Happy Friday, Gentle Readers,
I pray this missive finds you well. Apropos of nothing, I have some predictions ahead of Monday's festivities.
- The official national chant will be changed to "Let's Go, Gavin!"
- "YMCA" will replace "Hail to the Chief" as the Presidential Anthem.
- Biden's team will leave one staffer behind to interpret the traditional letter left by the outgoing president for the incoming one and pick up the leftover crayons.
Schedules are transphobic.
So Worcester, Mass., is the latest entity to woke itself in the foot. The city made progressive history, sort of, by electing Thu Nguyen as its first non-binary council member. I know that the readers don't appreciate it when writers use preferred pronouns, but looking at the photo at The Daily Mail, I am not sure what this person's actual sex is, the Mail uses they/them pronouns, and quite frankly, I'm not in the mood today to sort it all out.
Nguyen has taken an entire month off work for mental health reasons. Apparently, the city council of Worcester, which, as noted above, is situated squarely in one of the most left-wing states in the nation, is guilty of misgendering Nguyen, who claims that fellow council members have used the pronoun "it." Nguyen stated, “These hateful acts are unbecoming of a legislative body whose duty is to serve our communities and to honor and enforce anti-discrimination laws."
Other council members claim that there were a few occasions when Nguyen was misgendered but that they were accidental, and apologies were immediately tendered. And who can blame them? The list of pronouns continues to grow, with some of them being virtually unpronounceable. I'll wager that 17 new pronouns will be invented by the time you get to the bottom of this page.
Despite Nguyen's claims of hatred, other council members assert that Nguyen decided to indulge in a mental health month in response to a request to actually show up for work. Mayor Joe Petty said that the kerfluffle commenced when the mandate came down that members attend council and subcommittee meetings in person instead of virtually. Or maybe just attend them.
He said Nguyen has missed half of the traffic and parking subcommittees and has failed to hold a meeting for a transportation sub-committee they chair.
"Failing to participate in these essential responsibilities is unacceptable," Petty said. '"I will not apologize for holding myself and my colleagues accountable to the responsibilities entrusted to us by the people we serve."
Nguyen hit back by stating that their low and remote attendance of sessions was due to the 'transphobia' they had experienced from colleagues.
"I have always tried to treat every councilor with the dignity and respect they deserve," Petty added.
'I would never knowingly say anything harmful, and I firmly believe everyone deserves the dignity of having their identity honored and respected."
Petty said Nguyen was referring to an incident in 2022 where he accidentally misgendered them during a meeting but insisted he had apologized.
Councilor Candy Mero-Carlson, who has also been accused of pronoun impropriety, noted that Nguyen had the lowest attendance record of any member and believes Nguyen is "trying to weaponize the allegations for political purposes." That may be. It also may be that Nguyen is dismayed that in real life, no one is as interested in his/her/their/whatever pronouns as he/she/they/whatever is.
Wine recommendation
Because you need to save the bubbly for Monday.
It has been a spell since we have had a white wine, Mrs. Brown being partial to dry reds. So this week, we have a Sauvignon Blanc crafted with the health-conscious drinker in mind. Meet Liquid Light, with only 95 calories and less than one gram of sugar.
It may be low-cal, but you probably shouldn't replace your Gatorade with it. However, it is light, refreshing, and is a great drinking experience from bouquet to finish. Believe it or not, the nose had a trace of watermelon, and the wine has a very strong citrus edge, including lemon and grapefruit, with a hint of green apple and even a little tangerine. Like a traditional Sauvignon Blanc, it is high in acidity and tops the charts when it comes to dryness. It has a bold finish with an extra zing of citrus.
Serve this up with some oysters, shrimp, or crab or a cold, white cheese platter. You should be able to get out of the store with a bottle for about $14 to $16.
That's it for me. Have a great weekend, and I'll see you next time.
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