Fallon`s Fighting In Denver Soon!

The last time I got a chance to talk about my fave women`s MMA fighter Fallon Fox  doing her regular job, she had just laid a microwaved 2 minute smackdown in the octagon against one of her loud and wrong transphobic critics Tamikka Brents to bump her record to an impressive 5-1.

Yeah, Brents found out after bumping her gums that Ms. Fox has serious MMA skills.

Fox is also featured in the documentary `Game Face` which will be appearing at a film festival near you soon.

There are also unconfired rumors that a UFC tilt between Fallon Fox and another loud and wrong transphobic critic in unbeaten (11-0) UFC champ Ronda Rousey may be brewing, but no confirmation yet on that from UFC boss Dana White, Rousey or Fox.

But before we get to that hoped for UFC bout, Fallon has work to do in Denver and is already in the gym working hard to get ready for it.

Fox will take on Randi Miller on August 14 in Prize Fighting Championship 10.   More details coming as I get them from the `Queen of Swords`

Hope you peeps and allies in the Denver area will come out and support our WMMA fighting sis because the transphobes are already starting to get cranked up on social media and definitely will be rooting for Miller.

We`ll see what transpires on August 14, but you know I`ll be hoping for another Fallon Fox WMMA win.

TransGriot Update:  And just as fast as I received the news about this fight came the next it had been cancelled.

2015 Williams Watch-On To Wimbledon`s Second Round

My fave tennis playing siblings got off to a great start on the opening day of `Williams`-don. 

Shouldn't be a surprise because the All England Club has been their personal playground throughout their careers, and yesterday was a welcome sign to those of us who love Venus and Serena Williams that their dominance at that hallowed tennis venue would continue.

Sixteenth seeded Venus got off to a wonderful start in this 2015 edition of Wimbledon with a 6-0, 6-0 straight set victory over fellow American Madison Brengle to punch her ticket to the second round.

World number one ranked and top seed Serena also won her opening match in straight sets over Russia`s Margarita Gasparayan 6-4, 6-1 to get her quest for her first Wimbledon title since 2012 off to a satisfying start.

If Serena continues through to claim the Venus Rosewater Dish, it would be her sixth 'Williams'-don crown, her third straight Grand Slam title this year and fourth consecutive one since winning the 2014 US Open.  It would also put her in position to win a calendar year Grand Slam.

But there`s still two weeks of tennis to play before we get to that point.

What Next For Our TBLG Rights Movement?

The parades are over and the street sweepers have done their work to clean up the trash after they ended.   Some of our BTLG peeps said prayers of thanksgiving during Sunday services in TBLG friendly churches while others woke up to hangovers after celebratory partying well into the night in the gayborhoods during a Pride Weekend that occured as a major policy objective was achieved.

Yes, life in America was forever impacted by the landmark SCOTUS ruling that established a fundamental right to marry and allowed many of my gay and lesbian friends in states like Texas hostile to same sex marriage to do so.  It also conferred after a 12 year battle recognition of the marriages of many others who got them in other locales, but the states they resided in refused to do so.

And yes, it reinstated the ability of my trans brothers and trans sisters to get married that we`d had ever since Christine Jorgensen stepped off the plane from Denmark and have them recognized across this nation.

While the landmark SCOTUS ruling is something to celebrate, it still doesnt benefit the vast majority of people who still have to deal with the reality that in 29 states they can be fired for being gay, and 32 states for being transgender.

And as I have said more than a few times, you need money to pay for the wedding license, the wedding chapel, the wedding dress, the wedding tux, the wedding planner, the wedding rings, the wedding reception, and life after the wedding.

So what should our major TBLG policy priority be after marriage?   Jobs, Jobs, Jobs!

A full court press now needs to happen to get ENDA passed nationally, and do a local civic and state by state push to enact ENDA-style laws in all 50 states.

Your bi and trans sisters and brothers need their human rights respected, protected amd codified into law.   Trans folks need ASAP the basic human rights protections you GL folks have enjoyed for decades and sometimes got by repeatedly throwing us unde the legislative bus as you did in Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and New Hampshire just to name a few egriegious examples of it

We want as trans men and women the ability to openly serve in our country`s armed forces.  We want the near genocidal slaughter of trans women of color to end along with the end of the problematic incarceration of undocumented trans feminine women in ICE detention centers with cisgender men.

And yes, we trans people, and especially trans people of color, want to be sitting at the power tables in LGBT orgs helping formulate policy.  We need trans elected officials on large city councils, state legislatures and eventually as US senators and congressmembers.

We need to have a human rights wave building that serves to rise all LGBT boats with it, not just the community have mores.   We need to have a movemen that is also invested in being a justice for all movement and not a just-us one.

We also need to be a stand up ally to other groups and movements that supported our causes in ou time of need and not ones that use as an excuse to opt out of them `this isn`t an LGBT issue`.

The right to healthcare is an LGBT issue.   Fighting for economic fairness is an LGBT issue.  The right to vote is an LGBT issue.  Climate change is an LGBT issue.  A woman`s right to choose is an LGBT issue.   Combating racism and sexism is an LGBT issue.

We LGBT peeps need to focus on being a shining example to the rest of straight cisgender America of how to build and sustain an intersectional anti-racist movement and community.

We need to lead and show the nation and the world how to eradicate anti-Blackness, sexism, transphobia, biphobia and racism from our ranks as our contribution to building the `beloved community` that the Rev. Dr Martin Luther King, Jr often talked about.

We also have to develop the ability to multitask.  While we focus on solidifying our gains at home, we must also be aware that US based wingers like Scott Lively are spreading their LGBT hate message overseas to where it is unfortunately finding receptive ears and causing problems for our GLBT brothers and sisters in those nations.

As you probably realized by now, it takes sustained effort to achieve policy goals. The hard part is to defend and keep them while under sustained attack by our prevaricating right wing oppressors.

This community is at a crossroads now.  It can either acknowledge that the human rights work in our BTLG ranks is not even close to being done and start working on the next phases of our movement, or it can repeat the mistakes made in Canada after they achieved marriage equality in 2003 and stopped working for policies and legislation that protected the LGBT have nots.

Which path will the American LGBT community take?   I hope it`s the former and not the latter one.

2015 Williams Watch- Welcome To 'Williams'-don

It's the start of the third Grand Slam of the 2015 tennis season in London, known to the world as The Championships, but what I call on these electronic pages 'Williams'-don.

It will run from today until July 12, and the start of it was delayed a week to give players time to adjust to grass from the clay surfaces of Roland Garros.

The All England Club has been such a personal playground for both Venus and Serena they have won a combined ten Ladies Singles titles, five Ladies doubles titles and the 2012 London Games singles and doubles gold medals on those hallowed grass surface courts that seem to be tailor made for their power tennis games.

But the last time world number one Serena took the Venus Rosewater Dish home was in 2012, and Venus' last win was in 2008.  

You can bet both sisters wish to change that dynamic.  Serena lost last year in a third round three set   upset loss to Aliza Cornet, and in 2013 lost a three set battle in the fourth round to runner up Sabine Lisicki.

Venus is hoping that she can get back to playing the consistent tennis she needs to play to make a deep run in a Grand final again.

We will find out as the Wimbledon fortnight progresses.

We Trans Peeps Are Just Like You Cis Peeps

Now that our right wing opponents have lost their war on marriage equality, I expect them to shift their time, effort and prodigious funding to attacking the transgender community`s humanity and human rights on a full time basis.

It is the historical nature of conservatism to always find an enemy to organize and rally their troops around to hate.

Once their enemy du jour they pick on grows strong enough to fight back and repeatedly win againsst them, they`ll move on like the bullies they are to pick on somebody else they perceive to be politically and numerically weaker than them to in their minds oppress.

But despite the upturned volume of the Right Wing Noise Machine and their increeasing efforts via FOX Noise and right wing hate radio to demonize trans people, what Americans and the world are beginning to understand is that we trans peeps are part of the diverse mosaic of human life just like cisgender people are.

The right wing will also find out as they engage with us and attempt to halt our human rights progress that we have allies, family and friends who will stand shoulder to shoulder with us to help us fight back against the oppression they wish to impose on us.

We trans people have the same characteristics and personality traits as many of you Homo Sapiens.   We come in all shapes, sizes and ethnic backgrounds.   We live on every inhabited continent on Planet Earth,   We are people who love and wish to be loved by others.  We are gay, bisexual, pansexual, straight and whatever other sexual orientation possible in our species.  

We are beautiful, intelligent, funny, thoughtful and multitalented.   We are writers, doctors, lawyers, athletes, models, teachers, politicians and parents raising kids.

We are proud of the communities and nations we inhabit, and we transpeeps want the best for our kids that we raise.   We want to live our lives to the best of our ability in careers that we love.   We want to be able to fully participate in the  political systems of our nations and create the laws that govern us.   We want to contribute our talents to bulding our societies.  We want to work, pay our fair share of taxes, join a union and get paid a fair wage while doing so.

We transpeople want to be able to worship a higher power in the manner we choose or not attend a church at all without being falsely labeled by demagoging religious leaders as `dangers to mankind`.

And speaking of bearing false witness against trans people, frankly we are tired of right wing adherents of all denominations pushing transphobia from the pulpit and it needs to stop.

We trans people want affordable trans culturally competent health care  that not only features medical practitioners that treat us with dignity and respect, but also realizes that sometimes we come to the doctor to be treated for other medical issues besides trans oriented ones.

And yes, just like in Cisworld, Trans World has people in it who are selfish jerks, mean azzholes , jealous, vindictive....well you get the drift.   Just as you don`t want us broad brush judging you for being transphobes based on the actions of a few nekulturny individuals, we demand the same level of respect from you.

Don`t start no drama with us, won`t be no drama in return.

The bottom line is that trans peeps are just like cis peeps in terms of just wanting to be the best people we can be while we are spending whatever time we have on this space rock.

And what we want in TransWorld is for you in Cis World to acknowledge our common humanity, accept our right to exist, respect our human rights across the globe, and be left alone by you folks who irrationally hate on us so we can get to the daily business of being the men and women of trans experience we are.

A View Of LGBT History

June 26, 2015 will be a day long remembered in history because three landmark gay rights SCOTUS cases were decided on this day.

The day for me started with your fave blogger in the company of Nikki Araguz Loyd and Will Loyd as we headed to the Midtown area law firm of Katine and Nechman for a SCOTUS watch party.

As we arrived, we noted the TV trucks and reporters lurking around the office also anticipating the ruling and waiting for the analysis of Mitchell Katine and John Nechman when it did drop.

We didn`t have to wait long for the ruling.  A little after 9 AM Houston time it started coming over the SCOTUS feed, and it took a few moments for us to realize that not only was this a 5-4 win in our community`s favor, it was also one in which nothing would be the same after it.  
Marriage equality had come to all 50 states, including Texas!

After the celebration and interviews, we decided to head over to the Harris County Courthouse to see if marriage licenses were being issued, since the Texas GOP was huffing and puffing about resisting it until the bitter end.

We arrived a little after noon at the courthouse, and there were already three couples in line to get marriage licenses, but who were being stalled by our Republican county clerk in Stan Stanart.    For the next several hours I watched the clerks being put in the uncomfortable position of denying applicants a marriage license for specious reasons as the news cameras recorded the moment.

Then after a legal world of hurt forced Stanart to stop his attempts to stall the inevitable and two press conferences , marriage licenses began to get issued at 3 PM CDT.

I also got to see the wedding I missed in 2013 between Nikki and Will after they received their marriage license.  I was also honored to see a friend and community ally in Daniel Williams marry his longtime partner Jason before bouncing from the courthouse with my friend Sahel Chen, who had joined me at the courthouse to watch the fun and pass out roses to the soon to be married couples, for a rally that started at 5 PM at Discovery Green.

That marriage rally was previously planned for today whether or not the ruling was released, and was attended by over 500 deliriously happy people, and featured speakers such as Mayor Annise Parker, LGBT politicians and community leaders, and other LGBT friendly legislators and allies.

That historic day ended for me around 9 PM, and it`s one I won`t soon forget.   Neither will the historians.

   

Shut Up Fool Awards--Fools Everywhere Edition

As our TransGriot Shut Up Fool Awards mascot has often said,  Fools are everywhere.

And they have come out to play in a week leading up to a historic SCOTUS ruling combined with the right wing trying to tapdnce around the fact that one of their southen fried white supremacist bigots shot and killed 9 Black people in a Charleston, SC church.

So yeah, I know y`all wish to get right to this week`s TransGriot SUF winner is, and I needed extra time to determine it with the avalanche of late entries for the honor.

But with you TransGriot readers help, we have a winner.

This weeks fool is a Lone Star State one in longtime LGBT suburban LGBT hater Rick Scarborough.

Scarborough loudly  was sellin` woof tickets to the conservasheeple by claiming he would set himself on fire if the SCOTUS ruled to make same sex marriage the law of the land,   Now that that has happened, as I suspected, he has quickly done what all conservafools do by reneging on what hey say,

Yo dude, you need to make your deeds match your words, and I know more than a few peeps in the Houston area who would be happy to supply you with the gasoline and matches to immolate yourself.

All you have done is one again proved what lying you know whats you faux faith based haters really are.

Rick Scarborough, shut up fool!

Cisgender Added To Oxford Dictionary

Our TERF haters love to flap their gums and claim cisgender not only isn't a word, but weakly try to claim the word is a slur.

As we say in the Lone Star State, that dog won't hunt any more thank to recent news.

Because the English language is one that is constantly evolving, the Oxford English Dictionary adds words to it every year,  This year, one of the nearly 500 words added to the volume that is considered the definitive and authoritative volume when it comes to English in addition to twerk was cisgender.

That sound you just heard was TERF heads exploding,

Yep,  cisgender is now officially an English language word, so  you can stop telling that lie that it isn't.  

It will be not only included in the 2015 edition of the Oxford dictionary, but will soon be included in other online and offline dictionaries that look to the Oxford one as their standard for deciding what words do and don't get included.

Countdown To A SCOTUS Ruling

The clock is ticking toward the end of this latest 2014-2015 term of the Supreme Court session, with the country anxiously awaiting a ruling that could open the door to marriage equality becoming the law of the land.

If that ruling does come down eithe today, Friday or on Monday, looks like the GOP establishment in Texas is prepared to go the Massive Resistance 3,0 route that Alabama has tried to keep its LGBT citizens from exercising that right to marry,

Looks like the GOP county clerks in Texas are already prepping to not be ready to issue marraige licenses to the couples who wish to have them and that list includes Stan Stanart of Harris County.

Elections matter people, so take out your frustrations about Stanart and his partisan actions along with all the other GOP oppressors at the ballot box next year.

As for which way I think it will go, I believe in this hyperpartisan SCOTUS, it will probably be a 5-4 decision.

We will also be wondering in Trans World what effect this ruling will have on our ability to get married since it was negatively affected by the push that started in 2003 for same gender marriage.

But in the interim, all eyes in LGBT America will be turned toward Washington DC.. tuned to news stations and reading their fave blogs to find out what happens when that long awaited SCOTUS opinion is released.

The Confederate Flag Represents A Heritage Of Hate

Been keeping up with the terrorist attack in Charleston, SC that led to the deaths of nine people at Mother Emanuel AME Church by white supremacist Dylann Roof.

It has been interesting to see how fast the conservafool media has been quick to revoke his white male card and try to disassociate themselves from the fact he was one of theirs, weaned on FOX Noise and other anti-Black hate speech.

First they tried to avoid even calling it a terrorist attack, but had to drop that attempted talking point when his anti-Black manifesto came out.  

Then it was the conservafool media trying to paint Roof as a `lone wolf`, `disturbed`,`mentally ill`, et cetera.

Nope, he`s a ` Real American` and all yours.  Deal with the consequences of pushing nonstop anti-Black hatred for fun and political advantage combined with lax gun laws leading to dead Black people.

Now that it has also resulted in renewed attention on the Confederate flag as a symbol of hate that needed to die 150 years ago, we hear the whining coming from groups like like the Sons of Confederate Veterans trying to pimp that `Heritage Not Hate` BS.

Don't even try it.  The Confederate flag not only represented a group of traitorous states that fomented an armed rebellion against the US government, they did so for the sole purpose of keeping my people perpetually enslaved.

You are still bitter you lost 'The War To Perpetuate Slavery`and have been taking your Civil War defeat out on Black people ever since.

And when my people began to march against unjust Jim Crow laws in the 1950s and 1960s, you unfurled that flag across the South as a big middle finger to us and the country.  You rallied around that racist flag in order to don pointed white hoods and conduct terrorist attacks aimed at Black people an intimidate righteous white people into silence.

That flag has a 150 year heritage of hate, and it is past time that it be consigned to the dustbin of history.  It is also past time we tell the truth about that flag being anything but honorable.

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Team USA Watch- Playing Colombia

FIFA number four ranked Team USA gets its first match in knockout round play later tonight against a familiar opponent in FIFA number 10 ranked Colombia.  

The last time these teams met, it was during group play in the 2012 London Games, and it resulted in a 3-0 USA victory.

It's also a match that Abby Wambach probably remembers well because of the not so ladylike sucker punch she received from Lady Andrade that earned her a two game suspension.

Here they are again, fighting to not only stay alive in the knockout rounds, but face China.

Should be a fun match, and go Team USA!

Moni's Excellent Night With The Houston Dash

Been a rough week for me, and I got the opportunity thanks to Mike Craig to knock things off my Houston bucket list.  

I got the opportunity to on a cooler than normal Saturday night to not only check out BBVA Compass Stadium for the first time, but watch the Houston Dash play.

It was the first time since 2001 I'd gotten the opportunity to see a Houston based women's professional sports franchise play a game since the dearly departed Houston Comets played WNBA games in the former arena that is now Joel Osteen's sanctuary.

That's another post and another sport, so back to focusing on our femme footballers.

The opposition for the Dash was the Western New York Flash, and the Dash were missing six total players who were doing Women's World Cup duty for the USA and Canadian squads.  Carli Lloyd, Meghan Klingenberg and Morgan Brian were playing for Team USA and Erin McLeod, Lauren Sesselman and Allysha Chapman for the host Canadians. 

The Dash coming into this game were on a bit of a hot streak, having gone unbeaten in four straight games and looking to extend that streak in this World Cup shortened 2015 NWSL season in which every match is critical and only the top four teams make the playoffs.

My seats were in section 110, in the corner where I could along with the rest of the peeps who came see the corner kicks and all the action developing in front of goal.  We.also had a Latino guy in our section named Carlos who was attending the game as an early Father's Day gift from his wife and he was making this even more fun.

It took a while but we were finally rewarded with a Dash goal in the 24th minute as Jessica McDonald headed the ball into the upper left hand corner for her 5th goal of the season and a 1-0 Dash lead they would take into halftime.

The party continued for us and Carlos as Kealia Ohai, the sister in law of Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing, scored her third goal of the season in the 63th minute to build a 2-0 lead and grant Carlos' wish for a Dash victory, three points in the standings and just one point away from first place.

Carlos even got us and the 3,400 peeps in attendance after several tries to do the wave.

Mike had another surprise for us when the game was over and we got to meet a Dash player after the match.

That player turned out to be Dash forward Ella Masar.   She signed autographs and took photos with us to cap off a thoroughly enjoyable evening for me and my crew.

Can't wait to check out another Dash game, and the next time it'll be when all of our players doing World Cup duty will be back.

Pope Francis, Stop Attacking Trans People!

One of the things I've been more than pissed off about is the disgusting pattern since 2003 of anti-trans rhetoric and hate speech coming from first Pope Benedict, and now Pope Francis.

Since you compared trans people to nuclear weapons, time for me to drop a truth bomb on you.

Stop demonizing and attacking trans people.  Your words are leading to the deaths of trans women in Latin America and Eastern Europe, and you need to chill with that.

Trans people are part of the diverse creation of human life, and we aren't going away or into hiding.

Instead of the church you head demonizing us, you should be first and foremost in taking the lead on trans international human rights issues, and it's disappointing to trans Catholics (if their are any left) and our supportive families, friends and allies around the world that you aren't using your voice to advocate on our behalf.

So on this Sunday morning Your Holiness, I have a simple request that I and probably other trans people of faith around the globe will be echoing when we say our prayers later this morning.

Will you stop demonizing trans people and realize that we too are created in God's image?

We'll see if that prayer will be answered.

Time To Root Out US Embassy Transphobia

Last month I talked about the situation of Amruta Soni, an Indian trans person whose visa application was held up to visit the United States to attend the recently concluded Philadelphia Trans Health Conference.

Soni eventually got her visa and was able to get to Philadelphia for the conference and her panel.

But I'm hearing disturbing news that it has happened once again for another group of trans women trying to get visas to travel to the US for an event, and I'm not a happy camper about that.

According to the Washington Blade, three Central American trans feminine activists, Mixair Nolasco, Stacy Vasquez  Velasquez and Ambar Alvarado Alfaro from Panama, Guatemala and El Salvador were invited to attend the Organization of American States (OAS) General Assembly that took place June 15-16.  

They unfortunately missed it because they were denied visas by embassy personnel in their home nations.

The trio brought their passports, the OAS invitations, and all necessary paperwork in conjunction with their visa applications for those embassy visa interviews, but were denied by US Embassy personnel working in those nations.

One embassy staffer exhibited a shocking level of ignorance by not even knowing what the Washington DC headquartered OAS was.

These nations these trans women are from are also nations in which the human rights situation for trans persons is problematic, as the recent murder of a Salvadoran trans activist is a glaring example of.

The Inter American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) LGBT Rapporteurship was aware of the situation, and not happy these activists could be there to testify about the conditions for trans women in these Central American nations.  The IACHR has previously expressed concerns about the inability of trans person to travel to Washington DC to participate and testify in hearings concerning human rights related issues in the Americas.

Randy Berry, the US special envoy to promote global LGBT rights, insists there isn't a problem and told the Blade, "I'm quite satisfied that there is not an issue of discrimination on the issue of gender identity.  As a policy point we work very, very hard against it."

But tell that BS to Amruta Soni and the trans activists who were denied an opportunity to tell their stories at the just concluded OAS General Assembly.

You have a transphobia problem in various US embassies that it negatively impacting the ability of international trans people to travel to the US for whatever reason they need to do so. 

And that problem needs to be fixed.

Nicole's 'Royal Pains' Episode To Be Broadcast June 23

I mentioned in a recent post I wrote about her last month that the amazing trans teen Nicole Maines was taping an episode of USA Network's show Royal Pains

Well, get ready to set your DVRs because that episode in which she plays a character named Anna will be broadcast starting June 23.

Will be looking forward to seeing it when it gets broadcast, and hope it leads to more acting work for you.

And best of luck to you as you start your freshman year of college

Let The Tapdancing About This Latest Domestic Terror Attack Begin

Wednesday night 21 year old Dylann Roof walked into a side door of the historic Emanuel AME Church in Charleston SC and attended a Bible study happening there for an hour/

He then whipped out a concealed handgun and began shooting the attendees, killing 9 people and wounding three before being captured after a 14 hour manhunt yesterday.. 

His stated reason according to one of the survivors, was that "I have to do it.  You're raping our women and taking over the country. You have to go."

And homey was involved with white supremacist groups.   So what do you think the good people at FOX Noise had to say about this domestic terrorism situation involving one of those good conservative Americans?   That it happened because of 'America's acceptance of trans people like Caitlyn Jenner', bellowed Erik Erickson.

Yep, they are in full distract, deflect and 'blamed the victim. mode.  They are also trying to play that tired 'lone crazed wolf' card.

Anything to deflect from the fact that this is the living breathing manifestation of anti-Black hatred they have pushed on right wing talk radio and FOX Noise.    Hate thoughts + hate speech + unfetter gun ownership = hate violence.

So stay tuned to see how the conservative movement tries to whitesplain away this hate crime committed by another white male weaned on their relentless anti-Black talking points?

Rest In Peace, Mercedes

It's my sad duty to inform you TransGriot readers about the murder of another US trans woman.

According to the Advocate, 17 year old Mercedes Williamson's body was found May 30 by George County Alabama police.

Her alleged killer, 28 year old Josh Brandon Vallum, was charged with Williamson's murder several days after police recovered the teen's body.

He is reportedly a longtime member of the Latin Kings gang, and confessed to his father on June 1 that he'd killed someone.   Bobby Vallum reported the conversation to the police, who found Williamson's partially decomposed body hidden under debris on the property around  9 AM on June 2.

Mercedes Williamson's life was sadly ended before she even had a chance to live it.   That's what pisses me off about these murders of our trans kids.   I hope and pray justice is served in this case.

rest in power and peace, Mercedes.

Shut Up Fool Awards- Moni's Moving Edition

After a drama filled run to get to this point,  I finally moved out of the place I've called home for the last six months yesterday.

I'm still trying to find a new landing spot, and after moving my belongings to a storage facility, I'm spending the next few days at a friend's house destressing from the events of the last month while working on trying to find a new place without that time pressure bearing down upon me.

Thanks to Dee Dee Watters and Nikki Araguz Loyd for their help on Wednesday and Thursday getting the process started.  I also thank all of you who have contributed to my moving fund which is just $300 short of the target and those of you who have offered multiple places to choose from to stay while I find a solution to my housing situation.

Still time to donate and I thank you for doing so.  On the let side of the blog is a tip jar button that goes to my PayPal.

Dee Dee and I have some leads on a new place to call our own, and hopefully they will pan out in an expeditious manner.

Now, enough jibber-jabber about me, I know what y'all surfed over here for.   It's Friday, and while I was contemplating where I wanted to live, I also was contemplating what fool, fools or group of fools would be getting called out in this week's edition of the TransGriot Shut Up Fool Awards.

So let's get right to it shall we?

Honorable mention number one goes to every kneegrow who tried to defend Rachel Dolezal's fake Black feminine alleged bisexual behind.

Her 15 minutes of fame have long since expired.  Time for you to have several seats and a nice steaming cup of shut the hell up.

Honorable mention number two is a group award for everybody in Conservaworld tapdancing around another domestic terrorist attack and hate crime committed by a Real American like them, avoiding any mention of the systemic racism and anti-Black rhetoric they inflame conservasheeple like Roof with, trying to blame the victims and spin it as an 'attack on Christianity'/

Oh yeah, it most certainly is.  Another example of the centuries old historic pattern of white supremacists attacking Black churches and the people who attend them.

Honorable mention number three is LMPD Sgt Dave Mulchler, the president of the local FOP branch in Louisville who stupidly sent out an open letter threatening retaliation against any citizen who questions police actions in the wake of a fatal police shooting that has inflamed local tensions

He was rebuked by Mayor Greg Fischer (D) hours after releasing it.

“I appreciate that emotions are high after the tragic event of last week,” he said. “This letter does not reflect the sentiments of me or the vast majority of Louisville’s citizens, who know that we are all on the same page, working to build safe and strong communities for all of our families. We are in this together — police who put their lives on the line to keep us safe while building strong relationships of trust, and community members, who must be engaged citizens involved in our efforts to create a compassionate, thriving Louisville. Rather than incite anger and distrust between the police and the community, my administration will continue to work to build those critical relationships and the trust they create.”

Of course, Mulchler is now zipping his lips and not saying jack to the media after opening mouth and inserting badge in it.

Honorable mention number four is another group award for the nine GOP Kansas legislators who filed a complaint against Valdenia Winn (D-Kansas City) an African-American legislator who called them out on their racist anti-immigrant legislation.

A special Uncle Ruckus Award goes to the two kneegrow Republicans who allowed themselves to be used as sellout human shields so the white Republicans would appear less racist for what they are trying to pull

Honorable mention number five is FOX Noise' Erick Erickson, who blamed the Wednesday terror attack at Emanuel AME Church on transgender people.

Honorable mention number six is Alveda King.  She was cooning it up on FOX Noise trying the blame the Charleston terror attack on legalized abortion.

Damn, isn't your 15 minutes up yet?

This week's winner is Pope Francis, who every time he takes one positive step forward, takes another two backwards by saying something jacked up

Once again the toxic anti-trans hatred Paul McHugh injected into the Vatican ranks reared its ugly head yesterday when he wrote as part of a 184 page encyclical that "transpeople should accept their God given bodies  and not seek to manipulate them."

Hey Your Transphobiness, don't know what McHugh has been telling you, but transsexuality is not a sin.  

That's also why medical professionals have called for society to stop attacking transpeople and embrace them as the church you head should be leading the way in doing, but tragically fail at.

And I accept my beautiful trans body that was created by God along with the millions of other transpeople on the planet who are sick and tired of your attacks on our humanity.

Since you are a man of science, why don't you consult with experts in the field of transsexuality instead of a discredited quack?   And yes, I'll remind you that trans people are part of the diverse mosaic of human life

Have several seats in St Paul's Cathedral and shut up fool

Juneteenth 2015-Up, Up, You Mighty Black Trans Texans!

150 years ago today Union Major General Gordon Granger ascended a balcony at Ashton Villa in Galveston, TX and read General Order Number 3 that proclaimed that all slaves in Texas were free. 

Last year in honor of Juneteenth I wrote a post that called for all Black trans Texans to engage in a Juneteenth o our own to emancipate ourselves from the mental plantations we inhabit and stride boldly into facing the world as our true selves..

Yes, trans rights are international human rights.  We are at a tipping point moment that sees us on the verge of making them a reality around the world. Even a red trending purple Texas can't resist the forward momentum of trans human rights forever.  If we want a Texas that protects our human rights as trans people, we will need to show up, show out and fight tooth and nail to make it a reality. 
--TransGriot June 19,2014

It has been a tough year for us.  We beat back with the help of our allies the attempts of two transphobic Republican legislators to criminalize being trans and incentivize bullying of trans kids.

One of the names we will memorialize at TDOR in November is 24 year old Ty Underwood of Tyler,.

While the perpetrator in the Underwood case has been caught and is awaiting trial, we still have much work to do to promote a culture in Texas and beyond that emphatically proclaims #BlackTransLivesMatter. just as much as cisgender Black lives do.

While we fought off anti-trans legislation in our state this time, the transphobes will try it again in 2017, and we need to start preparing now to deal with that.   Dee Dee and I must have help in the next legislative session from other Black trans people around the state.   We cannot continue to be the ONLY Black transpersons willing to go to Austin and walk the halls of our state capitol to lobby our state reps and state senators.   Our legislators need to see more of you from Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Beaumont, Tyler, Austin and those of you who live in small towns across our ginormous state.

We also need to be involved in he life of straight and SGL Black America as well.   We need to show up and handle the community's business on issues of importance to ALL of us as Black Texans and Black Americans.

So up, up you might Black Texans!  Your community, your state, and your country need you to stand tall and represent.

.  

2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Team USA Watch- On To The Knockout Round

Group play at the 2015 Women's World Cup has been concluded, and we now know which 16 teams are still alive in the chase for the FIFA women's world championship trophy and which ones are packing to go home.

For the rest of the tournament. you play until somebody wins or loses.  If the score is tied after 90 minutes plus stoppage time. you get 30 more minutes plus stoppage time to break the deadlock.  If it's still tied after that, a penalty kick shootout to determine who moves on.

The FIFA number four ranked USA is one of those sixteen teams.   They survived the 'Group Of Death' and advanced as the Group D winner.   By winning the group, they now reap the rewards of a less difficult road to the July 5 final in Vancouver.

But one of the burning questions in the inquiring minds of Team USA fans is are the struggles they've had generating offense lately over now that Alex Morgan is back in the lineup and getting her match fitness level back?

As long as they play defense the way they have been over the last three matches, all they need is to generate just enough offense to carry the day.   Hope Solo has been brilliant as usual in net, and is working on 243 minutes and counting in not allowing an opposing team's shot to pass her and enter the goal.

But first they will have to go through the Group F third place team in Colombia, who are making noise in this Women's World Cup tournament.   They were ranked 28th in the FIFA world rankings before it started, but after shocking FIFA number 3 ranked France 2-0 in Group F play, they have rocketed up to number 10 in the FIFA rankings.

So Team USA is acutely aware of the fact they can't fall asleep against this team.  Abby Wambach is probably more motivated than anyone else on Team USA to deliver some personal payback after she got sucker punched by Lady Andrade during the waning moments of a 3-0 USA win a 2012 Olympic tournament group match play.

Should they get past Colombia, the winner of the China-Cameroon match awaits in Ottawa on June 26.  Should they be successful in that match, they will play a semifinal match at Montreal's Olympic Stadium on June 30 with one of the teams in the other half of their bracket that include FIFA number one Germany, FIFA number 3 ranked France, a possible rematch with FIFA number 8 Sweden, and South Korea.

The knockout round starts June 20, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

All The Seven Sisters Will Admit Trans Feminine Students

The Seven Sisters are a group of historical elite women's collegiate institutions in the Northeast US founded between 1837-1889 whose primary was to not only give female students a liberal arts education equivalent to men, but provide opportunities for women in academia. 

The Seven Sisters received that nickname in 1927 and are Barnard College,in New York City; Bryn Mawr College, in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA; Radcliffe College in Cambridge, MA; Smith College in Northampton, MA; Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, NY; and Wellesley College in Wellesley, NY.

Radcliffe and Vassar were once women only colleges, but became coed institutions.  The remaining Seven Sisters institutions had debate about the issue, but decided to remain women's colleges.

They were founded  in an era in which their mission was to give women a college education, and they have been exceedingly successful at that mission. 

The Seven Sisters count as their alumni such notable people as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Emily Dickinson, Secretary of State Madeline K. Albright, Diane Sawyer, Glenda Hatchett, Debra Martin Chase,Yolanda King, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Joan Rivers, Cynthia Nixon, Ntozake Shange, Molly Ivins, Gloria Steinem and Katharine Hepburn along with thousands of other alums around the world that include several friends of mine..

But in the late 20th and early 21st century, the question of how to accommodate transgender students has arisen. The  definition of womanhood has evolved, but the admissions policies of the Seven Sisters haven't.   Those hypocritical policies allowed trans men to matriculate on those campuses if they started their transitions after being admitted as female bodied people but barred trans feminine students from even enrolling.

When Calliope Wong was denied admission at Smith, that brought new scrutiny to those Smith policies and triggered reexamination of those policies to ensure they admitted all women who wished to attend.

Mount Holyoke because the first of the Seven Sisters to admit trans feminine students in 2014, and now Barnard College starting this fall will do so.

“As expected, a wide range of passionate and deeply held beliefs were discussed and debated,” Barnard’s president, Debora Spar, and the chair of its board of trustees, Jolyne Caruso-FitzGerald, wrote in a joint June 4 letter to the Barnard community. “But on two main points, the responses were compelling and clear.

“There was no question that Barnard must reaffirm its mission as a college for women. And there was little debate that trans women should be eligible for admission to Barnard.”

Barnard will consider applications from anyone who now “consistently identifies as a woman,” but not those who have transitioned to become men, or those whose gender identity is fluid.

It will be interesting to see what happens now that trans feminine students can matriculate at Barnard and the other Seven Sisters campuses.