Melania Trump Plagiarizes Michelle Obama's 2008 DNC Speech

Last night I watched much of the first night of the Republican National Convention from Cleveland, and got so tired of the race bating and sellout kneegrows like Sheriff David Clarke being on the podium that for self-care reasons I turned it off before Melania Trump's speech and started following the far more entertaining Twitter commentary.

I then noted before the media finally started talking about it increasing chatter on Twitter that started sharing Jarrett Hill's observation that Trump's speech had two paragraphs that were strikingly similar to one that First Lady Michelle Obama gave at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver.

The Hill observations turned out to be so on point that the networks were after initially praising the Melania Trump speech, forced to address the growing plagiarism controversy as the Trump campaign scrambled to try to respond to it.



So what's the big deal about plagiarizing speeches?  Allegations of it sank Joe Biden's 1988 presidential campaign.  Careers have gone down in flames for it, and people have been expelled from colleges and universities for doing so.

When you also listen to the Trump speech, the message sounds oddly out of sync when you consider that Melania grew up in Slovenia.   It was part of Communist run Yugoslavia at the time she was born in 1970 before the 1991 breakup of that country and Slovenia's subsequent independence after a brief ten day war.

As I also pointed out in my take on this growing controversy on my Twitter feed, this was a real time example of a common problem in terms of Black intellectual property being jacked by whites for their own personal gain.  This happens far too often with Black women having their words repeatedly stolen by white women with little to zero credit for being the originators and creators of those words and receiving no compensation for it.

Trump also claimed in an interview before she went on the RNC stage she'd written the speech without much help in what was expected to be a moment to introduce Melania to the world and humanize her reprehensible husband..

Of course Twitter gleefully went all in on their dragging Melania Trump mission, and the hashtag #FamousMelaniaTrumpQuotes quickly rose to become the number one Twitter hashtag along with the #BeckyWithTheBorrowedSpeech one as Trump supporters and his campaign team tried to furiously spin away what happened.

This plagiarism situation was also dripping with irony.  The plagiarized section is discussing honesty, character and integrity, and since you couldn't find nice things to say about The Donald, so you steal them from a speech the FLOTUS is giving about her hubby the POTUS who does role model those qualities.

First Lady Michelle Obama has been demonized, misgendered, had her intelligence questioned despite possessing two Ivy League degrees earned with stellar grades and has been called everything but a child of God by the conservative movement.

But when it comes to speech writing, either Trump or someone on her husband's campaign team had no problem stealing the FLOTUS' eloquent August 25, 2008 words to put in Melania's teleprompter.

We'll have to see how this latest Trump campaign mess plays out not only for the rest of the RNC, but also for Melania Trump and this train wreck of a presidential campaign

Hillary Clinton 2016 NAACP Convention Speech

Lost in all the news of the opening of the RNC convention is the fact that 250 miles away on the southern end of Ohio, the 107th NAACP National Convention is taking place at the Duke Energy Center in Cincinnati.

As per tradition, both the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates were invited to speak to the NAACP convention delegates, with Sec. Hillary Clinton accepting her invitation to do so while Donald Trump declined.

Then again, if I sucked as bad on issues of importance to African Americans, had been saying racist crap for decades and my presidential race poll numbers were worse than Romney's, I'd be finding any excuse NOT to speak to 'The Blacks' either or put myself in a position to be called on it.

Here is the video of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's Monday speech to the NAACP convention.

   

Trans Candidates Notch Historic Wins In US Senate And US House Primaries!

The cool thing about being a trans person in this amazing moment in time is that if every day you wake up and simply do your best to be the best person you can be and live your life, you may find yourself making history as a result.

I've been asking in the wake of Geraldine Roman's historic win in the Philippines as their first trans congress member when we were going to see it happen in the United States?  

Well, the answer to my question is it may be as soon as November 8.

On that day, trans voters in Utah and neighboring Colorado will have candidates like us in Misty K. Snow and Misty Plowright on their ballots in this critical national election for the US House and the US Senate.

Last night in a historic upset, 30 year old Utah native Misty K. Snow made some trans political history by handily beating her heavily favored Democratic opponent Jonathan Swinton 59.5%-40.5%.

Snow jumped into the race just before the deadline, wishing to offer an alternative to the center-right leaning Swinton.  At the Utah Democratic Convention Swinton had earned 55% of the delegates votes to Snow's 45%, but she got enough support at the convention to force the runoff, then built on that by aggressively campaigning throughout the Beehive State by touting her working class background and being an unabashed progressive Democrat.

It wasn't close.  Snow garnered in unofficial returns 26,668 votes to just 18,182 for Swinton with all counties reporting..

"Today we have scored a major victory, We have shown that voters will turn out in numbers to support progressive candidates that take strong stands on issues," said Snow in a press release.

"I want to thank all the wonderful people of Utah who supported me in the Democratic primary; without your support none of this would be possible," she added..  

The upset win made Snow the first ever out trans person to earn a major party nomination for the US Senate, and earned her a shot against her as she called him 'loathsome' incumbent Republican senator Mike Lee.    Lee is one of the most conservative senators in the nation and was unopposed in the Utah Republican primary for his second six year term.

As of right now, she's trailing 51%-37% to Lee, but she feels she's in a great starting position seeing that most voters don't know her yet and she has time to introduce herself to the Beehive State's electorate.  If Snow's campaign catches fire, there's the possibility that the DSCC will kick some funds to her if she gets within striking distance of knocking him off in a year in a presidential election year in which bright red leaning Utah might be in play.

Next door in Colorado, more trans political history was being made in another Democratic primary race, this time for a US House seat.   In the 5th Congressional District Democratic primary, 33 year old  Misty Plowright won her primary race to face off in the fall against Rep. Doug Lamborn (R), who is running for his sixth term in Congress.

Rep. Lamborn was forced into a runoff against Calandra Vargas, who beat him at the Republican assembly.  Lamborn flipped the results to beat her 68.3%-31.7% in the primary.

Plowright's primary race wasn't close either.  With one county (El Paso) still out according to the Colorado Secretary of State website, she was beating Donald Martinez by 16 points, 58%-42% in her historic primary win,  Plowright garnered 13.373 votes to Martinez's 9,639 and local media is calling the race for her.

Plowright also faces an uphill challenge because her central Colorado district south of Denver is considered one of the most conservative in the state.  It encompasses the city of Colorado Springs and its suburbs, Cimarron Hills and Fort Carson.  Since its creation in 1973, the district has never been represented by a Democrat, although El Paso County's increasingly diversifying population gives Democrats hope they can change that dismal electoral history.

The city of Colorado Springs is the county seat of El Paso County and the home of the anti-TBLG organization Focus on the Family and hate pastor James Dobson.  It would be oh so sweet if she upset Lamborn and give Dobson a coronary if she ended up representing the 5th Congressional District

We'll see what happens in November.  If the Mistys both shock the political world once again and make it to Washington DC to get inaugurated on January 3, 2017 for the start of the 115th US Congress, they will have earned those seats.

In the meantime, you may want to chip in some t-bills to help both Misty's campaigns get to the House and Senate.

TransGriot Note.  Plowright is not the first out trans person to get a major party nomination in a US House race.  That distinction goes to the late Karen Kerin, who in 2000 ran and lost as a Republican in Vermont to Bernie Sanders.

Plowright still made history as the first in the Democratic Party, and the first in Colorado. 

Lou Weaver Makes Texas Trans History

Still discovering who was elected to become delegates at the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia July 25-28 and congrats to all of those who were elected to represent our state.  In case you're wondering, it's one of the things I would like to do someday.

While perusing Facebook, I discovered a little trans history was made during the just concluded Texas Democratic convention in San Antonio.

So far have discovered that we have two trans Texans headed to Philadelphia for this years Democratic National Convention.   One of the delegates representing our state is Danielle Pellet, who is pledged to Bernie Sanders, the other is Houston's own Lou Weaver, who was elected as an at-large delegate pledged to Hillary Clinton.

With that selection, Lou made Texas trans history as the first ever out trans masculine Texan to accomplish that feat.  We have had three out trans feminine Texans represent our state at previous national DNC conventions in Vanessa Edwards Foster (2004,2008), Christina Ocasio (2004) and Meghan Stabler (2012).

Danielle Pellet will also be joining him in Philadelphia as a trans delegate for the Lone Star State pledged to Sanders.

And Texas trans bragging time, Texas is so far the only state (2004) to have had at least two trans delegates attend the same national DNC convention and we've now accomplished that feat for the second time. Foster so far is the only trans Texan to have gone to the DNC national convention twice.

And we trans Texans since 2004 have now sent at least one trans delegate to the national DNC convention for now four straight conventions.

The 2012 DNC national convention in Charlotte had a record 14 trans delegates.   We already know that two from the Lone Star State will be repping our community and I hope that nationally we'll shatter that 14 trans delegates number.

Congratulation to Lou Weaver for not only making it to Philly, but making a little history along the way as he gets to witness what is sure to be a historic Democratic convention next month.

Looking forward to hearing about it the next time we cross paths.  


 TransGriot note:  Photo of Lou by Eric Edward Schell photography

Historical Women's Election Milestones In California Tonight

While I was watching the speech in which Secretary Clinton claimed a historic political win in Brooklyn, she wasn't the only woman making electoral history tonight.

3000 miles away on the Left Coast three diverse women in California also made political history

In the California US senate primary to replace the retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), California Democrats were ecstatic to note that the senate seat will stay in Democratic hands because two women emerged to get the top two spots in the primary.

The two Democratic women who emerged from the crowded 34 candidate primary field to replace Sen. Boxer are California Attorney General Kamala Harris and Rep. Loretta Sanchez.  

Harris was favored to win the primary, and she didn't disappoint, taking 40% of the votes and leading Sanchez by over 800,000 votes. Rep. Sanchez, with 17% of the vote is comfortably ahead of the third place Republican candidate Duf Sundheim, who has only 9% of it, so it is she and Harris who will square off November 8 for the seat

If Harris repeats her performance this fall, she would become only the second African-American woman ever elected to the US senate and the first since Sen. Carol Moseley Braun in 1992.  If Sanchez wins, she would become the first ever Latina US senator.

One of our trans sisters also made electoral history tonight as well.. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Victoria Kolakowski was reelected by the voters for another term as judge.  

Judge Kolakowski made history in 2010 when she became the first elected trans trial judge.  

What was even more wonderful about this is that she was unopposed for reelection.  She also serves as president of the International Association of LGBT Judges.

Congrats Your Honor!

Why The Superdelegates Aren't Going To Switch To Bernie

There is this persistent fantasy being pushed in Bernie World that Sanders will get the superdelegates to massively switch to him and give him the nomination because 'it happened to Hillary in 2008'. .

Yeah right.  That has as much chance of happening as moi walking the runway of the next Victoria's Secret runway show.

Let's approach this logically shall we?

First, let's talk about exactly who the superdelegates are.  438 of them are Democratic National Committee members with 434 votes.  They also include the chairs and vice chairs of all 50 state Democratic parties.

20 are distinguished party leaders (DPL).  That means current and former presidents and vice presidents, former congressional leaders and former DNC chairs.   That DPL list of supers includes President Obama, Vice President Biden, former president Jimmy Carter, and former vice president Al Gore for example.  

The 193 Democratic members of the US House of Representatives (including DC and the US territories like the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico American Samoa and Guam)

The 47 US Senate Democrats and the two DC shadow Senators, and the 21 Democratic governors.

Now that we know who the supers are, let's start breaking down why Sanders attempt to get superdelegates to switch will ultimately fail.

This is 2016, not 2008.  Just as wars are not fought with the same tactics you used in a previous one, neither are political campaigns.  The events that happened in presidential campaign 2008 while instructive and you can learn lessons from them, are not guaranteed to repeat themselves in the next campaign.

Let's get it out there the first dirty secret of the Sanders campaign.  Bernie only joined the Democratic Party last year and admitted he did so only to go after the Democratic nomination and stated it would be harder for him to run for president as an independent. . He is not a Democrat, he is a DINO.

Bernie also has a long history of demonizing the Democratic party going back to 1985. He also called for the primary challenge of President Obama, which means he is not going to be successful in getting President Obama's superdelegate vote, much less many Black superdelegates who haven't forgotted Sanders dissing southern Black Democratic voters.   They also haven't forgotten many of you Berners racistly dissed Rep John Lewis (a superdelegate BTW) and Black voters consistently rejected Bernie at at 86-14% clip. .

Bernie does slightly better with Latinos, being rejected by them by a 75-25% clip. They have issues with Bernie as well, which means he won't be getting many Latino superdelegates to switch either, especially after he accused the Puerto Rico Democratic Party of 'fraud' and the Berners dissing of Latina civil rights icon Dolores Huerta early in the campaign.. And like Black voters, a majority of Latinx voters aren't feeling the Bern either as was demonstrated on Sunday in Puerto Rico. 

And note that out of all his senate colleagues who are superdelegates, only Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon supports him. That speaks volumes 
Sanders acting like a vanillacentric privileged spoiled brat and blaming everyone but himself for his various primary losses is also not endearing him to the superdelegates.

Contrary to what the Sanders campaign is telling you, Sanders is not the better candidate against Trump. He wasn't really vetted and his dirty laundry wasn't given a proper airing. The Repblicans are praying we'll be stupid enough to nominate a candidate they desperately want to run against and paint his 'Democratic Socialist' behind as the second coming of Marx and Lenin.  Trump would spank that behind once they unleash all the unvetted hell on him that Hillary didn't do. 
Then there's the fact that Hillary has 40 years of Democratic Party history, was the First Lady in her husband Bill's administration, elected twice as the US senator from New York and the former secretary of state serving under President Obama .  Being she was on the losing end of a tighter presidential race in 2008 and hadled it with dignity and clas , female Democratic leaders, and especially seasoned Democratic female leaders see this as the best chance of their lifetime to make their presidential dream come true and they aren't throwing away this opportunity for a DINO.   .

Attacking Sen. Barbara Boxer (another superdelegate) in addition to the sexist and nasty commentary that has been aimed at Hillary Clinton in this campaign, in addition to stating you will continue to attack her will only ossify their support for Clinton.

In 1984, Gary Hart tried the same tactic that Bernie Sanders is about o attempt in flipping superdelegates that committed to Walter Mondale before the convention and failed miserably.

We know the stakes of the election this November and see the big picture.  Many of the Bernie or bust people tragically don't.

So good luck with that quixotic doomed to failure attempt to flip the superdelegates.
 

Parents Of Texas Trans Kids Speak

I have a major problem with bullies of children since I had to deal with them myself.  I also have a major problem with bullies that wield legislative power like my Republican Governor, Lt. Governor, and indicted attorney general who are attacking Texas transgender kids for their own political gain.

Greg Abbott, Dan Patrick, and Ken Paxton claim their are speaking for Texas parents, but one group of parents whose voices are being ignored in their one sided discussion are the voices of the parents of Texas trans kids.

Yesterday, there was a press conference outside of our state capitol in which several parents joined with Equality Texas in order to talk about why these GOP led attacks on the humanity of Texas trans kids is wrong.

Here's the press conference video.

Secretary Clinton, Where You At On Trans United Fund's Trans Issues Survey?

Back in February I wrote a post in which I proudly stood up and endorsed Sec. Hillary Clinton for president in advance of the March 1 Texas presidential primary.

I did so because I believed and still believe that she is the best qualified person left in the running for the most important office in our country.   It is also because of some actions done for trans people while she was Secretary of State in terms of the June 2010 policy change that allows trans people to get US passports with a correct gender marker and without genital surgery.   I also believed she would be the best person left in the race to continue President Obama's legacy as the best president ever when it comes to trans rights issues.

I took a lot of intense criticism from Sanders supporters for that endorsement, but  as a longtime trans community leader, I'm not afraid to make unpopular calls when they are in the best interests of my community.  

The wisdom of that endorsement was validated as she overwhelmingly won Texas, swept the South and other diverse states in our country and garnered over 11 million votes of Democrats while doing so.

.I'd like to point out, as you probably aware of because of the Trans United For Hillary group and this section of your campaign website, that some of those 11 million people who proudly voted for you are transgender Americans.

Secretary Clinton is on the verge of making history as the first female candidate to clinch the Democratic nomination and become a major party candidate for president, and I congratulate her and the campaign staff for that historic accomplishment.

But what I am concerned about is why her campaign, as it shifts to what is certain to be a hard fought fall campaign against Donald Trump (ewwh), has been reluctant to fill out the Trans United Fund survey as the Sanders campaign did. . We know why Donald Trump won't do so

We are in a moment in which the Republican Party, fundamentalists, conservative organizations and even the Ku Klux Klan are making it clear for various reasons they oppose civil rights for trans people, and are gleefully attacking transgender people's humanity as they do so.

It is also the time in American history in which a diverse group of trans Americans have visibility at levels we haven't seen since Christine Jorgensen stepped off the plane at JFK from Denmark in February 1953.

This is a time of heightened interest and support for trans people, and I appreciate the fact the Secretary has mentioned transgender Americans in some of her stump speeches.  But what we need to know as we approach a high stakes election in November is will Secretary Clinton's deeds for trans Americans match or exceed her words?

That's why Trans United Fund sent that survey, because we need an honest answer to that question that we can tell our trans constituency we are charged with representing on the national political stage.

We trans people of color also need to know that answer, because the quality of our lives for the next four years literally hangs on whether you or Donald Trump succeed the best president ever on trans issues on January 20.

As a unapologetically Black trans person who lives in Texas, The TUF survey is information I and others will consider vital when it is time for us to ponder who to vote for in the remaining primaries and the fall election.   Since this survey was put together by a diverse group of trans people, it will help us determine where you stand on a broad range of issues that affect our diverse trans community.

So please take the time out of your busy schedule to complete the TUF Presidential Candidate Survey

I live in a Republican run Texas that seems to be hellbent in becoming the undisputed champion of peddling anti-trans hatred.  Our GOP dominated legislature being out of session until January is probably the only thing that kept them from following North Carolina down the foolish path of enacting unjust HB2 style legislation that will ruin my home state's economy.

I and my trans siblings need to unequivocally know that a President Hillary Clinton will have my back, especially since I'm painfully aware that my GOP governor, lieutenant governor, my US senators and attorney general have made it clear they won't.  I need to know Secretary Clinton, that should you become the next president of the United States, that you will be a drum majorette for justice.

I need to hear your voice Secretary Clinton on the issues of importance to my trans siblings. Our trans parents and our allies need to hear your voice on the human rights issue of our time, and where you stand on the civil rights of transgender Americans.

And we need to know via the Trans United Fund survey, what you will do to protect and defend those human rights..

Tamron Hall Calls Out The Berner NV Bad Behavior

One of the many reasons I love my Texas homegirl Tamron Hall is because she's a no BS journalist who doesn't let peeps on either side of the political spectrum weasel out of tough questions.

Here's the recent interview in which she asks some tough question of Sanders surrogate Nina Turner in the wake of the Green Tea Partiers showed their nekulturny selves during last weekend's Nevada Democratic meeting

Watch as Tamron doesn't allow Turner to spin her way out of the mess the Benrers made in Nevada.

Enjoy.

 

Geraldine Roman Elected To Philippine Congress!

It's official!   You can now call her Congresswoman-elect Roman!  
49 year old Geraldine Roman has made Philippine and world trans history by becoming the first out trans person elected to the Philippine Congress!

She was favored to win her race thanks in large part to her mother preceding her in the First District of Bataan House seat and serving for nine years, and her father being also a political heavyweight in their native Bataan region.

She didn't disappoint on election day.

With 95% of the vote counted, Roman is cruising to a comfortable win over her opponent Danny Malana in their First Legislative District of Bataan race to get her first three year term as a Philippine congress member

Dindi Tan, a trans advocate in the Philippines and a former board member of the QC Pride Council there, is just as excited about the historic election of Roman as much of the international trans community is.

She is hopeful that Roman's election to the Philippine Congress results in more positive changes LGBT rights wise in her nation

"For a country that has yet to catch up with the significant LGBT rights developments and inroads around the world, the election victory of Congresswoman-elect Geraldine Roman is an inspiration by itself for a community that has long yearned for its own voice in the halls of Philippine Congress,"said Tan.  

"Her election is a breath of fresh air and is welcomed with great optimism by the Philippine trans community. Her being the first openly trans woman voted into Congress is a clear testament that the tide is slowly shifting to our favor. For the longest time, the Philippine LGBT community has persevered in lobbying for a national law on anti-discrimination. It has taken us 16 long years and counting. We hope that with the election of young blood political movers like Roman, we are rest assured that the lobby will take on an easier path," Tan continued.

"While we celebrate her victory, we also give meaning to the political statement that her election entails-- that politics in the Philippines is slowly becoming more and more embracing of the LGBT agenda. By breaking the glass ceiling in politics, she has paved the way for others like us. We look forward to working with her in Congress and in pushing for more gender-inclusive policies and the advancement of the rights of LGBT people."  

"This is such a history-in-the-making for the LGBT movement on this side of the globe,." added Tan. 

Roman is now part of an elite sorority of out trans feminine politicians internationally who have been elected to their national legislatures that includes Georgina Beyer (NZ), Vladimir Luxuria (Italy), Anna Grodzka (Poland), Michelle Suarez Bertora (Uruguay) and Tamara Adrian (Venezuela)

In her remarks to me concerning this historic win, Naomi Fontanos, the executive director of GANDA Filipinas was also excited and optimistic about the upcoming term of Congresswoman-elect Roman.

"Yes. I am very happy that herstory was made today with Ms Geraldine Roman winning the congressional race in Bataan. While it is radical that she is the first openly out transwoman to be elected in Philippines Congress,she is also undeniably a product of a political dynasty that has dominated local politics in Bataan for a long time.' said Fontanos.

"This is a historic moment though, and I want to focus on the many good things that Ms Roman can bring to the Lower House of the Philippine Congress. I laud the fact that she has openly stated that she would make legal gender change part of her legislative agenda," she added.

Roman is the sixth out trans person worldwide to have accomplished that feat, and the second in the Asia-Pacific region after Georgina Beyer of New Zealand, who was the first out trans person in the world to do so in 1999..

And while Congresswoman-elect Roman is officially representing her constituents in the 1st Legislative District of Bataan, she is also by default the defacto representative of all TBLG people in the Philippines as well.

Congratulations Congresswoman-elect Roman!.   May you be successful in representing not only the voters of the 1st Legislative District of Bataan, but also your Filipino TBLG siblings across the country.

TransGriot Update: Roman won her race in a landslide:  106,315 votes to 64,643 votes for her opponent Danny Malana  

Transphobic Ted Cruz Suspends Campaign!

Aww yeah!   Got an early birthday present when I got to watch Damien Thorn the junior senator from Alberta suspend his campaign after getting his azz whipped in the Indiana GOP primary by Donald Trump.

Y'all know as a Texan I have no love for Ted Cruz, and his flinging transphobia on the campaign trail in a desperate attempt to stay relevant in this GOP presidential nomination race has made me like his behind even less.

While  Donald Trump being the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is a WTF inducing prospect in its own right, the one candidate that gave me nightmares out of all the 2016 GOP presidential candidates was Cruz

So hearing the words 'I'm suspending my campaign" coming out of his transphobic mouth was wonderful to hear and a happy dance inducing great start to my birthday celebration..

Now liberal-progressive Texans, can we work on kicking him out of his senate seat in 2018?.

Five Critical NE Presidential Primary Contests Tdoay

It's the last political stand for Bernie Sanders in this 2016 Democratic primary season as the election calendar takes up to five northeastern US states than if Hillary Clinton sweeps them, could be the death knell for he Sanders campaign.

Primaries will be taking place in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.that are worth a total of 463 delegates available.  The big prizes are Connecticut with 71 delegates, Maryland with 118 delegates, and Pennsylvania with 210 delegates.    Delaware has 31 delegates and Rhode Island with 33 delegates available

And in mounting bad news for the Sanders campaign, Sanders trails in all five states and all with the exception of Rhode Island are closed primaries.   Rhode Island is a semi-closed primary state.

The other problem they have is that three states, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland have large African-American populations, with African-American voters making up 30% of Maryland's electorate.   Rhode Island has a 22% Latino population, another group that Sanders has had difficulty connecting with.

We'll see if the Clinton campaign gets their sweep today, or if by some miracle Sanders at least gets a win out of this group of states that aren't a good fit for him.

Rep. Donna Edwards Fighting To Win A US Senate Seat

One of the races that will be eagerly watched tomorrow besides the presidential contests in the fierce Democratic primary battle in Maryland for the US Senate seat of retiring Senator Barbara Mikulski (D).

It pits Rep Chris Van Hollen and Rep. Donna Edwards against each other in the race to succeed the longest serving woman senator.   The other thing happening in this race is that Rep. Edwards is seeking to become only the second Black female US senator ever elected and the first since Carol Moseley Braun was elected to represent Illinois in 1992, but lost her reelction bid six years later...

This US Senate primary race is also high stakes because in heavily Democratic Maryland, winning the primary makes you the odds on favorite to win the general election on November 8.

While Van Hollen has outraised her 10-1 and has his supporters on Capitol Hill, EMILY's List has backed her.  Turns out Mikulski was the first female candidate the group backed when it was founded, and they would love to see the retiring five term senator replace by another woman.

Black female lawmakers are adamant about having one of their own among the ranks of the 20 women who are currently holding US Senate seats.   California Attorney General Kamala Harris is also running for the Us Senate to replace Sen. Barbara Boxer (D), who is also retiring this year.

 "To hell with the aspirations of centuries of people in Maryland, a place where Harriet Tubman came from," said Democratic Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin, an Edwards backer in the Congressional Black Caucus, bridling at Democratic establishment support for Van Hollen. "To hell with that. I mean, he looks like a senator."


"I can tell you that it matters, and it matters a lot, for women to be elected to Congress,"  Rep. Moore added, noting that no Black woman has served in the Senate since Carol Moseley Braun of Illinois lost her re-election bid more than 15 years ago. "There's nobody who's an African-American woman in there at all."

Edwards is determined to be that Black woman serving in the US Senate and making some history in the process, but step one of that process is winning the primary on Tuesday.   

So hope she makes it happen.

The Axis Of Trans Oppression Is Attacking Us- What Are We Gonna Do About It?

One of the things I have been observing as a a long time advocate for trans human rights is the LGBT Hate industry and their ongoing war as part of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy to roll back and eviscerate human rights in the US for gay, bi and lesbian people.  

As the trans part of that rainbow political coalition, we now have not only made rapid human right progress since that first trans federal lobby day in 1994, we have had unprecedented societal visibility in order to drive home the twin messages that trans people are part of the diverse mosaic of humanity and that trans rights are human rights.

That progress and societal visibility has drawn the backlash that visionary leaders in Trans World have long warned was coming as we urged our people to prepare for its arrival.

We have been fighting a multi front war since Stonewall in which we are battling right-wing Bible thumping faux Christian oppressors, the Republican Party and the conservative movement, the TERF's, right wing media and frenemies in the LG ranks who repeatedly threw us under the legislative bus to get sexual orientation only legislation passed.  They are what I call the Axis of Trans Oppression.

We trans folks are unfortunately paying in blood for the failure of LG orgs to recognize that if the rights of transgender people weren't secure, their own rights aren't secure either. The HERO repeal in Houston and the passage of HB 2 in North Carolina have emphatically driven that point home.

As the Rev. Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr. also pointed out, we are in an inescapable web of mutuality, and if this fact hasn't burned itself into your brains yet, trans people are part of that web of mutuality.

We trans people are also paying for the long time neglect and failure of funders to see the wisdom of fiscally seeding regional and national trans groups like NTAC and others.  While we tried our best at the time as trans leaders to make that happen, the growth and maturation of national trans rights orgs should have occurred while we trans peeps were flying under the political radars of our right wing oppressors in the 90's-early 2K's.
 
We also needed to have our best and brightest activists advocates and thinkers in the late 90's early 2K's getting paid to spend 8-10 plus hour days gaining real world experience doing the hard solid thinking and work to advance trans human rights. We needed to be able to do the full time job of educating the public about trans people instead of having to do it part time or without pay. 
But that's coulda, woulda, shoulda Monday morning quarterbacking.  We have to deal with the 2K16 consequences and reality of things that should have happened not happening.   

We are fighting transphobic bigots in the LGBT hate industry who are sitting in nice plush offices, have decades of experience in opprssing people, now training their tactics, media platforms and money on a community they perceive as easy political pickings with little risk of retribution from our side.

They gleefully plot our evisceration as elements pf the LG community say 'we're on our own' to face this onslaught of oppression as they plan their weddings and enjoy the fruits of full equality they gained in many cases with our help and at our expense.


Trans people are under attack by the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, and unfortunately the LG orgs that have honored their 'we'll come back for you' promises have been ineffective in combating it for several reasons.

They are just as clueless in the issues that impact trans lives because of at times willful ignorance, their own long time discriminatory practices rooted in rainbow anti-trans bigotry and internal LGBT racial animus. .

Because of the failure to hire talented trans leaders and organizers in their organizations, they not only don't have trained trans people in place in their organizations to help lead and formulate the strategies necessary to defeat the Axis of Trans Oppression anti-trans talking points and tactics, they don't have a development pipeline in place to properly train the next generation of trans leaders and grow the movement.  

This combined with a lack of muscular trans organizations that will strike fear in their oppressive hearts also doesn't help us .It also doesn't help us that we don't have (yet) elected trans politicians at the large city, state, judicial and congressional level

With over 100 anti trans legislative measures popping up like kudzu across the South and elsewhere in this country backed up by right wing media gleefully spouting anti-trans hate speech, we need those trans led efforts to beat back the oppression being aimed at us like yesterday.

While that's the reality of what we trans Americans are facing, it doesn't mean that we need to just give up, throw up our hands and submit to whatever the Axis of Trans Oppression has in store for us.  We need to fight 'em until we can't.  We come from trans folks who rose up in protest of anti-trans discrimination and oppression at Cooper's Donuts in 1959, Dewey's Lunch Counter in 1965, Compton's Cafeteria in 1966, and the Stonewall Inn in 1969 and leaders like Sylvia Rivera who ferociously fought to her dying day for our human rights.  

We need to role model Sylvia, Marsha and our other trans human rights warriors of yesterday and today. We have a proud history and legacy to live up to of fighting anti-trans oppression no matter where it comes from, and it's a fight we must win despite the long odds.

The trans kids growing up now are depending on their trans elders and our allies to handle our trans human rights business, and we can't afford to let them or our elders down.

We`are on the correct side of history while our opposition isn't.  The Axis of Trans Oppression is part of the same conservative movement who were on the losing side when it came to breaking away from Great Britain to found this nation, abolishing slavery, women's suffrage, women's rights, the African-American Civil Rights Movement, and gay rights.  They will lose when it cones to trans rights, and I have confidence I will live to see our inevitable victory.

So let me ask the question I posed earlier.  The Axis of Trans Oppression is attacking our community.  What are we gonna do to repel their attacks?   Stand up and fight back.

Political Revolution Will Not Come From Voting Third Party

I have been amused by the calls for political revolution coming from supporters of one of the Democratic primary candidates, but they are barking up the wrong tree in order to make that happen.

You want a political revolution?  The answer to shaking up the American political system has been under your nose all along.  It's just some of you because of your dislike of the two party system refuse to see it.

Well folks, the two party system is the best we got right now, and it's what we have to work with.

To me, the answer to shaking up the system has been quite simple for years. It's not voting for the Greens or whatever third party du jour white leftists think is cool or trendy.  It's called bumrushing the polls in every election cycle in numbers above 45% of the electorate and voting from the top of the ticket all the way down to the end of it for Democrats.

Moni's Political Revolution calls for called kicking the Republicans out of power at all levels of government (federal, state, local and judicial) and putting the Democrats in power for at least 10 years at all levels of government to clean up the putrid political GOP mess   It's voting the entire ballot from the presidential race at the top of the ticket to the judicial and other local races at the bottom of it.

Hear me out first before you scoff at it.

It's painfully obvious we have a Republican Party that has made it clear over the last two decades they are goose stepping toward fascism and idiocracy.   The Green Party is not only not ready for political prime time, they aren't even close to major party status.  Neither do the Greens have the organization or the size necessary to take on the Herculean job of cleaning up our broken American political process to make it work for everybody.

Besides, how many times has Jill Stein unsuccessfully run for president?  Do you have a Green Party member in any state legislature?  The US House?  The US Senate?  Doesn't help is she has the positive platform but can't get elected or can't get other members of her party elected to help make it a policy reality

The Democrats do have the size, national organization and the ability to get the job done.  They just need the votes to get in power and stay there for at least a decade to accomplish the mission..

The other thing we don't have is the luxury of time.  The change we need must happen now, starting with this November 2016 election. 'Vote the person, not the party' sounds nice on a bumper sticker, but delusional in a political climate in which you have members of a political party gleefully eager to use their legislative and judicial power to oppress people.

So what good is a moderate or liberal leaning Republican if by their very election to office, their seat helps keep an ENTIRE unjust party in power in a legislative chamber so that the rest of that party's members as part of that legislative majority enacts policies and laws to oppress us?.

 And Democrats who aren't acting in progressive ways can be primary challenged or even better, if you don't see the candidate out there you'd like to vote for, run for office your damned self.  

I see the value in direct action protests.  But direct action protests don't mean jack if they aren't backed up by the power of the ballot.

Why do you think one of the major goals of the African-American Civil Rights Movement was getting the unfettered right to vote, and why do you think the Republicans have spent millions and passed unjust voter suppression laws in the states they control just to fight the power of our votes?
   
We have a critical election happening on November 8 which will be an all hands on deck affair.  People of color cannot afford white liberals pissed off that the rest of the party didn't see it that way on a Sanders nomination petulantly sitting it out.

It's also the personification of white privilege that you have the ability to think that way, much less are pondering acting on that misguided idea in the name of 'teaching the country a lesson'.

Well the last Republican administration came about because you wanted ideological purity instead of voting for Vice President Al Gore, and it cost us a SCOTUS liberal progressive majority plus the countless lives lost in the Iraq and Afghan wars. .

Non white voters and those of us in marginalized communities don't have that luxury.  It is imperative that we do the job correctly this November and get Democrats in office from the White House to judicial chairs to our state legislatures.

The political revolution will not come from voting third party.  It will come from never voting for Republicans again until they decide to join the rest of us political grownups in the US.  It's also getting the Democrats in power for another four to eight years and finishing the cleanup job that President Obama started.