Three Wins Today: Nov 23, 2025
I'm Not Trying to be Pollyanna
It’s not fair.
It’s not fair that we can’t trust the average publication to tell us what matters anymore.
It’s not fair that we have to be knowledgeable about political procedure.
It’s not fair that there isn’t a trusted place to go to see who we should be paying attention to.
And just because it’s not fair doesn’t mean we can just sit there waiting for it to happen anyway.
You’re never going to see all the Democrats who are doing the work. You’re never going to see the amazing webinars the DNC is putting on. This month that includes trainings on how to put on a food drive and know your voting rights. You’re not gonna hear about that anywhere, unless you go looking for it.
The algorithms want to keep us scared and angry and hopeless, because the more we feel those things the longer we’ll stay on social media, which means the more ads we’ll see. Remember, it’s all about stealing our data and selling us ads.
But there are ways to see what’s happening, to find our fighters, without putting in too much work:
Turn on notifications.
Not for everyone, god that would be a nightmare, though you would very quickly see that our Dems are always posting.
But maybe 10 Dems at a time. Choose 10 Dems who you are convinced are doing absolutely nothing, and create a starter pack for them on Bluesky, turn on their notifications on IG, Threads, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter (if you use it), TikTok, if they use it, and subscribe to their Substack, if they have one.
A few weeks later, switch them out, just remember to do this for both their government and campaign accounts or else you’ll only be seeing half the work they’re doing.
Following doesn’t guarantee you see everything, let alone anything, but this will. This is a way to still, essentially, have it handed to you on a silver platter, without actually trusting the journalists to give it to you.
I does suck, we shouldn’t have to do this on our own. We should be able to trust broadcast journalism and print journalism to show us what matters, but we can’t, so we must pivot.
And if you’re response is, “but, Ariella, if their posts are good, I’ll see them anyway!”
That’s not how it works. If it was, everyone would see my posts, but they don’t, most of my posts get around 10k views across all platforms. If you can understand the concept of shadow banning for your favorite creator, you must understand it for politicians too.
Speaking of, if you like my content, you should turn notifications on for my posts. That is, quite literally, the only way you can guarantee you see every post I make. Again, frustrating? Yes. But that doesn’t make it any less the reality we live in.
We have to adapt if we want to stay informed. And adapting is sure as hell more productive than whining.
Nationwide
Thu, Nov 13 - Normally I wouldn’t cover something of this magnitude because everyone else would have covered it, but between Epstein and Swalwell and Marjorie Taylor Greene, I think it fell a bit through the social media cracks.
Jason Turkish, co-founder of the Social Security disability rights group Alliance for America’s Promise, and a small team went to the White House to advocate against cutting or limiting disability benefits.
Instead, they got confirmation, during a meeting with Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff, James Blair, and OMB Director, Russ Vought, who they hadn’t expected to be there, that Vought had scrapped the plans to cut the benefits entirely.
Pro Publica reported that Vought told them:
“I know that this is being written about.” But, he added, the rule change “isn’t going to be happening.”
As Pro Publica also notes, Vought has never before cared about how something he planned on implementing effected anyone else. They don’t care about the poor or the disabled, be it their supporters or not.
So this is a stark shift from where we were, even a few months ago. It’s yet another reminder that the louder we are, the more likely Trump is to TACO.
He may not care about people, but he seems to care when his evil plans get too much attention, so, our job is to make sure everything he does gets as much attention as possible. cause it seems to work, more often than not.
Missouri
Mon, Nov 17 - Circuit Court Judge J. Dale Youngs, who is retiring at the end of the month, issued a permanent injunction against the state’s new very broad definition of pornography as it relates to school librarians potentially getting arrested.
There has always been a pornography clause in terms of what can and can’t be in a library, but, in 2022, that clause was rewritten to include anything involving gender or sexuality.
Young determined that it not only violates Missouri’s Due Process Clause, but also Freedom of Speech.
It should be noted, that he believes this lawsuit will go all the way to the State Supreme Court. In a footnote, he said:
Moreover, the Court recognizes – now more than ever – its status as a “way station” to the Supreme Court of Missouri. What the parties here need is a decision that can be fully and finally considered by an appellate court that – consistent with its standard of review – gives no deference to what this Court thinks or why.
Nevertheless, plaintiff, Missouri Association of School Libraries, sees it as a win. President Jenn Baldwin said:
Missouri school librarians welcome the court’s finding that § 573.550 was unconstitutionally vague and overbroad, restoring our ability to support students’ literacy without fear of arbitrary enforcement. This decision affirms our work as Missouri school librarians to respect parental rights to help their own children select diverse books appropriate for them.
Hopefully this permanent injunction will stand, but only time will tell. For now, it’s a win.
College Station, Texas
Tue, Nov 18 - Texas A&M University English professor, Melissa McCoul was fired for a lesson on gender identity.
How did anyone know what she was teaching about? A student recorded her without her consent, and State Rep Brian Harrison ran with it.
To make Rep Harrison happy, they fired her.
Well, she felt the termination was wrong, it was, so she went to the school’s Committee on Academic Freedom, Tenure and Responsibility to find out if they thought she should have been fired.
They have now completed their report and have found that she did absolutely nothing wrong.
Texas Tribune has a copy of the report, which say:
The university did not provide any documentary evidence that it conducted an investigation, nor did it provide compelling testimony to explain the decision to forgo due process. [The lack of review] caused considerable confusion in the president’s office and the TAMU administration.
And then go on to say that the only person in the wrong is the student who recorded the class and that they should be investigated for violating school rules.
I hope I get to share that Professor McCoul can return to work in the near future. In the meantime, it’s nice that facts still matter somewhere.
So those are today’s wins. I hope they help you continue to fight back.
Our voices are our superpower, but only when we use them!
Love your direct and honest assessments, e.g. "He may not care about people, but he seems to care when his evil plans get too much attention". Please keep it up, and I for one am a fan a your occasional strong language, we live in times where the restraint of "civilized" modes of speech has lost its power, and sometimes we need all the power we can get in our communications.
With gratitude for your daily reminders that there ARE good things being done, since these are too often likely to be lost amidst the daily (hourly!) shitshow that has become our milieu. 😎✌️💙