They're playing catch up now, after the arraignment, but decent journalism should have required referring to her by name all along. She was arrested for a reason, so there should be some specificity in the charges against her. Without that, we got the false impression that she was swept in as an appendage of the man.Every time I heard "and his wife," I thought of the "Gilligan's Island" theme song. The subordination of the female character even in those lyrics has always bugged me.
Now, if you're charged with a crime, you'll prefer to be downplayed, but Cilia Flores doesn't deserve that benefit.
Posts
121 comments:
... the Professor and Mary Ann.
Shes a regime apparatchik even worse than she is
Had you ever in your life heard the name "Cilia Flores" before last week?
If they had arrested Maduro and his press secretary they would refer to the other arrested person as "his press secretary."
Not a big deal.
She directed the bolivarian circles the roundup militia
She makes the old man look tame.
She is just a textbook feminist fighting the patriarchy.
I've started using spouse because it's non-gendered and rhymes with louse.
Ceaușescu and wife.
All I want to know is does she have 3000 pair of shoes like Imelda Marcos, spouse of Philippine strong man Ferdinand.
Also will Vogue have her on the cover?
“She is just a textbook feminist fighting the patriarchy.”
lolol. Your 2026 New Year’s resolution must be the same as your 2025 New Year’s resolution - to disparage feminism at least once a day in the comment section.
Humperdink said...
All I want to know is does she have 3000 pair of shoes like Imelda Marcos, spouse of Philippine strong man Ferdinand.
Also will Vogue have her on the cover?
What is crazy is she was the actual brains behind the operation.
She was the defense lawyer that got Chavez out of prison after his first failed coup and she was the person that organized the transition between Chaves and Maduro. It is her and her kids that run the drug operations.
It will be hilarious if she offers to testify against her spouse.
Let’s not forget 2024, 2023, 2022 . . .
I believe the term for a female dictator is "dictoris".
"And his wife" sounds like "and the horse he rode in on".
Humperdink said...
It will be hilarious if she offers to testify against her spouse.
It would be the other way around.
I would rather set him free than her. She would probably be able to take over Venezuela again if she was set free.
Dictatrix
Dictatrixie if she’s cute
Dictatella if she serves pasta with an iron fist
Dictatorita if she’s chubby and snacks on Doritos
Prof: “Enough of that ‘and his wife’ business.”
Would you settle for “and the horse he rode in on?”
How about “and his little dog too?” (Cf. General Caine saying the recon included Maduro’s pets)
Or from a religious perspective, “and all his works?” CC, JSM
Silly Eva Marie, Dictatrix are for kids! CC, JSM
Venezuelan TV runs an animated show featuring this husband and wife as caped superheroes.
Which would be mock-worthy if I was sure that Trump wouldn't do the same thing.
They used to call Ferdinand&Imelda (Marcos) the "conjugal dictatorship", as it really was, in later years, a sort of business partnership.
This may be a similar case.
... the Professor and Mary Ann
…in the early episodes they were recognized only as ‘…and the rest!’ That seems way worse than ‘…and his wife…’
"And the rest" referred to one of the three women and one of the four men, which is as close to sexual equality possible among the seven stranded castaways here on Gilligan's Island.
Interesting question vis-a-vis "Bill's wife" Hillary. Would Cilia and Hillary have had such opportunities without the benefit of their matrimonial promotion? The world may never know...
Similarly, Mackenzie Scott - "Bezo's ex-wife" - is now among if not the most wealthy woman on Earth, largely with Jeff's money.
If he is a Dictator then the proper title for Mrs Maduro is Clittator
And shes been funding all these 'good trouble' nonprofits
Don’t forget Bill and Hillary. I always thought Bill had some goodness in him. Hillary, none at all.
I had never heard of Cilia Flores.
I figured that they took his wife as a pressure tactic, she benefited from his position, or might have information they can't get from Maduro.
n.n said...
"... the Professor and Mary Ann."
Originally "...and the rest!"
Rubio could use the dictator’s reluctant wife card. We’ll cut you a deal, if you give us the goods on that no good husband of yours. Although, I’m just remembering something about a wife’s right against incriminating her husband? Similar to the right to remain silent. But then again, do the Maduros have the same rights as Americans? If they are being charged by Americans, it follows that they do. I guess.
“And his wife” was to fit the song, and to irritate teenage feminists. At least she didn’t get relegated to “and the rest”
RideSpaceMountain said...
"Similarly, Mackenzie Scott - "Bezo's ex-wife" - is now among if not the most wealthy woman on Earth, largely with Jeff's money."
And, from what I hear, doing wonderful things with it! Like, funding terrorists!
McMillan and Wife. lol
"and his wife" sounds okay. What grates are "and her wife," "and his husband."
Evita and her husband.
Don’t cry for me Venezuela — Cilia Flores
I love that this is threatening to become a "Gilligan's Island" comment thread, but we're trying to stay focused.
From the Sopranos -- Mafia wives exist in a state of denial. Their husbands are not thieves and killers, they're hardworking businessmen harassed by the law because of their Italian heritage. Cilia Flores can make a similar argument -- she was a bystander or even a victim of the organized crime around her!
Randomizer said...
I had never heard of Cilia Flores.
I figured that they took his wife as a pressure tactic, she benefited from his position, or might have information they can't get from Maduro.
It is really interesting to me that people underestimate this woman. She was Chavez's lawyer, got him out of jail after his first coup, and got him "elected."
Maduro is a clown compared to her. He couldn't have run this show on his own. It would actually be a good move to lock her up and make a deal with Madruro letting him retire to a house in the Carribean under witness protection after endorsing the new regime.
She is the person that set up all of the NGOs and drug gangs. She could and probably would do that again if we let her go.
Visually, the vibe is Latina Edith Prickley.
Sounds like Cilia is the power behind the throne. Wasn’t Maduro a truck driver before skyrocketing to the palace?
Obscuring her prior role as Chavez's defense counsel serves their purposes (which unfortunately do not include doing "journalism") better by revealing who she is.
A truck driver is a notch above a mere YouTuber.
’I believe the term for a female dictator is "dictoris"’
Golf clap.
Big Apple is where I′d rather go
I get allergic snorting blow
I just adore a penthouse view
Manure-OH, I love you, but give me Park Avenue
I’m bored, the stores, fresh air, Times Square
She is his wife, hello prison life
Big Apple we are there
h/t Vic Mizzy
Machistas Venezuelans weren’t ready for a woman Presidente.
In Gilligan’s Island ‘s song almost everyone is named by profession or occupation not their name: skipper, first mate, movie star, professor, millionaire, wife. Mary Anne was a whore but they couldn’t say that on TV in 1963 so they used her name.
As I pointed out before, both the Professor and Mary Ann (both unmarried) were originally relegated to "the rest."
Maybe because she was the ringleader of the criminal gang, unlike Flores, Ma Barker had the "Barker" appended to her otherwise benign, maternal "Ma."
Unlike Will Farrell's unseen "Ma!" in "Wedding Crashers."
Apparently, it’s easier for a dictator’s wife to raid the US treasury, than it is for the American government to deport an illegal alien with alleged gang ties.
It was Cilia refusing the deals to fly away to a safe haven.
‘The bitch set me up’ — DC Mayor Berry
Never heard of Cilia Flores?
Have you ever heard of Dr. Roy Hinkley?
That was the professor character’s full name from Gilligan’s Island, but he was always just called “Professor”.
Oh, and the Skipper character’s name was Jonas Grumby. Probably didn’t recall that one either.
If Meade and Althouse were on Gilligan’s Island instead of the Professor and Mary Anne the lyrics would have been the Professor and her Husband.
She gave me the apple…
Btw do all iPhones default to capitalising the word noun apple?
Cilia Flores is smart and well-connected internationally. It wouldn’t be a complete surprise if she was the CIA inside source. We’ll know the answer if she provides evidence against Maduro and walks away free.
Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip…
The ship set ground on the shore of this uncharted desert isle
With Gilligan, the Skipper too,
The millionaire and Eunice “Lovey” Howell,
Cilia Flores, her dictator husband
And the rest…
She’s the Hillary Clinton of narco-terrorism.
Keep in mind how Mussolini and his mistress ended... Maybe Venezuela will take them back and give 'em such a warm welcome.
New poll: Ginger or Mary Ann? I'm team Mary Ann.
My vote for Worst Feminist TV show is Mrs. Columbo.
She throws his cigar in the trash! And solves murders in her spare time.
The feminists made Mrs. Columbo non-Italian, non-Catholic, and gave her zero kids.
And she drove a way nicer car.
"Maduro is a clown compared to her. He couldn't have run this show on his own. "
So she is Hillary?!?!
Could Flores be a tranny?
Probably not. Venezuelans wouldn’t let that slide.
Some wives are sweet sidekicks. Other wives are nefarious masterminds who work in the shadows because they are vampires who do their best work in the dark.
She’s the Mrs. Rasputin of narco-terrorism. Lady Dracula.
Now I got to google Evita Peron.
The biography of Evita Peron is called The Woman With the Whip.
Catwoman! I knew it.
What about "the professor"? "The professor and Mary Ann". Of course Mary Ann got put last because they needed it to rhyme.
Mrs. and Mr. Howell were sorta of a pair. Funniest part of the show. IRC, from watching it 50 years ago.
What difference, at this point, does it make?
She helped control the judiciary - maybe she can give Trump some pointers.
“Probably not. Venezuelans wouldn’t let that slide.”
There is, however, the Cuban Slide…
Mary ann was the farm girl who had the quiet allure
Et Ux.
baghdadbob said...
"New poll: Ginger or Mary Ann? I'm team Mary Ann."
Bailey Quarters for the win.
Mrs. Peron had 16 members of her family working in the government.
So kind of like the Kennedys. If the Kennedys were really Catholic.
'Cilia, you're breaking my heart
You're shaking my confidence daily
Oh, Cecilia, I'm down on my knees
I'm begging you please to come home
Come on home
"Bailey Quarters for the win."
Always. 100%
I thought Imelda Marcos had 600 pairs of shoes, but Wikipedia says the final count was 1,060, so Humperdink's 3,000 is a gross exaggeration. Also, 1,060 pairs of shoes for the wife of the dictator of a medium-sized country is not the worst case of shoe hoarding I've known. Working as a moving man in Norfolk to pay my way through college, I once packed up a house belonging to a lieutenant commander and his wife, and she had 210+. I forget the precise number - it's been 50 years -, but it was between 210 and 220: yes, my packing partner and I decided to count them as soon as we opened that walk-in closet and said "Oh my God, look at all those shoes!". She also owned 80+ sweaters. Given the relative salaries of dictators and O-4s, that seems way more excessive than Imelda's stash. I'm sure Ferdinand didn't even notice a dent in his budget, and figured it was worth it to keep the little woman happy.
Nazi enabler
So she’s Keyser Soze?
bagoh20 (7:43am):
No, the feminine of 'dictator' is 'dictatrix', just like 'aviator' and 'aviatrix'. And yes, I do have a PhD, and it's in Classics (Latin), so I know.
Explaining the -tor/-trix endings to Latin students, I used to tell them that 'aviatrix' was the only one that's come into Latin, that most of the others have gone through French and turned into 'actress', 'waitress', and so on. One of my (college) students said "What about 'dominatrix'?" and I said (a) I didn't think you would have heard of them here in a remote college town in the Deep South, and (b) it's still not paired with another word, since 'dominator' isn't really an English word in common use. It turned out that many of them knew 'dominatrix' from the previous week's 'Geraldo'. I also noted that there seem to be no job opportunities for a male equivalent of a 'dominatrix' since so many men are willing to provide physical and mental abuse free of charge, so masochistic women don't need to spend money to get what they want. A sad commentary on human nature.
Cilia in Monsters Inc - Link
Mrs. Maduro had some family members in the Mafia side of the operation.
Is she Ma Barker or Kay Corleone?
While you are putting on your Shocked Face and reciting the lines of Sgt Schultz (“I saw nothing!”), you might want to file for divorce. Let Kay Corleone be your guide. You stay out of prison, plus alimony, plus child support.
By the way, the name Cilia sounds silly to Latinists: it means 'eyelids' in Latin (plural of 'cilium'). Your eyebrows, being above the eyelids, are your 'supercilia', and raising your eyebrows all the time makes you (in English, not Latin now) 'supercilious'.
I dealt with her on a case in 2012 when she was new Attorney General. Folks assumed she was married to Maduro, who Hugo Chavez took from legislature and made Foreign Minister, then Vice President. Then Chavez died in 2013, and it turned out they were unmarried. They quickly married, she resigned as AG, and styled herself First Lady.
She has an unfortunate resemblance to Cruella de Ville.
New poll: Ginger or Mary Ann? I'm team Mary Ann.
I used to think it was just me so I did a poll when I was working on my MBA statistics class. Asked random sample of men and women "Maryann or Ginger?" Surprise: 98 picked Maryann. Two picked Ginger, one a man one a woman.
Two years later they married each other. Didn't last.
Too easily confused with Celia Cruz, the Queen of Salsa.
Yes If you’re a Mary Ann you’re likely a Bailey and a Betty and a Jill, too. Gingers are Wilmas and Jennifers and Jills. If none of this makes sense you’re into men...
Hush your mouth lazarus
Madonna ought to play her in the movie.
Benicio del Toro as the Husband.
possible songs
“Who’s a Narco-Terrorist?”
“I Just Love My Family”
“Yankee Go Home”
“Stop Waving That Sword Around”
“I Like Shoes”
Typo at 10:11. It’s Mrs. Maduro who had 16 family members working for the government, not Mrs. Peron.
I still think Madonna ought to play her in the movie.
Alec Baldwin as Trump.
Madonnas nearly at the mutant beneath the planet of the apes
Exactly she’s perfect
67 year old Catwoman
Maybe if we call it Bananas 2 we can get Woody to direct.
He can play Castro’s Ghost.
more songs
Chavistas
Blow Your Nose
Castro Is Not My Daddy
Bananas
Jungle Love
Also, Jennifer Lopez as Maria Machado.
I Am Iron Woman
I Am Iron Lady
They didn't just ignore a female in Gilligan's Island: they were equal opportunity -- an educated professor and a cute, bubbly woman were both left out. I would refer to the Jetson's theme: "...Jane, his wife..." which is closer although they do name her
I despise the term "partner" except in business.
Re Celia Cruz, a poignant photo of her collecting a small portion of her homeland.
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/raw/cpsprodpb/19d0/live/f3ba3060-47ab-11ef-af39-4724073451c8.jpg
How much crap sociology is owed to current feminism
Taking a woman seriously has always been listening to her as if interested and natter about what she wants to talk about. Feminism has made no difference except she now was a social justice theory.
Ginger or Mary Anne? May Anne.
Mary Anne or Jeannie? Jeannie.
It was said that the role of Ginger was inspired by, and offered to, Jayne Mansfield, but she turned it down.
Do you all know that the seven characters in Gilligans Island were based on the seven deadly sins?
No Latin scholar here, but I do a lot of research on Ancient Rome and I believe cilia refers to the lashes, not the eyelids themselves. Cilia is a way of saying 'hair'. Ears have cilia, too.
Readering said, "Then Chavez died in 2013, and it turned out they were unmarried. They quickly married, she resigned as AG, and styled herself First Lady."
Well you got to get while the gettin's good don't ya know!
“Without that, we got the false impression that she was swept in as an appendage of the man.”
Well, to be fair, if she hadn’t been present when they came for Maduro I doubt they’d have mounted a second operation just to get her.
"It was said that the role of Ginger was inspired by, and offered to, Jayne Mansfield, but she turned it down."
That would have solved the problem of plugging that hole in the boat.
Don’t cry for me Venezuela!
I guess it is now fifth stage feminism. Girl criminals get charged for their own crimes and don’t have to share the credit with anyone else.
Sophia Loren gives the side-eye...
https://images.fineartamerica.com/images/artworkimages/mediumlarge/3/sophia-loren-and-jayne-mansfield-white-border-doc-braham.jpg
“ Do you all know that the seven characters in Gilligans Island were based on the seven deadly sins?”
Well, in Ginger’s defense, being able to de chrome a trailer hitch is not a sin. And for others the true questions are Mary Tyler Moore v Samantha and Barbara Feldon v Emma Peele. Both decided for the latter.
Evita Peron had a lot of lower class fans who were called “the shirtless ones.” That’s a good nickname if “hillbillies” quits working.
Also, safety tip, if you type “Dracula” too close to “Evita” the damn auto-correct will change her name to “Elvira.”
"They're hookers, Bob. They'll do whatever you tell them."
"Not anymore"
Modern comedic remark on feminism.
The subordination of the female character even in those lyrics has always bugged me.
The Professor was a female? News to me.
I think Monkey Business inspired most of Gilligan's Isle.
Ginger Rogers = Mary Ann
Marilyn Monroe = Ginger
Cary Grant = The Professor and Gilligan
Charles Coburn = Skipper
The Monkey = The Monkey
Add a couple of Capitalists and you've got a sitcom.
Add a couple of Socialists and you've got a war zone with burning huts and the monkey is eating the bones. That's a good horror movie but you never make it to season 2.
Not only did Mrs. Howell get relegated to "his wife," Gilligan, an incompetent male doofus, got top billing, and got an island named after him.
It's just not fair.
If Hollywood ever makes Socialist Isle
I think Sydney Sweeney should play Ginger
and Gal Gadot is Mary Ann, of course
Madonna could play Mrs. Pelosi.
Robert De Niro could play Lovey. Might need a nickname upgrade.
Steel
Iron Man
67 Whacks
The Man With the Stick
Goetz (1:37pm):
The place to go for Latin and Greek dictionaries is logeion.uchicago.edu. Lewis and Short gives 'eyelid' as the only meaning in classical Latin, but DMLBS gives 'eyelid', 'eyelash', and 'eyebrow' for the meanings in Mediaeval Latin, so it seems to have changed meanings over the years.
Don't forget Inger Stevens
"The subordination of the female character even in those lyrics has always bugged me."
Strange not to consider how the male is subordinated to his money. "The millionaire and his wife." Neither one gets a name. Maybe, once a man becomes rich enough, all you see is his money.
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