Jon's Blog

A lesbian couple named Courtney Wilson and Taylor Guerrero were visiting Hawaii from Los Angeles this past March. One the second day of their vacation, they ended up getting arrested while shopping at a Foodland grocery store after an off-duty police officer objected to them kissing each other. Things escalated from there:

They were walking through the aisles holding hands and at one point hugged and kissed, the lawsuit said: Officer Bobby Harrison, who was shopping in uniform, "observed their consensual romantic contact and, in a loud voice, ordered plaintiffs to stop and 'take it somewhere else.'" The women complied and continued shopping, the lawsuit said. When Harrison again saw them being affectionate with each other, he threatened to have them thrown out of the store...

While the women were in the check-out line, Harrison grabbed Wilson by the wrist, and she started to call 911, she said. "He was bumping his belly against Courtney," Guerrero said. "He said, 'you girls don't know how to act. You don't know the difference between a motel and a grocery store.'" When Guerrero tried to get in between her girlfriend and the officer, he shoved her. She kicked him as she was falling, she said. "The whole situation got physical," Wilson said. "I got punched in the face by him."

Because Harrison didn't have any handcuffs on him, store employees helped restrain the women, as customers watched. "You can't really blame them for not getting involved," Wilson said of the bystanders.

Another reported shared that the women were taken down into the Foodland basement where they were asked "if it was worth it, if we were happy where we are."

The women were both arrested and charged with felony assault on an officer. They were both in jail for three days until they were able to pay bail. They were required to remain in Honolulu as a condition of their release from jail. They spent the next five months couch-surfing with friends and family members. They even spent some time living in a homeless shelter and had to take temporary jobs cleaning vacation rentals while they were stuck in Hawaii.

The charges were eventually dismissed against the couple. It seems that video footage of this police interaction has gone missing.

Needless to say, the couple has filed a federal lawsuit against Officer Bobby Harrison and the city of Honolulu. The Honolulu Police Department has initiated an internal investigation into this incident. Officer Harrison remains on full active duty.

I've mentioned my love for Squirrel Girl often on this blog. I was pleasantly surprised with Marvel Comics' new UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL comic book when it first started earlier this year. It has everything that I love in a comic book: Superhero action merged with humor and cartoony art!

So imagine my excitement when Marvel Comics canceled UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL and relaunched it with a fresh UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL two months later!!! Actually, it seems silly that they relaunched the book with fresh numbering, but with the same exact creative team and characters. Then again, I really liked the old series so I'm willing to forgive this foolishness!

UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #1 (Volume #2) shifts eight months after the events of UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #8 (Volume #1). Doreen Green (AKA Squirrel Girl) is now a second year college student at Empire State University and now lives in an apartment off-campus with her BFF Nancy Whitehead (who now has read hair!). They still hang out with Chipmunk Hunk and Koi Boi and they still do their best to fight against the powers of evil!

Incidentally, I'm getting major gaydar vibes in this issue from Chipmunk Hunk and Koi Boi. I can't pinpoint anything in particular (outside of Chipmunk Hunk's credit description). In other words, I'm just putting that theory out there for future reference. You heard it here first!!

Anyway, here are four great reasons to love UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL #1!!

1. Welcome to the New Avengers!: Did you know that Squirrel Girl is a charter member of the newest incarnation of the NEW AVENGERS? It's financed by Sunspot (formerly of the New Mutants and X-Men) and based out of Avengers Island (FKA AIM Island). I'm not sure if I will be reading that book. Obviously, I love Squirrel Girl, plus Wiccan, Hulkling, and Songbird are members. But I don't like the artwork and I'm not sure if I can handle the finances of yet another comic book! Still, it's good to remind folks that Squirrel Girl isn't a free agent anymore!

2. Not a Mutant!: We are introduced to Maureen Green in this issue of the book. That's Squirrel Girl's mom. We also learn that -- contrary to previous assertions -- Squirrel Girl is NOT a mutant. We don't know exactly what she is, but she is not a mutant and she never has been a mutant even though she's been called a mutant before!

It's possible that Marvel Comics wants to prevent Fox Studios from stealing the character for a future X-Men movie. And it's possible that they want to protect her from the Terrigan Mists that are presently covering the Earth and poisoning the mutants. Or both.

But Squirrel Girl is not a mutant. Or as the comic book observes: "The doc couldn't say for sure whether it was the squirrel bite or the cosmic rays in the forest or the experimental nut serum or the radioactive tree or what that caused the changes. Maureen's pregnancy was... a pretty eventful nine months, actually."

3. Nancy Hearts Maureen!: I cannot praise UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL's hidden gem enough! Nancy Whitehead is one of the best things to happen to this comic book. I really enjoy her friendship with Doreen -- and I love that she loves Doreen's mom! Such fun!!

4. Brain Drain!: I really like Brain Drain -- this issue's villain. He is a former Nazi whose brain survived World War II. He eventually gained a robot body and attacked Alpha Flight. It's possible that he's been around since the early 90s, but I haven't seen him.

As always, Squirrel Girl eventually comes up with a unique way to neutralize this elderly villain. Rarely do her punches do the trick. Instead, she uses her brain and her heart to save the day -- and to offer her foes new direction in life! Check out the book to see what I mean!

You really need to pick up UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL if you aren't already reading it. This is one of the most different superhero books that's currently being published by a mainstream comic book publisher. My mood was pretty messed up yesterday. I fetal-curled up in my bed with my copy of this book and immediately got my attitude turned around with laughter and enjoyment. It's that good.

"The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1" is written by Ryan North, penciled and inked by Erica Henderson, colored by Rico Renzi, and lettered by VC's Clayton Cowles. Plus, the "Trading Card" art is by Joe Morris!

Archie Comics kicked off it's 10-part story called "The Man Loves of Archie Andrews" last month in BETTY & VERONICA HALLOWEEN ANNUAL #237. I originally assumed that it would be spread out through all of the publisher's comic book digests, but it looks like it's just in the BETTY & VERONICA COMICS DOUBLE DIGESTs. I worried that it would take forever for the story to proceed, but it looks like it will be a monthly journey.

It also appears that each part of the storyline is only connected by theme. Last month, Archie was nominated as "Best Boyfriend of the Year" by eight separate girls: Betty, Veronica, Cheryl Blossom, Valerie Smith, Ginger Lopez, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Amisha Mehta, and Noelle Claus. It looks like we will now be treated to new stories featuring each of these girls, but not in stories directly related to the "Best Boyfriend of the Year" story.

That said, it looks like these were be fun stories as evidenced by the Christmas-themed story in BETTY AND VERONICA JUMBO COMICS #238! Betty and Veronica both appear briefly within the story, but the real stars are Archie, Noelle Claus (AKA Santa's daughter), and Sugarplum the Christmas Fairy!

1. Call Me Susan!: We catch up with Archie in this story as he wraps up a date with a new girl named Susan. For some reason, she looks awful familiar, but he can't figure out why. It turns out that he's met Susan several times in the past, but she's grown up quite a bit over the past few days...

2. Noelle VS. Sugarplum!: It turns out that "Susan" is really Sugarplum in disguise! Noelle figured it out and forced the fairy into showing her true colors.

3. It's Not Illegal to Kidnap People at the North Pole!: Archie discovered Noelle and Sugarplum arguing. This prompted the love-struck fairy to whisk Archie away to the North Pole. Noelle lacks the fairy's magical powers, but still has access to her father's reindeer for her last-minute transport needs!

4. Fairy Magic Is Temperamental!: We learned today that fairy magic is neutralized by the presence of a full moon. In other words, once monthly these guys lose all of their magical abilities. That has to suck!

5. Archie's Conscripted by Santa!: Now that Archie is stuck at the North Pole, Santa has decided to put him to work wrapping Christmas presents. Of course, this tactic rarely works out in the end! Archie's inner-klutz reared its ever-present head and created three pages of mischief for Santa and his elves!

Santa eventually whisks Archie home on his magic sleigh -- which makes you wonder why he didn't take advantage of Rudolph's flying abilities to get him home in the first place! But that wouldn't make the story very fun!

6. Jingles the Stud!: Jingles got a bit jealous over the antics of Noelle and Sugarplum towards the end of this story, so he used a little shapeshifting magic to grow up and pay a little visit to Veronica Lodge! Is it me or does "Jingles" look a bit like Kevin Keller?? Now I totally want to 'ship Kevin and Jingles!!

I liked this story and I definitely liked that it was about double the size of most stories that show up in Archie Comics' digest magazines. I think I also like that the idea that this storyline is focused on a theme and not an interconnected series of stories!

"The First Noelle" (AKA Part Two of "The Many Loves of Archie Andrews" features scripts & pencils by Dan Parent, inks by Gary Martin, letters by Jack Morelli, and colors by Digikore Studios.

It's only a matter of hours before "Archie: Riverdale Rescue" permanently fades away from my iPad. I logged on this afternoon and was greeted with the following message:

You can still play the game, but you can no longer download it onto your computer or device.

This is the twenty-fifth in a series of blog posts dedicated to the 40th anniversary of BBC's "Survivors" television series. "Survivors" followed a core group of characters who managed to survived a devastating viral outbreak -- one which managed to kill off somewhere between 95-99% of humanity. Society has crumbled and now those who remain must relearn the old way if they have any hope of surviving much longer.

This latest episode, titled "New World," is the final episode of the second season. The Death came to Earth in season #1, resulting in millions of dead people and the gradual gathering of our core group of survivors. Then in season #2, tragedy struck and those who remained from before relocated to Whitecross, under the joint leadership of Charles Vaughan and Greg Preston. There were some exceptions, but season #2 focused on the day-to-day struggles of living at Whitecross and we largely lost sight of the outside world.

"New World" brought the outside world to Whitecross and introduced a sequence of events that will lead our group into a new series of adventures out in the untamed wilds of the United Kingdom! But I'm getting ahead of myself...

One morning, everyone is diligently working when they notice a colorful hot air balloon up in the air!

A group chases after the balloon and find it hanging from a clump of trees. The balloon's pilot died in the crash and left a confusing mystery. He had a knapsack full of food, but also a camera, several postcards, a map, and tons of notes written in Norwegian!

They eventually track down the pilot's daughter -- a young woman named Agnes (played by Sally Osborn).

Agnes explains that Norway is a mess. There are roughly 100 survivors throughout the country. They have the technological resources to help rebuild civilization, but not the people necessary to operate everything. On top of that, they lack food production processes and are slowly starving to death.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom has operating farms, but everything is all spread out. Nobody is really working with each other, nor do they realize where everyone is or which resources that they have in one corner of the country versus the other.

Agnes and her father Lars had hatched a plan to inventory the entire area and then assist everyone with relocating to areas that would promote strengths and trade.

Agnes eventually convinces Greg and Jack to return with her to Norway. Greg would use his engineering skills to get everything organized there and Jack would use his previous work skills to organize transport shifts for the purpose of commerce!

Jenny isn't happy about Greg leaving, but it will only be a few months and he'll return, right?

And away they go!

Honestly, I've always been surprised that the people of post-Death England haven't put more effort into creating a census of names and skills and then helping everyone relocate to areas of need. For example, spread out the doctors, the farmers, and the animal experts more uniformly. And then allowing electricians and engineers the time and resources to rebuild communication and electrical systems.

In other words, I fully support Lars' dream!

Thus, Season 2 ends! I need to take a break from "Survivors" for a bit. I enjoy the program, but they take a lot of time and energy to produce. I imagine that I will tackle Season 3 in December. In the meantime, I appreciate all of the feedback that I receive from others about this series.

(Originally written on 11/01/15): A couple weeks ago, I began hearing about some top secret comic book project featuring Dan Parent and Fernando Ruiz. They have been largely tight-lipped, but have indicated that it will not feature the Archie Comics characters:

But then yesterday, Dan Parent posted the following throwback cover featuring Sabrina the Teenage Witch on Facebook:

I made an off-hand comment calling for the revival of the Carneys (written about here and here). Which prompted the following reply for Dan Parent: "stay tuned."

Keep in mind that the Carneys are fairly unique when it comes to Archie Comics characters. Unlike most characters that appear in Archie Comics, the Carneys are owned by Dan Parent and Bill Golliher. In fact, they were trying to make a program on Cartoon Network featuring these characters at one point.

I am throwing out the notion that this new top secret comic book project that Dan Parent and Fernando Ruiz are working on is indeed the Carneys! Which would make me so happy. I have been itching to see these characters in action for years!

Of course, I could be wrong. But I look forward to discovering the answer to this riddle when Dan and Fernando eventually make their official announcement!

Updated on 11/02/15: I went forward with my pet theory that Dan Parent and Fernando Ruiz are working on a top-secret project featuring the Carneys -- but apart from Archie Comics yesterday. A few hours later, Fernando posted this message on the Archie Comics Fan Forum:

Nope. Jon's wrong. This has nothing to do with Archie.

Dan later posted an update on his blog and on Facebook, each essentially telling us to wait two weeks for a big revelation:

So what do we know about this secret project? Not much. It isn't the Carneys. It's not at all connected to Archie Comics. And it has some connection to Gisele and Pixie Trix Comix, based off the various tags. Plus, I vaguely remember Gisele confirming that somewhere.

I'm sure that we will get more hints, but otherwise we will need to wait for two weeks for the full scoop.

Meanwhile, I'm still left wondering if Dan Parent has a separate project in the works featuring the Carneys???

A 33-year-old woman has been accused by Omaha police of breaking into the Henry Doorly Zoo so that she could pet a tiger? Their evidence? One of the tigers apparently bit her!

Police said officers were called to Creighton University Medical Center around 7:20 a.m. Sunday after the Jacqueline Eide, 33, showed up with a hand injury. Officer James Shade says the woman acted aggressively and appeared to be intoxicated.

Police determined that Eide snuck into the zoo to try to pet a tiger. She was bitten when she reached into the animal's cage.

It does not appear that Eide was arrested. Instead, she was ticketed and charged with trespassing.

Do you watch "Pawn Stars" on the History Channel? Earlier this year, I shared that Rick Harrison, owner of Gold & Silver Pawn Shop and "Pawn Stars" personality, came out in support of Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio. He even came to Iowa back in August and helped launch the grand opening of Rubio's Iowa campaign headquarters.

CNN interviewed Harrison recently about the endorsement. Basically, he said that "everyone sort of frowns on you" and he complained that "there have been some endorsements that didn't happen," but the real point of this blog post is Harrison's anti-trans beliefs:

It does worry me to a degree. You get these massive liberal PC police, they don't see the law of unintended consequences. You have some cities that are saying that if you have a man who feels like he's a woman, he can use the women's restroom. I guarantee you that will be taken advantage of by some very bad men who want to go into a bathroom where there's young ladies. That will happen if you pass a law like that. It's not a perfect world. You'll never make it a perfect world.

Because that's not happened. In fact, trans people are like everyone else in that sometimes they just need to pee. I'm aware of one case of a "trans" person that I remember involved a male anti-trans activist who deliberately went into a women's locker room wearing bad drag with the intention of aggitating everyone.

Most bathroom incidents involving trans people have involved cis individuals who have attacked trans people who had sought to access public restroom because they needed to pee (see here and here for just two examples).

I totally missed this. A local Chick-fil-A franchise became a sponsor for a faith-based LGBT film festival in Nashville, TN. Of course, Chick-fil-A now has a reputation for being anti-gay by Christians and gays alike so social conservatives everywhere have been freaking out about this sponsorship. One guy has also called for the mass execution of everyone at Chick-fil-A.

Keep in mind that the Chick-fil-A in nearby Coralville, IA, recently sponsored the 2015 Iowa City Pride and donated 200 free chicken sandwiches and sides for the annual Pride picnic. Several -- myself included -- were not happy about this. We stayed away from the picnic and didn't call for an executions. Just something to remember next time you hear about the homo-fascists!

I went to the chiropractor last night, where he did some scans to see the spots where my back is stressed. It looks awful pink and red, but...

Compare this to last February. Lots more green and much less red!

Police were called to a house (possibly in Des Moines?? -- it's unclear from the original article) with complaints of an assault. They found two men wrestling in the yard of a home in the 4000 block of 8th Street -- and both men were completely naked:

An officer arrived at a home in the 4000 block of 8th Street at 4:54 a.m. on a report of an assault, but found two naked men, according to a police report. The nude resident's clothes had somehow come off during a fight with an already-naked Daniel David Mutchler, 35, of Paton, who was allegedly siphoning gas.

The resident awoke to his dog barking, alerting him that someone was outside. He went out with the dog and a family member to check on their cars. They found Mutchler standing nude in their yard by the parked cars.

Mutchler “immediately put up his closed fists in to the air and took a fighter’s stance,” the report states. Mutchler allegedly charged at the resident, punching him in the face. The resident tackled Mutchler to the ground and the resident's father came outside to help while the resident's brother called police...

Three full plastic gas cans and a drill were found next to the cars. Police saw the gas tank of one of the parked trucks had been punctured and drained of its contents. The caps to the gas cans were found in Mutchler's car, parked a few blocks down the road.

The Des Moines Register questioned how it was that the house's resident also became naked. I'm assuming that he came out in his underwear and that they got all ripped up while wrestling and rolling around in the yard. Unless the police reveal some sort of video of the assault, we will never know for certain. But there's unfortunately never any video of these kinds of fights...

Mutchler was arrested and charged with two counts of assault causing injury, 5th degree criminal mischief, 5th degree theft, and trespassing. He is currently being held on bond at the Polk County Jail.

I learned earlier today that Mama June Shannon and Mike "Sugar Bear" Thompson (formerly of TLC's "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo") will be appearing on the upcoming season of WE tv's "Marriage Boot Camp."

The couple had been together for eleven years, but broke up last September following allegations that Thompson was a chronic cheater. Then Shannon got in trouble for allegedly dating the convicted sex offender who had perped against her oldest daughter back when she was just 8-years-old. These events ultimately led to the reality TV program's cancellation.

Of their appearance on this program, Shannon said "It was our last resort" and that the show is meant to be a tool for assisting troubled couples with deciding whether or not to break up for good.

Shannon and Thompson will be joined by a bunch of reality TV stars that I've never heard of from reality TV shows that I've never heard of before: Sean and Catherine Lowe of "The Bachelor" (Jon's Note: I've actually heard of this show, but not the couple), Benzino and Althea Heart of "Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta", Sunday Carter of "Basketball Wives: LA", and Cedric and Sarah Oliver and Jimmy "Inkman" Coney of "Bad Girls Club." I noticed from the trailer that Judge Toler of "Divorce Court" will be hosting the show. She's definitely someone that I know and enjoy, so that's another good reason to watch the program!

"Marriage Boot Camp" premiers on December 4, 2015, on WE tv.

Back in April, young Bobby Drake (AKA Iceman of the All New X-Men) came out as a gay teen. This was significant, given that he was one of the original X-Men and that he is a time-traveling mutant from the earliest days of the X-Men who's currently stuck in the present. Except that an adult Bobby Drake (AKA Iceman of the X-Men) is not gay.

So there was an unanswered question of how the young Iceman can be gay when the older Iceman isn't.

Turns out that he is indeed gay -- but deeply closeted. Until an intervention by young Iceman and Jean Grey enabled older Iceman to admit that he is attracted to other guys, but has been afraid to come out.

It all went down in UNCANNY X-MEN #600, which came out yesterday:

There has been speculation by some fans for a long, long time that Iceman is gay. He occasionally dated women, but rarely for long and rarely was it serious. Otherwise, he's been pretty much a loner for most of his life. On top of that, his father is a huge bigot. An anti-mutant bigot, but I'm sure he hates gay people also. I can see why it's been so difficult for him to come out before now.

It will be interesting to see how things evolve with two gay Icemen running around the Marvel Universe!

I've written before that Archie Comics has been working on a live action television project and that they eventually settled down with the CW network for their "Riverdale" program. Late yesterday afternoon, character breakdowns for four of the main characters were released to the public. Check these out:

ARCHIE ANDREWS | A high school sophomore, the redhead is still boyishly handsome but “pumped and looking good after working construction for his dad during the summer.” Archie is grappling with heavy issues and juggling the interest of several girls while discovering his passion for writing and performing music against his father and his football coach’s better wishes. Oh, and he’s harboring more than one dark, terrible secret.

BETTY COOPER | The blonde and pretty sophomore is described as having “some self-esteem issues and affinity for Adderall.” Eager-to-please, wholesome and studious, Betty has a super-crush on her longtime best bud, Archie. But tired of being the “perfect” everything, she turns to her new friend, Veronica, for life advice. Betty has an emotionally brittle mom, a goth-like sister and a coveted spot on the cheerleading squad — though with certain conditions….

VERONICA LODGE | Producers are aiming to ideally cast a Latina as this “silver-tongued” stunner, who has just returned to Riverdale from New York following a scandal which resulted in her father going to prison. Extremely intelligent, self-confident and immediately popular, Veronica is eager to reinvent herself — from Mean Girl to caring friend.

JUGHEAD JONES | A hearing-impaired actor is being sought to play Jughead as an “emo-heartthrob.” The lanky lad is Archie’s former best friend, seeing as the two still are smarting from a rift that took place between them. Angry, but with a philosophical bent, Jughead “refuses to take the olive branch being proffered by Archie, the hurt goes that deep.”

What do you think? Do these breakdowns get you excited for the program?

More importantly: Will Jughead still wear his crown?

Are you gay or lesbian or a married gay or a married lesbian and want to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? Do you have kids? The LDS Church wants to remind you: "We don't want you."

For example, the LDS Church has updated the LDS Handbook of Instructions (a manual for LDS bishops and stake presidents) to include members who "are in a same-gender marriage" as apostates. LDS Church leaders are to pursue church discipline for apostates.

Additionally, the LDS Church has made the decision to exclude children whose parents are living in a same-sex household from being blessed as babies or from being baptized. It doesn't matter if the child's parents are married or not:

In a major policy announcement, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says children living in a same-sex household may not be blessed as babies or baptized. The decision, which was released Thursday, takes effect immediately, LDS church spokesman Eric Hawkins told 2News.

"A natural or adopted child of a parent living in a same-gender relationship, whether the couple is married or cohabiting, may not receive a name and a blessing," the policy reads.

If you are the child of gay parents and still want to become baptized within the LDS Church, this will only be permitted after you have turned "18, disavow the practice of same-sex cohabitation or marriage, and stop living within the household." Even then, you would need to get special approval before getting baptized.

Back in 2004, the United Church of Christ came out with its infamous "Bouncer" Ad. People from other denominations -- heck, people from within the UCC itself -- were furious with this message:

"Jesus didn't turn people away. Neither do we."

They were absolutely furious. CBS refused to air the ad because they had a policy against advocacy advertising and the Bouncer Ad promoted same-sex marriage. Somehow. I am still annoyed with CBS after it allowed Focus on the Family to air an anti-abortion ad featuring Tim Tebow during the Super Bowl just a few short years later.

But they were upset with the indirect accusation that churches turn away gay people. Of course, they immediately told me that they love all sinners and hate all sin. In other words, break up your family if you want to come here. But we welcome you!

And yet time after time, we see examples of church communities going out of their way to turn away and disenfranchise LGBT people and same-sex families. Today, it's the LDS Church and its decision to specifically include us in its list of apostates and its decision to refuse baptism to our children until they repudiate their own parents.

Last week, it was the Christian church leaders of Houston, TX, who successfully rallied against an anti-discrimination ordinance that included sexual orientation and gender identity using visceral images of men in dresses and child predation. Before that, it was the latest in a string of Catholic churches that fired a lesbian teacher. Before that, it was a Christian private preschool that expelled a child because he has two mommies.

I attend a Christian church most Sunday mornings. I love my church family. There is no question that my family is loved, affirmed, included, and welcomed.

But I'm tired of the larger Christian Church and its ongoing hostility towards LGBT people and families. I'm tired of their inability to figure out the horrible public relations nightmare that they create for themselves when they reject sacraments for babies of gays or when they insist that they must reject their parents in order to become saved. I'm tired of their collective shock that most LGBT people literally hate the Church. And I'm tired of their collective inability to figure out where that hatred is coming from.

The Christian Churches of the world say they don't have Bouncers at their doors? That's bull! They just don't have the honesty to admit it.

I learned today of two daycare workers in Katy, TX, who were fired earlier this week after fighting back against efforts to support a 6-year-old trans boy. The refused to call the student by his new name (John) and they refused to refer to John as a boy. Additionally, one of the women (a manager at the preschool) got in trouble for trying to inform all of the students' parents about the presence of the trans child:

“It caused confusion,” says one employee. At Children’s Lighthouse Learning Center on Clay Road in Katy, Madeline Kirksey says last week she and her staff were told a six-year-old student is transgender. According to Kirksey, the child's parents cut the girl's hair short and Children’s Lighthouse Learning Center workers were instructed to start calling the girl a boy and by a boy's name.

Kirksey was a manager at the school and says she suggested informing all parents. Instead, school administrators allegedly gave staff a handout to refer to if students have questions.

“I don't think we should be talking to other people's children who are under the age of 18 about being transgender,” says Kirksey.

After insisting on notifying parents regarding the transgender 6-year-old student at Children’s Lighthouse Learning Center, Kirksey says she was fired. The termination letter includes claims that she failed to tell a worker to leave a game room and "When requested by parent and management to call a transgender child by the child's new name, Madeline does not follow instructions..."

A Children's Lighthouse Learning Center teacher says she was also fired for raising concerns about all the confusion, which is apparently even being experienced by the six-year-old child.

“One day, she wanted to be a girl, the next day she wanted to be a boy," says Kirksey. "The other kids are confused as well, calling her a boy and she would start screaming, 'I'm not a boy!'"

Not surprisingly, neither the school nor the parents of this child agreed to discuss this issue with the station that broke this story.

Outside of two local news reports, I have only seen this story discussed in right wing news sources (which I refuse to link to). But they have pointed out that the trans boy has two gay fathers and they have been accused elsewhere of pushing a "transgender agenda" on their confused child.

Additionally, the two fired daycare workers are claiming that their religious liberties have been infringed, because they objected to the parents and the school respecting the child' trans identity and for getting fired by sabotaging this situation and for insisting on contacting other parents about this private situation.

I was invited to an open house at PrismsScape Gem & Healing Center in Iowa City earlier today. I was looking at some crystals and other merchandise when one of the practitioners associated with the business started chatting with me and offered to give me a tour of the facilities. The business has an assortment of practitioners throughout the week (Reiki masters, energy healers, acupuncturists, etc.).

I ended up visiting with a couple of women from A-Ha Moments. They offer aura scans and interpretations. You can use the scans to gain insights into your personality, as well as figure out where things are headed in your life and if that's positive or negative.

I agreed to get a basic scan, which was interesting. Basically, my aura was fairly even and balanced today. Plus, there is opportunity for something new in my life and that will be a positive change. I'm pretty sure I know what she was talking about in this instance. But that's a blog-post for another day!

Now this will sound weird, but there were a couple of female spirits picked up within the picture of my aura. One was on the edge. She was present and watched over me, but wasn't terribly interactive.

But one of these spirits was right over my right shoulder. It was confusing to both of the women as they focused in to the image. They both independently read female energy, but neither could make out a face. They both felt like the spirit was wearing a costume or a mask.

I eventually mentioned that Ms. Lion (my old pekepoo) had recently passed away. This revelation immediately resonated with both women. Part of the confusion is that Ms. Lion doesn't view herself as a dog. In fact, her spirit got quite upset when I called her a dog). She sees herself as a person -- or at least an equal to people. We all laughed as I described Ms. Lion's bedroom (yes, she co-opted Les' bedroom when he moved out) and when I described her pushy attitude.

I have described elsewhere that I view myself as a hopeful agnostic when it comes to paranormal spirituality. And I know that there is still grief within me. But I like the idea of Ms. Lion keeping close and looking out for me.

Even if she was a pain in the ass when she was living!

I'm two or three weeks late when it comes to writing about BETTY & VERONICA #278. Part of this is related to fatigue. I'm exhausted most of the time these days. And part of this is due to sadness because this is the final issue of this comic book! Supposedly, this isn't for long. Someday in the unspecified future, Archie Comics will be publishing a new BETTY & VERONICA series featuring stories and art by Adam Hughes. In the meantime, the book is going away.

I have been actively reading Archie Comics comic books as an adult for the past five years (more or less). During that time, I've never felt like the publisher knew what to do with the book. They published Disney-inspired fairy princess stories for more than a year. They then had a series of bland one-off stories, before moving into the "Farewell Riverdale" story line, which was interesting but dragged on for way too long in the beginning.

The problem with this book is that it always seems to be playing down to younger readers. I wonder if BETTY & VERONICA would have been more successful in recent years -- or at least be better received by Archie Comics fans -- if its creators were less careful with the stories and more over-the-top with the humor?

I've mentioned my love of UNBEATABLE SQUIRREL GIRL. I've also shared my love of the "Reversedale" story in ARCHIE. Either of those examples are certainly suitable for young readers. But they are also sharp and dynamic and snappy with the humor and visual gags. Why couldn't we get some of that spirit with BETTY & VERONICA?

Anyway, BETTY & VERONICA #278 leads with the revelation that Riverdale High School will be getting a new gym. This leads to a series of precious memory moments between the girls -- most of which have to do with Archie and his propensity for taking both of them to school dances! The girls remember that the Halloween Masquerade Ball will be happening soon and this will be their last dance in the old gym!

How better to close out this era? Both girls agree to ask Archie to the dance and then make him squirm!!

Archie takes the bait and then immediately regrets it! He comes up with an elaborate scheme that will allow him to date both girls without them knowing about each other. Of course, both Betty and Veronica know what's going on so they keep sabotaging his efforts to painlessly date both of them.

After toying around with the philandering red-head, the girls finally reveal their game and put Archie out of his misery. We realize that this date isn't about the dance or frustration over Archie's date-juggling. This evening -- this comic book -- is about friendship. The gym may change. The comic book and the creative team might change. But this is all about Betty, Veronica, and their best friendship adventures!

Before I head out, I wanted to point out two extras that really got me excited about BETTY & VERONICA #278:

1. Wear Can I Get That Mask??: Archie found this wonderful reversible mask for the dance. One side -- for his Betty date -- featured the image of Cosmo the Merry Martian and the reverse side -- for his Veronica date -- featuring Super Duck! I love it and I want it so bad!!

2. Devon Who?: Kevin Keller has the reputation for being a goody-goody. But you really don't ever want to get on his bad side. He asked some guy named Ted to the Halloween Masquerade Ball. Look at Kevin's face when Veronica asks about Devon! I really want to read the story that inspired that cold reply!!

Meanwhile, check out Kevin Keller's costume for the dance! He wants to be an angel, but he's always attracted to the dark side!! Check this out:

"Last Dance" was written and penciled by Dan Parent, inked by Bob Smith, lettered by Jack Morelli, and colored by Glenn Whitmore.

I have been enjoying Archie Comics' Dark Circle line of superhero comic books since they began earlier this year. But I've been looking forward to the line's fourth title for several months: HANGMAN!

Don't let the title fool you. This is no light-hearted romp! The title character is a supernatural vigilante who hunts down the worst of the worst and execute them!

The original Hangman was a Golden Age superhero who became the Hangman to avenge his brother's death (AKA the Golden Age superhero known as Comet). I don't remember him having a supernatural nature back then, but I'm not 100% certain that the Hangman in this book is the same Hangman that first appeared in comic books back in 1941!

(Though a variant cover for HANGMAN #1 by Robert Hack implies that they're the same guy!)

But this book isn't about Bob Dickering or any of the other guys who once went by the name Hangman. This book is about Michael "Mickey Ice" Minetta -- a hitman who's so cold that he barely cares if his daughter accidentally catches a glimpse of his latest hit. Fortunately, she kept her eyes covered on this morning!

Mikey Ice is a terrible man. Not only does he kill people for money, but he comes up with the most creatively evil execution styles -- like pouring strawberry jam all over his latest victim so that he'll get eaten alive by rats!

As you may suspect -- and I'm totally SPOILING things in this blog post, but it seems pretty obvious where things are heading in this origin tale -- Michael Minetta is hunted down by the Hangman and executed. Once again, I don't think I'm ruining things too much by pointing out that he was hung by the Hangman!

But this death triggers something. The Hangman hits some sort of redemptive milestone. I'm fairly that we won't see him again. But -- and this is totally speculation on my part -- I'm pretty sure that we will see more of Michael Minetta in future issues of this book.

If my hunch is correct -- and I'm fairly certain that it is -- Mikey Ice is now the Hangman and the Hangman is Mikey Ice. Long live the Hangman!

It goes without saying that HANGMAN #1 is an extremely dark title. There's lots of swearing and pretty graphic violence. I hate it when people remind you that this isn't your grandfather's "Hangman." Then again, superheroes were pretty cut-throat back in the 40s, so maybe this is your grandfather's "Hangman," but with more crotch-eating rats.

"Damned Part One" is written by Frank Tieri, with art by Felix Ruiz, lettering by Rachel Deering, and coloring by Kelly Fitzpatrick.

A trans woman named Meagan Taylor stopped in a West Des Moines, Iowa, hotel this past July on her way to a funeral in Kansas City. While there, hotel staff at the Drury Inn called the police "to report suspected prostitution activity because the two were 'men dressed like women.'"

Taylor was arrested and charged with possessing medicine without a prescription (i.e., her hormone treatment) and malicious prosecution. She spent the next eight days in solitary confinement (i.e., the jail's medical unit) until others were able to raise money to pay for bail, as well as an outstanding fine connected to an unrelated credit card fraud case. The charges that led to Taylor's arrest were eventually dropped by Polk County prosecutors.

Meagan Taylor -- with the assistance of the Iowa ACLU -- filed a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission against the Drury Inn earlier today complaining that hotel employees violated her civil rights by profiling her on the basis of her race and gender identity:

“For Meagan, a stop at a hotel on the way to a funeral landed her in solitary confinement because she is black and transgender," said Chase Strangio, an attorney in the ACLU's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Project. "This type of profiling of transgender women of color is all too common. … Such blatant discrimination and violation of Iowa law that caused staff to call law enforcement to remove and arrest paying customers cannot be tolerated.”

It's not uncommon for black transgender women to be profiled and accused of being sex workers, Harper Jean Tobin, policy director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, told The Des Moines Register in July. In 2011, the National Transgender Discrimination Survey found that 41 percent of black respondents reported being jailed or arrested because of a perceived bias against them.

Taylor's complaint was filed Tuesday with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, the state agency that screens and investigates complaints of discrimination in arenas including employment, education, public accommodations and housing. The commission can help parties work toward a settlement, or issue a right-to-sue letter that would allow Taylor to bring a lawsuit in district court...

In her complaint, Taylor — who is a cosmetology student — wrote that the hotel's clerk and manager both appeared suspicious of her and Shyann, her travelling partner, when they arrived to check in around 11 a.m. The two were traveling to Kansas City to be at a funeral for Shyann's brother, she wrote.

Both workers gave them "looks of disgust" and avoided eye contact during an unusual check-in that took longer than an hour. Taylor saw white guests arrive whose check-in process took less than five minutes, she wrote.

"This ordeal was humiliating, scary and traumatizing," she wrote in the complaint. "I felt powerless and degraded. I realized I was not welcome in a public place simply because of who I am. Through no fault of my own, I was targeted, harassed, arrested, and forced to miss a funeral simply because I chose to stay at a hotel where I was unwelcome."

I remember when this case erupted last summer, but was surprised to discover that I didn't write about Taylor's ordeal on this blog. It will be interesting to see how this complaint unfolds.

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The Executioner Stalks the Hitman in HANGMAN #1

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