Twenty Points on LGBTQ (repost)

Um, just so we're clear, what is "gender ideology"? And who is this left wing?
 

[sigh] I guess I'll repost this:
 

June 12, 2026
 

I have heard on many (many) occasions over the course of my life, folks say things like this about homosexuality: “They can do whatever they want, just keep it away from me.”
 

This is brainless.
 

As a hetero, White, cis-male, I have little business speaking on these matters. All I’m doing here is clarifying terms. Much of the mistreatment, hate, and ignorance of the LGBTQ community comes from people who fit into my demographic. This makes it my problem.
 

This is not about being PC. It’s about being C—and a better human being.
 

Twenty points:
 

1. Most of those “folks” mentioned above are Baby Boomers. Few of them will read this. They’re too busy knowing everything.
 

2. Being gay is not a choice.
 

3. Neither is eye color.
 

4. If you’re heterosexual, you did not choose to be attracted to the opposite sex.
 

5. Therefore, “they” are not doing “what they want.”
 

6. And do gay people really want YOU on the team anyway?
 

7. I have had gay friends, and have spent my fair share of time in gay bars. Number of people who tried to recruit me: zero.
 

8. Gender is a social construct. It is not related to sexual orientation.
 

9. People are assigned a “sex” at birth based on one’s anatomy.
 

10. What we consider ”masculine” or “boyish” is something humans made up. Likewise, for “feminine” and “girly.”
 

11. There is nothing inherently “male” about trucks. Or cars. Or mud. Or blue. Or pipes & cigars. Or guns. Or grilling.
 

12. Trans people commonly feel they do not fall anywhere in this polarity: male or female. Or they identify with the other gender. The former are called “non-binary” (or “gender neutral”), whereas the latter are simply “trans.” Some are “gender fluid” and float between the two
 

13. Again, this is not a lifestyle choice. This is part of how the person feels and how they view themselves. No one is going to “make you trans” any more than they’re going to “make you gay.”
 

14. “Queer” used to be a slur. Now it’s a badge of honor and a term indicating political defiance, e.g., “gender queer.” You do not have to use it. It’s probably better if you don’t. I don’t.
 

15. “Hetero-normative” is the cultural dominance of heterosexuality. Like, being straight is normal and being gay is something else, e.g., “homosexual sex.”
 

16. “Intersex” people are those born with a wide variety of differences in their reproductive anatomy. “Hermaphrodite” is an outmoded term.
 

17. Oh yeah, LGBTQ is an acronym for “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer.” It often features a plus sign after it indicating the numerous orientations and gender identities out there.
 

18. Gallup reports 9 percent of Americans are LGBTQ.
 

19. The term “sexual preference” is stupid.
 

20. My pronouns are: break up/the/banks. I also use universal/health/care. And sometimes I use lower/income/inequality. I state this not to diminish the concept of identity; I just tire of academics and intellectuals fixating on the smaller problems instead of the larger ones. They prefer cosmetic alterations.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/07/hhs-report-trans-support-authoritarianism#img-1

Lecture

Just want to give folks plenty of notice—if you're in the area.

I'll post it again just prior.

AOC

Do not be distracted by the Democratic Socialism business. AOC is as much a socialist as Bernie, which is to say, she is not. Neither of them are. They’re centrist politicians whose positions track with the majority of Americans.

I know America prefers her presidents male, White, and rich, and who cater to the class they come from. But having someone on Pennsylvania Avenue who is for things like Medicare for all would be nice, no?

I’m not distracted by tokenism. It would be nice to have a female Puerto Rican-American in the White House, for sure. But I do not think being this or that has inherent value. One can be White and rich and be an excellent executive. Likewise, one can be Black and be an awful human being (talking about you, Clarence and Condoleezza). That said, AOC would indeed bring a breath of fresh air to the position. 

As for her politics, anyone who has read this blog for a few minutes knows that what gets branded as “progressive” in this country is not. There is nothing progressive about everyone having healthcare. Nothing. Most of the developed world has universal healthcare. Borrowing from German chancellor Otto von Bismarck is progressive?

Into the bargain, she is for workers’ rights—including a $15 federal minimum wage—poverty reduction, and sound policy on the environment. She also has a reasonable approach to immigration, but this is not a priority item for me; concern is generally racist and ultra-nationalist. I advocate for open borders, but I’m not so naive as to think this will catch on anytime soon.

We have already tried a president who makes sexual remarks about his daughter, ridicules people with disabilities, and talks about women like they’re property. Don’t get me wrong: I do not think for one second criticizing Trump is a political position. Medicare for all is a political position. It’s high time Americans voted their interests and not the interests of people who wouldn’t wipe their shoes on them. 

Do I think AOC has a chance? That is entirely up to us.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2026/aug/15/will-aoc-run-for-president

Episode 22: Death

Michael and I discuss death. And Potsie Weber, and Spinal Tap, and proctology, and Chevy Chase, and Alice Cooper.

 

Howard Zinn

Howard Zinn was a national treasure. He was a historian who wrote the immensely popular A People’s History of the United States. When I read it years ago, it took me a long time, because I kept giving my copy away: “Here, you really need to read this!”

I’m not sure how many copies I went through, but it was a few. And it’s that good. It is American history told from the positions of the slaves, from the factory worker, from those who suffered racist policy.

Some might roll their eyes and assume this is just a bunch of leftist mumbo-jumbo. It is not; it is careful scholarship. The version of history we are accustomed to is told from the perspective of power. Many Americans know we lost 58,000 service personnel in Vietnam; most do not know, or even consider the fact, that Vietnam lost 2-3 million people.

Yes, change has occurred. We have rethought Christopher Columbus. But most of our thinking is oriented toward power. An educated population is a threat. Therefore a palatable version of the country’s history is presented in the classroom. Is this a conspiracy? Teachers are presenting sanitized versions of the history under the watchful eye of secret police? No.

It starts when we’re children. A certain way of thinking is absorbed by children. This thinking was provided them by adults. Why do you think America got “sucked into” Vietnam? Because that is what was drilled into your head. Because we do not want to think of our country committing crimes. And that is the issue.

We conflate the population with the machinery of state. We look at the flag, thinking “I am America.” Children in droning unity, hands over hearts, say the pledge of allegiance every morning. “[W]ith liberty and justice for all.”

“I am America.” The flag means “me.” If the flag does something bad, I did something bad. If the flag kills innocent people, I killed innocent people. “And I’ll be damned if someone’s gonna accuse me of bad things. I am a good person! And therefore American must be good!”

Tribal thinking runs deep in American culture. If people get angry about police brutality? The Thin-Blue Line flags come out, saying “Leave White people alone!” If gay people, who have been treated like dirt for forever, have a pride parade? We begin seeing straight-pride parades cropping up. Black Lives Matter? All Lives Matter.

Why cannot people get on the side of those being abused and oppressed and killed? Why does the switch get flipped to a tribal reaction? “No one criticizes White people!” The thinking here is “I am White, I must be the one being criticized.” “I don’t have privilege!”

Zinn even goes through the history of how the power elite saw common cause being found between Black slaves and White indentured servants. Can’t have that. Solidarity? That had to be prevented. And it was. Many racist concepts used by White people today can trace their genesis to this chapter in America’s past.

Reading Zinn’s book can, dare I say, help encourage you to become a better person. We all need to be better people.

Why do I get the feeling someone just read that and thought, “I don’t!”

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/aug/06/howard-zinn-the-peoples-historian-book
 

Groceries

 

I guess I’ll just keep saying it. The nation is not divided, and most Americans want the same thing.

The polling data reveal that about two-thirds of Americans are in agreement on just about all political issues.

According to this Guardian article:

“When asked to describe what a better life in three to five years would look like, 60% of Americans said they wanted greater financial security … with 90% of respondents listing [groceries] as their top cost-of-living concern….”

Most Americans are in-sync with the Progressive Caucus. Most Americans are “liberal.” Most Americans are progressive.

Yet, they vote for the wealthy being handed free money. They vote for the working class and working poor getting squeezed.

The current president has spent $40 billion on the war with Iran. He seems disinterested with the plight of the working class and working poor.

According to the Silver Bulletin, “21 percent of Americans strongly approve of the job [Trump’s] doing.”

Almost 60 percent disapprove.

Why, might we ask, did you vote for him? You’re disappointed now?

Did something change?

https://t.ly/qhjlh

Frozen Binomials!

 

I have recently become obsessed with pairs of words that appear in a specific order, called frozen binomials. There are lists of them online; I just wanted to do my own. I have come up with an inventory of frozen binomials, which is in no way comprehensive.

I did not include sequential pairs, e.g., search and destroy. One searches then destroys. Same with smash and grab, catch and release, divide and conquer.

I also did not include smaller-to-greater pairs, e.g. nickel and dime.

Friend Michael did a few during a brief phone call.

Feel free to suggest some I missed—of which there are many.

• Apples and oranges
• Biscuits and gravy
• Black and white
• Bread and butter
• Brick and mortar
• Brother and sister
• Cars and trucks
• Cats and dogs
• Cinnamon and sugar
• Coffee or tea
• Cook and clean
• Cookies and milk
• Cops and robbers
• Country and Western
• Cowboys and Indians
• Cuts and bruises
• Dollars and cents
• East and west
• Fire and brimstone
• Frankincense and myrrh
• Fruits and vegetables
• Good and evil
• Ham and eggs
• Hammer and chisel
• Hammer and nails
• Hammer and tongs
• Hands and knees
• Hit or miss
• Horse and buggy
• Hot and cold
• Hugs and kisses
• Ketchup and mustard
• Left and right
• Lemon and lime
• Loud and clear
• Man and wife
• Meat and potatoes
• Moan and groan
• Mr. and Mrs.
• North or south
• Oil and water
• Paper or plastic
• Peanut butter and jelly
• Pen and pencil
• Pipes and cigars
• Piss and moan
• Pots and pans
• Salt and pepper
• Sand and surf
• Shoes and socks
• Sick and tired
• Soap and water
• Song and dance
• Stars and stripes
• Sticks and stones
• Surf and turf
• Tea or coffee
• This or that
• Thunder and lightning
• Tooth and nail
• Up and down
• Vinegar and oil
• Vitamins and minerals
• Wear and tear