One would think that as Jewish refugees from Ukraine (then part of the USSR), having fled to the US with their father as children in 1979 after the death of their mother, the Vindman twins would be champions of human rights now. I am truly shocked.
I have routinely found that people's backgrounds do not lead to policy stances that we would presume. The older I get, the more I realize how my early assumptions around that direct line could not have been more wrong. I seem to have been living in a bubble. Shocked I am not clinically depressed by it.
Fortunately I'm getting used to the taste of bitterness, of ashes, of defeat, of vetch. Dems have in their fecklessness and incompetence greatly educated me so very meticulously on the palate of despair and despite.
Much as this disappoints and upsets me, I take it as a strong signal that we all need to proudly stand up and educate others, everyone, that this isn't protecting women and children, but putting them at risk.
No one's listening. Repugs don't care, moderates have their ears plugged, and Dems say they don't need to listen to us because "they're already supporting us". Literally NO ONE wants to hear our lived experience, our personal narratives, our humanizing coming out stories, our evidence based rationales for being considered human and therefore eligible for full inclusion in human rights statutes, or even the horrific stories of suffering, torture, and abuse at the hands of cisgender people so very very very many of us can share.
NO ONE wants to hear it.
We had Caitlyn Jenner on the Time cover ten years ago as "the Trans Tipping Point", and Sports Illustrated and in lingerie on Vanity Fair, and we blew it. That was our big chance to "win hearts and minds" and a member of the pedobillionaire fascist class who's also a member of our community stole it for her own self-aggrandizement. Caitlin Jenner is our JK Rowling or Candace Owens. Fuck my life.
So here we are, fucked, abandoned, without allies, and soon to be eradicated.
We're the Allied Expeditionary Force in 1940 stuck on the beaches at Dunkirk in Nazi occupied Europe and AIN'T NOBODY COMING TO GET US.
The fact Gluesenkamp flipped doesn’t surprise me. That’s a purple-red district in a predominantly blue state. Grew up down there. Much more conservative sentiment and religious leanings compared to the Puget Sound surrounding counties.
For some time now, I have held the belief that the two major parties are nearly identical (except for who they want to use the power of government to beat on). Eight congressional Democrats have very nearly proven my point. The average citizen has never knowingly met one of us. They form their impressions from sources they trust. With the exception of sources such as EITM, their sources and their politicians are telling them that we are a threat. WE know better, but they don't. It's imperative that we do whatever we can to be seen by the public for what we really are. We need to be visible in naturally public venues. It would have been much harder for these 8 defectors to cast this vote, had they known any of us personally. That said, shame on them for joining the haters!
First, forget that primary nonsense now! It’s far too late in the game for that! Second, calm down!
I haven’t even read the whole article yet but quickly looked at who the culprits are.
Most are vulnerable Democrats in one way or another. Any Democrat from a Southern state (including Virginia)falls in that category. Gluesenkamp-Perez co-chairs the “Blue dog” caucus. Kaptur is fighting for her political life in a very purple district in Ohio.
Instead, let’s start by coming together as a community around an issue we commonly agree upon like stopping the Radical Reactionary Right Network (R3N) from erasing us from public life before the midterm elections come.
Doesn't matter if our eradication is facilitated by Dems who want us as dead as the GOPMAGAs do or by Dems willing to flush us down the toilet just so they can keep their jobs.
Why?
Because neither instance fucking matters to the dead.
The bottom line is that Dem leadership is absolutely fine throwing us to the wolves. This is just another patented Hakeem Jeffries "vote your conscience" BS moment. They damn well know that we aren't a threat and aren't "the problem." This is a party equivocating because it's easier than standing for something, a party without a soul and without even a shred of decency. Shame on you Dems. November is coming, and we won't forget this betrayal.
Since this bill passed the House, it's heading to the Senate. I've begun prompting AI to write my letters to my deeply conservative senators from a Christian and conservative perspective. I am a Republican and a Christian, so I'm trying to utilize their assumption that I'm "like them" to challenge their actions. Here's what I've sent today in response to this sad story (thanks, Erin!).
I am writing to you as a Republican constituent, an Idahoan, and a newly converted Christian regarding H.R. 2616, the “Stopping Indoctrination and Protecting Kids Act,” which recently passed the House.
I strongly support protecting children, preserving parental involvement, and maintaining local accountability in schools. However, I am deeply concerned that this bill goes far beyond those goals and risks creating a culture of fear, exclusion, and government overreach.
The language prohibiting schools from “teaching or advancing concepts related to gender ideology” is so broad that it could punish schools, teachers, and students simply for acknowledging that transgender people exist. That kind of vague federal standard opens the door to selective enforcement, politicization, and unnecessary hostility in schools.
As conservatives, we should be cautious whenever the federal government gains broad authority to police speech, personal expression, or local educational decisions. Those powers rarely remain limited to one issue forever.
I am also concerned about provisions that could force schools into situations where vulnerable students are automatically exposed before trust and safety have been established within their families. Every family situation is different. Wisdom, compassion, and discretion matter.
My Christian faith has taught me that every person is made in the image of God and deserving of dignity. Christ consistently modeled compassion toward people who were marginalized, rejected, or misunderstood by society. Idaho’s values have long reflected that same spirit through neighborliness, kindness to strangers, and respect for individual liberty.
I respectfully ask that you oppose H.R. 2616 if it comes before the Senate, or oppose any similar legislation that uses federal power to create hostile environments for vulnerable students or restrict lawful personal expression in overly broad ways.
I believe we can protect children, support families, and uphold conservative principles without sacrificing compassion or basic human dignity.
Thank you for your service to Idaho and for taking your constituents' concerns seriously.
I have sent some copies of "Free to Be" by Jack Turban to various individuals. Today, to the Democratic Congressman from Virginia who asks constantly for financial support.
When any politician lets go of protecting anyone’s individual human rights they’re just as likely to let go of defending everyone’s human rights.
Can't do the latter at all without having first done the former, omnia in bono ordine!
They should be primaried! 😡
"8 Congressional Democrats Vote To Defund Schools That Support Trans People"
Too late to primary ?!
Never too late to remember!
Thank you, Erin.
Omigod. I am shocked that Eugene Vindman is on the list.
I was not happy to see that either. I am now regretting funding I and my parents have sent to his brother; I doubt they differ on this one.
Me too. I supported his brother. No longer. I want my money back.
One would think that as Jewish refugees from Ukraine (then part of the USSR), having fled to the US with their father as children in 1979 after the death of their mother, the Vindman twins would be champions of human rights now. I am truly shocked.
I have routinely found that people's backgrounds do not lead to policy stances that we would presume. The older I get, the more I realize how my early assumptions around that direct line could not have been more wrong. I seem to have been living in a bubble. Shocked I am not clinically depressed by it.
Yes, it's a bitter betrayal.
Fortunately I'm getting used to the taste of bitterness, of ashes, of defeat, of vetch. Dems have in their fecklessness and incompetence greatly educated me so very meticulously on the palate of despair and despite.
Much as this disappoints and upsets me, I take it as a strong signal that we all need to proudly stand up and educate others, everyone, that this isn't protecting women and children, but putting them at risk.
No one's listening. Repugs don't care, moderates have their ears plugged, and Dems say they don't need to listen to us because "they're already supporting us". Literally NO ONE wants to hear our lived experience, our personal narratives, our humanizing coming out stories, our evidence based rationales for being considered human and therefore eligible for full inclusion in human rights statutes, or even the horrific stories of suffering, torture, and abuse at the hands of cisgender people so very very very many of us can share.
NO ONE wants to hear it.
We had Caitlyn Jenner on the Time cover ten years ago as "the Trans Tipping Point", and Sports Illustrated and in lingerie on Vanity Fair, and we blew it. That was our big chance to "win hearts and minds" and a member of the pedobillionaire fascist class who's also a member of our community stole it for her own self-aggrandizement. Caitlin Jenner is our JK Rowling or Candace Owens. Fuck my life.
So here we are, fucked, abandoned, without allies, and soon to be eradicated.
We're the Allied Expeditionary Force in 1940 stuck on the beaches at Dunkirk in Nazi occupied Europe and AIN'T NOBODY COMING TO GET US.
I'm... kinda new to all this (in my early 50s, picked a F*** of a time to run out of ability to cope with dysphoria)...
Fill me in a little here. What's the deal with Jenner?
Gavin lost me when he took that stance. Prior to that I was willing to overlook minor differences.
This is pure hate, fear , & sucking up to trump. Beat them at the next election.
The fact Gluesenkamp flipped doesn’t surprise me. That’s a purple-red district in a predominantly blue state. Grew up down there. Much more conservative sentiment and religious leanings compared to the Puget Sound surrounding counties.
For some time now, I have held the belief that the two major parties are nearly identical (except for who they want to use the power of government to beat on). Eight congressional Democrats have very nearly proven my point. The average citizen has never knowingly met one of us. They form their impressions from sources they trust. With the exception of sources such as EITM, their sources and their politicians are telling them that we are a threat. WE know better, but they don't. It's imperative that we do whatever we can to be seen by the public for what we really are. We need to be visible in naturally public venues. It would have been much harder for these 8 defectors to cast this vote, had they known any of us personally. That said, shame on them for joining the haters!
First, forget that primary nonsense now! It’s far too late in the game for that! Second, calm down!
I haven’t even read the whole article yet but quickly looked at who the culprits are.
Most are vulnerable Democrats in one way or another. Any Democrat from a Southern state (including Virginia)falls in that category. Gluesenkamp-Perez co-chairs the “Blue dog” caucus. Kaptur is fighting for her political life in a very purple district in Ohio.
Instead, let’s start by coming together as a community around an issue we commonly agree upon like stopping the Radical Reactionary Right Network (R3N) from erasing us from public life before the midterm elections come.
Doesn't matter if our eradication is facilitated by Dems who want us as dead as the GOPMAGAs do or by Dems willing to flush us down the toilet just so they can keep their jobs.
Why?
Because neither instance fucking matters to the dead.
Lol! I agree with you, Jaimie! That was an astute comment. Dark, sad, morbid and somewhat nihilistic but absolutely true. Have a great day!
The bottom line is that Dem leadership is absolutely fine throwing us to the wolves. This is just another patented Hakeem Jeffries "vote your conscience" BS moment. They damn well know that we aren't a threat and aren't "the problem." This is a party equivocating because it's easier than standing for something, a party without a soul and without even a shred of decency. Shame on you Dems. November is coming, and we won't forget this betrayal.
Since this bill passed the House, it's heading to the Senate. I've begun prompting AI to write my letters to my deeply conservative senators from a Christian and conservative perspective. I am a Republican and a Christian, so I'm trying to utilize their assumption that I'm "like them" to challenge their actions. Here's what I've sent today in response to this sad story (thanks, Erin!).
I am writing to you as a Republican constituent, an Idahoan, and a newly converted Christian regarding H.R. 2616, the “Stopping Indoctrination and Protecting Kids Act,” which recently passed the House.
I strongly support protecting children, preserving parental involvement, and maintaining local accountability in schools. However, I am deeply concerned that this bill goes far beyond those goals and risks creating a culture of fear, exclusion, and government overreach.
The language prohibiting schools from “teaching or advancing concepts related to gender ideology” is so broad that it could punish schools, teachers, and students simply for acknowledging that transgender people exist. That kind of vague federal standard opens the door to selective enforcement, politicization, and unnecessary hostility in schools.
As conservatives, we should be cautious whenever the federal government gains broad authority to police speech, personal expression, or local educational decisions. Those powers rarely remain limited to one issue forever.
I am also concerned about provisions that could force schools into situations where vulnerable students are automatically exposed before trust and safety have been established within their families. Every family situation is different. Wisdom, compassion, and discretion matter.
My Christian faith has taught me that every person is made in the image of God and deserving of dignity. Christ consistently modeled compassion toward people who were marginalized, rejected, or misunderstood by society. Idaho’s values have long reflected that same spirit through neighborliness, kindness to strangers, and respect for individual liberty.
I respectfully ask that you oppose H.R. 2616 if it comes before the Senate, or oppose any similar legislation that uses federal power to create hostile environments for vulnerable students or restrict lawful personal expression in overly broad ways.
I believe we can protect children, support families, and uphold conservative principles without sacrificing compassion or basic human dignity.
Thank you for your service to Idaho and for taking your constituents' concerns seriously.
Sincerely,
I’m contacting Marcy Kaptur and letting her know that I will never vote for her again because of this. Ohio is bad, but I thought I could trust her.
thank you Erin!!
Abhorrent cowards.
I have sent some copies of "Free to Be" by Jack Turban to various individuals. Today, to the Democratic Congressman from Virginia who asks constantly for financial support.