Why The Media Silence On HR 676, The Universal Single Payer Health Care Bill?

'The time has arrived to help millions of Americans living without a full measure of opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health...and [to have] protection...against the economic effects of sickness.' President Harry S. Truman September 19, 1945

The United States is the only industrialized nation without a universal single payer health care system. It's not for lack of trying. President Harry Truman tried to get one passed for us starting in 1945 but the W-M-D Bill to establish the system was thwarted by the dynamic duo of Republican Party resistance and the AMA screaming 'socialized medicine'.

In 1993 President Bill Clinton tried to pass universal single payer health care with then First Lady Hillary Clinton being the point person on the plan. 'Hillarycare' was drowned in $100 million of special interest money, lies, lobbyists, the usual refrains of 'socialized medicine' and the 'Harry and Louise' negative attack ad among others.

The takeover of Congress in the 1994 midterm elections by the GOP, the perennial Party of NO when it comes to universal single payer health plans also killed any further attempts by the Clinton administration at implementing it.



The soon to be nasty and heated debate concerning what direction the Obama Administration reforms of our broken health care system will take will make the 1993 one look like a church picnic. Out of all the plans under discussion, there's one option our corporate media won't talk about.

Universal comprehensive single payer health care.

So if the media won't kick knowledge about it, it's up to us bloggers to do so. I also found it interesting that 'Harry and Louise are back and singing a different tune in these 2008 ads, just like the millions of Americans who were hoodwinked and bamboozled into opposing 'Hillarycare'.



Since I believe that health care is a right, not a pay for out of pocket privilege, what I'm seeking to do is 'ejumacate' you about the once in a lifetime chance we have to get a health care system passed that benefits us, not large corporations.

Class is now in session. Time to talk about HR 676.

HR 676 is the United States National Health Insurance Act. It would expand and improve Medicare to cover all individuals residing in the United States.

If HR 676 is passed and signed by President Obama everybody would receive high quality and affordable health care services. People would receive all medically necessary services by the physicians of their choice, with no restrictions on what providers they could visit. If HR 676 is implemented, the United States National Health Insurance Act would cover primary care, dental, mental health, prescription drugs, and long term care.

In other words, the same high quality, low cost health care that other nations such as Canada, Great Britain, France and others around the world enjoy that's a major reason why their life expectancy rates are rising as opposed to ours would finally come to US shores.

'Our current national health care system is simple. Don't get sick.' Anonymous.

If you've seen the Michael Moore movie 'Sicko', you've already gotten a glimpse of what it's really like for the countries that use single payer health care plans.

Citizens in countries with universal health care pay small fees for medications we pay hundreds of dollars for. It's the reason US peeps who live near the Canadian or Mexican borders get their medications over there.

They get to see their regular doctors and never pay doctor bills. Doctors still get paid six figure salaries for practicing medicine despite working for the government, and you have luxuries such as house calls for doctors, therapists, et cetera.

Of course, the large HMO's and drug companies are against it and are already gearing up to spend truckloads of cash on PR firms and lobbyists to demonize and stop this bill from passing. They favor one that keeps the same tired Nixonian era HMO based system in place with its high costs, obscene drug prices, deductibles and high profits for them.


We also have a coalition of doctors, nurses and health care workers who are pushing for a comprehensive single payer universal health system to be created here in the United States as well. Physicians For a National Health Program is doing the myth busting work in order to get this passed so we'll no longer have 18,000 people a year die because of our jacked up system.

Contrary to the fiction that universal health care opponents and the GOP like to pimp, we don't have the best health care system in the world. We're 37th in the World Health Organization rankings when it comes to health care (France was number one).

The United States also fared poorly in a 2007 study by the Commonwealth Fund that compared our health care system to eight industrialized nations.

There are increasing numbers of cities such as Austin, TX and Louisville along with various organizations who have passed resolutions supporting and endorsing HR 676 along with various citizens groups. It's time once again to make our voices heard to our congressmen like we did on November 4 last year so it can happen.

It's time for the United States to stop the medical madness and join the rest of the world in providing quality health care to all its citizens.

Lighting A Candle For Angie

Angie Zapata was an 18 year old transwoman who was brutally killed in her Greeley, CO apartment in July 2008.

The trial of her alleged killer Allen Andrade will be starting on Tuesday, and like all peeps who wish to see justice done in this case I will not only be covering the case, Renee and I will be talking about it on our upcoming April 25 podcast.




In the interim, please give the Zapata family as much love and prayerful support as you can over the next two weeks. The Colorado transgender community is also gearing up to ensure that justice is done and give the Zapata family the support as they need in this difficult time.

You can also check out angiezapata.com or GLAAD's webpage as well. Now that the federal hate crimes bill has been filed, you can call your local congressmember or senator and urge them to pass it as well.

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency

As a writer I love shows that are well written and have great acting. I stumbled across just such another show on HBO with the The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency.

The six episode show and the pilot movie is based on the series of ten novels by author Alexander McCall Smith and is shot entirely on location in Botswana. The HBO show stars Grammy award winner Jill Scott in the lead role as Precious Ramotswe and Tony Award winner Anika Noni Rose as Grace Makutsi, her awkward but very efficient secretary.

As the owner of the only woman owned detective agency in Botswana's capital of Gaborone, Precious has realized the achievement of her dream. She's kept busy solving various cases while also dealing with the problems and foibles of her clients lives as well.

It's also shined a spotlight on one of the more successful nations in sub-Saharan Africa. Botswana has been politically stable since independence in 1966, well run, prosperous and managed to avoid the drama that has plagued other emerging African democracies. The show has given us a chance to see the beautiful countryside and the wonderful nation as well.

It's enjoyable television, and I'm planning to catch up on the episodes I missed.

Villager's April 2009 Black Blog Rankings

The 2009 NCAA college basketball champions on both the men's and women's sides have been crowned, the 2009 major league baseball season has started, I'm a few weeks shy of another birthday, and the Afrosphere is ready to peruse the latest edition of the Villager's Black Blog Rankings.

This month the BBR's ranked 1629 blogs, which is an increase of 8 blogs over the last ranking period. The runaway Number One BBR ranked blog is still Pam's House Blend.

For the rest of the blogs ranked 2 to 25 and beyond you can click on the rankings link to discover who they are.

As for TransGriot, in last month's rankings I was as of the March 8 compilation date sitting at Number 46 with a Technorati ranking of 150.

So how did I do this month? As of the April 12 compilation date, TransGriot was Number 43 with a Technorati ranking of 150.

My Technorati ranking is making as much upward progress as my 401k lately. I've had the same ranking for the last three BBR's, but inched up three more spots in the BBR's.

Go figure.

I'm also running out of time in terms of getting up to my goal of the BBR Top 25 and a 200 Technorati ranking by my birthday.

But all I can do is suck it up, go back to writing the same insightful, informative and entertaining commentary I've always do and have faith that the rankings and Technorati rating catch up with the quality of the writing.

Transwomen Rap!

These Black transwomen have the skillz to pay the bills. Introducing Foxxjazell and Pam Jones from the 310 and Katey Red from the 504.



That's Los Angeles and New Orleans for you peeps who don't know the area codes for those cities.

Angel Taking Wings To The ATL

Angel McCoughtry may have been the best player on the second best team in the nation behind the unbeaten UConn Huskies, but she's number one in the hearts of the Atlanta Dream.

Despite my still simmering pissivity over the madness that led to my beloved Houston Comets not playing this summer, I took a few moments Thursday to check out the 2009 WNBA Draft. The Atlanta Dream after a 4-30 expansion season used their number one overall pick in the 2009 WNBA draft to take Angel. She averaged 23.1 points this season for the Lady Cardinals and is Louisville’s career scoring leader among women and men ballers at Da Ville..

“I feel on top of the world right now,” said McCoughtry,

“I’m on cloud nine. After I get off cloud nine, it’s time to work and get things started for Atlanta.

I enjoyed watching Angel play for the Cards. Best of luck with the Atlanta Dream.

70th Anniversary of Marian Anderson's Easter Concert To Be Celebrated Today

Marian Anderson had grown up from a poverty stricken childhood in south Philadelphia to become the most celebrated opera singer of her times. She had sung for the kings and queens of Europe. She'd sung in major concert halls across Europe, New York and Philadelphia.

But she couldn't sing in her own nation's capital because of her skin color.

When her manager tried to book her for a concert in Washington's Constitution Hall, the largest venue in DC at the time, the Daughters of the American Revolution, who owned it, said no because they refused to allow African Americans to perform there. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt subsequently resigned her DAR membership in protest of the organization's diss of Marian Anderson. An attempt to move the concert to a local Washington high school was thwarted by the local school board.

So the First Lady, then Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes, and a coalition of Black and White leaders mobilized to set up a concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial that took place on Easter Sunday, April 9, 1939.

She sang, 'My Country, 'Tis of Thee' in front of an 75,000 person integrated crowd that included Supreme Court justices and senators. It was a seminal event that came to symbolize the hope and ideal of racial equality in America.

Another free concert will be held at the Lincoln Memorial will be held later today to honor the 70th anniversary of that seminal civil rights event.

The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and the National Park Service are jointly sponsoring it as part of the series of events celebrating the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth and the approaching 100th day of President Obama's historic first term in office. It will incorporate some of the songs Marian Anderson sung 70 years ago and feature modern day opera singer Denyce Graves singing classical songs as well.

The Chicago Children's Choir, the women's a cappella group Sweet Honey in the Rock and the U.S. Marine Band are also scheduled to perform.

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell will read excerpts from Lincoln's second inaugural address during the anniversary concert, and at the conclusion of the event 200 people will be sworn in as US citizens.

Yes, we've come a long way as a country on racial issues in 70 years, but the journey is still not complete. But events like this serve to remind of where we were, how far we've come and ensure we don't go back to that antiquated way of thinking ever again.

Never Let Anyone Tell You God Doesn't Love You

Happy Easter everybody! I thought this would be an excellent time to drop a post about spirituality since this is a significantly special day for Christians around the world.

Back during the 2003 Derby I attended a star studded GLBT party. I had the pleasure of not only meeting the Lady Chablis and getting my personal copy of her autobiographical book Hiding My Candy autographed, I also had the pleasure of meeting the late Tammy Faye Bakker as well.

I had a wonderful conversation with the petite dynamo that turned to religion after she spent a few moments marveling at my 6'2" height.

We talked about the increasing negativity of the fundamentalist strains of many world religions, and their ratcheting up the faith based hatred of transgender people. She told me and later repeated it in her short speech to the assembled GLBT masses in the Olmsted that afternoon, "Never let anyone tell you God doesn't love you."

Tammy Faye was absolutely right. Whether you call the higher power God, Allah or Yahweh, know that God loves us just as equally as any cisgender person. If they say otherwise, they are violating a commandment.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

Tammy Faye has a cogent point in that too many times we allowed the Religious Right to use the Bible as a baton to beat us down with spiritually. We have also failed to push back and forcefully call out the Religious Right's lies about transgender people as well.

But as former ESSENCE editor Susan L. Taylor once wrote, "We are not powerless spectators of life. We are co-creators with God. and all around us are the gifts, the clay, that we can use to shape our world."

For too long we have allowed the Forces of Intolerance to shape our world with their faith-based hatred because we were dispirited. We transgender people are children of God and spiritual people as well.

God loves us too. We transgender people need to name it and proclaim it to all who will listen. We also need to chuck the faith based shame and guilt and believe it with all our hearts as well.

We need to resolve on this Easter Sunday that we will henceforth tap into that spiritual power, stand tall, and begin to boldly use the clay and gifts all around us to do the world shaping to our benefit for a change.

Rape Is Not A Joke

Thanks to Faith and Jo Jo I was made aware of the existence of another transwoman rapper, but I wish it was under more positive circumstances.

Los Angeles based rapper Pam Jones was reportedly kidnapped at gunpoint by several men, assaulted and raped. ALL Hip Hop's knuckle dragging readers showed their asses in the comment thread to the story with posted comments dripping with transphobia and tasteless jokes. The same tired transphobic ignorance was on display at several other hip hop sites as well.

According to Pam's MySpace page she's recovering and doing okay, so send her well wishes and some love.

But the one thing that is infuriating me right now is the breathtaking level of ignorance and lack of common decency that was demonstrated by the comments on these various hip hop websites. Rape is rape, and it is not a fracking joke or something to be turned into a comedy routine. It is a violent crime that happens every two minutes in the United States and people have died from sexual assaults.



Are you that dense in the hip hop community that you're making jokey-jokes about a person getting sexually assaulted? Do you people actually think that someone would do that for publicity? Are you so sexually insecure about an attractive, talented transwoman living her life you see it as an affront to your tenuous masculinity or femininity and you smugly sit at your computer screens and type 'she asked for it'?

Would you nekulturny Negroes feel the same way if it was a member of your family who'd been raped? Probably not.

The only joke here is hip hop has declined from something our people could be proud of back in the 70's and 80's to an embarrassment for the African descended family.

You self appointed moralists are ranting about how transpeople are an embarrassment to you. I think it's the other way around in terms of odious associations.

Vote For Renee!

The voting for the Canadian F-Blogs Awards has started and my broadcast partner Renee's Womanist Musings blog has received six nominations for one of the awards.

She's in the running for the Best Canadian Feminist Blog Category, and the first elimination round started today and will run through the 14th. I'll make it easy on you and provide the link to the ballot.

I think it's great that she's finally beginning to get some recognition for the quality, tell it like it T-I-S is writing she puts together at Womanist Musings.

We bloggers have many reasons for starting our blogs, and we don't consciously start them seeking to grab up every award in sight. But when you're nominated for them because you do the hard work, and the peeps that create these awards and your readers like what you do enough to nominate you for them, it's nice to get the affirmation.

So show her some love and give her a little support.

Good News For Transgender Jews

Unlike Christianity and Islam, who have fundamentalist elements growing more hostile every day to transgender people, there's good news for transgender Jews, be they part of the Reform or Conservative movements.

In 2007 the Union For Reform Judaism in a groundbreaking move to recognize the experiences of transgender Jews, published several prayers for sanctifying the sex-change process.

The 500-page Kulanu: A Program for Implementing Gay and Lesbian Inclusion includes services for same-sex commitment and marriage ceremonies as well as advice for the inclusion of GBLT individuals in the community. A website called Transtorah.org was recently launched that is designed to serve as a resource for the Jewish community on transgender issues.

"I believe that gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GBLT) Jews in our midst - our children, our relatives, and our friend - are in great need, as are we all of spiritual support," said Union of Reform Judaism President Rabbi Eric Yoffie in the manual's Statement of Purpose.

"In the ten years since the first edition of Kulanu was published there has been great progress in the way the Jewish community in general and the Reform synagogue community in particular has welcomed GLBT Jews," says the Union of Reform Judaism website. "This edition of Kulanu will continue to pave the way towards total inclusion of GLBT individuals and families in Reform Jewish Life."

While it may be news to Gentiles, the issues of transgender Jews were first addressed back in 1978. The Central Conference of American Rabbis deemed it permissible for one who had undergone a sex-change operation to be married according to Jewish tradition. In 1990, the CCAR allowed such individuals to be converted. In 2003 the union retroactively applied its policy on Jewish gays and lesbians to the transgender and bisexual communities.

Rabbi Elliot Kukla is a transperson who authored the blessings for transitioning genders. He was on the other side of the gender fence when he was ordained in 2006 by the Reform movement’s New York seminary.

He originally wrote the blessings for a friend who wanted to mark each time he received testosterone therapy and believes they are appropriate for multiple moments in the sex-change process, including “moments of medical transitions.”

On the Conservative Judaism side, there's been movement as well to consider transgender Jews place in the faith.

Rabbi Mayer Rabinowitz, an associate professor of Talmud at JTS, authored a rabbinic opinion, or teshuvah on transgender people that in 2003 was passed by the movement’s top lawmaking body.

Rabinowitz argued that Jewish law, or Halacha, should consider people who undergo sexual reassignment surgery in terms of their new gender.

Rabinowitz’s teshuvah states,

“Those who claim that we can not change God’s creation are closing their eyes to conversion, and to transplants as well as many other medical procedures which in fact do change God’s creation. Halakhah has always been macroscopic and not microscopic. Therefore, external organs determine the sexual status of a person.”

Rabbi Leonard Sharzer, who once was a plastic surgeon who performed SRS surgeries, is a senior fellow in bioethics at the Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies at New York's Jewish Theological Seminary. He has written a teshuvah that built upon Rabinowitz's earlier one, but has yet to be submitted to the law committee.

Sharzer proposes that an individual claiming a transgender identity be considered the gender that person claims for himself or herself, regardless of whether or not he or she has undergone surgery.

As of yet, Ultra Orthodox people don't recognize the concept of transgender Jews. Avi Shafran, the director of Agudath Israel of America, said in a recent interview that under Jewish law, "and that’s all that should matter to an Orthodox Jew, if the physiology is clearly male or female, then they are considered that."

The recent transition of Joy Ladin at New York's Yeshiva University and other transgender Jews such as Israeli singer Aderet kind of throws a wrench in that line of thought.

Rabbi Kukla writes in the introduction to the Kulanu, which means 'all of us' in Hebrew, “The midrash, classical Jewish exegesis, adds that the adam harishon, the first human being formed in God’s likeness, was an androgynos, an intersex person,” “Hence our tradition teaches that all bodies and genders are created in God’s image whether we identify as men, women, intersex, or something else.”

It is something that all religious folks having issues with transgender people would do well to remember.

The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela

This is an award winning movie by Icelandic director Olaf De Fleur Johannesson released last October about a transpinay named Raquela. She dreams of escaping Cebu City to experience romance and life in Paris. It's racked up awards at various film festivals around the globe and here's the trailer for it.

1,500 Posts

Another day, another milestone here at TransGriot. You're looking at post number 1,500 since I started composing posts on this blog on January 1, 2006.

After a gradual buildup over 2006 into a regular posting cycle as I tried to figure out where I wanted to take the blog, its evolved, grown by leaps and bounds and the posts have been coming fast and furiously since then. It's been a joy to see the improvement in my writing and just the look of this blog since that date.

It's allowed me to chronicle history from my humble point of view at the time. In addition to covering a wide range of subjects, the best part is TransGriot will be a record of my thoughts as the historic election of Barack Obama to the presidency was taking shape. It's also chronicling transgender history as it takes shape as well.

I've also talked about life as a transgender person from the point of view of a POC, and hope I've given you a feel for it through an African-American prism. I also hope at the same time I've done my job in edutaining you as I talk about the issues we deal with.

There's plenty more writing to come, and it's time to get busy and start working toward milestone post number 2000!

Installing IntenseDebate

Because of the negativity that has recently intruded my cyberhome, I decided to go ahead and install the IntenseDebate commenting system in order to better manage the comments.

I thank my regular commenting family for coming in for the last several years and creating some stimulating debate on the various topics I post here. But there are fools who basically want to turn discussions into WWE wrestling matches, especially since I tackle topics that don't neatly fit with their worldview, and I'm tired of it.

My increasing profile and attention across the Net will only ensure that those troll infestations will increase, not decrease, so I've taken this step to ensure this blog remains a space in which intelligent discourse will continue to reign.

To comment on TransGriot from this point, you'll either have to use your OpenID or register with IntenseDebate before it allows you to post a comment. It also has some cool features as well as the ability to rate a commenter.

I've had the chance to observe it on other blogs I regularly comment on and I think you'll enjoy the enhanced experience as well. I also apologize for any inconvenience the switch may cause in order for us to continue to have substantive conversations here.

Shut Up Fool! Awards-Good Friday Edition

Today is Good Friday, so like all Christians I'm taking a moment to pause during this Holy Week and enter prayerful contemplation about the events leading up to Easter Sunday.

Renee and I have another edition of our Blogtalkradio show coming at you tomorrow at a new time, 8 PM EDT. It'll feature the women of Thistle Farms.

Speaking of prayerful contemplation, it's time to pray for and pity the fools that were nominated for this week's Shut Up Fool! Award.

While there were once again a plethora of candidates such as Rush Limbaugh, the WWBT's Joke Jennifer and Liz, Faux News as a group nomination along with the GOP, the winner just outdid them all.

Glenn Beck gets it this week. I never liked him, even before his failed stint on CNN, and why the hell did they even hire him in the first place?

I also never liked his behind for calling Hurricane Katrina survivors in New Orleans "scumbags". Since he moved to Faux News, he like all conservatives since January 20, 2009 have just gone off the deep end.



Beck: "I was wrong. Our government is not marching down the road towards communism or socialism... they're marching us to a brand of non-violent fascism... towards 1984."

Glenn, your comrades in the Republican Party over the last eight years had us so uncomfortably in bed with fascism the United States under Dummya met all 14 characteristics of a fascist state.

1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism. (CHECK)
2. Disdain for the importance of human rights. (CHECK)
3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause. (CHECK)
4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism. (CHECK)
5. Rampant sexism. (CHECK)
6. A controlled mass media. (CHECK)
7. Obsession with national security. (CHECK)
8. Religion and ruling elite tied together. (CHECK)
9. Power of corporations protected. (CHECK)
10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated. (CHECK)
11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts. (CHECK)
12. Obsession with crime and punishment. (CHECK)
13. Rampant cronyism and corruption. (CHECK)
14. Fraudulent elections. (CHECK)

Glenn Beck, shut up fool!

Washington Adding Transgender People To Hate Crimes Law

Transgender people residing in the state of Washington got some great news from their legislature Wednesday.

The Washington House approved Senate Bill 5952 on a 68-30 vote, with six Republicans joining the majority in adding the words 'gender identity or expression' to the state's hate-crime law. It was approved by the Washington Senate a month ago.

It now heads to the desk of Gov. Chris Gregoire (D), who is expected to sign it into law. The change would take effect three months after the end of the 2009 legislative session, which is scheduled to adjourn April 26.

Washington's hate crime law makes it a felony to threaten, damage the property of, or physically injure someone because of ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender, disability or sexual orientation.

The definition of sexual orientation in the bill only covered people who were gay, straight or bisexual people. Adding 'gender identity or expression' to that definition makes the law apply to transgender people.

Lawmakers who supported the change said broadening hate-crime protections was a matter of fairness and justice. Rep. Chris Hurst, D-Enumclaw, a former police officer, said the state has a duty to defend people who are targeted solely because of who they are.

“If we do not defend the rights of those individuals, we defend the rights of no one.”

Republican opponents trotted out their usual argument against the principle of the hate-crime law itself, saying it seems unfair to dole out tougher punishments for crimes committed against certain types of victims.

“We’re not protecting people equally,” said Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama. “We aren’t protecting the cowboy that walks into a location where he is the one that stands out, or when a woman walks into a facility where she is the one that stands out.”

But Rep. Marko Liias, D-Mukilteo, pointed out that women are indeed protected under hate-crime laws if they’re attacked or threatened because of their gender. Liias also noted that stronger punishments already extend beyond the hate-crime statute, covering crimes against children or police officers, for instance.

By not giving hate-crime protections to transgender people, “We’ve said, ‘You’re just too different,’” Liias said.

Thanks to Washington state for becoming another in the long list of jurisdictions that recognizes the humanity of its transgender citizens.

TransGriot Speak 101

In the interest of making your blogging experience a fresh, pleasant and informative one here at TransGriot, every now and then I'll slip in a few terms that you probably won't see elsewhere.

I'm going to break them down for you in this post.

When I want to insult Republicans or conservatives, I'll use either 'Republi' or 'conserva' in front of the word I want to insult them with.

example: conservalogic, conservaidiot, Republidolt, Republifool

I will sometimes use the Russian word 'nekulturny in my posts. Nekulturny means 'uncultured' in Russian.

When I'm slamming the Religious Right, I'll sometimes used the term 'faith-based' to properly attribute their stupidity and Hateraid to them

example: faith-based hatred

Sometimes I'll even come up with acronyms to whack my opponents with like those latte-drinking haters the WWBT's. WWBT stands for White Women Born Transsexual. They're the transgender community's version of the rad fems. Just as nasty, reeking with privilege, clueless, and just as deserving of any lack of civility.

Note to the WWBT's, the rad fems still hate you and don't want you either, irregardless of how much you spent on that neocoochie.

That's a nice segue into my next terms, neocoochie or neovagina. I will sometimes call the post sex realignment surgery (SRS) genitalia by those names. Neoclit is the genital organ of a pre-op/non-op transwoman.

I don't like the term 'passing', because when I hear it, my thoughts go immediately to our history and light-skinned Blacks who had the features and opportunity to do so passing for white. I also don't like the connotation of deception. I use the word 'blending' as a stand in for a transperson who looks their gender best and is easily fitting in with society in their desired gender role.

There are probably some others I've coined, and as I do, I'll define them for you in future TransGriot Speak 101 posts.

Rush Gets Smacked On His Own Show

I can only take Faux News, Rush and all the other Republifascists in small doses, so I don't listen to or watch their shows. But there are days that I wish I had, and one of those was Tuesday.

A caller got through and excoriated the so called leader of the Republican Party/conservative movement. Here's the enjoyable takedown and a transcript courtesy of Media Matters.



Thanks Charles for exposing the real Rush Limbaugh. With talent on loan from Satan, he's a draft dodging bully who can dish out the criticism, but he can't take it. He's also been shown to be the foolish idiot he really is.

The Isis Surgery Show

Y'all knew as soon as the Tyra show with little sis Isis was up on YouTube I'd post it to the blog. I haven't seen it either so I'll be watching the video along with you.

Shoot, where's my popcorn?









Isis, if you're reading this, congratulations on the engagement.

Somali Pirates Snatch US Flagged Ship

I wrote last month about the menace of Somali based pirates attacking shipping off the Horn of Africa. In addition to it becoming a lucrative multimillion dollar endeavor for the Somali buccaneers, piracy is becoming an increasing problem in the waters off the Nigerian coast and Niger River delta region as well.

The pirates have become even more brazen. A pirate group based in Nigeria attacked the Equatorial Guinea presidential palace in its island capital of Malabo in February but was driven off by security forces.

The Somali pirates have attacked 66 ships since January and are holding another 14 for ransom. Despite some recent successes earlier this year by the multinational naval task force in beating back some recent pirate attacks, after a lull they spiked up again in addition to changing tactics and hitting ships further out to sea.

For the first time since the Barbary Pirates attacked a US ship off the coast of Libya in 1804, a US flagged vessel was attacked and successfully seized by African based pirates. This was also the first American vessel to be seized in this current wave of pirate attacks off Somalia.

The US flagged ship Maersk Alabama was transporting food aid destined for Somalia, Uganda and Kenya to the port of Mombasa when it was captured by pirates 200 miles southeast of Eyl off the Somali coast.

But that historical footnote was short lived. The ship had already been disabled before the pirates boarded and the second in command's father teaches an anti piracy course at the Merchant Marine Academy.

Hours later the 20 man crew of the Maersk Alabama bumrushed and overwhelmed the four heavily armed pirates, retook the ship and captured one while the others took captain Richard Phillips hostage and fled in a lifeboat.

The USS Bainbridge has arrived on the scene to assist with efforts to return the captain safely.

But it speaks to the fact that the piracy problem is getting out of hand to the point where long term solutions to deal with it will have to be implemented.