I Repeat-Diversity Is Sorely Needed In Our Houston Trans Community

I'm a native Houstonian proud of our Lone Star traditions, our trans community, its history and being one of the people who helped make some of that history.   I'm also exceedingly proud of the award winning leaders that we have produced locally that have in some cases achieved a statewide, national and international footprint and following.


I wrote a post last year discussing the hard, solid thinking I was engaged in about the state of the national Black trans community.  I pointed out more diversity was needed in our Houston and Texas trans community ranks and what I said back in March 2011 bears repeating once again.  

As I mentioned, I was blessed to get the opportunity of attending the 20th annual Houston Transgender Unity Banquet for the first time in over a decade last weekend. While I enjoyed seeing everyone who was at the Sheraton Brookhollow and meeting some new rainbow community folks and allies in the process, I was still concerned about the lack of diversity in the room. 

This is the Houston trans community's signature event and the Unity Banquet reminded me once again how monochromatic and vanillacentric in outlook my hometown trans community leadership ranks have become in terms of the folks who are out there representing its public face.  I also believe the 'pay to play' activism model has had the deleterious result of creating a fiscal participation barrier and shutting out low income GLBT people from shaping the Houston GLBT community and the policies it advocates.   

In non-white communities there is already the ossifying impression that the GLBT community is an overwhelmingly white one, and that perception plays into some of the pushback and resistance the entire  rainbow community gets in its human rights fights.  That perception problem is one our right wing opponents are increasingly trying to exploit and use as a wedge issue as they oppose our human rights push. 

In a multicultural city of over 2 million people such as Houston, when we are contemplating fighting for a rainbow community human rights city charter referendum that will require the votes of a multicultural coalition of progressive Houston voters in order to pass it, that's a problem that needs to be fixed now before that ballot initiative gets rolled out and taken to the voters if we wish to win that fight.   Failure to seriously address this problem will result in another electoral loss for this community and I don't want to see that happen to legislation we desperately need.   .

Frustration is brewing among Houston's non-white transpeople.   It's fueled by not only the ongoing killing of our transsisters and the feeling that no one cares about it, it's also the lack of visibility and seeing trans role models who look like them.  Visibility matters and is necessary, especially to the people who don't see themselves represented in the organizations that are purported to represent them and speak for them.

If you think this status quo situation is okay, or you think that identity politics shouldn't be part of this rainbow community rights movement, you're naive or being obtuse about the fact that race matters, even in our little trans subset of society.   We get microaggressive behavior aimed at us every day by the parent society and our rainbow community subset of it, and just because we transitioned doesn't mean it stopped. 


But back to what I was discussing.   Diversity is sorely needed in our Houston trans ranks and it's sad I have to repeatedly state what is so no-brainer obvious.  

It's on you peeps that make up the leadership of these groups to ensure there is representation in them that reflects the ethnic diversity of Houston, the state of Texas and its TBLG community and but your behinds working to make that a reality.   

And yeah, y'all ain't the only people I'm going to call out on this state of affairs.  I'm going to put the non-white Houston trans community on blast too in a separate post. 

Here's the first suggestion as to how to create that diverse community.  Ask us.   But you'd better do it fast because the clock is rapidly ticking on your opportunity to do so with a fed up non-white trans community.    
What I can tell you is that if the diversity problem isn't dealt with, you will find yourself staring at a situation in which non-white transpeople will say frack it and form their own trans organizations designed to represent their interests and won't look back.

Rest In Peace, Paige

While today is a happy day for me, it's tempered with the sadness that a young transwoman in Chicago will not get the chance to experience her 50th birthday, much less her 25th, 30th or 40th ones because some waste of DNA callously took her life..

Paige Clay is being buried today, so Chicago rainbow family, if you can, pay your respects to her later this evening.

As a gentle reminder, it will be held at the Acklin Funeral Home, 1325 W. 87th St. in Chicago.   The wake will run from 3-4 PM CDT with the funeral services commencing shortly after the wake from 4-5 PM CDT

One of the things I want to see happen along with my trans brothers and sisters is witnessing the person who committed this crime be brought to justice.

Happy Milestone Birthday, Moni!

Well TransGriot readers, today I was blessed to see another birthday, and it's a big one. 

Yeah, I know we women aren't supposed to tell our age, but it's a Big Fracking Deal and a blessing to hit this milestone birthday.

I'm a Kennedy baby who was born at 10:45 PM CDT in the Lone Star State and has been on the planet long enough to witness desegregation occur 'with all deliberate speed', the African-American Civil Rights movement, women's rights, gay rights and trans rights movements.  

The space race happened with the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs rapidly culminated to a July 20, 1969 moon landing and several more after that, the Skylab program, and the space shuttle and international Space Stations.  

I witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union, the Vietnam War, two Gulf Wars, the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy,  Sen. Robert Kennedy and the Rev Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Watergate, gas lines in the 70's, Motown, the Philly Sound, disco, rap, hip-hop Neo-Soul, 8-track tapes, the CD, the iPod, color TV, cable, the Internet and the election of an African-American president.

And yeah, my body did a little morphing over the years as well to where I not only became a Phenomenal Transwoman, but a respected trailblazing award winning thought leader in the trans human rights movement.

I was also just six months old when the Cuban Missile Crisis broke out and the all too real specter of nuclear war threatened to end my life and the lives of millions of people around the world  

During my lifetime so far my beloved hometown has grown from 700,000 people to a world class international city with over 2 million residents.  I have seen an African-American and two female mayors be elected to lead it.   Annise Parker is the current one who is doing a damned good job of handling our city's business and she happens to have cut her activist teeth in our LGBT community as well. 

And to my disgust, I have seen my beloved Lone Star State move from progressive Democratic control and leaders we could be proud of such as Sen.Ralph Yarborough, Sen Lloyd Bentsen, Rep. Sam Rayburn,  President Lyndon B. Johnson, Rep. Barbara Jordan, Gov. Ann Richards and Rep. Mickey Leland to Republifool control and national embarrassments like Rep Louie Gohmert, George W Bush and Gov Rick Perry.

So while I haven't gotten that AARP card in the mail yet, or had some of my past and present birthday wishes for the trans community become a reality, what I have received and continue to receive is the blessing of you peeps showering me with love and birthday wishes from both sides of the International Date Line 

Thanks y'all.   Happy birthday to me and may I be blessed to live to see many more..

Shut Up Fool Awards- Moni's Milestone Birthday Edition

As you TransGriot readers are aware of, I'm in the midst of enthusiastically celebrating my milestone birthday today.

 I thank all of you peeps who have been sending me birthday greetings, whether its been on my Facebook page, e-mailed, or you took the time out of your busy schedules to call me.  

But today is also Friday, and you TransGriot readers know what that means.  It's time for me to take a break for a few moments from celebrating being on the planet for half a century and focus on shining a bright spotlight on the fool, fools or group of fools who so richly deserve to earn my birthday edition of the TransGriot Shut Up Fool Award.

As usual, group nods go to the Republican Party, Fox Noise, the transphobic rad fems, the TS separatists, the GOP end of the Tennessee legislature, and the GOP end of the Missouri legislature,   

The individuals nominated this week are Mitt Romney, Ann Romney, Bryan Fischer, Karl Rove, Gretchen Carlson,  Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI), Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-VA), Gov Rick Scott (R-FL), Rep Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Rev. Billy Graham, Newt Gingrich, Joel Osteen, Pastor Sean Harris and Alex Castellanos.     

Honorable mention goes to Jodie Brunstetter, the wife of North Carolina state Sen. Peter Brunstetter (R).  She stated the reason her hubby sponsored the homophobic anti same gender marriage Amendment One going to North Carolina voters on Tuesday is to 'preserve the Caucasian race'.

Hmm. no wonder y'all have major support from North Carolina white supremacists for this unjust amendment.  Did y'all create a Jesse Helms hologram to drum up support for it, too?

The winner this week is also from North Carolina in Pastor Patrick Wooden..  This knee-grow who runs the Upper Room Church of God in Christ in Raleigh, NC  (Rep.Virginia Foxx territory)  has been given the task of trying to pimp Amendment One to North Carolina's Black community and made some spurious charges in his attempts to do his Stepin Fechit routine for Amendment One.

So before some of you peeps start attacking religion or the African-American community again with that discredited 'uniquely homophobic' meme, need to point out that the Rev Dr. William Barber, the president of the North Carolina NAACP has been front and center doing a yeoman's job along with other Black North Carolinians as part of the diverse coalition fighting Amendment One..

But back to barbecuing Pastor Wooden over his homophobic ignorance. 

Wooden claimed that a gay male had a cell phone stuck in his anus a spurious charge that Pam Spaulding of Pam's House Blend fame quickly called his cookie chomping azz (pun intended) on.

And oh yeah Pastor Wooden.  Arent you in violation of two commandments?  Thou shalt not lie and thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor?

Pastor Patrick Wooden, shut up Fool!

TPOCC and NBJC Stand With CeCe

TransGriot Note: Here are the press release from TPOCC  and the National Black Justice Coalition concerning the upsetting news about a plea deal in the CeCe McDonald case.

"It is unfortunate that in this case, as in so many, the hate crime itself is overlooked entirely," explains Kylar Broadus, NBJC Board Member and Executive Director of the Trans People of Color Coalition (TPOCC), a national organization that promotes the interests of trans people of color. "We must continue to rally for fair and equal treatment for our Black trans sisters who are disproportionally targeted and killed because of who they are."

"CeCe's case is a sad reminder of the injustices transgender women of color face," says Sharon Lettman-Hicks, NBJC Executive Director and CEO. "Where do we get off blaming the victim in what was clearly a hate- and bias-motivated attack? It's unthinkable and it's un-American."

It's Moni's Milestone Birthday*

It's May 4, 2012 on the western side of the International Date Line, that is.  

Five decades ago I was born on this date in an all Black hospital in Houston's Third Ward.   The city looks a lot different than when I arrived on the planet.  

Overt Jim Crow segregation is over and my hometown is an international city with three times as many people and the innovative skyscrapers to prove it.

And yep, I'm light years different from the body I arrived in on that day.


I thank you peeps on the western side of the International Date Line and you early birds on this side of it  for all the birthday love you've been showering me with so far and it's deeply appreciated.

I consider myself blessed to still be standing tall and six feet above ground to see this day, and I hope I'm blessed with many more.

Friday ABC 'What Would You Do' Episode' To Tackle Transphobia

The ABC show What Would You Do? uses actors and actresses to set up moral dilemma situations and as the hidden cameras roll, we viewers get to see what the people who witness those staged situation do (or don't do) in reaction to what is transpiring in front of them

There was an interesting one I posted on the blog a while back as my home state peeps in Farmers Branch, TX probably to the surprise of many of you who like to knee jerk hate on red states rose to the defense of gay families in a diner and passed with flying colors..

On Friday's latest edition of the show they are going to tackle transphobia by using trans actress Carmen Carrera to play a waitress in a New Jersey diner.

Carrera plays a longtime waiter at the diner who transitions and has her trans status revealed by a longtime male customer played by another actor  who has a major problem with her transition. 

As he subjects her to transphobic slurs, the hidden camera is on the scene to record what happens next with the diner patrons.

Frankly, I and much of the trans community will be interested observers watching to see what happens as well.

Pastor Sean Harris Advocates Beating The Gay Away

Guest Post From Renee of Womanist Musings

Next week there will be a vote on Amendment 1, which would add a ban on gay marriage to North Carolina's constitution.  Filled with false righteousness and determined to influence the decision, Pastor Sean Harris of Berean Baptist Church in Fayetteville, took to his pulpit to advocate strict adherence to the gender binary, and compulsory heterosexuality for all children.  For this bigot, conformity begins in the home and to ensure that children are properly abused, Harris even go as far as to suggest that fathers should punch their sons.

So your little son starts to act a little girlish when he is four years old and instead of squashing that like a cockroach and saying, "Man up, son, get that dress off you and get outside and dig a ditch, because that is what boys do." You get out the camera, and you start taking pictures of Johnny acting like a female, and then you upload it to YouTube, and everybody laughs about it, and the next thing you know, this dude, this kid, is acting out childhood fantasies that should have been squashed.

Shaming a four year old child for expression is disgusting.  It had me thinking about an incident I had about a month ago in which a parent decided to inform me that I was going to make my youngest son Mayhem gay, by allowing him to wear nail polish and encouraging his love of dancing. As you might well imagine, the conversation did not go well for the bigot.  What Pastor Harris is advocating is so incredibly emotionally harmful for children.  Kids should be free to explore who they are in a safe environment without constantly being policed, and if they do happen to be GLBT kids, no amount of forced conformity is going to change that.  All you are teaching your child is that hate is acceptable, and that you don't believe in unconditional love.

Can I make it any clearer? Dads, the second you see your son dropping the limp wrist, you walk over there and crack that wrist. Man up. Give him a good punch. Ok? "You are not going to act like that. You were made by God to be a male and you are going to be a male."

 So, if ordering a change in behaviour does not work, it's okay to be violent with a child.  I hope to heaven that this man does not have any children. As a pastor, he is supposed to minister to his flock and tend to the weak and defenseless, and instead he is using his power to do the exact opposite.  What ever happened to love one another as I have loved you? No, it's only more violence in the name of God and parental rights.

Can I make it any clearer? Dads, the second you see your son dropping the limp wrist, you walk over there and crack that wrist. Man up. Give him a good punch. Ok? "You are not going to act like that. You were made by God to be a male and you are going to be a male."

Once again, Harris is preaching the gender binary as though it is not a pure construction of society.  There is no specific way to be a man.  Gay men don't stop being male when they become aware of their sexuality. The very fact that he could advocate punching a child tells me that he has no conscience, and no respect for anyone who isn't exactly like him.  This kind of attitude, is what is behind the suicides of gay teens across North America.  Harris isn't preaching the gospel, he is using hate speech to promote genocide as far as I am concerned.

And when your daughter starts acting too butch you reign her in. And you say, "Oh, no, sweetheart. You can play sports. Play them to the glory of God. But sometimes you are going to act like a girl and walk like a girl and talk like a girl and smell like a girl and that means you are going to be beautiful. You are going to be attractive. You are going to dress yourself up."

I guess it's nice to see that he is an equal opportunity bigot. Girls can play sports everyone, they just have to remember to make themselves pretty on a regular basis.  Really?  All women are good for are their appearance and their ability to please men?   If it weren't so disgustingly sad, I would laugh.

You say, "Can I take charge like that as a parent?"
Yeah, you can. You are authorized. I just gave you a special dispensation this morning to do that.

Right, his hatred makes him so powerful that he can give a dispensation over ruling the law of the land. This is beyond arrogance.  Children aren't our possessions even though they are vulnerable and dependent on us to take care of them.  If anything, their vulnerability and innocence makes us responsible for caring for them and respecting them as little people.

From start to finish this man has advocated strict adherence to the gender binary, compulsory heterosexuality and child abuse. When I look at him, I don't see a man of God, but a hate filled angry bigot with too much power and less common sense then God gave cabbage.  Attitudes like this are exactly why I no longer belong to any form of organized religion.  I feel that it is a stain upon Christ's teachings to advocate hate instead of loving thy neighbor.  I don't believe any loving God would advocate harming another in this fashion.

Newt Suspending 2012 Campaign

Newt Gingrich is suspending his campaign for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination today, but before he bounces into media obscurity for the next several months need to remind you peeps what he said about Willard during their heated battles for the nomination.

Happy 10th Anniversary STRAP!

The Society of Transsexual Women of The Philippines and I have in common wishing to see trans people in our nations and around the world gain human rights coverage and respect.  

I wanted to make sure I gave STRAP a well deserved shoutout on the occasion of its tenth anniversary year and didn't want to wait until December to write this post

STRAP is one of the premier trans rights organizations in the world and it has grown exponentially since its December 2002 founding by four transpinays, Sass Rogando Sasot, Dee Mendoza, J.A. and Veronica Deposoy in Manila.

It is now ably run by its current chairwoman Naomi Fontanos and her leadership team and has expanded its reach from being a Manila-centric organization to one which is gradually spreading across the Philippines educating and empowering people along the way on a variety of issues, making allies and working in partnership with other organizations in the Philippines and beyond.  

In addition to being well respected in international human rights circles and the Asia-Pacific Rim, it is also forging links with local transpinoy organizations to better coordinate their drive for trans human rights legislation that benefits all transpeople in their homeland.

Happy 10th birthday STRAP and may you have many more.
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Janet Mock's Message To CeCe, Paige and #girlslikeus You Matter

Y'all know I have much love and respect for Janet Mock and she recently was in Los Angeles speaking on the USC campus.     Here's the video of it from her blog.   

GENDA Passes NY Assembly For Fifth Time

The New York state trans community is justifiably happy that GENDA, the Gender Expression Non Discrimination Act got out of the New York State Assembly for the fifth consecutive session on an 81-59 vote.

Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Ithaca, New York City and Rochester have passed transgender-inclusive non-discrimination laws, along with Westchester, Suffolk and Tompkins Counties.

But now GENDA goes to the Republican controlled Senate, where it has died in the last four consecutive sessions, including most gallingly last year when there was a major push by the GL community to get same gender marriage passed.

Where are those four Republican senators who crossed the aisle to vote yes for same gender marriage and are regarded as heroes by the GL community on human rights coverage for trans New Yorkers?   Mayor Bloomberg?  Gov. Andrew Cuomo?

And oh yeah, where is Lady Gaga for her trans little monsters when you need her?    She was front and center in the 2011 same gender marriage battle, but is MIA in 2012 when it comes to exerting the same energy to pass rights coverge for trans people in New York state.

This GENDA passage for the fifth time also comes on the heels of a groundbreaking EEOC trans employment ruling as well, but will it be enough to get the votes we need in the NY Senate to finally get GENDA passed and to Gov Cuomo's desk for his signature? 

The national trans community is watching and hoping it happens for our New York state trans brothers and trans sisters, but it remains to be seen if it does.

Paige Clay Rally Tonight

For those of you in the Chicago area, there will be a 'Justice For Paige' rally tonight hosted by the Taskforce for Prevention and Community Services. 

The rally will be held from 6:30-9 PM CDT at their offices located at 9 N. Cicero Ave.

The wake and funeral for Paige Clay if you wish to attend it will be held at Acklin Funeral Home, 1325 W. 87th St. in Chicago on Friday, May 4.   The wake will run from 3-4 PM CDT with Funeral services commencing shortly after from 4-5 PM CDT

Osama Bin Laden Gone-President Obama Political Promise Kept

Today is the one year anniversary of the SEAL Team Six mission in Pakistan that resulted in the death of al Qaeda leader and 9-11 attack mastermind Osama bin Laden.

The Republicans are trying to obfuscate and ignore the irrefutable fact that it was the African-American commander in chief who gave the order for that ultimately successful mission while the previous White House occupant failed to do so and much less was disinclined to go after him.

And yeah, may I remind y'all (snicker, snicker) during the 2008 campaign about that October 7, 2008 debate in Nashville, TN with Sen John McCain (R-AZ) in which then Sen. Obama spelled out what would happen in his administration if he got the chance to get Osama Bin Laden.

A certain Willard M. Romney called him 'naive' for doing so
.
***

MR. BROKAW: Senator McCain, thank you very much.

Next question for Senator Obama. It comes from the F Section, and it's from Katie Hamm. Katie?

Q Should the United States respect Pakistani sovereignty and not pursue al-Qaida terrorists who maintain bases there, or should we ignore their borders and pursue our enemies, like we did in Cambodia during the Vietnam War?

SEN. OBAMA: Well, Katie, it's a terrific question.

And we have a difficult situation in Pakistan. I believe that part of the reason we have a difficult situation is because we made a bad judgment going into Iraq in the first place when we hadn't finished the job of hunting down bin Laden and crushing al-Qaida. 

So what happened was we got distracted, we diverted resources, and ultimately bin Laden escaped, set up base camps in the mountains of Pakistan in the northwest provinces there.

They are now raiding our troops in Afghanistan, destabilizing the situation. They're stronger now than at any time since 2001. And that's why I think it's so important for us to reverse course because that's the central front on terrorism. They are plotting to kill Americans right now. As Secretary Gates, the Defense secretary, said, the war against terrorism began in that region, and that's where it will end.

So part of the reason I think it's so important for us to end the war in Iraq is to be able to get more troops into Afghanistan, put more pressure on the Afghan government to do what it needs to do, eliminate some of the drug trafficking that's funding terrorism.

But I do believe that we have to change our policies with Pakistan. We can't coddle, as we did, a dictator, give him billions of dollars, and then he's making peace treaties with the Taliban and militants. What I have said is we're going encourage democracy in Pakistan, expand our non-military aid to Pakistan so that they have more of a stake in working with us, but insisting that they go after these militants.

And if we have Osama bin Laden in our sights and the Pakistani government is unable or unwilling to take them out, then I think that we have to act, and we will take them out.

We will kill bin Laden. We will crush al-Qaida. That has to be our biggest national security priority.

***

Read it and weep conservafools.  This mission was REALLY accomplished and y'all hate the fact that Osama bin Laden is resting at an undisclosed location near the bottom of the Arabian Sea.

You think this White House isn't going to point out this major success in this so called by you vanillacentric fools 'failed presidency' on the campaign trail?    You damned skippy he needs to pop his collar on this one.  It's deliciously ironic that the Black Democratic POTUS succeeded in his first term mind you where you conservafool chicken hawks miserably failed over seven years.




If this is a 'failed presidency' I want four more years of this kind of 'failure'.

As Vice President Biden recently stated, Osama is dead and the American auto industry is alive.

Is November 6 here yet?   

Help Jenna Win The Miss Canada Universe People's Choice Award

The 2012 edition of the Miss Universe Canada pageant as you know will make history with Jenna Talackova becoming the first transwoman being allowed to compete in it.   

This pageant also has a People's Choice Award in which you get to vote for one of the contestants with the winner being announced during the prelim show on May 17.

The voting for the People's Choice Award is happening now as I compile this post, and as a way for us to show some support for our trans sister let's see if we can help her win that People's Choice Award. 

You can click on that link which will take you to the People's Choice Award section of the Miss Canada Universe website and vote for Jenna.
The winner will be announced during the May 17 preliminary broadcast

Here's hoping she not only wins the People's Choice Award but wins Miss Canada Universe on May 19.

Transwoman Brandy Martell Killed In Oakland

Another day, another Black transwoman killed somewhere. and as a Daily Kos post noted, nobody gave a damn.   Correction, nobady gave a damn except her friends, family and other Black transwomen and our allies around the country who are saying to themselves there but for the grace of God go I.

Hell, Paige Clay still hasn't been buried yet in Chicago, and we're talking about the murder of yet another one of our African descended transsisters.    We now have to add 37 year old Brandy Martell's name to the depressingly lengthening list of people whose names we'll be lighting candles for and reading at the 2012 TDOR.
















Martell according to a news report was shot to death April 29 in downtown Oakland at Franklin and 13th Street just a block from city hall while sitting behind the steering wheel of her car.   

According to what a witness told Laura Anthony of ABC7, Martell was sitting behind the wheel of her car around 5:15 AM PDT  Sunday when one or two men walked up and began a conversation that appeared cordial on the surface but a few moments later one of the men became angry and fired into the car at Martell.

Until late last year, Martell worked as an outreach worker at the Tri-City Health Center in Fremont, CA  which serves the local trans community.

According to a note posted on my FB page courtesy of Tanajsha Thomas the homegoing service will take place on Wednesday May 9 at 11 AM PDT at C.P. Bannon Mortuary .  Address for those of you in the Bay Area wishing to attend is 6800 International Blvd,. Oakland, CA. 94621.

"When you don't provide a space in society for people who you think are the other or different, especially transgender women, especially transgender women of color, when you don't provide spaces for them to be in a safe environment or a safe space, whether it's socializing or services, this is what happens," said Martell's friend Tiffany Woods to ABC7.

Martell's friends also suspect like we all do this murder is an anti-trans hate crime.   But until the wastes of DNA who killed her are apprehended and brought to justice, all we have is suspicion, another famiily having to make burial arrangements for a loved one, and her friends and colleagues mourning the passing of someone who died way too fracking soon.

Happy Birthday Leona!

It's not yet May 4th on my side of the International Date Line, but it's getting close for my TransGriot readers on the western side of it.

One of those people on the western side of it who is someone I have much respect for in the international trans activist community and I have the happy coincidence of sharing the month of May for our birthdays.  

Leona is someone I have long admired as a human right warrior and all around cool person.  To discover we share the same birthday month adds to that.

I don't get to celebrate mine until Friday, but I couldn't let today pass without giving her a TransGriot happy birthday shout out.

I hope and pray it's a wonderful and peaceful day full of blessings for you and may you have many more.

2012 Olympic Women's and Men's Basketball Tournament Draw Held

We're getting closer to the start of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London on July 27 and the USA women's and men's basketball squads already know who will be in their respective groups when the basketball competition starts

For the four time defending gold medalist USA women, who are seeking their fifth consecutive gold medal in these games they will be in Group A that consists of Angola, China  and three of the qualifiers from the FIBA women's tournament that will be conducted in Turkey June 25-July 1.   


Group B on the women's side is shaping up to be the 'Group of Death' with Australia, Brazil, Great Britain, Russia, and the two remaining FIBA Olympic tournament qualifiers.

The Canadians are still alive for an Olympic women's berth.but will have to play in the Qlympic qualifying tournament in Ankara to get it.  They are in Group D with France and Mali and will either have to finish first or second in the group to advance to a matchup with whoever comes out of Group C between Croatia, Korea and Mozambique. 

For the FIBA world champion USA men, they will be seeking back to back Olympic gold in this tournament but will be missing Derrick Rose who just tore his ACL in the NBA playoffs and Dwight Howard who had back surgery and is out.    They are in Group A and will face Manu Ginobili and the Argentines, Tony Parker and France, Tunisia playing in their first ever Olympics, and two qualifiers from the FIBA Men's Olympic qualifying tournament to be conducted in Venezuela 

Group B on the men's side will consist of Australia, Brazil, China, the host Great Britain, Spain an the third FIBA qualifier 

The Men's Olympic qualifying tournament will be conducted in Caracas, Venezuela July 2-8.   In addition to the host Venezuelans will have perennial African champs Angola, who were shockingly upset in the Afrobasket tournament final by Tunisia.  

Nigeria, Russia, Lithuania, Greece, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Macedonia, Jordan, New Zealand and Korea round out the list of nations battling for the last three London Olympic basketball tournament spots

In both the women's and men's Olympic tourneys, top four teams in each group advance, then the four remaining teams play knockout games with the Group A winner facing off against the fourth place team in Group B, the Group A Runner up playing the third place team in Group B and the Group A third and fourth place teams squaring off in knockout games against the Group B winner and runner up. 

Winners keep playing until they get to the gold and bronze medal matches. 

The Olympic basketball competition will last until August 12, and I'm so looking forward to it.