Ain't That America XXXII

Another week down, with a hit of good news from SCOTUS for a change which spurred a lie-filled rage speech from Cankles about the “Democratic SCOTUS;” poor delusional old man. And of course the State of the Union speech is Tuesday and the Democrats, many of them at least, may not show up, going instead to a rally on the National Mall.

I am not in favor. I think they should show up, and say and do nothing, other than perhaps raising small signs that could say anything from “Release the Files” to “Say Their Names,” or perhaps show photos of the victims demanding accountability from the regime.

That would rattle Cankles and send him off-script into an insane rage-a-thon, which I won’t be watching because I can neither look at his decaying personage nor listen to his ignorant voice.

That said …

Pope Leo has rejected Cankles’ invitation to “America 250” Festivities in Washington DC because he wants to spend the day with migrants instead.

That’s all.

 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed that in spite of the Supreme Court’s decision to block Cankles’ illegal tariffs the regime would initiate new tariffs imposed under other statutes ensuring the revenue grift remains unchanged. He also said Americans who paid for the tariffs through higher prices will never see a rebate of that money.

Grifters gonna grift.

 

At DHS new Secret Service protective detail agents are getting  a wardrobe upgrade courtesy of taxpayers because adulterous dog-killer Kristi Noem doesn’t like the suits they bought for themselves.

So We The People will buy them new clothes cuz … grifters gonna grift.

 

Nationalist Christian, or Nat-C as I think of him,  Speaker Mike Johnson has denied a request by Reverend Jesse Jackson’s family to his body lie in honor in the Capitol.

The Little Johnson says the practice is reserved for former presidents and select former government officials and military honorees but the honor was given to Reverend Billy Graham in 2018.

But not Jackson; that sounds about white coming from Nat-C Johnson.

 

Butler, Ohio Mayor, and a Republican,  Wesley Dingus is facing two counts of voyeurism after he was allegedly caught on camera sniffing a teen girl’s underwear.

The party of pedophiles.

 

Oh, and the husband of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer has been barred from the department’s headquarters after at least two female staff members told officials that he had sexually assaulted them.

The party of sexual predators.

 

A large banner featuring Cankles’ bloated face was hung on the exterior of Justice Department headquarters.

They’re putting up pedophile’s pictures at the DOJ cuz, you know, the party of pedophiles.

 

Roughly 80% of career leadership at the ICEstapo  has been fired or demoted under DogKiller Kristi Noem’s tenure as she and her lover, Corey Lewandowski have targeted employees for allegedly talking to the press.

 

The Republican Party of Eau Claire County headquarters in Altoona was vandalized overnight when the windows were spray-painted with the phrase ‘pedophile protectors,’ and around a dozen eggs were thrown onto the building.

Truth in advertising.

 

The FBI formally notified the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension [BCA] that it will not provide them with access to any information or evidence that it has collected in the January 24 ICEstapo murder of Alex Pretti.

Coverup.

In February 2026, a rumor spread that Bo French, a GOP candidate for the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates oil and gas, wanted to deport Native Americans. Several social media posts made the claim, including on Facebook, where one user said French had called for the deportation of “third world savages” including Native Americans. French says it never happened but here’s a direct quote from his X account:

“Since we are going to denaturalize and deport all the third world savages who hate our country, I am calling for adding these third world savages, who we conquered, then bizarrely let have a nation inside our nation, to the list. “

We let native peoples have a nation in our nation? Or did we steal their nation to create our own, give them a few crumbs of land and then take it back.

Look in a mirror, Bo; that’s the enemy.

And what do we do with the enemy

Bobservations

The other day we stopped to wash the car and after getting her bathed we stopped to vacuum her out and wipe down the interior and doors etc. I vacuumed and Carlos wiped the water spots as a car pulled into the stall next to us.

Carlos stepped away from our car and nudged the door of the other car and started to wipe it off thinking it was our car and the lady came up to him:

“What are you doing?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Get your hands off my car. Watch what you’re doing?”

“Sorry.” I said. “ He’s legally blind. He thought it was our car.”

“Still, he should watch what he’s doing.”

“Again, he’s legally blind so he could not see that it wasn’t our car.”

“Well, he should pay attention—"

“You know WHO should pay attention? The person screaming at a blind man for touching her car door when, if you opened your eyes, you might notice the white cane he uses to get around.”

“I didn’t see it.”

“Well, then maybe you should get your eyes checked … unless you’re legally blind, too.”

And this again proves my point about why I do not like people.

This is Tuxedo from March 2021 …

Everybody knows you cannot be a Christian and a Republican at the same time; even a cat.

Also, if you’re a Republican that doesn’t automatically mean you’re racist, but if you’re racist, you’re clearly a Republican.

The top four states for murder rates in the country are Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama and Missouri, so why isn’t The Felon sending the National Guard there? 

Oh, Red States, yeah. But, then I realized he’s killing off his own supporters and now I’m not so mad at it.

Another shooting … this time in Minnesota … thoughts and prayers and just another day in the United States of Guns where:

Guns are banned in Congress. Guns are banned at all The Felon’s properties. Guns are banned at NRA events. Guns are banned at GOP events. Guns are banned at CPAC.

But … guns are not banned at schools or churches or shopping malls or movie theaters or concerts when your safety is in question.

Think about that.

Chester Nez, the last of the original Navajo Code Talkers passed away recently at the age of 93.

The Code Talkers' language was based on unwritten Native American languages, most famously Navajo, which were used to create an unbreakable military code that America used in both WWI and WWII. The languages were effective because they were spoken by few people and were completely unknown to enemy forces.

Thank you for your service. RIP.

One thing to remember … if you join the ICEstapo  in 2025 then you absolutely would have joined the Nazis in 1935.

That’s all.

And speaking of ICE … a special shout out to white women in California who have been putting Mexican flag stickers on their cars to bait the ICEstapo into profiling them.

They keep getting pulled over and wasting the ICEstapo’s time.

Once again, it seems to be the women doing the resisting. We ought to try electing one president …

Jovica Suljagic is a model from Belgrade, Serbia who has been working since 2004. That’s all I’ve got other than: Would You Hit It?

Bobservations

The other morning I was walking past our bedroom when I heard Carlos talking to Rosita:

“She’s such a pretty girl. Pretty girl. Ohhhhhh, she’s so pretty. Pretty girl. Such a pretty girl. Who’s the pretty girl.”

“Why don’t you two get a room.”

“This is our room.”

I guess I’m sleeping in the guest room now?

This Tuxedo memory is from November 2019 and is entitled “Tuxedo Went To The Vet”

I noticed Tuxedo had licked the fur off the back of his front leg and so, after Carlos did a quick check, we took him to the vet to see what was what. Turns out it may have been a bug bite that he scratched and then cut into his skin, so he began licking to clean it and the fur came off; or, it is the result of a play fight with either Max or Consuelo. Either way, it’s nothing bad and he’s on antibiotics—which he hates—and a twice daily cleanse of the area.

But this isn’t about that, it’s about the joy of Tuxedo. See, he was a bit of an abused cat when we rescued him; he’d been adopted out several times and always returned to the vet’s office in Miami as “mean.” Then we took him and let him acclimate to our house and the five other cats we had at the time, and Tuxedo has become the sweetest, friendliest cat ever.

And that leads us to the vet’s office in Smallville.

While he cried in the car on the ride, once there he was calm and watching the goings on from inside his carrier. When we got in with the vet tech, as she was weighing him and checking him out, he was perfectly calm and easy going. Then came to thermometer up the butt; and he was calm and handled it like any bottom at any gay bar anywhere … or something. But … as she finished with him, Tuxedo stood on his hind legs and put his paws on my chest and rested his head against me. The vet tech squeeed with delight about the hug he was giving me.

When the doctor came in, the vet tech was holding Tuxedo for the exam, and he stood on his hind legs and gave the vet tech a hug, too. The doctor loved that and asked if Tuxedo would give her a hug and, yes, he did. And then they took his picture while hugging the doctor.

Long story a little shorter … as we left with his medications we stopped to pay at the desk and were asked our pet’s name.

“Tuxedo.”

“The one who hugged the doctor?”

“Um, yeah. Do you want one?”

“Can I?”

And she could.

At the Emmy’s this week first-time nominee, for Reservation Dogs, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai made a powerful statement by arriving with a red handprint over his mouth, symbolizing solidarity with missing and murdered Indigenous women. It stands for all the missing sisters whose voices are not heard. It stands for the silence of the media and law enforcement in the midst of this crisis.

If you didn’t know about the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women, and how little help is giving by local authorities and government agencies to tribal police, take a look at Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women USA MMIWUSA

A friend posted to Facebook that according to PureWow she, as a Virgo, is one of two excellent cult leaders, with Aquarius, which is me, being the second. I commented that I needed my own cult, and she posted what my cult would be like according to PureWow:

"Fixed air sign Aquarius leads a stylish cult. Ruled by Saturn, planet of discipline and structure, Aquarius is a sign that others naturally look up to as an authority figure. All of the air signs are social and very into spreading knowledge and ideas. But unlike their fellow air signs [Gemini and Libra], Aquarius loves the info, but also has a lot of style in their approach to travel, education and cult-ivation. This is because Aquarius’s ninth house is Libra, another Venus-ruled sign. Aquarius is very strategic when it comes to starting their cult. The PR is always on point. Who can resist a great logo in a cute font? Or a targeted merch drop? Joining the cult of Aquarius is like joining a scene that never goes out of style."

Oh, I need to jumpstart my cult.

Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder recently changed the lyrics to their song “Daughter” to make a politically charged statement.

At a Wrigley Field show last month, in the middle of their song “Daughter,” the band played a portion of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2” but fans noticed a slight variation as Vedder took the opportunity to change the lyrics to something a little timelier. Where the song would normally say, “Teachers leave them kids alone…” Vedder sang:

“Politicians leave our daughters alone.

A woman’s right to choose is her own.”

Just another way to get the message out that one party is pro-women and the other is own women.

There is nothing like having some cakes as a midnight snack; and you all know exactly what I mean.

Speaking of musicians doing good work, Jon Bon Jovi, known for helping the unhoused, the hungry and America’s vets, talked someone out of taking her own life in a video shared by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.

The video shows Bon Jovi slowly approaching a woman on the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge. Bon Jovi happened to be filming a music video for his song “People’s House” when he and his team noticed the woman standing on the outer ledge of the bridge and clenching onto the handrails. He stopped a few feet away from her and spoke to her before moving closer alongside another bystander.

It’s unclear what was said, but Jon and the other individual convinced the woman to return to the main part of the bridge; they helped her back over the railing and then the trio walked away.

Bon Jovi has extensive training in interacting with people in crisis due to his Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation. He has chosen not to make a statement regarding his actions out of respect for the woman  but the Nashville Police Department has praised him for his actions.

Y’all know Diddy got nabbed, right? Well, according to the grand jury indictment, during that raid on his homes in Miami, Florida and Los Angeles the feds discovered “more than 1,000 bottles of baby oil and lubricant” for his ALLEGED Freak Off parties.

Bottom of Form

Diddy was charged with three counts: racketeering conspiracy; sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and transportation to engage in prostitution. In addition Combs is currently facing at least eight lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault, rape, sexual misconduct and more. He remains in jail.

No word on what happened to all that lube but, in a world of Diddy’s be a Bon Jovi or a Vedder.

Atila Escolano Sánchez is a Spanish model and singer which is all very nice, but Would You Hit It?

Leonard Peltier Denied Parole For A Crime He Did Not Commit

I’ll try to keep this brief but it’s a fifty-year-old story so it may take a minute.

I was taught in school that Indians, AKA Native Peoples, were either kind to us when we arrived on their land, or they were savages hellbent on fighting the Whie Man. In college, I learned about Leonard Peltier and in researching him I came to see that it was us, the White Man, who were the savages; it completely and permanently changed my views on the government and Native Peoples.

This is the story of Leonard Peltier, who has been in prison since 1977 for the shooting of two FBI agents, Jack Coler and Ron Williams. This week the US Parole Commission once again denied Leonard Peltier's bid for parole; Peltier the case for parole based on several factors: his age,  his nonviolent record in prison and his declining health, which has been affected by diabetes, hypertension, partial blindness from a stroke and bouts of Covid. Peltier's last full parole hearing was 15 years ago—he will have an interim hearing in 2026—but his next full hearing won’t be until 2039 when he will be ninety-four.

Here are the facts of the case:

On June 26, 1975, FBI agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams, in unmarked cars, followed a pick-up truck onto the Jumping Bull ranch on a federal warrant in connection with the theft of cowboy boots. The families immediately became alarmed and feared an attack; a shoot-out erupted and when it was over the Coler and Williams and one Native American, Joseph Stuntz were dead; the agents were shot at close range, while Joseph Stuntz was shot in the head by a sniper’s bullet. Stuntz’s death has never been investigated, nor has anyone ever been charged in connection with his death.

According to the officials, Leonard Peltier—a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and an activist with the American Indian Movement [AIM]—was identified as the only person on the reservation in possession of the type of weapon that could fire the type of bullet that killed the agents.

And while dozens of people participated in the gunfight, only Leonard Peltier, Bob Robideau, and Darrell Butler were arrested. At their trial Robideau and Butler claimed self-defense and were acquitted. When Peltier was tried separately in 1977, not a single witness who identified him as the shooter was presented and—unknown to his defense lawyers at the time—the federal government withheld a ballistics report indicating the fatal bullets didn't come from Peltier’s weapon. But the FBI has maintained his conviction was "rightly and fairly obtained" and "has withstood numerous appeals to multiple courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court" because someone on the reservation murdered those two agents so why not Peltier.

Leonard Peltier fled to Canada and was arrested there in February 1976. The United States presented the Canadian court with sworn statements signed by Myrtle Poor Bear who said she was Peltier’s girlfriend and allegedly saw him shoot the agents but the facts that came out in his hearing proved that Poor Bear had never met Peltier and was not present during the shoot-out. Poor Bear has since recanted her statements and said the FBI threatened her and coerced her into signing the affidavits.

Peltier was extradited to the United States where he was tried in 1977. Key witnesses like Myrtle Poor Bear were not allowed to testify and unlike the Robideau/Butler trial in Iowa, evidence regarding violence between police and the government and residents on the Pine Ridge reservation was severely restricted.

At trial, an FBI agent who had previously testified that Coler and Williams followed a pick-up truck onto Pine Ridge, a vehicle that could not be tied to Peltier, changed his account; he testified that the agents had followed a red and white van onto the scene, a vehicle which Mr. Peltier allegedly drove occasionally. And while three teenaged Native witnesses testified against Peltier about the van, like Poor Bear they all later admitted that the FBI forced them to testify.

To this day not one witness identified Peltier as the shooter.

The U.S. Attorney prosecuting the case claimed that the government had provided the defense with all FBI documents concerning the case but more than 140,000 pages had been withheld in their entirety. In fact, an FBI ballistics expert testified that a casing found near the agents’ bodies matched the gun tied to Peltier and yet but ballistics tests that proved the casing did not come from Peltier’s gun were intentionally concealed.

The jury, unaware of those facts, found Peltier guilty and he was sentenced to two consecutive life terms.

After the trial, Peltier’s attorneys discovered new evidence obtained, and the hidden evidence, through a Freedom of Information Act [FOIA] lawsuit and sought a new trial. At that trial, the Eighth Circuit ruled:

“There is a possibility that the jury would have acquitted Leonard Peltier had the records and data improperly withheld from the defense been available to him in order to better exploit and reinforce the inconsistencies casting strong doubts upon the government's case."

And then they denied the request for a new trial.

In fact, during oral arguments, the government attorney conceded that they did not know who shot the agents but claimed that Peltier is equally guilty whether he shot the agents at point-blank range or participated in the shoot-out from a distance even though Peltier’s co-defendants participated in the shoot-out from a distance but were acquitted; he alone was guilty because he was there.

Judge Heaney, who authored the decision denying a new trial, has since changed his opinion and voiced support for Peltier’s release, stating that the FBI used improper tactics to convict Peltier, that the FBI was equally responsible for the shoot-out, and that Peltier's release would promote healing with Native Americans.

Leonard Peltier has served over 47 years in prison for a crime that even the government says he did not commit, a crime for which the government withheld evidence, rewrote the narrative, and coerced witnesses into testifying against Peltier.

And given all this, given the numerous human rights awards Peltier has been given for his good deeds from behind bars which include annual gift drives for the children of Pine Ridge, fund raisers for battered women’s shelters, and donations of his paintings to Native American recovery programs., given his age, his health and time served, he is still being held behind bar.

And it doesn’t look like the FBI will ever admit the wrongs they perpetuated against Leonard Peltier; in the wake of Peltier being denied parole again, current FBI Director Christopher Wray praised the Parole Commission's decision, saying in a statement that Peltier "has been afforded his rights and due process time and again, and repeatedly, the weight of the evidence has supported his conviction and his life sentence."

Ain’t that America? Aren’t we the savages?

PS A couple of good books to read are In The Spirit of Crazy Horse by Peter and Matthiessen, and Prison Writings by Leonard Peltier. Also on this blog from 2008: Leonard Peltier

PPS Y’all might think I have words about the alleged assassination attempt over the weekend, but I do not condone violence against anyone; my only thoughts are “alleged assassination attempt.”

This Is The GOP & Why You Need To Vote Blue

Here we are again, with a wee taste of the lunacy, racism, criminality, and bigotry and hate inside the GOP and it’s going around the country …

CONGRESS

Eight Senate Republicans, head cheerleader Mike Lee of Utah, and Mean Girls J.D. Vance of Ohio, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Eric Schmitt of Missouri, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Rick Scot and Marco Rubio of Florida, and Roger Marshall or Kansas, are vowing to oppose major legislation and Biden nominees led by the Democratic Senate, following the guilty verdicts for Hair Furor.

These eight traitors to their jobs and to the Constitution of the United States say they will oppose any increases to non-security related funding, Biden judicial and political nominations and “expedited consideration and passage” of Democratic legislation.

Of note, it was just last year when heavy rains left thousands stranded in the mud at Burning Man that Head Cheerleader of Hair Furor Mike Lee declared it to be God’s punishment for the attendees’ supposed promiscuity. But he has no problem with a serial adulterer, sexual predator who fucks porn stars and then lies and cheats to cover it up.

THAT’S the GOP.

FLORIDA

The Florida Board of Education approved several tweaks to the state’s standards for teaching social studies but left intact controversial pieces on Black history that sparked widespread backlash last year.

Florida’s new teaching standards include the same requirement that middle school students learn “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”

In addition lessons surrounding the 1920 Ocoee massacre and the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre will be labeled as violence perpetrated “against and by” African Americans.

Racism in the Sunshine State will be taught in schools.

TEXAS

University of Texas at Austin professor Daniel Bonevac, and others in the state university system, claim that “pregnancy is not a disease, and [therefore] elective abortions are not ‘health care.'”

He also claims that pregnancy is the result of “voluntary and consensual sexual intercourse”—never rape or incest—and students should not be allowed time off to get abortions. And if the students disobey and miss class for abortion care the professors should be allowed to flunk students.

Look at it like this: a college professor forces a female student into a sexual relationship if she wants to pass his class but if she gets pregnant and has an abortion, the professor can flunk her.

Texas needs to abort these asshatted professors.

Also in Texas ... according to the newly-adopted Texas Republican Party platform homosexuality is an abnormal lifestyle choice and so there should be no granting of special legal entitlements or creation of special status for homosexual behavior, regardless of state of origin. The GOP also says they oppose any criminal or civil penalties against those who oppose homosexuality out of faith, conviction, or belief in traditional values.

Texas hates fags.

LOUISIANA

First-of-its-kind legislation that classifies two abortion-inducing drugs as controlled and dangerous substances was signed into law by Louisiana GOP Governor Jeff Landry. Landry, clearly a moron, boasts that the drugs can still be obtained, even though medication abortion is illegal in his state.

The measure makes Louisiana the only state to categorize mifepristone and misoprostol in this way, adding them to Schedule IV of the state’s Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law.

The policy drew support from anti-abortion advocates and alarm from medical professionals and abortion-rights activists in a state where both medication and surgical abortion are illegal.

Louisiana hates women and doesn’t believe that have the right to control their own bodies.

COLORADO

The Colorado Republican Party is issuing a call to its members to pull their children from public school, saying Democrats are using schools to “turn more kids trans.”

Yes, Democrats have that much power.

Under the leadership of Colorado GOP Chairperson Dave Williams the state Republican Party has tacked to the hard right despite holding less electoral power than at any time since before World War II.

And since they have so little power, howsabout voting them all from office so they will have zero power?

SOUTH DAKOTA

A new South Dakota policy to stop the use of gender pronouns by public university faculty and staff in official correspondence is also keeping Native American employees from listing their tribal affiliations in a state with a long and violent history of conflict with tribes.

It came only months after Republican Governor , Liar and Dog Killer  Kristi Noem sent a letter to the regents that railed against “liberal ideologies” on college campuses and called for the board to ban drag shows on campus and “remove all references to preferred pronouns in school materials,” among other things.

All nine voting members of the board were appointed by Noem so it’s no surprise they goose-step behind her. As of now Kristi Noem has been banned from all tribal lands in her state.

Let’s follow that lead and ban her from office as soon as possible.

And that’s just a small taste of GOP lunacy ... anti-women’s rights, voter fraud, anti-transgender hate, traitors, anti-abortion rights, anti-LGBTQ+ and more.

So what do we do if we want more Good News? We ...

Every Day Is An Education

There was a show on CNN last year called Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy that featured many of my loves, from food and cooking, to travel and history, to the adorable Stanley Tucci. Well, this year they are doing Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico, and again it features food and travel and history, though, sadly, without The Tooch.

On a recent episode, Longoria was in Oaxaca cooking with the Indigenous Zapotec people, and she was introduced to an extremely interesting subset of people, the Muxe—pronounced moo-shay. As legend has it, San Vicente Ferrer, the patron saint of Juchitán, was carrying three bags of seeds meant to be distributed around the world. The first contained male seeds, the second contained female seeds and a third bag contained a mixture of the two, and as San Vicente was passing through Juchitán, the third bag ruptured and from that arose the  town’s famed community of Muxes. The Zapotec people often refer to Muxes as a third gender; they embody the characteristics of both men and women, but as Felina Santiago, a Muxe featured in the episode says:

“We are people of two spirits. We are the duality, neither man nor woman. You are neither less nor more.”

Muxes are generally assigned male at birth but tend to present in typically feminine ways through their behaviors, brightly colored clothing and makeup, flowers in their hair and chosen occupations. Many are skilled in embroidery or other artisan crafts, or work as merchants in the markets that drive the region’s economy; often they are the caretakers for the elderly in their community. And yet other Muxes are teachers, lawyers and social justice activists who wear masculine clothing at work but don the more feminine attire in their private lives.

But Muxes aren’t defined by their appearance, nor are they labeled with being transgender, a more Westernized, almost simplistic description. Muxes are not male and they are not female; they are the duality of gender. Most Muxes are attracted to heterosexual men, though many do not label themselves as gay but see themselves as a social and gender category rather than a sexual orientation classification. Even the Zapotec language is accommodating to the Muxe as it has no grammatical gender, only one form for all people. And while the older generations of Muxe don’t experience gender dysphoria, the younger generation is more open to hormone therapies.

One thing all Muxes are is proud of their Zapotec heritage, and they play a key role in preserving Zapotec culture, upholding culinary traditions and other ancient rituals. And as the keepers of their history and society, Muxes enjoy a level of respect and acceptance in the Zapotec community. Some think having a Muxe in the family is a blessing, because of how Muxes tend to nurture the young and care for the elderly.

Still, life is not all easy for Muxes, especially in a Latin country with a distinct patriarchy and a high level of machismo. Many are forced to leave home by their fathers if the father becomes aware the child is Muxe, seeing it as a mark against the family, but many more times the women in the household override the male machismo and allow their child to remain and stay part of the family; they say women choose their children over their men any day.

And they are becoming more well-known, more outspoken, and more accepted by the outside community; every November Muxes in Juchitán put on a festival, “La Vela de Las Auténticas Intrépidas Buscadoras del Peligro,” or “The Vigil of the Authentic, Intrepid Danger-Seekers.” The festival began in 1976 in response to the persecution Muxes faced, and the celebration draws crowds from all over the world, with a parade of colorful floats, a Catholic mass and dancing, and a catwalk show that culminates in the crowning of a queen.

“La Vela de Las Auténticas Intrépidas Buscadoras del Peligro” is a way for Muxes to assert themselves, to come out so to speak, in a space that’s their own. And every year Muxes and non-Muxes alike join the celebration, embracing Muxes and their culture. But their lives are not all fancy dresses and flowers and a once-a-year celebration, for they still struggle for recognition while the debate about what it means to be Muxe, and whether their identity is inherent at birth or shaped by society, whether Muxes must be of Zapotec ancestry, and whether undergoing gender reassignment therapies changes the calculus.

But what I learned most about watching the episode, and then reading about Muxes, is their joy; their passion for their lives, their beauty, their desire to care for others that may have been forgotten by their own families. I thought about all of the anti-transgender hatred, and the anti-drag laws in this so-called modern society, and  then look at Muxes who have been in existence for hundreds and hundreds of years, and most of the time, aren’t given a second thought.

They are just Muxes, reminding the rest of us that literally since time began there has been no single way to express gender identity. And if this ancient community can understand that, even as some struggle with the idea, why can’t the rest of the world, especially in this country?

Sidenote: and this isn’t the only community like this that has been around for centuries. I also learned from Drag Race … sheesh, who knew a cooking show and a drag show could be so educational … and Sasha Colby that in Hawaiian culture, Mahu refers to someone with a male and female spirit and a mixture of gender traits.

This is nothing new people, so why are some of us so frightened by it?

Bobservations

Another not so happy week at Casa Bob y Carlos …

Yesterday we let Ozzo out for his business. About twenty minutes later our vet’s office called to say that one of our neighbors found Ozzo in their yard; they put us in contact with the neighbor and Ozzo was brought back home, but it started that conversation again. You see, Ozzo is also about 18 to 20 years old, and he doesn’t see well, he doesn’t hear well, and he doesn’t move well—though he moved well enough to work his way through the fence and go for a Blind Man Stroll.

I suggested we make an appointment with the vet to make sure he’s okay, other than his eyes and ears and back legs, and Carlos couldn’t handle it. As pets do when they come into your home, they bond with one of you; Ozzo bonded to Carlos, Tuxedo bonded with me, MaxGoldberg actually bonded with us both, though he was slightly more partial to me, and Consuelo bonded with her food dish.

So. We’re taking Ozzo to the vet next week, for a checkup only, and to see how his health is because I don’t want him hurt or in pain,  like Max. I’d like the old man to go in his sleep, peaceful and calm, and if he’s okay, other than the aging, then he will live out his days in peace and comfort.

It’s hard; there’s what’s best for the pet and what you want, and really what you want shouldn’t matter.

I, too, was stunned at so many members of the GOP thanking Columbus for discovering America and calling him a hero. No wonder they don’t want history taught in schools.

Republican megadonor Miriam Adelson told would-be GOP presidential candidates—even Thing 45—that she is not getting involved in the 2024 primary.

No money for you! No money for you!

Blake Masters, the GOP nominee for US Senate in Arizona has long denied the results of 2020 election … until this week. Though he ran in the Primary on the Big Lie now, trailing in the polls, Masters now says Biden is the “legitimate president” and that he’s seen no evidence the vote count was rigged.

Pandering, lying, white supremacist. I did ‘Nazi’ that … oops, maybe I spoke too soon. Yesterday Masters said he still believes the 2020 presidential election was neither free nor fair.

I guess he felt the wrath of MAGAts and Nazis and flip-flopped back.

For the first time ever five of Oklahoma’s largest Native American tribes have united to endorse a candidate for governor: Democrat Joy Hofmeister.

The GOP nominee, current governor Kevin Stitt, has had a frosty relationship with tribes after fighting to overturn the 2020 McGirt v. Oklahoma Supreme Court decision that weakened the state’s ability to prosecute some crimes on Native American land.

The tribes have spoken.

In Arkansas, the Conway School Board issued new regulations on bathroom use and overnight hotel stays, based on a student's sex assigned at birth. The board also agreed to ban books that discuss LGBTQ+ romances, deeming them "inappropriate."

Some members of the LGBTQ+ community spoke out against the new policy and one parent of a transgender child shared that after this vote, they plan to move out of state. But many of the people who showed up, and almost the entire school board, said that they're proud of the decision. In fact, applause and cheers erupted after one man suggested LGBTQ+ people should be put to death,

If you know anyone who is trans in this country and you still think you need to vote Republican, strike the word ‘ally’ from beside your name because you are no different than that man who suggested killing LGBTQ+ Americans.

Inspired by her late mother, Catrine, Cyndi Lauper created the Girls Just Want to Have Fundamental Rights Fund to support organizations fighting for abortion and reproductive healthcare after SCOTUS overturned Roe v. Wade:

“If you don’t have control over your own body, how can you be anything but a second-class citizen? Now, the government has control over your body—not you. What should be a private medical decision between you and your doctor is now a government decision. So, this is a big issue for me.”

Good on Cyndi, and her  mother’s inspiration, for taking a stand.

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson—or as I call him, Mr. Eraserhead—says he’s been “blown away” by calls for him to run for president, but says his focus is on his family.

For the love of the goddess, America? The Rock? Seriously?

In another story of a celebrity taking a stand, LeBron James will not air an episode of his HBO show The Shop that featured Kanye West. Maverick Carter, LeBron’s producing partner, said the decision was made after “talking to Kanye directly”:

“[After] talking to Kanye directly the day before we taped, I believed he was capable of a respectful discussion and he was ready to address all his recent comments. Unfortunately, he used The Shop to reiterate more hate speech and extremely dangerous stereotypes. We have made the decision not to air this episode or any of Kanye’s remarks … The Shop [has] … zero tolerance for hate speech of any kind and will never allow our channels to be used to promote hate … Hate speech should never have an audience.”

Good on James and Carter for standing up against Hate Speech; we need more of that in this country. We need everyone to call out Hate Speech, and refuse to vote for it, when they hear it.

Not so much a Would You Hit It, but another Which Chris Pine Would You Hit: formerly blond and shaggy Chris Pine from Don’t Worry Darling promotional tour, or the newly shorn silver fox Chris Pine?