One Vote Matters In Decisive VA House Race

Christmas came early for the Virginia Democratic Party.  In addition to sweeping the executive office positions. a decisive House of Delegates race was decided that ended the Republicans 17 year hold on the chamber.   They erased a 66-34 deficit and picked up 16 seats to do so

But the Democrats did sp by the slimmest of margins:  ONE vote.

Shelley Simonds (D) after a recount won a extremely tight race for the District 94 seat held by Republican incumbent Ralph Yancey in Newport News, VA. 

She was trailing by a razor thin 10 votes going into the recount, but made up the ten vote deficit to win the seat 11,608 to 11,607. 

If that result is upheld by a three judge panel today, then the Virginia House of Delegate will have a 50-50 split with a power sharing arrangement. 

The speaker of the House would rotate between both parties, with a Democratic speaker in control one day and a Republican speak the next.   Committees would have an even number of members from both parties and be co chaired bu a Democrat and a Republican.

So to that person in Newport News' District 94 who took the time to vote, your one vote mattered in a historic way, 

And let that in this upcoming election 2018 election cycle be a lesson to voters in Virginia and everywhere in the country.  Never let anyone tell you your one vote doesn't matter  .

Your one vote may be the decisive one.

Lina Hidalgo- People's State of the County Speech

Despite Harris County going undeniably blue in the 2016 election cycle, we unfortunately have a 4-1 Republican majority on the Harris County Commissioners Court.

County Judge Ed Emmett, knowing that he is up for reelection in a few months  in a county that is increasingly Democratic and pissed off at GOP controlled Austin and Washington DC, has been trying to play the 'I'm a moderate Republican' card.  She's dhowed up at this year's Transgender Unity Banquet.

But where was his azz when we needed a Republican to speak up about the unjust SB 6?  HERO?  SB 4?   He was fundraising for the same reprehensible Texas Republicans he's now trying to riverdance away from .   

It's one of the reasons I would love to see Lina Hidalgo #FireEdEmmett and become the next Harris County Judge.

Since Emmett recently gave a state of Harris County speech, I'm giving Lina Hidalgo some time on my blog for you to hear her commentary about the county and her opponent.

Two Texas Transmen Are Running For Office!

We have had since the 80's several trans women run for office in various parts of Texas.   Jenifer Rene Pool made history in the 2016 cycle by becoming the first out Texas trans person to win a party primary in the Lone Star State.

We even have a trans woman in Jess Herbst who serves is the mayor of New Hope, TX in the DFW metro area.

With the breakthrough electoral wins of Danica Roem to the VA state legislature and Andrea Jenkins and Phillipe Cunningham to the Minneapolis City Council, in light of the Republican led legislative attacks upon our community, we have had more trans people deciding to step up and run for public office.

And if yo're wondering about moi, I'm thinking about it.

The GOP majority in the Texas House is maintained in large part because many of those Republican legislators are running unopposed in their House.  In order to change that dynamic, we are going to need good people to run for office as Democrats.   

The Texas GOP War on Transpeople in the last regular and Special Oppression Session has motivated two trans men to step up in different parts of the state to run for state legislative seats during the 2018 election cycle.

And yeah, I know both of these amazing men  I wish them the best of luck in #TransformingDemocracy and our state legislature.

In the Houston metro area, Dylan Wilde Forbis has stepped up to run against incumbent Republican state rep Ed Thompson in District 29 in the Pearland area.

On the other end of I-45 Finnigan 'Finn' Jones is taking on District 94 Republican incumbent Tony Tinderholt in the Arlington area.   Tinderholt is a proud member of the far right Texas Freedom Caucus.   

With the primaries happening in March, Forbis and Jones are ramping up their campaigns to raise funds, introduce themselves to the voters in their respective districts and with enough support, win and make Texas electoral history.

If you live in their districts, they can use not only your help, be it financial, as a campaign volunteer and most importantly, your votes.   If you don't, they can always use contributions to their campaigns to fund what they need to do to emerge victorious on Election Day./

Good luck to you Dylan and Finn    Here's hoping I'm calling you Representative Forbis and Representative Jones in November. 

Upcoming 2017 International LGBTQ Leaders Conference

This is a conference I would love to attend but not looking like I'll be able to be there this year

It's the International LGBTQ Leaders Cobference sponsored by the Victory Institute.  It has been held every year since 1984 when it started with a gathering of a dozen openly gay elected officials discussing the unique challenges of serving as an elected official while openly gay.



As the number of LGBT elected officials has grown to over 1000 around the planet, so has the popularity and importance of the conference.   Last year's event in Washington DC saw over 500 participants from around the world attend, with 141 of them being TBLGQ elected officials.

40 of those TBLGQ elected officials went into a closed door session at the beginning of the 2016 conference to strategize about the unexpected election of Trump to the presidency and what their response should be to it.

The 2017 edition of the conference is back in Washington DC at the Washington Hilton from December 6-9 with the theme of 'Representation Is Power'. 

Some of the speakers for this year's event include Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) , former Houston Mayor Annise Parker, Ca Senator Ricardo Lara, Long Beach, CA mayor  Robert Garcia. Guatemalan Congressmember Sandra Moran, and Peruvian Congressmember Alberto de Belaunde . 

Over the three days of the LGBTQ Leaders Conference attendees will engage in skills building, networking, plenaries and breakout sessions designed to help TBLGQ leaders harness and wield that power for the benefit of their constituents and our community.

And hopefully one day I'll get to be in the house for that event.   

An Anti-Roy Moore Ad From A Surprising Source

On December 12 the voters of Alabama will head to the polls to choose their next senator.

They have a choice between Democrat Doug Jones, who prosecuted the Klansmen that bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church back in 1963, or moral degenerate Ry Moore, who seems to think that the only suitable girl to date is under age 18 along with other reprehensible back to the 18th century policy positions .

An ad recently started appearing in the state entitled 'Good Christians' which sounds like every other conservabuzzword filled Republican ad you've ever heard, buy comes from a surprising source: 

The Log Cabin Republicans. 

While I've never been a fan of this group and have more than a few archived posts relentlessly mocking them and calling them out on their sellout behavior, have got to give them their props for this ad. 

Seems like they just as horrified as the rest of reality based America about Roy Moore becoming a US senator, and decided to do something about it. 

Check out this broken clock moment ad from the Log Cabin Republicans

   

I Told Y'all Ferengi = Republican

If you are so desperate to claim a Star Trek character,  if anything, the Ferengi are the peeps you Republicans are most like in the Star Trek universe.
-TransGriot  March 1, 2015

Back in 2015 I wrote a post shredding an Oregon Republican who dared to try to make the laughable claim on my watch that the late Leonard Nimoy was a Republican and so was Spock.

That claim didn't take me long to eviscerate. 

There is however at least one group in the Star Trek universe who perfectly mirrors the Republican Party and the conservative movement:  The Ferengi.   That's even more pronounced since 45 occupied the White House became Grand Nagus.

Think I'm kidding or off base with the comparison?   Let me count the ways and the multiple examples in the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition in which the Ferengi are just like the Republican Party.

Like the Ferengi, the GOP wants their women barefoot, naked, birthing babies and having no rights .
The both love 'greed is good capitalism with no rules and will do anything in the pursuit of profit  including screw their own family members.

Even many of the 285 Rules of Acquisition sound like they were  plucked straight from the Republican party platform   

Rule 34: War is good for business.
Rule 35: Peace is good for business   
Rule 63:  Power without profit is like a ship without an engine.
Rule 106:  There is no honor in poverty 
Rule 125:  A lie isn't a lie until; someone knows the truth
Rule 126:  A lie isn't a lie, it's the truth seen from a different perspective
Rule 128:  Ferengi are not responsible for the stupidity of other races
Rule 188:  Never bet on a race you haven't fixed

So yeah, when it comes to the Star Trek universe, the Ferengi are the GOP's doppelgangers.

The Long Road To An Out Trans State Rep

Ever since perennial Boston area candidate Althea Garrison ironically accomplished during the 1992 'Year of The Woman' getting elected to her single term as a Massachusetts state legislator and was outed two days later, it has seem as though getting back to having a trans person in a state legislature was the political equivalent of Charlie Brown kicking a football that Lucy was holding for him.

Every time we'd get close to kicking that ball, Lucy would snatch it away at the last second.

So it's why you heard the collective exhale of the entire trans community once the electrifying news of Danica Roem's historic victory began to surface..

But like all achievements, it was built on the shoulders of others who had gone before her, tried mightily to accomplish the task but failed. 

In 2004 the first serious attempt to break that political glass ceiling happened when Amanda Simpson handily won the Arizona Democratic primary with 57% of the vote to make it to the general election, but was defeated in the general election for the Arizona House District 26 seat.

Amanda Simpson would make history a few years later by getting a presidential appointment and serving with distinction in the Obama Administration in the Commerce Department and as the Assistant Deputy Secretary of Defense.

Getting shadily chopped from the ENDA bill in 2007 and attempts to pass trans rights laws at the local and state legislative level heightened our community urgency to have more trans legislators.

But it wouldn't be until 2010 that two trans people in a red state and a blue state accepted the challenge of running for their state legislatures. 

In Oklahoma Brittany Novotny stepped up to run in for the Oklahoma state legislature.  The attorney was taking on a Herculean level political task in running for the Oklahoma City area House District 84 against the notorious homobigot and transphobic incumbent Rep. Sally Kern (R).

Novotny was unopposed in the Democratic primary for HD 84, but despite her best efforts, fell in the general election to Kern.

Meanwhile in Maryland, Dr. Dana Beyer in that 2010 cycle attempted to run for the House District 18 seat against incumbent Jeff Waldstreicher, but was defeated in the crowded Democratic primary.

In 2012 came the first attempt from a Republican trans person to win a legislative seat.

Lauren Scott has made three attempts to win the District 30 seat in the Nevada State Assembly .Scott attempted her first run, got 21% of the vote in a three way race, but was defeated in the primary by Ken Lightfoot.

Then came the surprising news that Stacie Laughton had been elected to the New Hampshire Legislature in a Nashua area district.

But unfortunately mounting personal and legal troubles kept her from actually sitting in the legislative seat she'd won, and she resigned before having an opportunity to be sworn in for it.

In 2014 came another attempt of an Oklahoma based trans woman to run for and win a Oklahoma House seat.   It was another Oklahoma City area seat, but time in the more blue House District 88. It was also retired OKC police officer Paula Sophia who was going to make that run to history.

The seat was being vacated by Rep Al McAffrey, who was attempting to run for Congress and there were including Sophia four candidates in that race.   Since the Oklahoma Republicans didn't even bother to run a candidate for that seat, the person who emerged from the June 24 runoff would win and basically become the next District 88 rep.

Jason Dunnington and Sophia emerged from that in first and second place race to qualify for an August runoff election since Dunnington only received 40% of the vote to Sophia's 23.5% of it.


In the runoff, Sophia missed becoming the first transperson elected to the Oklahoma Legislature by an agonizing 22 votes.  She's flipped the June election script and was leading for most of the night until the last precinct came in with just enough votes for Dunnington to make him the district's next representative.

Dr. Dana Beyer decided to make another attempt in 2014 at running for office, and this time decided to try for the Maryland Senate.   She challenged sitting incumbent Maryland state Senator Rich Madaleno (D) for his Senate District 18 seat. 

Even though she received 41% of the vote in that district, she still lost that primary race to him.

Sen. Madaleno has resigned the seat to run for Maryland governor, and Beyer is attempting another run at it in the 2018 election cycle. 

Lauren Scott made her second run for the Nevada State Assembly as a Republican, and this time she successfully got out of the Republican primary.  She won the District 30 primary with 58% of the vote over Adam Khan.   But despite running in a year in which the Republicans seized control of the Nevada House, she still lost in the general election to incumbent Democratic Assemblyman Michael Sprinkle 53.9% - 46.1%

In 2016, Kim Coco Iwamoto, who had already made history by becoming the first out transperson to be elected to statewide office as a result of her 2006 election to the Hawaii State Board of Education, decided to run for the Hawaii Senate District 13 seat being vacated by the retiring Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland. 

Iwamoto got 31% of the vote in that Senate District 13 Democratic Primary, but lost to the eventual winner Karl Rhoads.   She currently sits on the Hawaii Human Rights Commission, and has recently announced she will be running to become Hawaii's next lieutenant governor in the 2018 cycle.

In that 2016 cycle Lauren Scott  got a rematch against incumbent Assemblyman Michael Sprinkle when both ran unopposed in their respective party primaries. 

The result of the rematch was worse for Scott, who was blown out by Sprinkle 58%-42%

This is the trans electoral history for our electoral legislative run that preceded last night's triumphant blowout win by Danica Roem.

Here's hoping that Del-Elect Roem will be joined by countless other trans people in their state's legislative chambers because frankly, in a time when Trump and the Republicans are trying to push anti trans legislation and policies, we need them there.

A Historic 2017 Election Night For Transkind

Today is the first anniversary of, well you all know what tragically happened on this day.

But last night's elections were part of a Democratic tsunami that saw them regain control of the Washington state Senate, come close to taking back the House of Delegate in Virginia, sweep the executive offices in VA, keep the New York City mayor's chair, and flip the governor's mansion in New Jersey back to the Democrats.

That 2017 Democratic political tsunami also helped several trans candidates rack up historic wins.

Andrea Jenkins became the first trans person of any ethnic background to win a city council seat in a major city when she won her War 8 set with a whopping 73% of the vote..

As impressive as Jenkins win was, she could soon be joined on the Minneapolis City Council by Phillipe Cunningham who is also poised to make history.

Cunningham took on a 20 year incumbent who is also the current council president in Barb Johnson. After the first round of voting in Minneapolis' ranked choice system was only trailing her in this race by a mere 120 votes.   The winner of the Ward 4 council seat will be determined either today or in the next few days. 

Should Cunningham win, it would not only be a political earthquake level win in Minneapolis, he would become the first Black trans man in the US to be elected to public office and, like Jenkins, the first of any ethnic background to be elected to the city council of a major city.

And as many of you are already aware of, Danica Roem slayed her legislative dragon in Bigot Bob Marshall, and it wasn't close.   She beat him by ten percentage points 55%-45% to win her landmark VA 13 House of Delegates race.

There were some other trans folks who rn for office in 2017 who didn't capture the headlines, but were ultimately successful in their runs for public office 

Tyler Titus ran for and won one of the four open seats on the Erie, PA school board last night, becoming the first out trans person to win elective office in the state of Pennsylvania.

In a concrete example of every vote counts, Stephe Koontz won her race for the Doraville, GA City Council Position 3 seat by a mere six votes.

If seven of her voters had stayed home, we wouldn't be calling her Councilmember-elect Koontz today

Out west in California, there was another historic election happening with a trans candidate at the center of it. 

Lisa Middleton became the first out trans candidate to run for and win a non judicial race ( Judge Vicky Kolakowski made that history in Alameda County back in 2012) when she won a seat on the Palm Springs, CA City Council.   One of the people who endorsed Councilmember-elect Middleton was former US Senator Barbara Boxer. 

It was also a big night for Trans United Fund, who backed Roem, Jenkins, Cunningham and Browde, and had two huge breakthrough political wins with a possible third one being determined as you read this. .

TUF was on the ground in Virginia, Minnesota and New York for over a year.  The largest independent It was critical in Phillipe's Ward 4 race and may be the decisive factor should he win this race against 20 year incumbent and Council President Barb Johnson. 

The phone banking, fundraising, mailing, the canvassing all powered by a trans led political organization and its coalition partners with the goal of building and growing sustained trans political power.

It wasn't all wonderful news on this November 7 night for trans political candidates.  Chrissie Browde narrowly lost her race in New Castle, NY by a mere 264 votes.  Hope she tries again in another election cycle.

Thanks to all of the people who stepped up in this cycle to run for office in their various locales and all the folks who helped them get across the finish line.  Whether you were successful or not as a tran candidate in 2017, the message that you undeniably sent was that we are part of our various communities, and we aren't going away. 

Another message you sent to our right-wing opposition was that pushing anti-trans hate for electoral advantage may not be a wise political strategy.  A growing list of Republican ex-politicians including Pat McCrory (NC), Debbie Riddle and Gilbert Pena (TX), Lee Bright (SC) and now Bob Marshall are real time examples of transphobia costing you your political career. 

You also sent a positive message to our trans kids that helps expands their horizons concerning what is possible for a trans person born in the US. 

You 2017 trans candidates whether you spectacularly won or narrowly lost, sent the message to our trans kids that one day, should you decide you wish to go into politics, you too can run and win public office.

And that's what makes this an important and historic election night for trans kind. 

Now There Are Seven Elected Trans National Legislators!

When she tried to get elected to Ecuador's National Assembly back in 2013, it didn't happen that year for Diane Rodriguez.   

But despite the loss, she didn't give up on making that dream of getting elected to office a reality.    On February 19, 2017 the 34 year old Rodriguez became a member of a very small (for now) international sorority in terms of trans feminine politicians who were elected to their national legislatures.

And South America is leading the way.   Of the now seven trans women around the world who have been elected to their national legislatures, three of them,  Michelle Suarez of Uruguay, Tamara Adrian of Venezuela, and now Rodriguez reside on the South American continent.

The others in case you're wondering, are Georgina Beyer of New Zealand, Vladimir Luxuria of Italy, Anna Grodzka of Poland and Geraldine Roman of the Philippines.

Rodriguez ean on a platform of combatting anti-trans workplace discrimination, combatting bullying aimed at transgender students and legalizing adoption for same gender couples. 

It probably also didn't hurt her chances that Ecuadorean trans people were allowed for the first time to vote as their chosen gender.  In Ecuador, man and women wait in separate lines to cast their ballots.

Rodriguez also become a parent in 2015 with her transmasculine partner Machado and a psychologist along the way.  She has received some death threats now that she is an elected politician. 

"Being a public figure comes at a price. But is see that cost is a sacrifice for younger generations so that they don't have to suffer the same experiences that I suffer through now."

As a legislator, she fights against a broad spectrum of injustices, but she hasn't forgotten as a trans person that she is also fighting against her community marginalization in Ecuadorian society, and it her primary legislative focus.

Congratulation to Senator Rodriguez!   Hope it happens soon in my own country. 

On The Verge Of Making Trans Electoral History!

Tomorrow is Election Day in many locales across the country.   One of the things I have been keeping my eye on is the group of transgender political candidates who I hope will be making breakthrough political history tomorrow night.


First up are the twin historic campaigns of Andrea Jenkins and Phillipe Cunningham in Minneapolis for two city council seats.

If they win, they would hake history on several fronts.   In Cunningham's case, he would become the first trans masculine candidate elected to any office, and the first Black trans masculine candidate ever elected, and he's in a tight race for the Ward 4 seat. 

Jenkins would become the first out Black trans feminine candidate elected to public office and the first Black trans feminine person elected to public office since Althea Garrison in 1992.

Both Cunningham and Jenkins should they get elected would become the first trans candidates elected to a large metropolitan city council.

In New York State, Chrissie Browde's New Castle, NY town council race in Hillary Clinton's hood is being watched as it hits the homestretch.   Browde made history as the first New York State trans person to have the backing of the state's Democratic Party, and wants to build on it by getting elected to the town council as the second out trans elected official in New York state after Melissa Sklarz broke that electoral ceiling in 1999.

The race getting the most coverage so far of Danica Roem's Virginia House of Delegates race in which she is taking on a longtime enemy of the TBLGQ community in incumbent Del. Bob Marshall.

Bigot Bob is definitely earning his nickname in this race while Roem is fighting to take that seat away from him by focusing on the issues pertinent to the district and calling him out on his transphobia from time to time.

If you're in that Northern VA district, please handle your electoral business tomorrow.

These four candidates are all hard at work trying to get any last minute undecided voters in their columns, if you live in their locales, I hope you will vote for them

We'll know tomorrow night whether these four trans candidates were successful in this election cycle

Can You Donate and Help Trans Candidates Make History?

It's the first day of November, and we are six day away from making history with a group of stellar trans candidates who are running for office in Minneapolis  (Andrea Jenkins and Phillipe Cunningham) New York state (Chrissie Browde) and Virginia (Danica Roem)

Our right wing opposition is getting a last minute infusion of cash to oppose these candidates that we must counter, and that's why Trans United Fund needs your help and your cash for these critical home stretch days. 

It's especially critical in Danica's Virginia House of Delegates race since she is taking on the darling of the right wing movement in longtime anti-TBLGQ foe Delegate Bob Marshall.

Phillipe also has a tough Ward 4 Minneapolis City Council race and will also need some help in the final push to the November 7 finish line 

Each one of these breakthrough candidates has already made history in their various locales.  We need to have trans people get elected to office to help push good public policy and be in position to kill bad policy at the legislative level.

These candidates have stepped up to do that.  We just need to do what it takes on our end to help them win and BE in office to help formulate public policy for their constituents and our community.

So could you take a few moments to contribute to the Breakthrough Fund today?  No amount is too small, and could make all the difference in these races.

Hard Hitting Ad Deployed In VA Governor's Race

The Virginia governor's race has gotten nasty as Democratic candidate Ralph Northam has pulled ahead in a recent poll over former GOP chair Ed Gillespie to a 17 point lead in his race.

Gillespie went to the Republican race-baiting playbook and unleashed an ad insinuating Northam has ties to the MS-13 street gang in a desperate and despicable attempt to try to cut into that lead.

It's about time that the Democrats hit back against this BS, and they went WWE (hallelujah) with their own ad paid for by the Eva Longoria founded Latino Victory Project (told y'all don't sleep on this Tejana) .

And Eva, please consider coming back home to Texas and running for the US Senate

It hits the GOP where it hurts, in their bigoted base.   It shows kids of color dreaming about being chased by a man in a truck with Confederate flags and a Gillespie bumper sticker on it.  Just as the kids are cornered and about to be run over they wake up as the announcer asks the question, "Is this what Donald Trump and Ed Gillespie mean by the American Dream?"

.


We'll see what transpires on November 7. 

Ahh! I Love The Smell Of Indictments In The Morning

Well, the day the Trump Misadministration has been dreading finally happened

The Mueller investigation into the Trump campaign collusion with Russia in last year's election has finally dropped its first indictments, and I couldn't be happier that the prosecution party has started.

Paul Manafort, who was the campaign manager for Trump 2016 has been indicted on 12 counts of conspiracy against the United States. conspiracy to ;launder money, acting as a unregistered against of the Ukrainian government, false and misleading statements, and failure to file reports of foreign an bank accounts.

Paul Gates, Manafort's business partner, was indicted on 8 charges   Of course, Manafort and Gates pleaded not guilty to all the charges they are both facing.

George Papadopoulos, who was a foreign policy advisor to the Trump campaign, in a separate action has pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators about his meeting s in March and April 2016 with a Russsian agent who promised 'dirt' on Hillary Clinton.

This is probably just the first of many indictments to come in the swamp that is the Trump administration, and I'll be eagerly cheering Robert Mueller III on as he continues his investigation.

Happy Milestone Birthday, Hillary Clinton

Had one of my posts from last year pop up to remind me once again how badly this country was screwed when the Orange Moron got elected

Today is Hillary Clinton's birthday, and she was born on this date 70 years ago in Chicago.   Would've been wonderful for our nation if she was celebrating this 70th birthday from the White House.as POTUS

And yeah, I'm not going to let you far left wing Hillary haters forget how you shortsighted animus for this accomplished woman and you letting your hurt fee fees over her beating St Bernard of Sanders led to this nightmare of a presidency were going to have to spend years cleaning up the mess from.

Happy milestone birthday Madame President Secretary!   Thank you for the years you have served our country as our First lady, a senator and the previous Secretary of State.when we had a coherent goals oriented foreign policy.

.We could've had another intelligent, well prepared person in the Oval Office, but now we have a petulant man baby(emphasis on baby) with his tiny hands on the nuke launch codes.

TX Legislative Heroes Speaker Joe Straus, Rep Byron Cook Not Running For Re-Election

One of the major reasons that the transphobic Hate Bill 6/3 didn't become law was in large part because of the efforts of Texas House Speaker Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) and Rep Byron Cook (R-Corsicana), the chair of the House State Affairs Committee.

They ensured that the unjust SB6/3 when it came to the House not only got bottled up, but never made it to the House floor when the regular session and the subsequent Special Oppression Session went sine die.

Now come the horrific news to those of us fighting the Texas Axis of Oppression that Speaker Straus and Rep. Cook within minutes of each other announced they were not seeking reelection to the Texas House in 2018.

Crap, that means the Texas Freedumb Caucus and all their Trumpian wingnuts won't have adult supervision when the next legislative session kicks off in 2019

Neither man has ruled out running for higher office.

"I believe that in a representative democracy, those who serve in public office should do so for a time, not a lifetime.   It's been decades since someone has left the Speaker's office on his own terms. But we have accomplished what I had hoped the House would accomplish when I first entered this office, and I am increasingly eager to contribute to our state in new and different ways," Straus said in a Facebook post announcing his decision.  

Of course, you know the Lone Star hatemongers like Jonathan Saenz are celebrating his decision and doing the happy dance.

Had Straus run and won in 2018, it would have been his record setting sixth term as Texas Speaker. 
Now he leaves office and the speaker's gavel behind, and the 2018 Texas election just got more serious to those of us that the Texas GOP majority wishes to oppress.

Danica's Unapologetically Trans Political Commercial

As some of you are aware of, Danica Roem is taking on incumbent Delegate Bob Marshall (R) in a historic race for the District 13 seat that he's held since 1991 and used to be a relentless legislative oppressor to the Virginia TBLGQ community.

Roem won a four way primary race back in June to become the Democratic Party nominee in this race and earn the shot at taking down one of the TBLGQ community's longtime political enemies.

If she wins, she would not only became the first out trans person elected to a state legislative seat, she would become the first trans person elected to a US state legislature since since Althea Garrison did so in 1990. 

Bigot Bob is living up to his name by misgendering Danica, refusing to debate her and being a transphobic idiot on the campaign trail.

Danica fired back with this ad embracing her trans identity that Bigot Bob has been attacking.



Hope you Virginia TransGriot readers who live in District 13 are registered to vote and planning to help Danica make history in a few weeks. 

Being A Black Athlete Has Always Been Political

With the conservafools getting all bent out of shape about Colin Kaepernick NFL anthem protests that are being joined by other NFL players, and now going viral thanks to 45's racist mouth, need to point out that being a Black athlete has always been intimately tied to politics.

From the hatred aimed Jack Johnson's way as heavyweight champion and beating a succession of 'Great White Hopes' challenging him for his title to Jesse Owens, Joe Louis, Jackie Robinson and  Serena Williams, athletic excellence has never been enough for the Black athlete.  They also in many cases have to navigate racism, sexism. and countless other issues from the hardwood to the tennis courts.

Black athletes don't get the luxury of just 'shutting up and play' as the conservafools derisively shout at them.  In many cases Black athletes have used their sporting platforms to call attention to the social injustices of the day as Muhammad Ali and Jim Brown did.

Or racist controversies find them.

And when they do call out America's faults, they are passionately hated on by White Americans as Colin Kaepernick has discovered.   He chose to take a knee during the national anthem in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and to protest police brutality aimed predominately at Black Americans.

Bob Beamon almost didn't make the 1968 Olympic team and get to execute that then world and current Olympic record 29-2 long jump at the Mexico City Olympic games.  People were upset that he and other Black athletes protested the WAC Track and Field Championships held at Brigham Young University that spring.   They were being protested because of the Mormon church's anti-Black theological beliefs and UTEP suspended him.. 

Black female athletes also have had to battle in addition to the racism aimed at them, misogyny. accusations of cheating and 'that's a man' shade simply for excelling at their sport as the Williams sisters, Caster Semenya, Brittney Griner and a far too long list of African descended female athletes can testify to.

Florence Griffith Joyner brought style to track and field along with undeniable speed and talent/  Her 1988 100m world record still hasn't been touched.   But she was dogged by allegations of steroid use that followed her to the grave despite years of clean drug tests.

And how many times have we seen Serena Williams continue to win Grand Slam tournaments, with her 2017 Australian Open win happening while she was 23 weeks pregnant. while having 'that's a man' shade and accusations of substance abuse repeatedly uttered at her?

Black athletes are in many cases also carrying the hopes and aspirations of an entire people on their shoulders, especially if they are in a white dominated sport like tennis, swimming or gymnastics.

It's why Serena 's repeated Grand Slam tournament victories or the success of Dominique Dawes, Gabby Douglas and most recently Simone Biles was a point of pride in Black America.

 

And that Black athlete doesn't even have to be from the US for Black Americans to cheer for them. We were cheering just as loudly for Usain Bolt as his Jamaican countrymen were and griped at the obvious discrimination that French figure skater Surya Bonaly faced as she was competing in the figure skating world of the 90's.

Being a Black athlete has always been a political act.  As long as injustice and anti-Blackness exists in the world, it's sadly going to continue to be that way.