Paula Sophia Makes It To Runoff For Oklahoma Legislative Seat

Paula Sophia gets a step closer to making history and becoming the first out transperson elected to a state legislative seat.

Tuesday night the Desert Storm vet and retired OKC cop advanced through the Democratic primary field in House District 88 to make it to the August 26 runoff election.

She will be competing against businessman and former pastor Jason Dunnington in that runoff election.  Because there is no Republican opponent in the HD 88 race, whoever wins the runoff will become the representative for that district.

If it's Paula, she would not only become the first transperson ever elected to the Oklahoma state legislature, she'd become the first out trans person nationally to accomplish the feat and be the first sitting trans state legislator since Althea Garrison did so in Massachusetts in 1992.

Good luck Paula, and hope you win that seat.
 

Transphobic 6 Term MP Rob Anders Defeated

Read some interesting news out of Alberta concerning a north of the border transphobic foe of ours in Conservative MP Rob Anders.

He has held his Calgary West federal riding since 1997 and been a lightning rod for criticism during his time on Parliament Hill.

In addition to insulting former South African president Nelson Mandela and Canadian veterans, and making a long list of gaffes, Canadian transpeople and their allies around the world remember him deploying the 'bathroom predator' meme when C-279, the Trans Rights Bill was introduced. 
The bill eventually passed the House of Commons in March 2013.

But his riding was recently redrawn, renamed Calgary Signal Hill and he faced stiff competition in this Conservative Party nomination fight for it against Ron Liepert, who was a cabinet finance minister in Alberta's Progressive Conservative provincial government.

It was a nasty intraparty battle that received national media attention in Canada.  Prime Minster Stephen Harper endorsed Anders, but it didn't help.  There were 3250 card carrying Conservative Party members eligible to vote in that nomination election yesterday, and 2400 voted.  

For the first time since 1997 Rob Anders has lost an election, and joy has broken out in the riding and elsewhere now that it has happened.  .  

While Liepert becomes the Tory nominee in Signal Hill when the next federal Canadian election is called in 2015, as for Anders, he still gets to serve as the MP until that happens. 

Anders also hasn't announced whether he will try to run for the Tory nomination in another riding in an attempt to get a seventh term in the House of Commons.  But based on the tweets I read and the joy being expressed over his defeat, he may want to reconsider that.    .
  

Mr. WSSU Election Wednesday

There's another election that has gotten my attention besides the mayoral one in Washington DC that is happening today.  

It's the one on the Winston-Salem State University campus Wednesday that will determine who wins Mr. WSSU.

We're about to find out whether using someone's personal information along with heaping helpings of transmisogyny and homophobia to smear them for an on campus election is a winning campaign strategy. 

I'm hoping the student body on the WSSU campus says no and they send a message with their ballots that they didn't like it either and Aaron emerges triumphant.

But it's in the students hands as to who they will elect as their Mr. WSSU representative and we'll have to respect the results.

But I don't have to respect the shady shenanigans that transpired over the last 48 hours.  

As Jane Vaughn said in her letter, 'Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for appalling silence of the good people." I refuse to stand in silence. I stand in active solidarity with Aaron McCorkle and others at WSSU who are marginalized and victimized for being their authentic selves.'


And I will stand in solidarity with you as well, in addition to using this blogging platform I have been blessed with to get the word out when people are being marginalized and victimized for being their authentic selves.

The Winston-Salem State University’s mission states, "Preparing diverse students for success in the 21st century..  In the 21st century a diverse student body also includes SGL, trans and bi students.

It's an example of why WSSU's short sighted removal of gender identity and expression language from their non-discrimination policies passed in 2008 was a mistake that needs to be rectified as soon as possible. 

This is also another prime example of why the Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act is sorely needed.   It is a bill that Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) revived the late Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) introduced back in 2010 that would require colleges and universities receiving federal aid to establish anti-harassment policies and recognize cyberbullying as harassment.   She did so after hearing about Kristopher Sharp's story, who is now working as an intern in her office.

Good luck Aaron, and hope we're hearing good news from you Wednesday.. 


TransGriot Update: Discovered the Mr WSSU election is actually happening Wednesday from 8 AM-8 PM EDT.  Post has been corrected to reflect this.    

And unfortunately, appears the hate speech did have an effect.  Aaron lost.

It's Officially Wendy vs Greg

The Texas primary elections were held yesterday and it's now official.   Wendy Davis is the Democratic Party nominee for governor.  

She cruised to victory over Ray Madrigal of Corpus Christi to become the first Democratic female gubernatorial nominee since Ann Richards did so in 1990 and 1994.

Meanwhile, as expected, Greg Abbott did the same on the Teapublican side.

So now the hard part begins of getting her elected.  Now that the Repugs have stopped slinging mud at each other, they are going to turn up the GOP Noise Machine to full blast and break out the lies in their attempt to hold onto the governor's mansion.

We have eight months to go.  

Houston 2013 Runoff Election-Talkin' To My District D Peeps

The early voting for the 2013 City of Houston runoff elections starts in a few hours and runs through December 10, with the final runoff election date on December 14.

In case you're wondering, the only thing Mayor Annise Parker will be doing on this date is voting in the two at large council races since she already won reelection for her third and final term back on November 5. 

We have runoff races in Council Districts A, D (where I live) and District I, and the Position 2 and 3 At large City Council seats are also being contested.

In District A it's a rematch between incumbent Helena 'Madame No' Brown and the woman Brown knocked out of that seat in 2011, former councilmember Brenda Stardig.

In District I the runoff for this open seat is between Robert Gallegos and Graciana 'Graci' Garces, the former chief of staff for term-limited District I Councilmember James Rodriguez..

In Position 2 incumbent councilmember Andrew Burks, Jr was forced into a runoff against David W. Robinson, and in District 3, the open seat that Jenifer narrowly missed getting into the runoff for, Michael Kubosh will square off against Roy Morales.
 
But I want to talk to my peeps in District D for a minute.

There have been some disquieting revelations coming out lately about Dwight Boykins, who along with Georgia Provost is one of the two candidates in the District D race vying to replace term limited Councilmember Wanda Adams.

Adams is leaving City Hall to move on to the HISD Board of Trustees after winning her school board race.    

We had twelve candidates that filed to run for this race.   Whoever gets that District D City Council seat will be representing our various communities in it for the next two years.

We already have an infuriating example of a white conservative Republican anti-TBLG activist in Dave Wilson misrepresenting himself as a Black person in order to get elected to the HCC board seat that represents our community and knocking out 24 year incumbent Bruce Austin in the process. 

In Wilson we now are stuck with for the next six years someone in that seat who is polar opposite of Bruce Austin.   Wilson doesn't live in our community, is a Tea Party member and doesn't have nor cares to acquire the cultural competency necessary to successfully represent our community's interests on the HCC Board.

But back to talking about the District D council race.

With the original Red light rail line crossing District D, the Purple Line under construction that is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2014 and the east-west Blue Line under design that will terminate near UH combined with worries about gentrification as a result of development along those light rail lines, there have been people in the district concerned about the historic levels of money business interests have poured into Boykins' campaign.  

But the one thing that is not sitting well with people and sending red flags up is his admission that he voted in the 2010 GOP primary.   That's a major problem if you're claiming to be a Democrat in this solidly yellow dog Democratic leaning predominately African-American council district because Republicans are as well liked in my part of town as a Longhorn fan in College Station.   DINO's get kicked out of seats in this district with the quickness.. 

For you TBLG Houstonians who live in District D, Boykins has the added problem of being evasive concerning where he stands in terms of adding gender identity and sexual orientation language to the City of Houston's non-discrimination ordinance. 

If Dwight Boykins is indeed the DINO he's been revealed to be, and more concerned with doing the GOP's bidding than standing up for District D's residents, it's not only great we found out now, but at a point where we can do something about it at the ballot box and vote for the other candidate in the race in Georgia Provost between now and December 14. 

Anything you find out about Boykins after December 14 or if he wins, after he's standing up there on January 1, 2014 taking the oath of office from Mayor Parker at the Wortham Theater is too late. Character and integrity matter in this runoff election. We've already seen the evidence that the Harris County GOP and its conservative acolytes like Wilson will stoop to any level to get elected.   Their unwavering support of voter suppression legislation is ample proof of that. 

I have no doubts their shady 'win by any means necessary' campaign tactics include running for office in our neighborhoods chocolate coated Republicans with little to no paper trail or history of service to our community.   They know that because an overwhelming majority of African-Americans reject the racist Texas GOP message, they know they couldn't win in this district with their standard 'proven conservative leadership' rhetoric spouting vote NO on everything obstructionist peeps like Helena Brown, much less a cookie chomping knee-grow spouting the usual Teapublican crap.  .

So District D peeps and 'errbody' else in H-town, you have until December 14 to handle your electoral business.   

Wendy's OFFICIALLY Running For Texas Governor!

Saturday was the first official day that candidates could file their paperwork in Austin to get on the March party primary ballots in the Lone Star State. 

Texas State Sen. Wendy Davis filed her paperwork in the first step to becoming Texas' 48th governor and attempt to become the third woman and first Democrat to do so since Ann Richards in 1990.

After filing, she came out swinging against the person widely expected to get the Teapublican nomination for governor in Greg Abbott.

Without mentioning him by name, she said, “It’s time for a governor who believes that you don’t have to buy a place in Texas’ future – inside deals, special interest tax breaks, favors for political cronies. That’s not how we ought to be doing business in Texas. Instead, it’s time to give all Texans a voice in their futureand a place in Texas’ future.”

At a recent UT-Brownsville event she redefined the GOP pet talking point that they are 'pro-life' and said she was as well

"I am pro-life," Sen. Davis said. "I care about the life of every child: every child that goes to bed hungry, every child that goes to bed without a proper education, every child that goes to bed without being able to be a part of the Texas dream, every woman and man who worry about their children's future and their ability to provide for that future." 


That redefinition sent the Teapublicans into a foaming at the mouth conservafrenzy, but she has a point.  The GOP is not pro-life, they are pro-birth.   They don't give a rat's anus about any life that doesn't look like them or isn't in their tax bracket.

And to make the GOP even more nervous that their stranglehold on the Governor's Mansion may be coming to an end, Davis is not only proving to be a formidable fundraiser, she's now trailing Abbott by 6 points in a recent poll.   That means they are already cranking up the smear machine full volume, and this governor's race will be the nastiest one since the Ann Richards-GW Bush one in 1994. 

But we still have a long way to go until November 2014.

It's A Threepeat For Mayor Parker!

For you folks who are coming down to Houston for Creating Change and wondering if Annise will still be in the mayor's chair when you arrive for the start of it January 29-February 2, the answer is yes.

Mayor Annise Parker was challenged by seven opponents, with the lead one being transphobic former city attorney Ben Hall.

She still romped to a convincing 57%-27% reelection win over her closest opponent to remain in our mayor's chair for her third and final two year term.

She continues the distinctions of being our second female mayor and Houston being the largest city in the United States led by an openly gay person. .  

“To the voters of Houston, thank you for renewing your trust in me, in the city, in our ability to come together to work together to continue to make Houston the best city it can possibly be. It is already a great, great international city, but the best can always be better,” said Mayor Parker in her victory speech. 

Unfortunately the news wasn't so good in the City Council at Large Position 3 race for the Houston trans community.

Jenifer Rene Pool missed getting into the runoff against front runner Michael Kubosh by 1125 votes to end her second attempt to become the first open trans person elected to City Council.

No word yet on whether Jenifer is going to attempt another run in the 2015 election cycle. 

The iconic Astrodome is likely headed for demolition as the referendum proposing to spend $217 million to repurpose and refurbish the Dome failed.   Either way it's going to cost Harris County money because demolition of the Eighth Wonder of the World has been estimated to cost $30 million.
 

Ben Hall Comes Out Of The Closet Against Houston LGBT Rights

For those of you who have perused my posts about the Houston city elections that are now in the early voting phase, you know I have not been a fan of former Houston city attorney Ben Hall, who is the leading challenger in current Mayor Annise Parker's quest for getting her third and final term as Houston's mayor.

He was trailing her in the last poll done on the race by double digits, but unless she polls more than 50% of the ballots cast in the early voting and November 5 ballot casting, it will go to a December runoff and he would probably be the person she faces in it.

Now I have another reason to not want this man sitting in the chair as my hometown's mayor.  If he were elected, he would become only the second African-American ever in Houston history to do so.

And he's not the person I want making that history.  Ben Hall's campaign literature claims he's for all of us living in the Houston city limits, unless you're a TBLG Houstonian.

Hall just confirmed in an interview on the KUHF-FM radio show Houston Matters what I point blank asked him at a mayoral candidate forum on October 14.  He is not only NOT in favor of adding sexual orientation and gender identity language to the city's non-discrimination policy,  Hall took it a step further and said he would repeal Executive Order 150, the one issued by Mayor Lee Brown that protects SGL city employees from discrimination.

Mayor Parker added trans city workers to Executive Order 150 coverage in 2010.

I'm not surprised he's coming out of the closet as a LGBT rights oppressor. He told me to my face at that candidate forum that he opposed it (and gave me a BS reason why) when I asked him at that mayoral forum I wrote. 

He flip-flopped from the municipal candidate questionnaire answers that he gave to the Harris County Democratic Party when he was seeking their endorsement in which he answered he would support a non-discrimination ordinance for all Houstonians, including those in the LGBT community.

Hall also failed to sit down with both the Houston Stonewall Young Democrats and the Houston
GLBT Political Caucus when those organizations were screening municipal candidates.

So how surprising is it to me or the Parker campaign that Piney Point Ben is caught in another situation in which his deeds don't match his lofty rhetoric?  

And FYI, in the KUHF-FM radio interview,  when a homophobic man called in to announce indignation towards Mayor Parker for offering protections to transgender Houstonians, Hall joined in on the hate by announcing that, in his opinion, it was unacceptable for transgendered people who are “anatomically another gender” to be treated as anything but the anatomical gender. Further, he doubled down on the prejudice by fully opposing a non-discrimination ordinance, calling homosexuality a “lifestyle choice.”

And you of all people who prosecuted discrimination cases for the city should know better. 

Okay Piney Point Ben, it's on like Donkey Kong now.  I'm not only not going to accept trans human rights crumbs in my hometown, I will fight tooth and nail against any rollback of the meager rights trans Houstonians employed by the city have courtesy of Executive Order 150 now.

So yeah, H-town trans and SGL community, y'all know what to do.  Handle your electoral business in the remaining early voting period and on November 5 to ensure Ben Hall  is not the person taking the oath of office for mayor in the Wortham Theater this January.  

Early Voting Starts For 2013 H-Town City Elections

At 8 AM CDT the polls open for the start of the early voting period for our city elections.  

If you've already made up your mind which candidates you're voting for and not seeing a bunch of TV ads or hearing radio spots isn't going to change it, you can get your vote on from now until November 1 at these various locations around the city and county. 

But if you feel like waiting until November 5 to do so because you need more time to become a better informed voter about the candidates, issues and ballot propositions, then that's all good as well.

Just make sure you cast your ballot before November 5.. 

Because the SCOTUS frakked with Section 4 of the VRA and AG Greg Abbott (R) couldn't wait to do so, the Texas GOP Voter Suppression Act is in place and you will need Photo ID to do so instead of just your yellow voter registration card.

And yeah Greg Abbott, I'm going to take out my pissivity over that GOP voter suppression bull feces out on you next year should you get out of the Teapublican Party primary.   I damned sure don't want your behind sitting in the governor's chair because it's clear you don't care about non-white citizens of Texas or their human rights.

But I have 13 months to riff on him.  Time to get back to focusing on the city elections and the early voting period starting in just a few hours.  

I'm hoping that Mayor Parker gets her third and final term at City Hall and that Jenifer Rene Pool makes history as well in her At Large Position 3 city council race. 

There is a twelve person field jockeying to see who will replace the term limited Wanda Adams (who is running for a seat on the HISD school board) and represent me and the residents of District D on City Council.  I've had conversations with two of the twelve in Assata Richards and Larry McKinzie.   But that decision is going to be a difficult one.

I had a nice chat with Carolyn Evans-Shabazz who is running for an At Large Position 5 city council seat during a recent forum that helped clarify where some of the candidates stood on the issues I felt were important to me and my community.   

But in any case, if you can do so, vote.   I definitely plan to do so, especially since I have an early voting location mere blocks from the house and I've always loved the convenience of voting on my schedule.  


We'll find out November 5 when the ballots are counted who won their seats outright or who will be headed to runoff elections that will take place in December.

Senator-Elect Cory Booker!

On behalf of the nation, thank you New Jersey for handling your electoral business yesterday and sending Newark Mayor Cory Booker to Washington as your next US senator. 

The rising Democratic political star entered this special election as a heavy favorite to claim the seat once held by the late Sen Frank Lautenberg and didn't disappoint. 

Booker crushed Steve Lonegan, the former state director of the Tea Baggers in New Jersey by garnering 713, 594 votes (54.6%) to Lonegan's 579,388 (44.3%) votes.

This special election was also taking place with the background noise of the GOP instigated government shutdown, something Booker noted when he spoke to his supporters in Newark. 


"It would have been easy to listen to this frustrating negativity and stay home today. But here in New Jersey, more than a million people rejected cynicism and came out on a Wednesday, in the middle of October, three weeks before we have another election, to fight the cynicism," he said.

"You didn't just vote, you believed that your vote and choice mattered," Senator-elect Booker said.

With the win Booker made a little African-American and political history.   He became the ninth African-American senator in US history, the first from New Jersey and the first Democratic senator elected from a state besides Illinois.   He is also only the fourth elected African-American senator in US history and the first elected since Barack Obama accomplished that feat in 2006.

Once he's sworn in, it will create for only the second occasion in US history two African-American senators serving in the Senate at the same time. More importantly, it restores the 55-45 Democratic edge in the Senate at least until November 4, 2014.

Senator-elect Booker will also have to run for the seat again next year since Sen. Lautenberg's term was due to expire in 2014.

Congratulations Senator-elect Booker on a historic night for you! 

Senator-elect Booker.   Gee, I love the sound of that!  

New Jersey, Handle Your Special Election Business!

Voters in New Jersey get to go to the polls today and handle their electoral business of selecting a new US senator to replace the late Sen Frank Lautenberg who passed away on June 3.

It's Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D) squaring off against Tea Klux Klanner Steve Lonegan to fill out the remainder of Lautenberg's term.

For most of the campaign Booker has maintained a double digit lead of 13 points on Lonegan but the race has tightened over the last few days to a mere 10 points.  Booker is favored to win in this election, but where's Nate Silver when you need him?

Since Sen Lautenberg was a Class 2 senator whose term was due to expire next year, the winner will have to run for reelection in the 2014 midterms in order to secure a full six year US Senate term

Should Cory Booker emerge victorious, he'll make a little political and African-American history.  He will not only become the ninth African-American senator in US history, but the first from New Jersey and the first Democratic senator elected from a state besides Illinois. 

So good luck Cory Booker!   Hope you win tonight.   We need somebody who will stand up for the interests of African-Americans in the Senate since it's obvious that cookie chomping conservative knee-grow from South Carolina won't. 
   

Happy Birthday Jenifer!

Another day, another TransGriot birthday shout out.

Today is Jenifer Rene Pool's birthday, and I presume these are the four things Jenifer is probably looking for when she blows out the candles on her birthday cake:  Your donations for her campaign, you to volunteer, your votes in our upcoming November 5 city election if you live in the Houston city limits and to be standing in the Wortham Center in January being sworn in as one of our city council members

And if you can't wait until November 5, early voting starts October 25.

Jenifer is running for the Position 3 at large council seat, so that means she's running to represent the entire city.  You can check out her campaign website and like her campaign Facebook page here. 

I hope all of those wishes come true for her and the community's sake because Jenifer would be a wonderful addition to Houston City Council.

But we still have a lot of hard work and sweat equity ahead to make that happen. 

Happy birthday Jenifer!  May you have many more and make a little history in the process.

Jenifer Announces Her Run For Houston City Council

She's been hard at work at it for several months, but yesterday Jenifer Rene Pool made it official and announced her candidacy for the Houston City Council At Large Position 3 seat on the steps of Houston City Hall.

And yeah, some blogger y'all know was there for the announcement a little after 3:30 PM CDT.  I wanted to be there to witness Houston and trans history.

If Jenifer is successful in this second run for a city council seat, we'll not only get to see her sitting on the inside of our art deco city hall in one of those nice green leather chairs handling the city's business, she would become the first open transperson in the city of Houston and the state of Texas to win public office.   She would also become the first trans person in the United States elected to the city council of a major US city over 1 million in population.

We're 90 days out from the start of early voting, and Jenifer's team is hitting the trail running because they are determined to make that history happen. 

Isaac and Kris Win!

Score one for the karnic wheel quickly working!

Congratulations to the new UH-Downtown student body president and vice president Isaac Valdez and Kristopher Sharp!

Sharp during the campaign was subjected to a vicious smear attack by some fool who has a future in the Texas Republican Party.  Fliers popped up on the UH-D campus disclosing Sharp's medical information on the back and urging students not to vote for the Valdez-Sharp ticket.

Those flyers seemed to have the opposite effect.  It not only pissed off people on campus, it galvanized the Houston LGBT community to help the ticket get elected and donations came pouring in.  The election was held last week with the Valdez-Sharp ticket romping to victory.

Glad to see that reprehensible tactic of using homophobic bigotry to win elections  failed this time and know that Isaac and Kris will be two wonderful student leaders at the head of UH-Downtown's student government ..

Now if they can catch the fool (or fools) who spread those flyers on campus in the first place.

Good Luck Kris!

One of the new folks I met on the UH-Downtown campus when I participated in their panel discussion last week was Kris Sharp, the UHD student body vice presidential candidate and junior social work student who was targeted by homobigots.

Somebody who has a future in Republican politics in this state or nationally (assuming they don't get arrested for the theft and misuse of Kris' medical information) created flyers with Sharp's medical information and HIV status

Of course, Sharp was flabbergasted this happened but doesn't want to prosecute this fool.

Sharp told the Houston Press, "There's a culture at UHD that is somewhat less accepting of LGBT youth, but something of this magnitude is completely mind-blowing. I knew, going into the election, that I could possibly be targeted because of my sexuality -- but I had no idea that it would go to this level."

The person then followed up their initial criminally shady behavior by impersonating Sharp online and claiming in an e-mail they sent to the Houston Press there would be a campus rally on April 3 to protest what happened.  Since 2009 impersonation of someone on the Net in Texas is a third class felony, so if it's the same fool, he's in even deeper trouble. 

But more on this developing situation later.   It's election week on the UHD campus which started yesterday and runs through the 26th.   Time to cast votes for the Valdez-Sharp ticket if you are a UHD student.  This is one in which I hope the karmic wheel moves swiftly on two fronts and the perpetrator is caught.

Good luck Kris and hope you and Isaac Valdez overcome the haters and you emerge victorious.

Ecuador's Diane Rodriguez Poised To Make History

February 17 could see international trans history being made if all goes well for 30 year old psychology student Diane Rodriguez on election night.

The student and trans activist from Guayaquil heads a trans rights organization called Silhouette X and is running for a seat in Ecuador's 100 member  unicameral Congress as a member of the leftist Ruptura 25 party.  

"My focus will be on all minorities, vulnerable ethnic groups and feminist causes,: she said in an AFP interview.   One of the legislative agenda items she'd like to see happen is same gender marriage in her nation that is 85% Catholic. 

But then again, Argentina is heavily Catholic and not only has marriage equality but a groundbreaking gender identity law on the books as well.

She came out as trans as a teen. In a scenario far too familiar to many of us around the world, she was kicked out of her parent's home for a while before being allowed to return home and pursue her dreams.

Rodriguez also won a precedent setting legal battle in 2009 that allowed her to change her name on her ID card but not the gender marker. 

She subsequently with the help of other NGO's launched a campaign that calls for individuals to be allowed to choose which gender they want to register as

If she is successful, she would become not only the first open trans lawmaker in her nation, but the first on the South American continent and the only the fourth ever in the entire world.  If she goes into a runoff election for this open seat she is competing for, that would take place on April 7.   

Good Luck, Ness!

In case you TransGriot peeps are wondering, we do have a trans candidate running for office on this Elecrion Day, and once again she's in my Lone Star backyard.

My homegirl Vanessa Edwards Foster is a Green Party candidate running for the US Congress and the District 9 seat currently occupied by Rep. Al Green (D-TX)

While she has some long odds in terms of being in that 113th Congress freshman congressmember photo they will take in January, the old saying is you gotta be in it to win it. 

Ness has been working on campaigns for other local politicians such as our current mayor Annise Parker, been active in precinct level politics since the late 90's in addition to lobbying multiple times on Capitol Hill as the former ED of NTAC.   We'd be lucky to have her in Washington DC representing us.

As I said during the NBJC trans town hall meeting I participated in back in September, the next level of the trans community is having increasing numbers of trans people running for and winning public office so we can be writing the laws instead of begging legislators to be included in them.

Good luck, Ness.

Republican Racism On Display

The debates are over, and now this long 2012 presidential campaign marathon has evolved into a sprint to the November 6 finish line in eight battleground states. 

Wisconsin, Colorado, Nevada, Florida, New Hampshire, Virginia and North Carolina are going to see a lot of visits by both campaigns from now until November 6.

Ohio and its must win 18 electoral votes are the big prize coveted by both campaigns.  Romney can't win without it, and while the POTUS has more paths to victory, he rather make life easier toward getting to a second term by capturing the Buckeye State.

Ohio's voters will have a major say in determining who will be standing in front of the Capitol taking the oath of office from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on January 21, 2013.

The stress inducing tightness of this race in the final days means that any unforced errors by either side are magnified, especially since early voting has already commenced in many of those battleground states. 

And the conservafool movement ain't handling that stress too well because in addition to allowing their misogny to run rampant with Senate candidates Rep. Todd Akin in Missouri, congressional deadbeat dad Rep. Joe Walsh in Illinois, and Richard Mourdock in Indiana leading the reprehensible way, their white sheets are showing too. 

They've been cutting loose with the overt and covert race baiting in their desperate attempt to try to stir up their bigot base as the clock ticks inexorably closer to November 6 and their defeat.

If it isn't media ho Donald Chump Trump one day with his yawn inducing bigoted 'October Non Surprise' demanding the POTUS release his college transcripts and passport records, it's John Sununu questioning his intelligence or hurling accusations that the only reason former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed the president for the second consecutive election cycle is 'because he's Black'.

Hey John, you and many of your Republifool voters are only voting for Mitt Romney because he's the incompetent white male in the race, so stop projecting.

Even Caribou Barbie crawled out from her Wasilla location to throw her race-baiting jab in at the POTUS.  Palin wrote a post on her FB page (she can write?) claiming he was 'shucking and jiving' about the Benghazi consulate attack in a desperate attempt to get back in Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes good graces and flagellate it into a scandal.

If you think I'm being harsh about calling the GOP racist, ain't nothin' I haven't said before on this blog.  Sadly I'll probably be writing another post about some foul racist elephant feces laden racism before the end of this month. 

Let me direct your attention to a current Republican and former aide to Secretary of State Powell in former Army Col. Lawrence Wilkerson.

He's stating the white sheet wearing obvious and cosigning what every African-American voting for President Obama in this 2012 cycle has known since the 1970's 

 Lawrence Wilkerson: 'My Party Is Full Of Racists'

“My party, unfortunately, is the bastion of those people—not all of them, but most of them—who are still basing their positions on race.” said Wilkerson. “Let me just be candid: My party is full of racists, and the real reason a considerable portion of my party wants President Obama out of the White House has nothing to do with the content of his character, nothing to do with his competence as commander in chief and president, and everything to do with the color of his skin, and that’s despicable.”

Hey, I have to admit the man knows y'all well.  So do we, which is a major reason why the POTUS has 93% support in the African-American community and 70% support in the Latino one.  

Latinos are also are waking up, smelling the cafe de leche and noting that the GOP doesn't like them either On behalf of the Democratic Party I say gracias for driving the fastest growing voter bloc in this country in our direction because of your lack of multicultural vision . 

And yeah, as my Latina sister Rosie Perez pointed out, your shape shifting candidate's policies suck too.
.

Keep it KKKlassy, conservafools.   Y'all continue to be the party of choice for the bigots of America while the rest of us more forward, not backward to the mid 20th century in terms of race relations and social policy.

Final Presidential Debate Tonight

After I finish handling my civic duty, I'll be parked in front of the TV with notepad in hand checking out the final debate in Boca Raton, FL between President Obama and Mitt Romney.  


The debate at Lynn University is supposed to be focused on the subject of foreign policy and will be moderated by Bob Scheiffer of CBS.   I have the suspicion that both candidates will do their best to sneak in commentary about domestic issues during this 90 minute battle.

And TransGriot readers, I implore you to have no drinking games based on how many times Mitt lies.  You'll be risking alcohol poisoning if you do. 

I also wonder if the conservafools are going to attack Bob Schieffer before the debate starts like they did Martha Raddatz and Candy Crowley? 

Yes TransGriot readers, just as I have done for the last three debates, I will post my thoughts and impressions about how it transpired around midnight CDT.

TBLG Americans For Obama Video

This video features rainbow community peeps such as Jane Lynch, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Billie Jean King, George Takei, Wanda Sykes, Zachary Quinto, and Chaz Bono discussing why they're supporting  President Obama and why Mitt Romney isn't the choice for them.