The Day the Constitution Died...

My Biggest Fear...

By Rhonda Williams

Wikipedia: Early on November 9, 2016, the day after the election, Trump was projected to have secured the presidency. Trump won the presidential election with 304 electoral votes, while Hillary Clinton received 227, though Clinton won a plurality of the nationwide popular vote, receiving nearly 2.9 million more votes than Trump.

His election was not my biggest fear. The American Constitution still existed and checks and balance afforded therein were still in place. Surely in four years, how much damage could he do? My first twinge of abject dread was: "What happens if he is able to stack the Supreme Court" in his four years. It was then balanced with just a, so slim, liberal tilt. Decisions could go either way.  

Two events occurred. Obama approached Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG) and tactfully ask that she retire to allow a younger (liberal) appointment. She said no, feeling she earned her place on the Supreme Court, and did not think she should stepdown to allow for a younger judge to fill her position.

Judge Antonin Scalia died unexpectedly nearly a year before the end of Obama's term. However, Mitch McConnell made the unprecedented decision to steal the seat by holding it open until the next president took office. No Obama nomination would be allowed to come before the Senate. By this time it was to late for RBG to retire, meeting the same fate with the McConnell decree. McConnell had made it clear that he would not allow Obama to successfully nominate another Justice. The Scalia vacancy on the Supreme Court was eventually filled by Neil Gorsuch during the first year of Trump's first administration.

During Neil Gorsuch conformation hearings, many Democrats raise concerns about his judicial philosophy, moral character and potential impact on social issues. Much angst surfaced during his hearing which, in my opinion, has influences his decisions to this day.

RBG died September 18, 2020 at the age of 87, six weeks before the 2020 presidential election. Mitch McConnell wasted no time breaking his rule and allowing a nomination to go through. Another conservative, Amy Coney Barrett replaced RBG and she was confirmed by the Senate on October 26, 2020.

After a contentious exit fight, Trump left office in January 2021 with his "Dream Team" Supreme Court in place. Even in his absence as presided, this court ruled in his favor protecting and slowing his criminal actions from prosecution.  

Fast forward to January 2025. Trump is back, now unencumbered by judicial restraint. June 27, 2025 is a day Trump's dream of absolute authority came to fruition through his handpicked Supreme Court majority.  Executive powers rules supreme. 

Writing in dissent for the court’s three liberal members, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the majority had “shamefully” played along with the administration’s “gamesmanship” in the case, which she described as an attempt to enforce a “patently unconstitutional” policy by not asking the justices to bless the policy, but instead to limit the power of federal judges around the country. She warned that under the ruling:

 “No right is safe in the new legal regime the Court creates.”

“Today, the threat is to birthright citizenship. Tomorrow, a different administration may [through Executive order] try to seize firearms from law-abiding citizens or prevent people of certain faiths from gathering to worship,” Sotomayor wrote. “The majority holds that, absent cumbersome class-action litigation, courts cannot completely enjoin even such plainly unlawful policies unless doing so is necessary to afford the formal parties complete relief.”

The court’s senior liberal member took the rare step of reading parts of her dissent from the bench on Friday.

“With the stroke of a pen, the President has made a ‘solemn mockery’ of our Constitution. Rather than stand firm, the Court gives way. Because such complicity should know no place in our system of law, I dissent,” she wrote.

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There is a song the bemoans the "Day the Music Died". As Executive orders go unchecked, June 27, 2025 is a day that will be remember...      

Read Also Huffpost: Trump's Victory In Birthright Citizenship Puts Him 1 Step Closer To Being A King

    

Political Cartoons 6-29-2025

 

sylvia rivera Quote 2

 

Pride Month Celebrates Sylvia Rivera

 

Amazing Transgender Women

Sylvia Rivera: 1951-2002

Part 2

Like Johnson, Sylvia Rivera was at the Stonewall Uprising in 1969 and credited with being one of the first to confront the police. She and Johnson later started STAR House to offer support and shelter to young, transgender and gender non-conforming people who were living on the streets.

"Marsha and I just decided it was time to help each other and help our other kids," Rivera told Leslie Feinberg for her 1998 book, Trans Liberation. "We fed people and clothed people. We kept the building going." She and Johnson funded Star House through sex work, and were able to keep it going for a few years before the landlord eventually threw them out.

After Star House fell, Rivera continued to be a strong voice for transgender people of color. She fought against transgender exclusion in New York's Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act (and unfortunately lost — SONDA does not protect people based on gender identity), and she spoke out against systemic poverty, racism, homophobia, and gender discrimination.

Rivera died in 2002, but her legacy lives on in the work of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, an organization dedicated to "increasing the political voice and visibility of low-income people and people of color who are transgender, intersex, or gender non-conforming."

Pride Month Celebrates Marsha P. Johnson

Amazing Transgender Women

Marsha P. Johnson: 1945-1992

Marsha P. Johnson, along with Sylvia Rivera and other transgender and gender non-conforming people of color, has been credited with starting the infamous Stonewall Uprising of 1969. When police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City, in June of that year — as they had many times before — Johnson and others who were there that night decided they'd had enough and fought back. The ensuing protest lasted six days and is considered the start of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. The first Pride parade was held in June of the following year to commemorate the uprising.

After Stonewall, Johnson continued her activist work and co-founded the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) House with Rivera. The two women, who were both sex workers and homeless for much of their lives, saw that the needs of gender non-conforming and homeless youth weren't being met by gay rights groups of the day and started STAR House in response. It was the first LGBTQ+ youth shelter in the U.S. and the first organization led by trans women of color.

In the wake of the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s, Johnson became caregiver to friend and fellow activist Randy Wicker's lover. Her connection to the community led Johnson to attend early meetings of AIDS advocacy group ACT UP. She was an outspoken activist for people with AIDS, transgender people, and homeless youth until her death in 1992.

Remember when Kurt Cobain wore a dainty floral frock?

 

Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain 

Kurt Cobain spurned toxic masculinity in a dainty floral frock

CNN: Long before Harry Styles caused a stir by wearing a Gucci dress on the cover of Vogue in 2022, another music and style icon pushed back against binary fashion norms.

In 1993, Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain graced the cover of The Face magazine wearing a blue floral dress. With smudged black eyeliner and straggly blond hair covering one eye, Cobain stared casually at the reader alongside the headline, “Nirvana: In the court of king Kurt.”

The image blended traditionally masculine and feminine elements: Cobain’s beard and chipped red nail polish, his cigarette and dainty rings. Pairing the term “king” with this androgynous image encapsulated the rebellious energy of grunge, a raw and discordant take on rock ’n’ roll propelled to commercial success by releases like Nirvana’s 1991 album “Nevermind.”

Reimagining rock music masculinity

When the members of Nirvana wore makeup, dresses, skirts or tiaras, they resisted a culture and musical scene that enforced a strict vision of masculinity. One instance was when Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl posed for Mademoiselle Magazine in 1993, wearing bright sweaters and scarves wrapped like skirts. Cobain told the LA Times that year.

“Wearing a dress shows I can be as feminine as I want. I’m a heterosexual…big deal. But if I was a homosexual, it wouldn’t matter either,” 

He was the latest in a line of rock ‘n’ roll icons who created space for others to experiment and express themselves more freely. Think of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury’s iconic getup — mini skirt, heels, wig and mustache — in the music video “I Want to Break Free.” David Bowie also famously blended gendered fashion elements with his flamboyant makeup and androgynous style

I Love A Success Story - Charlotte Clymer

 Former Press Secretary for Rapid Response, Human Rights Campaign - Fall '21 Fellow

Charlotte Clymer

From Charlottes Page: Charlotte Clymer is a writer, transgender activist, communications consultant, and military veteran.

She writes “Charlotte’s Web Thoughts”, a blog/newsletter about politics, current events, and LGBTQ equality. In 2021, she signed an exclusive one-year deal with Substack to host her blog on their site.

She was most recently the Director of Communications & Strategy at Catholics for Choice.

Prior to that role, she served as the Press Secretary for Rapid Response at the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest civil rights organization dedicated to advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) equality. Her day-to-day work involved running the organization’s messaging in response to the White House and federal policy.

Her political and social commentary has been quoted by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and numerous other outlets. Her work has been published in USA Today, The Washington Post, NBC News, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, GQ, The Independent, and other publications. She has also been a guest commentator on MSNBC and CBS Sunday Morning.

Charlotte Clymer & Joe Biden

She serves on the D.C. Mayor’s Commission for Persons with Disabilities, the Board of Directors for the Center for Law and Military Policy, the Military and Veterans Advisory Council for Modern Military Families of America and the Advisory Councils for Running Start and the Lone Star Parity Project, organizations working toward gender parity in elected office.

She is a member of the Truman National Security Project’s Class of 2019.

She was named to Fortune Magazine’s 2020 40 under 40 list in the “Politics & Government” category and the 2019 40 under 40 Queer Women of D.C. by the Mayor’s Office and The Washington Blade.

She is a graduate of Georgetown University and resides in Washington, D.C.

Her discussion group topic is Advocacy and Communications in the Post-Obama Era.

In addition to her work as a writing consultant, Charlotte is currently a contributing writer to Metro Weekly magazine.

Charlotte Clymer Talks Trans Athletes in an Era of Disinformation

Going Sleeveless

 Sleeveless has never been my best look. However as age has taken some of bulk out of my arms / shoulder and I seem to be able to make it work on occasion. The top need to make the statement with out attracting attention to other places.  Here is a half price top from LOF. "Stripe Ruched Boatneck Pocket Tee". maybe a good summer evening-out look.  I will post a photo of my similar outfit soon.  

Political Cartoons 6-22-2025

 

Fact Check - MSNBC: The Trump Organization says the phone will be “built in the United States” — but experts note the phone was likely designed and would be manufactured by a Chinese firm. 

Historic Loss

Hope

 

PBCHRC Pride Happy Hour '25

 

The PBCHRC Board, supporters and guest attended  the annual LGBTQ+ Pride 2025 Happy Hour Kickoff.  It was held at the Meat Market , Palm Beach this past week. It is the June kickoff for the pride events in Palm Beach, 2025. There were complimentary hors d'oeuvres and Happy Hour drink prices. As always, Meat Market donated 10% of dinner proceeds to PBCHRC.  Thank you. 

It was well attended with about 200 in attendance. Held at a very posh Palm Beach establishment.  A fun event.

Historic loss for transgender rights

The court had largely dodged the issue of transgender rights for years but handed down a number of important victories to the LGBTQ+ community more broadly. Most notably, of course, was the historic decision a decade ago to legalize same-sex marriage.

In essence, the Supreme Court's decision yesterday allows states to restrict access to medical care for transgender youth, while advocates argue that such restrictions violate the principle of equal protection and have harmful consequences for transgender individuals. 

Although the same medical treatment is legal and provided to non-trans youth, transgender youth are singled out. Puberty blockers would literally invented for cis children— they're designed to delay precocious puberty (puberty at very young ages, like under 10). 

Do you understand the full implication of where this could go?

John Bursch, who argued and won the case on behalf of the conservative Alliance Defending Freedom said:

I think there would be a rational basis to also prohibit it for adults, and that would be up to the states to decide." 

Read NPR:  Supreme Court upholds state bans on transgender care for minors

 

Ultimate Femine Differential - The Sundress

Google AI: A sundress is a type of dress that is typically worn in warm weather. It is designed to be comfortable and breathable, making it perfect for summer days. Sundresses are generally loose-fitting and made from lightweight fabrics such as cotton, linen, or rayon. They are typically sleeveless or have thin straps.

Colony Palm Beach 
May 2025

My notes: Catie and I visited the Colony, Palm Beach several Thursdays ago.
Such an interesting evening with many civilians and a good mix of the regular Thursday night crowd. After, we had a wonderful dinner at The Palm Beach Catch restaurant. We are always welcomed and treated so nice. 

The Sundress in the photos is from my sister store "White House Black Market".
(Fit + Flare Mini Sundress). There I enjoy an employee discount and got this really expensive cotton dress at an amazingly reasonable price. It was a style I did not have and just felt the need to add.  

The "Summer Sundress" is a definite feminine differential.   Anyone need a bride's maid?  I am Florida summer ready.  

One technical detail.  The bra I wore that evening was my Soma's "Enbliss Bandeau Bra".  There is not much going on in the shaping department although there was a need for something up-top. However,  for such a lightweight and breezy garment it was perfect.  As Soma states "Give your girls a break in the Enbliss® Bandeau.

Speaking of sisters stores, White House, and Chico's are directly related and we share the same register system and procedures as Soma; easy. This past week my mall's Chico's was short of help and ask if I would fill in there. I worked a half-day shift, my typical. and had fun. A much larger store and such different customers.

It was fun working with new store associates. They were happy to have me. Plus, I knew then all before from shopping, however, we had not worked together. I would help again if ask. (next Saturday is scheduled) 

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Key Characteristics of a Sundress:

Fit + Flare Mini Sundress

• Warm weather attire: Intended to be worn in hot climates or during the summer season.
• Loose-fitting: Provides comfort and allows for airflow.
• Lightweight fabrics: Common materials include cotton, linen, chambray, rayon, or silk.
• Sleeveless or thin straps: Often features spaghetti straps, broader straps, or halter necks.
• Variety of lengths and cuts: Can range from mini to maxi length, and include A-line, fit-and-flare, or shift styles.
• Casual and versatile: Suitable for various occasions like beach outings, garden parties, or casual lunches.
• Can feature vibrant patterns and colors: Often adorned with floral prints, stripes, or bright solid colors. 

A Declaration of Independence

This is a follow-up to yesterday's post on hate permeating our current political system and real actions taking place.

The Declaration of Independence, approved by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, declared the 13 American colonies independent from Great Britain. That part we all know.  It was largely drafted by Thomas Jefferson and served as a formal statement justifying the break from British rule, outlining principles of equality and natural rights. 

We celebrate that day of it's signing and still read in awe the brilliance of that document. Let us revisit an important part of that declaration.

It states: 

... That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends (Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness), it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

This past weekend we saw the beginning of movement that let the world know that America of today is not to be ruled by executive orders (a monarchy) and hate. Further in the Declaration of Independence it states:

...  it is their (our) right, it is their (our) duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

Arndrea Waters King, third from left, and Martin Luther King III, fourth from left, march in the “No Kings” protest, Saturday, June 14, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Where do you stand?

Chickens Coming Home to Roost

 

Google AI: "The chickens come home to roost" is an idiom that means the consequences of bad actions, mistakes, or wrongdoings will eventually return to negatively affect the person who did them. It's like a natural law or karma where you reap what you sow. 

The literal part of this concept is not lost on me. My grandparents had a general store and we had chickens for eggs and sale at the store. Chickens do come into the barn (chicken house) in the evening to roost (sleep).  A sure evening eventuality as the idiom states.

This past weekend the HuffPost lead was, "HORROR: LAWMAKERS ‘TARGETED’ AT HOME… MORE NAMED IN MANIFESTO - MASSIVE MANHUNT FOR SUSPECTED ASSASSIN.

When hate speech is the order of the day, what do you expect to happen?  Both parties are at fault. There is no common goal to improve America. Only "my way is the only correct way".  This is not governance but cult mind control provoking inflexibility and violence. Are we not all Americans with one constitution, and one common goal?  

Politico: Harvard political scientist Steve Levitsky, who co-authored the book “How Democracies Die” in 2018, said: "You condone the January 6 insurrection. You pardon them all, or virtually all of them, including those who physically assaulted police officers, and you treat them as heroes. You’ve created an atmosphere that’s not just permissive of political violence, it encourages political violence.”

Trump states about migrants: 

“... criminals.” “Illegal monster.” “Killers.” “Gang members.” “Poisoning our country.” “Taking your jobs.” “The largest invasion in the history of our country.”

This is not true according to the Marshall Project. The fact checking site states:  "Research has shown that as someone hears a statement more times, it feels more true [even if untrue]."

Is it just Trump? 

In September 2016, during a fundraising event, Hillary Clinton described half of Donald Trump's supporters as belonging to a "basket of deplorables," specifying that she saw them as "racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic".

According to GLADD: "Anti-LGBTQ hate speech, harassment, and disinformation — ranging from overt bigotry to dog whistles — cause real harm to LGBTQ people and to society as a whole. The invention of false tropes (often via memes) is a common trend in extremist hate and disinformation, serving as an effective viral strategy for the spread of all kinds of conspiracy theories."

The anti-LGBTQ “groomer” trope (and similar baseless and dangerous rhetoric falsely asserting that LGBTQ people are pedophiles, sexual predators, and threats to children) is dangerous hate speech which has been popularized to foment fear and hatred, and ultimately violence, against LGBTQ people — specifically targeting them in direct violation of the hate speech policies of all social media platforms.

Even when disguised as news (Fox/CNN) or talk podcast, hate speech is stoking the fires of extremism. This will provoke the CRAZYS to react.

It is time for reasonable rhetoric and words befitting intelligence; not hate.

  

Political Cartoons 6-15-2025

 

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Huffington Post:  — After years of admiring autocrats like Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un and Xi Jinping and envying the sort of military parade they get to enjoy, President Donald Trump is finally getting one of his own.  Despite his frequent claims of support for the armed forces and service members, Trump has a decades-long history of disrespect, even disdain, for both.  

Life Begins...

 

Brian Wilson - Help Me Rhonda

 Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) 

Wikipedia: "Help Me, Rhonda" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys, appearing first on their 1965 album The Beach Boys Today! (where it was spelled "Help Me, Ronda") and subsequently in re-recorded form on the following 1965 album Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!). It was written by Brian Wilson, with additional lyrics by Mike Love. Band member Al Jardine sings the lead vocal, a rarity for this era in the Beach Boys.

According to Wilson, "Help Me, Rhonda" was not based on a real person. After it was released as an album track on Today!, Wilson revisited the song, feeling it had commercial potential. This new version, featuring a different arrangement and slightly different lyrics, was released as a single in April 1965 and appeared on Summer Days later that same year. It topped the Billboard Hot 100, making it their second number-one single following "I Get Around" (1964). It remains one of the band's most acclaimed singles commercially and critically.

Our New Reality...

 

This trans influencer received a passport with the wrong gender after Trump's executive order

A transwoman claimed that her new passport lists her as male while her other official documents recognise her as a female.

US President Donald Trump, after taking his oath, ordered that the country would recognize only two sexes, male and female. The executive order further stated that a person's sex is unchangeable. These orders from the newly installed President sparked controversy, with people sharing their thoughts for or against it. Amid these, a transwoman, who was born male but later “surgically updated to female”, has claimed that the gender on her passport was changed to “Male” under the new administration, adding that all her other documents recognise her as a “female.”

Transwoman Perysian Zaya Mekhi claims her gender was changed to male on her passport under Donald Trump's administration. (Instagram/@zayaperysian)

Transwoman Perysian Zaya Mekhi claims her gender was changed to male on her passport under Donald Trump's administration. (Instagram/@zayaperysian)

Digital creator Perysian Zaya Mekhi shared the video on Instagram. “And so it’s begun,” she wrote in her video’s caption. In the clip, she expressed that in her new passport, “they changed the gender to male because of Donald Trump.” She then shows her passport, which has the letter “M” written under the column “Sex.”

Also Read: Influencer who spent ₹14 lakh to remove 6 ribs plans to turn bones into crown: ‘I’m a kind loving trans girl’

“Now, mind you, all of my other documents are updated to female, and I’ve been fully surgically updated to female, but this is what they had to say,” Zaya says as she reads a letter she received along with her passport.

According to her, it says, “The sex was corrected on your passport application. The changes were made for one of the following reasons - to match our record.” While reading it, she further says that she received her passport as a kid, which then listed her sex as male, but she claims that she updated the details after her transition. She concludes her video by saying that she would opt for legal options to get her sex changed on her passport.

LA Protests vs Jan 6

 

 

YAHOO News: WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is warning those protesting against his unprecedented immigration crackdown in Los Angeles against targeting police officers and thousands of National Guard troops he’s deployed there, promising to exact retribution on anyone who commits violence against them.

“Nobody’s going to spit on our police officers. Nobody’s going to spit on our military,” Trump told reporters on Monday, before posting on his social media website: “IF THEY SPIT, WE WILL HIT, and I promise you they will be hit harder than they have ever been hit before. Such disrespect will not be tolerated!”

But Trump felt differently about violence against law enforcement when he issued blanket pardons earlier this year for hundreds of people who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 in an effort to keep him in office after his loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. His pardons included those convicted of assaulting or interfering with police officers, roughly 1,000 nonviolent offenders and around 200 people accused of assaulting police. A number of those pardoned have reportedly since been rearrested for other alleged crimes.

“These are the hostages. Approximately 1,500 were pardoned. Full pardon,” Trump said after issuing the pardons on his first day in office. 

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My Note:  This is all part of Trump's plan to consoled his power, and intimidate all protest.  The authoritarian play book.   

I Love A Success Story - Airyn De Niro

Is Ready to Be Seen on Her Own Terms

By Ava Pauline Emilione

Photography by Aleck Venegas

After surviving the tabloids, the actress opens up about transitioning, visibility, and life as the daughter of Hollywood legends.

Airyn De Niro

In the corner of a rustic Williamsburg café, Airyn De Niro tells me about getting locs for the first time. She recites the rhythm of the stylist’s deft fingers working through her curls: Wash, comb, retwist. Wash, comb, retwist. During a visit to Annette Roche’s beloved New York City salon, Airyn’s tender scalp ached as she listened to Black women share gossip and make small talk. Hours passed before the loctician, a stylist specifically for locs, tapped her on the shoulder. Her hair was done at last. As she left the salon, she caught a glimpse of her reflection and did not look away.

The 29-year-old’s first appointment at a Black hair salon, which she made after seeing Halle Bailey’s locs in The Little Mermaid, marks a turning point in her journey toward liberatory gender expression. An aspiring model and voice actor studying to be a mental health counselor, Airyn is taking a break from her daily grind to speak with me about navigating her transition, the entertainment industry, and the media attention that comes with being Robert De Niro’s daughter. As she enters the café, a cascade of pink locs flows down her back.

“It just felt right,” Airyn says of her locs, which look as weightless and colorful as butterfly wings against her all-black fit. “I feel like I’m meant to be doing this.”

While Airyn has been femme-presenting since middle school, her decision to begin hormone therapy last November was borne out of a desire to maintain that femininity as she got older (“Who wants to be an old man?” she asks.) After seeing successful trans women open up about their transitions, Airyn dared to imagine a similar future for herself despite feeling like a self-proclaimed “late bloomer.”

“Trans women being honest and open, especially [in] public spaces like social media and getting to see them in their success… I’m like, you know what? Maybe it's not too late for me,” she says of her internal process. “Maybe I can start.”

Embracing Black femininity in particular allows her to escape the limiting walls of desirability politics. “I think a big part of [my transition] is also the influence Black women have had on me,” she says. “I think stepping into this new identity, while also being more proud of my Blackness, makes me feel closer to them in some way.”

Read More...

See also: Robert De Niro shows support for daughter Airyn after she shares she’s trans: ‘I don’t know what the big deal is’

GOP Tax Bill Would Cut...

Gender-Affirming Care From Medicaid For All Ages

The bill could threaten access to lifesaving health care for the 185,000 transgender adults on Medicaid.

By Lil Kalish

May 23, 2025

Marley Gotterer was recovering from surgery at home in New York when she first heard that House Republicans had passed a massive domestic policy package in the wee hours of Thursday morning.

She had prepared for nearly two years for her facial feminization surgery, a series of surgical procedures. She met with surgeons, therapists and case managers at Amida Care, a nonprofit health plan for LGBTQ+ Medicaid recipients and those living with HIV.

Her surgery, which was fully covered under Medicaid, has already made a huge difference in her life and for her mental health. She now feels an instant lightness when she sees herself in the mirror. She said she caught a glimpse of herself on a video call with friends and asked if someone had put a beauty filter on.

“I had intense gender euphoria and I felt at home in myself,” the 27-year-old comedian said. “I feel like there’s this new start in life that I’m excited about and hopeful for.”

But that hope has now been tempered.

The bill the House passed — called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — outlines some of the largest cuts to Medicaid in U.S. history while proposing a $4 trillion tax cut for the ultra-wealthy. The bill would bar Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program from covering gender-affirming care for adults and minors alike, and would prohibit health plans offered under the Affordable Care Act from covering such care as an essential health benefit.

If the dramatic tax bill becomes law, it could jeopardize access to care for hundreds of thousands of trans adults and minors. Around 185,000 transgender adults rely on Medicaid as their primary source of health insurance, according to a report released this month by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. Another study found that nearly 25% of trans adults are on Medicaid.

Research shows that transgender people are also more likely to be uninsured, underemployed and experiencing food insecurity compared to their cisgender peers, often due to high rates of employment discrimination and harassment in the workplace.

Read More...

Dr. David Johns, the executive director of the National Black Justice Collective, called the new GOP tax bill a calculated effort to try to erase trans people from public life.

“The same bill slashes Medicaid and SNAP benefits, guts civil rights and disability enforcement, and strips millions of Americans—disproportionately Black, Brown, poor, disabled, and queer—of access to basic health services,” Johns said in a statement. “This isn’t about fiscal responsibility. It’s about using trans lives as a political wedge to force through a budget that serves billionaires and punishes the most vulnerable.”

Political Cartoons 6-8-2025

 

David Axelrod, ex-senior adviser to former President Barack Obama, on Monday bluntly criticized Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) for sarcastically saying “we are all going to die” at a town hall in response to constituents’ fears over GOP-backed Medicaid cuts.

“People will be affected, when you take seven, eight, nine million people off of Medicaid, there will be people who will die,” Axelrod told CNN’s Jake Tapper.

The stupid award of the week!

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What is a Transgender

 

Male Beauty: The Male Dress Reform Party in Interwar Britain

MDRP - (Wikipedia) The Men's Dress Reform Party (MDRP) was a reform movement in interwar Britain. While the party's main concerns were the impact of clothes on men's health and hygiene, their mission also aimed to increase the variety and choice in men's clothing

BY: JOANNA BOURKE

In 1929, the Men’s Dress Reform Party was established in response to what its founders regarded as the heinous modern age. One of them, John Carl Flugel (a psychologist from University College London), contended that, since the end of the eighteenth-century men had been progressively ignoring brighter, more elaborate, and more varied forms of masculine ornamentation by ‘making their own tailoring the more austere and ascetic of the arts’. He called this event ‘The Great Masculine Renunciation’, or the occasion when men ‘abandoned their claim to be considered beautiful’ and ‘henceforth aimed at being only useful’. In the face of inter-war feminism and the denigration of masculinity, the professionals who joined the Men’s Dress Reform Party regarded it as their duty to lobby for the aesthetic liberation of men. This blog examines male dress reform between the wars.

 

The experience of warfare between 1914 and 1918 was crucial in focusing attention on the bodies of men. Dress reform was necessary not only for the sake of enhancing masculine beauty, but also to prevent the further degeneration of the ‘British race’. Health and hygiene were high on the agenda of male dress reformers. Although they failed to achieve their more grandiose hopes, they were representative of a broader movement towards freeing men from constraints imposed by the state, employers, and the tailoring trade.

Or, as another writer had it, traditional men’s clothing was important in ‘keeping the social fabric together’. The slow evolution of changes in men’s dress ensured ‘safety’: sartorial conservatism checked social anarchy.

 

The Men’s Dress Reform Party (MDRP) had grown out of a clothing subcommittee of the New Health Society, a creation of the health radical, Sir Arbuthnot Lane. In 1929, this subcommittee consisted of a group of academics, doctors, theologians, and authors, including the Very Revd William Ralph Inge, Alfred C. Jordan, Guy Kendall, Caleb Williams Saleeby, Richard Sickert, Ernest Thesiger, and Leonard Williams. It was Lane’s pupils (Jordan and Saleeby) who wrote the report that eventually led to the establishment of the MDRP. In their report, sartorial alternatives were set out. Instead of the starched collar, they promoted the Byron collar with a tie loosely knotted. Blouses were preferred shirts, and coats should only be worn in the cold. Conventional trousers were condemned outright. Although they approved of the kilt, they decreed that modern industrial conditions made shorts the most practical type of clothing. Underclothing should be loose. Hats should only be worn as protection against the rain or sun, and sandals should replace shoes. Most importantly, they called for the exercise of greater individuality in men’s clothing.

 

Although the First World War cannot be said to have directly led to the establishment of the MDRP, the popularity of dress reform for men was an outcome of tensions harboured between 1914 and 1918. The MDRP was responding to four things, three of which they linked to men’s experiences of warfare.

I Love A Success Sttory - My Wife is Transgender...

And I LOVE her

When Zoey first came out to me, I’m not going to lie, I was a little shocked. OR WAS I?! I asked the question, but I don’t think I was quite ready for the answer. I looked into her eyes, REALLY LOOKED, and realised she was telling the truth.

All those times she’d hidden her phone or lied, ‘I’m fine!’ when I asked her if she was okay, started to make sense. She was hiding her research. She was hiding her other IG account, she was hiding Facebook groups, emails to clinics and more. All those times I’d questioned why she didn’t trust me with her phone suddenly made sense. Can you imagine finding out that way?! I don’t blame her for being secretive.

See also: My Husband Wants to be a Woman: Kelly’s Story

She’s been living with this for her whole life.

For me, it was new. Not something I didn’t know about, nor something I didn’t support (I support trans folk with all my heart), but it was new that the person I married was transgender. This was my stumbling block. Why hadn’t I worked it out? Why hadn’t she told me?

Anyway, as you’ll have seen (from blog posts and Youtube), I got my head around it all within a very short time. I realised the most important factor in it all was that…

 LOVE HER!

There’s nothing I would ever want to change about our love. I feel pretty much like she’s the person I was always meant to be with, my twin soul, my other half, my best friend. And the truth is, since coming out, we’ve grown even closer. Something I’d never expected to happen…

I thought were as close as close could be, but I was wrong. We are allies, protectors, lovers, best friends… I literally worship her. And our love has grown because we are there for each other, with unwavering support and love. She’s relaxed into herself, Zoey, the beautiful woman I married. This has pivoted our relationship into a deeper state of love, a love I struggle to even describe, because it’s a love I never thought possible.

I love the strength we’ve discovered together. I love the love we’ve discovered. I love seeing her unravel into herself, a phoenix rising from the flames. I love her confidence. I love her body (it’s beautiful to me no matter what). I love her dreamy eyes and her beautiful kisses. I love seeing her laugh, really laugh, and I love that it feels like we’ve fallen in love all over again.

So this is my love letter, if you like. My declaration of dedication, my ‘shouting it from the rooftops’ message of love, my undying love confession. I love you, Zoey Emelia Allen, and I always will.

Do you feel unconditional love for your partner?

Feminine Differential - Unremarkable

But Remarkable ...

I am always searching for a casual wearable look.  Something that is understated feminine, although will never be mistaken for androgynous. It makes mall blending in so easy because a cocktail sequin dress is not what I see, ever at the mall. Palm Beach has its share of upscale places, restaurants / boutiques, and there are always places for the ultra-feminine look. Choosing wisely to be safe and not attraction attention is a good goal.

The above Chico's  "Zenergy Scuba Cap Sleeve Tee" is great look. Graphic tees will always seem feminine especially if the image is flowers, or paisley. This top has a bungee cinchable short cap sleeves hemline for adjusting the length to a full cap sleeves. A nice feminine touch.

Chico's is a sister store for my Soma store. We share coupons and I get to use my associate discount there. Their audience is on the mature side (who am I to talk), however, I am finding their clothing to be more stylish than a few years back. Some of  their jeans are especially attractive with embroidery and decorations. If you have not visited Chico's recently, check it out. Their size are generous.  

Also, do not forget that "Summer" is just a few weeks away. Shorts anyone????

So you’d never wear a skirt in public?

 
Men, you don’t know what you’re missing

     Phineas Harper
     January 3, 2024

‘Skirts are practical, expressive and,
when worn by men, mark a small
step towards gender equality.’
Photograph: Alberte Lauriden

I started wearing them to test my sister’s lighthearted theory about feminism. Now I can’t do without their vibrant versatilit.

My sister has three questions she asks men who say they’re feminists. It only takes one “yes” to pass her test, and yet few do. The questions are: if you get married to a woman, would you (and any kids) take her surname? If you had children with a woman, would you step back from your career to be their primary carer? And, simplest of all, would you wear a skirt in public?

The questions are lighthearted, and not intended to truly cut to the heart of feminist issues, but it’s interesting to see how many men sheepishly give three “no” answers nonetheless. Despite much apparent progress towards gender equity, some conventions around how men feel they must act and dress differently to women are stubbornly persistent, from family to fashion.

Baby names and childcare arrangements are inherently fraught topics, but I’m surprised how many men say they’d never even consider wearing a skirt. Twenty years ago, the curator Andrew Bolton noted that “while women enjoy most of the advantages of a man’s wardrobe, men enjoy few of the advantages of a woman’s wardrobe”, and that “nowhere is this asymmetry more apparent than in the taboo surrounding men in skirts”. While a few celebrities, such as Brad Pitt and LA Lakers basketball player Russell Westbrook, have worn skirts to red carpet events, it’s still vanishingly rare to see normal men wear normal skirts day to day.

Blokes, you’re missing out! I began wearing skirts six years ago to see if my sister had a point, and it’s only since then I realised what I’d been missing. Skirts are fantastically versatile: thick, pleated and cosy in the winter, light and breezy for summer. They come in a vast array of shapes and characterful styles, leaving the frigid palette of blacks, blues and browns that dominates most male fashion in the dust. You’ll easily find more panache in the skirts section of M&S than in its entire menswear department.

Men who’ve never worn them will often claim skirts are impractical, but this simply isn’t true. Free from complex gussets, skirts are less likely to tear than trousers, but easier to mend and usually straightforward to adapt. “What about pockets?” you cry. True, there’s a long and sexist history in women’s fashion of clothes made without pockets, but times have changed. Margaret Howell and Vivienne Westwood were putting pockets in their skirts decades ago – and these days you can find skirts with decent pockets in Toast, LK Bennett, Cos, and even H&M.

Male fashion is hardly rooted in practicality, either. I love a snappy tie, but it’s hard to think of a more ostentatiously impractical garment than a silk scarf elaborately knotted around the neck. And while blue jeans were once tough workwear, the pairs men buy today are pre-bleached and distressed in factories, with rivets added purely for show. Ultimately, men’s fashion is just as much about aesthetics as women’s, so why not have more fun with it?

Read more here...

Skirts are practical, expressive and, when worn by men, mark a small step towards gender equality no less valuable than women’s long-fought battle to wear trousers. If you need a gateway drug, buy a black kilt on eBay and build your skirt collection from there.

Modern menswear is too often a parade of gloomy conformity, produced by an industry that contemptuously sees male shoppers as predictable and dull. But you don’t have to follow the crowd to be stylish – a man in a skirt signals self-assurance and inner confidence, which are always in fashion.

Phineas Harper is chief executive of the charity Open City