Three Wins Today: Oct 28, 2025

Please have both feet on the ground with this one.

The only person who can swear in Adelita Grijalva is Speaker Mike Johnson. Let me repeat that. The only person who can swear in AZ-07 Rep elect, who should have been sworn in over a month ago, is Speaker Johnson. Anyone who is saying anything else is reading theoretical alternatives that can’t actually be implemented in reality.

There is one single other option, and it has a long history of not working. Potentially, the courts could rule that someone else with official power could swear her in instead, but that could only happen if the judiciary branch decided that they had power over congress and the Speaker, which, given where we are right now, I can say with 100% certainty, is not happening.

But don’t think they’re not trying, they are. Arizona AG, Kris Mayes filed the lawsuit to do just that a week ago.

But that’s it. That is quite literally the only loophole. There is one other option, in theory, but not in practice. A senior House staffer told me that a judge or notary could TECHNICALLY swear her in, but it wouldn’t do anything other than give her the title of Congresswoman. It wouldn’t give her a staff, let her sit on committee or vote, so I’m sure Johnson would love for her to do that, that way no one can say she wasn’t sworn in and he can still keep her from being part of Congress.

Now, in the spirit of transparency, according to the Roll Call article and Notre Dame law professor, Derek Muller’s reading of the lawsuit, AG Mayes’ lawsuit isn’t as strong as it could be:

Muller also pointed out that the lack of an emergency filing, and numerous errors in the initial complaint, indicated that the case was a long shot.

I don’t know what “numerous errors” refers to, and the article doesn’t specify. But, I will say these lawsuits take a very long time, and by the time it is heard, chances are the issue will be resolved.

AG Mayes could ask for emergency relief, which would make it a higher priority, but a week in, and that hasn’t happened yet. AG Mayes hasn’t been asked about it, so I don’t know why, but I don’t think it’s reasonable to assume there’s no valid reason. Keep in mind Derek Muller is just another law professor looking at this from the outside, he doesn’t have any knowledge of this case specifically. What I mean is, he’s good background, but I wouldn’t take his assumptions as fact.

I hope this gives you a good understanding of why it’s important to call in people who say there’s something Minority Leader Jeffries could be doing that he’s not, or that Democrats are somehow at fault.

This is Speaker Johnson and Trump, and that is all. We don’t have many cards to play but we are playing all the cards we have.

Please stop listening to people who say we have the power to change any situation we don’t like, but aren’t using it. The only thing that does is help Republicans blame Dems for the destruction they’re causing.

We gotta stop that.

Now, for the wins!

Indianapolis Clowns in the 1950s

Indianapolis, Indiana

Fri, Oct 10 - Wins very rarely make me emotional, but this one did, and given how long ago it was, I probably wouldn’t be including it otherwise.

The Indianapolis Clowns were a baseball team in the Negro League from 1942-1955. They were less about baseball as a competitive sport, and more about showmanship. Is this starting to sound familiar?

They were incredibly inclusive, as the first baseball team to give a full contract to female players, and officially disbanded in 1989.

Earlier this month, the Savannah Bananas announced the two newest teams in the Banana Ball League, and the Indianapolis Clowns are one of those teams.

After 35 years, the first showmanship baseball team is coming back.

Bob Kendrick, the president of the Negro League Museum said:

The rebirth of the Indianapolis Clowns is an exciting and historically relevant tribute to the team that was at the forefront of combining baseball and entertainment. Our partnership is a tremendous opportunity, to not only entertain, but educate fans about the rich history of the Negro Leagues while paying homage to the team that helped influence Banana Ball.

At a time when there is real effort being put into erasing the contributions of Black Americans from history books, this team’s revival is more important than ever.

You can watch more about the Clowns’ history below:

And you can also watch the Banana Ball City Selection Show, where they officially announced the return of the Clowns:

Nationwide

Mon, Oct 20 - We all know SoraAI by now, and if you don’t by name, you’ve at least seen some of their videos, like animals doing things animals don’t do, and they can on this app, because it’s all AI creations. The platform launched as “invite only” about three weeks ago, and while they insisted that name and likeness was “opt-in,” Bryan Cranston found his voice on there anyway.

Cranston immediately went to SAG-AFTRA and there are now new guardrails on Sora that prevent use of deep fakes.

President Sean Astin said:

Bryan Cranston is one of countless performers whose voice and likeness are in danger of massive misappropriation by replication technology. Bryan did the right thing by communicating with his union and his professional representatives to have the matter addressed. This particular case has a positive resolution. I’m glad that OpenAI has committed to using an opt-in protocol, where all artists have the ability to choose whether they wish to participate in the exploitation of their voice and likeness using A.I. This policy must be durable and I thank all of the stakeholders, including OpenAI for working together to have the appropriate protections enshrined in law. Simply put, opt-in protocols are the only way to do business and the NO FAKES Act will make us safer.

Another reminder that it’s important to speak up when something unjust is happening, also a reminder of the power of unions.

Florida

Mon, Oct 20 - Scientists at the University of Florida have discovered that there seems to be a correlation between the COVID-19 vaccines and fighting cancer.

As the paper’s co-senior author Elias Sayour said:

The implications are extraordinary — this could revolutionize the entire field of oncologic care. We could design an even better nonspecific vaccine to mobilize and reset the immune response, in a way that could essentially be a universal, off-the-shelf cancer vaccine for all cancer patients.

This is, and always has been one of the many powers of vaccines and scientific research, and one of the many reasons the anti-vaccine campaign is so dangerous. It also gives me hope that research like this can still come out of a state like Florida. It may feel hopeless, but it’s not.

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So those are three of the wins I saw today. I hope they remind you of the importance of fighting back and not getting dragged down by the endless bad news. Cause, that’s never all there is.

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