Ah Kua Show Video

I mentioned that I was honored to be asked by my sis Leona Lo to write a comment that appeared in the Ah Kua show program.

I was pleased to see this video of a television interview with my sis about the show.

Congratulations on a sold out and successful three night run.

First Day Of School

Thursday marked the first day of the 2009-2010 school year for JCPS students.

I was aware of it because I have a middle school two miles up the road from the house. There's constant bus traffic up and down the street in the morning starting around 6 AM and later in the afternoon when school lets out.

I also realized that with the start of the new school year, for the next two weeks the Louisville Po-Po's will be patrolling that school zone. They will be passing out expensive reminders to peeps who fail to remember that the school zone speed limits are back in full effect.

It also means that one of the things that induces homesickess for me will be cranking up as well: high school football season.

Texas high school football is the bomb and a major part of Texas culture. It's so awesome that a book and a movie was written about one of the legendary programs in the Lone Star State, the Odessa Permian Panthers.

Attending a predominately Black high school means you not only get the quality football, but you get a slamming halftime show as the bands try to outdo one another in a high energy, high stepping, soulful musical performance guaranteed to get you dancing in the stadium bleachers. Oh yeah, can't forget about the majorettes shaking what their mamas gave them as the drum majors high step all over the field.

It's also cool going to one of the various stadium complexes around the state and knowing that just a few short years from now, some of the kids you're watching today may be playing on an NFL team tomorrow or being inducted in the NFL Hall of Fame.

Here in Kentucky high school football is about as predictable as something stupid coming out of Sarah Palin's mouth. It's either Catholic private schools Louisville Trinity, Louisville St. Xavier or occasionally Lexington Catholic that win the Class 5A title with nauseating regularity. Sometimes Louisville Male, a Lexington area public school or one from another part of the state will crash the party to face off against either Trinity or St. X.

The first day of school makes me wax nostalgic sometimes for my own long gone school days. I remember when it was me walking to school with my brother and our friends carrying my shiny new lunch kit in elementary school, ready and eager to tackle the challenges of a new school year.

I remember my days in junior high meeting the challenge of heightened academic expectations and counting the days until I started high school.

In addition to reminiscing about my disco-era sojourn through those angst and anxiety filled high school years in which I was wrestling with my gender issues, sometimes I can't help but wonder what it would have been like to matriculate throughout my school days on the other side of the gender fence.

To my transpeeps matriculating through the various levels of school right now, keep your head and grades up and get that paper. It'll make your life much easier later.

The first day of school also served as a reminder that my 30 year high school reunion is rapidly approaching and it's one I'm looking forward to. I've already won the 'Most Changed' Award at the 20 year one back in 2000. The only one I'm looking forward to competing for next year is the farthest distance traveled to attend the reunion.

To those kids matriculating through school now, may you have a wonderful, challenging and exciting school year. For those of you who are in your senior year of high school, may it be a memorable one as well.

Shut Up Fool! Awards-The Conservalies Continue Edition

I'm back online and rarin' to go after a frustrating week without Computer Prime or the backup laptop I was using until a few days ago.

Didn't keep me from monitoring the news and watching all the madness surrounding the health care debate and the GOP's shady tactics to drown out the voices of people like myself who are in favor of universal single payer health care, AKA 'Medicare for All'.

As our Shut Up Fool! awards mascot Mr. T has noted on many occasions, fools are everywhere. We definitely have a bumper crop of them, whether it be the Birthers, the Deathers, Lou Dobbs, Glenn Beck, Faux News, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Steele, Sarah Palin...you get the drift.

Our Shut Up Fool! award for this week goes to all the stupid predominately vanilla flavored people who have allowed themselves to be bamboozled into showing their racist azzes at the various town hall meetings held this month.

You are doing so at the behest of conservative K Street lobbying firms, Faux News, right wing hate radio, HMO's who want to stay between you and your doctor and continue to make obscene profits off the current broken system and the GOP who gets paid mad loot to thwart any meaningful legislative reform as they've done for decades.

Once again you information challenged people are being played, manipulated, hoodwinked and bamboozled again to vote against your own economic interests because you're 'scurred' of the current occupant of the White House.

Bamboozled health care reform opponents, shut up, fools!

Busy Drama Filled Weekend (And Week)

You probably noticed loyal TransGriot readers that I didn't post as much as I normally do this week or last weekend.

It's not that I didn't have anything to talk about or that I was in need of a writing break. I was more than a little irritated that I was on the cybersidelines with all of the breaking news and other assorted madness percolating on the net and elsewhere. The problem was the borrowed laptop computer I was working with went down.

Unfortunately I was working on a post last Friday at the exact moment Blogger was getting cyberattacked. A major file was corrupted that knocked me offline for a few days. To complicate matters my job called asking if I could cover an open shift and I ended up squeezing 36 hours in over a three day period.

However, during my work and at home downtime I did get the opportunity to jot my thoughts down on a notepad. Over the next few days, weeks and months you'll get to see what I came up with in this space.

Since the laptop was being worked on, couldn't take it with me to compile those thoughts that came to mind while I was at work. In addition, thanks to the recent flood we had here in Da Ville, the public library computers aren't an option for the next several weeks because the system servers were housed in the basement of the main library building downtown that flooded.

My computer guru Polar excels at and earns his living cleaning up electronic messes, so I had to patiently wait until he got some time in his busy life to deal with it.

I just received Computer Prime today. The replacement motherboard didn't work, so it had to be sent back to the manufacturer. Polar received the new new motherboard, and thanks to his hard work Computer Prime is ready and better than ever.

I have a much larger hard drive, new power supply, new DVD/RW drive and memory to spare to make Computer Prime run faster.

As always, thank you and know that I deeply appreciate you loyal readers for spending your valuable web surfing time here at TransGriot. Thanks to those of you who are moved enough by my writing to comment on the various posts as well.

Big thank you to Polar for everything you've done to get Computer Prime literally back up to speed. Know that I deeply appreciate it.

Speaking of back up to speed, the break is over, and it's past time for me to get back in the blogging game

Rest In Peace Stephanie and Ukea

Today is the anniversary of the brutal killings of transteens Stephanie Thomas and Ukea Davis.

They were best friends who did everything together. They were extremely close, transitioned at the same time after meeting at a local Washington organization for GLBT teens called SMYAL. They transitioned together and shared an apartment.

They also unfortunately died together in a hail of bullets on the same Washington DC street corner where transwoman Tyra Hunter had the fatal car accident that led to her death a few years earlier.

The perpetrators of this heinous crime have yet to be brought to justice, and I hope and pray that one day they are.

Rest in peace ladies. we will not rest until all transpeople are free to openly live their lives without the threat of violence hovering in the background.

We will never forget you ladies and all the other transpeople who have paid the ultimate price just to be who we are.

It's' My America' Too

Fear of a Black President is making the Stupid GOP White Sheeple lose their damn minds and show their latent racism for the whole world to see.

I caught the video of a woman at a Little Rock, AR town hall Blue Dog Congressmen Mike Ross (D-AR)and Vic Snyder (D-AR) were jointly holding. She tearfully stated she was distressed at what has happened to 'my America' and saying she wanted to take 'her country back'.



Note to all you people. It's my America too. I was born here, educated here, and have to pay my taxes every April 15 like you do. Now that I have an occupant of the White House I can be proud of for the first time since 1993 and who also shares my ethnic heritage, y'all wanna start trippin'.

Last time I checked a map, LA, Houston, New York, New Orleans, and Miami were all inside the borders of the United States. America does not equal to conservative, sacrilegious, rural/suburban dwelling, gun fetishist, GOP voting White Anglo-Saxon.

I'm more than disgusted and tired of this vanilla flavored meme popping up in our national discourse. There are 300 plus million people who call themselves Americans and we ain't all White. We pay taxes, serve in its military, and have done more than our share to help this country grow and prosper. Get used to the fact that we voted on November 4 to take this country in a different direction. It's past time that our policy desires and priorities are pushed with our tax dollars as well and are front and center in the national discourse.

We were more than a little pissed when you people were in control and fracking the country up that we spent 8 years painstakingly cleaning up from the Reagan-Daddy Bush years. Now that President Obama is cleaning up Junior's mess you conservatives are all of a sudden 'concerned about the deficit'.

At least this man is tackling the problems you peeps refused to deal with. What's making you even more upset is that it's your worst nightmare, an intelligent Ivy league educated Black man with his summa cum laude Princeton educated wife that's succeeding.

So keep crying those crocodile tears lamenting the America you lost. Good riddance to that Jim Crow ridden America and welcome to the 21st century.

If you want to be pissed at somebody, aim it at the conservatives who look like you and bamboozled you into repeatedly voting against your own economic interests in the first place.

Not Feeling 'Ze' and 'Hir'

There are some people in the trans community who use alternate gender neutral pronouns to describe themselves such as 'ze' and 'hir'.

While that may work fine for them it doesn't for the Phenomenal Transwoman. I'd be willing to bet more than a few of my transsistahs and transbrothas share my sentiments as well.

My beef with the alternate pronouns is fundamentally simple. We transpersons have a tough enough battle just getting people in general to use 'he' and 'she' property in our presence.

I and other African-American transpeople have a battle with fundamentalist elements of our community just to recognize we transpeople exist. My transpeeps are focused on getting our own community ejumacated' to use the proper pronouns.

Besides, I've spent a lot of time, treasure and effort to make body and gender identity match. I've worked hard for that 'she' pronoun and I'm not willing or ready to give it up just yet for 'ze', 'hir' or whatever comes up next.

Nope, I'm not feeling the alternate pronouns. She, ma'am, Miss, Ms. or madame works just fine for me.

Shut Up Fool! Awards-The Here Comes The Judge Edition

Yesterday we witnessed a historic moment in our country's history as Judge Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed in by the Senate by a 68-31 vote.

Read it and weep, Repugnicans. Sonia Sotomayor is the 111th person to become a Supreme court justice and the era of white male conservatives getting Supreme Court vacancies is thankfully over. You peeps spent so much time letting your white sheets show in opposing this eminently qualified nominee that you've driven GOP support for the GOP down to nearly African American levels at 4%.

I guess y'all think the Latino community will forget about all this BS before the 2010 election cycle.

Dream on. The African-American community still hasn't forgotten about Hurricane Katrina and all the other GOP political atrocities aimed at us over the years.

Now it's time to see what fools or fools who exhibited less than judicious behavior and let their stupidity and ignorance reign supreme.

As usual, there were many worthy candidates, several repeat ones and several Shut Up Fool! of the Year candidates.

This week's fool is Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO). He held a town hall meeting in his district a few days ago. While commenting on the crap that his Democratic colleagues are facing from astroturfed 'protesters' during their town hall meetings he cracked lynching jokes.



Ain't nothing funny Rep. Akin about lynching. But then again, why am I not surprised it's coming from a monoracial party whose motto is Whiteness uber Alles?

Rep. Todd Akin, shut up fool!

Black Transwomen Contestants Disrespected On America's Got Talent

There's no easy way of putting this. We are trying to find an act that can represent America on the world stage, and from where I sit a bunch of lip syncing old drag queens who can't dance is not...not what America needs right now.

Thanks to Renee at Womanist Musings I was alerted to this latest steaming pile of transphobia on our nation's airwaves.

Transpeople such as the Diva League have dreams and aspirations just like anyone else in this country. It was tough enough for them to make it to that stage to begin with. But to perform and then get disrespected on national television had to hurt.

You also have to love the vanilla flavored arrogance of Piers Morgan as well. News flash, Piers. America doesn't need another Simon Cowell wannabee either.

Since you're British Piers, remember who won the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest? It was an Israeli transwoman named Sharon Cohen, AKA Dana International.

South Korea proudly embraces Harisu as well along with the rest of Asia, so I think the world is more than ready for a talented African-American transwoman (or transman) to enter the world's stage.

Hopefully GLAAD will be giving Piers Morgan and the peeps at America's Got Talent a call soon.

Remembering Tyra Hunter

In the midst of this bruising battle to fundamentally reshape our health care system, those of us on the trans side of the spectrum definitely need to be paying attention to and help shape a positive outcome for it.

While we pay attention to the inside the beltway shenanigans of those wishing to kill the reforms at the behest of their insurance company paymasters, it's time once again to focus on another inside the beltway travesty that happened in 1995.

Today is another marking of the sad anniversary of transwoman Tyra Hunter's death.

Tyra didn't die in a hail of bullets like Stephanie Thomas and Ukea Davis would on that same Southeast DC street corner years later. Her death was preventable.

She was in a car accident at the intersection of 50th and C Street on the way to work. Because of a transphobic EMT named Adrian Williams, she is no longer walking this Earth today or doing her clients hair.

Rest in peace, Tyra. As long as TransGriot exists I'll never allow the story of what happened to you die. It's past time that my fellow African-Americans hear it and realize that their irrational faith-based hatred of transpeople carries a cost as well.

Suspect Arrested in Slaying Of Transman

We frequently hear about transwomen being murdered, but there's a case going on in Hattiesburg, MS in which a transman was killed.

28 year old Devin Fortune is charged with one count of murder in the stabbing death of 47 year old Archie Avis Brooks. He is being held at the Forrest County Jail on a $1 million bail.

Forrest County Deputy Coroner Jonathan Nobles said Brooks had been dead since July 26.

After his court appearance in Forrest County Justice Court he told reporters,"I feel bad.” "I regret what I done. I made a mistake.”

Relatives of Brooks who attended Fortune's bond hearing would not comment.

Forrest stated that he stabbed Brooks, who was originally born in New Orleans, after an argument.

Police recovered Brooks' body from a second-floor apartment after a first-floor neighbor reported blood dripping from the ceiling.

Say Hello To Justice Sotomayor

When the Supreme Court kicks off it's fall term in October, it will be another historic moment for our country.

For the first time in our country's history, the Supreme Court photo will include a Latina justice.

Judge Sonia Sotomayor was just confirmed confirmed by the Senate moments ago on a 68-31 mostly party line vote as our 111th associate justice of the Supreme Court.

Only nine Republicans voted for her such as Mel Martinez of Florida.

This is a great day not only for Latino Americans but all Americans. Congratulations to Justice Sotomayor who will be sworn in Saturday by Chief Justice John Roberts as our third female justice and third* non-white justice.

Clarence Thomas is a BINO-Black in Name Only. Now can we get a sistah on the Court to counteract Clarence Thomas' self-hating bullcrap?

When she finally joins the court this October she'll be the only justice who wa a prosecutor, has trial court experience, and 17 years experience at two levels of the federal court system.

Sade's Working On A New Album!

I've loved me some Sade ever since her slammin' debut album 'Diamond Life' hit the airwaves in 1985.

I own every one of her albums, but unfortunately new Sade material is about as rare as NBA playoff appearances for the LA Clippers.

Even though I and 'errbody' else who loves Sade have to wait almost a decade before she records another album, it still doesn't dampen my enthusiastic love for her music.

Judging by her record sales I'm probably not the only person in the States who feels that way.

Since 1985 Sade has sold 17 million albums. The last album she released, 2000's 'Lovers Rock' sold 3.9 million copies in the States. 1992's 'Love Deluxe', the album that preceded it sold 3.4 million.

Now comes word confirmed by Billboard.com sources that Sade has been in the studio since June working on her first album of new songs in nine years. Her record company Sony is hoping for a late fall 2009-early 2010 release date on the new as yet untitled album.

People, I know what one of the presents high on my 2009 Christmas list is going to be besides some new shoes. But whenever the new Sade jam comes out, I'll be at my local music store picking it up if it doesn't arrive in my Christmas stocking.

Guess What Shade The Anti-Health Care Peeps Are Throwing Now?

The health care industry, the GOP, their lobbying groups and shills have thrown $130 million dollars and counting into the battle to kill health care reform.

They have tried to scare seniors by claiming health care is a plot to kill our senior citizens. They have distorted, delayed and now organized mobs similar to the the 2000 'Brooks Brothers Riots' that shut down the Bush-Gore recount in Miami-Dade County with the express goal of shutting down discussions at Democratic congressional legislators town hall meetings.

I was wondering how long it would take for the Forces of Intolerance and their corporate paymasters to use transpeople for one of their classic tried and true tactics to oppose reforms.

The Greed Over People party have joined in the effort to scare and bamboozle the stupid Faux News watching sheeple into opposing health care reform that benefits them all in the name of protecting their windfall profits:.

No sooner had that thought crossed my mind than when I flipped on the computer and read Autumn Sandeen's post at Pam's House Blend about her name being dragged through the muck of the health care debate by conservafool Peter LaBarbera.

Folks, you don't have to be very politically sophisticated to predict that GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender) activists and their liberal allies are going to demand "Tranny-Care" under a federal health insurance system, in the name of "fairness" and "inclusion" - even if it's not passed initially as a "benefit." And yes, the idea of subsidizing body-disfiguring "operations" surely would be considered "queer" by the average tax-paying American. Already, trans activists are strategizing on the best ways to get taxpayers to pay for their gender-confused mutilations "sex change" procedures -- and Human Rights Campaign and other homosexual lobby groups boast of their support for same in cities like San Francisco.
-- Peter LaBarbera, www.aftah.com

Okay peeps, if y'all want affordable health care in our lifetimes, it's past time to fight these bastards tooth and nail.

Is Texas In Play?

I've been saying for years that national liberal-progressives need to quit writing off Texas and aggressively speed up the process of turning it blue.

As a native I know that the current perception that Texas is a intractable red state.

Yes, a Democrat hasn't won a statewide race since 1994. The Repugnicans have had control of both houses of The Lege since 2003 and have a commanding share of the state's current 30 congressional districts. Sen. John McCain, thanks to the margin he built up in rural areas of Texas won the state by 11 points in the 2008 presidential election.

But that congressional district advantage is the result of the 2003 Delaymandering, and the Texas House only switched to Republican control in 2003. It also bears noting that a Delaymandered House chamber designed to produce a 120-30 Republican advantage is only 76-74 GOP.

Dallas County kicked every Republican officeholder at the judicial and county level out of power in 2006. Hays County south of Austin did the same in 2008 and Harris County (Houston) has started the process of taking control of the judiciary back from the GOP.

In addition population trends bode well for the Texas Democratic Party in that Texas is about to become a majority-minority state.

Texas also has a history of progressive politics. Sen. Ralph Yarborough, who held the office from 1957 to 1971 was the only Democratic senator from a formerly Confederate state to vote for every civil rights bill he had an opportunity to vote for.

I was happy to see the news that for the first time in several years according to a recent Gallup poll, more people in my birth state openly identify themselves as Democrats as opposed to Republicans.

A recent Gallup poll interview 9,000 Texans and reported that 42 percent of respondents identify as Democrats or independents who lean Democratic, while 40 percent say they are Republicans or independents who lean Republican.

The conditions are right after 15 years of disastrous Republican rule of the Lone Star State to turn it into a swing state. The Texas Democratic Party is working hard to do just that, but the national party needs to pump some cash into the state to make that happen instead of using Texas as a political ATM. It also needs to keep Texas Dems and volunteers at home to help on local campaigns instead of busing Dems to help with races elsewhere.

The fact that Texas' electoral vote value will probably increase after next year's census only heightens the urgency to the goal of turning Texas back to blue.

In addition, we need to do it to honor the work and memories of Texas liberal progressive icons such as Billie Carr, Sen. Ralph Yarborough, Rep. Barbara Jordan, Gov. Ann Richards and countless others who believe that Texas government should serve all the people, not just Texas corporations and fat cats.

If the national Democratic Party wakes up and smells the coffee, they won't have to wait until 2016 or 2020 to put Texas in play, they can make it happen in 2012.

Feminine Presentation For Trans Women Is A Life Or Death Issue

TransGriot Note: My latest piece for Global Comment

My cisgender girlfriends tease me sometimes about the amount of time I spend perfecting my feminine presentation. They will also needle me about the lengths I will go to ensure it is as flawless as I can humanly make it.

But if they walked in my pumps for a minute, they would look at it in a fundamentally different way and understand why I and other transwomen place so much importance on a flawless as possible feminine presentation.

I know how to apply my makeup to compliment my face and own a set of makeup brushes to do so. I experiment with new ways and various color combinations to create my various looks. I own three makeup books for African American women that I refer to on a regular basis. One is written by Oprah's Emmy winning makeup artist Reggie Wells, another is by makeup artist Sam Fine, and my third is one authored by Patricia Hinds for ESSENCE magazine.

I go to the nail shop twice a month to have manicures and pedicures done and keep a few bottles of my favorite nail polish shades at home to touch nit up between visits. I keep my eyebrows plucked, waxed and arched and do relentless maintenance on it. I ensure that any body hair that shows up on my legs, arms and underarms is expeditiously removed.

One of the first things I did when I started transition in 1994 was spend countless hours and cash in my electrologist's chair getting my face zapped. I'm planning to get laser done to hit the areas that stubbornly will not die when my cash flow improves.

In addition to stuffing myself in foundation garments, every now and then I indulge myself and get some of my bras and panties at Victoria's Secret on sale. (My inner Taurus still refuses to pay full price for them.)

I get my hair done and in between trips to the beauty shop I have a wig collection that is approaching Regine Hunter levels. My shoe collection is constantly evolving and expanding, and I can comfortably walk and stand in heels up to 3 inches in height. I do it so well that I once had a cisgender female co-worker ask me if I could teach her how to walk in heels.

I'm always on the lookout for fashionable clothes and accessories to go with them at reasonable prices.

And yes, I shop for pantyhose in various shades and styles to complement and complete my look.

Even though I'm 15 years into my transition, I make sure my feminine deportment and gestures are on point, I'm speaking using a feminine speech pattern and maintaining a feminine pitch level.

Much of the rationale behind me doing this is because of my speaking engagements, Trans 101 presentations and lobbying. I'm also considered a role model in the trans community as well and the image I project to others is important to me and the community I represent.

Another reason is I simply wanted to be the best woman I can be and I enjoy reveling in my divatude. When you grow up in the wrong body, you tend to appreciate that suppressed femininity more when you finally get the chance to openly express it and live your life.

But one of the other reasons I'm so diligent about it is because in the back of mind, even though I'm consciously making the choice of projecting my evolving femininity in this way, I'm cognizant that performing my feminine gender presentation as flawlessly as possible impacts my life.

Read the rest here

Happy Birthday, Angie!

Today will probably be is a bittersweet day for Angie Zapata's family.

Angie would have celebrated her 20th birthday today. Instead, they will be memorializing her.

However, the family and the transgender communities in the Denver metro area, the state of Colorado and nationally will mark the occasion knowing that her murderer Allen Andrade is rotting in a Colorado prison.

Yes, justice was served, but unfortunately that doesn't bring back this beautiful young woman's life or ease the pain of her loss for all of the people who were blessed to have Angie in their lives.

Hopefully the message was sent in this trial and the recently concluded one last month of Dwight DeLee that it's no longer open season on transpeople.

One of the things we can do to honor Angie today is to redouble our community efforts in getting federal hate crimes and ENDA legislation passed.

We can also work toward doing a better job of ensuring that the American transgender community showcases all of the members and the talents of its diverse rainbow of people.

Happy birthday Angie. Say hello to all of our fallen brothers and sisters for us

Naomi Sims Passes Away

I was saddened to hear the news that pioneering African-American supermodel Naomi Sims passed away in Newark, NJ at age 61 after a battle with breast cancer.

Mississippi born Naomi broke into the modeling business in the 1960's and paved the way for other supermodels to follow in her footsteps such as Beverly Johnson, Pat Cleveland and countless others.

In November 1968 she became the first Black model to grace the cover of Ladies Home Journal. She was also among the first to be represented by the Wilhelmina agency and went on to model for designers such as Halston during her career.

In addition, two photographs of her are featured in the The Model As Muse exhibit currently on display at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Her photos also graced the covers of Life and ESSENCE magazines as she became an icon of the 'Black Is Beautiful' movement.

Naomi was also a successful and savvy businesswoman. After leaving the modeling business in 1973, she published five beauty books and in 1976 launched a multi-million dollar wig line aimed at African-American women bearing her name. A decade later she launched a successful cosmetics line.

She opened doors for future models of color, and her family, the fashion industry and others will definitely miss her.

Louisville Smacked By Record Rain

Know some of you have heard the reports on the Weather Channel about the record rain that's caused some serious flooding in town. We got whacked by a record six inches of rain in one hour earlier this morning as a nasty thunderstorm passed through the area.

While we have a respite from it now, we have another severe thunderstorm headed this way.

The creek that parallels I-64 left its banks up the road from me at Grinstead and Lexington Rd. There was some minor flooding in the basement of our house, but it's been taken care of and contained.

Downtown got the worst of it, but no part of town escaped the rain. The Downtown library branch got hit hard and has two feet of water in it. Some of the hospitals in the downtown area experienced flooding and had to evacuate patients.

Parts of the University of Louisville campus and Churchill Downs are flooded. I-65 at Arthur St, where the freeway dips slightly near the Fairgrounds curve before it climbs to the elevated section that runs through the Old Louisville neighborhood south of downtown to the Kennedy Bridge over the Ohio River was closed for several hours.

Keeping my fingers crossed and tuned in to the local news stations as we get ready for Round Two. Will keep y'all posted as long as my connection to The Net stays up.

'Jeremy's' Compensation For Jacked Up Guam Prom Denied

Remember 'Jeremy', the gay student on Guam who was denied entry to his prom because he was wearing a dress while female students were allowed to enter wearing tuxedos?

Jeremy's quest for getting reimbursement for the $400 spent getting ready for that aborted prom night at George Washington High School has been denied.

This tempest is also occurring as Guam's legislature is embroiled in a contentious debate over whether to allow same gender unions. The US Western Pacific island territory, whose slogan is 'Where America's Day Begins', decriminalized homosexuality in 1979.

It also has laws in place banning all discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.

Jeremy identifies as gay instead of trans, and told KUAM-TV News he felt discriminated against by school officials.

"I said, 'Where does it state in this rule in this paper that there's no cross-dressing, no individualism and no opposite genders? It doesn't say anything'. And that's wrong," he said.

Jeremy recently met with school officials about the matter to demand a refund on his ticket and on the items he purchased for the event, as well as a public apology. He says the over $400 he spent on clothes, shoes, hair, nails and makeup getting ready for the prom all went to waste because he wasn't allowed to attend.

While they granted the refund for his ticket, the school has balked at the refund for the items Jeremy purchased and the public apology.

George Washington High School principal Begona Flores stated: There's no need to make a public apology, because we weren't the ones that put it out in the public. He was the one that did so. There's no need for a public apology from any of us, according to legal counsel."

Flores then let her homophobia and transphobia seep into the comment by adding: "He knew the attire. This is for male, this is for female. And he made the conscious decision to buy something else. So why should we be responsible? You cannot pick and chose when you want to be. You want to be this, then not this time. When you start picking and choosing, there's no consistency here. And so we cannot blame other people because when I see Jeremy here, he's a boy."

Jeremy has apparently dressed in female clothing and expressed his gender as female while in school, so school personnel say they were not unreasonably surprised when he arrived at the prom in a gown.

All Jeremy wants is fairness in the system. He wishes to ensure all people are treated the same and not differently because of their sexuality.

Flores insists that it is the decision of the Department of Education and the Guam Education Policy Board to come up with any trans specific policies to ensure this doesn't happen again.

But she added: "I am not going to personally put myself in that position (of drafting a policy) because I don't believe in it. I don't believe in it because I have my own (personal) beliefs and I am not going to deviate from them."

Ms. Flores, I believe your personal beliefs are why you're so intransigent on giving Jeremy a refund on the money spent and an apology for your staff's heavy handed and inconsistent actions that evening.

If you and the Guam school board end up in court and suffering an adverse legal verdict directing you to pay more than the $400 Jeremy's request plus still have to apologize, you'll have no one to blame but yourself.