We're NOT Doomed: Wed March 25, 2026
There's never a day without good news...
I am ECSTATIC at the turnout for State Rep-Elect Emily Gregory’s election last night.
Some people were horrified.
And I get that, don’t worry, I’m horrified too, but for a special local election in a state as rampantly voter suppressed as Florida, I am over the moon at that kind of turnout.
I shouldn’t be, but I am.
I am because I’m used to worse.
When I used to post exclusively on TikTok, I did election breakdowns, and April 23, 2023 will stick in my head forever.
It was a school board election in Newark New Jersey. There were 194,817 registered voters. 6.067 voted.
3% of registered voters voted in this School Board election.
So when I see 28%? I’m over the fucking moon.
But god, I shouldn’t be. Every election should get the same amount of attention as the Presidential one every four years.
Elections should be a regular part of everyday life, as normal as filing taxes (though hopefully a bit more fun.) Most people have 1-2 elections a year. Not everyone, not every state, but most.
Part of the reason it’s so spread out is so less people vote. It’s a voter suppression tactic, and it’s overwhelming and confusing.
In California, for instance, unless there’s a special election there is no off year election. All California elections take place in midterms and presidential years.
But in some states, their governor’s races are only in off years. New Jersey being one. And when it came to that School Board race at the end of April, no one cared.
I don’t know how to change this. I mean, not with the voter suppression we currently have in place.
I wish the DNC made ads not about candidates but about voting. Even just starting a month before these elections saying “hey, your election is in X days, here’s how to vote, here’s how to find more info!”
But they don’t have the money for that. For the record, that could change if people would just stop gleefully deciding not to donate anymore over something that a handful of Dems did or didn’t do in the House or Senate.
I wish there was a mass campaign that November whatever isn’t voting day, but October IS voting month. But again, that takes money.
And it’s not even just about November. I have a series called “Election Day is Every Tuesday” because it literally is, oftentimes every Thursday and Saturday too.
I could say the rest is about voter suppression, but it’s more than that. Every single registered voter in California gets a ballot, but turnout declined in 2024, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.
So I look at 28% and I can’t be upset. I can only be hopeful. That’s a shoot for the stars number for a March state legislative race.
But keep being mad, maybe if we are mad enough and make enough noise, enough people will see it that something will change.
We live in a country where we get to have a say as to who represents us at all levels. I just wish more people realized how much power that gives us, when we vote, that is.
West Virginia
Feb 25 - If you are on LibraryTok, you know this story already, hell you might have even participated. But I figure not everyone who follows me is — even though you definitely should be.
Jen Miller is a middle school librarian who has found success on social media under the username MeetMeInTheMediaCenter. She, along with several other librarians have been instrumental in giving libraries around the world, and reading in general, a major PR boost.
One of her many series is called Book Blitz, and it’s where she finds a school and gives her audience a list of books that that school needs so they can buy them (yes, mostly on Amazon, one of the rare good things involving that hell hole) and send them to a school in need.
In this case, the school is Logan Elementary, and they had a fire. Within half an hour of her posting the TikTok, the list was fully accounted for.
She told WOWKTV:
I had been tagged in social media posts, and also, I had been receiving emails from viewers – people that know how I use my platform – to let me know what happened at Logan Elementary. I went to the news, and I read the stories, and I knew immediately that they were going to be the recipients of a Book Blitz.
I’ve been following her for years, we’re actually mutuals, so I just take her incredible work as a fact of life that everyone must know about, but when I saw that news article, it occurred to me, that’s probably not the case.
While she has almost 1 million followers on TikTok, some people still don’t know her. I hope you check her out now that you do. The work she’s doing is truly remarkable.
And, of course, it makes me feel less Doomed, and is just another example that we all have a role to play in fighting back right now. Encouraging and fostering literacy around the country and the world, especially with the younger generations, can have one of the most important lasting impacts.
National
Fri, March 6 - Costco has teamed up with Sesame Care and IVI RMA to provide fertility care for their customers at a $20/m discount.
On their website, Sesame Care explains:
Through this new program, patients across the United States can connect with leading fertility providers online through Sesame — and, if specialized treatment is needed, seamlessly transition to in-person care with IVI RMA specialists.
The program includes everything someone might need on their fertility journey, including things like “unlimited provider messaging” which, I’m certainly not getting on my health insurance for anything I need care for.
Right now, healthcare is harder for Americans to receive than ever before, so it’s a huge deal that Costco is working to make it easier, especially for something like fertility — that will probably return as a partisan issue very soon.
Seeing different companies continuing to fight for healthcare, when the federal government refuses, makes me feel less Doomed.
Social Circle, Georgia
Mon, March 16 - This town, with a population of less than 5,000 is back in the news, and it is still for the best reason possible.
When we last saw them, back in January, over 100 members of the community showed up at a town council meeting to voice their opposition to the facility ICE was trying to buy to create a new detention center.
These fights are always important, even when we don’t succeed, and, unfortunately, they didn’t.
But that didn’t stop them.
ICE now has the property, but they can’t exactly use it because there is a lock on the water and sewage meter and Eric Taylor, the city manager, refuses to remove it.
In a statement he said:
There is a lock on the meter. A representative from ICE was informed about the lock on the meter shortly after the sale of the property when she inquired about how to establish an account. The lock is there until ICE indicates how water and sewer will be served without exceeding our limited infrastructure capacity.
Keep in mind this is a very red area, represented by Mike Collins, who is still being investigated by the House Ethics Committee. But they’re not budging. It might not be for all the right reasons, but it’s the outcome that matters.
Even if we don’t agree on the “why” the bottom line is that ICE is unpopular across the board for so many reasons. And that’s worth feeling less Doomed about, I think.
So those are just some reminders of why We’re NOT Doomed. I hope they help you fight back this week!
Our voices are our superpower, but only when we use them!