2012 Olympic Watch-USA Women's Teams Continue To Win

In this Olympic Games which is being contested during the 40th anniversary year of Title IX, it's been interesting to note how well the USA women's team sports are doing vis a vis their male counterparts.  

This is the first ever USA Olympic team that has more female than male competitors, and one of the reasons for it was there were American women's teams that qualified for field hockey and soccer and our men's teams fell short of doing so.

That's a nice segue into doing some updates on how the various women's team sports are doing.  

The USA women's soccer team clinched Group G with a 1-0 over North Korea at Manchester United's  iconic home park of Old Trafford thanks to Abby Wambach's 141st international goal in the 25th minute and her seventh in Olympic play.   It was the first women's soccer match played there in 23 years and going into the match Team USA already had their August 3 quarterfinal spot clinched due to their two wins over France and Colombia    It was just a matter of whether they would do so as group champs or the runner ups..

They will play New Zealand in Newcastle in that quarterfinal knockout round match Friday. 

At 'The Mattress', AKA the Basketball Arena the USA women rolled to a 90-38 win over Angola to go to 2-0 in Group A play and take their Olympic winning streak to 35 games. 

The Angolans stayed close to Team USA in the first quarter and were only trailing by 10 points until Team USA went on a 11-0 run that broke the game open along with holding Angola to only six points in the second quarter to take a 41-18 halftime lead.

Team USA outscored Angola 28-11 in the third quarter thanks to 8-0 and 12-0 runs and by the time they reached the 4:06 mark all eleven available players had scored.  Sylvia Fowles didn't play in this game and next up is Turkey at 4:15 PM CDT.

Over at Earl's Court, the USA women's volleyball team is still rolling along unbeaten in Pool B play as well.  They knocked off number 2 ranked Brazil in four sets 25-18, 25-17, 22-25, 25-21 to go 2-0 in pool play and now face number 3 ranked and unbeaten 2-0 China for the outright lead.   

Sorry You're A Vanillacentric Privileged Trans Oppressor

In another episode of Whyte Radfem Womyn Gone Wild, the trans community's least favorite radfem stepped in it when she tweeted this photo and transphobic commentary to Marti Abernathey, the founding editor of Transadvocate while she was at a radfem convention hatefest in Portland, OR last weekend.  

So what's the big deal about it?   Pull up a comfortable chair and grab some snacks because Moni's gonna give you some of the backstory on Cathy Brennan, our community's longtime trans oppressor.

She claims in her online scribblings she's an ally, but her deeds don't match her words.

Brennan is a self identified lesbian feminist, an attorney licensed to practice in New York and Maryland and a partner at Hudson Cook LLP.   She was a liaison to the American Bar Association's Commisssion on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity  in 2008-09, and a self identified member of the National LGBT Bar Association. 

But seguing back to the point about respect that she leveled at Marti in her tweet. 

Why should the trans community have respect for a group of racist white radical feminists who have attacked our humanity and femininity for four decades with deleterious effects on our lives?   

That cry for respect is Romneyesque hollow coming from someone who proudly co-wrote with Elizabeth Hungerford a transphobic paper to the UN Entity For Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.

That paper's submission was timed so the trans community didn't hear about it until after the August 1 submission deadline and couldn't submit our own paper to rebut and eviscerate the Raymondesque lies, transphobic bigotry and typical radfem falsehoods contained in the Brennan-Hungerford one.

But the Transophere still rose up, rebutted and eviscerated it anyway, which is why she and her full of vanillacentric privilege co-conspirator in trans oppression did the UN stealth submission to begin with because they knew it wouldn't withstand the scrutiny nor avoid the stench of intolerance..

She also published the pre-transition names of trans feminine activists who have called out her vile behavior, used her access to the legal system as an attorney to frack with the legal gender change of another trans critic and recently outed to his high school a 17 year transman who called her out online and bragged about it in radfem circles until the backlash hit her azz.

And naw, before you ask, she hasn't apologized for it. 

Oh yeah, did I forget to mention she was on the opposing side when Baltimore County, MD was debating passing trans human rights coverage?  

But she is the first along with her fellow radfems to cry 'white women's tears' when the trans community and our allies call her out on her malicious pattern of behavior.  

And don't even try Dana LaRocca to bring up the 'Cathy helped organize the Crissy Lee Polis rally' talking point.  One broken clock moment doesn't outweigh her decades of damaging work.

In a comment on the Transadvocate FB page, the ABA responded:

"The Business Law Section does not support or condone discrimination nor derogatory comments of any type. We actively work to increase diversity in the legal profession and to promote an inclusive atmosphere for all of our members and for those who attend our meetings. Catherine Brennan is not currently an ABA Business Law Section Liaison to the ABA Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. She served one year in that position in 2008-09.

Sincerely,

Linda"

I know you didn't think that in your vanillacentric privileged world that transpeople (and especially this non-white transperson) were going to simply submit to having their human rights fracked with without a fight?

Did you think you and your friends could continue to frack with this community with impunity and suffer no consequences as you did so? 

My question is where are the feminist (and transfeminist) voices calling out this reprehensible behavior?    And you wonder why feminism has such a negative connotation in the trans community and with women of color in general? 

Trans community, you cannot ignore in the vain hope she will go away someone who has the access to policy making tables that Brennan has and the willingness to use it against us.   It's a dangerous combination when you have a trans bigot willing and unrepentantly able to not only express anti-trans attitudes, but is actively working to inject them into policies that will have deleterious effects upon the entire trans community not only here in the United States but around the world.  

Ignoring Brennan gave her and her racist radfem buddies the impression they could continue to do this oppressive crap to us in the first place.  

New decade, new rules.  You don't ignore bigots that have access to power, you confront them head on and it's about damned time the trans community recognized that

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Quoted In TF Charlton Article On Jennifer Carroll

The commentary is still flowing concerning Florida's Republican Lt Governor Jennifer Carroll and her jacked up comment in the midst of her unfolding same gender sex scandal that women who look like her don't engage in 'relationships like that'.  

She's apologized for the comment, but Carroll is still  rightfully getting called out on it by all Black women, straight , trans and lesbian for it.

And the hits just keep on coming. T.F. Charlton penned an AlterNet article in which I was quoted and linked to along with Tami Winfrey Harris.

I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to T.F. Charlton during the 2012 edition of Netroots Nation in Providence and here's a taste of her article:. 

Black women as a group have long been framed in dominant American culture as essentially unfeminine. In what Monica Roberts has called the " black unwoman meme ," black women are unfavorably compared to a feminine ideal rooted in white cultural norms: white women are "considered the paragon of virtue, fertility, beauty and femininity." As a foil to this romanticized (and misogynistic) image of the angelic, respectable white lady, black women are widely stereotyped as promiscuous, bad mothers, unable or unwilling to land husbands, unattractive, angry and threatening. In short, black women in the popular imagination are so outside the scope of normative femininity that we are less than women, even almost men. Our bodies and lives are held up to intense scrutiny and routinely found wanting in appropriate femininity.

t's in this context that Carroll's comments read as a dangerous validation of racist, misogynist policing of black women's bodies and lives. Carroll perhaps unwittingly frames herself as the polar opposite of stereotypical images of black womanhood: a faithful wife and dedicated mother who doesn't look like women who "engage in relationships like that." She equates being a black woman who is "properly" feminine in appearance and behavior not only with being straight, but also with being respectable. She frames her accuser's femininity as suspect and even ridiculous by comparison. " She's the one who's been single a long time," she points out, insinuating that it is her accuser, Carletha Cole, not Carroll, who should be suspected of being queer -- i.e., not a proper black woman.

It definitely deserves a signal boost, and not because I'm quoted in it.

2012 Olympics Watch-Great Day For The Williams Sisters

It was a great day at the All England Club for the Williams Sisters in the London Olympic tennis tournament and a bad one for their haters.  

Venus Williams got her quest for a fourth overall Olympic tennis gold medal started properly by taking only 63 minutes to beat ninth seeded Sara Errani of Italy in straight sets 6-3, 6-1 in her first round match that was postponed a day due to Sunday's heavy rain. 

She faces Canada's Aleksandra Wozniack in a second round match that will determine whether she joins Serena in the round of 16.

Just to remind y'all, Big Sis was the 2000 Olympic singles champ at the Sydney Games in addition to capturing the Olympic doubles titles with Little Sis in 2000 and 2008.

Speaking of Little Sis, Serena Williams took only one hour and 13 minutes to win in straight sets her second round match with Poland's Urszula Radwanska 6-2, 6-3.   Fourth seeded  Little Sis wasn't playing with Agnieszka's baby sis in this match.  She served up 8 aces and hit 26 winners to complete to her July sweep of the Radwanska sisters and move on to play Russia's Vera Zvonareva in the Round of 16. 

Serena beat Zvonareva for the 2010 Wimbledon ladies' singles title, just you give you haters something else to chew on. .

My fave tennis playing siblings then headed to Court 2 a few hours later and successfully got their quest for a third Olympic doubles title off to a winning start.   They opened the defense of the Beijing doubles title by beating the Romanian duo of Sorana Cirstea and Simona Halep 6-3, 6-2 to advance to their second round doubles match versus fifth seeded Angelique Kerber and Sabine Lisicki of Germany.

TransGriot Update: Venus Beat Wozniack 6-1, 6-3 to move to the round of 16 and face Angelique Kerber of Germany.

more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/07/30/4674900/williams-sisters-win-opening-olympic.html#storylink=cpy

2012 Olympics Watch-USA Women's B-Ballers Take On Angola

The USA women's basketball team gets their second Group A game at the Basketball Arena that has been dubbed 'The Mattress' (for the way it looks from the outside) when they take on Angola later today.

While the Angolan men have long been dominant on the FIBA Afrobasket scene and perennial Olympic qualifiers, they surprisingly didn't make it to London this year, but the Angolan women did. . 

This is the first ever international competition ever for the Angolan women, and they will have their hands full trying to play with the four time defending gold medalists and the FIBA world number one ranked USA squad coming off a sloppy (for them) win on Saturday versus a scrappy Croatia squad.

That means look out, Team USA will probably be focused from the opening tipoff of this game.

Team USA will be focused on the tasks of keeping  their Olympic win streak alive and stretching it to 35 consecutive wins since the 1996 Atlanta Games, keep an unblemished record in Group A play, and making sure they improve on Saturday's game.

Should be fun to watch at 4:15 CDT to see if they accomplish all three tasks.

TPOCC Chair On 2012 Dem Party Platform Committee

The 2012 Democratic Party Convention will be happening in Charlotte, NC this September, and in advance of it the Democratic National Committee and Obama for America announced how the 2012 Platform process would be conducted. 

The July 20th deadline has already passed to send written testimony in, but Democrats from around the country will continue to come together and draft a Platform that outlines Democratic priorities and highlights the President's vision for the middle class and his efforts to create an economy that's built to last.

I can say with complete confidence that there's not a chance in Hades that the Democratic Platform will resemble the putrid 2012 Texas GOP one that seeks to repeal the 1965 Voting Rights Act and oppose critical thinking skills being taught in public schools among other jaw dropping planks. 

Back to the post.   One of the Platform Committee members who will have input on that Democratic platform is none other than trans advocate, NBJC Board Member and Trans People of Color Coalition (TPOCC) founder Kylar Broadus.

If you want to know why I stay a Democrat, the inclusion of trans voices in my party's policy discussion is a major reason why. 

Congrats again Kylar for making history again on behalf of our community, representing us at that particular policy making decision table and ensuring that our voices as trans Democrats are heard and reflected in this year's platform..

Justice For Nakhia!

When I was living in Louisville, I got to know and become friends in 2005 with Nakhia Williams.   I was shocked and angry to find out less than a few days after I had a conversation with her in August 2008 she was found shot near her west Louisville apartment after a home invasion robbery August 20 and died from it ten days later.   

I was even more pissed off when I saw the initial misgendering headline about that 2008 case and reported WDRB-TV to GLAAD over their misgendering report that violated AP Stylebook guidelines on reporting about trans people.   I wasn't the only one pissed about it.  So were local trans people and other persons who attended her funeral. 

Was happy to find out that the wastes of DNA who committed the crime, Reginald Grider and Damon Malone were caught by LMPD and recently brought to justice. 

And WDRB-TV respectfully reported it on their site.

Grider received 15 years for the robbery and burglary of Nakhia's apartment.  Just before the trial was scheduled to start, Malone accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to 35 years for Nakhia's murder..

No, the punishments don't bring her back, but it does provide closure to the family and all of us who loved Nakhia and miss her in our lives.

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Say Hello To Lana

An ongoing story I've been tracking in these electronic pages is the rumored metamorphosis of The Matrix trilogy director Lana Wachowski.   

Since 2003 there have been 'did she or did she not transition' rumors flying from the Left Coast that were exacerbated by the 2010 Rolling Stone article about her that was printed without comment from the Wachowski siblings.

You would see the occasional sightings of Lana at various Hollywood events and LAX posted online or in various gossip blogs, but cricket chirping silence from either of the Wachowski siblings confirming or denying them.  Even the folks that were cast in their movies such as The Matrix trilogy, Speed Racer or worked with them on projects such as V For Vendetta in which they were writing credited as The Wachowski's were tight lipped about it.  

Despite the increasing anecdotal and photographic evidence that said transition had already occurred, my personal thoughts on that is until a person acknowledges they are trans via press conference or interview, I consider them as a cis person until told otherwise..

The Wachowski siblings are set to premiere October 26 a new movie called Cloud Atlas that stars Halle Berry and Tom Hanks and have just released a trailer for it.  But what has gotten peoples attention is this will be the first movie that you will see Lana Wachowski's name in the movie credits instead of the old one.



Yep people, here's the strongest evidence yet short of a press conference (which I wish she'd do) that Lana Wachowski is a #GirlLikeUs.  As to whether she'll do a coming out interview about it, that remains to be seen.  

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The Olympian I Know

I look forward to watching the Olympics and  rooting for the athletes representing my country and others in various sports  

The intensity and interest goes up another notch when you actually have a personal connection with the person you're watching compete for Olympic glory

When I first started watching my then roommate pick up a sabre and start participating in various fencing tournaments inside the Kentucky Division and the Great Lakes Region, in the process of supporting my homegirl Dawn I got to meet some of the wonderful people who are part of US Fencing in that part of the world.

In addition to meeting the families, parents and friends of fencers, the 'Baby Vets' and the 'Senior Mama's, the gang at LFC, Maestro Stawicki, various officials and referees in US fencing, I also got to meet some of the up and coming US fencers when I was the announcer for the Super Youth Regional tourney that was held in Louisville in 2010.  

One of the fencing families I got to know during my time in Kentucky were the Kiefers.  Lee, her sister Alex and her baby brother are all foil fencers and pretty darned good ones.   Lee was already fencing on the international cadet level when I met them and their proud parents a few years ago.

When Dawn and I used to discuss Lee's tremendous talent or her  chances to be on or selected for a USA Olympic fencing team, we never used the word 'if' when discussing her, but 'when'  

Dawn and I along with everyone else in the Kentucky Division expected her to be in London, and here she is competing at age 18 with a 2011 Pan Am Games gold medal and a raft of cadet and junior championship medals in hand.  She also has the distinction of being only the second American woman to ever earn a medal at the senior World Fencing Championships when she picked up a bronze last October. . 

Lee made it to the quarterfinals of her first Olympic foil tournament before being ousted by the eventual silver medalist Arriana Errigo of Italy.   Lee is also a smart, super sweet person in addition to having serious fencing ability and talent.

I was up early to watch her match yesterday morning, and while I was sad she fell just short of the medal round, she made some fencing history in the process.  I have no doubts I will be seeing her again in Rio four years from now and she'll be standing on the medal platform when she competes in that 2016 tournament.

She still has the team foil event to go in a few days (August 2), so if things break her way, she may head back to Kentucky with a London Olympic medal after all.   

Congrats Lee.  It's an honor to have a personal connection with an Olympic athlete and know firsthand the levels of hard work, determination and effort it took for you to be standing on that London Olympic strip.

I'm one more person who is immensely proud of you

2012 Olympics Watch-Great Day For USA Women's Olympic Sports Teams

Saturday was the first official day of competition of the 2012 London Games and to paraphrase an old Ice Cube rap song, today was a good day for the USA's women's Olympic sports teams. 

The USA women's basketball team started on the road to a fifth consecutive gold medal by getting Group A pool play started in the Basketball Arena with an 81-56 win over a scrappy Croatia team that has been zooming up the FIBA basketball rankings lately.

Croatia trailed 11-4 after the first quarter but sloppy USA play, early shooting woes and turnovers kept Croatia close.  Croatia started lighting it up from three point range in the second quarter after attempting and failing to score inside and were rewarded with a shockingly brief second quarter lead and visions of a ginormous upset dancing in their heads until Diana Taurasi launched back to back threes of her own that gave Team USA a narrow 31-28 halftime lead.

Team USA went to work expanding that narrow lead to a six point cushion by the end of the third quarter thanks to Angel McCoughtry coming off the bench to provide an offense and defensive spark.

A 16-0 fourth quarter run secured their 34th consecutive win in Olympic b-ball play since the 1996 Atlanta Games.   Next up is Angola, and you can bet Team USA will be ready for that game.

While the USA roundballers were getting their Olympic pool play wakeup call,  the Team USA soccer players were in Glasgow, Scotland's Hampden Park playing in a rough and tumble match with a scrappy Colombia that featured 30 fouls and goals from Megan Rapinoe, Abby Wambach and Carli Lloyd.

Wambach's goal in the 74th minute was her 140th career international one and her sixth in Olympic play to pass Mia Hamm and Tiffeny Milbrett on the USA all time Olympic goal scoring list.

The had fought 3-0 win guaranteed that Team USA would make it to the quarterfinals, and they can capture Group G with a win or draw against North Korea at Old Trafford in Manchester, England on July 31.

The world number one ranked USA women's indoor volleyball team is attempting to win our first ever Olympic gold medal.  

They got their Olympic tournament started at Earl's Court in a positive manner with a 3-1 Group B win over South Korea and a dominating performance by Destinee Hooker.  

Team USA took the first two sets by 25-19 and 25-17 scores before the South Koreans clawed their way back into the match by taking the third set 25-20.  Team USA regrouped and with the score at 15-14 in that fourth set went on a 7-1 run to take a 22-15 lead to put them on the way to clinching the set and eventually a hard fought 25-21 win  


Their next Group B match will be on July 30 against number two world ranked Brazil.  Like Team USA, Brazil is considered a gold medal favorite and have been traditionally strong in the sport.   Brazil held the FIVB number one world ranking for four years until the USA took it over at the end of 2011.

After the July 30th volleyball tussle with Brazil Team USA has matches remaining with China, Serbia and Turkey and must finish in the top four teams in their group to move on to the medal round.

But Saturday was a great step in the right direction for the USA women volleyballers and the other USA women's team sports that have gold medal dreams.
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Maya Angelou Definition Of A Hero

This Maya Angelou quote really resonated for me.  

If you are striving to make this world a better place for all people, there are times in which you will be standing alone because you have to have the courage of your convictions to say things that make you unpopular at times.   You have be willing to do the right thing when others seek the most expedient thing to do, are willing to sell you out for their own comfort, cower in the shadows or are reluctant to take a stand.

In some parts of the world, working to make it a better place for all people means literally putting your own life in jeopardy to do so.

You also must have the unshakeable courage of your convictions.   You must have a great grasp of history in order to learn from the mistakes of your predecessors and better formulate a plan what will work in the politcal and historic times you live in.  

You must know your enemy and most importantly, know yourself so that your intent to make the world a better place for everyone becomes action that accomplishes that goal.

2012 Olympics Watch-Yo Haters, Serena Wins First Round Olympic Singles Match

The 2012 London Olympics tennis tournament got started at the All-England Club with an unusual sight. color.   It is the tennis venue for these Games, and the usual mostly all white clothing rule has been waived.

Not only did the players take advantage of it by wearing clothing in their national colors, the Wimbledon courts were decorated with the purple colors and bunting of the London Games.

But since this is 'Williams'-don, one thing didn't change.  This is still Serena Williams' house, and the 2012 Wimbledon singles and defending 2008 Olympic gold doubles champ sent that message loud and clear while First Lady Michelle Obama was watching the action from the front row of Serena's box.  

The best server in women's tennis has it dialed in once again.  The fourth seeded Little Sis hit eight aces, lost  only 10 service points and faced no break points in beating Jelena Jankovic of Serbia in straight sets 6-3, 6-1.   She got her pursuit of her first Olympic singles medal off to a rousing start and advanced to her second round match against Urszula Radwanska sf Poland.   Yep, she's the sister of Agnieszka Radwanska, who Little Sis beat in the 'Williams'-don singles final a few weeks ago.

Speaking of sisters, Venus Williams will take on Italy's Sara Errani in her first Olympic singles match July 29   My fave tennis playing siblings and reigning 2012 Wimbledon doubles champs will also begin the pursuit of their second consecutive Olympic doubles title on July 29 with their opening match against Romania's Sorana Cirstea and Simona Halep

2012 Olympics Watch-The Games Open

After the spectacular opening ceremony Beijing pulled off four years ago, the world was watching to see what London would do when it was their turn to host the Games for a record third time. 

Well, it was spectacular.  It weaved in elements of British history, culture and iconic images from Mary Poppins to James Bond and Queen Elizabeth II.  

And yeah Beijing, you didn't have JK Rowling, Sir Paul McCartney, the Beatles or Soul 2 Soul's 'Back 2 Life' as part of the music track.

Did I mention the image of the Queen and James Bond skydiving from a helicopter over the stadium?

The torch lighting even had London homeboy David Beckham involved. 
He drove a speedboat up the Thames to his old neighborhood where the Olympic Park now stands

Yeah London, you definitely get two thumbs up for that opening ceremony and the interesting way you lit the torch.   Now it's time to settle in and watch the competition over the next two weeks.

Death Threat Aimed At Casa Ruby

I had the pleasure of meeting longtime Washington DC trans activist Ruby Corado last year while I was up there for Out On The Hill and was thrilled to hear about the recent opening of Casa Ruby  in Northwest DC

Its mission is to serve as a safe haven for the local Washington transgender community from violence and serve the Latino community. 

But I was not happy to hear that Casa Ruby  recently received a death threat that is being investigated by the DC Metro Police.

Corado explained in a WAMU-FM radio interview why she doesn't take these threats lightly:

" I have been to dozens of funerals throughout this city and I have also been hundreds of times to the hospitals to aid people who have been victims of a violent crime or death for being who they are."

Casa Ruby has continued to serve as a safe haven for the Washington DC transgender community despite the threat. It is playing host to Latino delegations attending the 2012 International AIDS Conference that started on July 22 and ends today

It is my hope that the waste of transphobic DNA who called that threat in to Casa Ruby is expeditiously caught by MPD and swiftly brought to justice.  I'm also looking forward to visiting Casa Ruby the next time I'n in the Washington DC metro area.

Shut Up Fool Awards-Texans Training Camp Edition

The Summer Olympics opening ceremonies in London aren't the only sports related thing happening today. 

NFL training camps for the upcoming 2012 season have been opening in various locations all around the country this week.   For us Houston area NFL junkies the road to a hoped for Super Bowl appearance in New Orleans for our defending AFC South champs starts with tomorrow's opening of Texans training camp over at their complex across the street from Reliant Stadium. 

Just in case you TransGriot readers were curious about it, Michael Watts and I are planning to do our NFL pigskin prognostication battle once again for the upcoming 2012 NFL season.  If bloggers wish to join in on the fun let us know before mid-August. 

But be warned, Mike and I tied for the regular season title last year, and I had to come from four games back to do it.   I want to win it this year.  

Okay, now that I've gotten the football jibber-jabber out of the way, let's segue to what y'all really surfed over here to find out, who won this week's TransGriot Shut Up Fool Award

A usual, I had a long list of fools to choose from, starting with Fox Noise, the Romney Campaign, The Republican Party, Reince Priebus, Michael Steele, Michael Medved, Ron Christie, Gretchen Carlson,  Sean Hannity, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) , Gov Bobby Jindal (R-LA), Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC), Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Charles Krauthammer, Texas Tea Klux Kan senate candidate Ted Cruz and Newt Gingrich     

Honorable mention number one goes to Rep Louie Gohmert (R-TX) 

Honorable mention number two goes to 2011 TransGriot Shut Up Fool Lifetime Achievement Award winner Rep Michele Bachmann (R-MN).  I had to pull her out of retirement once again and call Bachmann out for her over the top Islamophobic race baiting of Huma Abedin.

This week's Shut Up Fool award goes to one of the strong contenders for the 2012 Shut Up Fool of the Year Award in Willard Mitt Romney.
   
He started off the week lying about the POTUS in a speech before the VFW and having an aide make the racist claim that the POTUS didn't understand the Anglo-Saxon ties between Great Britain and the United States.   Hello, y'all conservafools keep forgetting President Obama's mother Ann is white with English heritage and he's more Anglo-Saxon than you are, Willard.

Then Mitt gets to jolly old England and on his first day over there insults Prime Minister David Cameron, forgets the name of Labor leader Ed Millibrand, snubs the US press corps, makes an insulting comment about Britain's ability to host the Games that Prime Minister Cameron and London Mayor Boris Johnson called his azz out on, threw his wife Ann under the bus when questioned about the Olympic dressage horse Rafalca he got a $77,000 tax deduction on, and mentioned an MI6 meeting he needed to keep secret. 

And oh yeah, did I mention that the British press is roasting his behind and calling him worse than Sarah Palin?  

Mittbot still has Israel and Poland to visit on this trip that was meant to showcase his readiness to represent the USA on the foreign policy stage.   More like he's a not ready for prime time player and he's putting America in the embarrassing position of apologizing for him instead of the lie he tells at every campaign stop that the POTUS has been apologizing for America.

Instead of hearing Hail to the Chief he delusionally thinks should be played for him, this is the song more appropriate to Mitt Romney's visit to England. .

Mr T, Take it from here.  Mitt Romney.... 

Xtravaganza Powah!

It was two years before Paris Is Burning hit the theaters in 1990, but this photo of members of the House of Xtravaganza hit Vogue magazine in its December 1988 issue.

I not only saw Paris Is Burning at the River Oaks theater during its run, that movie is in my DVD collection 

That Jennie Livingston documentary led to the iconic ballroom community house became internationally famous, but as you can see, they were already starting to blow up and make a name for themselves in the New York area before that movie debuted.

Seeing the photo reminded me of this New York Times article discussing the recent 30th anniversary House of Xtravaganza Ball (yes, people they are still having balls).   It also remnded me there's a lot of history in the ballroom community, and sadly we've lost more than a few of the people that were chronicled in that 1990 film.

HT Koko and Karl Xtravaganza

USA Women's B-Ballers Playing For Respect

The USA women's basketball team has won four consecutive gold medals, is ranked number one in the FIBA world rankings, are the FIBA world champions, have won 33 straight games in Olympic competition going back to the 1996 Atlanta Games are heavily favored to take an unprecedented fifth one here in London but get no love at home compared to the men.

But on the TransGriot electronic pages, they will.

"I think it's funny," Diana Taurasi said. "We're a team that's won four gold medals in a row and yet we're still fighting for respect in our own country. I think it's a little sad. That's a heck of a motivator for all of us in the gym. Our level is so high, it becomes normal and even to the public `it's they should win the gold medal. If they don't it's a terrible year."

USA Head Coach Geno Auriemma also wants to make it a big deal

"If we win another gold medal it's not going to be a huge story," he said in an ESPN interview. "I want to make it a huge story because the respect that Dee's talking about that these kids deserve for having done what they've done and been able to do it the way they do it should be appreciated. Greatness should be appreciated and not taken for granted.

"People take us for granted."

Some US fans may take a 'ho hum, they're supposed to win' attitude toward the women ballers, but their opponents definitely don't.  They get their opponents A game every time they play, and they still since 1996 have only had one team come within single digits of them during this historic run.

The Team USA average margin of victory during this streak has been 29 points, and the only blemish in international competition since 1996 was a 75-68 semifinal loss in the 2006 FIBA Women's World Championships in Brazil against Russia

This team is also experienced.  It's funny to think of Maya Moore, Asjha Jones, Tina Charles, Lindsay Whalen and Angel McCoughtry as rookies on this 2012 Olympic squad but that's exactly what they are since this is their first Olympics even though they have years of international basketball playing time under their belts.

For example, Maya Moore has been involved in USA basketball since she was 17, and has won international titles as a member of the FIBA U-19, World University Games, and FIBA world championship teams.  Now she gets an opportunity to add an Olympic gold medal to that list.

You also add these Olympic rookies to a team that has veteran Olympic ballers such as Sylvia Fowles, Seimone Augustus, Sue Bird, Swin Cash, Tamika Catchings, Diana Taurasi and Candace Parker and it's going to be a fun one to watch.

They start Olympic Group A play July 28 against a Croatian team that has been surging in the FIBA women's ranking lately, then face Angola on Monday, July 30, Turkey on Wednesday, August 1, a 2010 FIBA world championship game rematch with the Czech Republic on August 3 and close out group play on
Sunday, August 5 with China.

The Drive For Five and the respect of the American sporting public begins after the Olympic flame is lit.later today.

Moni's Going To The 2012 GLAAD POC Media Institute

Well, looks like I'll be piling up more frequent flyer miles in late August

Was deliriously happy to discover that I've been accepted to participate in the 2nd annual GLAAD National People of Color Media Institute that will be taking place in New York August 24-27.

I'd heard about last year's inaugural POC media institute too late to apply for it, and when the opportunity presented itself this year, I made sure I got the application done and sent it in before the June 1 deadline.

And why did I consider this a priority to do so?  Because you long time TransGriot readers know lack of media visibility for non-white TBLG people is a issue that I have griped about for years on these electronic pages.   To borrow the words of Eldridge Cleaver, "If you aren't part of the solution, you're part of the problem."  This was an opportunity to do something about it.

“While there have been major strides to increase visibility around the stories and issues LGBT people face, far too often the voices, views and faces of LGBT and allied people of color are underrepresented, if represented at all,” said Herndon Graddick, President of GLAAD. “Our community needs to work together to change this. We are extremely proud to host this program which will help our community elevate more voices and celebrate the rich diversity of the community and our allies."

This program is created specifically for people of color who are LGBT or LGBT allies.  .In its first year, GLAAD worked with 30 LGBT and ally advocates through the National People of Color Media Institute. As a result, their stories and views reached millions through national media outlets including National Public Radio (NPR), Black Enterprise, Ebony, as well as community and ethnic media outlets such as El Diario, The Afro and New York Amsterdam News. 

The Institute is basically a two-day, training program in New York (August 24-26) and Los Angeles (September 7-9), where GLAAD staff, leading journalists and talking heads and key media trainers will develop Institute participants with best practices for on-camera and radio interviews.

It's also limited to 20-25 people, so as one of the people accepted for the New York one I'll get to meet my fellow 2012 POC Media Institute attendees and be part of it.  I'm also looking forward to being inside the New York city limits for the first time since 2000 even though this is primarily going to be a business trip. 

See y'all in a few weeks, Big Apple.

New York Times Meeting With GLAAD About Trans Media Coverage

After some problematic stories in the New York Times that drew the ire of the trans community, a meeting has been arranged to take place today between GLAAD, representatives of the local trans community and the Times to discuss their coverage of trans people.

The New York trans community was already upset about the exploitative piece on Lorena Escalera's death and the stubborn refusal to retract or correct it.   Now they just poured gasoline on that smoldering controversy with the latest scribblings about the Christopher Street trans youth culture.

Janet Mock said about the Christopher Street piece, “My problem with this piece is that trans women, specifically those of color in this gentrified environment of New York City, are under layers and layers of oppression – none of which are examined and or mentioned in this paper of record.”

GLAAD stated on their blog about this meeting: "Our meeting with the Times will explore those layers, and encourage the paper to consider telling these stories - as well as explain exactly how these stories could cause harm to trans people, youth in particular.

As the paper of record that people and politicians on both sides of the aisle read, it's vitally important that the New York Times get it right the first time when they comment or write stories about the trans community and the issues that impact it.  

Let's hope that message is received by the Times and we see a corresponding major improvement in trans community stories and coverage of our community as a result of today's meeting.

Also wouldn't hurt New York Times if you actually hired trans people as reporters to cover that community  

Why I Love The Olympic Games

"The most important thing is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered, but to have fought well."  Pierre De Coubertin

Tomorrow I get to park in front of the television and watch the opening ceremonies.herald the start of another Olympic Games.

Ever since the Grenoble winter games of 1968 and the summer ones in Mexico City later that year I have looked forward to watching the Olympiads and their drama filled stories unfold.

I love the opening ceremonies and how each host nation puts their interpretation on it.  I love the Olympic flame eventually being lit and discovering along with everyone else in the stadium what Olympic athlete from the host nation's Olympic sporting past gets the honor of doing so.

Conversely, when the two to three weeks of competition is over, I'm a little sad when the Olympic flame gets extinguished because it means it'll be another four years before the world gathers again for summer (or winter games) competition.

I like watching the various competitions in sports I rarely see on television such as fencing, team handball, archery, and countless others being contested on an Olympic stage. 

The ones I do get to watch on a regular basis such as basketball, soccer, boxing and athletics take on another high stakes meaning when the competing teams are playing for not only national pride, but to stand on the highest step of the Olympic victory platform and hear their nation's national anthem played with a gold medal around their neck.

There are all the dramatic storylines that develop during the various Olympic competitions that play our during that Olympiad.   You'll have the athlete who need the performance of a lifetime to win a medal and does just that..  The person who comes seemingly out of nowhere to become the Olympic champion.  The favorite who stumbles just short of Olympic glory.   The team that fails to qualify for the medal round in their sport or the unheralded squad that does so and makes a deep run in the medal rounds to do so.

There's also the persons who through their performances and their expressive personalities become international stars or conversely villains because of nekulturny behavior or poor sportsmanship.

The moments when you get to see the slice of life stories featuring the host nation and the scenic parts of it, the interviews of medal winning athletes and life in the Olympic Village for every one of us who ever dreamed as kids of being Olympians but didn't quite have the talent to make it happen.

It's also the knowledge that while you're watching the Olympic games, for the two weeks you're watching this sporting extravaganza unfold that has its roots in the ancient Greek festival, so is everyone else on the planet.    

I think the major reason I love the Olympic Games is that the world during those two weeks feels a little more unified during the time the Olympic flame is burning.