2011 White House Holiday Photo

Yep, it's that time again.   Since Christmas Day is only a week away, here's the First Family holiday photo for 2011.   Happy holidays to all my TransGriot readers!

Is it me or does Malia favor the POTUS and Sasha resemble the FLOTUS?   .

Another Obama Campaign Promise Kept-The Iraq War Is Over

After 4500 US dead, 100,000 Iraqi civilian deaths and nearly nine years, our troops are headed home for good from a conflict that should have never been jumped off in the first place.

Elections matter people.   Remember that on November 6, 2012

POTUS Issues Memorandum To Advance International LGBT Human Rights

Need any more evidence left wing haters of President Obama that this is the most TBLG friendly administration in American history?

Peep this memorandum that was issued today. 

The struggle to end discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons is a global challenge, and one that is central to the United States commitment to promoting human rights.  I am deeply concerned by the violence and discrimination targeting LGBT persons around the world  whether it is passing laws that criminalize LGBT status, beating citizens simply for joining peaceful LGBT pride celebrations, or killing men, women, and children for their perceived sexual orientation.  That is why I declared before heads of state gathered at the United Nations, "no country should deny people their rights because of who they love, which is why we must stand up for the rights of gays and lesbians everywhere."  Under my Administration, agencies engaged abroad have already begun taking action to promote the fundamental human rights of LGBT persons everywhere.  Our deep commitment to advancing the human rights of all people is strengthened when we as the United States bring our tools to bear to vigorously advance this goal.

Is it November 6 yet?

POTUS Honors Veterans At Arlington National Cemetery

Before he and the FLOTUS hopped aboard Air Force One to start a nine day trip to Asia and the Pacific Rim, President Obama was at Arlington National Cemetery laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and thanking veterans for their service..

Remarks by the President on Veterans Day

11:40 A.M. EST
        THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, Ric Shinseki, for your extraordinary service to our country and your tireless commitment to our veterans; to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta; to Chairman Dempsey and Mrs. Dempsey; to our wonderful veterans service organizations for the extraordinary work that you do for our nation’s heroes; to all who tend to and watch over this sacred cemetery; and above all, to every active duty member, Guardsman, Reservist, and veteran of the United States Armed Forces.

        There are many honors and responsibilities that come with this job.  But none are more humbling than serving as your Commander-in-Chief.  And I’m proud to be with so many of you here today.
  
     Here, where our heroes come to rest, we come to show our gratitude.  A few moments ago, I laid a wreath to pay tribute to all who have given their lives to our country.  For even though this is a day we rightly honor America’s veterans, we gather today in solemn respect -– mindful that we are guests here; mindful that we share this hallowed space with a family’s moment of quiet grief; mindful that many veterans not far from here are tracing their fingers over black granite for friends who never came home –- and expect us to do all we can to bring every missing American service member home to their families.

        To all our nation’s veterans:  Whether you fought in Salerno or Samarra, Khe Sanh or the Korengal, you are part of an unbroken chain of men and women who have served this country with honor and distinction.  On behalf of a proud and grateful nation, we thank you.

        When I spoke here on this day two years ago, I said there would be a day before long when this generation of servicemen and women would begin to step out of uniform.  And I made them a promise.  I said that when your tour ends, when you see our flag, when you touch our soil -– you will be home in an America that is forever here for you, just as you’ve been there for us.  (Applause.)

        For many, that day has come.  Over the past decade, more than 5 million Americans have worn the uniform of the United States Armed Forces.  Of these, 3 million stepped forward after the attacks of September 11th, knowing full well that they could be sent into harm’s way.  And in that time, they have served in some of the world’s most dangerous places.  Their service has been selfless.  Their accomplishments have been extraordinary.

        In Iraq, they have battled a brutal insurgency, trained new security forces and given the Iraqi people the opportunity to forge a better future.  In Afghanistan, they have pushed back the Taliban, decimated al Qaeda, and delivered the ultimate justice to Osama bin Laden.  In concert with our allies, they have helped end Qaddafi’s brutal dictatorship and returned Libya to its people.

        Because of their incredible efforts, we can stand here today and say with confidence -– the tide of war is receding.  In just a few weeks, the long war in Iraq will finally come to an end.  (Applause.)  Our transition in Afghanistan is moving forward.  My fellow Americans, our troops are coming home.  (Applause.)
        For many military families, this holiday season will be a season of homecomings.  And over the next five years, more than 1 million Americans in uniform will transition back to civilian life, joining the nearly 3 million who have done so over the past decade and embraced a proud new role, the role of veteran.
        This generation of service members -– this 9/11 Generation -– has borne the burden of our security during a hard decade of sacrifice.  Our servicemen and women make up less than 1 percent of Americans, but also more than 1 million military spouses and 2 million children and millions more parents and relatives -- all of whom have shared the strains of deployment and sacrificed on behalf of the country that we love.

        Only 27 years old on average, these young men and women have shattered the false myth of their generation’s apathy, for they came of age in an era when so many institutions failed to live up to their responsibilities.  But they chose to serve a cause greater than their selves.  They saw their country threatened.  But they signed up to confront that threat.  They felt some tug, they answered some call, and they said, Let’s go.  And they’ve earned their place among the greatest of generations.  (Applause.)

        That is something for America to be proud of.  That is the spirit America needs now -- a stronger, newer spirit of service and of sacrifice.  That spirit that says, What can I do to help?  What can I do to serve?  That spirit that says, When my country is challenged, I will do my part to meet that challenge.

        So on this Veterans Day, let us commit ourselves to keep making sure that our veterans receive the care and benefits that they have earned; the opportunity they defend and deserve; and above all, let us welcome them home as what they are -- an integral, essential part of our American family.  (Applause.)

        See, when our men and women sign up to become a soldier or a sailor, an airman, Marine, or Coast Guardsman, they don’t stop being a citizen.  When they take off that uniform, their service to this nation doesn’t stop, either.  Like so many of their predecessors, today’s veterans come home looking to continue serving America however they can.  At a time when America needs all hands on deck, they have the skills and the strength to help lead the way.

        Our government needs their patriotism and sense of duty.  And that’s why I’ve ordered the hiring of more veterans by the federal government.  (Applause.)  Our economy needs their tremendous talents and specialized skills.  So I challenged our business leaders to hire 100,000 post-9/11 veterans and their spouses over the next few years and yesterday, many of these leaders joined Michelle to announce that they will meet that challenge.  (Applause.)

        Our communities have always drawn strength from our veterans’ leadership.  Think of all who have come home and settled on in a quiet life of service -- as a doctor or a police officer, an engineer or an entrepreneur, as a mom or a dad -- and in the process, changed countless lives.  Other veterans seek new adventures from taking on a new business to building a team of globetrotting veterans who use skills learned in combat to help after a natural disaster.

        There are also so many in this young generation who still feel that tug to serve, but just don’t quite know where to turn.  So on this Veterans Day, I ask every American, recruit our veterans.  If you’re a business owner, hire them.  If you’re a community leader -- a mayor, a pastor or a preacher -- call on them to join your efforts.  Organize your community to make a sustained difference in the life of a veteran because that veteran can make an incredible difference in the life of your community.

        If you’re a veteran looking for new ways to serve, check out Serve.gov.  If you’re a civilian looking for new ways to support our veterans and our troops, join Michelle and Jill Biden at JoiningForces.gov.  Find out what you can do.  There is no such thing as too small a difference.  That effort you make may have the biggest impact.

        I say this because recently, I received a letter from a Vietnam veteran.  She wasn’t writing to tell me about her own experience.  She just wanted to tell me about her son, Jeremy.  Now, Jeremy isn’t deployed, Jeremy’s not a veteran, or even in the military at all, as badly as he wants to follow in the footsteps of his family and enlist.  You see, Jeremy has Down Syndrome.

        So Jeremy chooses to serve where he can best -– with his local Vietnam Veterans of America chapter in Beaver, Pennsylvania.  He calls them “the soldiers”.  And one day last spring, Jeremy spent the day with several of these veterans cleaning up a local highway.

        “He worked tirelessly,” wrote his mother.  “He never asked to take a break.  He didn’t stop to talk about his beloved Steelers.  He didn’t even ask for anything to eat or drink.  He only asked for one thing, several times –- ‘Mom, will President Obama be proud of me for helping the soldiers?’”

        Well, Jeremy, I want you to know, yes, I am proud of you.  I could not be prouder of you, and your country is proud of you.  Thank you for serving our veterans by helping them to continue their service to America.

        And Jeremy’s example -- one young man’s example -- is one that we must all now follow.  Because after a decade of war, the nation we now need to build is our own.  And just as our Greatest Generation left a country recovering from Depression and returned home to build the largest middle class in history, so now will the 9/11 Generation play a pivotal role in rebuilding America’s opportunity and prosperity in the 21st century.

        We know it will be hard.  We have to overcome new threats to our security and prosperity, and we’ve got to overcome the cynical voices warning that America’s best days are behind us.  But if there is anything our veterans teach us, it’s that there is no threat we cannot meet; there is no challenge we cannot overcome.  America’s best days are still ahead.  And the reason for that is because we are a people who defy those voices that insist otherwise.  We are a country that does what is necessary for future generations to succeed.  (Applause.)

        You, our veterans, fight so our children won’t have to.  We build and we invent and we learn so that we will know greater opportunity.  America leads so that the next generation, here and around the world, will know a more hopeful life on this Earth.

        So today, I thank you all for making that possible.  God bless you.  God bless our veterans and our troops, and God bless the United States of America.  (Applause.)

366 Days From Election Day 2012

366 days from now (because next year is a leap year) we will be headed to the polls on this date to cast our ballots in an election that will decide if President Obama and his family get four more years living at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, who gets control of Congress and various state legislatures and governor's mansions.

We'll get to see the Democratic Convention in Charlotte, NC and the GOP nominee give his (or her) speech in Tampa, FL.  

And oh yeah, just thought I'd point out that control of the Supreme Court will also be up for grabs as well pending who gets elected as president.  Justices Antonin Scalia and Anthony Kennedy ain't getting any younger.

As Rachel Maddow put it in one of the commercials for her show, it is literally coming down to a fundamental choice on what policy directions we will take as a nation. 

Do we want to continue the insanity of 1% of the country continuing to get paid, pay no taxes on that money and game the political system of this nation while the 99% of us not in that economic stratosphere continue to see stagnant wages and continuing unfairness in the system?   

Do we continue with you, me and other working class people paying more taxes than corporations and billionaires?

Do we buy the GOP bull feces that we can't afford to spend on our crumbling infrastructure or sending job overseas and killing Social Security and Medicaid instead of employing Americans at home and taxing the superrich and corporations will 'reduce the deficit'?

What kind of America we and our kids and grandkids will live in,  the type of policies that will come out of our local, state and federal governments, and the future course of American history will be hinging on how many of us got up off our collective azzes and voted that day.

The conservafools like the way things are going now and they don't want the party to end.   If we want to have an America that emphasizes fairness, shared sacrifice and equitable distribution of wealth in this country, then we need to get busy today electing the politicians that will help make it happen.

Occupy Wall Street protests aren't going to be enough.  To make the type of change that you want to happen in the system, you need to Occupy the Voting Booth and continue to do so in election after election at the local, state and federal level until you die.

After November 6, 2012 it'll be our job to keep the pressure on their behinds to ensure they are doing what the people want instead of what the corporations want. 

Let's get busy, people.   Election Day 2012 will be here before we know it. 
 

The Best President Ever On Trans Issues

In certain vanilla scented sectors of the rainbow community they are still throwing hissy fits because President Obama not only beat Hillary in the 2008 Democratic primary, but that he hasn't focused his term on their 'all marriage all the time' political agenda.

The 'Obama hasn't done anything for the gay community rant is getting about as tired as hearing the fiction that Lady Gaga does so much for the LGB(t) community.

From where I sit, President Obama has been the best president ever on transgender issues and let me count the ways in doing so.  If anything else happens trans wise in the Obama Administration, you'll find it in this post. 

Signed the Byrd-Shepard hate crimes bill (2009)
Signed the UN Declaration On Sexual Orientation And Gender Identity
Became the first president ever to name open transgender appointees to his administration
Appointed the first transgender DNC member ever in Diego Sanchez.
Conceived a National Resource Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Elders — the nation’s first ever — funded by a three-year HHS grant to SAGE
Appointed Amanda Simpson to his administration as a Department of Commerce senor technical advisor (2010)
New state department rules allowing passports with proper gender markers to be acquired without surgery (2011)
Closed door meeting with trans activists (2011)
Social Security Administration stops no match letter policy. (2011)
Banned job discrimination based on gender identity throughout the Federal government
Housing non-discrimination regulations from HUD. 
AOD 2011-3, the US Tax Court ruling that allows you to deduct your expenses from SRS off your taxes

As more trans related policy comes out of this administration, I will edit this post to reflect that.