Shut Up Fool Awards- Post Turkey Day 2016 Edition

It's the day after Thanksgiving, and if you're reading this, I take it you're not battling the traffic trying to get to the malls or retail outlets for the post holiday sales.

Or you're simply waiting to do your shopping online from the comfort of your couch.

Anyway, it's the day after Turkey Day and hope you didn't have a side helping of drama and shade while eating your holiday meal.

It's time to carve up some more jive turkeys and call out this week's group of fools

Honorable mention number one is every media pundit trying to legitimize the so called 'alt-right'.   They are white supremacists.  Get it right and stop using Orwellian language to sanitize these hateful idiots .

Honorable mention number two is June Pridmore, who obviously wasn't paying attention after two women who made racist comments about the current First Family lost their jobs.   She lost her Regions Bank VP gig after doing so.    I can't help but notice all these white women trying to call the FLOTUS 'ugly' wouldn't exactly make it to the top 15 semifinalists of any beauty pageant.

Well, maybe now that she's on the job market, she can apply for one in the upcoming Trump Administration she loves so much.

Honorable mention number three is Congressman Sean Duffy (R-WI) who seems to have a vanillacentric blind spot that leads him to believe that white supremacists and civil rights protestors are the same.

Naw dude,  White supremacists are the same as your party and the conservative movement.

Honorable mention number four is Kellyane Conway, for being Karl Rove in drag as Trump's spokesmodel.

Honorable mention number five is Donald Trump for laughingly calling for healing in his Thanksgiving message after he spent over a year demonizing non-white Americans

Naw fool, you get as much respect from me as you gave President Obama.   None.

And there isn't no building trust when you have insulted much of the electorate who didn't want your unqualified azz in the anywhere near the Oval Office.

Honorable mention number six is any person who says we should give Trump a chance after he has nominated white supremacists and anti-TBLGQ peeps for cabinet positions.

Honorable mention number seven is Tila Tequila  AKA Thien Thanh Thi Nguyen, whose azz was doing Nazi salutes with the white boys goose stepping in celebration in DC of Trump's 'win'.

About time Twitter shut down her racist account.

Tina, guess you forgot that your azz is Asian, you were born in Singapore and you will be reminded quite quickly that you ain't white. ,   She's also one of the peeps that lived in Houston we don't claim

Your 15 minutes was up a long time ago.

This week's Shut Up Fool winner is Bernie Sanders for first, say that the Democrats need to move away from identity politics when his Democratic primary challenge was powered by it and far left white people, and after demonizing Hillary Clinton for not supporting a $15 minimum wage, now says he''s work with Trump to get it to $10

These are major examples why Sanders didn't get any support in the Democratic primary from non-white Democrats because he doesn't have a clue about the issues that affect people of color, or that all politics in the United States has been identity politics since the founding of this nation.

Bernie Sanders, shut up fool..

TDOR 2016 Snapshots

DOR 2016 is one for the history books, and as this 18th anniversary observance of it across the globe happened,    I wasn't at home for the ones in Houston because as you know, I was tapped to be on the opposite end of I-10 as the keynote for the Tuscon TDOR on the University of Arizona campus.

On this November 20 date here and around the world, in addition to the event that happened during Trans Awareness Week and Month in the runup to TDOR itself, there were speeches given. and panel discussions held.

Media interviews were granted by us in which we delivered the crystal clear message that our lives and humanity matters, and we along with our allies read the names of over 300 trans people around the world who lost their lives to anti-trans violence.

Far too many of those lives once again were trans people of color and in the US, African-American trans people under age 40.

We lit candles for those souls we lost, mourned them, comforted each other, and walked out of those venues more determined than ever to ensure that these people didn't die in vain and that we the living would ensure that trans rights would prevail here and around the world.

Here's just a few snapshots of TDOR 2016 ceremonies and events around the world.  I'll add more as I receive them.

Karen Kendra Holmes speaking at a TDOR event hosted by Stetson University

Jevon martin at the White House Transgender Community Briefing on November 17

Happy Thanksgiving 2016

It's a bittersweet Thanksgiving for many of us in Trans World today.

While we've made some amazing progress this year, the adverse results of the 2016 presidential election will put much of that progress at rsk starting on January 20 with an incoming (yuck) Republican administration  

But today, not going to focus on that looming political drama, will have time to do that later.  I'm going to just focus on counting my blessings.

I am blessed to have good health, loyal friends, and my family blood and chosen in my life.  I have had the blessings in 2016 of traveling to every corner of the country except the Pacific Northwest and the southeast US.

I have been blessed with multiple awards and making history in getting one of them.  I have in 2016  stood inside the White House (for the fifth time), on the campus of Harvard University, outside of the site of San Francisco's Compton's Cafeteria, and on the historic Chautauqua Institution amphitheater stage with Janet Mock.

I got to attend Creating Change for the third consecutive year, the Black Trans Advocacy Conference at their new hotel, the Philly Trans Health Conference and Netroots Nation for the first time since 2012 and another Texas Transgender Nondiscrimination Summit as its keynote speaker.  I even got the opportunity on Election Night to talk politics on live television on a TV station I grew up watching in ABC13.

One of the blessings I received in 2016 is getting to meet and talk to our trans youth in Houston and around the country along with their amazing parents.

The blessing I want for our community here in the United States and around the world is to have our humanity and human rights recognized, respected and protected .

Don't know yet what 2017 has in store for me besides some trips to Austin staring in January, but hope I finally get to meet more of the transpeople on my bucket list like Lauren Foster and Caroline Cossey for starters, get to speak at a few more events on college campuses, keynote some conferences, and finally get to put my GLAAD media training and Pundit Cup Championship punditry skills to good use on behalf of this community on a regular basis.

And oh yeah, did I mention the amazing people in my life that I call my friends?

Happy Thanksgiving people!   May your holiday meal be tasty, the people you share it with be full of grace and good cheer, and you have safe travels to and from your holiday destinations.

And for those of you who will not be breaking bread with your families, may you do so with chosen family, friends and people who love you..

TransGriot 2016 NFL Picks -Week 12

It's Thanksgiving Day!  I'm  posting my NFL picks a little earlier than normal because we have an early morning game in Detroit in addition to turkey and all the other mouth watering food and sides that will grace your dinner table,

Two of those three NFL games on tap involve the two teams that have Turkey Day traditions in the Detroit Lions as I mentioned and that NFL franchise in Arlington.    In recent years the NFL has broadcasts an evening game that involves two additional NFL teams either done by NBC or the NFL Network, and this year it's the Pittsburgh Steelers visiting the Indianapolis Colts in that Turkey Day evening matchup.

I flipped the pontification script on Mike in Week 11, and won it thanks to the Panthers and Colts pulling out their games.  If the Texans had held on, I'd be back up to a six game lead, but five game spread works.  

Let's get to Week 12   Everyone has had their bye weeks, so from now on well be picking 16 weekly games for the rest of the season.   Teams I'm selecting to win will be in bold print with the home team in CAPS.  

Mike's Week 12 selections will be available via this link.

NFL Week 11 Results                               2016 NFL Season Results
TransGriot   10-4                                       TransGriot    103-57-2
Mike              9-5                                       Mike               98-62-2
Eli                 --                                           Eli                    ---


Thanksgiving Games
Vikings over LIONS
COWBOYS over Washington
Steelers over COLTS

Sunday Early Games
RAVENS over Bengals
TEXANS over Chargers
SAINTS over Rams
FALCONS over Cardinals
DOLPHINS over 49ers
BILLS over Jaguars
BEARS over Titans
Giants over BROWNS

Sunday Afternoon Games
Seahawks over BUCCANEERS
Patriots over JETS
RAIDERS over Panthers

Sunday Night Game
Chiefs over BRONCOS

Monday Night Game
EAGLES over Packers

C-16 Trans Rights Bill Passes House of Commons, Heads To Senate

Some wonderful news for our Canadian trans cousins that happened in the runup to TDOR.

On November 18, Bill C-16, also known as the Trans Rights Bill, passed the House of Commons on a Third Reading voice vote after a last ditch attempt by some Conservatives to attach an amendment to it force the bill back into committee.

C-16 passed with overwhelming multiparty support from the Liberals, the NDP and the Greens. Despite some Conservative MP's hating on C-16, it did receive support from many Conservative MP's, many of them who voted against previous versions of the trans rights bill.

MP Randall Garrison (NDP-Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke) is the Critic for LGBTQ Issues and has led since 2011 the NDP effort to pass trans rights legislation.  MP Bill Siksay has led the NDP charge to pass trans rights legislation since 2005.



One of those Conservatives who has evolved concerning the trans rights bill was MP Michelle Rempel (C-Calgary).  She expressed that sentiment in her Third Reading House floor debate comments which have been praised across party lines in the Great White North.

“In the last three years, I have watched this community face bigotry, more discrimination, and becoming a flashpoint for fights that we should no longer be having in Canada, she said.

“I especially want to thank the trans activists who have lived through this discrimination. They deserve our thanks, and they also deserve an apology for when we have failed them in the past.”

Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould had this to say after C-16 passed

“Today, I am very proud that Bill C-16 has passed the House of Commons. This Bill would amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to add gender identity and gender expression to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination. 

It also proposes to amend the Criminal Code to add gender identity or expression to the definition of "identifiable group" for the purpose of the hate propaganda offences and to the list of aggravating circumstances for hate-crime sentencing.

All Canadians should feel safe to be themselves. Our strength as a nation lies in our diversity and our inclusiveness. It is our responsibility to recognize and reduce the vulnerability of trans and other gender-diverse persons to discrimination, hate propaganda, and hate crimes, and to affirm their equal status in Canadian society.

I am pleased that so many Members of Parliament supported this important piece of legislation and I look forward to working with the Senate as it continues through Parliament.”

MP Garrison had this to say in the wake of C-16's passage.

Seeking to address gaps in Canada's human rights protections, I am proud to have worked with transgender and gender variant activists over the past five years. Today, Bill C-16 was passed by the House of Commons. This is the third time that the HoC has affirmed equal rights for all Canadians.

This legislation is now headed to the Senate, one more time. Hopefully, this time, the unelected Senate will act quickly, respect the will of the House, and fill this gap in Canada's human rights protections.

Now comes the hard part of getting it through the Canadian Senate, when two previous trans rights bills have died after passage in the House of Commons..

C-16 had its First Reading in the Canadian Senate on November 22. and now moves to the Second Reading and debate phase in the Canadian legislative process..

Trans Cycling Trailblazer Jillian Bearden Wins 2016 El Tour de Tucson

One of the people I met during my recent trip to Tucson was cyclist Jillian Bearden, who was in town for the El Tour de Tucson bike race and has founded the Transnational Women's Cycling Team, the world's first transgender cycling group that will make its debut in 2017

The El Tour de Tucson was conducted on Saturday, and I was happy to discover that Jillian made a little trans sporting history.  While riding for SAGA (Southern Arizona Gender Alliance) in her first El Tour de Tucson, she won the women's division 106 mile race in a time of 4:36.07.

And as you probably guessed, there were some haters spouting the same transphobic and sexist BS we hear any time a trans woman competes and wins in a sporting event.

The 36 year old Colorado Springs native is sponsored by the Colorado based Naked Women's Racing and has been racing competitively for 10 years.   Bearden has also been one of the people pushing for inclusion and change in the sport of cycling, and has been working with the International Olympic Committee, USA Cycling and other international cycling groups to make it happen.

"Last January, the IOC released a document that said you can compete if you fall under these criteria. With that being said, more policies are coming out, so there's more work to be done to have acceptance worldwide and not just nationally."

But as you probably guessed, she was thrilled to have won the El Tour, one of the largest participatory sporting events in southern Arizona in her first attempt.  She also recognized the significance of this moment for the trans community.

"It's absolutely huge," Bearden said.  "We're at a moment in time - especially now - where not only do we have to come out but we have to be positive.  We have to come together in solidarity and move the country in a direction that is accepting of all."

Congratulations Jillian!  This was an amazing accomplishment and another example of transpeople doing what they love and making history as they simply handle their business.  It's also another example of us accomplishing great things if we're simply given an opportunity to do so.

Will we see Jillian at a future Tour de France or at the 2020 Olympics?   Sure hope so.

The Conservative Movement Is One Of Oppression

I keep telling y'all how much I love CNN's Angela Rye for telling it like it T-I-S is and calling people out for BS.

Earlier today on CNN she put Trump supporter Steve Higbie on blast for trying to float those tired 'Party of :Lincoln' and party of Martin Luther King' lies

I'll go a step further than Angela was able to do in that segment and say that the entire conservative movement is one of oppression.

Thanks Tucson For A Wonderful TDOR 2016 Weekend!

TDOR 2016 is now one for the history books, and enjoyed my weekend here in Baja Arizona as they call the Tucson-Pima County area.

I hope they enjoyed the speech as much as i was told today they enjoyed my TransGriot TDOR 2016 blog post. 

I enjoyed while i was here on this end of I-10 meeting and talking to people in the Tucson area TBLGQ community, SAGA, GENDERowdy, various trans parents and on the University of Arizona campus, and deeply appreciate y'all rolling out the red carpet for me.

I even ran into people this weekend that used to live in Houston who now call Tucson home.

Megathanks for the gift of the knitted trans flag color scarf.  Will definitely come in handy in the cold weather cities I get to visit and the next time we get a cold front that rolls through Houston.   I even enjoyed the pool table on the first floor at the ALoft Hotel that i called home for the weekend..

Now comes the words that the folks in Houston are happy for me to write.  It's time to head back home to the Lone Star State and my end of I-10 via Denver.

See y'all in a few hours, Houston.  

Tucson, thanks once again for an amazing visit and a well done TDOR , and I hope it doesn't take me another four years before I get the opportunity to return to southern Arizona.

Moni's TDOR 2016 Thoughts

We will lose more transgender people to violence. The Remembering Our Dead list will get longer. The anti-transgender rhetoric coming from their acolytes will get nastier and more hateful. They will try to spin and twist Bible verses to favor their immoral positions. But in the end the result will still be the same and the neo-fascists will lose. --TransGriot  June 14, 2007

Today is the 18th Transgender Day of Remembrance, in which we memorialize the people we lost due to anti-trans violence. here in the US and around the world.

This year's TDOR observance is coming upon the heels of a contentious national election in which an unqualified moron who told racist white people what they wanted to hear basically got himself elected to the presidency of this nation.  

That election has consequences for the country, and unfortunately our community and its fragile human rights will be the first in the crosshairs of this undemocratic regime that is Making America Hate Again and ramping up anti-trans animus for political gain.

Unfortunately, that anti-trans animus has resulted in the untimely loss of trans lives, with the vast majority of them being trans people of color.

Jazz Alford, 30 years old
Amos Beede, 38 years old
Keyonna Blakeney, 22 years old
Brandi Bledsoe, 32 years old
Veronica Banks Cano, 30s
Kayden Clarke, 24 years old
Goddess Diamond, 20 years old
Deeniquia Dodds, 22 years old
Shante Isaac, 34 years old
Kedarie/Kandicee Johnson, 16 years old
Monica Loera, 43 years old
Skye Mockabee, 26 years old
Noony Norwood, 30 years old
T. T. Saffore, 20s
Jasmine Sierra, 52 years old
Demarkis Stansberry, 30 years old
Mercedes Successful, 32 years old
Rae'lynn Thomas, 28 years old
Erykah Tijerina, 36 years old
Tyreece "Reecey" Walker, 32 years old
Dee Whigham, 25 years old
Quartney Davia Dawsonn-Yochum, 32 years old
Maya Young, 24 years old

Say their names tonight and from now on.  
The majority of the American trans people whose names we will say and light a candle for tonight as part of our regrettable contribution to the international list of trans souls lost are Black and Latina.  

When will their Black Lives Matter, Black community?   When will these Latina lives matter to you, Latinx community?  

When will trans lives matter to this nation, period?

Once this day is over, it's nation time trans Americans and allies..  The  transphobic bigots are compiling unjust  legislation to oppress us that we must fight with every fiber of our beings.  We are going to have to come together as never before and fight the evil that wants to eviscerate our existence.  

We unfortunately have some vanillacentric privileged people in our own ranks who fell for the Trump okey doke and conveniently forgot that theirs and the community's humanity was on the ballot November 8.   They  gleefully voted for the guy with an openly transphobic vice president thinking that their lost white privilege and their wallets were more important than the human rights of the entire trans community, and their white skin would protect them from harm.  

They are about to find out it won't.   They failed us, and more importantly, failed our trans kids, who were depending on their trans elders to handle their electoral business and keep this unqualified man out of the Oval Office.

Today we mourn the people we lost.   Tomorrow we prepare to do what we always do and fight for our very humanity.   And yes, we will win.  Yeah I know I said that in 2007, but I believe it, and I'm going to speak it into existence today.   We have the moral high ground, our haters don't no matter how much Biblical scripture the radicalized faith based haters try to throw.

But this time, we won't be fighting for our humanity and our human rights alone. We will have human rights organizations and allies working intersectionally by our side and at least until noon EST on January 20,  the power of the Obama Administration.

Transgender rights are human rights. and we will have legislators on Capitol Hill and across the country willing to do the right thing and stand up for us.   We will have trans parents standing with us and their kids.  We also have history to peruse that gives us insight on how to fight the hateful evil that has once again befallen this country and we are squarely in the crosshairs of.

Our vision of our community and a fair and just America is worth fighting for.

As the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr once said, we must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.   The progress that we have made gives me hope that we will get through this.

Bishop Yvette Flunder's Post-Election Message

I had the honor and pleasure of finally meeting a few months ago the amazing Bishop Yvette Flunder when she came to Houston to speak at the PODCC.

She is an unapologetic part of the radically inclusive wing of Christianity that needs to be the rule and not the exception in our world instead of the radicalized hatemongering Pharisees and Sadducees that claim they are.

Love this message that was on her Facebook page that she asked to be shared.

Done, Bishop.

***

As I am receiving clarity about the recent political events in our nation, I am ready to fight for the soul of Christianity...not against other faiths, that I also respect and revere, but to take back what was been hijacked from Christianity by those who call themselves 'conservatives' . Jesus was not a conservative...by any means! Everything he taught flew in the face of the conservative religion of His time.

I am clear that a strong, fearful and controlling Christian conservative vote showed up in the recent election galvanized around the issues of abortion and marriage equality.This was the battle cry, but abortion rates were already declining.  "The overall rate of unintended pregnancies dropped 18 percent between 2008 and 2011—its lowest in 30 years,"according to the Guttmacher Institute, March 2, 2016.

Why? Contraceptive education, much of which was provided by Planned Parenthood. Babies that are not conceived will not be aborted!  Heterosexual marriage is on the increase according to Pew Research. 'The new data show that 4.32 million adults (ages 18 or older) were newlywed in 2012, a 3% percent increase over the 4.21 million adults newly married in 2011 and the numbers are climbing (The data does not include same-sex couples.) 

So what is the real issue? Too much public boldness for those who were at one time at least closeted about women's rights, LGBT rights and racial equality...the race issue was exacerbated by a Black President. These fears when added to the 'lie' that the 'coloreds' were taking jobs away justified the one real issue I want to lift up...the conservative Christian church got in bed with evil, under the guise of doing God's work and it's soul is in jeopardy.

Without a message of welcome, inclusion, resisting empire, love and peace, what is the purpose of the Church? God does not have to dance with the devil, to benefit the Church. None of the politicians were/are perfect, but how can "God's Champion" have to pay 25 million dollars because he is guilty of defrauding people? 
There are two distinct Christianity's in our atmosphere...I choose to be the disciple of the Radically Inclusive Jesus of Nazareth. 

If You're A Trans Trump Voter, You Are A Sellout

It's now been a week since the disastrous election of that reprehensible oompa loompa who I will give the same respect as POTUS as he gave President Obama, absolutely none.

One of the things I've been amused and saddened to see is how fast white fauxgressives are trying to riverdance away from the fact their third party votes in swing states helped grease the skids for Trump's upset win.   I've also noticed  in the last few days a few trans Trump traitors have come out and stated they voted for him knowing that the humanity and the human rights of our community was on the ballot.

It's even been more amusing and at times gobsmacking to realize the level of Grade A stupidity that went into their decisions on why they voted for Trump.

I've heard the remixed excuses and smears such as 'Hillary was worse than Trump'.  'Trump was just saying that stuff to get elected, he won't be that bad'.  "He's a businessman who will bring back our manufacturing jobs'

Once again, like you and your ancestors have been for the last 150 years, you've been hoodwinked and bamboozled into voting against your own interests by the 1% you allegedly hate, but proved you don't more than you foaming at the mouth hate non-white Americans.  

The 1% peeps and the Republican Party are laughing at you from their quiet rooms about how easily they got you to fall once again for that tried and true tactic as they gleefully figure out what luxury yachts and toys they will buy with the massive deficit creating tax cut they are about to get.  

So trans sellouts,,not only did you fall hard for that ancient okey doke I and a whole lot of people warned you not to do, you arrogantly thought your whiteness and white privilege would protect you from the backlash the Trump campaign hate stirred up..

Nope, it won't, and the Trump brownshirts are making it clear  across the country that you're on their hate menu..

You're in the same bot human rights wise with me and other non-white trans folks, and our human rights are the first ones on the list to be eviscerated by the incoming Trump Administration, and his rumored picks for positions in his administration make it abundantly clear how badly you played yourselves..

I really don't give a rat's anus at this moment in history about your precious delicate nerves.  I'm calling crap out.  You don't like me calling you sellouts to our community, too bad, because that's exactly what you are and what you did to this community when you voted for Trump.

But what I'm really mad at you trans fauxgressives about is not that message you sent with your vote that you're down with the KKK and the Trump hate message of  oppressing non-white Americans.

What I'm upset about is how this will affect our trans kids who are already under right wing attack now and the only thing that was beating it back was the Obama Administration .

It's ironic the Black POTUS you disrespected cares more for your humanity and human rights than the incoming white one and his VP will.

Oh well, but you voted to Make America Hate Again.   By doing so, you not only enabled hatred and oppression of non-white Americans, but you opened the door for the oppression of trans people

That makes you a trans sellout.