June marks the 30th anniversary observance of Black Music Month, and I haven't had much discussion about it thanks to various higher profile breaking news stories.
I planned at the beginning of the month to talk about some of my fave groups, concerts I've attended and and why the American music scene owes a major creative debt to its African descended people.
So I'm going to make up for lost time and dedicate some posts until the end of the month to doing just that.
Y'all know my teen years were spent in the 70's. Thanks to Dad I got to attend a long list of great concerts and see some slammin' groups and artists back in the day.
My first concert experience happened during the summer of 1976. The Summit (later Compaq Center) had only been open a year and was several decades from becoming Lakewood Church's new sanctuary.
The group that my dad was taking me and my brother to see? WAR
The best part about this show was I got to see it from the comfort of the sky boxes with the staff of the radio station.
I got my grub on, had a bottomless soda cup and had the option of either watching the concert from nice comfortable seats or watch the closed circuit TV feed of the show.
The first one I attended without the parental units tagging along was one headlined by Bootsy's Rubber Band in 1976. I had floor seats 20 rows from the stage for this one. I also saw Bootsy in 1978 during his Player Of The Year Tour.
When I showed up for school that Monday wearing my Bootsy concert t-shirt, I opened my big mouth and accidentally let it slip I had a extra ticket that ended up going to waste.
Half the girls at JJ (and some of my homies as well) were pissed at me for a week.
In my defense, I did get those tickets last minute, and several peeps I called weren't home. Most of the time I didn't get those comp tickets until several hours before the show or I'd come home and the tickets were lying on my bed.
It seemed like during that era in the 70's and 80's, every time I turned around there were great shows to attend. Don't even get me started on the Budweiser Superfests and Kool Jazz Festivals stadium tours devoid of jazz artists, but full of great R&B ones.
But it's the first ones you attend that are the most memorable.
In addition to it being the first day of summer, Happy Father's Day to all my loyal TransGriot readers who are dads out there or a father figure in someone's life.
Probably means even more to transman Thomas Beattie and his wife and family, who now are blessed with two healthy kids.
We are rapidly approaching the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion that kicked off in New York June 28, 1969.
It was the impetus for the increased activism of the modern TBLG rights movement, but I'm ambivalent about it as an African descended transperson.
My attitude toward it reflects the Col. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. line in the HBO movie The Tuskegee Airmen. In this particular scene he was testifying in front of a Senate committee at the behest of a racist senator whether to shut down the Tuskegee Airmen.
I'll paraphrase it here.
'How do I feel about the gay community? And how does the gay community feel about me? Are we to only be considered part of the gay community when the mood suits you or at your whim? All we want is a fair chance for the same respect and equality that you'd expect, no, demand for yourselves.'
The paraphrasing of this line speaks to a conundrum that I and many Black GLBT/SGL peeps talk about within the family and our Black cisgender allies about the white-dominated gay community.
Our perception is that we are not only a political pinata being bashed by both groups, but that sometimes we don't belong to either.
We're either 'too Black' for the gay community, or 'too gay' for the Black community.
We also face the maddening drama of both sides not considering us a part of 'their' group while being thrust into the no-win position of being told we have to choose one or the other.
A lot of my personal mood has been shaped by past and present events. While both sides are guilty of repeatedly crapping on and disrespecting Black SGL and trans people, it's particularly hurtful and galling to be ignored and disrespected time and again by your alleged allies.
Combine that with the GL leadership ranks lack of diversity, the repeated slights, appropriation and disrespect of out culture and history, and witnessing the racism that exploded from white gays after the Prop 8 loss.
Pouring gasoline on this simmering anger is what I and many Black GLBT peeps perceive as overly hostile criticism hurled at President Obama at the hands of white gay peeps who supported his Dem opponent.
It's leaving me and many Black TBLG/SGL peeps feeling like the only reason we're wanted is to provide melanin for photo ops.
Happy Pride? Yeah, right.
So how do I feel about the gay community? And how does the gay community feel about me?
While I'm a little bummed because I'm not at home for the Juneteenth parade in downtown Houston, I did my best to have a traditional Juneteenth celebration despite being 1000 miles from home.
As I scarf up the rest of my strawberry soda and lick the barbecue sauce off my fingers, it's time to ascertain which fool was 1000 miles from reality this week.
As our Shut Up Fool! Awards mascot reminds us, fools are everywhere.
This week's fool is another contender for the Shut Up Fool Lifetime Achievement Award, Sarah Palin.
In this faux dustup over Letterman's lousy joke about Bristol, she drags her own daughter Willow into it when it's clear Dave's talking about her older sister.
Then after Letterman apologizes twice, she comes up with this phony acceptance of it that reads like consrvative talking points rather than from a mother who feels her anger over her daughter being dissed.
"The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.
This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor.
The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere."
Union Major General Gordon Granger, Galveston TX, June 19, 1865
With the reading of General Order No. 3 from the balcony of Ashton Villa in Galveston, TX, a holiday and tradition amongst Black Texans was born that has grown into an international celebration.
Juneteenth became for Black Texans our Fourth of July celebration. In addition to the fireworks and parades, the early Juneteenth celebrations included prayer services, speakers with inspirational messages, readings of the Emancipation Proclamation, stories from former slaves, food, red soda water, games, rodeos and dances.
Black Texans pooled their money to buy emancipation grounds to celebrate Juneteenth.
Led by the Rev. Jack Yates, the first pastor of Houston's historic Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, Emancipation Park was purchased in 1872. Other freedmen purchased plots of land to host celebrations in other parts of the state that became Booker T. Washington Park in Mexia, TX and Emancipation Park in Austin.
As Black Texas traveled and moved to other parts of the United States and the world they took Juneteenth and its traditions with them.
Juneteenth was celebrated every year by Black Texans from 1866 until the mid 20th century. Increased focus on expanded civil rights protections and World War II occupied Black Texans thoughts and interest in Juneteenth waned until it was revived at the 1950 State Fair in Dallas.
As we rediscovered pride in our heritage in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement, the dormant Juneteenth celebrations and traditions were revived across the state in the 1970's.
Thanks to efforts by Texas state representative Al Edwards, in 1979 House Bill No. 1016 passed in the 66th Legislature, Regular Session. It declared June 19 as "Emancipation Day in Texas" and made Juneteenth an official state holiday effective January 1, 1980.
So on that note, Happy Juneteenth! I have some barbecue and cold strawberry soda waiting for me as I reread the inspiring words of the Emancipation Proclamation.
"No person in the U.S. shall, on the basis of sex be excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal aid."
Ever since President Richard Nixon signed Title IX into law on June 23, 1972 it has had a far reaching effect on the numbers of women earning postgraduate degrees.
Before Title IX, many schools refused to admit women or enforced strict quotas in postgraduate programs. That was reflected in the fact that in 1972, the year Title IX became law, women only received 9% of the medical degrees awarded, 7% of law degrees and 25% of the US citizens receiving doctorates being women.
By 1994, those numbers increased to 38% of medical degrees, 43% of law degrees and 44% of all doctoral degrees awarded to US citizens were women.
One of the prominent effects of Title IX besides the increase in the percentages of women receiving postgraduate degrees is in the world of sports.
Athletics has also created the most controversy regarding Title IX, but its gains have also been noteworthy.
It's not unusual on any given day to turn on the television and see women's intercollegiate sports on TV. There's infinitely more attention focused on women athletes during the Olympics and on high school level girls sports compared to when I was growing up in the late 70's.
But one thing that bothers me as a sports loving person is the dismissive attitude some women have toward all things athletic. It gets to the point when in some cases, women who love or participate in sports are greeted with less than complimentary verbal epithets or have their femininity questioned.
Last year Seventeen magazine in conjunction with the WNBA partnered for a comprehensive survey that was published in the magazine's September 2008 issue.
WNBA President Donna Orender stated, "We are pleased to partner with Seventeen magazine on this important survey as we know first hand how the role of sports can develop young girls into leaders.
"The women of the WNBA are strong, passionate and determined individuals who exhibit these traits both on and off the court. As a result, we are true believers in the significance of participation in sports for all girls and women."
The Seventeen/WNBA survey revealed that 83% of teen girls play sports with basketball ranked as the number one participatory sport.
Girls play sports for a variety of reasons, but the top reason found in this survey is to exercise (68.4%). Other top reasons included forming friendships, competing and representing their schools.
Challenges that young female sports enthusiasts endure include insecurities; 33% of girls who don't play sports say it's because they're worried that they wouldn't be good at it.
In addition, 35% of girls also say their teams don't get as much equipment or field time as the boys' teams and 35% of girls have heard their peers make homophobic remarks about female athletes.
The Seventeen/WNBA survey also revealed that 66% of teen girls believe that cheerleading is a sport, not some sideline event, and 71% think female cheerleaders should cheer at girls' sports events.
Despite these factors keeping some girls from playing sports, teens today are able to look to inspiring women professional athletes and Olympians such as Lisa Leslie, Mia Hamm, Diana Taurasi, Serena and Venus Williams, Candace Parker and Florence Griffith-Joyner.
As young teens hone their athletic skills, they look upon these women as they endeavor to take women's sports to a whole new level and dismiss outdated stereotypes about the women who play them.
You also have young women such as Brittney Griner who are following in their role models footsteps and preparing to exceed even their lofty performance standards.
But despite the overwhelming evidence of the benefits of sports participation for girls and women, you still have mind-numbing fluff coming from women's magazines such as Cosmo that spout erroneous, outdated stereotypes.
In addition, women athletes in addition to having to battle feminine gender policing also have to contend with the sexist attitudes of male sports fans.
Led by the male dominated sports journalism world, the dismissive attitudes of sports talk radio and sports journalists about the level of play filter down to the potential male fan base and male athletes.
We should insist upon and demand consistent, professional coverage of women's sports from the male dominated sorts journalism culture.
Why am I so adamant about it? Sports teaches important life lessons that non athletes often miss out on. You learn that even if you practice hard and execute your game plan flawlessly, sometimes you come up short. You learn how to work well with others as part of a team. You learn how to lose with grace and win with class.
It's a pride builder when you come from a zero skills base to a higher skills level in your chosen sport and you see it translated into better performance on the field.
It's also a major self esteem boost when you kick the winning goal, get the key hit that wins the game for your team or you dig deep, pull yourself out of a love-40 hole in a critical game in a tennis match and come back to win, or run your personal best time to win a medal.
These are lessons that the male population has had ample opportunities to absorb (and some peeps need to reabsorb) and enjoyed through sports competition. The Women's Sports Foundation seconds my thoughts on the matter as well.
We should not only enthusiastically support the young girls and women in our lives who participate in sports, we should also take it upon ourselves to support women's club, high school, intercollegiate and professional sports as well.
I was a proud Houston Comets season ticket holder back home for several years during their championship run and it was the best money I've ever spent.
I saw the money I spent on my season tickets it as my investment toward keeping the WNBA viable and alive for future generations of sports loving girls. Those young girls who marveled at the play of WNBA pioneers such as Cynthia Cooper are now grown up and getting their opportunity to play in the league.
Even though I'm still pissed about the WNBA leadership not doing enough to give a local group enough time to organize and keep my hometown franchise alive, I still support the league.
Far from being something that women should ignore, sports and participation in them by their daughters should be embraced and encouraged.
TransGriot Note: You know the conservaliars, the HMO's, the pharmaceutical companies, the AMA and their lobbyists are gearing up to kill President Obama's health care reform.
They also hate Rep. John Conyers' HR 676, which would expand Medicare to cover all Americans by converting it into a single payer system.
The conservaliars save special hateraid for the Canadian Health Care System and don't want to see it replicated on this side of the border.
Thy are already slinging the 'socialized medicine' shade at any system that doesn't perpetuate the status quo where they make obscene amounts of money.
It all adds up to the average American's health care plan being, 'Don't Get Sick.'
Any moment now I expect them to go dig up or clone Ronald Reagan so they can trot him out to reprise his anti-Medicaid commercials from 1961.
Well, as an American, I'm sick of this crappy system we have now. If little ole embargoed Cuba, Costa Rica and the world major industrialized nations can have universal healthcare for their citizens, what's wrong with the nation that put a man on the moon 40 years ago not being able to do so?
Thanks to Physicians For A National Health Program here's a February 5, 2008 article by Sara Robinson of TomPaine.com busting the conservamyths about the Canadian healthcare system.
Robinson is an American citizen who is a Canadian resident, so she is in an excellent position to compare and contrast the two.
I'll just hit the highlights. The full article is here on the PNHP website.
Here's Renee's Global Comment post as a beneficiary of that system tellin' it like it T-I-S is about her experiences with the Canadian system as well.
***
1. Canada’s health care system is “socialized medicine.”
False. In socialized medical systems, the doctors work directly for the state. In Canada (and many other countries with universal care), doctors run their own private practices, just like they do in the US. The only difference is that every doctor deals with one insurer, instead of 150. And that insurer is the provincial government, which is accountable to the legislature and the voters if the quality of coverage is allowed to slide.
The proper term for this is “single-payer insurance.” In talking to Americans about it, the better phrase is “Medicare for all.”
2. Doctors are hurt financially by single-payer health care.
True and False. Doctors in Canada do make less than their US counterparts. But they also have lower overhead, and usually much better working conditions. A few reasons for this:
First, as noted, they don’t have to charge higher fees to cover the salary of a full-time staffer to deal with over a hundred different insurers, all of whom are bent on denying care whenever possible.
In fact, most Canadian doctors get by quite nicely with just one assistant, who cheerfully handles the phones, mail, scheduling, patient reception, stocking, filing, and billing all by herself in the course of a standard workday.
Second, they don’t have to spend several hours every day on the phone cajoling insurance company bean counters into doing the right thing by their patients. My doctor in California worked a 70-hour week: 35 hours seeing patients, and another 35 hours on the phone arguing with insurance companies. My Canadian doctor, on the other hand, works a 35-hour week, period. She files her invoices online, and the vast majority are simply paid — quietly, quickly, and without hassle. There is no runaround. There are no fights. Appointments aren’t interrupted by vexing phone calls. Care is seldom denied (because everybody knows the rules). She gets her checks on time, sees her patients on schedule, takes Thursdays off, and gets home in time for dinner.
One unsurprising side effect of all this is that the doctors I see here are, to a person, more focused, more relaxed, more generous with their time, more up-to-date in their specialties, and overall much less distracted from the real work of doctoring. You don’t realize how much stress the American doctor-insurer fights put on the day-to-day quality of care until you see doctors who don’t operate under that stress, because they never have to fight those battles at all. Amazingly: they seem to enjoy their jobs.
Third: The average American medical student graduates $140,000 in hock. The average Canadian doctor’s debt is roughly half that.
Finally, Canadian doctors pay lower malpractice insurance fees. When paying for health care constitutes a one of a family’s major expenses, expectations tend to run very high. A doctor’s mistake not only damages the body; it may very well throw a middle-class family permanently into the ranks of the working poor, and render the victim uninsurable for life. With so much at stake, it’s no wonder people are quick to rush to court for redress.
Canadians are far less likely to sue in the first place, since they’re not having to absorb devastating financial losses in addition to any physical losses when something goes awry. The cost of the damaging treatment will be covered. So will the cost of fixing it. And, no matter what happens, the victim will remain insured for life. When lawsuits do occur, the awards don’t have to include coverage for future medical costs, which reduces the insurance company’s liability.
3. Wait times in Canada are horrendous.
True and False again — it depends on which province you live in, and what’s wrong with you. Canada’s health care system runs on federal guidelines that ensure uniform standards of care, but each territory and province administers its own program. Some provinces don’t plan their facilities well enough; in those, you can have waits. Some do better. As a general rule, the farther north you live, the harder it is to get to care, simply because the doctors and hospitals are concentrated in the south. But that’s just as true in any rural county in the U.S.
You can hear the bitching about it no matter where you live, though. The percentage of Canadians who’d consider giving up their beloved system consistently languishes in the single digits. A few years ago, a TV show asked Canadians to name the Greatest Canadian in history; and in a broad national consensus, they gave the honor to Tommy Douglas, the Saskatchewan premier who is considered the father of the country’s health care system. (And no, it had nothing to do with the fact that he was also Kiefer Sutherland’s grandfather.). In spite of that, though, grousing about health care is still unofficially Canada’s third national sport after curling and hockey.
And for the country’s newspapers, it’s a prime watchdogging opportunity. Any little thing goes sideways at the local hospital, and it’s on the front pages the next day. Those kinds of stories sell papers, because everyone is invested in that system and has a personal stake in how well it functions. The American system might benefit from this kind of constant scrutiny, because it’s certainly one of the things that keeps the quality high. But it also makes people think it’s far worse than it is.
Critics should be reminded that the American system is not exactly instant-on, either. When I lived in California, I had excellent insurance, and got my care through one of the best university-based systems in the nation. Yet I routinely had to wait anywhere from six to twelve weeks to get in to see a specialist. Non-emergency surgical waits could be anywhere from four weeks to four months. After two years in the BC system, I’m finding the experience to be pretty much comparable, and often better. The notable exception is MRIs, which were easy in California, but can take many months to get here. (It’s the number one thing people go over the border for.) Other than that, urban Canadians get care about as fast as urban Americans do.
4. You have to wait forever to get a family doctor. False for the vast majority of Canadians, but True for a few. Again, it all depends on where you live. I live in suburban Vancouver, and there are any number of first-rate GPs in my neighborhood who are taking new patients. If you don’t have a working relationship with one, but need to see a doctor now, there are 24-hour urgent care clinics in most neighborhoods that will usually get you in and out on the minor stuff in under an hour.
It is, absolutely, harder to get to a doctor if you live out in a small town, or up in the territories. But that’s just as true in the U.S. — and in America, the government won’t cover the airfare for rural folk to come down to the city for needed treatment, which all the provincial plans do.
5. You don’t get to choose your own doctor.
Scurrilously False. Somebody, somewhere, is getting paid a lot of money to make this kind of stuff up. The cons love to scare the kids with stories about the government picking your doctor for you, and you don’t get a choice. Be afraid! Be very afraid!
For the record: Canadians pick their own doctors, just like Americans do. And not only that: since it all pays the same, poor Canadians have exactly the same access to the country’s top specialists that rich ones do.
6. Canada’s care plan only covers the basics. You’re still on your own for any extras, including prescription drugs. And you still have to pay for it.
True — but not as big an issue as you might think. The province does charge a small monthly premium (ours is $108/month for a family of four) for the basic coverage. However, most people never even have to write that check: almost all employers pick up the tab for their employees’ premiums as part of the standard benefits package; and the province covers it for people on public assistance or disability.
“The basics” covered by this plan include 100% of all doctor’s fees, ambulance fares, tests, and everything that happens in a hospital — in other words, the really big-ticket items that routinely drive American families into bankruptcy. In BC, it doesn’t include “extras” like medical equipment, prescriptions, physical therapy or chiropractic care, dental, vision, and so on; and if you want a private or semi-private room with TV and phone, that costs extra (about what you’d pay for a room in a middling hotel). That other stuff does add up; but it’s far easier to afford if you’re not having to cover the big expenses, too. Furthermore: you can deduct any out-of-pocket health expenses you do have to pay off your income taxes. And, as every American knows by now, drugs aren’t nearly as expensive here, either.
Filling the gap between the basics and the extras is the job of the country’s remaining private health insurers. Since they’re off the hook for the ruinously expensive big-ticket items that can put their own profits at risk, the insurance companies make a tidy business out of offering inexpensive policies that cover all those smaller, more predictable expenses. Top-quality add-on policies typically run in the ballpark of $75 per person in a family per month — about $300 for a family of four — if you’re stuck buying an individual plan. Group plans are cheap enough that even small employers can afford to offer them as a routine benefit. An average working Canadian with employer-paid basic care and supplemental insurance gets free coverage equal to the best policies now only offered at a few of America’s largest corporations. And that employer is probably only paying a couple hundred dollars a month to provide that benefit.
7. Canadian drugs are not the same. More preposterous bogosity. They are exactly the same drugs, made by the same pharmaceutical companies, often in the same factories.
The Canadian drug distribution system, however, has much tighter oversight; and pharmacies and pharmacists are more closely regulated. If there is a difference in Canadian drugs at all, they’re actually likely to be safer.
Also: pharmacists here dispense what the doctors tell them to dispense, the first time, without moralizing. I know. It’s amazing.
8. Publicly-funded programs will inevitably lead to rationed health care, particularly for the elderly.
False. And bogglingly so. The papers would have a field day if there was the barest hint that this might be true.
One of the things that constantly amazes me here is how well-cared-for the elderly and disabled you see on the streets here are. No, these people are not being thrown out on the curb. In fact, they live longer, healthier, and more productive lives because they’re getting a constant level of care that ensures small things get treated before they become big problems.
The health care system also makes it easier on their caregiving adult children, who have more time to look in on Mom and take her on outings because they aren’t working 60-hour weeks trying to hold onto a job that gives them insurance.
9. People won’t be responsible for their own health if they’re not being forced to pay for the consequences.
False. The philosophical basis of America’s privatized health care system might best be characterized as medical Calvinism. It’s fascinating to watch well-educated secularists who recoil at the Protestant obsession with personal virtue, prosperity as a cardinal sign of election by God, and total responsibility for one’s own salvation turn into fire-eyed, moralizing True Believers when it comes to the subject of Taking Responsibility For One’s Own Health.
They’ll insist that health, like salvation, is entirely in our own hands. If you just have the character and self-discipline to stick to an abstemious regime of careful diet, clean living, and frequent sweat offerings to the Great Treadmill God, you’ll never get sick. (Like all good theologies, there’s even an unspoken promise of immortality: f you do it really really right, they imply, you might even live forever.) The virtuous Elect can be discerned by their svelte figures and low cholesterol numbers. From here, it’s a short leap to the conviction that those who suffer from chronic conditions are victims of their own weaknesses, and simply getting what they deserve. Part of their punishment is being forced to pay for the expensive, heavily marketed pharmaceuticals needed to alleviate these avoidable illnesses. They can’t complain. It was their own damned fault; and it’s not our responsibility to pay for their sins. In fact, it’s recently been suggested that they be shunned, lest they lead the virtuous into sin.
Of course, this is bad theology whether you’re applying it to the state of one’s soul or one’s arteries. The fact is that bad genes, bad luck, and the ravages of age eventually take their toll on all of us — even the most careful of us. The economics of the Canadian system reflect this very different philosophy: it’s built on the belief that maintaining health is not an individual responsibility, but a collective one. Since none of us controls fate, the least we can do is be there for each other as our numbers come up.
This difference is expressed in a few different ways. First: Canadians tend to think of tending to one’s health as one of your duties as a citizen. You do what’s right because you don’t want to take up space in the system, or put that burden on your fellow taxpayers. Second, “taking care of yourself” has a slightly expanded definition here, which includes a greater emphasis on public health. Canadians are serious about not coming to work if you’re contagious, and seeing a doctor ASAP if you need to. Staying healthy includes not only diet and exercise; but also taking care to keep your germs to yourself, avoiding stress, and getting things treated while they’re still small and cheap to fix.
Third, there’s a somewhat larger awareness that stress leads to big-ticket illnesses — and a somewhat lower cultural tolerance for employers who put people in high-stress situations. Nobody wants to pick up the tab for their greed. And finally, there’s a generally greater acceptance on the part of both the elderly and their families that end-of-life heroics may be drawing resources away from people who might put them to better use. You can have them if you want them; but reasonable and compassionate people should be able to take the larger view.
The bottom line: When it comes to getting people to make healthy choices, appealing to their sense of the common good seems to work at least as well as Calvinist moralizing.
10. This all sounds great — but the taxes to cover it are just unaffordable. And besides, isn’t the system in bad financial shape? False. On one hand, our annual Canadian tax bite runs about 10% higher than our U.S. taxes did. On the other, we’re not paying out the equivalent of two new car payments every month to keep the family insured here.
When you balance out the difference, we’re actually money ahead. When you factor in the greatly increased social stability that follows when everybody’s getting their necessary health care, the impact on our quality of life becomes even more significant.
And True — but only because this is a universal truth that we need to make our peace with. Yes, the provincial plans are always struggling. So is every single publicly-funded health care system in the world, including the VA and Medicare. There’s always tension between what the users of the system want, and what the taxpayers are willing to pay. The balance of power ebbs and flows between them; but no matter where it lies at any given moment, at least one of the pair is always going to be at least somewhat unhappy.
But, as many of us know all too well, there’s also constant tension between what patients want and what private insurers are willing to pay. At least when it’s in government hands, we can demand some accountability. And my experience in Canada has convinced me that this accountability is what makes all the difference between the two systems.
It is true that Canada’s system is not the same as the U.S. system. It’s designed to deliver a somewhat different product, to a population that has somewhat different expectations. But the end result is that the vast majority of Canadians get the vast majority of what they need the vast majority of the time. It’ll be a good day when Americans can hold their heads high and proudly make that same declaration.
When you get into a discussion online about race, you can count on the people who wallow in vanilla flavored privilege for fun and profit letting the word 'racism' flow freely from their lips.
Sociology 101 defines racism as prejudice plus power, be it economic, social, police, military or political, used by the majority group or members of it to retard the progress of a minority group.
But those peeps who are the beneficiaries of WP try to flip the script and project their BS onto the people they oppress.
They attempt to deliberately confuse prejudice and racism by arguing that racism is an INDIVIDUAL failing.
The vanilla flavored privileged refuse to acknowledge or as they angrily hiss at minority groups, refuse to take responsibility for their actions.
Prejudice is individual. Racism is taking your individual prejudices, combining them with political, economic or military/police power to use to oppress a minority group and retard their sociopolitical progress.
As I see it, in their minds, the privileged person's definition of racism is any comments, opinions, statements of facts or analysis of historical situations by people of color or progressive whites that criticizes or calls the continued hegemony of white males into question.
So when the conservative movement and the predominately monoracial GOP went 'nucular' over an out of context cherry picked comment by Judge Sonia Sotomayor, that definition of 'racism' was ensconced in their right-wing hive minds.
In a 2001 University of California-Berkeley speech, she stated, "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."
The vanilla flavored privileged see it as racism, I see it as stating the obvious.
How many times throughout United States history have privileged while male judges ruled in favor of corporations, the wealthy, the police, conservative governments making power grabs, against civil rights for minorities, the poor, unions, et cetera?
The cumulative weight of evidence of atrocious rulings such as Plessy v. Ferguson, The Dred Scott Decision, Korematsu v. US have been more often than not on the wrong side of the moral arc of the universe than they have on the justice bending side.
So yes, a Latina justice on the Supreme Court, in a case involving a Latino/a or on any other issues, would probably depending on the facts of the case look at it in a different way than a privileged white male justice would before applying the applicable legal statutes in rendering their decision.
So would a Black male or female justice who isn't a right wing sellout, as the late Justice Thurgood Marshall proved time and time again.
And that's all good in the Supreme Court hood to me.
There has only been one ethnic group that has had the power in world history to retard the progress of others, and they don't hesitate to use it.
I have to laugh at the proposition that the 'rule of law' is sacred to the vanilla flavored privileged since they have selective memory about the numerous times they blatantly broke it or ignored it when it suited their purposes.
So spare me the faux conservaoutrage anytime that a person of color calls out prejudicial and racist behavior.
I spend a lot of time at TransGriot criticizing and correcting piss poor reporting from the MSM on transgender issues. Here's an example of it coming from the Advocate.
Yes, the Advocate.
Just because they are GLBT news and info outlets and are our 'alleged' allies doesn't mean they aren't capable of writing horribly transphobic crap. Ask anyone in the Boston transgender community who remembers the shoddy and disrespectful 1998 Bay Windows reporting about Rita Hester.
In this case, it's a story about African American couple Kimah Nelson and Jason Stenson. They were married May 26 at the New York City Clerk's Office ten days after receiving their marriage license. But unfortunately, their marriage license was revoked after the news broke because Kimah is a transwoman.
The New York Post is a typical Rupert Murdoch owned and run rag that's insensitive to everybody that isn't a white male. I expect that kind of crappy reporting from them and MSM sites like WINS-AM.
But there's no excuse for you, several gayosphere blogs, websites and other GLBT media outlets to repeat the glaring transphobia of the Post by cutting and pasting verbatim in some cases the jacked up Post article.
High five to Rod 2.0 Beta for noting a transwoman and her boyfriend got married.
Let's try this again, shall we Advocate and gayosphere?
The AP Stylebook rules for coverage of transgender people states:
transgender: Use the pronoun preferred by the individuals who have acquired the physical characteristics of the opposite sex or present themselves in a way that does not correspond with their sex at birth.
If there preference is not expressed, use the pronoun consistent with the way the individuals live publicly.
And here's what the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association has to say about covering transgender people as well.
transgender (adj.): An umbrella term that refers to people whose biological and gender identity or expression may not be the same. This can include preoperative, postoperative or nonoperative transsexuals, female and male cross-dressers, drag queens or kings, female or male impersonators, and intersex individuals. If an individual prefers to be called transsexual, etc., use that term. When writing about a transgender person, use the name and personal pronouns that are consistent with the way the individual lives publicly.
And just to make sure you got the fracking point, here's the GLAAD Media Reference Guide's transgender Terminology and definitions.
Transgender An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. The term may include but is not limited to: transsexuals, cross-dressers, and other gender-variant people. Transgender people may identify as female-to-male (FTM) or male-to-female (MTF). Use the descriptive term (transgender, transsexual, cross-dresser, FTM or MTF) preferred by the individual. Transgender people may or may not choose to alter their bodies hormonally and/or surgically.
Transsexual (also Transexual) An older term which originated in the medical and psychological communities. Many transgender people prefer the term "transgender" to "transsexual." Some transsexual people still prefer to use the term to describe themselves. However, unlike transgender, transsexual is not an umbrella term, and many transgender people do not identify as transsexual. It is best to ask which term an individual prefers.
Okay, first order of 'bidness' is that Kimah is living her life as female. She had begun the process of transition, and was living full time. That means not all of your ID is going to perfectly match.
Many of us still have ID's with mismatched name and gender code info or are in states that despite us having legal name changes, refuse to change gender codes until the person undergoes GRS.
Jason saw Kimah as and married a woman. That means that this is a HETEROSEXUAL marriage, not a same gender one.
This is also a concrete example of the GL same gender marriage push having a deleterious effect on legal transgender marriages. The ignorant are mischaracterizing a transperson's legal opposite gender marriages as same gender ones. We're getting the unintended consequences and backlash from society's faith-based frustration over same gender marriage in which our marriages are being annulled.
SRS is not the end all and be all to determining gender identity or when a person transitions to the other gender.
As far as I'm concerned, the second you swallow you first hormone or take your first shot of testosterone, begin living in the opposite gender and make moves to harmonize your body with that gender role that may or may not include surgical options, you ARE that gender
Many transpeople who would like to have it either aren't able to afford genital surgery or have health issues that prevent it. There are many transpeople successfully living in our new gender roles despite possessing neoclits in our panties.
To break this point down for you: gender is between your ears, not your legs.
I also believe that the reporting would have been much different if you flip the race of the couple involved. No references to homeless shelters, no disrespecting Kimah's transgender status.
I realize NY gays are righteously angry at the NY state senate's inaction on the marriage equality bill despite Governor Paterson's willingness to sign the legislation if it hits his desk. But don't take it out on the Black couple who managed to get married despite the obstacles.
And congratulations Kimah and Jason. A bureaucrat may claim you're not married, but you and the Higher Power know differently. It's not the first time in our people's 400 year history in the Americas that the powers that be tried to place obstacles in front of the varied expressions of Black love.
If the lack of a piece of paper didn't stop our ancestors, don't let it stop you.
And note to the Advocate and the gayosphere, if you claim you're our allies, respecting us is Job One. Get it right on the pronouns and just reporting on our lives, period.
If you peruse international blogs that cover gender identity and sexual orientation issues, from time to time you'll see a reference to the Yogyakarta Principles.
What are they, you ask? Well, peeps, school is now in session.
In response to well-documented patterns of abuse of GLBT people, from November 6-9, 2006 a distinguished group of international human rights experts met on the campus of Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia to outline a set of international principles relating to sexual orientation and gender identity.
The result of that meeting was the Yogyakarta Principles: a universal guide to human rights which affirm binding international legal standards with which all nations must comply.
The basic premise is that TBLGI people are all human beings and are equally entitled to human rights. The development of international human rights law has largely ignored them - as racial minorities were once ignored - as women were once ignored - as the disabled were once ignored.
So the people gathered in Yogyakarta logically applied established international human rights principles and made suggestions as to how these 29 principles apply to the situation of LGBTI people around the world.
While the principles acknowledge the primary obligation of various nations to implement human rights, each principle in the official PDF format is accompanied by detailed recommendations to nations and their lawmakers.
The Principles also emphasize that everyone has responsibilities to promote and protect human rights.
There are additional recommendations addressed to the UN human rights system, national human rights institutions, the media, non-governmental organizations, and other interested parties and citizens.
TransGriot Note: For those of you in the San Francisco Bay Area looking for something to do for Pride June 27-28, you may wish to check out this event. For further info about it you can contact Stephanie Goss at 415-292-3420 ext. 330 or David Stupplebeen at 415-292-3420 ext. 361
ASIAN & PACIFIC ISLANDER WELLNESS CENTER CO-HOSTS A&PI DANCE ARENA AT SAN FRANCISCO'S 39TH LGBT PRIDE
Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center will host the Asian & Pacific Islander (A&PI) Contingent, Pavilion and Dance Arena at the 39th San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Parade and Celebration on Sunday June 28, 2009, featuring Grand Marshals Lieutenant Dan Choi and Helen Zia and special guest ONGINA.
In collaboration with Club Dragon and SHANGRI-LA, A&PI Wellness Center will present the very first A&PI Dance Arena from 12:00 - 6:30 pm PDT, featuring guest DJs and dance groups such as Downe FX and Twisted Illusion, hosted by an array of spectacular personalities led by community icon, Tita Aida.
A&PI Wellness Center will also offer free, confidential, and anonymous rapid oral HIV testing and Hep B screening for at-risk A&PIs from 10 am to 5 pm PDT at A&PI Wellness Center's booth in the A&PI Pavilion on Polk Street and Golden Gate Avenue. Including HIV prevention education in the Pride celebration is more important now, than ever, particularly in the face of the drastic California state budget cuts proposed by Governor Schwarzenegger (which includes a reduction of $80.1 million from HIV funding alone).
The threat of HIV/AIDS continues to grow in the U.S., particularly in communities of color who collectively represent 70% of the national epidemic. The impact of the disease among A&PIs is alarming, though less-publicized than that of Blacks and Latinos.
In A&PI communities, the HIV/AIDS rate rose 34% from 1999 to 2003 and another 10% since then. Moreover, the number of HIV diagnoses among young A&PI gay men more than doubled between 2001 and 2006. Despite this, over two thirds of the A&PI community has never been tested for HIV. Coinfection with HIV and HBV is common, with about 70-90% of HIV-infected individuals having evidence of past or active infection with HBV. Approximately half of persons with chronic hepatitis B are Asian Americans.
Join A&PI Wellness Center in celebrating A&PI LGBT Pride! The official A&PI Pride Kick-Off Party will be held on Thursday, June 25, 2009 from 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm at A&PI Wellness Center, located at 730 Polk Street, Fourth Floor. Light refreshments, hors d'oeuvres, and entertainment will be provided. For more information, please contact alex@apiwellness.org.
About Lieutenant Dan Choi Lieutenant Dan Choi graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point in 2003 and served as an infantry officer in an extended combat tour in Iraq (2006-7).
As a founder of "Knights Out," the West Point LGBT Alumni, he fights for the repeal of the discriminatory "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy and reminds all soldiers that they are not alone and should never be ashamed of being honest with themselves and others. He declared his sexual orientation publicly on national television, resulting in his recent notification of discharge despite his desire to continue serving. About Helen Zia Helen Zia is an award-winning journalist and scholar who has covered Asian American communities and social and political movements for decades. She is the author of Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People, a finalist for the prestigious Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize.
Zia is also the former executive editor of Ms. Magazine and her articles, essays and reviews have appeared in numerous publications, books, and anthologies. She was named one of the most influential Asian Americans of the decade by A. Magazine. A second-generation Chinese American, Zia has been outspoken on issues ranging from civil rights and peace, to women's rights and countering hate violence and homophobia.
About ONGINA ONGINA is most recognized for her recent appearance on LOGO's reality show "RuPaul's DRAG RACE." She delighted audiences across United States, bringing a strong, bold, beautiful and entertaining character that honors and respects the artistry of drag-wig or no wig!
ONGINA didn't finish as the final winner of the show, but she finished first in our hearts for her courage in revealing that she is HIV positive. ONGINA is now recognized as a poster girl for many A&PI LGBTs who are living with HIV or AIDS, and will be making an appearance at the festival parade.
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About Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center A&PI Wellness Center's mission is to educate, support, empower and advocate for Asian & Pacific Islander communities, particularly A&PIs living with or at risk for HIV/AIDS.
With three sites in the San Francisco Bay Area and a staff fluent in 20 languages, A&PI Wellness Center delivers programs regionally, statewide, and nationally, and collaborates with community-based organizations throughout the Asia Pacific Region. For press materials or more information please visit www.apiwellness.org.
Our postal address is 730 Polk St. 4th floor San Francisco, California 94109 United States
June marks the 30th anniversary observance of Black Music Month, and I haven't had much discussion about it thanks to various higher profile breaking news stories.
My first concert experience happened during the summer of 1976. The Summit (later Compaq Center) had only been open a year and was several decades from becoming Lakewood Church's new sanctuary. 
