5.9 Earthquake Strikes DC Area

If you're on the Eastern seaboard of the US and in southern Canada, you weren't hallucinating about feeling the earth move.

A shallow 5.9 magnitude earthquake,. the largest ever in the region, struck 88 miles (141 km) SW of Washington, DC at 1:51 PM EDT.  The Pentagon and the White House were evacuated and the quake was felt as far away as Toronto,CA     

No reports of damage, but any bets on how soon our right wing idiots and right wing hate ministers will start blaming the POTUS for it?

Gaddafi Bab al-Aziziya Tripoli Compound Overrun

Seems it's even clearer that a decisive tipping point has been reached in the fight to topple the Muammar Gaddafi regime in Libya after rebel forces made a lighting dash into Tripoli and seized control of most of the city with the exception of the Bab al-Aziziya military compound that was still under his control.

It was the symbolic nerve center of the regime and was surrounded, assaulted, and finally overrun by rebel troops.  Watching the reports on CNN and MSNBC and seeing the jubilant troopers firing their weapons in the air as more troopers and civilians stream into it to get a look around it and hunt for souvenirs of this historic day.   

In the meantime the eastern oil hub town of Ras Lanuf has fallen on the road to Gaddahi's hometown of Sirte.   Still no signs of Gaddafi or any of his family members, but the chase to capture them is on.   

Trans Rights Flow From Marriage Equality? Um, No,

Peeped the latest lie spin coming from the 'all marriage all the time' forces trying to pimp the meme to the huddled trans masses yearning for human rights that GL people gaining marriage equality will mean trans rights flow in their wake.

Really?  Seems like that hasn't happened in Massachusetts, New York, or New Hampshire. 

Jillian Weiss' quote from a Bilerico project piece on the subject tells it like it T-I-S is along with Kat's post at ENDAblog.  

"The idea that marriage equality is going to help transgender rights is a theory that has no evidence to back it up.".

Let's make this crystal clear once again.  Civil rights do not flow from marriage.  It is the other way around.  Out of all the things we marched for during the Civil Rights movement, jobs, voting rights and stopping the violence and brutality aimed at my people had a much higher priority.

Nick Ashford Dies

Darn, another one of my fave artists is gone. 

Found out that Nickolas Ashford, half of the Ashford and Simpson songwriting and singing duo passed away in a New York hospital Monday at age 69 due to throat cancer.   

One of the other reasons I loved them so much besides being kick butt musicians was the fact that Nick and I share the same May 4 birthday.

Nick and Valerie had been married since 1974, and they were more famous for the songs they wrote for others that became hits than their own music.   The penned such hits as Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's Your Precious Love, You're All I Need To Get By, Ain't No Mountain High Enough and Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing along with songs for other Motown artists.  



They wrote I'm Every Woman for Chaka Khan that Whitney Houston later remade and wrote and produced some of Diana Ross' biggest solo hits including Reach Out And Touch (Somebody's Hand).

They wrote and produced four gold albums of their own and were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002








Rest in peace Nick.  You and Valerie were the gold standard for R&B duet singers and you'll be missed.

Laverne Cox On Joy Behar Tonight

If you're channel surfing and looking for something interesting to watch, check out the Joy Behar Show later tonight at 9 PM CDT on HLN.   There will be a panel discussion on the topic of trans people in entertainment.

Laverne Cox is one of the people on this panel along with Chaz Bono, Gun Hill Road actress Harmony Santana and Don Lemon?  

Okay.  Big ups to the fact there is a multicultural trans panel for this one.  But why is Don Lemon a part of this discussion if the subject is trans people in entertainment?

I'm just askin' a question.

Good luck ladies and gents, hope the discussion is an informative one and I will definitely be tuned in for it. 

TransGriot Note:  Found out Don is the guest host and Isis King is also part of this panel.   He's subbing for Joy while she's on vacation.   Gives me even more of a reason to watch tonight's show.