“Woman Crush Wednesday” — hashtagged as #WCW — is a Social Media Thing that gives peeps a good excuse to share lists of women they admire. Most of you probably know that, but it’s come to my attention that MrB, despite reading my blog since July 2007, still asks sincere questions my use of basic terms including “teh Interwebs” and “lolcat” even though I often link to the definitions especially for him. Don’t worry, MrB, you’re still my #MCM. (Click the link, Paul. Click the link.)
My #WCW list today starts with Tiffany Cabán, who declared victory in the tight Democratic primary for Queens district attorney last night. I worked from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. at a Manhattan polling site yesterday and still stayed up to see the Queens results come in. As I wrote on Monday, Tiffany is a 31-year-old public defender who identifies as queer and Latinx. She ran on a campaign of criminal-justice reform and, unlike her challenger, took no dirty real-estate money. Small donations only.
Cabán’s is the first campaign where I actually lost track of how many small donations I made. Instead of deleting all the campaign emails, I’d think, “Oh, one dollar more. Three dollars more. Let’s include a tip.” While I don’t live in Queens, it’s the biggest borough in New York City with 2.3 million people. Honestly, it deserves two senators in D.C., because Queens has more people than any of these states:
- New Mexico
- Nebraska
- West Virgina
- Idaho
- Hawaii
- New Hampshire
- Maine
- Montana
- Rhode Island
- Delaware
- South Dakota
- North Dakota
- Alaska
- Vermont
- Wyoming
Also on my crush list is my own friend Julie Matos, who not only helped me write postcards to Queens voters but also activated her friend Betty, who happens to have extended family in Queens totaling 17 voters.
Thank you to Betty and her extended family in Jackson Heights for their total of SEVENTEEN votes for @CabanForQueens !! (Alas, the entire group is not in the selfie!) pic.twitter.com/cP9PFy5abK
— Wendy Brandes – #Nope of the Day (@WendyBrandes) June 25, 2019
This is what I mean when I say talk to me if you’re serious about wanting to make change. There is so much you can do even if you can’t go to a rally or knock on doors. If you know me, there’s no excuse for saying, “I don’t know where to start.” Start with me, bitches! Yesterday, I replied to a Twitter friend in California with multiple ideas and also came up with a letter-to-the-editor action for an Instagram friend in Canada. I’m here for you all.
In the sports world, I have a new crush on Megan Rapinoe, who said that if the U.S. women’s team wins the World Cup she won’t be celebrating with Trump. No beating around the bush for her.
“I’m not going to the fucking White House.” – @mPinoe pic.twitter.com/GNeGdaPMRg
— Tanisha Arya (@Wwetanisha_arya) June 27, 2019
Rapinoe’s teammate Ali Krieger is included in that crush for answering Trump’s petulant tweet about Rapinoe’s dis.
In regards to the “President’s” tweet today, I know women who you cannot control or grope anger you, but I stand by @mPinoe & will sit this one out as well. I don’t support this administration nor their fight against LGBTQ+ citizens, immigrants & our most vulnerable.
— Ali Krieger (@alikrieger) June 26, 2019
In music and publishing, I have a renewed crush on singer Alanis Morissette and a fresh one on writer Nicole Cliffe for Cliffe’s interview of Morissette for Self magazine. I’m normally hesitant when it comes to celebrity profiles that include a lot of the writer’s personal perspective, but this time it works brilliantly. Highly recommended.
Finally, getting back to politics, one of my two favorite Democratic presidential candidates killed it in tonight’s presidential primary debate. Elizabeth Warren put every guy to shame on that stage — and, honestly, I think every white guy in America WAS on that stage. I mean, give me the short list of guys who aren’t running for president. It will be easier to keep track of. Anyway, when I went to see Warren speak in Long Island City in March, I was doing due diligence on a woman who seemed as promising as my other favorite, Kamala Harris. I didn’t expect to be as impressed as I was. It helped that that was the morning she said that we should break up the tech monopolies and I was like, “Holy shit! Someone SAID THAT.” When I got to shake her hand, that’s what I blurted out in the 10 seconds I had to say anything: “THANKYOUFORSAYINGYOUDBREAKUPTHETECHMONOPOLIES.” Here’s a picture of the moment!
And here’s our “official” photo.
I’m eager to see how Harris does in tomorrow’s debate. Oh! That reminds me that my friend Julie — mentioned earlier — is Puerto Rican and has no idea what language Beto O’Rourke and Corey Booker were speaking tonight but swears it was not Spanish. Paging El Bloombito! We need a translator!