Republicans: continued

[JimC]

They are, in some ways, a reflection of the nation...

[L'Emmerdeur]

It's part of the mythos of the United States. Presidents like Lincoln and Washington are presented to schoolchildren as exemplifying admirable qualities like perseverance and the capacity to inspire courage. The author of the piece is indulging in a bit of idealism.

[Brian Peacock]

Trump is a violent sex-abusing kleptocrat, Biden glibly facilitated genocide, Obama ordered the murder of US citizens, Bush Jnr waged a pointless and illegal war in Iraq, Clinton filled the prisons with young black men, Bush Snr illegally invaded Panama, Reagan sold the family silver to corporations then cut social safety nets, etc etc... These people are not the best among us, they're among the most ruthless sociopaths of their time.

[Svartalf]

well said

[L'Emmerdeur]

You don't have to be a complete nitwit to embrace bigotry but it helps.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) lashed out after facing a wave of mockery and fact-checking over her complaints about American taxpayers supposedly paying for “trans mice.”

“Animals should not be used for radical transgender experiments,” Mace wrote on X this week. “This is not science. This is ideological cruelty paid for by the American taxpayers.”

Included in Mace’s post was an image of a mouse touching a human hand with the message: “NO TRANS MICE.”

“Our TRANS MICE Act ends it. No federal funds may be used to conduct, support, or fund research aimed at altering an animal’s biological sex,” Mace wrote. “No hormones. No surgeries. No taxpayer dollars spent mutilating animals in the name of transgender ideology. his legislation brings accountability, ends taxpayer-funded cruelty, and ensures science serves the public, not ideology.”

The congresswoman was hit with a community note from X that added context about “trans mice,” noting a “transgenic mouse” is not a transgender animal. It is a term used to define mice who have received foreign DNA.

“‘Trans mice’ refers to transgenic mice not transgender mice. Transgenic mice are defined as mice that have incorporated foreign DNA into their genome, allowing for the study of gene function and disease mechanisms, particularly in cancer research,” the community note reads.

Mace pushed back, claiming she wasn’t actually talking about transgenic mice, but “federally funded transgender-related experiments on animals.” She did not use the term “trans mice” again.

[source]

There is research on the effects of hormone therapy that uses mice. However Mace's own comments make it clear that she thinks mice are being 'mutilated' to supposedly make them transgender, and her bill probably wouldn't affect the actual research since the bill aims to prevent funding for research 'altering an animal’s biological sex'. From the link:

These projects test the effects of hormonal treatments on the immune, skeletal, reproductive, and other systems, particularly in the context of fertility, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), breast cancer, and osteoporosis. These studies were indeed designed for the direct benefit of trans people and their communities. Specifically, this research tests the effects of gender affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) on murine animal models or assesses the effects of GAHT on humans undergoing such treatment.

Trans people, like all people, deserve studies on the medicines they take. A multitude of studies on GAHT have demonstrated positive effects to life and mental health. As with most medications, there are still unknowns, so learning about undiscovered effects of GAHT on various diseases, body states, and mental functions is crucial.

However, the benefits of this work extend to everybody, cis or trans. Traditionally, we as scientists have historically studied estrogens in females and androgens in males, despite the fact that animals with any type of gonad produce both types of steroid hormones. This has left a gap in our knowledge for people with hormonal differences, such as individuals experiencing polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), infertility, peri/menopause, hypogonadism, precocious puberty, and anti-steroid therapies for cancer treatment. These research gaps lead to an insufficient understanding of hormonal influences on the brain and neural function of all people, cisgender, transgender, and nonbinary. Studying models of GAHT in humans and animals thus provides us with direct benefits to the trans and cis individuals who produce both androgens and estrogens. To be clear, this includes almost everyone.

Furthermore, the mice are not, and cannot be, transgender. Gender in all its complexity is a uniquely human construct, and one component of this is gender identity. This latter can only be determined by asking someone about their own internal self-concept, something we cannot ask of animals. Since scientists cannot attribute gender to animals, we instead focus on what we can do: model the impacts of GAHT. This is the same approach used to model complex human conditions such as autism, anxiety, and drug addiction. By studying animals in a laboratory setting, we gain invaluable insight into the biological basis of human traits.

[Brian Peacock]

That one's been on a slow burn for a while now.

Fact check: Is the US government spending millions on transgender monkeys? - Nov 2024

Fact-checking Trump's anti-transgender comments in his address to Congress - Mar 2025 ...

... Trump brought up trans issues again about 20 minutes into his speech, in what many on social media have described as one of the most bizarre moments of the address. He said Elon Musk was helping to find wasteful government spending, including “$8 million for making mice transgender.” ...

[JimC]

Mickey wants to be Minnie!

[Svartalf]

cut off his junk and let him go about in dresses.

[L'Emmerdeur]

Not that Democrats are particularly effective champions of the American people, they're just less blatantly the champions of the wealthy and corporations. Republicans provide a wonderful cover for them. Happily latching onto government benefits while consistently working to deny them to the citizens they're supposedly in office to represent. Latest example:

On Tuesday, US Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) returned to Congress after a four-month previously unexplained absence, during which he received his full salary despite missing over 100 votes. He revealed on the House floor that he sought treatment for depression.

“I am grateful that I accepted help because today I stand before you healthier, stronger, and excited to return to the work that I love,” Kean said.

But during his two decades in the New Jersey Senate, Kean consistently opposed paid sick leave for his constituents.

He voted against New Jersey’s historic Earned Sick Leave Act, which mandates 5 paid sick leave days per year for New Jersey workers. He also voted against New Jersey’s No Surprise Medical Bills act and two of its paid family leave laws, in 2008 and 2018.

For Yarrow Willman-Cole of the nonprofit New Jersey Citizen Action, who organized for the Earned Sick Leave Act in 2018, Kean’s four-month absence is bitterly ironic. “He’s been able to rely on things he directly voted against,” Willman-Cole said.

On the House floor on Tuesday, Kean said he has been a longtime “supporter of mental health care.” But, he hasn’t made it easier for others to take the leave they need.

“You want your lawmakers to really be connected to their constituents and understand what their constituents need,” Willman-Cole said, “and this disconnect with a lawmaker clearly not representing the needs of the average worker, the average family, is a problem. That’s not what government should be like.”

...

Kean also notably voted for Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which establishes work requirements for people on Medicaid. For low-income people on Medicaid, the need to fulfill work requirements to keep their health care could be a barrier to treatment as they go into effect.

“All of it makes it very challenging for millions of Americans in this country who do have mental health conditions like depression to get the care that they need without risking their employment and the rest of the stability of their lives,” Camarda said.

Whether or not Kean’s voting record and absence are dealbreakers will be up to constituents in his district come November, when he is facing Democratic challenger Rebecca Bennett to keep his seat.

[source]

I predict that Republican voters will happily vote for him again.