The Man Couldn't Even Be Buried In Peace

I was more than a little pissed off to hear about the Wednesday beating death of prominent Ugandan GLBT activist David Kato.

It was even more distressing to hear that it occurred three weeks after a Ugandan court handed him and the local TBLG community a major victory by ordering the virulently anti gay Rolling Stone newspaper to cease and desist in their practice of posting the names, photos and addresses of GLBT people in the country because it was putting their lives in jeopardy.

About the only thing positive that came out of it was that it halted the UK's imminent deportation of a lesbian who had been living in Great Britain for eight years back to Uganda. 

Brenda Namigadde feared she would be killed if that happened and she had every right to feel that way.  She was told by the notorious homophobic Ugandan MP David Bahati, the author of the 'Kill The Gays' bill that seeks to impose the death penalty for homosexuality, to repent or be arrested on her return.   


But what angered me even further was reading about what happened at Kato's funeral in his ancestral hometown .

Anglican minister Thomas Musoke waited until the end of an emotional ceremony to grab the microphone and launch into a homophobic tirade that shocked the dozens of gay men and women as well as foreign diplomats in attendance.  A scuffle ensued and Musoke was eventually led away by the po-po's.

Damn, David Kato couldn't even be buried in peace.  

Pastor Musoke claimed in his tirade that the world had gone mad and even this new jack Pharisee has a point.

The world has most definitely gone mad when alleged religious people seem to think that their bigotry and hatred of TBLG people is justified by their holy book.   They must also be mad when they take it a step further in killing and depriving people they hate of their human rights because of who they love.  
 

State Of The Union Speech 2011 Video

The 2011 State of the Union speech   Winning The Future.

I'm A METRORail Fan

One of the major changes here in town in the eight years I was a Texan In Exile was the building and opening of the METRORail Red :Line along Main Street and Fannin Streets from UH Downtown to the Reliant Stadium area  

I was very happy to find out that the Southeast rail line extension currently under construction would be terminating within blocks of where I currently live.

One of the things I have long lamented about my hometown is the lack of a rail component to our regional mass transit plan.  In my travels around this country I have been to cities such as New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Dallas and Los Angeles which have, are building or expanding their light or heavy rail systems.   It was easy, convenient, inexpensive and quick to get around town from the airport to wherever I needed to go without using an auto.

I have long felt that for Houston to take it to the next level of growth and economic prosperity, contrary to the 'build more freeways ' and 'bus system only' penny pinching mass transit hatin' mentality of Republicans, we needed commuter rail and some kind of light or heavy rail component.   

And speaking of trains, hope that the high speed bullet train system they are seriously talking about building between Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and New Orleans does become a reality.

We have pretty much maxed out our ability to expand the freeway system.   Trains are needed to cut down on the numbers of cars and commuters on the road and reduce smog and ozone pollution levels in this town that were rivaling LA levels when I left.

The Purple Line near me is scheduled for completion in 2013

My southeast Houston neighborhood where I live now could use the economic development boost and shot in the arm that the completion of the Red Line back in 2002 gave to neighborhoods along that Main Street-Fannin transit corridor.


So yes, I'm a fan of METRORail.   I'm looking forward to the day that all the lines in this phase are complete and I have more destinations I can ride the train to.   I'm hoping I'm still on the planet when those lines get extended to both airports and more of the malls and parks in the area.   I'd like to see that evolving rail system tie in to a network of commuter rail lines that will make the beaches of Galveston, NASA's Johnson Space Center, the Kemah Boardwalk and other areas and attractions in the Houston-Galveston metro area accessible by train.    

Phil Donahue Show Featuring Grae Phillips

The Phil Donahue show was a groundbreaking talk show in the late 1980s-early 1990's that discussed topics in a reasoned, thoughtful manner.    Phil was the Emmy Award winning king of daytime television before Oprah, who at the time was just branching out from a morning talk shop on a local Chicago television station in 1986.

Here's a clip from a Donahue show with illusionist Grae Phillips.   Note the haters that called in

Miss Y'all Too Kentucky Division

The Super Youth Regional fencing tournament started yesterday at the Executive Hotel and Suites and is going on in Louisville this weekend through the 30th.

For a moment it looked like I might get the opportunity to fly up there and once again be the announcer for that event.  But alas, it didn't work out for me this time.

Dawn did call me last night with her latest Louisville update and what's transpiring in her life as well.   We're still tight even though I don't get to spend as much time with her (and Polar) as I used to.

Dawn is working the SYC, and one of the first questions from many of the participants that arrived to check in and participate in the various events was "Where's Monica?" 

It seems that my statuesque presence was missed, especially by the people of LFC, Bluegrass FC,  Indy Sabre, Knight of Swords and the Kentucky Division of USFA.   That made me tear up a little hearing that news.  

It may sound corny , but one of my goals in anything I participate in is to represent myself and my community with dignity and class, do the best job I can while I'm involved with it and leave it in better shape than when I found it. 

Guess I made more of a positive impact on people in the fencing community than I thought.  

On that note, have a wonderful and successful; SYC tournament.   I miss being the announcer for that event and had a lot of fun doing it.

And I miss you too Kentucky Division.



 

2 Million Hits!

Another day, another milestone here at TransGriot.   Thanks to you loyal readers I reached the 2 million hit milestone as of  5:05 PM today.

Wow, I can't thank y'all enough for the support, the kind words letting me know how much you appreciate what I do here, my blogging peers who let me know on a regular basis how much I'm loved and respected in the blogosphere, the loyalty and even digging into your pockets and purses at times to contribute to help keep the blog going.

I deeply appreciate it.

I'm also exceedingly grateful for the love that my own African descended transpeeps show me as well.

I never forget that I represent you, the late Roberta Angela Dee and the best our community has to offer as well when I write here.  

Once again, thanks for continuing to surf by TransGriot, and now it's on to the next milestone.