Three Wins Today: Oct 16, 2025

Voting is, as always, the most important thing.

At this point, the gerrymandering and Supreme Court Voting Rights Act conversation are one in the same.

This is me, so I of course am not here to talk about worst case scenarios, or what makes me think the VRA could be gone by 2028.

I’m, of course, here to talk about what we CAN do.

And, it’s really really simple.

VOTE.

It is possible SCOTUS makes their ruling in January, it’s much much more likely it comes in June, and if it’s in June, it’s too late to change the maps, many states will have already finished their midterm primaries and the filing period will have long since passed for those that hadn’t.

So, 2026 may be our last election with these maps in place. That means it is more important than ever. We MUST unify.

Put our differences behind us, and just focus on getting Democrats into office. Yes, even if they’re not the perfect candidate. We can’t wait around. This might just be it. Not of voting, but of having a chance to win back the House.

But that’s also a bit of an exaggeration, because Ohio is already 100% gerrymandered. Democrats were not supposed to be able to win a single seat, and yet, we have five of them. Most states where Republicans are trying to gerrymander further than they already have are already gerrymandered to the max. Will this new gerrymandering help them? Not if we chose the best candidate for the district. Remember that last part, cause it’s the most important. FOR THE DISTRICT. Not for your purity test, not the most progressive, for the district. Someone like Mamdani is not the best candidate for a gerrymandered district in Missouri, they’re just not.

But it’s more than just that. We need to start taking state legislative elections even more seriously than Congress.

Because if we can take back some seats, and gain the majority in the House/Assembly and Senate in various states, those state legislatures can make the decision to get rid of gerrymandering for the state, or at least get it on the ballot.

Everything changes when a given state legislature is in our control.

We need to be looking at which states we can gain control of. Iowa could be on the table? Would New Hampshire be possible? Maybe Arizona or Louisiana?

The conversation around elected offices HAS to change. There isn’t a hierarchy. One offices isn’t more important than another. It’s just one is more LOCAL than another. That’s the only difference.

And there are legislative elections monthly, if not weekly. You might think the next election is Nov 4. Nope. There are primaries for three legislative seats in South Carolina on Tuesday, but, oh wait, no Dem is contesting two of the seats at all. This is the kind of stuff that has to stop.

We need every race to be contested. We need every election to get the same kind of attention as the congressional elections and we need candidates that fit the needs of the district.

These are our marching orders. This is how we save democracy. So, yes the SCOTUS VRA oral arguments were scary, and the gerrymandering special sessions are infuriating, but we have a path, we just have to follow it.

Now, for some motivation, the wins!

“Key Wesst Business Guild Executive Director Rob Dougherty, Community Services’ Ralph Major, 801 business owner Jim Gilleran, and Community Services’ Richard Sarver.” from Key West Chamber of Commerce website

Key West, FL

Fri, Oct 3 - When Governor, Ron DeSantis forces you to get rid of your rainbow crosswalks, cause gay people scare him, you paint your bike racks rainbow instead. At least, you do if you’re Key West. And there will be more. According to Business Guild Executive Director, Rob Dougherty:

This is just the beginning of a larger commitment to honoring the history and contributions of the LGBTQ+ community in Key West.

This is a beautiful example of malicious compliance. I hope other cities in Florida and Texas come up with something equally as creative.

And I can’t wait to see what Dougherty means by “this is just the beginning.”

South Carolina

Tue, Oct 7 - ACLU of South Carolina is suing the state superintendent over the new rules around school censorship.

The lawsuit says:

The Regulation is no paper tiger. Because of the Regulation’s categorical ban on “sexual conduct,” South Carolina now leads the nation in statewide book bans: 21 books. Fearing repercussions, librarians across the state have prospectively removed books from their libraries to avoid potential challenges. Many teachers have abolished their classroom libraries.

The lawsuit was filed by three K-12 students, and their parents as well as South Carolina Association of School Librarians, which represents around 750 librarians in the state.

One of those students, D. R., a high school senior said:

The confusion and fear stemming from Regulation 43-170 and Ellen Weaver’s memorandum have been overwhelming. I hope that by taking action now, we can restore the safe and welcoming school environment I once knew and make things even better for those to come.

I love this so much. Especially that three kids are involved themselves. It’s another example of figuring out where you have power, and just doing something.

Philadelphia PA

TODAY - University of Pennsylvania has become the latest university to reject Trump’s compact.

In his announcement, President Larry Jameson said:

At Penn, we are committed to merit-based achievement and accountability. The long-standing partnership between American higher education and the federal government has greatly benefited society and our nation. Shared goals and investment in talent and ideas will turn possibility into progress.

Brown University rejected yesterday, which is pretty huge, since they agreed to the last thing.

President Christina Paxson said:

On July 30, Brown signed a voluntary resolution agreement with the government that advances a number of the high-level principles articulated in the Compact, while maintaining core tenets of academic freedom and self-governance that have sustained the excellence of American higher education across generations.

she goes on to say:

But most important, Brown’s existing agreement with the federal government expressly affirms the government’s lack of authority to dictate our curriculum or the content of academic speech — a principle that is not reflected in the Compact.

Is this the end of universities bowing down? Maybe. But I’m also not entirely sure they can unring that bell.

And finally, MIT was first, back last Friday.

In her letter to Secretary Linda Mcmahon, she said:

In our view, America’s leadership in science and innovation depends on independent thinking and open competition for excellence. In that free marketplace of ideas, the people of MIT gladly compete with the very best, without preferences. Therefore, with respect, we cannot support the proposed approach to addressing the issues facing higher education.

The MIT one is by far the most focused on the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion, but they are all vital, even Brown.

And I suspect this is just the first three of many many more to come. I can promise you I won’t post all of them, but maybe I’ll post when the letters are really strong, like MIT, and give an update then. We’ll see.

It feels so good to see the universities FINALLY standing up.

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So these are just some of the wins I’ve seen today.

Remember, your voice is your superpower, when you use it!