 I'm Keith Ghostland. I'm Ann Charles. I'm Linda Quinlan and welcome to All Things LGBTQ. What is the date today? February 11th. February 11th. All day. All day. Tuesday. New Hampshire Primary School. Yes. We're very excited. We'll be up late. Yes. Clobuchar. She's coming out of nowhere. So are our headlines. So other than it's the primary and we'll be talking about it for days, trivia question. This is the 25th anniversary and the event has a tagline of to be who you are. What's the event? And then we're going to talk later on about the 2019. They have released the results of the Youth Behavioral Risk Survey and I will tell you right now, I'm not going to be uplifting in this and I've got some really pointed questions. We're going to talk about events, but first it's, as people have heard, the governor vetoed the paid family and medical leave and the house on a vote of 99 to 51 fails to override the veto. Yes, by one vote. And as we were coming in yesterday, the governor vetoed the minimum wage bill and I will tell you that I don't have a great deal of optimism because when the house originally passed the compromise that came out of committee of conference, they only had 93 votes supporting it. So that's seven below and they don't have the progressives to pull from to try and bolster the numbers. So we need a progressive governor next. So Tuesday, the 18th, 5 to 7 p.m. in the house chamber, they're going to talk about H610, which is the firearms and domestic violence bill. If you are arrested for or convicted of domestic violence, you surrender your firearms, no debate, no discussion. And they're asking if people are showing up and are in support. Please, wear purple. And then the other piece very quickly is H611, the older Vermonters Act. The LGBTQIA Alliance of Vermont submitted formal testimony asking for the inclusion in the bill to specifically identify LGBTQ plus underrepresented or disenfranchised communities. And the committee thought it was an excellent idea. Rather than just this vague language that we want to protect all older Vermonters, there's some specific language directing people of and you need to look at these other underrepresented groups and ensure that you're providing services. Well, that's one good news story. Okay, and maybe our last one. I have a few, but not too many. Meet the first same sex couple to get married in Northern Ireland. I have a picture now, but I'm going to show it again because I want to expatiate. It's Robin Peoples left, she's 26, and Charney Edwards, 27. Look at them now and we'll see more of them when I get to the story. Coca-Cola buys covers of all of Switzerland's newspapers in a defiant display of solidarity with queer people. This is in advance of the Swiss anti-gay discrimination vote that passed. So Coca-Cola contributed, although a good percentage of people in Switzerland supported it. Bad news. Thugs attack lawyer, journalist in Chechnya. I have a picture of them and we'll talk more about it. This is human rights lawyer Marina Dubrovna on the left, Dubrovina. She's in a police vehicle and journalist Elena Malashina is also pictured there on the right. They had following separate attacks in Chechnya. An Ireland hate crime spurs activism about hate crime legislation in Ireland. Bad news continues. Mauritania, a prison term has been laid out for men celebrating a birthday party. Tanzania has become a deadly place to live for the LGBTQ community. Mumbai, no parade, but a preamble was read at the annual LGBT Pride gathering. I have a picture there of the gathering and I'll tell you a little more about it. Guyana is urged to end the ban on gay sex. The last country in Latin America to have one, so it's time Guyana. Stories I'm not going to get to. LGBT charity Stonewall in Great Britain says that Philip Schofield, 57, coming out is a powerful and courageous move. I have a picture of him now. He's a very popular television star on kind of a Good Morning America show. He was married to a woman for 27 years, has two daughters and now came out on Instagram and had a very moving interview with his co-host on the TV show. So Stonewall, the charity Stonewall is hailing it as an act of courage. More good news I'm not going to get to. A new shelter for victims of anti-gay violence and bias is going to open in Cameroon. I have a picture of the old shelter that had to close because of high rent hikes, much like the Paris bookstore that I talked about last time, but in a much different context. The landlord raised the rent and decided to rent to other people, but now a charity group has funded the opening of a new shelter. So I have a picture of the old shelter and the new one is in the work, so that's good news. And then the Fiji Islands have bad news. There's going to be there are going to be no transgender athletes in the girls division at the Coke Games and the Coke Games are sponsored by Coca-Cola and it's a big national event without any transgender competitors. You know I just read an article about the person who invented Coca-Cola. Oh really? And then he was a drug addict and died penniless. Really? Yes. Coca-Cola was exactly. And Coke's in two of my stories. I can't remember his name though, but anyway. In a win for trans and non-binary youth across South Dakota, anti-trans bill is defeated in state senate committee. May I just interrupt? I'm so encouraged by this. Sidson activism. Yes. All right. Well that's the Vermont story. Yeah exactly. HRC to honor SNL star Bowen Yang at 25th annual North Carolina dinner. For the first time, same sex couples are going to be counted as married workers in the U.S. economy. This is new. It has never been done before. I have a little write up about Michelle T. that came from the women's review books. 61 Street people have Oscar nominations for LGBTQ roles. What do we think about that? Well the whole Oscars, except for their first number, were really a wash. Although Elton John was good. I have to say Billy Porter's outfit is the only reason to watch. I know. Elmo made two. He was saying I'm black queer. I mean, you know, that was the best. Went downhill after that. Drew Barrymore's rom-com Never Been Kissed gets a queer makeover by Emmy Hutton, who directs a parade of the 90s. So she's doing a remake of that. Virginia makes history by passing LGBT inclusive civil rights bill. And bigot, can we guess who this is? Rush Limbaugh. He's got the Presidential Medal of Honor and it's really an insult to the medal. And the people have previously received it in my humble opinion. Billy Porter says to haters mad that he is on Sesame Street, stay out of my bedroom. There'll be more on that. Bloomberg slammed for his 2016 remark about men in dresses in locker rooms. We'll have more about that. California legislation will authorize rapid syphilis testing for all. Louisiana man is convicted of killing a trans woman and her boyfriend. The conviction of Melville Miller came exactly seven years after their death. The victims were both fatally shot in the head in Metterie, a suburb of New Orleans. Metterie, oh my gosh. Places you know. I know it well. Janelle Monet is proud to be open at the Oscars as a black queer artist. Elton John at the Oscars gives love to his husband and son in an emotional speech. Chicago man is arrested for robbing people he connected with on Grindr. Iowa woman voted for Buttigieg but she wanted her ballot back once she learned he was gay. How did you not know? I'm sorry. Do you know his response? I'll be your president no matter what was his response. Yeah. Trump uses anti-woman and transphobic slurs again. Kathy and Zoe Turry. So I'll have more on that. So those are my headlines. Katie Turry. Katie Turry is her name. Yes. I wonder. It seemed a little off. How do you? T-U-R-I? T-U-R. Katie Turry. Turry. Okay no I. She was actually the reporter who was assigned to 45's campaign during the 2016. Yeah. So he said. I'm going to go into it. So please don't start out. Okay. Not giving away the dramatic conclusion. Yes. So events that are coming up that might be of interest. Saturday, February 22nd, 1030. Labrioche. Maybe a little coffee and conversation. Yes. Sponsored by Rainbow umbrella. Yes. We'll be there. And the momentum program of the Pride Center. My contact with the momentum is that they're looking at trying to establish these events on a regular basis around the state but they're still very much in the preliminary stages so we should be checking their website to find out when things truly do get established. Saturday the 22nd, 8 p.m. Sponsored by Anita Cottail. Merchant's Hall Rutland is their Mardi Gras Ball. And again this is the drag group who are doing monthly events just for a place for the LGBTQ plus community to get together and just have fun. And you can order tickets online. All right. Tuesday the 25th, out in the Opens Queer Winter Movie Series is showing Major. Which is the documentary of Miss Major Griffin Gracie, transgender woman of color who's been an activist for the last 30 years. So also be looking for their radio hour. So Wednesday the 26th, 6.30 p.m. at the Kellogg Hubbard Library. Where are all the great women artists other than the ones sitting here with us? And Friday, March 13th at 8.30 in the morning, which I know is ahead of some people's. We are rescheduling the coffee with the Lieutenant Governor and it will be in the Lieutenant Governor's ceremonial office on the first floor. And keep in mind that Tuesday, March 31st is LGBTQ plus visibility day at the State House. It is also the Youth Leadership Summit day. And there's some preliminary conversation that following the... Is that after? No, no, no. They're happening simultaneously. But they're traditionally as part of the Youth Summit. There is a meeting with the out legislators where there's a conversation back and forth. Because we're all going to be there at the same time. We're trying to put together the same type of forum with our LGBTQ plus elders. As we've talked about on numerous occasions, you know, sharing our history, mentoring, giving support, this is going to be our chance. Good. Well, let's take... Let's chat a bit about this same sex couple in Northern Ireland. You see them posing before a mural of Lyra McKee, which is very poignant. You may recall Lyra McKee was in a same sex relationship and planned to marry her partner, Sarah Canning, before she was murdered while covering a dissonant Republican riot in Derry last year. So there they are. Robin had... This is the romantic story. They go to Paris. Robin had a lock engraved with the date of their anniversary. And in Paris, you know, they have locks on all the bridges. So she asked her partner, who is from Brighton, she asked her to put the lock on one of the... Lock it on one of the bridges. And when she turned around, her partner was down on one knee and proposing. Isn't that? So five years later, they're getting ready. They're getting married this very day on February 11th in a town near Velfast, the first same sex marriage in Northern Ireland, which I mentioned last time. The legislation was passed in October. We're so excited. We're ecstatic. We just can't wait now, says Edwards 27, adding that both brides planned to have wedding dresses, but they haven't shown each other their wedding dresses. The UK government introduced same sex civil partnerships across Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 2005, giving couples and civil partnerships mostly the same legal rights and responsibilities as married couples. And this kind of corresponds with our interview, a couple of shows ago with Beth Robinson, in which she implied that marriage is a very distinguished honor. Like every LGBT person I grew up with says a Northern Ireland activist. Every place I've grown up with where marriage was the recognized form of relationship, he says. When we get engaged, we ask our partners to marry us. That is the language we have. We don't need a two-tier system of recognizing relationships. The law should recognize everyone as being equal. So back to the couple. We've had everything booked for a civil partnership since last January. And it was just the biggest coincidence the law has changed as we're now getting married on our sixth year anniversary. Can I add a sad note to that? Sure. They took down all those locks on the bridges in Paris. Oh, they did? Yeah. Why? I think that they were sitting, it was causing the bridge to sink into the river, I think. It was for a technical, mechanical structure. That was it. It wasn't the symbolism, it was the birch can't just withstand this anywhere. I know, so. Well, they live in Belfast now where people's is a senior assistant in a care home and Edwards is a waitress. They first met on a night out in the city. We just instantly clicked after trying out long distance then living together in Brighton. The pair moved back to People's Hometown five years ago. This is where we're going to build our family, says People's. I wouldn't have made much, it wouldn't have made much sense to get married in England and then not have it be legally recognized here in Northern Ireland, so now it has been. That's very romantic. Now, I'd like to explain that there are 14, I'd like to. Is this from the question? This is from Linda's question. In the United Kingdom, audience members must know this. There are four countries in the United Kingdom. England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Ireland is not in the United Kingdom and it doesn't sit at the United Kingdom's Parliament. Now there are, I became, I went down a rabbit hole with all the repercussions of England's colonial interests. You are not allowed to raise questions ever again, Miss Linda. So in retribution, I'm going to explain a couple of things. These, there are 14 British overseas territories. These UK jurisdictions have marriage equality. England and Wales, Akiyotiri and Dekela, which is a British overseas territory. British Indian Ocean Territory, another British overseas territory. Scotland, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, another British overseas territory. I'll just say B-O-T. Pitcairn Islands, B-O-T. And there are dates of course for your, but I won't go there. Ascension Island, B-O-T. Isle of Man, a whole other category, a self-governing dependency of the British Crown. There are three of them. The Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey. See, many viewers may know this, but I didn't, so now I'm boring you with it. British Arctic Territory, a B-O-T. Gibraltar, a B-O-T. Guernsey, a self-governing British Crown dependency. Tristan Da Kunha, a British overseas territory. Falcon Islands, same. St. Helena, same. Jersey, a self-governing dependency. Alderney, which is part of Guernsey. Bermuda, a British overseas territory. Northern Ireland. Sark, which is part of Guernsey. They all have same-sex marriage with various states now. These UK jurisdictions do not have marriage equality. Luckily, there are too many of them. The British overseas territory of Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, the Canaan Islands, which has had a lot of unrest in the last couple months about this, but they still don't have it. Montserrat and Turks and Calicos Islands, all UK jurisdictions, all British overseas territories. Well, next time can you tell me where they all are? I know. Do you want to go on? We can't now. We have to move on. All right. So we have, across South Dakota, transgender and non-binary youth and their families were able to stand up, make their voices heard, and make a difference, said HRC President Alfonso David. It's heartening to see how strongly South Dakotians stood against HB 1057 and that elected officials in the state are standing up against the misinformation and anti-transgender attacks that came from the bill's proponents. So that is very good news. Yes. HRC to honor SNL star Bowen Yang at 25th Annual North Carolina Dinner. The Trailed Blazing Comedian, writer and actor will receive the HRC Visibility Award on February 22nd in Charlotte. Through his hilarious representation on and off the screen, Bowen Yang is inspiring LGBTQ young people and many others to embrace their authentic selves. As one of SNL's openly gay and the only Asian American cast member, Yang is boldly moving visibly forward. So good for him, huh? Um, and I have, um, Virginia makes history by passing LGBT inclusive civil rights bill. Virginia is well on its way to becoming the first southern state with an LGBT inclusive anti-discrimination law. This bill would end discrimination in employment and housing if passed, the governor has pledged to sign it. So that's good news. And then there's Billy Porter who is supposed to be on Sesame Street and is telling people, the religious people who have been really, um, against this to stay out of his bedroom. Religious conservatives spin out of control when they heard Porter would appear on Sesame Street. He says, if you don't like it, don't watch it. What does my singing with a penguin has to do anything to do with what I'm doing in the bedroom? Penguins. Penguins. One thing that's in conservatives over the edge is when he said he'd be sporting his now famous tux gown from last year's Oscars. Do you have a picture? I do. There's a picture. And, um, let's see. Well, Arkansas representative Jason Rappart took to Facebook and threatened to cut funding for PBS if this episode airs. So we'll see. Keith. So every two years there is a sponsored survey of all high school students in the state of Vermont. 2019 was that year. The results have just been released. Of those who responded, 48% were female, 52% were male. Looking at some of the breakdown for sexual orientation, 82% identified as being straight or heterosexual, 3% identified as lesbian or gay, 10% identified as bisexual, and 6% said they weren't sure. And I'm glad they added that question. Yeah, really? For gender identity, 96% identified as cisgender, 2% is transgender, 1% is not sure, and then 1% responded with, I don't understand the question. Raised to some concern. Looking at some of the breakdown of statistics, bullying within the last 30 days, 15% of the straight students who responded said that they had been bullied, 31% of LGBTQ said that they had been bullied. Unwanted sexual contact, 8% of the men who responded to the survey said that they had been subjected to it, 28% of the females did. 14% of the straight, 38% of the LGBT. Self-harm within the last 12 months, men 12% of those who responded said that they had, and this is, I'm cutting myself, but my intent is not to kill myself. 27% of females, 13% of straight, 50% of LGBT. Sad or hopeless for at least two weeks, consistent within the last 12 months. Straight, 25%, LGBT, 63%. And then looking at some of this sort of, what can we do? How do we respond? Looking at family connectedness, that they had dinner with their parents at least four or more times per week, 76% of straight, 66% of LGBT. Little lower school connectedness, and this was actually encouraging, there's at least one teacher I can talk to, 79% of straight students said that there was somebody to whom they could turn, 72% of LGBT, which, but here was the, the truly, you know, we can do better. Community connectedness, I feel valued, I matter to people, 62% of straight students, but only 37% of the LGBT students. So when I was talking about being at the state house, and the hour visibility day happening at the same time as the leadership summit, and starting that conversation back and forth, so that it becomes very clear to our youth, you truly have a future, this is what it can look like, and we will support you in that process. Disturbing. Well, let's, but at least we're finally asking the questions. Yes. True. True. Let's return to Coca-Cola if we may. I have a picture with or without the additive. Well, I have a picture of all the Coke bottles that appeared on the cover of the newspaper and all the magazines. It's the colors of the rainbow splashed on the front page after Coca-Cola launched a pro equality campaign. This was before, this is as Swiss citizens were set to vote on discrimination protections for LGBT folk on Sunday, the company sent a powerful message in support by buying the covers of several daily newspapers, spread across several papers, including 20 Minutes and D-Velt Volca. The campaign saw the Coke bottle covered in an LGBTQ pride flag. The corporation stands, stands with the bulk of Swiss citizens with 65% being in favor of adding sexual orientation to the country's anti-discrimination law. Entitled the Equality Manifesto, Coca-Cola launched a campaign Monday calling for this advertisement in all four Swiss national languages as well as English. Coca-Cola Switzerland's managing director announced it's the diversity in this country that makes Switzerland an unprecedented success story, but a colorful bottle brought backlash with some boycotting Coca-Cola. An opponent said, I'm not going to drink Coke anymore. Too bad for him. Swiss anti-discrimination vote occurred and it sent a strong signal in favor of LGBTQ equality. So who didn't want to put this in the country's legislature? Members of the Young Swiss People's Party, one of the prime opposition parties who went against the ballot were to press release detailing their stance. I don't like Coca-Cola anymore. They continued, Coca-Cola uses Switzerland's direct democracy to show itself in a light that the company is not entitled to, said the group's managing director. So there's the opponents. And so the law passed. It gives voters broad support to closing a loophole in lesbian, gay, bisexual rights by extending the anti-racism laws to cover sexual orientation. It was a bad day for intolerant people, wrote a tabloid. 63.1 percent of voters came out in favor of extending the current anti-racism legislation to make it illegal to discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation. The vote meant more freedom for hundreds of thousands of citizens and was not about censorship or muslin. The support was particularly strong in French and Italian-speaking regions and in urban areas. Opposition came mainly from rural areas in central and eastern Switzerland. The French-speaking Laetan daily described the rainbow triumph as a strong signal against homophobia. But they don't have same-sex marriage yet. It's due to be discussed in parliament next month. Supporters were encouraged and they think this advance will help that cause. Why can't Coca-Cola do that here? Oh, yeah. Well, I think they, I don't know. I'm not, you know, it is a corporate entity, but it's done the right thing. What's that Coca-Cola that says, I'd like to teach the world to sing. Thank you, Linda. You can thank him too. He wasn't singing. No, that's what you should thank me for. All right. Is there time for me to cover this bad story from Chechnya? Yes. A group of flugs thugs in Grozny attack human rights lawyer Marina de Brovina, and let's show their picture again, an investigative journalist Elena Milashina. It's the latest in the long history of attacks on rights defenders, which bear the hallmarks of being endorsed by the Chechen authorities and tolerated by the Kremlin. Doborina, Doborina arrived in Chechnya on Thursday for a client's court hearing. She's representing a blogger who was tortured and jailed for bogus weapons possession charges in retaliation for posting a video about the opulent lifestyle of the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Karadov. Milashina, who covers the case for Vela Gazeta, that wonderful newspaper that has done risky and important work in Chechnya and Russia. She joined Doborina and Grozny when they returned to the hotel, which was the hotel continental just after 11. They saw a group of 15 women and men in the lobby. Several of the women surrounded them next to the elevator. One said that we came here to defend Islamic radicals. Milashina said in her statement to the police, I smiled and said no. Another woman asked who we came to defend. And before I had time to answer, she hit me hard in the face. Then the whole crowd started beating us. The assailants threw Milashina and Doborina to the floor, kicking and punching them and hitting their heads against the marble floor. The men spoke as if they were in charge. One of them was also filming. The Chechn authorities, there's every reason to believe that they're behind this vile attack. When the attackers fled, they put themselves together, went to the hospital, filed a police report. Despite repeated appeals by its key international interlocutors, the government has done nothing to reign in Chechnya's leadership. Yesterday's attack is reminiscent of an attack on Igor Kelyapin, the head of the Russian anti-culture torture group about four years ago. There's been no effective investigation of that attack, just like many other attacks, threats and abuses. Today, responding to the attack, the Council of Europe's Human Rights Commissioner called on Russian authorities to ensure that human rights defenders can work safely and freely. Unless they pay heed, the next attack is only a matter of time. And this whole thing near the elevator is a chilling reminder of the brutal murder of Anya Poliskaya, a Noveya Gazette journalist who was reporting on atrocities in Chechnya and was stabbed to death in the elevator of her apartment building. So it's scary, scary stuff. I think you have time if you want to do another story. Sure, another intense story, less intense in this instance, but still bad. In Ireland, at the Kildare train station, over the weekend, one man was left hospitalized and is being treated by Garde, Garde being the police, the attacks being treated as a hate crime. A gay couple, both in their 20s, were subject to a vicious beating by a group of three people which left one victim hospitalized, with serious stab-type injuries. A Facebook post written by one of the victims described how he was kicked into the face, not to the ground and kicked and alleged that his partner had been stabbed four times. Never in my life did I think I would be kneeling next to somebody I'm with holding their stab wounds to stop them leading to keep them alive. Garde, the investigative police group, have confirmed that the attack appears to have been homophobic in nature and said they are treating it as a hate crime. But this attack has led to more people speaking out because apparently Ireland has very weak hate crime legislation. We've been raising the need, this is the chief executive of LGBTQ Ireland, we've been raising the need for hate crime legislation with general election candidates from all parties over the last two weeks, calling on them to make it a top priority if they are elected. It's believed that the people involved in the attack who allegedly filmed the incident on the phone are known to the police. I mean, when are they going to put it online or? I don't know. It's very sad. Want to hear more bad news from me? I think we could do another. We have time. We have time today for some reason but I don't know but go ahead. Okay so in Mauritania they had a birthday party. What is it with the birthday party? I know it. It was on January 30th, 2020. Eight men were convicted of committing indecent acts and inciting debauchery after a video showing them celebrating a birthday party in a restaurant led to their arrest. Was there another one of those recently? There were several of these. The court sentenced all eight to two years in prison. Police arrested the eight men and two other people, the proprietor of the restaurant and a woman who was there who were both released. Three days after the video circulated on social media. When the police commissioner acknowledged in a television interview that the event was not a same-sex marriage as had been reported on social media but a birthday celebration, he said that the people were arrested for imitating women. They were sentenced to two years for indecency and inciting debauchery. It's a good thing they didn't have a piñata. Damn. The penal code prohibits homosexual conduct between Muslim adults and punishes it with death for males. No one has in recent years has been sentenced to death for homosexual conduct and a defect or moratorium remains in effect on capital punishment. Still, it's bad. The Human Rights Watch has reviewed the video that was circulated, shows people at a party singing and dancing but shows no behavior anyone could object to as illegal, as reasonably defined. The police appear to have arrested the men on the discriminatory basis of their appearance and behavior. Describing them in the report they submitted to the court, as I said, is imitating women and as solidizers. Would you go on to Tanzania? No, I think we'll kind of wrap this up. May I just add one thing about Tanzania? There's been a terrible crackdown and all these countries withdrew aid and so forth but the prime minister said no, it's fine, it's fine. So they've resumed their aid and their support and one of the most virulent enforcers, the mayor of Dar es Salaam, has been forbidden to travel to the United States. His name is Makanda. I don't know if he even wants to go to the United States but it's terrible over there. Well, on the American side, we have Bloomberg and you know who has been putting out a lot of ads. In fact, I got something in the mail today from the Bloomberg campaign. How are they doing? Well, I don't know but he was slammed for his 2016 remark about men in dresses and locker rooms. In this video, Bloomberg, who is running for president, said most people wouldn't favor equal rights for trans people simply because they don't want some man wearing a dress in the locker room with their daughters. He also said that people should be put in prison according to their gender and not by their gender identity. When was this? 2016. Not that long ago. He hasn't made any reference to having changed his mind or anything although I suppose he will like he did with stopping first. Janelle Monet is proud to be open at the Oscars as a black queer artist. The actress singer sang about how Hollywood can't ignore the contributions of marginalized persons anymore. She said, I am proud to be standing here as a black queer artist and telling stories. And I think we're going to show that picture again. A Chicago man is arrested for robbing people he connected with on Grindr. When his date showed up at this hotel, he would threaten them with a taser and then take their money and jewelry and whatever else they had. The 20-year-old has been linked to three other attacks but has been apprehended. Trump uses anti-woman and transphobic slurs against Kathy and Zoe Turra. Katie. Katie. I had Kathy written down. I know Katie. She's a good reporter. And her father is transgender. Correct? A new book highlights the vitriol Trump reserves for women in the media, women in the media. The new book is called Sinking into the Swamp by Lashland Marquet and Ashwin Scherzbein. And the White House reporters from The Daily Beast wrote their new book, Sinking into the Swamp will focus on mid and low level Trump associates. But I guess he called her, what was it? He called her that bitch with the tranny father. Isn't that offensive? I shouldn't even repeat it. I know. And I guess it's going to be filled with vitriol. Trump's vitriol towards women in the media. I don't want people of color too, I'm sure. So anyway, on that note, I think we have a book review. And Ann is going to do us the honor of reading an interview, Burn It Down, Women Writing About Anger by Lily Denzinger. Burn It Down, Women Writing About Anger, I should explain, disappeared in the Lambda Literary Review on December 26, 2019. Audre Lorde's 1981 groundbreaking keynote speech, The Uses of Anger, Women Responding to Racism, is in many ways a forerunner of Lily Danziger's compelling anthology, Burn It Down, Women Writing About Anger. Lorde's analysis is quick to pivot from the theoretical to specific personal example. Lily Danziger adopts a similar rhetorical strategy by collecting 22 relatively short first person accounts exploring anger grouted in concrete personal experience. But while both Lorde and Danziger, you urge articulation of anger and suggest positive consequences, the positive consequences that may ensue, the editor clarifies at the outset that her collection is not designed to advance a particular goal or agenda. She says, I want to give writers an opportunity to express and explore their anger, not as a means to an end, but for its own sake. Our anger doesn't have to be useful to deserve a voice. Still, several contributors locate anger as the source of their writing energy. Others affirm the redemptive power of coming to terms with the emotion. In Danziger herself echoes the exhortations of some of her feminist forebears. As she invites her readers to, quote, come rage with us, our collective silence breaking will make us larger, expansive, like fire, ready to burn it all down. Several features distinguish the collection, including the range of experience covered, a uniformly sophisticated attention to language that manages to convey painful truths, encogent creative prose, and unwillingness to settle for pat answers and easiest solutions. And finally, the fact that virtually any woman reading this book will find herself or someone she knows, if not literally, at least metaphorically in its pages. As I was preparing to write this review, for example, three female friends described circumstances recalling essays in this book. One friend outlined her initial dismissal and eventual struggle with the medical establishment to find the cause of a series of debilitating symptoms. I referred her to Lisa Marie Basile's account of a comparable circumstance in my body is a sickness called anger. That's the name of the essay. Another friend described her family's dilemma concerning how to respond to her grandchild's unwillingness to identify as Jewish. Occasioned by recent anti Semitic outbreaks of physical violence, I recommended Megan Stilestra's chilling narrative in which the author tries to explain gun violence to her 10 year old son after an especially frightening school lockdown. Finally, when a third friend posted an article about pain and frequency of willful employment of the incorrect gender, in the essayist family, I recalled Cheryl rings crimes against the soul, a piece that chronicles the regularity of deliberate malicious transgendering in rings workplace and elsewhere. One clear strength of burn it down then is its wide ranging subject matter and ease of reader association. Certain essays stand out as particularly informative, engaging and provocative. In Rebel Girl, Melissa Fibos writes beautifully of her journey from her mother's second wave feminism to her own self identified queerness. A process that began at an alternative summer camp when she was 13. Meredith Toulousean in basic math shares the insights into female erasure gained in the aftermath of her gender transition and the consequences of her battle to change things in the hot house atmosphere of a prestigious MFA program. In homegrown anger, daughter of Filipino immigrants, Lisa Victoria Borshe, interrogates the US political landscape in the Trump era and explores the unanticipated challenge presented by the need for prolonged anger before suggesting strategies for continued activism and self care. Despite the editor's early insistence that I wanted to give anger a space to exist solely for itself without being packaged and used for someone else's gain, close quote, are very title issues that call to action, a dismantling of the multivalent forces that women are justifiably angry about. Thus occasional essays that simply record instances of rage without movement toward change or healing seem inconclusive and not entirely satisfying. One also wishes for a wider age range since the oldest contributor seems to be 49. Still the powerful piece that concludes the collection, Anifitz Patrick's So Now What, captures the rejection of formulaic resolutions in favor of the power of individual agency that runs through the best of the anthology as the narrator struggles with self-questioning and doubt in the aftermath of a rape. Fitzpatrick ends her essay with a report that she is finally able to guardedly move on, explaining that despite the recurrence of good days and bad days, quote, my priorities have shifted and I remember that I'll be fine, close quote. One hopes for similar outcomes for all of the angry women in this volume and around the globe so that we may effectively confront the malevolent and insidious forces ranged against us. As this urgent anthology reminds us, the time to burn down the systemic edifice of violence, misogyny and the host of other toxic constructs that seek to dominate women's lives is long overdue. The end. Very good. Thank you. It definitely makes me want to read the book. It's really good. Okay. We have trivia. So 25th anniversary, tagline to be who you are. It could only be the house of LeMaze. Winter is a drag. And if you're watching this show, you're not joining me on the ballroom floor and seeing what Margaret and Amber are up to. And with that, remember more than ever to watch and see what happens in New Hampshire and also resist.