Are Sistahs Still In Fashion?

While we were all justifiably proud of our sis Isis' history making turn on America's Next Top Model, the question still remains unanswered whether she or any African-American model, biowoman or transgender will be able to consistently find work in a sadly segregated fashion industry.

After the spring Fashion Week shows in New York and the European fashion capitals of London, Paris and Milan were roundly criticized for the lack of melanin on the runways and the weak excuses and justifications for it coming from many designers, all eyes were on the recently completed round of Fashion Week shows in which designers highlighted their Spring 2009 collections.

While there was some slight improvement, there were still far more African-American women in the audience than strutting the runways.

That's despite Bethann Hardison calling two summits to discuss the issue and the all Black model July Italian VOGUE issue selling out. Tracy Reese, DKNY and Diane von Furstenberg used a large number of African-American models this season while others such as Vivienne Tam, did not use any.

"Visually on the runways, it has improved," said Hardison, "But the results are still racist. You choose the same white and you never go towards the brown or the dark."

Designer Tracy Reese said the question of diversity on the runway needs to be brought up again and again to ensure change.

"If it's too exclusionary, it puts me off," she said.

One thing I'd like to suggest is that the NAACP or some watchdog group start tracking the diversity of fashion shows. That way those of us who are inclined to spend money on designer fashions have an idea and a record of which designers are consistently hiring sistah models, which ones are dissing us, and adjust our considerable fashion dollar spending accordingly.

It would also be a good idea to keep an eye on the modeling agencies as well and see if they are doing their part in signing and getting work for sistah models.

What's sad about this situation is that if I want to see a fashion show that has African-American models strutting the runway, I'll have to wait until the EBONY Fashion Fair hits town.

Oh well, at least if I attend the EBONY Fashion Fair, some of the money I spend on that ticket will go to a local charity.

Ruby Molina Is HER Name

Okay, I'm just about ready to put some of you media peeps in the same intellectual class as Sarah Palin and George W. Bush.

Exactly what is it about reporting on transpeople that causes y'all to screw it up EVERY time despite having clear guidelines in the AP Stylebook that a fifth grader could follow?

Let's try this again shall we?

People, take out your AP Stylebook, turn to the section that says 'sex changes and you will see this:

transgender-Use the pronoun preferred by the individuals who have acquired the physical characteristics of the opposite sex or present themselves in a way that does not correspond with their sex at birth.

If that preference is not expressed, use the pronoun consistent with the way the individuals live publicly.

Now, let's apply what you learned to a real life situation shall we?

You have a body pulled out of a river that has long hair, breasts, nail polish on her nails and a penis. That combination of features should tell you that you have a transgender person to write about. How do you write the story based on the AP Stylebook rules?

Not the way this Sacramento TV station did or Sacramento Bee reporter Kim Minugh wrote it. - kminugh@sacbee.com

Police investigating death of 22-year-old as suspicious

Sacramento police are investigating the death of a transgender person pulled from the American River last week as suspicious.

The body of 22-year-old Fernando Molina of Sacramento was discovered by a fisherman east of the Highway 160 bridge on Sept. 21, according to police. There were no obvious signs of trauma or foul play, but police say circumstances surrounding the death prompted them to label itas suspicious.

Molina, who biologically was a man, was in the process of transitioning to a female and presented himself as a woman, police said. He was known to friends and family as "Ruby."

Police say Molina was known to frequent the Watt Avenue and Auburn Boulevard area and Sacramento's downtown area. Investigators are asking anyone who might have had contact with Molina for the two weeks prior to his death contact them.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP. Callers can remain anonymous and might be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

****

Okay, in Ruby Molina's case, when they pulled HER body out of the American River, she had long hair, breasts and polish on her nails.

Hello, isn't that a fracking big clue she's living as a female DESPITE the neoclit between her legs?

Kim, here's the way the story should have been written using AP Stylebook rules.

****

Police investigating death of 22-year-old as suspicious

Sacramento police are investigating the death of a transgender woman pulled from the American River last week as suspicious.

The body of 22-year-old Ruby Molina of Sacramento was discovered by a fisherman east of the Highway 160 bridge on Sept. 21, according to police. There were no obvious signs of trauma or foul play, but police say circumstances surrounding the death prompted them to label it as suspicious.

Molina, born Fernando, was in the process of transitioning to a female.

Police say Molina was known to frequent the Watt Avenue and Auburn Boulevard area and Sacramento's downtown area. Investigators are asking anyone who might have had contact with Molina for the two weeks prior to his death contact them.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Alert at (916) 443-HELP. Callers can remain anonymous and might be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.

****

I'm still waiting for the day when a media outlet gets the story and pronouns right the FIRST time when it involves a transgender person.

Oh snap, I just remembered. I have at least once in my lifetime read a report on a transgender person done correctly the first time. It was the African-American magazine JET doing this story on Justina Williams in 1979.

Interestingly enough they did this without having AP Stylebook guidelines to refer to. So if they could do this in 1979, what's the media's problem getting it right in the early 21st century?

NBJC Survey

5 Questions from the National Black Justice Coalition

NBJC wants to remain in touch with your needs as a Black LGBT/SGL community. So we thought up 5 quick questions we would like for you to answer.

Please click here to respond. It takes less then 3 minutes to complete.

SCC 2008

Today is the opening day for the 18th annual Southern Comfort Conference which will be running through October 5 at the Atlanta Crowne Plaza Ravinia hotel.

This year's theme is a cruise on the SCC Celebration, but this signature event for the transgender community has always been one with informative seminars, high profile guest speakers, a career seminar for the second consecutive year and is the event where some of the national transgender community's business gets done.

The seminars will kick off on Thursday and if my work schedule allows it I may be able to roll down to the ATL for a Black transgender community event being held as part of the SCC activities. There will also be a screening of Still Black A Portrait Of Black Transmen as part of the SCC 2008 activities schedule.

Best of luck for a successful SCC 2008.

More Barack Video

Senator Obama accepting the Harold Washington Award at the CBC dinner

A Black Transgender's Perspective From the 2008 Democratic Convention

By Marisa Richmond, Ph.D.

Recently, I had the honor and privilege of serving as a Delegate to the 2008 Democratic National Convention from my home state of Tennessee. There is nothing unusual about that until you consider the fact that I not only was the first openly transgender delegate ever elected from Tennessee, but I was also the first African American transgender delegate from any state, ever.

This convention was not my first. I was a campaign staffer at the 1980 Democratic National Convention in New York, but it was my first convention as a delegate. The experience was quite different since, this year I was part of the focus of the activities.

Every day I attended meals, receptions, and caucuses with other party leaders and activists. I used many of these occasions to talk with other delegates about the necessity of standing up for equal rights for all LGBT people on various issues including ENDA and Hate Crimes. Of course, in each instance, I was always a caucus of one since there were no other African American, openly transgender delegates at the convention.

While the platform, which was passed by voice vote early in the Monday session before I even got to the Pepsi Center, has gender identity in the language, I was very frustrated that the word "transgender" was not mentioned one single time from the podium. In 2004, transgender was mentioned three times. In 2008, that number was zero.

We are not invisible in the Democratic Party. We should not be treated as pariahs when we are out there working hard and raising money for pro-equality candidates. And in our work on the platform before the convention, many of us were active around the country pushing for support of a "fully inclusive" ENDA, for which the United ENDA Coalition (which includes NBJC) has worked. Instead, it states support for a "comprehensive" ENDA, which is not the same thing.

The Democratic Party cannot expect voters to overcome homophobia or transphobia if its own leaders cannot do the same.

Overall, it was a very positive experience and I hope in 2012, the African American Transgender Caucus will have more than one member.

TransGriot Note: 'Number Two' is absolutely right. If we're doing our part to become part of the political process and are asking the people to become less homophobic and transphobic, then our leaders must also show deeds to back up their words. I also agree the African-American transgender caucus at the DNC convention needs to grow. Hopefully I and others will be in a position where we can join her in 2012.

About Marisa Richmond, Ph.D.

Marisa is President of the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Equality Project & Board of Advisors of NCTE. She is a former Board Member of AEGIS, IFGE, NTAC, & Nashville's Rainbow Community Center. She served as Co-Chair of Southern Comfort in 2001, chaired the host committee of the 2002 IFGE Convention in Nashville, & served on the Planning Committee for Nashville Black Pride in 2004. She won the Trinity Award in 2002 & the HRC Equality Award in 2007.

Transgender Girl's Looks Sparked School Fight

"Every day, I was afraid for my sister. The world, the way it is, most people wouldn't accept who she was."

By Monte Whaley
The Denver Post

BRIGHTON — Angie Zapata's life was becoming more complicated and dangerous by the day.

As she neared her 19th birthday, she needed to shave daily to keep up appearances. Her Adam's apple was growing larger, an emerging tip-off that Angie was not exactly whom she claimed to be.

She was living in Greeley away from her protective older sister, Monica, and other family members for the first time. The striking, 6-foot-tall Latina began running with a bad crowd that sold drugs.

Angie was restless. She needed money for cosmetology school and for counseling to prepare her for hormone treatments so her breasts would develop.

"Every day, I was afraid for my sister," said Monica Zapata. "The world, the way it is, most people wouldn't accept who she was."

Born Justin Zapata, Angie wanted to live and love as a transgender female.

Her quest for a normal life on her terms ended in July, when she was beaten to death in her one-bedroom, $300-a-month apartment.

Her alleged assailant, 31-year-old Allen Andrade of Thornton, met Angie on a dating website. He grew suspicious while looking at photographs of Angie in her apartment, according to Greeley police. He confronted her about her sexual status; she allegedly said: "I'm all woman." Then he grabbed her crotch and felt a penis, police said.

Enraged, he first hit Angie with his fists. Then he used a fire extinguisher, hitting her up to five times, prosecutors said.

He covered her body with a blanket and left the apartment, taking a credit card belonging to Monica Zapata as well as Monica's 2003 PT Cruiser.

Andrade faces first-degree murder and felony hate-crime charges, among others. In recorded conversations made public at Andrade's preliminary hearing this month, he described the killing in stark terms. He said he "snapped" when he learned of Angie's biological status and told his girlfriend, "What's done is done."

Andrade also told police "gay things need to die" and that he "killed it."

There were plenty of men who found Angie attractive. Her skin was flawless and her hair, dark and flowing.

"Even without makeup, she looked like a girl, a gorgeous girl," said another sister, Stephanie Zapata.

Angie spent hours primping, even before she reported to work as a shift manager at a local fast-food restaurant.

When she went out, she wore low-cut dresses with high skirts and size-10 pumps. "She was conceited about her looks; she always wanted to look good," Stephanie said.

Her heart could be broken easily. She recently met a man she liked, but he wouldn't commit because of her transgender status.

"She said she only wanted him to take her out and show her off, but he said if people found out about them, they would hurt them," Monica said. "She said to me, 'I'm never going to be happy.' "

Angie clung to her family, especially her nieces and nephews. She had a great fondness for 2-year-old Diego, her godson.

"She would buy them name-brand clothing and definitely Nike shoes. Even if she had a few dollars left, she would spend it on them," said her friend and transgender mentor, Kitty DeLeon.

At age 5 or 6, Angie showed signs that she was uncomfortable in her masculine skin. She draped towels over her head to look more like a girl, and she quickly dropped out of sports such as soccer and baseball in favor of fixing her sisters' hair and dabbling in makeup.

"When (our mom) cut her hair, she cried and cried because she wanted it to grow long," Monica said.

Angie said she was molested as a child by an older relative, added Monica, and she used that to justify her feelings.

"She said that if she could attract men like that, maybe she was meant to be a woman," Monica said.

To please her mother, Angie dressed as a boy. Once at her elementary school, she would change into girls clothing and wear makeup.

She was taunted for her looks, and it led to altercations.

"She fought two boys once and beat them up and said, 'See, that's what it feels like to be beaten up by a fag,' " Monica said.

Angie's death was part of a rash of at least 13 violent hate crimes committed across the country in June and July.

All were aimed at gays, lesbians and transgender individuals, said Avy Skolnik, coordinator of national and statewide programs for the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs.

The incidents — including Angie's death — fall on the heels of the Feb. 12 shooting of 15-year-old Lawrence "Larry" Fobes King at a junior high school in Oxnard, Calif. King allegedly was targeted because he began showing up to school wearing women's accessories and clothing, high heels and makeup.

King allegedly was shot twice in the head by a fellow student, 14-year-old Brandon McInerney.

"When someone finds out that someone else is transgender, that does not justify an assault, certainly not murder," Skolnik said.

But Andrade's defense attorney sees it in a slightly different way. Annette Kundelius argued in her client's preliminary hearing that Angie deceived Andrade into thinking she was biologically a female.

When he discovered the truth, he reacted violently but without premeditation, said Kundelius, who asked the presiding judge to lower the charge to second-degree murder.

"At best, this is a case about passion," Kundelius said. "When she smiled at him, that was a highly provoking act."

Kundelius employed a classic defense-attorney tactic known as "trans-shock," Skolnik said. "It's simply used by lawyers to play off the bias of jurors."

Prosecutor Robb Miller said Andrade could have reacted like most people in the same situation — admit an embarrassing mistake and move on. "He could have lived with it," Miller said, "but something inside him wouldn't let him."

Weld County District Judge Marcelo Kopcow agreed, refusing to lower the first-degree murder charge and erase the felony bias charge. The evidence, Kopcow said, clearly showed Andrade's rage toward Angie as well as gays.

It was at age 15 that Angie officially came out as a transgender female. About then, she also met DeLeon, a transgender female who also grew up in Fort Lupton.

DeLeon, now in her 30s, sensed an inner strength in Angie that needed to be nurtured. "I wanted her to live a normal life and not a sheltered life," DeLeon said. "I told her, 'You know, Angie, there will always be people who will tell you you are evil and wrong. But we can't let people tell us who we are.' "

Later, as Angie's social life flourished, friends said a cellphone seemed glued to her ear.

She would talk to boys but never go out with them until they had been vetted by her sisters. She also disclosed her status to every suitor, family said. Some of her prospective dates went away angry, but others were happy to stay around, Monica said.

"She didn't have to lie about who she was," Monica said. "Plenty of guys liked her."

But school became tougher for her with conflicts and fights. "She always had to protect herself at school, and it became too much of a hassle for her," Monica said. "I think that became her excuse to quit."

She dropped out of Fort Lupton High School in about her junior year and went to work full time, babysitting Monica's children for $600 a month.

"She started hanging out with some bad people, people who weren't good for her," said Monica.

What's left of Angie's life — her dresses and shoes and other mementos — is displayed in a basement room at Monica's home in Brighton.

"She loved people, and she loved going out and looking good," Monica said. "That was important to her."

Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com

Here We Go Again-Another TV Station Gets The Pronouns Wrong

This time it happened in Sacramento, CA

http://cbs13.com/local/transgender.body.american.2.825151.html

Do any of you peeps even bother to read the AP Stylebook?


Transgender Man's Death Has Gay Community On Alert
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ― The gay community is on alert this morning after the body of a transgendered man was pulled from the American River over the weekend.

The body of a transgender man was found Sunday.

Police aren't sure if this was a hate crime. They're waiting for autopsy results to learn more.

Meanwhile, the Sacramento Gay and Lesbian Center is sending out emails, warning people to be careful in the area.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)


Now per TransGriot policy, the story as it should have been written per AP Stylebook guidelines.

Transwoman's Death Has Gay Community On Alert


SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ― The gay community is on alert this morning after the body of a transwoman was pulled from the American River over the weekend.

The body of a transwoman was found Sunday.

Police aren't sure if this was a hate crime. They're waiting for autopsy results to learn more.

Meanwhile, the Sacramento Gay and Lesbian Center is sending out emails, warning people to be careful in the area.

Saturday At Centre

Saturday morning found me and Dawn jumping into my ride at 6:45 AM EDT and rolling 85 miles toward the Bluegrass country in central Kentucky and the picturesque town of Danville.

Our destination was the campus of Centre College for the Statewide Fairness Summit. We were going to spend all day at Centre's Young Hall in a classroom with the state's GLBT leaders and some straight allies formulating our political strategy for the next few years.

It was appropriate that we were holding the meeting here. Danville was the cradle of Kentucky's emergence as a state. This used to be the entire western portion of Virginia back during the Revolutionary War period as Kentucky County. Ten constitutional conventions were held in Danville that led to Kentucky becoming a state in 1792.

If Centre College is vaguely ringing a bell in your minds, it's because the vice presidential debate was held here back in 2000. It's a liberal arts college of 1215 students which over the last 50 years has produced two thirds of the Rhodes Scholars from Kentucky. It has also produced 27 Fulbright Scholars over the last 10 years.

Our arrival was slightly humorous. There was an air guitar competition being held nearby and as we parked the car in the lot, the dueling banjos song from the movie Deliverance was blasting over the speakers.

I noted several cars with Texas license plates in the lot, and ironically one of them also had a bumper sticker for Carnegie Vanguard High School. I'm an alum of HISD's Vanguard gifted and talented program, which was housed at my alma mater Jesse Jones HS until it was controversially moved to its own campus in 2001.

We had a facilitated meeting in which we hashed out the initial seeds of the game plan we'll use over the next five years and beyond. We also took steps to exorcise the ghosts of the 2004 Kentucky marriage amendment defeat and have a little fun in the process.

I'm part of one of the working groups that was formed to do more detailed planning concerning one aspect of our plan. There are other leaders from various parts of the state who are part of working groups responsible for formulating other aspects of the plan.

While this was technically a business trip, it's always great to see some old friends in the civil rights community, meet new ones and meet our up and coming youth leaders. Once I get the okay from our communications group to reveal exactly what we were working on this weekend, you TransGriot readers will definitely be kept in the loop and advised what's up.

It was also a pleasure to meet psychology professor Dr. Mykol Thompson and some of our gracious student hosts at Centre. I'm looking forward to seeing them again in the near future.

It was also cool to get gas for $3.49 a gallon.

Sarah Palin-Not Ready For Prime Time

Here's the YouTube video from the recent interview Katie Couric did with Caribou Barbie. If anybody thinks that this woman is qualified, much less even ready to be vice president (or president) they are seriously delusional and I'd recommend they get professional help immediately.



As a bonus, here's Tina Fey skewering Palin on Saturday Night Live.



And Tina Fey skewering her again.

Get Ready To Rumble, er Debate!

Tonight is the first of the three presidential debates on the University of Mississippi campus in Oxford, assuming John McCain shows up to take his azz whupping like a man.

Time for me to get in boxing announcer mode.

In this corner, at 6 foot 4 inches tall from Chicago, Illinois Barack 'Change Is Good' Obamaaaaaaaaa...

And in this corner, at 5 foot 10 inches tall from Sedona, Arizona, at 5 foot 10, John 'the Ancient Mariner' McCainnnn.

Let's get ready to rumbllllllle.

This one's supposed to be focused on foreign policy, but who knows, it wouldn't surprise me if a question on the current financial mess pops in.

At any rate, I'll be tuned in at 9 PM EDT to watch the fun. And I'm really looking forward to watching Sarah Palin's stupid (yeah I said it) behind crash and burn versus Sen. Joe Biden.

Dear Isis

TransGriot Note: I know this cycle of America's Next Top Model was shot during the summer and the winner has already been determined.

But I still cried and I'm disappointed about seeing Isis eliminated during Wednesday's broadcast.

I'm writing this open letter to my sis anyway.


Dear Isis,
I just watched the episode containing your heartbreaking elimination from Cycle 11 of America's Next Top Model, I know you wanted to go much further in the competition than you did and your brothers and sisters in the worldwide transgender community and beyond wanted just as badly to see you win it.

Sis, know that I and the entire transgender community are immensely proud of you.

Through difficult circumstances, catty remarks, borderline inappropriate questions and the ignorance of some of your fellow competitors you handled yourself with class and dignity even with a camera lens pointed at you.

I felt your pain of dealing with a transition in a fishbowl situation. My own transition was done in the middle of a major international airport in which 30,000 passengers a day transited through it. I don't know if I would have had the courage to do it with most of the planet and the unblinking eye of a television camera following my every move, But if that's what it would have taken for me to become the Phenomenal Transwoman I am today, I would have done so in a heartbeat and with a smile on my face.

I recognized that you had the weight of our community's hopes and dreams on your slender shoulders in this competition and I worried about that. I noted you were struggling with the confidence issues that many transwomen have during the early stages of transitioning from the old gender role to the new one. I'm 15 years into it and I still have nervous butterflies from time to time when I'm thrust into an unfamiliar situation or meet a relative from my extended family for the first time in decades that only remembers the old me.

The recent article I read mentioning you'd only been transitioning for two years confirmed what I'd suspected as I watched the episodes of you in that competition unfold from week to week.

Sis, you have the look, the intelligence and the talent to go all the way. I have no doubts that you will succeed at whatever you choose to do. You also have something else going for you that many people don't have who are trying to enter the fashion industry- a worldwide community of people who love you and wish you nothing but success.

As time goes on, transition will get easier for you. Your confidence will grow as you learn who Isis is, get comfortable with your body and figure out what type of woman you want to project to the world. As you work through that ongoing process, you will eventually get to the point in which you feel as strong, sexy, beautiful and confident as the Egyptian queen you chose to name yourself after. This America's Next Top Model experience will only help speed that inevitable day along.

Isis, you are a wonderful role model for us, and as Tyra said, you are an inspiration to me and many of us inside and outside the GLBT community. Hold your head up high and never forget that we love you. You are a beautiful butterfly emerging from your cocoon, spreading your wings and evolving into a classy young woman both inside and out.

Never let anybody tell you you're not.

Sincerely yours,
Monica Roberts
The TransGriot

Isis Eliminated

Yep, our girl is gone, but at least I got the satisfaction of seeing ShaRaun and Hanna beat her to the door. I'm waiting to see how long before Clark goes bye bye as well.

Here's the uploaded YouTube episodes if you wish to watch it. My comments are being compiled in the open letter I've written to her.

Transsexual Triumphs Over Gender Adversity

From the Phnom Penh Post
Written by Nguon Sovan
Thursday, 25 September 2008

From an early age Leang Sothea knew she was different, but since having a sex-change operation in 2006 she hasn't looked back

BASED on the prediction of the midwife, Leang Sothea's mother's was
certain the child would be a girl. Before she gave birth, she even
started sewing girl's clothing for her new baby.

Leang Sothea was not born a girl, but the midwife wasn't exactly wrong either.

Feeling like a woman combined with the heartbreak of unrequited love prompted 26-year-old Leang Sothea, professionally known as "Popi", to undergo a sex-change operation in 2006, becoming one of the few transsexuals in Cambodia.

While Popi enjoys reading fashion catalogues, "hair decor" and excursions to the seaside, she is not just another pretty face. From an early age, she knew she was different. By the age of eight, she knew she was attracted to boys. By 16, she started wearing women's clothing and cosmetics for the first time.

She told the Post that she felt an affinity to being female from birth. "It is my inclination by nature," she said.

As a transgendered woman in Cambodia, her life has often been filled with discrimination and misunderstanding.

The reactions from the public and her family - especially early on - were not always positive.

"I've been discriminated against and faced the public's disgust. The first time my parents realised that I wanted to be a girl, they were furious at me, but time gradually reduced their fury. Initially though, I was in a real dilemma; men didn't like me, and women didn't like me."

Crowned Cambodia's first transvestite beauty queen in 2001, Popi took the opportunity of her nationally televised victory to speak out for the rights of transgender people.

Beating out 30 other transvestites was a real turning point for Popi. She told the Post shortly after her 2001 victory, "Before people looked down on me, now wherever I go people like me."

The win even turned into a source of pride for her family. "Now my parents are happy that I won the contest. They are proud," Popi said in 2001.

Organised by the National Television of Cambodia, the pageant was both the first and last of its kind, making Popi the reigning Miss Gay Cambodia to this day. Popi explained this was due to the event being "severely criticised by the public for seriously affecting Khmer traditions and customs".

The beauty queen contest was surely influenced by similar competitions on Thai television, but "katoey" in Cambodia is nothing new.

One scholar told the Post that the Thai word for "transvestite" might have originated in the Khmer word "katoey," which used to describe both hermaphrodites and transvestites.

Back in 2001, she told the Post that she did not want to have a sex-change operation.

What changed her mind?

Even after being crowned and receiving the 500,000 riel grand prize, she faced relationship problems.

"I was really heartbroken, because my boyfriends always walked out on me. I had about 10 boyfriends, one after another, but they always left me." She felt she needed to change her sex to be more comfortable in her relationships.

Nip-tuck took time

Popi's physical transformation to the female gender did not come all at once.

"At first, I only had my breasts done in 2004. I decided to have a breast surgery in Phnom Penh which cost me about US$2,000. At the time, my friend urged me to have my sex organ transformed. I considered it for a week before deciding to do it," she said.

In late 2006, she finally went under the knife in Bangkok.

In total, the operation cost her US$10,000, and she had to go without sex for four months until she fully healed, referring to this time as her "diet of sexual affairs".

But when asked whether she has any regrets, she replied without hesitation, "No, I am very satisfied with my current body. It was expensive, but it was worth it. Before, I was often discriminated against, and some people even expressed disgust with me."

Regarding her relationship situation, she told the Post, "Since I changed my organ, I only have two boyfriends, but now I leave them, instead of them walking out on me. I really love my current self. I can have whatever the girls have, except a baby."

While Popi is quick to admit that her life has at times been an uphill battle, she feels that she has now triumphed over adversity. Currently, Popi works as beautician and an actress.

She claims to have been in around 20 movies, often playing a gay person or a maid. Despite some career success and a newfound confidence in her relationships, she has yet to achieve all her goals.

"In the future, I would like to a marry a man, and open my own beauty salon in Phnom Penh."

Copyright (c) 2006 - 2008 The Phnom Penh Post

Bulent Ersoy Trial In Turkey

From The Associated Press
September 24, 2008

A transsexual singer charged with illegally criticizing mandatory military service in Turkey said in court Wednesday she would say the same thing again.

Singer Bulent Ersoy has acknowledged saying on television that if she had children she would not want them to join the army to battle Kurdish rebels who are fighting for self-rule.

"I spoke in the name of humanity. Even if I were to face execution, I would say the same thing," the state-run Anatolia news agency quoted Ersoy as telling the court in Istanbul.

In Turkey, defendants are not expected to enter a plea before a panel of judges hears testimony at a trial and returns a verdict.

Ersoy questioned the fairness of a law making it a crime to criticize Turkey's mandatory 15-month military service for all men over 20. If found guilty, she could face two years in prison.

Ersoy, 56, who sings traditional Turkish music and dresses in flamboyant gowns, served in the military before her 1981 sex-change operation, her lawyer Muhittin Yuzuak told the court Wednesday.

A small group of pro-Kurdish protesters demonstrated outside the court house in support of the singer, holding a banner that read in Kurdish "Long live Diva."

The European Union, which Turkey wants to join, is pressing the nation to do away with laws that stifle free expression.

Under EU pressure, Turkey amended a law in April that barred the denigration of Turkish identity and institutions. The law had been used to prosecute Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk and other intellectuals. But human rights groups said the changes did not go far enough.

Ersoy is one of Turkey's best-loved singers. In February, she made the comment about Turkey's military service while appearing on the jury of a Turkish version of "Pop Idol."

At the time, Turkey had thousands of troops in northern Iraq pursuing rebels from the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, who maintain bases there.

In the indictment, prosecutor Ali Cakir accused the singer of "alienating the public toward military service" and affecting the morale of the soldiers and their families. He asked that she be sentenced to between nine and 30 months in prison.

The trial was adjourned until Oct. 30.

Nominations Sought For 2009 Trinity Awards

The IFGE Awards Committee is seeking your help in searching for candidates for the 2009 Trinity Award. These awards will be presented during the 23rd Annual IFGE Convention to be held in Alexandria, VA (South of Washington DC), February 4 to February 8, 2009 at the Alexandria Hilton, Mark Center (by Old Town), Alexandria, VA USA.

The Trinity Awards honor our heroes: living Transgender persons who have performed extraordinary acts of courage and love in service to the Transgender Community.

We welcome your participation in the awards process and consider it very important that you nominate worthy candidates. We hope to see you at the awards ceremony at our 2009 convention.

To nominate a candidate for the Trinity Award, we will need the following Nominee Information:

Nominee Name:
Address:
Phone:
Email:
Support Statement or Nomination information:

Nominated by:
Name:
Address:
Phone:
Email:

If you want help or need more information refer to the IFGE web site.
Please E-mail all information to: ycr1@juno.com by October 20, 2008.

The IFGE 2008-2009 Awards Committee, Yvonne Cook-Riley

An Argentine Transgender Rights Win

One of the things about being transgender is that your family expands, not contracts. You gain a whole lot of sisters and brothers all over the world to replace the blood relatives you may lose because of this issue.

How good life is for you as a transgender person depends on where you were born. Since we are all battling various levels of ignorance and faith based intolerance, no matter what country we live in, we sometimes become reluctant civil rights warriors fighting for our right to just live our lives openly and peacefully.

That makes the transgender civil rights struggle a worldwide human rights issue. No matter where we reside on Planet Earth, we are all painfully aware that whatever we do in our own locales and countries affects everybody in the global transgender community.

For example, an advancement in rights law in Britain affects us in the US. Our South Korean sisters and brothers being able to get name changes may have had a positive effect in Japan and now led to this news from Argentina.

Thanks to Andres Duque at Blabbeando for alerting me to this post about Argentinian transwoman Tania Luna. She won a legal case allowing her to change her name WITHOUT having surgery.

Trans 'Top Model' Raises US Awareness

TransGriot Note: PlanetOut has just posted a story on my fave ANTM Cycle 11 contestant courtesy of the Associated Press, so you know I had to post it here for y'all to peruse.


PlanetOut
Trans "Top Model" raises U.S. awareness
Tuesday, September 23, 2008 / 02:39 PM
By GILLIAN GAYNAIR

As a little boy in the Washington suburbs, Darrell Walls liked to pretend to be Lil' Kim or a Pink Power Ranger.

He felt different -- like a girl mistakenly born a boy.

But Walls eventually embraced that difference and today is living true, as Isis King. Now 22, King is the first transgender contestant on "America's Next Top Model," the CW Television Network reality show hosted by supermodel Tyra Banks.

"I'm just trying to be myself," King said during a telephone interview last week. "If I inspire people, that's a wonderful thing -- whether you're trans or not."

While the number of transgender representations on television remains small, activists say in recent years they have seen a movement away from stereotypical roles such as transgender sex workers or villains. Now, the roles are not as marginalized -- and some are even portrayed by transgender actors.

Last year, Candis Cayne became the first transgender actress to have a recurring role, on ABC's "Dirty Sexy Money." She plays Carmelita, the trans mistress of Patrick Darling, a New York attorney general played by William Baldwin.

And from 2003 to 2006, transgender actress Alexandra Billings guest-starred on three TV shows, including ABC's "Grey's Anatomy." Billings played a married transwoman about to have sex reassignment surgery. However, as doctors prepare her for surgery, they discover she has breast cancer, and she's told she must stop her female hormone therapy to treat the disease.

"When audiences see real gay and transgender people facing many of the same ups and downs as everybody else, it helps to change perceptions and break down stereotypes, " Neil G. Giuliano, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, said in an e-mail. "The casting of Isis on such a popular show offers a groundbreaking opportunity for a community that is historically underrepresented on television."

Audiences are seeing not only how the very slender, long-legged King fares on photo shoots and before judges, but also behind-the-scenes comments from some of her fellow contestants, including one who called her a man and another who made a "drag queen" reference.

Viewers are also getting glimpses of how she's transitioning from man to woman. A recent episode, for example, shows her injecting female hormones. King began the treatments last year and wants to have the expensive surgery -- not undertaken by all transgender people -- by her 25th birthday.

"I don't believe the surgery will make me any more of a woman," said King, who has been living as a woman since early last year. "I've always been that woman. But . . . it's something I feel will complete me."

Growing up in several communities in Prince George's County, Md., King said she had a "pretty normal childhood." She attended church. She hung out at malls her senior year.

At Charles Herbert Flowers High School, she took honors art classes, studied interior design, sculpture and fashion design. In her senior year, she said she designed and sewed 24 outfits for a fashion show -- and taught the models how to strut.

After high school, King attended the Art Institute of Philadelphia, where she earned an associate's degree in fashion design. While in college, she confided in some female friends that she wanted to dress like a woman.

Just before her 21st birthday in 2006, she did -- it was her own creation, a pencil skirt with an off-the-shoulder black blouse. And she decided to move to New York to pursue a fashion career and formally transition into living as a woman. "Mentally, I was ready, and that was the most powerful thing," King said.

She told her mother -- whom King describes as her best friend -- of her plans. "She wasn't for it," King said. "But I was already doing it."

King's mother, through a Top Model representative, declined an interview request.

Once in New York, she legally changed her name, selecting "King" to honor her mother's side of the family. She chose Isis as her first name, after the powerful Egyptian goddess.

But her mother didn't take to it. She instead called her "D," for Darrell.

In New York, King had also had run into obstacles. The $4,500 she had saved to move to the city had dried up, and she needed help getting back on her feet. She moved into an apartment provided by The Ali Forney Center, an organization that serves homeless gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth.

"Technically, I was homeless," King said. "I just wasn't living literally on the street."

In late 2007, "America's Next Top Model" filmed an episode in New York to raise awareness about homeless youth. The contestants modeled in street clothes and a handful of homeless youth donned couture, serving as extras in the shoot.

King was one of them.

When Banks later scrutinized models' photos for judging, "she kept on noticing Isis," executive producer Ken Mok said. "And she said, 'Who is that girl?'"

King clearly knew how to pose, understood fashion and was passionate, he said.



Earlier this year, "Top Model" found King and invited her to audition for the new season.

"I think the one message we always try to get out there, that Tyra always expresses, is you want to widen the spectrum of what is considered beautiful," Mok said.

"Top Model" was actually shot over the summer, so King and other contestants already know their fates though they are not permitted to discuss them. Fans of the reality show, which airs Wednesday nights, will have to wait until Dec. 10 to learn who wins.

King says her main challenge on "Top Model" was being so vulnerable in front of millions.

"For the world to see my issues and my struggles as a person, with my whole transition -- I think that was probably the toughest thing I had to endure," she said.

But King, who now lives in New Jersey, said she believes she has a future in fashion.

She's hopeful, too, about her family's acceptance of her life.

On a recent visit to Maryland, King was playing with her younger brother when her mother called out to her, she said.

There was no hesitation -- she was no longer "D."

For the first time, her mother called her Isis.



(AP)Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
(c) 1995-2008 PlanetOut Inc

Miss Continental 2008-2009

With all the craziness and breaking news that's been happening this month, forgot to update y'all on who won the Miss Continental pageant that was held Labor Day weekend in Chicago.

Necole Luv Dupree crowned her successor, and your new Miss Continental 2008-09 is Tulsi. Sasha Colby ended the evening as first Alternate with the 2nd Alternate being the lovely and talented Mokha Montrese.

YouTube video has been uploaded, so check it out. For those of you in the Chicago area, you may want to check this pageant out next year.





Preliminary talent winner Mokha Montrese



Tamisha Iman


Tulsi talent

Out Of The Mouths Of Babes

Out of the mouths of babes, the old saying goes, comes pearls of wisdom. This wise youngling is Jazz, who we were first introduced to during Barbara Walters' 20/20 documentary report last year on transkids called 'My Secret Self'.

Found this YouTube video of a now 7 year old Jazz talking about being a transkid.



There's also an organization called the TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation that seeks to fund research and education on transgender issues and work to create a better future for all transkids.

That's definitely something I can get behind.

It's ALC Weekend In DC!

In a few hours the 38th annual Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Annual Legislative Conference in Washington DC will kick off at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

It's an event that I've wanted to attend for years. Sadly, it's also one that every time it rolls back around on the calendar I bitterly remember the political knife wound stuck in my back from a certain Caucasian leader of a national transgender political organization. I've forgiven her for what she did, but I will never forget or excuse it.

But back to the post. It's a must attend event if you are a politically aware African-American. It's where CBC members, African-American athletes, African-American politicians from all over the country, African-American business and religious leaders, activists and others congregate to discuss policy and raise funds for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation.

Couldn't make my schedule work to attend it this year, but it's definitely on my radar screen. I will be paying attention to the C-SPAN coverage of the seminars like I do every year.

Speaking of paying attention, during this year's event he first presidential debate happens. You can bet that the gathering will be tuned in when Sen. Barack Obama takes on Sen. McCain from the University of Mississippi campus this Friday.

One of the things that's been lost in much of the discussion is that the Congressional Black Caucus is wielding historic levels of power since its 1969 founding by it's original 13 members. It now has 43 members, and a CBC member not only will be taking part in the presidential debates, but is making a historic run for the White House that may in less than forty days achieve a groundbreaking historic dream for my people.

The CBC is known as 'The Conscience of the Congress' for its work in advocating for the predominately African-American and other ethnic groups in their districts (or states in sen Obama's case) they represent. They are also the proud heirs to the legacy of congressional representation history of African-Americans in Congress.

Here's wishing for a successful 2008 ALC and hoping that I'll be blessed to make it next year with President Obama in attendance.

TAVA Congratulates ACLU On Winning The Diane Schroer Case

On September 19, 2008, Judge James Robertson of the United States Federal District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of former Army Colonel Diane Schroer in her discrimination case against the Library of Congress.

“It is especially gratifying that the court has ruled that discriminating against someone for transitioning is illegal,” said Diane Schroer, the plaintiff in the case.

“The court got it exactly right, sending a loud and clear message to employers everywhere: if you fire or refused to hire someone for transitioning, you are guilty of sex discrimination and may well find yourself liable,” said Sharon McGowan, one of the ACLU LGBT Project staff attorneys who tried the case.

The entire Board of Directors and the membership of the Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA) wish to congratulate the ACLU for winning this landmark case for one of our fellow veterans in fighting discrimination in federal employment. We watched this case closely and followed all the ups and downs over the last four years. We also wish to thank Colonel Schroer for all she has done to keep this country free. If she was good enough to serve her country, she's good enough to hold a civilian federal job.

“For members of TAVA,” stated Angela Brightfeather, Vice President of TAVA, “the court decision in favor of Diane Schroer is confirmation of her love of country and why GLBT Veterans have fought and died for America in every military conflict since the founding of our Nation. The courage, tenacity, leadership, common sense and moral certainty of Ms. Schroer in her fight for equality will benefit gender diverse people and help to stop discrimination against them. Both Ms. Schroer and the ACLU deserve a ‘well done’ and ‘mission accomplished’ from all Transgender Veterans and active service members.”

Founded in 2003, the Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA) is a 501 (c) 3 organization that acts proactively with other concerned civil rights and human rights organizations to ensure that transgender veterans will receive appropriate care for their medical conditions in accordance with the Veterans Health Administration’s Customer Service Standards promise to “treat you with courtesy and dignity . . . as the first class citizen that you are.” Further, TAVA will help in educating the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) on issues regarding fair and equal treatment of transgender individuals. Also, TAVA will help the general transgender community when deemed appropriate and within the IRS guidelines.

2008 Interactive Electoral College Map

<p><strong>><a href='http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/interactives/campaign08/electoral-college/'>Electoral College Prediction Map</a></strong> - Predict the winner of the general election. Use the map to experiment with winning combinations of states. Save your prediction and send it to friends.</p>



If you're stressing out because this historically pivotal election is agonizingly closer than it should be, you can play with this interactive electoral college map created by the Washington Post peeps to ease your mind.

The map here on TransGriot is set to a scenario in which Obama wins Virginia and Indiana. I believe the African-American vote in Indiana will be the deciding factor there and in Virginia.

If you're really feeling confident about your picks, the Washington Post is sponsoring a contest in which the person who nails the actual election night scenario wins a $500 Best Buy gift card.

You can click on various states to come up with the magic combination of 270 electoral votes that will ensure on November 5 we wake up with a President-elect Obama and a grateful planet thanking us for it.

You GLB's Ain't Off The ENDA Hook Because Diane Won

"To demand freedom is to demand justice. When there is no justice in the land a man's freedom is threatened. Freedom and justice are interdependent. When a man has no protections under the law it is difficult for him to make others recognize him."

That 1969 quote by Dr. James Cone is eerily prescient when you think about the parallels between the current transgender civil rights push and the ongoing fight of African-Americans for first class citizenship.

While Diane Schroer's win in federal court is wonderful news and may be the legal nail in the coffin for Ulane v. Eastern Airlines, we're still a long way from knowing for certain that transgender people are covered under Title VII.

So it is premature as I've been hearing in some GLB circles to think it's okay to 'ditch the trannies' and try to spin this as justification for transpeople getting immorally cut out of an inclusive ENDA by Barney last year and proceed full speed ahead with the gay only non-inclusive one.

The point I'm making is that legal victories are a major help in terms of acquiring first class citizenship status for transgender people. But more importantly, we need laws written that back up what was won in court.

Just as you GLB peeps aren't relying solely on court rulings to make marriage equality a reality, neither will transgender people put our fragile civil rights eggs in one basket either. We also will not rest until we have an inclusive ENDA passed and signed into law.

Court victories without laws to back them up are just Band-Aids placed on the wounds of injustice. All it takes is an adverse ruling to rip off the Band-Aid and reopen the wound. Laws combined with court rulings affirming them close the wound and promote the healing that protected civil rights promote.

And at this juncture, we need an inclusive ENDA on the books promoting the justice and freedom that Dr. Cone spoke so eloquently about.

Oh Oh Oh-Love The Tom Joyner Morning Show

When my alarm clock radio turns on, Magic 101.3 is the local station it's tuned to. In addition to hearing my fave classic and current R&B songs, from 6-10 AM I join 11 million African-Americans in getting my early morning news, laughs, commentary and information from radio hall of famer Tom Joyner and crew.

Tom Joyner is a radio legend and icon in our community. He's an unabashed HBCU supporter who puts his money where his heart is with his foundation that sends and keeps African-American kids in HBCU's. The Fantastic Voyage cruise that funds the foundation is always sold out and it's one of the things the TransGriot wants to experience. The Tom Joyner Family Reunion in Orlando on Labor Day weekend is fast becoming a must attend event in Orlando.

And this website, BlackAmericaweb.com, is where I and other African-Americans can peruse commentary on various issues geared toward our community. Every now and then I'll paste some of those commentaries to this blog since I feel you need to know what my America is thinking and feeling.

The other cool thing about it is that prominent African-Americans also pop in from time to time to talk about various issues. Tom was also an early and proud supporter of Sen. Barack Obama.

As the child of a retired radio professional, I know how important Black radio has been and still is to the advancement of my people. Dr. King even commented that without Black radio and black deejays, the Civil Rights Movement of the 50's and 60;s wouldn't have happened. Tom Joyner and Cathy Hughes have been the driving forces toward carrying that proud legacy forward into the 21st century.

And me and 11 million other African-Americans enjoy every entertaining minute of it.

Maya Angelou Introduces Michelle Obama

Y'all know how much I love Maya Angelou, but I was disappointed when she came out early to support Hillary. All is forgiven, she's now supporting Sen. Barack Obama.

At this recent Women for Obama rally in Greensboro, North Carolina Michelle Obama was introduced by Maya Angelou. Check out the introduction of this Phenomenal Woman by another Phenomenal Woman.



And this is Michelle's speech. Hell, if anyone is qualified to be vice president or even president, it's this sistah. It damned sure isn't Caribou Barbie.



Speaking of Caribou Barbie, there's a poll on the PBS NOW website on whether Caribou Barbie is qualified to be vice president. The Reichers are spamming the site with YES votes, so it's time, TransGriot readers to give it some balance.

ANTM-Isis Watch

Our girl is still on the show, but unfortunately Brittany went bye bye.



Part 2


Part 3



Part 4



Part 5

Justice Delayed, Denied And Disgraceful

TransGriot Note: Thanks to Latoya and the peeps at Racialicious.com for giving me the honor of writing this guest post for them.


It seems that no matter where we live or what decade we're talking about, when the justice system concerns transwomen of color, justice is delayed, denied, and disgraceful.

Back in 1998, William Palmer, the man who killed Chanelle Pickett in Boston was given a 2 1/2 year sentence with 6 months suspended, and 5 years probation. Never mind the fact that Palmer strangled Pickett, then slept for six hours next to Chanelle's lifeless body lying beside his bed before he turned himself in. The judge presiding over the case commented bitterly to the defendant at the time "Mr. Palmer should kiss the ground the defense counsel walks on."

On August 12, 2002 Stephanie Thomas and Ukea Davis die in a hail of bullets on the same southeast Washington DC street corner that Tyra Hunter died due to EMT neglect. As of this writing there's not only been no arrest, but the execution style killings aren't even classified as a hate crime.

Never mind the fact that rumors in the community persist that the trigger men who executed the grisly crime are guys who picked up the two transwomen on dates and found out their transgender status after the fact.

Tiffany Berry's killer, DeAndre Blake, walked the streets of Memphis, TN as a free man for almost two years after being released on a ridiculously low $20,000 bond. Blake admitted he had killed Berry on February 9, 2006 because he did not like the way she had “touched” him. He was arrested last month for killing his own two year old daughter.

Even across The Pond, the recent trial of 18 year old Shanniel Hyatt for the murder of Kellie Telesford had the same depressing results.

So what's causing these miscarriages of justice?

For starters, we've always had the situation in this country in which the lives of people of color aren't as valued as the life a white male or female. Toss transgender status into that mix, and it's a foul recipe for injustice.

Add to this recipe for injustice trans panic defenses. What the defendant will do is claim for example, that when they discovered that the woman they're with is discovered to be transgender, it causes them to become so enraged that they committed the crime they ordinarily wouldn't have done and were not of sound mind and body when they did it.

In a nutshell, they're trying to blame the victim and use the sensationalist nature of transgender issues against them in order to get away with murder.

And too many times it works.

You can also add to the injustice stew the fact that transwomen of color are disproportionately saddled with 'exotic' hypersexual images. The Shanniel Hyatt defense team seized on that to suggest that Telesford died as the result of a kinky sex game.

The ludicrous assertion that transpeople are trying to trick people is also a factor playing into these carriages of injustice. We'll hear that the murdered transwoman was trying to 'deceive' someone, and therefore the defendant was justified in killing them after discovering the 'deception'.

Crimes committed against us should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. If they aren't, it sends the message that it's open season on transgender people and you can kill us with a slap on the wrist.

But as the old saying goes, what goes around comes around. A murderer you set free in a transgender case could one day take the life of one of your loved ones as the Berry case painfully pointed out.

These are just a few examples of how these factors add up to justice delayed, denied and with a disgraceful stench attached to it.

So what do we do to combat it?

The judge in the Angie Zapata case is off to a good start. He not only denied the attempts of Allen Andrade's defense lawyers to reduce the charges, the bias crime one is sticking, too. We can only hope the positive trends continue and that Angie's family receives justice.

Eliminating the 'trans panic' defense would help as well. Making prosecuting attorneys aware of it so that they can come up with strategies to eviscerate it would also be helpful while we push for legislation that would ban them as the Gwen Araujo Justice for Victims Act does in California.

The great civil rights leader Asa Philip Randolph once stated, "A community is democratic only when the humblest and weakest person can enjoy the highest civil, economic, and social rights that the biggest and most powerful possess."

Transgender people are the folks most in need of civil rights protection. We need the traditional advocates of justice in minority communities such as LULAC and the NAACP to step up and forcefully advocate for transgender people of color. It would send the message to John P. Public, the potential jury pool members, that transgender citizens are not only valuable members of society but we are somebody's brother, sister, aunt, uncle, cousin and friend.

Once people begin to realize that we're human beings with hopes, dreams and lives like them, hopefully we'll begin to see less cases of justice delayed, denied and disgraceful when it comes to transpeople of color and more cases in which justice is served.

The Difference Between the Two Campaigns

TransGriot Note: Received this in an e-mail and had to share it with y'all. This comes from Tamatha Clay and is a dead-on assessment of the two presidential campaigns.


I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight.....


* If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're "exotic, different."

* Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, a quintessential American story.

* If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim.

* Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you're a maverick.

* Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.

* Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.

* If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.

* If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.

* If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.

* If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian.

* If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society.

* If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're very responsible.

* If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's.

* If you're husband is nicknamed "First Dude", with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

OK, much clearer now

Transgender Transpass Problem

TransGriot Note: Just as being an African-American subjects you to almost daily slings and arrows and assaults on your dignity and personhood, so does being a transgender person. Don't even get me started on how much drama it is sometimes being a transperson of color.

One of our transsistahs in the City of Brotherly Love is experiencing a maddening problem with her bus pass that's preventing her from using it. In an effort to crack down on fraudulent uses of the passes, SEPTA, the transit authority for the area puts 'M' or 'F' gender marker stickers on the pass.

Well, that has caused problems for Charlene Moore-Arcila as this link to the video and the news story will elaborate on.

6abc.com, PA, USA

Transgender's Transpass Problem

Friday, September 19, 2008 | 8:18 PM
By Denise James

PHILADELPHIA - September 19, 2008 - (WPVI) -- A sticker SEPTA uses to cut down on fraud with its Transpasses has caused an unusual problem.

Now, that problem is at the center of a lawsuit.

Charlene Moore-Arcila says she used to use a Transpass to ride SEPTA, and now she uses tokens.

This, after an incident in 2006 in which a driver did not let the 42-year-old male to female transgendered rider using her Transpass when boarding the bus.

The Transpass cards have stickers, with "M" for male and "F" for female.

Living as a woman, Charlene was using a female sticker. She says the driver told her she couldn't use the transpass, because she's not female.

But, she says, she's also been stopped when her transpass had a male ID sticker.

"There has been incidents where I have gone to get on a bus with a male transpass, presenting myself as a female, and a driver said I can't use it," Moore-Arcila said. "I'm like, can you make up your mind which I need to purchase?"

Charlene has filed a complaint with SEPTA, which maintains the stickers prevent fraud.

Richard Maloney of SEPTA said, "It's a matter of security, and in our case, of making sure the pass isn't passed on to someone else."

Moore-Arcila maintains the stickers are discriminatory, and her attorneys say the stickers do not prevent family members of the same sex from sharing a transpass. They argue it singles out people like their client.

The Philadelphia Human Relations Commission agreed Friday to investigate, and determine if the gender stickers violate the city's fair practices act.

SEPTA has challenged the Philadelphia Human Relations Commission's authority to hear a case about SEPTA, because SEPTA answers to the state.

The commission says they do have that authority, and SEPTA plans to appeal.


Copyright (c)2008 WPVI-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
Copyright (c)2008 ABC Inc., WPVI-TV/DT Philadelphia, PA. All Rights Reserved.

Poll-Racism Is A Major Factor Keeping Obama From Winning Big

TransGriot Note: One of my commenters disagreed with my observation in a recent post that some racist whites could possibly deny Obama the shot at the White House he deserved as the more qualified person to run this country.

Well here's the evidence to back up what I stated and already know - 10-15% of the white electorate will not vote for an African-American no matter how qualified they are because of racist assumptions about African-Americans they still hold.

And that 10-15% figure is the folks who admitted it.

One of the reasons many African-American Democrats are still pissed at Hillary is that she and her campaign team introduced the race baiting themes and lines of attack on Obama in the primary that John McCain is using right now.

We African-Americans will do our part to help get Obama elected. It's on you progressive whites to convert the holdouts in YOUR neighborhoods to vote for the most qualified man we've had in a generation for this office.

One of the things you can tell those holdouts who fear revenge from an Obama administration for all the negative things done to us over the last 200 plus years by white politicians, is that unlike the Sarah Palins and Republicans of the world, Black politicians, especially first African-Americans to hold a position previously dominated by whites are far more concerned with doing the job correctly and competently.

African-Americans don't have the luxury of using a political position to gain personal revenge on peeps they don't like. We're more concerned with creating a positive leadership impression and tearing down stereotypes. We know that if we don't do a bang up job the first time, there won't be a second or third Black elected to that office.



Poll: Racial Views Steer Some White Dems Away From Obama

By RON FOURNIER and TREVOR THOMPSON,
Associated Press Writers

WASHINGTON (AP) — Deep-seated racial misgivings could cost Barack Obama the White House if the election is close, according to an AP-Yahoo News poll that found one-third of white Democrats harbor negative views toward blacks — many calling them "lazy," "violent," responsible for their own troubles.

The poll, conducted with Stanford University, suggests that the percentage of voters who may turn away from Obama because of his race could easily be larger than the final difference between the candidates in 2004 — about two and one-half percentage points.

Certainly, Republican John McCain has his own obstacles: He's an ally of an unpopular president and would be the nation's oldest first-term president. But Obama faces this: 40 percent of all white Americans hold at least a partly negative view toward blacks, and that includes many Democrats and independents.

More than a third of all white Democrats and independents — voters Obama can't win the White House without — agreed with at least one negative adjective about blacks, according to the survey, and they are significantly less likely to vote for Obama than those who don't have such views.

Such numbers are a harsh dose of reality in a campaign for the history books. Obama, the first black candidate with a serious shot at the presidency, accepted the Democratic nomination on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, a seminal moment for a nation that enshrined slavery in its Constitution.

"There are a lot fewer bigots than there were 50 years ago, but that doesn't mean there's only a few bigots," said Stanford political scientist Paul Sniderman who helped analyze the exhaustive survey.

The pollsters set out to determine why Obama is locked in a close race with McCain even as the political landscape seems to favor Democrats. President Bush's unpopularity, the Iraq war and a national sense of economic hard times cut against GOP candidates, as does that fact that Democratic voters outnumber Republicans.

The findings suggest that Obama's problem is close to home — among his fellow Democrats, particularly non-Hispanic white voters. Just seven in 10 people who call themselves Democrats support Obama, compared to the 85 percent of self-identified Republicans who back McCain.

The survey also focused on the racial attitudes of independent voters because they are likely to decide the election.

Lots of Republicans harbor prejudices, too, but the survey found they weren't voting against Obama because of his race. Most Republicans wouldn't vote for any Democrat for president — white, black or brown.

Not all whites are prejudiced. Indeed, more whites say good things about blacks than say bad things, the poll shows. And many whites who see blacks in a negative light are still willing or even eager to vote for Obama.

On the other side of the racial question, the Illinois Democrat is drawing almost unanimous support from blacks, the poll shows, though that probably wouldn't be enough to counter the negative effect of some whites' views.

Race is not the biggest factor driving Democrats and independents away from Obama. Doubts about his competency loom even larger, the poll indicates. More than a quarter of all Democrats expressed doubt that Obama can bring about the change they want, and they are likely to vote against him because of that.

Three in 10 of those Democrats who don't trust Obama's change-making credentials say they plan to vote for McCain.

Still, the effects of whites' racial views are apparent in the polling.

Statistical models derived from the poll suggest that Obama's support would be as much as 6 percentage points higher if there were no white racial prejudice.

But in an election without precedent, it's hard to know if such models take into account all the possible factors at play.

The AP-Yahoo News poll used the unique methodology of Knowledge Networks, a Menlo Park, Calif., firm that interviews people online after randomly selecting and screening them over telephone. Numerous studies have shown that people are more likely to report embarrassing behavior and unpopular opinions when answering questions on a computer rather than talking to a stranger.

Other techniques used in the poll included recording people's responses to black or white faces flashed on a computer screen, asking participants to rate how well certain adjectives apply to blacks, measuring whether people believe blacks' troubles are their own fault, and simply asking people how much they like or dislike blacks.

"We still don't like black people," said John Clouse, 57, reflecting the sentiments of his pals gathered at a coffee shop in Somerset, Ohio.

Given a choice of several positive and negative adjectives that might describe blacks, 20 percent of all whites said the word "violent" strongly applied. Among other words, 22 percent agreed with "boastful," 29 percent "complaining," 13 percent "lazy" and 11 percent "irresponsible." When asked about positive adjectives, whites were more likely to stay on the fence than give a strongly positive assessment.

Among white Democrats, one third cited a negative adjective and, of those, 58 percent said they planned to back Obama.

The poll sought to measure latent prejudices among whites by asking about factors contributing to the state of black America. One finding: More than a quarter of white Democrats agree that "if blacks would only try harder, they could be just as well off as whites."

Those who agreed with that statement were much less likely to back Obama than those who didn't.

Among white independents, racial stereotyping is not uncommon. For example, while about 20 percent of independent voters called blacks "intelligent" or "smart," more than one third latched on the adjective "complaining" and 24 percent said blacks were "violent."

Nearly four in 10 white independents agreed that blacks would be better off if they "try harder."

The survey broke ground by incorporating images of black and white faces to measure implicit racial attitudes, or prejudices that are so deeply rooted that people may not realize they have them. That test suggested the incidence of racial prejudice is even higher, with more than half of whites revealing more negative feelings toward blacks than whites.

Researchers used mathematical modeling to sort out the relative impact of a huge swath of variables that might have an impact on people's votes — including race, ideology, party identification, the hunger for change and the sentiments of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's backers.

Just 59 percent of her white Democratic supporters said they wanted Obama to be president. Nearly 17 percent of Clinton's white backers plan to vote for McCain.

Among white Democrats, Clinton supporters were nearly twice as likely as Obama backers to say at least one negative adjective described blacks well, a finding that suggests many of her supporters in the primaries — particularly whites with high school education or less — were motivated in part by racial attitudes.

The survey of 2,227 adults was conducted Aug. 27 to Sept. 5. It has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.

_____

Associated Press writers Nancy Benac, Julie Carr Smyth, Philip Elliot, Julie Pace and Sonya Ross contributed to this story.

Diane Schroer Wins Discrimination Lawsuit

TransGriot Note; More good news to report on. Diane Schroer won her potentially groundbreaking federal lawsuit against the Library of Congress. Say thank you to the ACLU by dropping a little donation in their laps.

Federal Court Sides With ACLU, Ruling That Refusing To Hire Transgender People Is Discriminatory

WASHINGTON - Today a federal judge ruled that the Library of Congress illegally discriminated against a Special Forces veteran when she was denied a job after announcing her intention to transition from male to female. In a groundbreaking decision, the court ruled that discriminating against someone for changing genders is sex discrimination under federal law.

"It is especially gratifying that the court has ruled that discriminating against someone for transitioning is illegal," said Diane Schroer, the plaintiff in the case. "I knew all along that the 25 years of experience I gained defending our country didn't disappear when I transitioned, so it was hard to understand why I was being turned down for a job doing what I do best just because I'm transgender. It is tremendously gratifying to have your faith in this country, and what is fundamentally right and fair, be reaffirmed."

In reaching its decision, the court ruled: "The evidence established that the Library was enthusiastic about hiring David Schroer – until she disclosed her transsexuality. The Library revoked the offer when it learned that a man named David intended to become, legally, culturally, and physically, a woman named Diane. This was discrimination 'because of . . . sex.'"

The court compares the discrimination faced by Schroer to religious-based discrimination, saying, "Imagine that an employee is fired because she converts from Christianity to Judaism. Imagine too that her employer testified that he harbors no bias toward either Christians or Jews but only 'converts.' That would be a clear case of discrimination 'because of religion.' No court would take seriously the notion that 'converts' are not covered by the statute."

"The court got it exactly right, sending a loud and clear message to employers everywhere: if you fire or refused to hire someone for transitioning, you are guilty of sex discrimination and may well find yourself liable," said Sharon McGowan, one of the ACLU LGBT Project staff attorneys who tried the case.

The court also ruled that the Library was guilty of sex stereotyping against Schroer because she failed to live up to traditional notions of what is male or female.

The ACLU filed the lawsuit against the Library of Congress on June 2, 2005. After retiring from the military, Schroer, who had been hand-picked to head up a classified national security operation while serving as a Special Forces officer, applied for a position with the Library of Congress as the senior terrorism research analyst. Soon thereafter she was offered the job, which she accepted immediately. Prior to starting work, Schroer took her future boss to lunch to explain that she was in the process of transitioning and thought it would be easier for everyone if she simply started work presenting as female. The following day, Schroer received a call from her future boss rescinding the offer, telling her that she wasn't a "good fit" for the Library of Congress.

The lawsuit charged that the Library of Congress unlawfully refused to hire Schroer in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which protects against sex discrimination in the workplace. The Library of Congress moved to dismiss the case several times, claiming that transgender people are not covered under Title VII of 1964. After a trial last month, the court rejected those arguments and ruled that the Library illegally discriminated against Schroer in violation of Title VII. The court's decision indicated that the next step in the case will be further proceedings to determine the appropriate remedies for this discrimination. Those remedies may include ordering the Library of Congress to hire Schroer, award back pay for the wages she lost or provide monetary compensation for the injury caused by discrimination.

"I very much hope that this ruling will help to eliminate the all-too-pervasive discrimination against gender non-conforming people in all areas. I hope too, that employers, family members, friends and co-workers will begin to understand variations in gender identity from a basis of knowledge and not fear," added Schroer.

In addition to McGowan, the legal team consisted of Ken Choe, Senior Staff Attorney for the ACLU LGBT Project, James Esseks, Litigation Director for the ACLU LGBT Project and Art Spitzer, Legal Director of the ACLU of the National Capital Area.

A copy of the decision, the complaint, a video, a bio and photographs of Diane Schroer are available at: www.aclu.org/caseprofiles

Kim Petras Update

Remember Kim Petras, the German teen who is believed to be the youngest person in the world to ever undergo GRS?

Boy, how time flies. Three years ago the controversy was raging all over the world whether Kim, much less any transkid was too young to transition at age 12. We had a rather spirited debate about it on TSTB, and it led me to compose a post about the issue of teen transition and my thoughts on it.

Just an FYI, I'm in favor of doing it in your teens.

Kim is now a stunning looking 16 year old. After enduring years of taunts from fellow classmates she shook it off and focused on her music, which became cult hits on MySpace and You Tube.

The cult hit status has paid dividends for Kim and led to her recently being signed by a German company to a recording contract. She's now focused on her budding music career and achieving pop star status, not her unique path to womanhood.



"My music is most important to me at the moment. It's the way I can best express myself."

"I know that because of my past people will always bring up the subject, I can't get away from it. But I hope that one day I might be better known for my music than for my past."



As Kim prepares to release her first CD, it's what her sisters and brothers all over the world wish for her as well.

A. Dionne Stallworth Interview

TransGriot Note: When I started the Transsistahs-Transbrothas Yahoo discussion list on January 1, 2004, all I was trying to do was provide a place for transpeople of African descent to have thoughtful discussions on the various issues that affected us.

Little did I know that I'd not only meet some wonderful people, but learn about some of my history makers as well in the process. One of the joys of founding this list has been getting to know and call history maker A. Dionne Stallworth my friend.

This was a recent interview conducted on September 14, 2008 by Genaro Urso with Dionne at www.stoppingthehate.com.

****


Dionne Stallworth has been a longtime advocate and activist concerning issues of mental health, homelessness, people of color, and equality for all LGBTIQ people.

Among her many accomplishments, Dionne was one of the original founding members of GenderPAC, a former officer and board member of the Pennsylvania Mental Health Consumers’ Association, founded and ran the first organization in Philadelphia dealing with the issues of transgender youth of color, and one of the founding members and original co-chair of the Philadelphia–based Transgender Health Action Coalition.

Dionne is currently the Resident Activities Coordinator for In Community, a housing program run by the internationally known and respected non-profit organization, Project H. O. M. E. Part of her responsibilities include aiding in the development of educational and entertaining activities for program residents, including direct oversight of an interactive film series program called “Community Night at the Movies” – which recently celebrated its 1st anniversary. She is a public grant reviewer for the National Institute of Mental Health and is working on the development of a pilot transgender-specific shelter project.

What do you think the most perplexing issue facing transgendered people is?

I think the biggest issue we face is how we see ourselves and how we define ourselves. Unlike most other movements, we have never defined ourselves and as such, we become defined by others who are not us. It separates us from would be allies and each other. Without that definition, we can't even begin to have a conversation about what we need, what we want, or what we want the future to look like for ourselves.

Over the last year there has been a deep seeded division between the trans community and the GLB community. Do you think it is better served to redefine the trans role with the HRC or should Trans people seek their own organization to lobby Washington?

Someone so much wiser than me said: "Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it." That being said, historically, LGB organizations have failed miserably to recognize the fact more often than not - issues of gender-variant people are more theirs, than the other way around. At the peak of the dot com boom, I chose the online name of "A. Dionne Stallworth" as a political statement and as an active form of protest against that type of bigotry and lack of vision. LGB people for a long time have been called "children of the rainbow;" Gender-variant people are "children of the prism."

We are crystal by which all of them have become visible. As for the 2nd part of the question, about forming our organizations, our organizations need to meet and agree on a definition of who we are without clinging to other people's definition of who we are. Until that happens, we are like Jews who were lost in the wilderness for 40 years. Another wise person said: "The only way to have freedom of the press is to own the press." We will only come to our destiny if we define who we are and not before.

What is the biggest misconception you feel faces transgendered women?

I think some of us think because of our experience we experience everything a genetic or biological woman does. This is not possible. It is a fact. We will never know what is to experience menses or giving birth. Most of us will never know what it means to grow up female in a patriarchal society. This has left its scar upon us and why so many of us have a hard time during transition. Male privilege is hard to shake, especially for white men. This does not negate our femaleness, but it makes our experience different and we should recognize it. We should embrace it.

Another big problem is feminism. Not so many years ago, women were saying that we are not defined by our vaginas and our ovaries. In the last 15 years, I'd say that is how women are redefining themselves - which make that harder for us as women of a trans or intersexed experience as women of ...etc.

Many of the stereotypes facing Trans people from what they see on TV and the movies how do those stereotypes play out in corporate America?

I think western women are beginning to embrace the power of the imagery of sexuality and sensuality. The problem is how does that power translate itself into economic and social power. As I said previously, the mark of male privilege is upon us. As intersexed or transwoman, we are versed in corporate warfare on an instinctual level because these are the social cues that were imposed on us. I still find it surprising that women who are in business have no knowledge of Sun Tzu (The Art of War) or The Prince and still have no idea what is being perpetrated upon them.

As for the stereotypes of us, we see.... my agreement for self-definition is never more applicable.

What do you feel the biggest advancement has been in the GLBT community over the last 40 years?

The same thing that caused LGBs to make gender-variant people the flavor of the millennium and killing us at the same time - HIV/AIDS. As the 1st three waves of the disease hit them and destroyed most of our part in their history, they discovered that we were the means to keep their attempts at dealing with the epidemic funded. This epidemic is forcing down a lot of the old barriers to working together, but racism is still a big part of who we are as a country and as a culture. When we can get past it, maybe there might be hope for all of us as a species.

Even within the trans community there is some separation between non op, pre op and post op . Do you think the ties that bind you are more important to the physical difference?

I think the explanation of how women see themselves exacerbates this divide. That being said, we exist in a gender binary and despite the people who transcend gender as a political statement or the scientific truth that we are all a combination of both genders - this is the way our world sees gender and sex.

Where do you see the GLBTIQ community in the next 10 years?

Unfortunately, I think we will probably be about where we are right now. There is nothing in current events to suggest to me otherwise. Wish I could be more optimistic, but that's how I see it.

What areas do you think would best serve in bringing unity to the GLBT community?

I think the answer to this is relatively simple;however, the actualization is a
lot more complicated. I think the 1st thing that needs to happen is the
acknowledgment on the part of LGBTIQ leadership that gender-variant people are equal partners in our collective history and our impending future.

I also think that the spectres of classism and racism will have to be fought on all levels. Presently, I don't think the status quo has the courage and vision to make these adjustments. So, we will continue to fight each other and watch as our political foes threaten our very existence while the bigots and hate mongers continue killing us in even larger numbers. While this not true of all the leadership, it is far too prevalent - which is my answer and outlook is rather grim.

Charges In Angie Zapata Case Stand

Haven't talked about Angie Zapata in a while, but there was some promising news on that front.

Yesterday Weld County District Judge Marcelo Kopcow refused to lower the first-degree murder charge against 31 year old Allen Andrade, the man accused of beating Angie to death.

Here's the story courtesy of the Denver Post.

Miss Me?

Hallelujah! I've got four days off from work, I've got power, and my cable and Internet service are back on and functioning.

So did you miss me loyal TransGriot readers?

Seriously, thanks for all the love, well wishes and prayers you have and continue to send mine, my roomies, and my family's way as we cope with the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.

Just finished talking to my sister in Houston who gave me the latest updates on what's happening in the hometown. I'm also planning to catch up with various peeps back home and see how they're faring like my homegirls Vanessa and Crys.

As I stated in the Whacked By Ike post, I was blessed, but some people are dealing with serious situations up to and including burying loved ones. There are many people who still don't have power. Others who are on government assistance bought their frozen foods for the month only to lose it when the power went down.

You unfortunately have some criminals taking advantage of the situation in blacked out areas of town to rob peeps while others are doing it in broad daylight.

They're called gas station owners.

But while it's a pain in the butt, I have to admit that having everything off for two days allowed me to do as Dr. King would call it, some uninterrupted 'hard, solid thinking' about various issues. It allowed me time to brainstorm and work out the backstory and character sketches for a couple of novel manuscripts and short stories I'm working on. I did some reading during the daylight hours and on my breaks at work, and got to know our neighbors on either side of the house a little better.

Once I sort through my e-mail backlog I'll start getting back to people about the various issues I was juggling prior to the power outage. I still haven't forgotten about Nikki being dissed by our local media.

Latoya, haven't forgotten about the posts I was working on for Racialicious either.


While I was at the library Tuesday enduring a 45 minute wait to get on the computer I'd reserved, I spied the James Carville and Paul Begala book Take It Back on the shelf. I started flipping through it while I was waiting for the kid who was on the computer perusing right-wing websites to get off of it. You know that book went home with me when I was done.

I also sprayed and disinfected the computer to eliminate the right-wing stench before I started compiling my post.

Life is slowly returning back to normal, such as that is. While browsing Borders the other day on my lunch break (I work downtown) perused a few titles that I'll pick up when I get paid.

I also checked out some of the Ryder Cup hoopla that was going on at Fourth Street Live and bumped into a few members of the European Ryder Cup team enjoying a beer on the patio of the Hard Rock Cafe. The Ryder Cup is gearing up to start at Valhalla tomorrow. U of L played and beat K-State last night at The Pizza Palace (aka Papa John's Cardinal Stadium).

Best of all for you peeps who love this blog so much (and I thank you for stopping by TransGriot on the regular and all the link love you lavish on me) you'll start seeing my commentary soon on the various issues of the day.

Whacked By Ike

This post is coming to you live from the Louisville Public Library. As you may have heard by now many of us in Da Ville, including the TransGriot haven't had power in our homes since Sunday.

The branch library here in my Crescent Hill hood just got its power back yesterday afternoon while I was at work.

Anyway, outside of waiting for the power to be hooked up at the crib, doing okay.

Saturday afternoon I did get in contact with my mom and sis in H-town and got the 411 on how they and my family members were doing. Outside of some minor damage to their various houses and dealing with no electricity, they were all doing okay. I advised Mom that we were going to get hit by the remnants of Ike during our phone conversation.

Boy did we ever.

Sunday morning I was jarred out of bed by the rattling of the storm windows a little after 11 AM EDT. I found out later those winds were gusting at up to 80-90 MPH, and a few minutes later the power was out in the house.

When the storm died down two hours later, Dawn and I took a quick look around the hood to discover that several neighbors had trees toppled either onto their homes or onto power lines. Truckers having the misfortune of driving through the area on I-64 or I-65 had their trucks blown over, and fallen tree and broken power lines played havoc with travel throughout the city.

I was also fortunate I listened to my instincts and filled up the car Saturday, since finding a gas station around here with power and without long lines attached to it has been a Sarah Palin. We've also been fortunate that the last two nights not only have been cool, we've had a full moon to provide nocturnal illumination as well.

The prognosis for us getting power back has been a week to two weeks. Ironically LG&E sent some crews to Houston to help with power restoration efforts there, and those units had to be recalled due to the situation we have here in the Ohio Valley. The areas surrounding Louisville also got whacked pretty hard by a disintegrating Ike's winds as well, and the help we normally would have gotten from nearby power companies isn't forthcoming because they're dealing with their own drama.

Even though I'm mildly pissed I lost my half gallon of Blue Bell I just bought, I'm counting my abundant blessings. Besides, it's on sale this week anyway.

My childhood home once again survived a Category 3 hurricane with minimal damage. My family members are well and doing fine. The house up here had a piece of a shingle loosened and has no other damage. We're doing okay outside of waiting for power to be hooked back up.

So yeah, it could have been a lot worse, but I'm surviving and thriving.

Clocks ticking on my time for this computer, so gotta wrap it up and check my e-mail. Got a long line of peeps behind me waiting for this computer to pop open as well.

Nikki Williams Update

Received an e-mail from GLAAD about their efforts to get WLKY and WDRB to clean up their disrespectful and defamatory reporting of Nikki's story.

I'm being advised that they are getting the serious runaround from our local news stations here, so help us out by sending letters, e-mails, faxes and phone calls to these recalcitrant outlets.

My GLAAD contacts for this issue have both expressed their determination and commitment to see that the story gets corrected.

The Courier-Journal, our local paper has already dropped their link to the disrespectful WLKY one. My GLAAD contacts have assured me, and I've passed that on to Nikki's family members that they're not giving up and will do their part to get WDRB and WLKY to see the error of their ways.
'
The local GLBT community is also considering other options if the station continues its obstinate refusal to correct the story.

It's time for them (and all media outlets that consider themselves above tabloid journalism level) to stop the obfuscation, doublespeak and transphobic dissing of people and consistently follow the AP Stylebook rules when it comes to reporting on transgender persons and issues.

Fight The Obama Smears

If you have neighbors (or co-workers) repeating right wing smears about Sen. Obama and wish to have the information to fight them, check out this link debunking them courtesy of the Obama campaign.

He's gonna need help from now until November 4. The battlegrounds are in your breakrooms and any other situation where you come in contact with people who spout this disinformational crap.

Bury their GOP lies with the truth.

The Best Defense Is a Good Offense

TransGriot Note: This is one of my latest posts from the Bilerico Project.

The Montgomery County trans law finally being implemented is wonderful news to all of us working toward and looking forward to the day that all transgender people, no matter where we reside have civil rights coverage. Congratulations to all of you in Maryland who worked your butts off to make it happen.

Now that this battle is won, our friends in Hamtramck, MI, and Gainesville, FL, need our help to fight off the Forces of Intolerance. But before we gird our loins for the next fight, we need to analyze what went right, what went wrong, make the necessary corrections and pass that hard won intelligence to our friends now on the front lines of this next civil rights battlefront.

What we also need to do in the GLBT community is come up with a coordinated strategy for beating back these right-wing attempts to roll back our civil rights, and I'm about to tell you how we do that.

So as we say in football country, the best defense is a good offense.

While I'm not gonna give all my ideas away in this post, since our enemies do read The Project, I will offer some general thoughts on what we proactively have to do to send these referendums to crushing defeat.

1- Get the public to focus on the fact that our opponents want them to take away people's civil rights.

The Forces of Intolerance know that there's irrefutable evidence that transgender people need civil rights protection and public sentiment turning in our direction. They can't throw that "special rights" shade as often as they used to because it's as played out as an 8 track tape. They only have fear to use, and thanks to Barney, their fear-mongering weapon du jour is the "showers and bathroom" argument.

Reasonable people do not want to be put in a position where they are taking away someone's rights. We have to constantly remind them that's precisely what our opponents are asking them to do. The Californians did that brilliantly by changing the title of Proposition 8 to make it clear voting for it would take away people rights.

2-Rewrite their referenda

One of the things the Reichers do well is when they put together these recall referendums, they use deceptive Orwellian language to do so. Ward Connerly's anti-affirmative action ones are prime examples of it. They claim to be protecting affirmative action programs and are confusingly worded or titled. They're designed to deceive you into thinking a yes vote means you're protecting the programs when in fact you are actually voting to eliminate them.

The way we beat Connerly in Houston was force changes in his ballot initiative language to a straightforward yes or no question. It was what I was suggesting the Maryland peeps do as a fallback position if they'd lost the court battle.

3-Make them look like the mean spirited, intolerant jerks they are.

While you're debunking and utterly destroying their arguments, you also want to use humor as a weapon to make them look like the buffoonish, bigoted, mean spirited jerks they are. Think the "Righteous Flock" from the Porky's 2 movie.

Fundies hate to be made fun of, and if you tweak them enough, you can knock them off their game to where they'll make a mistake you can pounce on. Fortunately that isn't hard, because most of the time they'll shoot themselves in the foot. But if they don't, you'll have to do the smart legwork and bury their arguments in an avalanche of facts that will make them overreact.

4- Propose our own ballot initiatives.

Nothing's stopping us from proposing our own ballot initiatives. The initiative process works both ways, people. Let's force them to react and burn up money trying to kill one of our initiatives for a change and bring our progressive voters to the polls at the same time.

These are just four suggestions that I hope will get us to start thinking offensively on these issues instead of defensively. We have the moral high ground on this issue of transgender civil rights, they don't. The public is on our side. 110 plus jurisdictions have transgender rights protections.

So lets go out there and win a few for the civil rights team!

Stayin' Alive

Isis' quest to become this cycle's Next Top Model almost came to a shocking end this week as she came dangerously close to elimination from ANTM.

So if anybody thought that Tyra (or the judges) were gonna cut her some slack because she requested and made the executive decision making Isis part of this show, this episode blew up that budding misconception.



In addition to Hanna's latent prejudices toward Isis starting to bubble up to the surface, it was also neat that people got to see a little glimpse into Isis' world as she gave herself her hormone shot.



She had a tough time on this hot air balloon photo shoot challenge.



If the judges and Tyra hadn't lost patience with Niykesha's tendency to interrupt them when they were trying to give her constructive criticism, Isis probably would be gone.



Exhale sis and go get 'em next week.

Deja Vu For Caribou Barbie?

The GOP Borg and their drones are drooling over the fact that Sarah Palin was a beauty queen back in the day who competed in the 1984 Miss Alaska pageant.

While surfing The Net I pondered an interesting thought. Being the pageant junkie I am, I was struck by the notion that the Rethuglicans and the Right Wing Noise Machine would have been crowing nonstop about the fact if she'd won. Why aren't they?

Turns out Sarah Get Your Gun didn't win back in 1984, she was the runner up. Wanna guess who she lost to?

A sistah.

In a state that has a 3.7% African-American population, she lost to an African-American woman. No wonder Idaho-born Caribou Barbie's hatin' on us.

Yes peeps, there are Black people who live in Alaska. Some came there to work on the Alaska pipeline back in the 70's and stayed. Others were assigned there during the course of their military service and grew to love the state. Others moved there from the Lower 48 to get a fresh start in life. There is a large enough community of African-Americans there to hold their own Juneteenth celebration and elect Bettye Davis to the Alaska Senate.

In some delicious irony Palin lost that pageant to Maryline Blackburn, an Army brat who was born in Europe, grew up in Fairbanks and became the first African-American to win Miss Alaska and represent the state in the Miss America pageant.

Ms. Blackburn is an accomplished singer now based in the ATL and Obama supporter. She also had some interesting things to say about her one time competitor.

Here's hoping that history repeats itself in two months and Ms. Palin finds herself on the losing end of another major contest to an African-American.

Ike's Targeting Houston

It's been 25 years since the last Category 3 or above storm blasted the Houston area. With memories of Hurricane Alicia fresh in my mind I've been concerned ever since Ike finished beating up on Cuba and reemerged in the Gulf of Mexico.

I checked in with my family and so far, they are okay, but I am a little worried. They were caught in the massive traffic jam on I-45 north trying to get to our relatives in Dallas during the botched 2005 Hurricane Rita evacuation, which brewed up as a Cat 5 storm only three weeks after Katrina waylaid New Orleans.

It took them 17 hours to drive the 100 miles north to Huntsville, a normally 2 hour trip on I-45 and rode the storm out there until it slid further east, weakened and made landfall along the Texas-Louisiana border. This time they're taking a wait and see attitude and staying put.

Most of my relatives live on the south and west sides of Houston, and they'll be first up to feel the effects of Ike's rain and wind bands as it draws inexorably closer to the area.

I knew it was a matter of time before Houston's luck ran out and with this storm, it looks like it's about to replicate the conditions of Alicia's San Luis Pass landfall. It's still over 300 miles away from Galveston as I write this, but its predicted 15-22 foot storm surge is already being felt along most of the Gulf Coast and New Orleans.

As a long time Gulf Coast resident until 2001, I and anyone who lives there takes hurricanes seriously. I've ridden out two Cat 3 storms, Betsy and Alicia. After Alicia's August 18, 1983 landfall, I noted the devastation it caused to many downtown skyscrapers thanks to loose roofing gravel and the varying levels of wind damage some neighborhoods took. I made it clear to friends and relatives that if a Cat 4 or 5 hurricane were approaching the area, I was boarding up the apartment windows and heading up I-45 north.

Those of us who grew up in the Houston area know all too well the story of the 1900 storm that almost obliterated Galveston when it made landfall on September 8.

It killed 6000 people in Galveston alone and still ranks as the worst natural disaster to ever strike the United States. It also altered the course of Texas history by putting Houston on the path to becoming the dominant city not only in the region but the state as well.

This storm is large, almost 700 miles across. It got weakened to a Cat 2 after traveling the length of Cuba, but could possibly be a low Category 3 storm by the time it makes landfall later tomorrow.

Even if Ike does make landfall further south along the Texas coast, Houston will get some of the effects before it moves further inland.

It's also going to affect you at the gas pump. Once again you have a hurricane traveling through an area where you have oil rigs drilling away. In addition to that problem, in the Houston-Galveston Southeast Texas area alone are 26 oil refineries. One fifth of the oil refining capacity in the United States is concentrated between Houston and New Orleans. If you do the drive along I-10 you will pass numerous refineries between Houston and Lake Charles.

You readers may not experience the winds or wrath of Ike, but you will feel it in your pocket at the gas pump.

Ironically after it makes landfall Ike's projected path takes it all the way up here to Kentucky. Even being 1000 miles away from the Gulf Coast doesn't keep me from experiencing tropical storms or their effects.

Montgomery Co. MD Trans Law FINALLY Takes Effect

TransGriot Note: Hallelujah! Some logic and reason got injected into this debate and the Montgomery County transgender rights law that passed unanimously finally takes effect almost a year after it was enacted. Now it's time to help our brothers and sisters defend their law in Gainesville, FL


Court upholds Montgomery Co. Trans Measure

Anti-discrimination law skips November ballot, goes into effect

By AMY CAVANAUGH, Washington Blade
Sep 9, 1:09 PM

The Maryland Court of Appeals has ruled that Montgomery County's transgender anti-discrimination measure will not appear on the ballot this fall and must go into effect.

The court reversed today the decision of Circuit Court Judge Robert Greenberg, who had ruled that Equality Maryland missed the deadline to challenge petition signatures that were obtained by the conservative Maryland Citizens for a Responsible Government.

That group petitioned to have the anti-discrimination measure put to voters on the Nov. 4 ballot, but Equality Maryland countered in court that some of the petition signatures were improperly obtained.

"The bottom line is that the court said a petition sponsor shouldn't be allowed to cut corners and circumvent legal requirements to get a referendum attacking minority protections on the ballot," said Natalie Chin, a Lambda Legal staff attorney. "We are very happy that this duly enacted law can take effect and protect a vulnerable group of Montgomery County residents."

The measure that Montgomery County officials passed last year prohibits "discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodations, cable television service and taxicab service on the basis of gender identity." It was unclear in today's ruling when the law would go into effect.

"We're thrilled that the rhetoric perpetuated by the Citizens for a Responsible Government has come to an end and the law can go into effect," said Dan Furmansky, Equality Maryland's executive director.

Furmansky said Equality Maryland was ready to explain to voters why the anti-discrimination measure was needed, "but it's better that our transgender brothers and sisters have these long overdue and vital protections immediately."

State Del. Heather Mizeur (D-Montgomery County) also welcomed the court's decision.

"Today's ruling throws the question off the ballot and throws discrimination out of the county, blocking this mean-spirited end run around the democratic process," she said in a statement. "This is not just a victory for our GLBT community, but for fairness, justice and equality for all in Montgomery County."

Basic Rights Montgomery, a coalition of community leaders and organizations that were preparing to fight the anti-discrimination law, will now turn its attention to statewide protections.

"Basic Rights Montgomery was a campaign established to defend the law, so given that the law is no longer in peril, our energies and efforts will move into the realm of passing a statewide anti-discrimination law," Furmansky said.


(c) 2008 | A Window Media LLC Publication

Stealth Was A Mistake

One of the ongoing arguments in the transgender community that's guaranteed to generate heated debate one way or the other is the stealth vs out one.

Basically, stealth is the transgender equivalent of what we call in the African-American community 'passing'. Back during the bad old days African-Americans who had features and skin tones light enough to be mistaken for white would just cut ties with the African-American community and fade away into white society so they could access opportunities for a better life. It's how Anita Hemmings in 1897 became the first African-American graduate of Vassar College 40 years before they even began admitting African-Americans.

Even though they became part of white society, they always lived in fear that someone, someday and somehow would discover their Black heritage.

The late FBI head J. Edgar Hoover's legendary hatred of African-Americans was fueled by the fact that he was himself Black and hated his African roots.

Hmm, the self-hatred part of that sounds like Clarence Thomas and a certain group of Caucasian transwomen I've had run ins with.

Basically, that's a snapshot of what living as a stealth transperson is like. They cut ties to the transgender community. If they don't return home they'll sometimes move hundreds or thousands of miles from their hometown to start a new life where nobody knew them in their old gender role.

Up until the early 90's, as part of the Standards of Care, HBIGDA (the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association now called WPATH (the World Professional Association for Transgender Health) used to require that after surgery, a transgender person go stealth and fade into the background never to emerge.

Many did, but recent cases like Christie Lee Littleton's illustrate, like Anita Hemmings some of the unpleasant complications that can arise when your secret is discovered.

Contrary to the misguided opinions of some stealth peeps we out and proud folks would love nothing better than for transpeople of all stripes to simply be considered as men or women irregardless of the genitalia we arrived with on our birthday.

The reality is that we still have a long road to travel to get to that day. To get to that point requires us to educate the public on transgender issues. Some of that education comes from simply openly living our lives.

But you can't do that education effectively if you're hiding from the general public or won't step up and claim that you are.

I believe that the old WPATH, then HBIGDA requirement that transgender people fade away into society is a major factor in causing many of the acceptance problems that we are grappling with now.

Those acceptance problems are especially acute in the African-American transgender community. We have to overcome not only shame and guilt issues but intolerance and transphobia from inside and outside the African-American community while also grappling with the issues that African-Americans face just living our lives.

To illustrate my belief that stealth was a hindrance to the African-American community, time to drop some more knowledge on you.

The first patient of the now closed Johns Hopkins gender program back in 1966 was an African-American transwoman from New York named Avon Wilson.

Now, instead of her fading into the woodwork and being accidentally discovered by a New York Daily News gossip columnist in October 1966, what if she had become our Christine Jorgenson instead?

Avon Wilson would have probably been covered in JET and EBONY. It's not as far fetched as you think. EBONY until 1953 covered Chicago's Finnie's ball and similar events in New York. JET respectfully covered Justina Williams' story 20 years before the AP Stylebook rules on covering transgender people were written.

We'd have a record of her existence beyond a small mention in a gossip column and she could have become the role model and icon for the next generation of African-American transpeople.

Most importantly, it would have also begun the education and discussion about transgender issues in the African-American community in the more politically friendly climate of the late 60's-70s instead of us having to do the education in the more conservative 90's and 2000's.

Also, the urban legend that African-American transpeople didn't exist would have never gained credibility because we'd have irrefutable proof we do decades earlier.

An Avon Wilson or someone else to point to as an African-American transkid would have helped me sort through some of the issues I had as a 70's era teen and given me the courage to transition early, with the corresponding improvement in my life.

Instead, I didn't find out that African-American transpeople existed and wasn't a white only thang until this JET story on Justina Williams appeared in 1979.

I believe that earlier out role models would have resulted in and facilitated the earlier building of an African-American transgender community and more people would have had the incentive and courage to come out. You would have not only had the core group of transgender elders kicking knowledge to us younglings, we'd also have a better grasp of our history as well with more out transgender people of African descent telling their stories.

We also would have had a community that could have survived the initial onslaught of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 80's instead of nearly being eviscerated by it.

Now, just because I believe that being stealth in an Internet age is a futile stress inducing endeavor doesn't mean that I have personal animosity or contempt for people who attempt it.

While I personally believe we need more equivalents to actress Fredi Washington in the African-American transgender community or people exhibiting the courage that Isis has shown while competing on this current cycle of America's Next Top Model, I understand and have no problem accepting the fact that some people do it for security or various reasons.

Just as I ask that you respect myself and others for being out and proud, I respect the decision that you've made for your life.

I have classy girlfriends who are stealth transwomen of African descent who are beautiful inside and out, are proud of being transgender and unlike some of the WWBT's, want all transgender people to have civil rights coverage.

But at the same time I get a little sick of the shade that comes from some stealth transpeople (predominately WWBT's) who are quick to holler that their exclusionary, racist, surgery-only mantra is the only true path to manhood or womanhood if your body doesn't match your gender identity. They also erroneously assert that anyone who proudly embraces their transgender status isn't in their eyes a man or woman, or their bullshit lie reminiscent of the nasty crap radical feminists say about transwomen, that we're 'oppressing' them.

Yes, you can claim both. You can have degrees of disclosure up to and including keeping your T-business and surgical status to yourself. You can be proud of being a transperson. Being transgender doesn't make you any less a man or woman.

But looking at my people's history in terms of passing, I still think pushing stealth was a mistake.

Why Obama Isn't Running Away With This Election

For you TransGriot international readers wondering to yourselves why a cum laude Harvard law educated constitutional law professor isn't soundly beating like a drum a guy who graduated 894th out of 898 students in his Naval Academy class, here's the major reason why.

Racism.

This was recorded during the West Virginia Democratic primary back in May, but it speaks volumes as to why many African-Americans were pissed that Hillary's campaign team injected race into her attempt to win the nomination and a major reason why we African-Americans were adamant about her NOT getting the Dem nomination for VP.



There are enough white people would rather let this country go down the toilet than see a Black man run it and see his family move into the White House.

Little Sis Wins The US Open

For the first time since 2002 Serena Williams has claimed the US Open singles title, but it wasn't easy.

To earn her third US Open singles title she had to go through her Big Sis in the quarterfinals, beating her 7-6, 7-6 and Russian Dinara Safina 6-3, 6-2.

Jelena Jankovic of Serbia awaited her at Arthur Ashe Stadium. She was playing in her first Grand Slam final and served notice early on that she wanted it just as badly. Williams won her first game but after Jankovic held serve she broke Serena to lead 2-1. Little Sis then stepped up her tennis to another level and won four straight games to lead 5-2. After Jankovic held serve and then broke Serena's to close within 5-4, Little Sis returned the favor to win the set 6-4.

The second set was just as hard fought. Serena held serve and had two break points in the second game, but Jankovic saved both points to stay even at 1-1. They stayed on serve with Jankovic once again having to stave off multiple break points to stay even at 3-3.

In the seventh game with Little Sis up 40-30 she was rattled by a late non-call on a ball that barely kissed the edge of the line and stayed in. Jankovic took advantage and broke Williams' serve for a 4-3 lead. She held serve and had three set points on Little Sis, but Serena saved them all to win the game and narrow the gap to 5-4.

In the tenth game Serena forced five break points, but Jankovic battled back to save them all before double faulting to tie the set and give Little Sis an opportunity to take the lead at 6-5. After holding serve, she kept the pressure on Jankovic and force championship point. Jankovic saved the first one but Little Sis forced another one and won her title on a blistering backhand winner.

In addition to getting paid for the win, she also regained the international Number One ranking in women's tennis for the first time since August 2003.

If Politics Isn’t Child’s Play, Why Should Sarah Palin Get the Kid-Gloves Treatment?

Wednesday, September 03, 2008
by Tonyaa Weathersbee, BlackAmericaWeb.com

It seems there’s a lot more drama tucked into Sarah Palin’s resume than rank-and-file Republicans were led to believe.

So it’s not surprising that the same moral-values zealots who were counting on her story to inject some perkiness into John McCain’s campaign for the White House would be trying to flip the script.

They are, after all, used to doing that; to using their arrogance, the media’s timidity and the public’s fickleness and short memory to obscure the real issues.

It would be a shame if they got away with it again.

The weekend had barely passed when Palin, the Alaska governor and former beauty queen who the 72-year-old McCain tapped as his running mate, was forced to out a family secret: Her 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, was five months pregnant.

Had it been Michelle Obama announcing that one of her daughters was pregnant, the same zealots that questioned her patriotism over a slip of the tongue and Barack Obama’s patriotism for not wearing a flag pin would be lambasting their parenting skills and their lack of moral guidance.

They’d be quoting Bill Cosby and salivating at the chance to plant another seed of skepticism about Obama into the minds of Americans; if he can’t manage his family, they’d say, how can he manage the country?

Oh, but they’re demanding that everyone cut Palin a break.

Reporters and pundits who dare infer that the 44-year-old Palin, who not only has a pregnant teenage daughter but an infant son with Down’s Syndrome, might have too many family issues brewing to be a heartbeat away from the presidency should McCain win, are quickly dismissed as sexist. No matter that it’s a legitimate concern -- and a concern that I would have if Palin were a man.

I’d have that concern because children with special needs tend to need more attention than other children. Add a pregnant teenager to that mix who is on track to becoming a child bride, and the possibility for more family drama is upped exponentially.

That’s a common sense concern, not a sexist one. Because if McCain wins and dies in office -- which would be a real possibility considering his age and his numerous bouts with skin cancer -- this woman would be in charge.

Ironically, many of the people who are playing the gender card to defend Palin’s working mother bona fides are some of the same people who are the most hostile when it comes to supporting things that impact the lives of average working mothers; things like subsidized day care and equal pay.

On top of that, the moral values crowd that is praising Palin for being true to her “pro-life” values because Bristol “chose” to have and keep her baby are the same ones who continue to push saying no to sex instead of pushing safe sex.

They are also the same ones who talk forgiveness and mercy for girls like Bristol who engage in sex outside of marriage, but who elevated Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” at the 2004 Super Bowl to a national symbol of moral decay.

And, eerily enough, it helped get George W. Bush -- perhaps the worst president in history -- re-elected.

I hope that people won’t be cowed by the machinations of the zealots and pundits who now, all of a sudden, are demanding that everyone treat Palin’s issue with her pregnant teenage daughter as a private family matter -- especially when they cared little about the privacy of former President Bill Clinton’s family as they waved a sperm-stained blue dress at him.

And while I’m certainly not suggesting that people condemn Sarah or Bristol Palin, or that the press stalk and harass them, I do believe that the media shouldn’t back off on airing legitimate concerns as to whether any parent with a special needs infant, a pregnant teenager, a thin intellectual resume and little exposure to international issues is best suited to be a heartbeat away from the toughest job in the world.

Most of all, I hope people don’t fall into that same line of thinking that cursed us with another four years of George W. Bush -- that because Palin is going through what a “normal” family might go through, that means she’s qualified to run the country.

A lot of people voted for Bush because they believed that he was an average Joe; a guy they could sit down and have a beer with.

And look at what happened.

Open Mic Reveals True Feelings Of GOP Operatives

Ah, those pesky open microphones. They have taken down many candidates with loose lips. I can think of two memorable ones in Texas that changed campaign outcomes like Jim McConn's 'Shoot the queers' remark that cost him the 1985 mayoral race against Kathy Whitmire, and GOP gubernatorial candidate Clayton Williams 1990 one that handed Ann Richards the governor's mansion (thank God) hot on the heels of his 'relax and enjoy it' rape comment.

Politicians aren't the only peeps who fear open mics. Just ask Jesse Jackson Sr.

So I found the open mic comments of Wall Street Journal conservapundit Peggy Noonan enlightening despite all the nauseating happy talk spin over Sarah 'Get Your Gun' Palin

Goodbye Nikki

Hey TransGriot readers,
As y'all know I've been dealing with the untimely death of a friend over the last few days and just got back home an hour ago from Nikki's service.

I was pleased to not only see the overflow crowd of Nikki's friends and family, we even had besides yours truly, the Louisville transgender and GLB community there in full effect.

It was hard looking at Nikki peacefully sleeping in that white casket realizing she died a few months short of her 30th birthday. There were more than a few tears shed, but simmering under the surface this morning was anger. Anger over the way she was taken from us and anger over the disrespectful way the story was covered by the local media.

BTW, had a chat with GLAAD about that. Will keep y'all updated as to what they're hearing from WLKY and WDRB about it.

The service was a combined wake and funeral that started at 9 AM EDT with the funeral portion starting precisely at 11 AM EDT. They kept the service on a tight schedule, so unfortunately people weren't allowed to speak.

During Rev. Barry Washington's eulogy he talked about love and how it is the binding force that keeps this world from tearing itself apart. He also talked about the love that was in that room.

I was struck by the fact that we had an interesting contrast of people in there. Nikki's family and friends, the GLBT community, and her mother's U of L coworkers.

It was also interesting to note that the transwomen were dressed conservatively church service stylish, while some of the biowomen in the room were wearing jeans and t-shirts.

After the service I went home. I decided not to go to the cemetery. I'd had a rough night trying to get to sleep and Nikki not only was on my mind all day yesterday, she's even moreso in my thoughts today.

But no more pain and suffering for our sister. She's doing her painting and writing her poetry in heaven now.

It's funny, but just as I wrote this line, the cloud cover that has cast an appropriately gloomy start to the day here suddenly parted to allow some rays of sunshine to beam through my window. It was predicted to be sunny and 83 today, so maybe it'll help lighten the sense of loss I and everybody who knew and loved Nikki feels.

What will really help me is for LMPD to find, arrest, convict and permanently send to Eddyville the wastes of DNA who committed the crime.

Nikki, say hello to Tyra, Channelle, Gabrielle, Kellie, Ukea, Stephanie, Saneshia, Ebony and all our other fallen sisters for us.

We'll see you again soon.

'You're No Leader'

TransGriot Note-If the MSM had done their jobs and grilled Junior this way in 2000, he would have never been elected. If they'd done the same thing in 2002, we wouldn't be in Iraqinam.

They need to do the same damn thing to Sarah 'Get Your Gun' Palin on her skimpy record as Alaska's governor, and frack the GOP whining about 'sexism'. They don't have any problem being sexist and racist when it comes to Faux News or right wing talk radio spreading disinformation on Democrats.

This gives me hope that some the youth of our country aren't buying the GOP snake oil.

High School Student to McCain: You're No Leader


September 04, 2007 11:32 AM
ABC News' Bret Hovell and Matt Stuart Report:

Senator John McCain had a testy exchange with a high school student in Concord, NH, Tuesday, but one that McCain himself characterized as “what America is supposed to be about.”

William Sleaster, a student at Concord High School rose to ask McCain a question about gay rights and, ultimately dissatisfied by the answer he received from McCain, told the Republican presidential contender that he'd come looking to see a leader and didn't.

McCain first answered the high school student by talking about his support for Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the military’s policy regarding gays, and about his belief in the sanctity of marriage.

“Discrimination in any form is unacceptable in America today,” McCain said.

“I understand the controversy that continues to swirl around this issue,” McCain said. “That debate needs to be continued.”

Sleaster pressed on. “Do you support civil unions or gay marriage?”

“I do not,” McCain answered. “I think that they impinge on the status and the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman.”

“So you believe in taking away someone’s rights because you believe it’s wrong?”

“I wouldn’t put that interpretation on my position, but I understand yours,” McCain said diplomatically.

Sleaster went on to ask another question about how to help the working class in America, which McCain fielded by talking about the country’s need to figure out education and health care, and to secure the environment.

Sleaster indicated that he wanted to follow up again.

“You have one more? Go ahead you’re doing good,” McCain encouraged.

“I came here looking to see a leader,” Sleaster said. “I don’t.”

The assembled students murmured, and a teacher started to step in.

“I understand,” McCain said. “I thank you. That’s what America is all about.”

See Ya ShaRaun

I've commented about the ignorance that some of my people have when it comes to transgender issues, and some of it played out on the very first night of America's Next Top Model.

ShaRaun was quoted as saying "America's Next Top Model isn't going to be a drag queen." She needs not only a lesson in definitions but some washcloths to wipe the egg off her face since she was introducing herself as the next 'America's Next Top Model'

As they say in the ballroom community, you've been chopped.



Maybe you need to spend some time hanging out at The Baton when you get back to Chitown. While you're at it, 'ejumacate' yourself on transgender issues.

But she ain't the only Cycle 11 contestant (or in ShaRaun's case former contestant) that needs some education on transgender issues. Clark is quoted as saying, "Isis has no place in this competition."

Well, it's all about how well you can model, not whether you were born with ovaries and a vagina. Hopefully the photo shoots over time will prove me correct.

And since Clark is throwing shade, you better have game to back up your mouth. I will be cracking up laughing and writing about it on TransGriot if in a subsequent show I see you packing your stuff because you 'have no place in this competition' except a one way ticket home.

In the meantime it's going to be a bumpy, ignorant and catty road that Isis will have to travel to fulfill her dream.

It's not like we transpeeps haven't dealt with people like them before. In this case the transphobes will be doing their thang with cameras rolling and their ignorance can be recorded for posterity like this.



If you're reading this Isis, bump them and handle your business with class, elegance and dignity.



For every one of those ignorant witches and smirking media empty heads making light of this situation, remember that you have an entire community cheering for you.

Another Transsistah Disrespected By The Media- In My Backyard

Here we go again with a media outlet NOT reading the AP Stylebook when it comes to reporting on transgender people of color.

This time, it's happening right here in my backyard in Da Ville.

I met Nikki when we held the 2005 Transsistahs-Transbrothas Conference here. Contrary to what the person writing up the report on WDRB Fox 41 thought, she ain't no man.

As per my policy on TransGriot when I come across these travesties of reporting I rewrite them using proper AP stylebook reporting procedures. We'll also be talking to WDRB Fox 41 about the shoddy reporting.

Those of us who knew Nikki will miss her. Tonight Terri Vanessa Coleman hosted a special show tonight at the Connection to help kick start a memorial fund being raised to aid the family with burial expenses.

Nikki's funeral will take place on Saturday starting with the wake at 9 AM EDT and the funeral at 11 AM EDT.

In the meantime, here's the contact info for WDRB-TV.

WDRB/WMYO TV
624 W Muhammad Ali Blvd
Louisville, KY 40203
(502) 584-6441

Fox 41 News Department 502-585-0811

***



This was the e-mail I sent to WDRB-TV

I'm writing this e-mail to point out that the story on Nakhia Williams violated the AP Stylebook guidelines on reporting on transgender persons.

The AP Stylebook states:

transgender-Use the pronoun preferred by the individuals who have acquired the physical characteristics of the opposite sex or present themselves in a way that does not correspond with their sex at birth.

If that preference is not expressed, use the pronoun consistent with the way the individuals live publicly.

Nakhia was living as a woman, so feminine pronouns should have been used throughout the story.

Nakhia's untimely death was a tragic loss for her friends, family and all who knew and loved her. Was it that difficult for WDRB-TV to pick up the Stylebook and compile a report that stated the facts of the case and respected her as well?

****

Here's the rewrite of the story the way it SHOULD have been done per AP Stylebook rules


Transgender woman dies from gunshot wounds after home invasion

A transgender woman shot during a home invasion dies ten days later. Detectives, of course, are treating this case as a homicide. Neighbors were afraid to talk on camera because the attackers are still on the loose. But one man said he found 29-year old Nakhia Williams lying on the ground outside her apartment on West Market Street.

Police say Williams was rushed to the hospital the morning of August 20th and died this past Saturday, the 30th. The medical examiner says Williams died from a gunshot wound, which complicated a medical condition she already had. Police say another person was home with Williams during the home invasion.

"There was possibly four black males who had forced the victim and another occupant to the ground, a lot of commotion going on," said LMPD Detective Phil Russell.

No one is saying who this other occupant is and whether he or she was injured.

If you have any information that could help solve this case, you can call the anonymous police tipline at 574-LMPD.

Isis' History Making Debut

The highly anticipated debut of America's Next Top Model Cycle 11 premiered last night on the CW with all eyes on Isis, the show's first open transgender contestant.

She was featured in the background of a photo shoot in a previous cycle and is a legitimate contestant competing in this one. Y'all know I'm rooting for sis to win.

The fact that Isis is competing became big news to most of the world, but it's not a surprise to me. Top Model has long had rumors of possible stealth transwomen contestants and they decided to come out of the closet with a secret that fashion industry insiders have long known.

A few of the girls strutting their stuff on the catwalk are transwomen.

Top Model judge and noted fashion photographer Nigel Barker stated in a recent interview, "One of the things about the fashion industry, is that there have been many transgender models over the years. It's very legitimate in our industry. It's a bit shocking for prime-time TV, but it opens peoples' eyes."

During the 2003 Cricket World Cup that was hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe was allowed to compete despite its horrendous human rights record and some protests against human rights violations and homophobic statements by its president Robert Mugabe.

When the month long event opened with a globally televised Olympic style opening ceremony in Cape Town, each of the 14 participating teams was led into the stadium by a model. Zimbabwe was led onto the field by a Senegalese born model who worked in South Africa and Italy named Barbara Diop. During the first week of competition it got leaked to the press that Barbara was a transwoman. That prompted outrage from Zimbabwe's head homophobe and threats to pull out of the competition.

It's no shock to people who follow the ballrooom community either. FYI, one of the ball categories is called runway, and as Isis Tsunami she was wrecking nerves and making a name for herself. It's been rumored for years that ballroom legend Tracy Africa went from walking balls in the 90's to getting paid walking the runways in New York and the fashion capitals of Europe.

Isis is the one who is fortunate enough and has the God given opportunity to break through to mainstream modeling success.

But back to Top Model. I applaud Tyra and the show for taking the bold step to include her. I haven't had a chance to look at the replay, so I'll judge later on whether the show is handling Isis with grace and sensitivity.

I know some of the transgender haters have already come out of the closet, and we'll probably see the same from some of Isis' fellow contestants. I hope she continues to handle this with style and grace even in the face of nasty and ignorant comments from some of her competitors and the Faux news masses.

But this is nothing less than a Jackie Robinson moment just as it was when various African-American models did things in the fashion industry that no one else had done before, including Ms. Banks.

Yeah, it's a reality TV show. But it's what we African-American transpeople have to work with until we get mainstream media to actually interview African-American transgender people who are opinion makers and leaders in this community.

Isis is breaking down stereotypes, and as any minority group member can tell you, old stereotypes die hard. It's an evolutionary step in our ongoing coming out process to first class citizenship and taking our rightful place at the African-American family table.

Even though Isis may look at it as if she's doing this alone, doing it for herself and fulfilling a dream to become a model, she's not.

Like Jackie Robinson fifty-one years ago, she's got the hopes and aspirations of many African-American transgender people and the ballroom community walking with her.

On Being T

Another day, another interesting transgender video discovered on YouTube. This one had a brief snippet from my girl Laverne Cox, who's hanging in there on I Want To Work For Diddy.



It's a trailer for a documentary called 'On Being T'. Looks interesting and here's the website with more information about it.

Where's the 'A Different World' Season 2-6 DVDs?

I love collecting my favorite Black shows on DVD. I already own the first three seasons of Girlfriends, own the first season of Living Single, and I'm working on acquiring the various Good Times seasons as well.

I'm a huge fan of A Different World, and even though I hated the first season, I bought the DVD set just to satisfy me in anticipation of purchasing Seasons 2-6. I'd even bought the Season 2 DVD online, but when Urbanworks got bought out, it delayed the release date twice and Season Two's release was eventually canceled.

Now I'm hearing that Viacom, who subsequently bought Ventura after it bought Urbanworks, will not only not release the Season 2 DVD of A Different World, it won't release Seasons 3-6 of the show either. Their excuse is that the poor sales of the Season One DVD is evidence that the show doesn't have a fan base.

Excuse me?

Umm, A Different World was a Top 5 show for five of the six years it was on the air from 1987-1993. Many HBCU's (historically Black college and university) credit this show with increasing enrollments at HBCU's by 25% during the 90's.

So the claim that this show doesn't have a fanbase is about as credible as Sarah Palin's claim to be more qualified for the presidency than Sen. Barack Obama.

Besides, the major reason the Season One DVD didn't sell well is how can I put this, season one sucked.

You had a writing team that had never attended, much less set foot on an HBCU campus try to recreate one on TV. Season One didn't even come close to having the authentic feel of an HBCU and it didn't happen until my Houston homegirl Debbie Allen took over as producer.



Under Debbie Allen, the show not only made a light years leap in quality, it actually began to have the flavor of an HBCU campus. Debbie was not only drawing from her experiences as a Howard University alum, she had the writing staff take an annual trip to Atlanta's Spelman College and talk to students, faculty and administrators about the issues they deal with.

The claim that there aren't enough A Different World fans to justify releasing seasons 2-6 of the show on DVD is crap. It's interesting to note that Seinfeld and Roseanne, Top 10 shows that were on during the same decade as A Different World have been fully released on DVD, but a quality show that tackled some interesting topics back in the day such as teen pregnancy, date rape, homelessness, divesting from South Africa, Black history, interracial dating, HIV/AIDS and the Gulf War isn't?

It's interesting to note that Living Single, another quality African-American show with Top 10 ratings, a loyal fanbase and topical shows hasn't been released beyond Season One either. But I'll save that debate for another post. A Different World's 2-6 seasons not being released on DVD is a travesty that needs to be corrected ASAP.

I'd love to see some of my favorite episodes again such as the battle for Dwayne's affections between Kinu and Whitley, Patti LaBelle's always humorous turns playing Adele Wayne, the always elegant Diahann Carroll playing Whitley's mom Marian, Sinbad's crazy self, Freddie and Ron's love-hate relationship, Jenifer Lewis playing Dean Dorothy Davenport and Debbie's recurring psychiatrist character Dr. Langhorne...well, you get the picture.



But what I'm really hoping to get is an opportunity to purchase and add to my television DVD collection season's 2-6 of A Different World.

On Being Transgender- An African's Viewpoint

TransGriot Note: One of my missions for TransGriot is to introduce you to the stories, viewpoints and voices on transgender issues from the African continent and across the Diaspora. From Sokari Ekine's blog African Path, check out the story of Nigerian transwoman Mia Nikasimo, originally published on the Transepiscopal blog.


On Being Transgender

September 01, 2008
10:52 AM

My name is Mia Nikasimo. As a volunteer for Changing Attitudes at the Lambeth Conference I found myself in an opportune position to reflect from a translesbian (i.e. a transsexual woman who identifies as a lesbian not to be confused with above or beyond “lesbians,” or a transgender man) standpoint on the Anglican Communion and attempts to exclude the LGBTI.

I have purposely mentioned my trans status here because “transgender” as an umbrella term (for transsexual female, male, sister, brother, mothers, fathers any of the following might choose to cross dress, are intersexed, queer, kings, drag queens and more) can easily loose ones identity in the mix and because I can only share this reflection as a translesbian in the full awareness that some, like my LGBTI African brothers, sisters cannot. As the founder of an online support group call Transafro I aim to give voice to our various narratives Anglicans or otherwise, to promote, empower and raise consciousness in Africa, the Diaspora and allies.

Transgender, contrary to what is often believed to be the case, is not about sexual orientation. Rather it is about gender identity which, for instance, in the case of transsexuals (i.e. female or male), sexual orientation is something that gradually happens as birth sexuality goes through a sort of transformation and so on and so forth. Even some transsexual people do not fully understand this so I am not surprised that most members of the lesbian, gay, and bisexual community do not understand the “T” or transgender enough to change their attitudes towards us never mind the wider Anglican Communion of Bishops which is why education, dialogue and reflection is important.

The consensus will always be that: WE DO EXIST, WE ARE TRANSGENDER AND WE ARE PROUD!!!

Primarily, in conjunction with some members of Changing Attitudes, this stance is saying that I am here, a transsexual woman and a lesbian of African origin (Nigerian, in my case) but also as a member of the wider lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community here to reaffirm our identity in the face of attempts to erase our presence from the Anglican Communion. However, the organisation’s mission statement which states that we are: ‘working for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender affirmation in the Anglican Communion’ is well intentioned we need to be proactive in our efforts.

On reflection, I have found that one significant question in particular seemed to manage to escape our attention. Although we have raised the stakes immensely in changing the Bishops attitudes, what are we as attitude changers doing to bring the same rigour to bear on ourselves? Before we can change attitudes among the Bishops we have a lot of education, dialogue and reflection work to in our community (i.e. the LGBTI) especially with regard to bisexual (although I cannot speak for them I am aware that they have little or no representation) and transgender people. Simple definitions such as what is a transsexual woman/lesbian? still manage to confuse some lesbian and gay men who then amusingly or otherwise call a transwoman or a translesbian a gay man robbing her of her trans identity and or her sexual orientation simultaneously just for a laugh. Likewise, referring to a transgender/transsexual man as a woman denies him his status as a man. Attitudes within the Anglican Communion cannot be changed in an atmosphere of homophobia or transphobia because of deep rooted fear which is why there is a call for more education, dialogue and reflection.

Although my mother is an Anglican which meant I could easily have chosen Christianity I opted for Buddhism. This is not to say that Buddhists are without similar conditioning as the Anglicans but because it was a religion I chose with a full understanding of what I was doing. Rather than the impositions and guilt ridden disposition of the Anglican Communion towards gender identity (i.e. as a transsexual woman) and sexuality (i.e. as a lesbian) I left Christianity and became a Buddhist and found peace of mind albeit formative. With committed and concentrated practice of meditation I was more able to get on with my life.

This suited me. I read broadly about Buddhism finding solace in the stories of practitioners like Tenzin Palmo and Milarepa to mention just two. With meditation practise I also found a sort of peace of mind that meant I could let go of hatred, guilt and fear and approach the world from a position of compassion, love and understanding. I even wanted to become a Buddhist nun and spend the rest of my life in spiritual contemplation in a cave out in the wild somewhere but I quickly realised that that would be indulging my desire to escape it all. Somehow, the city became my cave practice based on Plato’s Cave allegory.

I began to see anew and in seeing saw the Anglican Communion and the human condition as both locked horns and wondered where all the compassion, love and understanding had gone. I followed the Anglican Communion as it observed its rituals I did mine with Buddhist ones evoking the essence of compassion, Tara and or the Boddhisattva of fearlessness, Amoghasiddhi and shared the experience at every opportunity in social engagement.

However, on a final note, I feel the service of the Bishops is not about celebrity or notoriety rather it is about the cultivation of the seeds of compassion, love and understanding in all the Anglican Communion and not just some. This must include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people too or the shepherd fails in his duty to all his flock of sheep. But this mantle is not for them to bear alone. We have our part to play in the affirmation of the LGBT without excluding the “T” as can happen and continues too.

September 2008 Villager's Black Blog Rankings

Hotep!
It's that time of the month that all of us in the Black blogosphere breathlessly await. It's time to head on over to the Electronic Village and check out this month's edition of the Black Blog Rankings.

The Villager got to rank 1407 Black blogs this month, up 78 blogs from the 1329 ranked in August.

The BBR's are now celebrating their second anniversary this month and from the initial 75 blogs, this FUBU production has exponentially grown. If you are an African-American blogger and wish to be part of this, just drop the Villager a line so he can include you in next month's rankings.

Speaking of growth, I set some goals that I gave myself until January 1, 2009 (TransGriot's 3rd anniversary) to reach. I wanted to be in the BBR Top 50 blogs and be at a Technorati ranking of 150.

So how did I do? In August I'd just achieved a goal of cracking the BBR Top 100 blogs and was at Number 92 with a 113 Technorati ranking.

When this month's BBR rankings were compiled on September 1, TransGriot was at Number 67 with a 133 Technorati ranking.

So I jumped another 25 spots to put me in striking distance of the Top 50 and added 20 points to my Technorati ranking. Shoot, as fast as this blog is growing I will probably have to set a new goal in October of cracking the Top 25 BBR ranked blogs.

But I couldn't do this without you, my loyal readers. I thank you for taking the time out of your busy day (or night) to read what I post here. Please know that I deeply appreciate it.

I'm also grateful and humbled to note that some of my fellow bloggers are starting to ask me to write guest posts as well on various topics, so you'll probably in the near future start to see my writing in places other than TransGriot or The Bilerico Project.

We'll see where TransGriot ends up next month. With a historic presidential campaign to blog about, I think I can come up with some interesting things to talk about and keep you peeps happy between now and October 1.

What An Alaskan Has To Say About Sarah Palin

I've got a few choice words about Sarah 'Get Your Gun' Palin that I'll expound on later, but in the meantime let me send you to the Mudflats blog, written about Alaska politics by an Alaskan.

AK Muckraker has some interesting and some illuminating things to say about Sarah Palin that will help you cut through the GOP lies and spin.

Make no mistake about it, this woman isn't fit to shine Hillary's pumps, much less wear them. She's also the new jack intellectual heir to the Phyllis Schafly's of the GOP world and despite the bleating of the Log Cabin Sellouts (oops, Republicans) is no friend to the GLBT community as well.

Just Because I'm An Obama Supporter Doesn't Make Me A Zealot

Main Entry: zeal·ot
Function: noun
Etymology: Late Latin zelotes, from Greek zēlō tēs, from zēlos
Date: 1537

1: capitalized: a member of a fanatical sect arising in Judea during the first century a.d. and militantly opposing the Roman domination of Palestine

2: a zealous person; especially : a fanatical partisan a religious zealot

I've been an Obama supporter since January 1. I've liked him ever since I watched him deliver his prime time speech during the 2004 Democratic Convention. My Chicago relatives and friends I've talked to who know the man, have met him or lived in his Illinois senate district rave about him.

I've read his books, researched his policy stances and found much to like in them. I really love his thoughtful intelligence, his compelling life story, his teaching constitutional law, having a vision about where he wants to take this country, and wanting to fundamentally change the way politics is done in the United States.

I grew up during a time in which political campaigns were not always slash and burn, assassinate your opponent's character affairs. They actually used reason and logic based arguments to explain to the electorate why they and their particular set of policy stances made them the best candidate to be elected to that particular office.

Sen. Obama is the first candidate in a long time that actually has campaigned in an old school style. I'm excited about that, so are a lot of African-Americans and many Obama supporters of all colors.

I'm excited that I have a man as a presidential candidate for my party that unlike John McCain and his running mate, understands the Constitution and has taught constitutional law. I like the fact he understands the issues that working class people deal with because he was a community organizer. I'm thrilled about the fact that world leaders and people in various countries around the world see the same things I do. I'm intrigued by the knowledge that he spent time growing up in Indonesia. I like the fact he chose an intelligent statuesque sistah (and AKA) from Chicago's south side to spend his life with.

And yes, the thing I'm most excited about is this man shares my ethnic heritage.

Far too many times people judge African-Americans by the worst we produce. Here's a once in a lifetime opportunity for us to get behind as a community someone who represents the BEST we can produce.

It was beautiful seeing an African-American family similar to my own on stage in Denver waving to that Mile High Stadium crowd. It will be nice seeing that family live in the White House for the next four years assuming the election goes the way I hope it does.

But I'm a little sick of Republicans, Greens, some disgruntled Hillary supporters and some independents mischaracterizing the very real and logical reasons I and others chose to support Sen. Obama for president as being 'zealotry'.

Hillary supporters who had the very same reasons for supporting her candidacy aren't being tarred and feathered with that 'zealot' brush. Is it because they are predominately white women?

When you call me and other Obama supporters zealots, it's a 21st century remix of that old slur that is thrown at African-Americans during political campaigns that we can't make 'rational decisions' on who we support politically unlike white people, who use 'logic and reason' to do so.

If that's the case, then explain the logic and reason you used for overwhelmingly voting for an inarticulate ignoramus in the White House for a second term and are with McCain seriously considering electing a man who graduated 894th out of 898 people in his Naval Academy class?

Just as John F. Kennedy's election to the presidency in 1960 changed the way we look at Catholics in this country, the election of Barack Hussein Obama Jr. will change the way that African-Americans not only are viewed in this country, but abroad as well.

It will also fundamentally change the way we look at ourselves. No longer will an African-American kid be able to sarcastically respond to the 'you can be anything you want in the United States' line with 'I can't be president' as I once did in elementary school.

So just because I'm an Obama supporter does not make me a zealot. It makes me an American wanting to see an eminently qualified man who happens to share my ethnic heritage run this country for the first time in its 232 year history.

Hurricane Deja Vu?

Incredibly, three years after Katrina devastated the New Orleans area it faces another Category 3 storm bearing down on it in Hurricane Gustav. Gustav wreaked major havoc and took 68 lives as it whacked Haiti, Jamaica and the western tip of Cuba enroute to the Louisiana coast.

I lived on the West Bank in Marrero as a toddler for two years. My dad worked for a New Orleans radio station before we moved back to Houston in 1967. We were living there when Hurricane Betsy clobbered the New Orleans area back in 1965, taking a path similar to what Katrina would follow 40 years later. Betsy caused flooding in the New Orleans area when the levees were breached by storm surge.

Gustav is going to make landfall in the Houma-Grand Isle area sometime between 6 AM-12 Noon CDT, which will unfortunately put New Orleans on the 'dirty' or east side of the storm. It's also expected to make landfall around high tide, which will add to the storm surge as well.

With Gustav hitting that area, it means that the Harvey Canal, which is the eastern border of my old neighborhood in Marrero, could possibly get a storm surge that will overwhelm the Harvey Canal flood control gate and flood most of the West Bank like New Orleans got in 2005.

I'm also concerned because I haven't heard anything from my godsister Angela or her family yet. All I can do is pray they are all right and will call us soon.

Gas prices are going to get jacked with because Gustav is running through not only an area with a large concentration of refineries but there are a large concentration of offshore oil rigs in the area as well. One fifth of the United States' oil refining capability is concentrated between Houston and New Orleans.

Another problem is that the pipelines leading from the LOOP (the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port) come onshore in the Houma area.

Interestingly, we have evacuees from New Orleans being housed here in Louisville. As of the time I'm writing this 1500 people have arrived at the Fairgrounds Exposition Center and it has room for 3000 people.

I and others who have family and friends in the area will have some anxious moments over the next several hours until Gustav makes landfall. And hopefully this time, the GOP and Karl Rove will refrain from playing politics with people's lives like they did in 2005.