vdgoltz posted a photo:

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This cartoon is by me and frequent collaborator Nadine Scholtes.

In December 2025, Representative Sarah McBride – who is herself trans – commented about her Republican colleagues:

They are obsessed with trans people. I actually think they think more about trans people than trans people think about trans people.

Responding to McBride’s comment, Vera Eikon wrote:

This is true. My transition is long since over and rarely figures much in my life any more. I really only think about being trans because obsessed creepy Republicans can’t help themselves.

Reading those comments inspired this cartoon, but I’ve heard sentiments like this from many trans people for years.

At least ninety percent of trans-related controversies are created by right-wingers’ refusal to just mind their own business and let other people be. The sheer irrationality of it boggles my mind.

Other issues are real issues. Even if Republicans didn’t deny the existence of climate change, how to address climate change would remain a real issue that needed to be debated in Congress. Even if Republicans didn’t have an abiding and vicious hatred of immigrants, we’d still need to figure out immigration policy and there’d be good-faith policy questions to work out.

But most trans issues would never be discussed at high levels of government if conservatives would just live and let live. There’s no need, at all, for the White House to decide what specific health care a fifteen year old trans kid needs. Why not leave that for the fifteen year old to decide with her doctor and her parents?

Part of it is just the grift. Republicans need hate to fundraise and be elected. Blaming problems on marginalized groups like immigrants and trans people is extremely practical for a party whose top priority is making rich people richer, but which also needs to pretend to be addressing ordinary people’s problems.

But it’s not just a grift. There’s sincere spite and bigotry – and, as Representative McBride said, obsession – behind the deluge of anti-trans legislation and activism we’ve seen.

TRANSCRIPT OF CARTOON

This cartoon has four panels, each showing the same central character, a fortyish redheaded woman, in a different setting.

PANEL 1

A woman wearing a red cardigan over a white t-shirt, and a cross necklace, is handing a brown paper lunch bag to her daughter. The daughter is rolling her eyes.

WOMAN: Schools are hotbeds for trans groomers! Don’t let any of them talk to you.

PANEL 2

Four women, including our main character (who is currently speaking), are having a meeting on Zoom.

WOMAN: I found a petition supporting this week’s new bills banning trans heath care. I’m sending the link so we can all sign.

PANEL 3

A woman with short brown hair is washing her hands in a public restroom. Nearby, our main character watches the woman suspiciously.

WOMAN (thought): Short hair… Might be trans? I better call the manager!

PANEL 4

The woman lies in bed. It’s nighttime, but she’s wide awake.

WOMAN (thought): Why is the left obsessed with trans?

CHICKEN FAT WATCH

“Chicken fat” is ancient, mostly forgotten cartoonist-ese for fun but needless details in the art.

PANEL 1 – The dog is rolling its eyes, just like the daughter. The daughter’s t-shirt says “Plants are gooood!” with a picture of a lit joint.

PANEL 2 – One person on Zoom is drinking with a mug with a picture of Jesus grinning and with his thumb up, a reference to the Kevin Smith movie Dogma. Another zoom person has dozed off, and the cat in her lap is anxiously taking notes. And a third zoom person is knitting a sweater with three sleeves, a reference to a famous Charles Addams cartoon.

PANEL 3 – The short-haired woman has a tattoo of Mr. Cupcake from Five Nights At Freddy’s.

PANEL 4 – The dog is wearing a sleep mask and pajamas with little hearts. Also, there are four books lying on the bed, which are:

1. TRANS PEOPLE HATE YOU. They’re Probably Hiding Under Your Bed Right Now, by Matt Waltz & Dave Chappelle.
2. HARRY POTTER AND THE INFINITE WELL OF ANTI-TRANS FUNDING by J.K. Rowling.
3. TRANSGENDERS ATE MY DOG and other things that definitely really happened, by Abigail Crier. “This is the best and probably only book I’ve ever read” – D. Trump
4. HOW THE TRANS DESTROYED MY LIFE. It’s Definitely Their Fault And Not Just That I’m An Insufferable Asshole And Everyone Who Has Ever Met Me Hates Me, by Graham Lineham.
   

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The Obsession | Patreon

SINGAPORE: A dashcam video showing a Malaysia-registered Nissan Teana running a red light at a school zone along Ubi Avenue 1 has gone viral. As of writing, the video has racked up nearly 90,000 views, over 100 shares, and more than 350 reactions since it was posted on the Facebook page SGRV ADMIN.

According to the post, the incident occurred at around 8 a.m. on June 11, with the footage showing the Nissan Teana overtaking the dashcam vehicle in an apparent attempt to beat the red light, before failing to conform to the signal altogether.

Why school zones matter

School zones in Singapore are subject to stricter speed limits precisely because of the high volume of young children crossing roads on their way to and from school. Running a red light in such an area carries heightened risk, given how easily a child crossing on a ‘green man’ signal could be caught off guard by a vehicle barrelling through against the light.

Beating a red light is a serious traffic offence under Singapore law, given its potential to cause high-impact collisions at junctions. This risk is amplified further when the junction in question sits within a school zone.

Netizens call for action and raise enforcement concerns

The video drew strong reactions from commenters, many of whom expressed concern over the safety implications of the manoeuvre.

“A split-second failure to conform to a red light can cost a child’s future. Red means stop, especially when little lives are crossing. Do not fail the light,” one commenter wrote.

Others pointed towards the appropriate course of action. “Please report this to the Traffic Police via their online submission for disciplinary action, especially since it’s a school zone,” another user said.

Some comments leaned more cynical, questioning whether enforcement would actually follow through given the vehicle’s foreign registration. “This one is VIP, lah,” one commenter remarked sarcastically, while another added, “He knows the traffic police cannot do much to Malaysians, that’s why he did it.”

Ultimately, incidents like this tap into something most road users can agree on: running a red light, especially near a school, isn’t a matter of bad luck but a split-second decision that can have life-altering consequences.

It’s this shared understanding that explains the strength of the reaction online. Regardless of where a vehicle is registered, the expectation that drivers stop at red lights, especially in school zones, is one that cuts across nationality and background. The collective call from netizens to report such incidents reflects less an anger directed at any one driver, and more a broader, widely shared insistence that basic road safety standards shouldn’t be up for debate.

This article (‘Do not fail the light’ — Netizens react to Malaysia-registered car getting caught beating red light at school zone) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

LOS ANGELES, June 16 — Iran twice battled back for a 2-2 draw with New Zealand on Monday in their frenetic opening match of a World Cup campaign that has been utterly overshadowed by war, politics and protests.

The Iranian team’s very presence at the Los Angeles Stadium had long felt uncertain, after months of military conflict between their nation and the United States.

At last able to focus on the football, the Iran players twice found themselves trailing to the tournament’s lowest-ranked team, thanks to goals from New Zealand striker Elijah Just.

But with a vocally pro-Iran crowd drowning out planned protests by anti-government demonstrators, equalizers from Ramin Rezaeian and Mohammad Mohebi spared Team Melli any further blushes.

The Iran team have dealt with a gamut of obstacles before even arriving at this World Cup, from delayed and refused US visas, to moving their training camp to Mexico at the last minute.

Hundreds of protesters against Iran’s ruling regime demonstrated outside the venue Monday, saying the team does not represent their people.

Many inside the stadium sported anti-government emblems, nonchalantly flouting Fifa rules against political messaging, and the Iran anthem received boos and cheers.

Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei had insisted on the eve of the game his players would not “pay attention to any of the hype.”

But his side was stunned by an early New Zealand goal on the counter created by veteran striker Chris Wood.

Collecting a long pass in the seventh minute, the Nottingham Forest target man expertly held up the ball, turned and played in the onrushing Elijah Just.

After a sharp exchange of passes with Sarpreet Singh and Wood, Just leapt and smashed a volley into the net.

Iran’s star forward Mehdi Taremi nearly levelled in the 23rd minute, the former Inter Milan man’s long-range effort ricocheting off the right post.

They came close again as Kiwi keeper Max Crocombe was tackled outside his box, only able to watch as a lobbed effort at his open goal faded wide.

Iran’s equalizer did come in the 32rd minute with a poacher’s finish from wingback Rezaeian.

Rezaeian latched onto a rebound following Saman Ghoddos’ smart pass into Shahriyar Moghanlou, whose shot on the turn was blocked by the outstretched leg of Finn Surman.

Iran defender Ali Nemati thought he had scored in first-half stoppage time, but his header from a free kick was comfortably offside.

New Zealand retook the lead in the 55th minute. Motherwell striker Just bagged a brace via a crisp one-two with Wood, after Liberato Cacace had stolen the ball on the halfway line.

But they were again pegged back nine minutes later, as Mohebi’s leaping header from Rezaeian’s superb cross glanced off the inside post.

The game’s final half hour saw Iran on the front foot, but unable to grab a winner due to a combination of sloppy finishing and dogged New Zealand defending.

The draw dents Iran’s hopes of progressing to the knockouts for the first time, though fellow Group G contenders Egypt and Belgium also drew Monday.

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s wait for a first World Cup win goes on. — AFP

Police released photos of person of interest in Tuesday’s cross burning, often linked to white supremacy and racism

Chicago authorities are searching for a suspect after a cross was burned in Grant Park earlier this week.

At about 2.30pm on Tuesday, Chicago’s fire department responded to reports of a cross set ablaze in the park. No injuries were reported and firefighters quickly extinguished the flames.

In a huge warehouse in Geel, Belgium, $9.7 million in contraceptives have been locked up since early 2025. Some 77% of the shipment from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was destined for about 10 African countries, including Kenya, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mali. But when Donald Trump’s administration dismantled the world’s largest development aid organization, these medicines were left stranded, destined either to be destroyed or to expire box by box. About 5,800 miles south of Belgium, in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, Jane Anyongo, Violet Mosomi, Salma Kamau, and hundreds of thousands of women are still waiting for their pills, condoms, subdermal implants, intrauterine devices, and other sexual and reproductive health supplies.

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