Losing My Perspicacity, May 29, 2025

Good morning and Happy Thursday! Thanks for starting your day with me — I really appreciate you reading during these (gestures vaguely at everything) times.

We’ll start today with an issue near and dear to my heart: Allowing trans girls and women to compete alongside other women in sports. By now, I’ve written about the unfairness, the inherent cruelty, and the misconceptions surrounding trans women competing in sports dozens of times. I’ve conducted research, spoken with experts, and learned as much as I can about the issue.

Given that I am not the governor of California, but just some random blogger, you would think someone like Gavin Newsom would have access to all the information I was able to access and plenty more. Alas, Governor Newsom seems to have suffered some kind of head injury between the LA fires and now, as he’s caving to Trump on every issue, including this one.

So, rather than being included as “one of the girls,” the child targeted by Trump and his minions is being singled out as “other.” And, like Blaire Fleming of the San Jose State volleyball team, the teen in question here, AB Hernandez, had no issues competing against other girls until a group of local bigots made her into a national issue.

Like Flemming, Hernandez hasn’t been blowing away the competition. She’s excelled, but she’s not unbeatable. As my time as a gymnast and diver taught me well, there is always someone stronger, faster, and more suited for the sport than you are. The exceptions to the rule are people like Simone Biles and Usain Bolt, but even their time at the top will come to an end. No one has the right to selectively remove their competitors to clear a path to the podium, no matter how much little Bayleigh Rosé wants to win.

Being a teenager is bad enough without being singled out for national scorn and ridicule by adults. Every kid deserves the chance to compete in sports. Every child deserves to feel included. Trans kids have it hard enough without adults singling them out as “different” in front of the whole world and getting the President of the United States involved in their lives.

The entire thing makes me so sad. I can’t imagine how much worse high school would have been without the camaraderie and sense of belonging my soccer and volleyball teammates gave me. I hope Newsom gets tossed out on his ass, hopefully for someone like Kamala Harris or Katie Porter.

Today: Trump hates his new nickname; A Texas judge gets fired for abhorrent behavior; Jamie Raskin finally says what everyone has been thinking; and The High Note.

Let’s do it.

Who doesn’t love TACOs?

I’ve never, personally, learned of a derogatory nickname people have for me behind my back (except for all the trolls who call me “July” because I once complained about how much junk mail I get addressed to “July DiCaro,” but that’s not insulting). The same cannot be said for Donald Trump, who learned today of the acronym “TACO,” which is reportedly used on Wall Street to mean “Trump Always Chickens Out” on tariffs.

Suffice it to say, he was not amused.

Trump should definitely not look at the names the Scots came up with for him, which include “mangled apricot hellbeast,” “toupéd fucktrumpet,” “knuckle-brained fart lozenge,” “degenerate corned beef face syrup wearing wankstain,” and my personal favorite, “rug-wearing thunder nugget.”

But Trump has, in fact, chickened out on tariffs so many times that Wall Street has been able to rely on TACO as a game plan. I Googled “Trump blinks tariffs,” and got 10 pages of results, dating back months. And those are just the news pieces that had those words in the headline or lede to the story.

I love that a woman asked him this question, and that he was so flustered that he had to revert to his go-to insult for women, calling the reporter “nasty.” Of course, that descriptor for women goes all the way back to his debate against Hilary Clinton.

By the way, that reporter was CNBC’s Megan Cassella. Good for her. You can expect Trump to start railing against CNBC in 3…2…

Hilariously, after I put the newsletter to bed, reports dropped that the US International Court of Trade blocked Trump’s tariffs, saying he “overstepped” his authority in imposing reciprocal tariffs on US trading partners.

The administration (everyone say it with me) has already appealed the ruling.

Texas lawyer finally ‘fired’ after years of sexual harassment

To hear men tell it, the #MeToo movement has gone too far, and men can’t do anything at work without risking the unwarranted wrath of the women around them.

In actuality, #MeToo took down some of the men at the very top of the pyramid, guys like Harvey Weinstein, Matt Lauer, and Kevin Spacey, but left a whole lot of other people exactly where they were most comfortable: In a position of power where they could harass those around them without interference. And yes, men get sexually harassed, too.

One of those guys was former Texas Solicitor General Judd Stone:

Normal. I’m sure you’ll be shocked to learn that Stone’s behavior was an open secret known to many powerful men in Texas, including Senator Ted Cruz.

Of course, one thing we learned during the #MeToo purge was how often men will circle the wagons to protect other men, even when they are aware of their abuse. But I guess this shouldn’t surprise us from a guy who didn’t even have the guts to defend his wife when Trump implied she was ugly. How hard would it have been for Cruz to pick up the phone and say, “Hey, you know this guy you’re hiring? You know, we let him go because he was harassing women in my office, right?” Answer: Not very hard.

And of course, Stone was not fired, but was allowed to resign from the AG’s office. Way to go, Ken Paxton. What a hero you are.

Jamie Raskin finally asks THE question

I think Jamie Raskin is aces, but I can’t for the life of me figure out why no one has asked this question in public before. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find this video on YouTube, so forgive the narrow image here.

In Trumps’ big, stupid-ass budget bill, Republicans have reportedly included $300 million for law enforcement activities related to Trump’s weekly golf trips. They’re gutting Medicaid, housing assistance, and school lunch programs for children, but have somehow magically found $300 million to finance Trump’s 3-day weekend field trips.

Maddening. The video is circulating all over social media. If you come across it, please share and help get the word out.

The High Note

Each Day, I do my best to leave you with a smile on your face, a song in your heart, and the will to fight another day.

This isn’t exactly inspiring or something to laugh about, given all the damage done, but I just had to share this headline and pic.

Awwww! Elon is sad and disillusioned? Join the club, jackhole.

I’m really sorry that pillaging and destroying the federal government was hard on you, Elon. I know you broligarchy guys are all shocked the first time you hear the word “no,” but hey! Now you can spend more time sliding into random women’s DMs on X and offering up your seed.

Smell ya later, don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out. We won’t forget.

Hey, survive and advance out there today. Don’t let the bastards get you down.