Hello and happy Thursday, 88 days until the election and today we're going to talk about vaginas.

You know that roughly 50% of the population on Earth is MAGA, and you also know that roughly 49.56% of the remaining population is scared to talk about MAGA, and MAGA men are like 100%.

Combine this with the anti-transgender frenzy that currently covers Trump’s world like blue eyeshadow on a drag queen, and it’s no surprise that new vice presidential nominee Tim Walz is being dubbed “Tampon Tim” by the far right.

We know that MAGA is obsessed with determining what makes a woman a woman.

But beneath the hyped-up hysteria lies their real question, a disturbing dilemma that seems to be driving their anger and fear as the society around them changes.

What makes a man a man?

Let's break it down: the why, the what, and what it actually means.

reason

Women menstruate. Girls menstruate. Girls who go to school menstruate. Girls can forget their tampons or pads and end up with embarrassing and uncomfortable blood soaking their clothes.

In recent years, lawmakers across the US have begun to acknowledge the absurdity of not being able to easily provide basic menstrual products to half the country. Even conservative Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill that will make Texas the 25th state in the nation to adopt menstrual hygiene products in 2023. To abolish the “pink tax” Or sales tax on sanitary products.

This is a legislative effort that has been ongoing since around 2015, calling for menstrual equality, a dream that has remained unfulfilled for women since the cave days.

The logic is that half the people on the planet do it, so punishing them for it is terrible, and harms women's health, happiness and opportunities.

Efforts to promote equity also include providing free menstrual products in places where people lack money or access, such as prisons, homeless shelters and schools.

It also includes, like Abbott's legislation, reducing costs for all women, because these necessary products aren't cheap.

So it’s not radical or “left-wing” for the government to consider the price and availability of menstrual products, and even make them as accessible as AK-47s.

Donald Trump himself has endorsed such efforts. The First Step Act of 2018 — Sending free products to federal prisons.

But Governor Walz also signed a bill into law this year that ensures that menstrual products are provided free of charge in all school restrooms used by menstruating children.

So let's get started, because that could include boys' bathrooms for transgender kids.

anything

The amount of anti-trans bashing coming from the far right is astonishing and worrying.

And that insanity is the origin of “Tampon Tim,” an attempt to make Waltz appear predatory and dangerous to children, when in fact the opposite is true.

“'Tampon Tim' is hands down the best political nickname ever. It's very… very effective.” Political commentator Liz Wheeler wrote on social media:She is the author of Hide Your Children: Exposing the Marxists Behind the Attack on America's Kids.

“That one sentence tells you everything you need to know about Tim Walz's dangerous extremism,” Wheeler continued. Never mind that Tampon Tim is two words. Math is hard.

“He put tampons in the men's bathroom! Transgendering kids! Taking away parental rights! He's woke and creepy.”

He's “transgendering kids”? What does that even mean?

That a boy sees a tampon and suddenly wants to become a girl? Hmm, come on, whatever. No one is actually trying to “trans” anyone.

“Tampon Tim” isn't as awful as you might think.

What it means

In fact, I think “Tampon Tim” might be a man to be proud of – that is, a man who is comfortable with himself and able to embrace Vajaja and its many abilities and capabilities.

And this is at the heart of MAGA’s war on women, the ongoing resistance of women and others who can see beyond the female genitalia and understand that we are all human beings, regardless of body parts.

Remember the protests? The women's marches in pink hats that filled the streets during Trump's first term? They were all cat ladies.

They are all outraged by Trump's hate-spewing presidency and “pussy-grabbing” rhetoric.

Ever since then, it's been an ongoing battle between catty women (in spirit, not gender) and angry MAGA men who despise the idea of ​​a woman who doesn't give birth to children or bake biscuits, and are always looking to grab us by the private parts in some way.

Then along came Waltz, offering American men a new possibility, a new way of resisting that wasn't just about taking sides; a completely masculine way of fighting back, strength through kindness, protection through compassion, equality through respect.

Waltz does not get confused by railing against our changing understanding of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

He's the father of a girl who changed his mind about guns after his daughter, Hope, begged him to reconsider, and he's a man who doesn't just listen to women, he listens to them.

And they are willing to fight for their vision for their family and their vision for their country.

Or like the Governor of Illinois. JB Pritzker “If he becomes vice president, Tim Waltz And then we're going to organize other dads to join us and go door to door asking all the kids who left the lights on.”

Meanwhile, Vance on Wednesday tweeted a photo of himself with pals leaving President Trump's plane, along with the message, “This Entourage reboot is going to be awesome.”

This is a reference to the now extremely outdated and dated HBO show, which last filmed in 2011, depicting Hollywood men convinced of their own importance and consumed by their own narcissism.

Vance seemed stumped when asked by reporters Wednesday what makes him happy and what makes him smile.

“I smile about a lot of things, including the random questions from the media,” he replied. “The truth is, I'm having a good time here and I'm enjoying it. But sometimes you have to take the good with the bad and right now I'm angry.”

Ultimately, “Tampon Tim” isn't about women or transgender kids.

The question is: which of these visions, which of these men, represent American masculinity?

What else to read

Must Read: The Ordinary Life of Tim Waltz
Wow : It's Elon Musk's X and the government must act on it.
LA Times Special: Why Steve Martin turned down Lorne Michaels' offer to play Tim Waltz on 'SNL'

P.S.: A photo of the “entourage”. Judge for yourself.

—
Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.