It’s not just the fact that Wisconsin’s Democratic Governor Tony Evers vetoed his state’s hate-driven anti-trans legislation that earns him an Owl Chatter salute, it’s the language he used to accompany his principled act. (The bill would force trans kids to deny their gender identity when playing sports.)

“This type of legislation, and the harmful rhetoric beget by pursuing it, harms LGBTQ Wisconsinites’ and kids’ mental health, emboldens anti-LGBTQ harassment, bullying, and violence, and threatens the safety and dignity of LGBTQ Wisconsinites, especially our LGBTQ kids,” Evers said in his veto message.

“I will veto any bill that makes Wisconsin a less safe, less inclusive, and less welcoming place for LGBTQ people and kids, and I will continue to keep my promise of using every power available to me to defend them, protect their rights, and keep them safe.”

You tell ’em Gov!

I’m going to go out on a limb here, and guess he’s also in favor of legalizing marijuana. (Did I already write that? Georgie — where are the chips??)

Evers is married to a high school girl. No, wait. My mistake. He’s married to his high school sweetheart, Kathy. They have three kids and nine grandkids. He’s 72. He’s a cancer surviver — he had surgery for cancer of the esophagus in 2008.

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At 20A yesterday the clue was “Stately country homes,” and the answer was CHATEAUS. Anony-mouse was upset enough to post at 5:46 AM: “The plural of chateau is chateaux. Always.”

Hrummmmmmph!

Commenter Bob M agreed on chateaux being correct, but Peter P chimed in as follows:

In French it’s chateaux. In English it can be either chateaus or chateaux. Look in any decent dictionary. (Merriam-Webster, in fact, lists “chateaus” first.) And don’t get me started with how many “incorrect” plurals we have from borrowed languages (or “incorrect” singulars that are actually plurals in the language they’re borrowed from.) When words cross languages and are adopted, they often take on the rules of the adopting language. This is not unique to English.

But egs had the last word:

Those who are insisting that CHATEAUx is the correct plural are speaking from higher plateaux than the rest of us. They’ll probably report us to one of the Usage Bureaux.

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Kimberly Dragoo — how do you do? Kim and her idiot husband Steven participated in Trump’s Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol and pled guilty to a misdemeanor as a result. Steven took a lot of pics, including this one of Kim climbing through a broken window. Looking good, Kimmy!

Like dozens of rioters, she later ran for office — in her case for a seat on a Board of Education in Missouri. She lost. We’re guessing it was rigged.

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Several clues in today’s puzzle were amusing. For the clue “Certain soccer kick,” the answer was TOE POKE. Rex advised: “Do not order the TOE POKE bowl, the toes really overwhelm the tuna.”

For the clue “Nancy in the Grammy Hall of Fame” the answer was SINATRA. One comment dissed her, asking why she was in the HOF and noting she never won a grammy. But Mike in Bed Stuy pointed out that “These Boots Are Made for Walkin (1966) is absolutely iconic.” I added that she was voted in after her dad left a horse’s head in the Committee Chair’s bed.

You keep lyin’ when you shoulda been truthin’

Nancy’s a Jersey girl (born in Jersey City) and is 83 now, kinehora. She has come out publicly against Trump, and Owl Chatter was happy to see her politics are progressive. She did a nude spread in Playboy at age 54. She was nervous about how her dad would react, so she met with him before agreeing to do it. Frank was okay with it, but insisted Hefner pay her twice what he was offering. He agreed.

She was married twice and has two daughters. Between marriages she was engaged to producer Jack Haley, Jr., who later married Liza Minelli. Nancy also dated Michael Caine and Phil Spector.

Speaking of Phil — you got anything on NS for us, Philly?

Here’s Nancy in her 70s with her mom, who was also named Nancy, and who was Frank Sinatra’s first wife. She died in 2018 at age 101.

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At 22A, “Having muscle pain” was MYALGIC.

Bumper stickers we’re not likely to see:

MYALGIC can beat up your algic.

MYALGIC can beat up your honor student.

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You a hockey fan? Me neither. Once in a while I’ll get slightly interested. I rooted for Carl Hagelin, a terrific player in the NHL who played college hockey at UMich. He’s from Sweden, btw, and not too bad-looking. Here he is with his wife Erica. I know — what the hell does he see in her, right? They have two kids.

Anyway, I mention hockey because of last night’s Rangers-Devils match. Usually, when a fight erupts it’s from annoying stuff that builds up over the course of the game. Or maybe in reaction to a particularly dirty play. Or something else — some other reason. But look at this clip from last night. This is the start of the game! The puck was dropped and the gloves came off in less than two seconds. There wasn’t even enough time to hurl a “yo mama.” What gives with these guys? Needless to say, there was some history. Some “bad blood” between some folks, as Taylor would say.

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The theme of the puzzle today was MARTINI, down there at 57A. The grid included a martini glass, outlined by black squares, coming up from the bottom in the center. The word OLIVE is in the glass, and VERMOUTH and ICE CUBES are pouring down into it.

Anony-mouse quoted Dorothy Parker: “I love a martini….one at most….two I’m under the table…… three I’m under my host.”

If you’re interested in the topic (I’m not), John K shared the following:

There are many opinions of the proper martini proportions: 2-to-one, 3-to-one, 5-to-one, etc. But there is only one liquor in a Martini. That is GIN. Ian Fleming was a good writer, but didn’t understand the martini. A martini should not be shaken with ice. That forms bubbles, which destroy the pristine clarity of the drink. It should be gently stirred in ice cubes (not crushed ice) until is is nicely chilled. And there is no “vodka martini.” I was talking with Ro, one of my favorite bartenders, some years back when a guy came up and ordered one. Ro told him, “Martinis are made with gin. You must want a cocktail made with vodka and vermouth, right?”

My martini is made of 3 parts gin, 1 part vermouth, a dash or two of one or more bitters, and garnished with one or more green pitted olives. I prefer a good domestic craft gin. There are many, but my favorites are Greylock and Ethereal, made by Berkshire Mountain Distillers. But there are so many great craft gins. I like Fever Tree vermouths, which are becoming more and more available. I make my own bitters, but there are many excellent ones available. Orange bitters are a good staple. The olive(s) should not be stuffed with pimiento or anything else. BTW, this drink garnished with a cocktail onion instead of an olive is called a Gibson. That’s how narrow is the proper definition of a martini.

The martini is served in a cocktail glass – that is, a V-shaped piece of stemware. Such glasses have, unfortunately, lately become known as “martini glasses.” “Unfortunately” because these days, anything served in one of these glasses is a “martini.” There is now an ugly profusion of drinks like the “chocolate martini.”

Okay — thanks!

I’m sticking with beer. Fiddlehead IPA tonight. From Shelburne VT. Burp!

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Frank Bruni lambasted Robert Kennedy Jr. for the danger his crazy candidacy is posing. “The hubris. The narcissism. The convenient and fraudulent anti-elitism. The out-of-his-mind theories presented as out-of-the-box thinking.”

He notes Kennedy has no experience in government. Neither did Trump — how’d that work out for you? Kennedy’s defense on that issue is: “I’ve been around government and studying government since I was a little boy.” Bruni says he’s “casting proximity as seasoning. It’s not. I’ve been ‘around’ many physicians in my life. You do not want me performing your appendectomy.”

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See you tomorrow.