Save the Children (Fuck Donald Trump)

I had a different post planned for today. It was light and hopefully fun and talked about queer representation in pop culture – which if you’ve been paying even a little bit of attention these past 12-and-counting years and counting is my absolute favorite thing to talk about. But I’ve postponed that small joy because I basically feel like screaming all of the time. This year, I’ve started waking up around 7 a.m. every single day. No alarm clock, no loud noises. Just my body jolting awake and bracing for horror. Now I need to give you a little context, I have been throughout the entirety of my life until this point a world champion sleeper inner. I am a night owl by nature and it used to be nothing for me to sleep in until 10, 11 and even noon on a good day. I also have the luxury of a job that I do not have to go in to until mid-morning. But now I can’t remember the last time I’ve slept in past 7:30 a.m., let alone 8 a.m. Now, I know, whomp-whomp for my fucked up circadian rhythms and inability to lounge in bed all day like I used to.

But the longer the Trump administration grind on and grinds down the basic tenant of our democracy, the worse I’ve slept. I thought I’d gotten used to waking up to a new, fresh hell every day during the 2016 presidential election. But, woo-doggies, was I wrong. Nothing compares to opening your eyes every day and dreading what new, monstrous thing this administrations has done.

Ban Muslims from entering the country? Check! Claim there are “very fine people” among a torch-bearing crowd of white supremacists and neo-Nazis who ran over a woman and killed her? You betcha! Give away $1.5 trillion in tax cuts to the millionaires, billionaires and corporations? Heck yes, rich people are the only ones who know how to handle money anyway, duh! Stack the federal courts with right-wing nutjobs, some of whom have never even tried a case in their lives, to serve lifetime appointments? You bet your Merrick Garland he has! Pull out of UNESCO, an organization dedicated to building “peace through international cooperation in education, the sciences and culture.” Fuck off, nobody needs culture, science or education! Pull out of the UN Human Rights Council and then call it “a protector of human rights abusers.” Totally, we love using the “I know you are, but what am I”-defense in international relations, we just used it yesterday!

But forcibly separating parents from their children and then putting those children in cages? Goddammit all to fucking hell, is there no end to the levels of evil for this administration?

I don’t know how you can listen to the plaintive wails of small children screaming for their mothers and fathers and not think we are at a tipping point as a nation. We currently have 11,785 children in custody. CHILDREN. IN. CUSTODY. Either we accept we are a country that rips sobbing children away from their parents or we don’t – and we stop it. We have to stop it.



The prevailing policy philosophy of the Trump administration has been cruelty, plain and simple. He is a cruel, hateful, ignorant man and we are all trapped in his narcissistic personality disorder feedback loop. And I do not know how we do not all just burst into tears at any given moment.

Rachel Maddow chokes up and cries on air as she struggles to deliver news that migrant babies and toddlers have been sent to "tender age" shelters pic.twitter.com/O6crm8cvyR

— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) June 20, 2018

But then, we knew that about him before a minority of voters (by three million, ahem) in this country elected him. We were warned. Yet still, 52 percent of white women voted for him (and 62 percent of white men, thanks again, white dudes).

So what makes me almost as inconsolable, distraught and furious is that a significant portion of the American populace is not only OK with all of this, they’re thrilled. They’re downright gleeful. Or they just don’t care enough about people who are different than themselves to worry about caring. In fact, the latest Gallup poll shows 45 percent of Americans think he’s doing a great job. That’s nearly half of all American. Fuck, that’s depressing.

So what can we do? Keep caring. Give money to organizations that are fighting Trump. Call your senator and representative. Show up at the marches, show up at the Families Belong Together March. Talk to your racist relatives. Register to vote and vote for a Democrat in November. Care. Care more about your immigrant neighbor. Care more about your Muslim neighbor. Care more about your black or brown or queer or trans or whathaveyou neighbor. Care more about a crying child sitting in a cage filled with other crying children who just want their mommy or daddy than you do your own comfort. Care that we have a terrible human being in the highest office in all of the land and vow to do whatever you can to stop him. And then, I don’t know, maybe we’ll all be able to sleep through the night.

p.s. Fuck Trump, forever and always.

What a Difference a Year Makes

I approach today with no small amount of dread. Today, the one-year anniversary of the 2016 presidential election. Today, the one-year anniversary of the most egregious electoral outcome in modern American history. Today, the one-year anniversary of the dream of seeing a 240-year-old barrier finally broken denied. Today, the one-year anniversary of Hillary Clinton not becoming the President of the United States of America.

When I look back at the hope, the optimism and the belief in a better America I had at the start of Nov. 8, 2016 versus the start of Election Day 2017 and, well. Let’s just go to the meme:

Me on Election Day 2016 v me on Election Day 2017 pic.twitter.com/dcCRSzhy9c

— Dorothy Snarker (@dorothysnarker) November 7, 2017

I remember, so vividly, the pride I felt going into the polling place to cast my ballot for history and Hillary. I remember the relief I felt at not having to see or care about Donald Fucking Trump anymore. And I still have nightmares remembering how it all, slowly but surely, went to shit.

It’s hard for me to read things I wrote before Nov. 8, 2016. There’s a hopefulness that hurts and a naïveté about the simmering resentfulness and flat-out ugliness of so many American voters that is still devastating. I believed in an America that does not exist.

But here’s the thing about this big, often unwieldy and too often unworthy American experiment – as many times as it breaks our hearts, if we pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off and try even harder the next time we almost always find a way (however painfully slowly) forward.

And for proof, I give you Nov. 7, 2017. It was, quite possibly, the first good night for this democracy in 364 days. Democrats win the governorships in Virginia and New Jersey. Democrats poised to flip the Virginia legislature from red to blue. Virginia Democrat Danica Roem beat a virulently anti-LGBT Republican incumbent to become the first out transgender person elected to a state legislature in the United States. Virginia Democratic candidate Chris Hurst, whose TV reporter girlfriend was shot to death live on television, ran on a gun-control platform and beat an incumbent Republican. Lest we think all the good news is out of Virginia, in Minneapolis Democrat Andrea Jenkins became the first out transgender woman of color elected to public office in the U.S.

I could go on and on because it was really that good of a night.

But all I really want to say is to take the rage and disappointment and despair and fear you felt on the night of Nov. 8, 2016 and channel it into work. Channel it into action. Channel it into votes. And on Nov. 6, 2018 let’s have an even better night.

My Weekend Crush

Guys, we made it through another week in Trump’s America. That alone is reason to celebrate. (Though, don’t think I’m not 200 percent furious that this five-time draft dodger is going ahead with his cruel and despicable plan to kick out honorable trans military service members who actually volunteered to serve this country. Because I am 300 percent furious about that.) So if you need a momentary reset on your rage, despair, fear, disgust and anxiety button, please enjoy Melissa McCarthy lip synching her heron and otter out. (Fast forward to 5:30 if you simply cannot wait and need a jolt of happy immediately.) Happy colors of the wind weekend, all.

p.s. And, yes, fast forwarding also avoid the hair tossler. So I highly recommend it.

Only One Side

This is terrible to watch. But this is also America today. And this is the same group the current President of the United States insists includes “very fine people.” No. No very fine people. Bigoted people. Hateful people. Evil people. No one should be surprised that Donald Trump is an unabashed racist – we knew that before. Fuck, some of us (cough, Hillary, cough) even tried to warn us. But we should be stunned at the moral precipice we find our country. From the first black president to this monstrous excuse for a man. There are no “many sides” when it comes to white supremacists who murder people. There is no moral equivalence between Nazis and people who protest Nazis. There is no blame to be cast on Heather Heyer or any of the others who stood up against wannabe fascists and KKK members shouting “Jews will not replace us!” and “Fuck you faggots!” And anyone who does not call it out now, anyone who looks at a crowd of torch-bearing racists and see “very fine people,” is a stain on humanity, let alone the presidency. So, yeah, watch this. Bear terrible witness to what is happening in our country and acknowledge our deeply ingrained institutional racism. And then promise to vote against Trump and all his enablers forever.

Always Be Punching Nazis

I dunno, guys. Maybe we need to start making Nazis the villains in movies again so certain people realize there aren’t “many sides” to Nazis.

So here we are. A nation with Nazis threatening people in the streets. A nation teetering on the brink of nuclear war with North Korea . A nation with the host of the Celebrity Apprentice in the Oval Office – that is when he isn’t playing golf at one of his many resorts. A nation that elected a man who patently refuses to denounce white supremacists as president. Yeah, this dystopia sucks. Can we have the one with the bows and the arrows? At least we had a fighting chance there.

Fuck Trump In Particular, Part Infinity

Just once in 2017 I would like to wake up and not be absolutely horrified by the state of this country. Just once in 2017 I would like to wake up and not be absolutely disgusted by the pathetic little man we have somehow allowed to assume the presidency (despite losing by 3 million votes – ahem forever). Just once in 2017 I would like to wake up and not be absolutely terrified for black, brown, foreign, immigrant, Muslim, transgender, gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, poor and any other marginalized people this administration is attacking daily. Just once in 2017 I would like to wake up and not have to think about the absolute worst person in the world, Donald Fucking Trump.

But, alas, I can’t. I haven’t. I won’t. Not until this monstrous excuse for a human is removed from the presidency. I have no confidence that the GOP-controlled House or Senate will find its backbone. I have no confidence that Trump voters will find their souls. My only hope is that all the people who stayed home, all the people who thought Trump and Hillary were the same, all the people who voted for Jill Stein, all the people who listened to Susan Goddamn Sarandon might wake up. That we, the progressives and liberals and sane people of this country – who, and this cannot be emphasized enough, outnumber the small-minded and conservative – come together and do everything in our power to remove this menace from the White House.

And, guess what, your preferred candidate in 2018 or 2020 might not be The One. Your might have to compromise. You might have to vote for your second choice. You might have to accept that progress is often painfully slow. But the alternative to moving forward (and, let’s be perfectly clear, that is electing Democrats over Republicans) is Trump and this infernal administration.

Remember when your progressive favs argued there would never be a safer time to vote for a third party than in 2016? I do. Remember when moderate conservatives argued Trump was really pro-LGBT and supported gay rights? I do. Remember when he held up a rainbow flag upside down? I do. Remember when the Hate Pumpkin himself had the audacity to tweet this out? I fucking do.



And then yesterday happened when I woke up to a buzzing phone that said Trump tweeted he will not “allow or accept” transgender people to serve in any capacity in the military. He said this was because of the “burden” of their medical costs and the “disruption” of their presence. Yes, he banned transfolk from the military on fucking Twitter.



So yeah, you read that right, the poor little rich boy who got five draft deferments from Vietnam because of “bone spurs” wants to kick out 15,000 patriotic trans servicemembers. Never mind that according to a Defense Department-commissioned study published just last year the military spends at least 10 times more a year on erectile dysfunction drugs ($84 million annually) compared to trans-related medical care ($2.4-$8.4 million annually). Never mind that the same study estimated the increase in cost is a minuscule fraction (a tiny 0.13-percent or $8.4 million out of $6.2 billion) of the military’s total healthcare costs. Nope, trans folks gotta go because to save us from this disruptive burden. Interesting, well I can’t wait his imminent banning of limp dicks because of the disruptive burden they are on the military.

Oh, and in case you are wondering, a Trump trip down to Mar-A-Lago costs about $3.6 million for taxpayers per pop and he has been there 11 weekends out of his 27 weeks in office. I’m not great at the maths, but say if he spent two weekends in Washington instead that “burden” sure seems like it might be lifted. Weird. Almost makes it seem like it’s not about the money after all.

But, oh no, Trump’s LGBT-lovin’ ways weren’t done for the day. Then it broke that his Department of Justice argued in federal court that gay people aren't protected from discrimination under Title VII. That racist Keebler Elf Jeff Sessions has his DOJ file a brief – in a case the department wasn’t even directly involved in – to explicitly say it’s A-OK to discriminate against homosexuals. Also, yes, the brief used the term “homosexuals,” and not LGBT because of fucking course it did.

JESUS FUCKING CHRIST THIS FUCKING ADMINISTRATION.

Look, politics and politicians are almost always disappointing. I get that. But this isn’t about your feelings and your hopes and your dreams for a utopian world. This is about how this administration and its policies are hurting real people right now. Be it a trans servicemember or a Islamic refugee or a Latino immigrant or people with pre-existing medical conditions (oh yeah, don’t forget they’re actively trying to strip tens of millions of Americans of their healthcare as we speak). Real people, real pain.

My promise to you is I will do everything I can to remove this man from office. I will not become disenchanted because I’m not getting everything I want. I will not turn my back on the most vulnerable communities out of sullenness or apathy. It’s not about me, it’s about we the people. And we the people deserve so much better than this unending parade of hate. Fuck Donald Trump.

And to our brave trans military members, thank you for your service. To scared trans youth, we love you. Seek help if you are hurting. You can find it at www.translifeline.org or by calling 877-565-8860. And once more, with all of the feelings, fuck Donald Trump.

Evil for Dummies

It is like they all read “How to Look Evil for Dummies.” Somehow, I thought supervillains would be harder to spot. Oh well, makes it easier for us, I guess. So that is something positive to start your week with.

The Days of Our Scandals

You know, if our entire democracy wasn’t hanging in the balance, this week’s news cycle would be amazing to just sit back and observe because…THIS SHIT IS BANANAS. Like you can’t look away from the new for 15 minutes without something major dropping. And not kinda major. Like Jesusfuckwhattheholyhellishappening major.

I mean, we thought it was big news a week ago when Trump fired Comey. And it was.

But this week alone we’ve learned:

Monday: Trump blabbed highly classified intel to Russia.
Tuesday: Trump pressured Comey to drop the Flynn investigation.
Wednesday: Trump is now facing a special counsel who is taking over the Russia investigation.

And that’s not even mentioning Wednesday’s other minor earthquakes like the House GOP leadership flat-out saying/”joking” that “Putin pays Trump” last year. Or Mike Flynn telling the Trump transition team almost a month before inauguration and his subsequent appointment to national security advisor that he was under investigation by the feds. Or Mike Flynn in his role as national security advisor block a military operation Turkey was opposed to, all while he was being paid $500,000 by – you guessed it – Turkey.

Oh, and we have’t even touched on the narcissist-in-chief as usual dumbass shit Trump said in a US Coast Guard commencement address: “No politician in history — and I say this with great surety — has been treated worse or more unfairly.” Yeah, dude, assassinated presidents Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley and Kennedy would like to object to that posthumously.

Like, this whole week is that classic “30 Rock” Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy joke about a tough week. America, it’s Wednesday.

As I write this I have no idea what fresh hell Thursday will bring. Maybe Trump will pull off his doughy orange face and it will be revealed he was Putin all along. Nothing would surprise me. Oh, wait, if the GOP found it moral compass and put country over party. That would surprise the fuck out of me.

Anyway. All this is a roundabout way of saying each day in the Trump administration has been three months. So to look back at these outtakes of Melissa McCarthy performing on Saturday Night Live over the weekend seems like it happened, what, a year ago. I will always love Melissa’s Spicey (though I wish they hadn’t gone for the easy two dudes kissing, ewww, joke – be better). So, that is one good thing this infernal administration has brought us. Though, to be honest, I would trade four years of Melissa’s Spicey for four of Kate McKinnon’s Hillary in a heartbeat.

Just a Lie

Who would have ever guessed the guy who used to host a show with a segment called “Girls on Trampolines” would become a hero of the resistance? First, his emotional TrumpCare rebuke. And now, this. “The Man Show” was and still is utter garbage. But, keep on earning your respect back swipe by swipe at our Mango Mussolini. But, seriously, can we impeach him yet? How about now? Can we now?

Nothing Matters

"Wait, so, did I get him?" #SNLLiveCoastToCoast pic.twitter.com/iePaQf2fbD

— Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl) May 14, 2017

Look, if blurting out highly classified intel while bragging to the Russians won’t get this utterly unqualified egomaniacal creamsicle impeached, I don’t know what will. Maybe if he personally came every one of his voters’ homes and killed their grandmas and then set fire to their house? No? Nothing matters. Absolutely nothing matters anymore.

My Weekend Human Kindness

We are capable of so many amazing, beautiful, gentle, kind, good things – us humans. If we only try, we can do so much good. But that’s the thing. We have to try to do good. It seems good is not our automatic default, as a species. Instead self interest, self glorification, self indulgence tends to be our default. Me, not you. Me.

Yesterday’s monstrous vote to repeal Obamacare orchestrated by Republicans in the House of Representatives was a perfect example of that. The GOP rushed through a bill that nobody seems to much like let alone know what it does (the Republicans didn’t wait for the report from the Congressional Budget Office, hold any public hearings, conduct a single independent study, post the bill for public consumption for a full 24 hours or – as some have admitted – even bother to read the damn thing) before voting it in 217 to 213. It should also be noted, that not one single Democrat voted for this horrible bill. Not one. So, you know, remind me again how there are no differences between the parties.

The CBO analysis of the last version of the GOP’s plan estimates some 24 million Americans would lose their health care. And that was before they modified it to make it more appetizing to the most rabidly conservative wing of the party. What just passed essentially eliminates coverage for pre-existing conditions. Sure they tried to be cute with the language by saying insurers can’t boot you for having a pre-existing condition. But then they took away the key part of Obamacare’s protections, namely that they also couldn’t charge you more. Now insurers will be free to charge you much, much, much more and therefore make healthcare unattainable for people again. So, the end result? People with pre-existing conditions can’t get healthcare – just like before. This bill will kill people. Period.

And let’s talk about what those pre-existing conditions, shall we? They can include: having a heavy period, pregnancy, C-sections, postpartum depression, domestic abuse and sexual assault. You know, basically being a woman. I would also like to note that somehow erectile dysfunction is missing from the list of pre-existing conditions. Cool, dudes. Thanks for looking out.

And we haven’t even touched the severe cuts it makes to Medicaid and defunding of Planned Parenthood yet. Because, sure, why not make everything just that much more awful – right, fellas? Oh, and did I mention it makes deep cuts to special education and also could lift the lifetime cap ban on even people with private insurance through their employer? Because, naturally, it also does that. Shit, at this point it seems like laughter might be people’s only health care option. Shit, wait, that’s illegal, too.

This obscene act of unnecessary cruelty was hurried through to give Trump a “win” and erase their bruised white male egos inflicted by one of President Barack Obama’s greatest legislative accomplishments. They held a party in the Rose Garden with Trump crowing with glee, and I quote: “Hey, I’m president! I’m president! Can you believe it?” Fuck, no, I cannot believe it. And I never will.

Of course, their little party kind of ignored the fact that their work is only half done. Quick civics lessons for all those smug GOP House members glad-handing each other yesterday: Bills need to be passed by the House AND the Senate before being signed by a president and becoming law. And the Senate, well, it might not be as easy. In the House the GOP has a 45-seat advantage over Democrats, and they could still only pass this thing by two votes. In the Senate the GOP only has a four-seat advantage (52-48). Four seats. So this GOP self-congratulation party is like tearing down the goalpost at halftime. Perhaps Trump & Company need to watch to “I’m Just a Bill” again to understand how our government works a little better.

Of course, I put nothing past the GOP at this point. They control the House, Senate and Presidency so if they have the will they can pretty much pass anything at any time. Yet the sheer villainy of passing a bill that – whatever the final score – will absolutely hurt poor people, hurt people with pre-existing conditions, hurt women, hurt the elderly all in an effort to ram through a massive tax cuts for millionaires is still somehow stunning. Make no mistake, this thing is evil.

And yet, once again, it doesn’t have to be. Human kindness is, at its core, about caring for each other. And there is no better example of this than caring for one each other when we are sick. It always baffles me when people say they don’t want to have to pay for someone else’s ill wife or dying child. Why the fuck not? Is there a better way to spend one’s money than saving a life? I can’t really think of one, can you?

Government, at its core, should also be about caring for each other. We pay taxes for the greater good – roads, schools, emergency response, national security, Social Security and so on. There will always be people who need help, who need a hand. As a society we can either extend that hand or yank it away. This bill yanks it away only to give the richest among us an unnecessary pat on the back.

So what can we do at this point? When I – like I imagine so many of you – feel small and tired and angry and scared? Take a breath. Take care of yourself. Be good to yourself. And then fight like hell to flip the House in 2018. Vote out every Republican who voted yes. Donate to causes that will help Democrats win.

When I first made this video six years ago, I had no idea how many times I’d need to post it. But I do. I like to go back to it now and again to remind myself of the beauty we can create. The good we can do if, again, only we try. Happy weekend, all.

The Anti-Trump

I can’t decide if I feel soothed or unnerved by the fact that, some 25 years ago, “The Golden Girls” knew exactly what was in Donald Trump’s black, black soul. And, boy, were they not afraid to tell it like it was (and, sadly, still very much is). The thing is, pop culture is littered with references to Donald’s unsavoriness over the past four decades. In this case it is less art imitating life as life being so obvious that art cannot ignore its ugliness. But then, true artists are always gonna look down on a lowly reality TV star. As it should be.

So today, when Trump is said to be signing a so-called “religious liberty” executive order (which we all know is just about the freedom to discriminate against us queer folk and anyone else they please and/or a way to erode the separation of church and state), please allow Dorothy Zbornak to remind us all how truly, truly terrible this man really is.

p.s. And don’t think I’ve forgotten about this new, horrendous TrumpCare bill to be voted on today. Republicans, pro-life for everyone except those already living.
p.p.s. If your representative is on this list, please call (202) 224-3121 and tell them to vote NO immediately.

Anti-Christian Lesbian Underground, Unite!

Hello, gay birds. In these alternately ridiculous and horrible and ridiculously horrible times, one of the best coping mechanisms is just simple laughter. There’s a point it seems in almost every day when I just can’t take the headlines anymore. I have to stop checking Twitter and stop reading the news. And I have to find something else to make it all seem a little less awful. (Man, this week has been a fucking doozy, no?) Another thing, along with and sometimes at the same time as laughter, that I find helps is donating to a worthy cause. So, like Tina Fey, I am also a card-carrying member of the American Christian Lesbian Underground. Kidding, kidding – I’m not Christian. But I am a card-carrying member of the American Civil Liberties Union. And I can attest to how nice it feels to give to them, no matter how small. So please enjoy Tina extoling the virtue of the ACLU and the horrors of Trump’s America. In my resistance, there is always laugher.

A Day Without This Woman

So it's A Day Without A Woman Day. We are being encouraged to wear red, not engage in paid and/or unpaid work if possible and not spend money unless at small, woman or minority-owned businesses. So here I am doing my part.

And, to put you in the mood, here is a fella singing a little strike music for you. Enjoy, ladies. See you on the flips side.

A Kindly Monday

It’s important, now more than ever, to start each week on a high note. And this song is a very, very, very high note. Granted, there are no lesbians. Or any discernable ladies. And, yes, there is an overabundance of white boy facial hair. But I am willing to overlook Passenger’s shortcomings because of the content of the lyrics these characters wrote. This is the jauntiest little protest song you ever did hear. And I’d be willing to wager you’ll be humming this wonderful ditty all week long. Given our new, illegitimate president plans to sign his new, illegitimate Muslim Ban, today, I say we all give it a full-throated sing along. Happy Monday resistance, kittens.

My Weekend Crush

As Trump readies his new – though certainly no less terrible – Muslim Ban, I thought it might be a good time to share Valerie’s Letter again. For no reason, really. Just totally out of the blue, actually. Apropos of nothing, truly. I just felt like remembering my favorite part of “V for Vendetta.” You know, the part where the lesbian prisoner scribbles her life story out for someone to find about how she had roses and kisses but then war and authoritarianism and ominous sounding policies like the “Articles of Allegiance” happened and different became dangerous and they took people from their homes and their beds and now there are no roses just despair and ultimately death. Yeah, that part.

It’s not because we have a new president hell-bent on declaring the “others” the enemy with ominous sounding policies like V.O.I.C.E. (which stands for Victims Of Immigration Crime Engagement, which even grammatically is wrong beyond belief). It’s also not because he has commissioned the Department of Homeland Security to publish regular lists of supposed immigrant crimes. It’s not because his policies are having people snatched for deportation from hospitals and churches and courthouses and press conferences by ICE agents overjoyed at their new freewheeling authority. Never mind reports that show immigrants are actually less likely to commit crimes than native-born citizens. Never mind that publishing lists of Jewish crimes was something done to foment hatred toward them during World War II by the actual, goddamn Nazis. None of this matters when there’s an “other” to hate, apparently. But, again, there’s no reason I felt like sharing this clip today. I just wanted to watch Valerie and Ruth and all those beautiful roses, I guess. Happy weekend, all.

The Brave One

One of the only positives out of our new political nightmare is the number of people – everyday folks, famous folks, semi-famous folks – who are coming out to resist. Sure, it sucks that it takes a staggeringly unqualified, unhinged, untruthful and uncompassionate man ascending to the most powerful position in the world to finally make so many speak up. But who has time for quibbles when basic civil rights and the very definition of facts are at stake. Some people, more than makes sense really, love to tell celebrities to shut up. We don’t want to hear your opinions! Shut up and dance and/or act and/or sing! Strangely, these same angry people don’t scream this when those Duck Dynasty guys or Ted Nugent or Chachi or DONALD FUCKING TRUMP WHO IS A REALITY TV STAR YOU FUCKING DUMBASS HYPOCRITES do the exact same thing.

*deep cleaning breath, hold it for 10 seconds, hold it for 10 seconds more, another 10, start turning blue, grind your teeth, and release*

Anyway. I, for one, think celebrities have just as much right to voice their opinions as us unfamous rabble. They pay taxes, they vote, they are real, live human people. In fact, in the face of such an unprecedented attack on the very foundation of our democracy (again, President Bannon full-on spelled it and said his goal is destruction – DESTRUCTION), I feel it is imperative they do.

I won’t lie, I was even a little disappointed there wasn’t more fiery talk at the Oscars. Sure, there were subtle (and a few less subtle) mentions. But nothing high profile à la Meryl and her “take your broken heart, make it into art” glory.

Right, I swear I am getting to my point. And that is among those newly vocal, newly public celebrities is my long-time crush (first Weekend Crush, in fact) Jodie Foster. Jodie has long been intensely private, which tends to happen when a crazed man with a gun stalks you and then shoots the President of the United States to try to impress you. (p.s. two of the last four Republican presidents have been celebrities versus zero of the last four Democratic presidents, but who are star fuckers?)

But last week Jodie took part in an anti-Trump protest rally before the Oscars. Good for her. And good for all of them. Look, folks, the more people in the resistance the better. Also, funny fact, these actor types are kind of good at this whole talking in public thing. And they aren’t half bad to look at, either. Whodathunkit?

Fuck Trump in Particular

Fuck everyone in this cruel, heartless administration. Yesterday, Tump and his minions rescinded federal guidelines protecting transgender students in public schools. The Obama-era directives stated that trans kids must be allowed to access bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity. Now, in withdrawing those protections, Trump is leaving it to each state to decide where a trans student will be allowed to pee. And, make no mistake, this is not just about bathrooms but about the right for trans kids to exist in public spaces.

All through the election, and now even after, people have been yelling at me to relax, that Trump isn’t anti-LGBT. He loves The Gays. Remember when he held up that rainbow flag? I mean, sure, it was upside down. And sure, someone scribbled a sad little "s" at the end of LGBT because they did not know if it was plural or not. But, see, he totally loves you guys. See! Gee, where are those people now?

Look, we all knew Trump would come for LGBT people. Mike Pence is his vice president, Jeff Sessions is his attorney general. Old White Bigots is pretty much the name of his garage band. But it shows how vile, how downright reprehensible Trump and his cabinet really are for the first group for him to target with his blind hatred to be, literally, children.

This hurts trans kids. Period.

It is disgusting, unconscionable, fucking evil for Trump to go after one of the most vulnerable populations out there. Like, we knew he was a bully – we all knew that. But for his first action against the LGBT community be to bully trans kids. I just. I cannot fathom that level of inhumanity.

Let’s drop some statistics about trans students, those fact things he hates so much.

According to statistics from the National Center for Transgender Equality:

- 75% of transgender youth feel unsafe at school
- 59% of transgender students have been denied access to restrooms consistent with their gender identity
- 40% of transgender adults reported having made a suicide attempt – and 92% of those individuals attempted suicide before the age of 25.

This is who he is hurting. This is who he chooses to attack. Children. Real, live children.

The rule in comedy, in writing and indeed in life is to always punch up. Make fun of, go after, fight against those with the most power, the most privileged. Take it to the people who can take – and in many cases deserve – a punch. What has always and continues to astound me is how Donald Trump, a man born into unimaginable wealth who has lived his life in a literal golden tower, whines constantly about being the victim.

You know who the true victims are, Donald? The trans students fearful for their lives, fearful to go to school, fearful of a president who gave states the OK to discriminate against them – they are the victims. They are your victims. Everything he has done is the very definition – both figuratively and literally (given his skyscraper perch) of punching down.

Well guess what, I will never stop punching up at this president. Ever. And neither will so many others who have your back. We promise.

Sending love to all the trans students out there. You matter. #ProtectTransKids pic.twitter.com/PTy2rTJmuV

— Sarah McBride (@SarahEMcBride) February 22, 2017

p.s. Yes, of course, this also hurts non-conforming, non-binary, genderqueer folks, too. But to the Trump administration that is just a fringe benefit. The goal, which cannot be denied, is to hurt trans kids.

My Weekend Crush

I have written this blog for more than 10 years of my life now. I have posted nearly every single weekday, without fail. Heck, I even post when I’m on vacation, because gay gal happiness should never take a holiday. And I have never, not once, run advertisements, even though I could have and have been offered to. (Plus, you know, I certainly could have used the extra cash.) But I do this because I believe the world is trying to sell us so much already. And I’m not interested in advocating for anything I don’t truly believe in.

So instead what I offer is my opinions and my observations every day. Sometimes they’re silly, sometimes sexy. Sometimes it is more serious. And right now, yeah, it’s more serious. Because I feel what is happening in our country is serious. This has apparently displeased some of you as comments on some of my political posts, including yesterday’s, have included grumblings (plus one “give him a chance!” which, fuck right on off with that stupidity).

Since the beginning of this blog I have included a “Politics is Personal” tag because, indeed it is. My first posts in the tags date back to right after I started Dorothy Surrenders. (Also, please don’t judge those early posts, youthful indiscretions al all.) In fact, it is the second most populated tag on my blog (with 274 posts) behind only My Weekend Crush (with 462). Heck it even has more posts than My Fake TV/Film Wife Tina Fey (with 139).

So me writing about politics is nothing new. In fact it is part of the fabric of this blog. And its inclusion since its inception is in large part because the more disenfranchised a person or group of people is, the more personal politics becomes. As a gay woman, as Asian-American person, as naturalized citizen – all these issues are integrally meshed into who I am. And they are for so many other LGBT people, POC and immigrants.

So, yes, I am writing about politics a lot right now because I am thinking (and stressing and black-out raging) about politics a lot right now. I believe we all should be. I also think it is important to reassure people – who are feeling anxious and hopeless and scared and angry – that you are not alone. Millions more of us, at least 2.86 million more in fact, feel that way than don’t. And it helps to say it out loud. That doesn’t mean I’ve abandoned writing about the effervescent delights of pop culture. In fact, as I’ve written recently, the quest to find joy in times like these are more important than ever. (Like, I mean it, watch all those sitcoms I recommended earlier this week – they make me feel so much better.) Oh, yes, there will be tank tops.

But if you’re sick of reading political posts and just want me to post that hot girlie actions, I’m sorry. I can’t keep quiet. Not about Trump and not about what is happening to our democracy. I really can’t. You are more than welcome to find some other free corner of the internet to inhabit. As always, I thank everyone for reading. I am deeply humbled so many of your keep returning day-after-day, month-after-month, year-after-year. I hope I’ve helped you through the years, I know you’ve helped me. So please enjoy this segment, in particular this song. I can’t keep quiet, indeed. Happy weekend, all.

p.s. If you want to skip the chatter (though, come on, Sam Bee is always worth watching) and just want the beautiful music skip to 4:20 above.

The Last Colossus

If our new Hate Pumpkin President does what he says he is going to do this week, he will use executive orders to shut America’s borders to immigrants, visitors and refugees from several predominantly Muslim countries, effectively delivering his promised ban on Muslims. He may also end the DREAMer program, which is the literal and figurative crushing of the American dream for more than 740,000 young immigrants. And, yes, he’s ordering we building (and taxpayers pay for) that fucking wall.

It goes without saying that all of this is all deeply, deeply upsetting. And it should also go without saying that this is all deeply, deeply un-American. At the base of the very symbol of our country. The statue that stands for everything we believe in. The mother of Exiles. Lady freaking Liberty, our essential credo is etched in bronze.

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

It does not say a complete and not a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until we can figure out what is going on.” Never mind that, since Sept. 11, not a single act of terrorism on U.S. soil was perpetrated by a foreign terrorist group. Not one. Instead they’ve been committed by U.S. citizens and legal residents. Let me repeat, they were committed by U.S. citizens and legal residents. In fact, white supremacists have actually perpetrated the most attacks. Queue Nazi ban in 5-4-3-2-never. So what then, does this ban accomplish? Is it just the a sly set up to registering and rounding up all legally residing Muslim American citizens? Is it just the deluded fever dream turned real-live policy of a deeply unhinged man untethered from reality who now has nearly unlimited power? How about both?

The ugly truth about our American experiment is while our ideals may be that of freedom and liberty, we’ve always feared the other. We are a nation of immigrants which has systematically distrusted and discriminated against groups of immigrant since our very inception. The Irish. The Chinese. The Japanese. So many others – simply because they were other. And why? Fear and the often irrational belief that these new arrivals were somehow taking their jobs. Wow, sound familiar?

But what so many today railing against “illegals” and “Muslims” don’t understand or care to realize is that this is exactly what they want. Those in power with powerful interests in keeping us fighting each other instead of them. Those who line their pockets with our labor and pass policies to hurt the most vulnerable among us. To put it simply, congratulation, you played yourself. Scapegoating has worked throughout history and will continue to work until we wake up and stand for each other instead of against.

So fuck Trump, fuck the Muslim ban, fuck turning away refuges, fuck ending DREAMers, fuck that fucking wall. Fuck it all. Resist.

p.s. I swear to the ballot box, the first Democratic lawmaker to stand up and be as badass as the Merriam-Webster dictionary and National Parks social media managers is the frontrunner for 2020.

p.p.s. Hey, "give him a chance, you might like it" crowd. Fuck right off. Like, right off.