Gender Contender

 

Dame Maggie

Image:  Facebook

The great British actor Maggie Smith died today at 89.

New York Times critic Frank Rich once praised her as "the stylized classicist who can italicize a line as prosaic as 'Have you no marmalade?' until it sounds like a freshly minted epigram by Coward or Wilde."

In other words, she was a gay man.

This Week's Quote

Image:  Facebook

Republican men are coming for our reproductive rights, they are coming for IVF, they are coming for gay marriage. You know who's coming for them? Not their wives... I'm sure of it.

Dana Goldberg

Source: X

The Woman For Me Is a Man

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

An hour ago I'd finished pumping gas into my car when I heard a male voice comment on my Sue Bird t-shirt. I responded cautiously, even though this is liberal Seattle, in case the middle-aged fella aimed to go down a sexist or homophobic path.

It turned out he knew what Bird's number had been when she played for the WNBA's Seattle Storm. And he attends all Seattle Reign women's soccer games with his young daughter, and his favorite soccer player of all time, male or female, is Megan Rapinoe. He said he doesn't care if his daughter plays a sport, his main concern is that she be equipped with self-esteem. He went on to reference his growing up as "a straight white male."

At this point I'm looking around the gas station for cameras, because this guy is too good to be true and I must've landed in a prank-the-liberal show.

Eventually we got onto the topic of Ani DiFranco, the bisexual alt-rock trailblazer, and he said he'd just bought tickets for her upcoming show and contributes to her independent record label. 

That's when I wondered if I could convince him to become a lesbian.

Jumbo Depreciation

Image:  Facebook

Today is National Elephant Appreciation Day, so let's think of all the things we can appreciate about that political party whose symbol is an elephant.

Yup, I got nothing. Quite the challenge these days.

If Donald Trump and JD Vance weren't enough to swear off political pachyderms, now we have Mark Robinson, the Black Republican candidate for governor of North Carolina, whom Trump called "better than Martin Luther King."

Robinson, currently the Tar Heel State's lieutenant governor, was already known as extreme, having described gay and transgender people as "filth" in a church speech, and posting on Facebook that abortion was about "killing the child because you weren’t responsible enough to keep your skirt down." (Turned out he wasn't responsible enough to keep his dick in, having paid for an abortion years earlier.)

But now blockbuster reporting from CNN reveals that Robinson isn't just a run-of-the-mill conservative hypocrite. The dude is demented.

Before becoming a politician, Robinson frequented a porn site called Nude Africa. On its message boards, he referred to himself as a "black NAZI" and said he preferred Hitler to then-President Barack Obama. He expressed support for bringing back slavery. He denounced King as "worse than a maggot." My favorite bit is that the transphobe said he enjoyed transgender pornography.

Queer people are as familiar with this particular type of hypocrisy as we are with Cher lyrics.

Robinson denies everything, and refuses to leave the race. CNN points out he's joining a list of fatally flawed candidates Trump endorsed after they showered him with praise.

Being led by a narcissist is certainly part of the Republican Party's problem. I believe another is that the GOP gets so giddy at the prospect of running minority candidates that it leaves off proper vetting.

You're African-American? Come on down! You're a homo? George Santos, you're our gay guy!

Yet I'm Still Here

 

This Week's Quote

Image:  Facebook

I fell out of the womb and landed in my mother’s high heels.

Leslie Jordan

Source:  Women's Health

Be Quiet

Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

When it feels like the good old US of A is spiraling into craziness, take heart:  Things are worse elsewhere!

Okay, not exactly encouraging, but what do you want for a Monday morning.

In Afghanistan, the Taliban is enforcing a new religious code that bans women from raising their voices in public. Women are also forbidden from looking at men other than their husbands or relatives, which must be hard to pull off—even for Afghan lesbians.

The Washington Post reports that in the capital of Kabul, white-robed morality police "are roaming bus stops and shopping centers searching for dress-code violations or any women who might laugh or raise their voices."

Considering JD Vance's regressive views on women, and the fact that Kamala Harris's voice haunts Donald Trump, the GOP pair are clearly running in the wrong country.

Um . . . JD?

 

This Week's Quote

Image by Enrique from Pixabay

Donald Trump won’t say he wants Ukraine to win the war?

I thought he would at least pretend….

Pete Buttigieg

Source: X

The Debate

Image:  Facebook

I listened to political experts on the news last night say that, though Kamala Harris fans would like to see her go after Donald Trump during tonight's presidential debate, she'd be better served by talking policy in order to reach those swing voters who need to know more about her.

I understand. Pragmatic. Sensible.

But you'll excuse me if I still want Harris to fold, spindle and mutilate.

Tim W.

Image:  Facebook

Vice presidential nominee Tim Walz gave the keynote address at the Human Rights Campaign National Dinner over the weekend.

The Minnesota governor and LGBTQ ally condemned the oodles of anti-queer legislation across the country. He promised of a Harris-Waltz administration:  "We’re going to make sure our children are seen, they bring their authentic selves, and then we’re going to make sure they’re safe when they get there."

I'm facing a quandary. I badly want Walz to win the vice presidency. But I also want him to be immediately appointed National Dad of Everyone.

Theologically Sound

 

If You Needed Another

Image by OpenIcons from Pixabay

Donald Trump said today that he wants to create a government efficiency commission and Elon Musk will lead it.

Is he trying to give us reasons not to vote for him?

This Week's Quote

Image:  Facebook

For reference, exactly zero kids have died this year from being read to by a drag queen.

Alex Cole

Source: X

Does Their Union Know?

Image by Alexandra_Koch from Pixabay

Donald Tump said something last week that is certainly news to me.

"The transgender thing is incredible," Trump remarked during an onstage conversation at a Moms for Liberty event. "Think of it; your kid goes to school, and he comes home a few days later with an operation."

Teachers are already asked to do so much. Now they're performing surgery between second and third periods?