Gender Neutral Dolls are Marketed by Mattel

Mattel is releasing what it claims is the world's first gender neutral doll.

The doll can be a boy, a girl, neither or both. The company is hoping its launch on Sept. 25 redefines who gets to play with a toy traditionally deemed taboo for half the world’s kids. 

The product features a series of kids who go by various pronouns—him, her, them, xem—and the slogan “A doll line designed to keep labels out and invite everyone in.” With this overt nod to trans and nonbinary identities, the company is betting on where it thinks the country is going, even if it means alienating a substantial portion of the population.

https://time.com/5684822/mattel-gender-neutral-doll/

Rice University Band Celebrates Pride at Anti-gay Baylor Game

The Village People's "YMCA" was the song played by the The Marching Owl Band of Rice University while waving dozens of Pride flags during the halftime show of a football game against Baylor University, a Baptist school with anti-LGBTQ policies, reports the Houston Chronicle reported. The band members also joined in a formation to spell "Pride" on the field.

After learning Baylor had denied an LGBTQ student group, Gamma Alpha Upsilon (GAY), formal recognition and privileges, including funding and the ability to reserve space for meetings, the band decided to incorporate the display of Pride into it's program.

https://www.advocate.com/youth/2019/9/24/rice-university-band-performed-pride-antigay-rivals-halftime-show?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=youth&fbclid=IwAR15cVn_fHKFniYXcnEh1VU87x2cTght_pBHRN0kIq4uFFauyynCK2xcpfc

Will Hierarchy-Backing Republicans Prevail in 2020?

For decades, the underlying views of the Republican party have centered around keeping hierarchies alive and well, no matter the hierarchy. Whether it be sexual orientation, gender, race, country of origin, cis-or-trans gendered, religion, doesn't matter. Republicans are on the side of keeping the hierarchy strong. Consistently.

If the elections are fair, and Republicans don't succeed in ousting our fair election process even further, which is a big if considering the incredible ways they have invented to circumvent fair elections, Trump as the top of the Republican ticket in 2020 as of now has a way to go to get into office again.

A new national poll finds that former Vice President Joe Biden, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, California Sen. Kamala Harris and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg all lead Donald Trump by significant margins in potential 2020 matchups. Biden is ahead of Trump by the most (16 points, 54% to 38%), while Buttigeg is up by the least (9 points, 49% to 40%).

https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/31/politics/trump-democrat-matchups-analysis/index.html

Keeping Hierarchical Control in Texas

Today, as series of gun laws in Texas will loosen gun restrictions. Texas has had four of the ten deadliest shootings in modern US history.

The mostly white male gun supporters, who are losing their absolute position on top of our nation's hierarchies, are intent on using violence or the threat of violence to keep their position. Worked with slaves and domestic violence against women, as well as killing off American Indians, and murdering members of the LGBTQ community.

Violence has always been a key control tactic for hierarchies. 

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/01/us/texas-new-gun-laws-trnd/index.html

Apparently Straight Pride Parade Was Mostly Men with Trump Themes

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortex  (D-N.Y.) on Saturday called out participants in Boston's "Straight Pride Parade," suggested the gathering should have been called the "I-Struggle-With-Masculinity" parade.

"For men who are allegedly so 'proud' of being straight, they seem to show real incompetence at attracting women to their event," Ocasio-Cortez said in a tweet accompanied by a video showing marchers. "Seems more like a 'I-Struggle-With-Masculinity' parade to me."

The video Ocasio-Cortez linked to showed mostly men walking along the street waving American flags and holding signs that said "Make normalcy normal again." Other signs and floats expressed many messages that echoed Donald Trump's  rhetoric. One float carried signs that read "Drain the swamp," "Secure America's borders" and "Trump 2020."

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh (D) denounced the parade on Twitter., asking the people of Boston to ,  "continue to turn our backs on hatred."

https://thehill.com/homenews/house/459554-ocasio-cortez-mocks-boston-straight-pride-parade-as-a-i-struggle-with

Texas Republican: No Need for Gun Laws, Pray for Protection Instead

If you support free reign gun access, it is terrific if you can devise a deity who supports you. After all, with hierarchical religions, Man is not made in the image of God, but God is made in the image of a man on top of a hierarchy.

Republican Matt Schaefer, a Texas Republican state representative, posted on Facebook Saturday that he opposes stricter gun laws and that people should instead be "praying for protection." Being a Republican, most likely he sees his deity as one who supports hierarchies.

With his God on his side, does he think that only people who Republicans support will be spared?

https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/01/politics/texas-state-rep-praying-for-protection-shooting/index.html