This Much Money Has Never Been Donated to ANY US College

Three Wins Today: Aug 18, 2025

Alright, if you’re in California or know people in California listen up.

On Thursday, the Assembly and Senate will be voting on SB280. This is the bill they’re using to bring the redistricting ballot measure to the voters. It was introduced for a different reason earlier this year, but the bill has been changed as is now about authorizing a November 4, 2025 election.

Basically there are two parts to this.

First, California doesn’t have state-wide off year elections, so the legislature has to agree on that front.

Second, there are two types of ballot measures in California. The first is a citizen introduced ballot measure, which this is not. The second is an ACA, which stands for Assembly Constitutional Amendment. That means it’s introduced by the legislature and brought to voters.

I know everyone is thinking about this as Gov Gavin Newsom’s thing, and it is, but it’s still technically starting in the legislature. And they have to vote on bringing it to voters as well. So this is twofold.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, both bodies are holding committee hearings, complete with public comment, this is so rushed, we don’t have a time yet, but if you’re in Sacramento I’d highly recommend showing up. And if you can’t, you’ll find the video feed for the Assembly here and the Senate here

You can also send in a public comment online. This link for Assembly, and this link for Senate. Also call your Assembly member and State Senator just like you would for any other bill. You want to call both local and Sacramento offices, they have not been getting many calls.

That’s all I got for right now. Remember how I end all these posts with our voices are our superpower, but only when we use them!

This is the time to use them!

And here are three wins to make this easier!

Craig Mitchelldyer, AP

1. Thu, Aug 14 - Nike founder, Phil Knight and his wife Penny are donating $2 billion to the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health and Science University. This donation will make the Knight Cancer Institute self governable, which will give the school more control over their own decisions.

   The donation will be largest ever given to any college in the country. Governor Tina Kotek said:

   OHSU is Oregon’s only academic health care center, and thanks to the generosity and foresight of Mr. and Mrs. Knight, the nation will get to experience life-saving benefits from innovations and expertise in cancer treatment and care as the institution continues to push new boundaries. And this gift sends a signal to the world that Oregon is a place where amazing people make amazing things happen.

   As Trump is trying to destroy our science and research work, donations like this will, quite literally, change the world.

   Shout out to Oregon Public Broadcasting for their reporting on this story.

2. Thu, Aug 14 - the NFL will continue with their political end zone statements this year. Rob Maaddi at AP said:

   All 32 teams will feature an end zone message of their choice at each home game throughout the season, selecting from four options: “End Racism,” “Stop Hate,” “Choose Love,” or “Inspire Change.” Once again, “It Takes All of Us” will be stenciled in the opposite end zone for all games. The only change from 2024 is that “Inspire Change” replaces “Vote.”

   Is this performative? Sure, but performative doesn’t mean bad. In this country, in fact, performative means standing up, cause Trump cares far more about what he can see and knows is happening than what he doesn’t and these statements alone scream DEI in every single way.

   Is it enough? Of course not, but that doesn’t make it any less of a win. And, I really hope we get to the point in the very near future that people and organizations realize that there is no such thing as a non election year. Sadly we’re not there yet.

3. Fri, Aug 15 - Vermont Republican Governor, Phil Scott, has rejected Trump’s request for a second time in two weeks. Last time he rejected the Pentagon’s request for the Vermont National Guard to work with ICE. This time he refused to allow the National Guard to help with the DC federal takeover. Vermont Public reporter Peter Hirschfeld spoke with Scott’s chief of staff, Jason Gibbs who said:

   In this case, because it is being hyperpoliticized, the governor doesn’t feel like — and I believe the vast majority of Vermonters don’t feel like — it would be an acceptable and appropriate use of the National Guard.

   Keep in mind, while he didn’t give any notice or help with her campaign, Gov Scott did say he voted for Kamala when he came out of the poll on Nov 5, so it’s not all that surprising that he’s taking this stance.

   Doesn’t make it less of a win though.

   And, thanks to his bravery, he received a letter from seven former national security leaders. They ended this letter with:

   The Vermont Army National Guard is composed of Vermonters who wish to selflessly protect their state. We thank you for keeping the Guard on mission, and keeping politics out of the military.

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So, get to calling and writing and hopefully hearing these wins helped make all those things far easier!

Our voices are our superpower, but only when we use them!