Okay, it's day two and, er, um, still no links. Sorry about that. But I have a good excuse: I've been traveling. I just got back from giving a speech at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It's a nice campus, and there was a nice crowd. (A special thanks to the kids who took me out after the speech and got me drunk at Linda's.) I wanted to buy a UNC T-shirt, but the school color is this swishy powder blue that not even a fag like me could pull off.

Anyway, after my speech a very nice woman came up to say hello, and she was wearing a homemade ITMFA button!

I just got word that our official buttons and lapel pins are ordered, paid for, and could be in as soon as next week. Oh, and they're going to be made in America, not China—so no slave labor to worry about. Once again, any profits will go to the ACLU. Here's what the lapel pins—suitable for sitting members of Congress—and the buttons are going to look like...

But you don't have to wait for the official buttons or lapel pins to come in. I'm actively encouraging people to make their own ITMFA wear. Carrie sent in this picture of her bike...

Way to go Carrie!

Trevor writes...

I read your column today, saw the ITMFA site, and figured I'd put a shirt or two up on Cafepress. I've set the shirts up so they make me $1 per shirt. Any profits realized from these shirts will be donated to the ACLU.

Trevor has two T-shirts for sale at Cafepress—plain and ringer...

You can order the plain one by clicking here, and the ringer by clicking here .

Tom writes...

"Mommy, Mommy! What does 'ITMFA' mean?"

In order for people who don't habitually use the word "fuck" in daily conversation to be comfortable with the ITMFA slogan, they would have to be able to say what it means to non-Savage Love readers without using the word "motherfucker" or any permutation thereof. I would like to suggest... alternative readings of the "MF" portion of the acronym.

"Moronic fool" is a bit harsh, but definitely better for timid people in church than "motherfucker." "Mendacious fibber" is tautological. Anyway, you no doubt see the problem here.

If a good solution were found, then it would help the popularity of the slogan, as people when asked to explain "ITMFA" could cite the "alternative" reading, slowing down at the "MF" portion with a knowing smile or wink or something, and that sort of thing charms people enough to give a slogan legs.

You raise a good point, Tom, but I believe that even people who don't habitually use swear words will be comfortable with ITMFA. After all, many people who don't swear use acronyms like SOB, SNAFU, and BS, which stand for "son of a bitch," "situation normal—all fucked up," and "bullshit." An acronym like SNAFU or ITMFA often appeals to the profanity shy precisely because it allows them to access the power of harsh language without actually having to utter the offending words themselves.

As for their kids asking what it means, well, that's a minefield all parents have to navigate. I watched the Oscars with my kid, and he demanded to know what a pimp was, and what was so hard out there for them. If I could manage "Daddy, Daddy! What does 'pimp' mean?", I expect that any reasonably capable parent could manage "Mommy, Mommy! What does 'ITMFA' mean?"