Collateral Damage

[Editorial]

They don’t even care about collateral damage. They did it with us by trying to force us to use bathrooms matching our gender assigned at birth, and now cisgender women are being stopped. Women who don’t fit the image of a stereotypical woman are being harassed. Now, men can claim that they are trans men and enter the women’s bathroom!

In Florida, driven by their bigotry toward all things LGBTQ+, they banned anything “...designed or implemented with reference to race, color, sex, ethnicity, gender identity, or sexual orientation.”

'Ridiculous’: Delray Beach residents react to cancellation of St. Patrick's Day parade 

WPBF Ch 25 

Nov 11, 2026 

Jade Jarvis 

Delray Beach city officials said they are working on a way to continue its annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. 

The city announced that it was canceling both the parade and its Pride event next year because of a new state law going into effect on Jan. 1. 

“Disappointed? Ridiculous. You know, it's just – are they going to cancel the Christmas parade as well? So, there's a lot of issues going on here and its weird,” Randy Biro, who lives in Delray Beach, said. 

The city said that new state law restricts funding for activities considered to involve diversity, equity and inclusion, known as DEI.

And now they are getting pushback. Why? Because it affects them—no St. Patrick’s Day parade, no Hispanic parades. All just because the Republicans hate us so much.

The news comes as a shock and disappointment for many in the community as both events draw large crowds to the city. “Middle of the season, it'll bring business to the avenue. And it's good and it's fun. And it’ll probably bring, I guess, 50-60,000 people here,” Kenny Moskowitz, a Delray Beach police volunteer, said.

Fox News says, 

The measure also restricts cities from funding, hosting or officially promoting heritage events that celebrate heritage, culture and ethnicity. 

[…] 

But the legislation carves out exceptions for holidays designated by federal law, including New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

This doesn’t even take into account the loss of revenue from Palm Beach Pride in nearby Lake Worth Beach, which regularly draws an estimated 30,000+ attendees over two days, while Delray Beach's own St. Patrick's Day Parade has historically attracted between 50,000 and 100,000 people. They go to restaurants and bars. They buy stuff. That is a big hit for local businesses!

But it seems like the mayor doesn’t care about the law! It is amazing what the Republicans will do to block anything LGBTQ+, and they don’t care about who gets hurt in the fallout.

[/Editorial]

File This Under: Showmanship

[Editorial]

He hands them out like candy… medals. Hegseth just pinned a medal on the soldier who told him to shut up.

Hegseth awards medal to soldier who reprimanded him and aides at Arlington Cemetery

CNN

By Haley Britzky

Nov. 12, 2026

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth awarded the soldier who reprimanded him and members of his staff at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier a Joint Service Commendation Medal on Thursday.

“We love soldiers. We love standards. Well done, Specialist,” Hegseth said in a post on social media. “Carry on Patriots.”

A Pentagon official confirmed that Hegseth welcomed the 3rd Infantry Regiment, known as The Old Guard, to the Pentagon “where he proudly awarded Specialist Iglesias the Joint Service Commendation Medal for the execution of his duties at the Tomb of the unknown Soldier on November 11, 2026.”

[…]

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is one of the US’ most sacred war memorials, and politicians, foreign dignitaries, and other notable individuals frequently visit to pay their respects to US service members. It’s expected, and not unprecedented, for the sentinel guarding the tomb — a 24/7 job delegated to soldiers with The Old Guard since 1948 — to maintain an atmosphere of respect around the tomb by correcting visitors who get too loud.

To me, it looked like all they thought of the wreath-laying was that it was just another event on their list of things to do. Here he is… the Walter Mitty of the Department of Defense, who dreams of sitting on a white charger in a suit of armor, carrying the flag of the Crusades, showing no respect for the fallen.

[/Editorial]

We Are Wining!

 When we run for office we win!

I asked ChatGPT: How many trans candidates ran for office and how many won?

Comprehensive nationwide totals specifically isolating how many transgender and nonbinary candidates ran and won in the November 2026 U.S. elections have not yet been compiled in a finalized post-election report. However, organizations such as the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, GLAAD, and The 19th have documented several notable outcomes and broader LGBTQ+ figures from the 2026 midterm cycle, alongside baseline data from previous cycles.

2026 U.S. Midterm Election Highlights

• Federal Office: U.S. Representative Sarah McBride (D-Del.), the first openly transgender member of Congress, won re-election. Across all out LGBTQ+ candidates running for federal office in 2026, 17 of 18 won their races.
  
  
• State Legislatures: According to The 19th and the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, transgender and nonbinary candidates won historic first-time seats in multiple state legislatures:
  
  
  • Alabama: Allison Montgomery won a seat in the Alabama House of Representatives (District 25), becoming the state's first openly transgender state lawmaker.
    
    
  • Georgia: Bentley Hudgins won a seat in the Georgia House of Representatives (District 90), becoming the state's first openly transgender and nonbinary state lawmaker.
    
    
  • Michigan: Joanna Whaley won a seat in the Michigan House of Representatives (District 2), becoming the first openly transgender woman elected to the Michigan Legislature.
    
    
  • Washington: Jaelynn Scott won a seat in the Washington House of Representatives (District 37), becoming the first openly transgender woman—and first out Black trans state lawmaker—elected to the Washington Legislature.
    
    
  • Wisconsin: Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford was elected as the first openly transgender woman in the Wisconsin Legislature.
    
    
• Local Office: In Florida, Quinnie Pérez became the first out transgender woman elected to the Orange County Soil and Water Conservation District.
  
  

Broader Context & Historical Benchmarks

Because local, municipal, and school board races are decentralized across thousands of jurisdictions, research organizations typically release full demographic tallies in the months following an election cycle:

• 2024 Election Cycle: According to the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute’s Out on the Trail 2024 report, at least 1,017 out LGBTQ+ candidates ran for office nationwide in 2024. Of the 909 candidates whose gender identity was reported, 91 identified as transgender, nonbinary, or genderqueer (including 48 transgender women, 9 transgender men, 29 nonbinary candidates, and 5 trans nonbinary candidates), alongside 13 gender non-conforming and 5 Two-Spirit candidates. Across all LGBTQ+ Victory Fund–endorsed candidates on the November 2024 ballot (471 total), roughly 338 won their elections.
  
  
• Overall Officeholders: Prior to the 2024 general election, the Victory Institute's Out for America 2024 census tracked 1,303 openly LGBTQ+ elected officials serving across all levels of U.S. government, of whom 8.4% (approximately 109 officials) were transgender or nonbinary.