Lay down with dogs, get up with fleas.
Lay down with Trump and DeSantis, Greene and Gaetz, and you get up screaming, kicking and drooling.
Republicans , particularly the ones who call themselves moral, seem to get crazier every day, and the issue that seems to bring on the drooling faster than anything else is the idea of transgendered children.
The latest manifestation of this is in Iowa, which might be the home of the whitest white people in the world. The governor and the state legislature are expanding on Florida’s moronic “don’t say gay” law. In Iowa, it’s unacceptable to use the word “gay” in school grades K-8, and there would be fines up to $50,000 for schools that violate this and don’t correct it.
In addition, there would be no instruction allowed in those grades about gender identity or sexual orientation.
Then comes the weirdest, most ridiculous part of the law. A school district would be required to get written permission for a child’s parent or guardian “to address the minor child by a nickname or a pronoun that does not correspond to the biological sex that is listed on the minor child’s official birth certificate.”
Say what?
Maybe they don’t realize this in Iowa, where half the people just go by Paw and Maw, but there are an incredible number of nicknames that are used by both sexes. Back in the early ’70s, I had two close friends whose names were Christine and Christopher. It’s fairly obvious that one was female and the other male, right?
Well, they both went by Chris.
In fact, there are numerous names for women that are merely feminized versions of men’s names.
Robert and Roberta.
Charles and Charlotte.
Alexander and Alexandra.
Harry and Harriet.
Stephen and Stephanie.
And of course, Patrick and Patricia.
Who of course can both go by Pat.
Want to hear the silliest part of all?
No, not really.
Well, you’re going to hear it anyway. Two of the driving forces behind the Iowa bill are women, one the governor named Kim and the other a state senator named Sandy.
Is Sandy Salmon aware of Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax?
Governor Kim Reynolds has to have heard of Donald Trump’s friend Kim Jong-Un.
Actually, the senator may have an even worse problem than transgendered names.
Her last name is shared with a fish.
In a state where men are men and cows are nervous, that may not work at all.