are running in Democrat-safe seats, and if, as expected, they win their respected races, they will jointly become the first Muslim congresswomen.

Tlaib, a Palestinian American, is running for Michigan’s 13th Congressional District without a competitor.

Omar, who arrived in the US at age of 14 after fleeing civil war in Somalia, is contesting Minnesota’s 5th District.

Omar would also be the first Somali American to serve in the US Congress.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Set to become the youngest congresswoman

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez beat 10-term incumbent Joe Crowley in the Democratic primary for the New York’s 14th District and if she, as expected, wins in the midterm elections she will make history as the youngest woman in history to join Congress.

Born to a father from South Bronx and Puerto Rican mother, Ocasio-Cortez was an organiser for the 2016 Bernie Sanders presidential campaign.

Stacey Abrams

Could become first black female governor

A member of the Georgia House of Representatives since 2007, Stacey Abrams has already made history as the first black woman to win a nomination to run as as governor by a major party, but she’s hoping to go a step forward by winning the state’s gubernatorial election. 

She’s running close behind Republican candidate Brian Kemp, with polls putting her within two percentage points of her rival.

The race has been marred by allegations of voter suppression. Kemp, Georgia’s current secretary of state, is currently holding up 53,000 voter registration application, most of them belonging to African Americans. He says he’s complying with the states “exact match” id law, but Abrams maintains her opponent “has disproportionately purged voters of colour, stopped voters of colour, arrested voters of colour”. 

Deb Haaland

Set to become the first Native American woman in Congress  

If Deb Haaland can hang on to her lead in New Mexico’s 1st District House race, she will become the first Native American woman elected to Congress.

Haaland, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna tribe, says she will prioritise climate change, as well as a number of other progressive issues, such as Medicare-for-all and debt-free education. 

Jared Polis

Could become the first openly gay governor

With a net worth of close to $400m, Democrat Jared Polis is already one of the richest members of the House of Representatives but in entering the Colorado gubernatorial contest, he could become the first openly gay governor of a state.

Opinion polls give him a comfortable seven point lead over his Republican rival, Walker Stapleton.

Ayanna Pressley

Set to become Massachusetts’s first black congresswoman 

Democrat Ayanna Pressley surprised many when she upset 10-term incumbent Michael Cupuano during Massachusetts’s 7th Congressional District primary.

She is running uncontested on November 6, meaning she is set to become the state’s first black congresswoman. 

Veronica Escobar and Sylvia Garcia 

Set to become the Texas’s first Latina congresswomen

In a state with a Hispanic population of close to 40 percent, Veronica Escobar and Sylvia Garcia are  hoping to become the first women of Latin American origin to represent Texas in the House of Representatives.

Escobar is running in Texas’s 16th District, while Garcia is running in the state’s 29th District. Both are Democratic strongholds and it looks likely they’ll will on November 6.

Christine Hallquist

Could become the first transgender governor 

Christine Hallquist made history in August when she won the Vermont Democratic gubernatorial nomination for 2018, becoming the first transgender woman to get on to a major party ticket for governor.

The former IBM engineer faces an uphill task from there, however, with polls giving Republican rival Phil Scott a double digit lead.

Andrew Gillum

Could become Florida’s first black governor 

If Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum can best Republican US Representative Ron DeSantis on November 6, he will become the state’s first black governor. The 39-year-old already made history during the primary when he became the first black major party nominee for governor in Florida. 

The latest opinion polls showed Gillum with a slight lead over his opponent. The progressive candidate, who advocates for Medicare-for-all and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has been a frequent target of President Donald Trump.

Nevada

Could become the first state with a female-majority legislature 

Women won a record number of primary races in Nevada’s primary. Female candidates are favoured to control 27 seats after the November election, but they would still need five to control the majority, according to the Reno Gazette. The newspaper noted, however, there are a number of tight races in which women could pick up the seats needed. 

Always beware of trying to be a little too cute with handing out treats on Halloween because, in a time of political division, there’s a line between political statement and just giving candy to kids. 

South Carolina congressman Mark Sanford is being roasted across the internet on Wednesday after he shared an image of what he says he’ll be handing out to trick-or-treaters. 

That’s right — pocket constitutions. 

This is, without a doubt, the most boring “treat” to be handed out since I had a neighbor that handed out Chick Tracts to the kids on my street. And the internet conducted a digital drive-by egging on Sanford for such Halloween tickery.

If Sanford’s name rings a bell to some, it’s because in 2009, when he was the governor of South Carolina, he literally disappeared for several days. No one, not even his wife, could locate him. Though he claimed to be hiking the Appalachian Trail, it turns out he was really having an affair in Argentina. 

And if you’re wondering if that came up in some of the responses, let me tell you, reader, it did.

Sanford, who lost his re-election bid in a primary earlier this year, is on his way out of Congress, but not before latching on to President Trump’s horribly racist attempt to undo the 14th Amendment, thus doing away with birthright citizenship. This, too, came up.

It’s safe to say Sanford’s Halloween was going downhill before the sun went down. He’ll probably have plenty of time to mull over next year’s Halloween hand-out in the coming days as he cleans up the mess of eggs and toilet paper from his front lawn. 

Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has appealed for calm, after far-right protesters blocked roads in several major cities following the Supreme Court’s acquittal of a Christian woman who had been sentenced to death on blasphemy charges.

Aasia Bibi, 53, who has been death row for eight years, was acquitted by the country’s top court on Wednesday morning.

Bibi’s case had become emblematic of fair trial concerns in cases Pakistan’s strict blasphemy laws, and on Wednesday judges found there had been “glaring and stark” contradictions in the prosecution’s case against her.

The announcement of the verdict prompted thousands to protest across the country, rallied by the far-right Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) political party and religious organisation.

The TLP, headed by Khadim Hussain Rizvi, has campaigned on the issue of blasphemy for years, and has been calling for Bibi to be executed since its inception.

On Wednesday, TLP leader Afzal Qadri called for the three Supreme Court judges who heard Bibi’s appeal at the Supreme Court to be killed.

“[The judges] who have ordered the release of the accused Aasia are all liable to be killed under religious edict,” said Qadri at a protest in the eastern city of Lahore.

In a televised address to the nation, Prime Minister Khan rebuked the TLP for taking the law into their own hands, accusing them of riling religious sentiments for political gain.

“I say to these people: do not confront this state … do not damage this country for your vote bank,” said Khan.

“If you do this, I promise that the government will do its duty … I ask you: do not force the government to have to take action.”

Blasphemy against Islam and its Prophet is a sensitive subject in Pakistan, where the crime can carry a compulsory death sentence.

Increasingly, blasphemy accusations have resulted in mob lynchings and extrajudicial murders.

At least 74 people have been killed in violence related to blasphemy allegations since 1990, according to an Al Jazeera tally. Those killed include a provincial governor and a federal minister who stood up for Bibi when she was first accused in 2009.

There are still roughly 40 other people on death row, or serving life sentences for blasphemy in Pakistan, according to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

While the largest protest was held outside government buildings in Lahore, hundreds of TLP supporters also gathered to block major roads in the southern city of Karachi, the capital Islamabad and smaller towns in Punjab province.

In Islamabad, hundreds of protesters gathered to block the main Faizabad highway interchange, a key entry point into the city.

“We must take revenge for this verdict,” said Malik Bashir Awan, father of Mumtaz Qadri, the man who assassinated Punjab Governor Salman Taseer in 2010 over his support for Bibi.

His words were met with loud cheers, and chants for those who commit blasphemy to be beheaded.

Earlier on Wednesday, rights activists hailed the decision to acquit Bibi, who has protested her innocence since her arrest in 2009.

Bibi, a native of the central village of Ithan Wali, was initially accused of having committed blasphemy following an argument with two Muslim women, who objected to her use of the same water vessel as them due to her religion.

She was convicted and sentenced to death by a trial court in November 2010, with the Lahore High Court upholding her conviction four years later.

On Wednesday, however, the Supreme Court said that parts of the prosecution’s case were “nothing short of concoction”. 

“[There is] the irresistible and unfortunate impression that all those concerned in the case with providing evidence and conducting investigation had taken upon themselves not to speak the truth or at least not to divulge the whole truth,” wrote Justice Asif Khosa in the detailed verdict.

The court ordered Bibi’s immediate release from custody, where she has been kept in solitary confinement for years due to death threats. Her family, who have lived in hiding for years due to the security threats, were not present in the courtroom.

The prosecution lawyers said they would read through the detailed judgment before deciding whether to exercise their right to file a review petition against the acquittal.

“Aasia has gotten justice at last,” Bibi’s lawyer Saif-ul-Malook told Al Jazeera shortly after the verdict was announced.

Despite PM Khan’s warning, many protesters remained out on the streets protesting the verdict on Wednesday night.

“The most important thing in the universe is the honour of the Prophet Muhammad … everything else is secondary to this,” said Muhammad Zaman, 30, a government employee who joined the TLP’s blockade of a major motorway into Islamabad.

“In this country, Islamic law must be considered to be above the constitution and other laws.”

Asad Hashim is Al Jazeera’s digital correspondent in Pakistan. He tweets @AsadHashim.

Twenty-one children, adolescents, and young adults — all between the ages of 11 and 21 — were set to face off against the United States in an Oregon courthouse on Oct. 29. 

But instead, the highest court in the land has temporarily halted the unprecedented climate trial after the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court — in a 38-page request — to put things on hold. 

The young plaintiffs, some still in grammar school, are suing the U.S. government for supporting a national energy system that emits prodigious amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, thus stoking human-caused climate change and endangering their futures.

The group argues in Juliana vs. United States that, as the adverse consequences of such a climate disruption mount, the government is depriving them of their guaranteed rights to life, liberty, and property.

Image: Robin Loznak/Our Children’s Trust

But allowing the trial to proceed is almost certainly a dangerous or uncomfortable proposition for the Trump-led government, which is candidly opposed to widely accepted climate science. 

A trial would give scientists and government officials an opportunity to take the stand, forcing a federal court to consider sworn testimony about the accelerating rate of climate change, which is now unquestionably human-caused. 

“The federal government is scared to put climate science on trial,” Philip Gregory, an attorney representing the 21 young plaintiffs, said in an interview. 

“They’re very, very scared that the public is going to hear witnesses under oath,” said Gregory. “Anyone who gets up on the witness stand and takes an oath is forced to tell the truth about the current state of our climate based on climate science.” 

“The federal government doesn’t want that.”

To prevent a landmark trial, Department of Justice lawyers have now argued that defending the U.S. against these young plaintiffs will cause “irreparable harm” to the United States. Specifically, the Justice officials are speaking about the government’s inability — financially and personnel-wise — to take on such a trial. 

As the U.S. government claims: “It could well be years into the future before the government could appeal as of right to seek relief from such an egregious abuse of the civil litigation process and violation of the separation of powers. That is plainly irreparable harm.”

“I find this argument absurd,” Michael Burger, executive director of Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law who has no role in the case, said over email.

“To me, that’s ludicrous,” said Gregory.

“It’s utterly absurd and has no legal merit,” Kassie Siegel, director of the Climate Law Institute who has no involvement in the case, said in an interview.

These attorneys are perplexed by the government’s unusual argument because the Department of Justice — backed by the deep pockets of the federal government — largely exists to go to trial, and in many cases, decides whether the case should be tried in the courts. It’s what they do.

“The Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice conducts hundreds of trials each year,” noted Burger. 

“To me, that’s ludicrous.”

“The Department of Justice trial lawyers — who try cases every week — would have to try this case,” said Gregory. “But that’s what they do for a living.”

What’s more, the government did not present any new evidence that proves going to trial will inevitably hit the government with untenable levels of harm or burdens of work. 

Back in July, the Supreme Court already rejected the Department of Justice’s attempts to stop the trial.

“They need to show irreparable harm,” said Siegel. “Money and damages generally are not irreparable harm.”

If all had gone according to plan, the trial would have already have started, on Monday, Oct. 29.

“There is simply no reason to depart from standard court procedures here,” said Burger. “And, to the best of my knowledge, the court has not done so before.”  

The Supreme court — by halting the trial — is now acting inconsistently, as it previously gave the case the go-ahead, just months earlier in July. 

But, notes Siegal, there has been one significant change: The addition of the conservative judge, Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

“The only thing that’s different is the composition of the Supreme Court,” said Siegal.

Image: Robin Loznak/Our Children’s Trust

And since Kavanaugh’s appointment, which gives the Supreme Court a conservative majority, the Department of Justice has now halted or asked the Supreme Court to stop certain trials now taking place in lower federal courts. 

“The federal government, since the appointment of Justice Kavanaugh, has taken to seeking to have the Supreme Court review decisions by the district courts and to stop district courts around the country from having trials,” said Gregory, citing a developing case in New York involving citizenship.

The kids’ climate trial is another casualty. 

To be fair, however, the Obama administration also opposed the kid’s climate suit against the U.S. But circumstances were a bit different. 

The Obama government sought to curtail greenhouse gas emissions, but didn’t want to hand the reins to the courts. 

Instead, Obama unveiled climate regulations through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — regulations which the Trump administration now intends to eliminate.

And critically, the Obama government didn’t deny nor question the realities of human-caused climate change.

“Its argument was not climate denial — it was ‘let us do things our way,’” said Siegal.

It remains unclear how soon the Supreme Court will make up its mind on whether to let the trial resume or not. 

“They’re the masters of their own calendar, shall we say,” said Gregory.

The high court stopped the trial on October 19. Then, Gregory and his co-counsels provided a required response, quite detailed at 103-pages long, a few days later. 

“We’re hopeful they’ll make a decision promptly to allow these young plaintiffs to proceed with the trial,” said Gregory.

Siegal, like the plaintiffs, is also eager for the trial to get underway. 

She notes the recent special report released by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) — the global agency tasked with providing objective analyses of the societal impacts of climate change.

The report states in no uncertain terms that modern civilization needs to promptly transition to clean energy to fend off the worst consequences of climate change, which include the melting of Earth’s great ice sheets, drought, imperiled crops, and unprecedented heat.

“We’re all in a bus speeding towards a cliff and the administration is driving,” said Siegal.

“And the Trump administration is flooring it.”

Patricia Ackerman never thought she’d run for office in the US.

A successful business owner by the age of 21, an award-winning actress at the age of 30 and then an FBI agent sent on undercover missions to Russia, Ackerman said she never knew where she was going. “I always had my bags packed,” she told Al Jazeera. 

But when Donald Trump was elected US president in 2016, the first-generation American, born to Ukrainian immigrants who both survived imprisonment by the Nazis, knew she had to run.

“It was [because] of the 2016 presidential elections,” she said. “I had no inclination to get into politics prior to it.”

Less than a week before the midterm elections, Ackerman, a Democrat running for Nevada’s State Assembly in the state’s 39th district, now spends her days knocking on people’s doors.

If she, along with several other female hopefuls win, the state may make history, becoming the first in the country to have a female-majority legislature. 

“For 70 years, this seat [in the 39th district] has not had a Democrat, let alone a woman,” Ackerman told Al Jazeera.

Vying to represent a conservative district, Ackerman faces an uphill battle against incumbent Jim Wheeler, who caused national outrage in 2013 when he said he would vote for slavery if that was what his constituents wanted.

But women in several other districts have a good shot at either obtaining or keeping their seat on November 6.

‘It can be done’

According to a study by the Reno Gazette, women are favoured to control 27 seats – 19 in the Assembly and eight in the Senate – in the state’s 63-seat legislature. They would still need to pick up five additional seats to obtain the majority but, the newspaper noted, there are several tight key races in both the state senate and assembly that could give women the upper hand.

“We are excited and hopeful to see a women majority in the Nevada State Legislature in 2019,” said Danna Lovell, executive director of Emerge Nevada, an organisation that recruits and trains women who want to run for office. “It can be done, but will take an extraordinary GOTV [Get Out To Vote] effort – which is currently under way! Early voting numbers are up, and enthusiasm is high on both sides. In the end, it will be a close call.”

Lovell said she saw a number of women, including Ackerman, empowered by the Women’s March the day after Trump was elected. This led to a movement where women “pledged to get involved and planned to significantly change the face of politics”, she said.

Lovell noted that Emerge Nevada has seen a fivefold increase in the number of women applying to train with them in 2018 when compared with any previous year.

 ‘These women are powerhouses’

About 40 percent of the state’s current legislature is female, and Lovell said women have already made a difference.

According to Lovell, once elected, female legislators introduce and support legislation that focuses on families and women’s rights.

In addition to voting for their representatives, Nevada residents will also decide on a number of ballot questions, including whether to approve a tax exemption on certain feminine hygiene products.

Jordan Tama, a professor at the American University and scholar on US foreign policy and Congress, said the high number of women running this year is not surprising following the #MeToo movement and the Supreme Court nomination that saw Brett Kavanaugh take a seat on the now right-leaning Supreme Court, casting a dark cloud over issues including reproductive rights and access to abortion.

All of the other woman running, all the way down, we see, we realise that these women are powerhouses, they are determined. The community is determined.

Patricia Ackerman, candidate for Nevada’s State Assembly District 39

He said that with more women serving in office, people can expect a more cooperative leadership style.

“Studies show that with more women in legislature it provides a more collaborative leadership by the elected officials, which is certainly needed today,” he said.

For Ackerman, her journey has not only brought her closer to her community, but to other female candidates wanting to make history in Nevada.

“All of the other woman running, all the way down, we see, we realise that these women are powerhouses, they are determined. The community is determined,” she said.