Romney's Bigot Base

Had someone try to argue the point with me on my Facebook page last week that race wasn't a part of this 2012 election cycle.   If you believe that, you're as clueless as Stacey Dash.

Have you been hearing the dog whistle racist comments the Romney-Ryan team make on a regular basis?

If you haven't the bigot base of the GOP definitely has.  So have non-white American voters.  The only reason this election is even this close is because of 'gentleman' like this t-shirt wearing supporter of the Romney-Ryan ticket who forgot his pointed white hood before heading to this rally .

So if this picture pisses you off, do something about it.  Bust your ass to ensure the Obama family doesn't leave the White House until January 20, 2017.

Handle your electoral business on November 6 (or whenever early voting kicks in for you) so that POTUS 44 gets 4 more years in office and Mr Bigot and his friends are forced to watch a replay of this picture on January 20.

Malaysian Islamic Court Rules Against Transwomen

I wrote about the four Muslim trans women in Malaysia who were challenging Section 66 of the country's Islamic criminal code that bars Muslim men from dressing or posing as women.  

Section 66 of the state's Islamic Criminal Code states that “any male person who, in any public place wears a woman's attire or poses as a woman shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding RM1,000 ($325.USD) or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or both.”

That section of Islamic law has been used by fundamentalists (surprise, surprise) to harass transwomen living in that country. and the four Muslim transwomen challenged it on the basis they have a medical condition, it was in violation of their federal constitutional rights as Malaysian citizens and Section 66 did not apply to people diagnosed with gender identity issues.

“The undisputed medical evidence shows the applicants are biologically male but psychologically female. Thus, it [the law] is not applicable to them.” said lawyer Aston Paiva

In the October 11 ruling that has alarmed people in Malaysia,  High Court judge Datuk Siti Mariah Ahmad dismissed the Section 66 challenge by the transwomen, stating Muslims cannot be exempted from Sharia legal provisions.  She also ruled that Part II of the Malaysian Federal Constitution - which guarantees Malaysians fundamental liberties such as equality before the law, freedom of religion, and which prohibits slavery and enforced labor among others - is exempted by Section 66 of the Negri Sembilan Syariah Criminal Enactment 1992, according to lawyer Aston Paiva, who represented the transsexuals.

There was also some transphobia at play here. 

Thilaga Sulathireh, an activist who helped them bring the case to court, said the judge refused to overrule the ban. Malaysia has a dual-track legal system with Sharia courts administering certain matters for Muslims.
"The (judge) said they are born male, they are still male and so the law applies to them... She said cross dressing is condemned in Islam," she told AFP.

Civil liberties lawyers in Malaysia are concerned that the ruling against the four transwomen is only the latest case in a troubling trend in which Islamic law is supplanting the Malaysian Federal Constitution as the country's supreme law.

“Islam is the religion of the Federation, but that does not mean that 'Islam', or what the authorities deem as 'Islam', supersedes other Constitutional provisions,” Civil liberties attorney Syahredzan Johan said.

It's another legal blow that Muslim transwomen have taken in this conservative nation's courts.   Last year another High Court refused to grant a name change for 26 year old  post operative transwoman Aleesha Farhana.  She died  weeks later from a heart attack   

The transwomen are disappointed and distraught over this ruling, but are considering appealing it..
.
, 

Shut Up Fool Awards- Happy Birthday, Dawn Edition

Today is the birthday of my Louisville homegirl and one time saber wielding housemate Dawn Wilson. 

Lord Vader gets another year older and one year closer to having to compete with the Senior Mama's instead of the Baby Vets (snicker snicker).    But she can handle it since the last time I checked her USFA rankings she'd climbed as high as number 3.  

And yeah, I miss her and our You're Under Arrest anime marathons we used to have fun watching and our nightly walks around our East End neighborhood . I also miss beating her behind at X-box bowling

But I don't miss her questionable tastes in music that....(cough, cough, wheeze)   

Anyway, Happy birthday sis!   May you have many more. .

Now that I'n gotten Dawn's birthday business out of the way, time for me to focus on my usual Friday TransGriot 'bidness' in terms of selecting this week's Shut Up Fool Award.

While there were so many worthy candidates this week, I'm just going straight to the winner.   

This week's winner is Towson University (Maryland) senior student Matthew Heimbach who wants ro establish a (snicker snicker) White Student Union to combat what he calls an 'anti-white bias' on campus

A White Student Union? Towson, That's Racist.

The white male privilege is strong with this one, Obi-Wan.   And fool, you are part of the most privileged laden group in America in terms of being a white male.  Don't even try to go there with that 'anti-white bias' conservabullshyt    The professors and campus administration  for starters not only come from your ethnic group, but the campus culture reflects it.

All of the other ethnic groups on the TU campus have those various organizations set up because they are negatively affected by and overwhelmed by the whiteness and white privilege you reek of.


Besides, you already have a White Student Union on campus.  They're called the Towson College Republicans.

Matthew Heimbach, shut up fool!

Flush Fear, Not Rights Trans Rally Saturday In Calgary

I wrote a post about Conservative MP Rob Anders pimping the bathroom meme north of the border in an attempt to kill C-279, the Trans Rights bill sponsored by NDP MP Randall Garrison that seeks to add gender identity and gender expression to the Canadian Human Rights Act and the list of identifiable groups in the Criminal Code of Canada.

If passed, the bill would extend clear human rights protections regarding employment, housing and access to services to Canadian trans people.

The bill has multiparty support, is making its way through the Canadian House, has passed second reading and is headed to committee.  So what does the Canadian conservative movement do in this situation? 

Take a page out of their American conservafool cousins playbook and demonize it.     

Calgary West MP Rob Anders circulated a petition attacking C-279 that claims "its goal is to give transgendered men access to women’s public washroom facilities," and will expose children to harm.

It's backfiring though, with people starting a petition of their own to remove Anders from office. 

The trans community in Calgary has organized a protest tomorrow at MP Anders constituency office in SW Calgary. 

The 'Flush Fear, Not Rights' rally will kick off at 10:00 AM local time October 13 and will not only protest the pimping of the bathoom meme, but seeks to do some education on trans issues as well.

From the Facebook page organizing the rally:

We invite Mr. Anders, the members of the Calgary West Constituency Association, other Members of Parliament in the Calgary area, Members of the Legislative Assembly (the Province of Alberta likewise does not have clear trans inclusion in the Alberta Human Rights Act), members of media and allies to meet with trans people, and learn about trans issues and why human rights protections are needed.

Good luck and give 'em hell.

Soledad Strikes Again!

Sooner or later, the conservafools are going to get the message that CNN's Soledad O'Brien isn't some stenographer to power like the Fox Noise fembots are. 

The person who definitely should have know better was Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT).  She handed him his azz back in August.

Chaffetz, who is (big surprise) shilling for Romney and on Darrell Issa's (R-CA) committee trying to politicize this attack, was trying to pimp the faux outrage over the September 11 Benghazi, Libya consulate attack.

O'Brien confronted him with the inconvenient fact he voted along with his Republican buddies to cut $300 million out of the State Department's budget that pays for consulate and embassy security.

So long story short, the blood of the Ambassador and the other two Americans unfortunately killed during that attack are on Chaffetz and his party's hands.

So enjoy this beautiful footage of another conservafool being caught by a journalist doing their job. .

2012 Vice Presidential Debate Wrapup

Okay squishy liberals, you can calm the f@$k down now.   Vice President Joe Biden handed Congressman Paul Ryan his behind in their debate at Centre College in Danville, KY last night.

You conservafools disagree with that assessment?   Wasn't it y'all who said just last week if you're complaining about the moderator your side lost the debate?   

Y'all were attacking Martha Raddatz before she even sat down at the table to ask her first question.   When your laughable (pun intended) rationale for declaring Ryan the winner is because Biden was 'smiling too much' and 'rude', yeah right.  

Vice President Biden was combative, took him to school on foreign policy and called Ryan out on his kill Medicare voucher plan.   The vice POTUS also repeatedly whacked him with the Romney 47% remark and reminded people that Ryan said something just as damaging in that 30% of the Americn people were 'takers'.

One of the best moments of the night was while Ryan was railing about the stimulus and how 'horrible' it was, Biden busted him with the revelation that he'd written two letters on behalf of his district asking for that stimulus money.   

Can you say 'hypocrite' boys and girls?   Thought you could.    That took Ryan from the Land of Policy Make Believe real fast on that subject.


Ryan also admitted that their ticket wants to kill Roe v Wade, which may prove problematic over the next 26 days with women voters in light of the vice POTUS reminding people the next president gets to select some Supreme Court justices who may determine whter Roe v Wade statys the law of the land.

But most importantly, Biden's win slowed the momentum that was starting to build  for the GOP after Denver and now sets President Obama up nicely for Tuesday's town hall debate on the Hofstra University campus.

Way to go Joe!

2012 TransGriot NFL Picks-Week 6

My Texans just continue to raise their level of excellence and go where no Houston based NFL team has gone before.  

They are now 5-0 after winning their first Monday Night game since 2008 by defeating the New York Jets 23-17 and play their first ever NBC Sunday night game at Reliant against the Green Bay Packers.

But unfortunately we lost Brian Cushing for the season with a torn ACL in that Jets game.   Oh well, just like last year, next man up.   

Drew Brees broke the Johnny Unitas record of 47 straight games with a least one TD pass in their first win of the season over the Chargers.   

And speaking of wins, Mr Watts had a 10-4 record to finally beat me for the first time since the opening week of the 2012 season.  I went 9-5 with my picks and still have a five game lead on him

So let's get busy and get my picks up for Week 6 as I try to maintain or expand my lead on my fellow Texan.  Once again only have 14 games to pick because the Panthers, Bears, Jaguars and Saints are on their bye weeks. 

Mike's picks are here for NFL Week 6, mine are in underlined bold print  
   


Last week
TransGriot  9-5
Mike Watts 10-4

2012 Season Records
TransGriot  47-30
Mike Watts 42-35

Week 6
Bye week
Panthers, Bears, Jaguars, Saints

Thursday, October 11
Steelers at Titans

Sunday, October 14

Noon CDT Games

Raiders at Falcons
Chiefs at Buccaneers
Colts at Jets
Bengals at Browns
Lions at Eagles
Rams at Dolphins
Cowboys at Ravens

Afternoon Games
Bills at Cardinals
Patriots at Seahawks
Giants at 49ers
Vikings at Redskins

Sunday Night Game
Packers at Texans

Monday, October 15
Broncos at Chargers

Trans And Unashamed

Love this graphic that I saw floating around on Facebook today that sums up how I feel about being moi.  

Trans and unashamed about it.  

Why should I be?   I'm a #girllikeus and not breaking any laws.  I'm living my life honestly and openly.  I'm working to be the best person I can be on this evolving journey of being the Phenomenal Transwoman.

Society needs to catch up to where I am, not the other way around.  It needs to stop jacking with my human rights and expeditiously start expanding them not only for people like me, but you cis peeps as well. 

And I'm happy to see other transwomen in the position of being able to do so embracing it, because our transkids and people struggling with gender identity issues need to see out and proud trans people they can role model.  

I have the blessing of a network of transbrothers and transsisters around the world and some amazing cis feminine allies and friends.  I please to have the company and friendship of some beautiful, talented and amazing people.  I know God made me and loves me just like any cis person.

Do I have my days when I'm feeling 'unpretty'?   Yes.  Do I have down, blah days?  Sure do.   Do I dislike the unwoman meme and dehumanizing transphobic hatred that is aimed at transwomen?  Despise it.

Do I regret pulling the trigger on transition?  Hell naw.  

The only thing I regret is not doing it sooner because I have an amazing life. I became alive and stopped sleepwalking through life the day I swalled my estrogen and committed to being Moni 24/7/365 (and 366 days during a leap year like this one).   The one thing that would make it better is being a relationship, but that's another post for another day..

So why should I be ashamed of being trans?  I'm not.  I'm proud of it just as much as I'm proud of being unapologetically Black and trans as well. 

2012 Vice Presidential Debate Tonight

It's the Thrill In Danville, KY at 7 PM CDT, aka the Vice Presidential Debate between Vice President Joe Biden and challenger Rep. Paul Ryan.   Hopefully this will be more fun to watch than seeing last week's first presidential debate in which Mitt Romney lied for over and hour and a half and the POTUS admitted on the Tom Joyner Morning Show yesterday he was too polite in not responding to the non-stop lying.Mittens was doing.

While presidential debates usually don't determine who wins the election, this one may have the potential to do precisely that.   It's also going to be one that is watched by much of the American populace.

The 90 minute debate at Centre College will cover foreign affairs and domestic policy topics. Unlike last Wednesday’s presidential debate where both candidates stood behind podiums on a stage, in this debate, both candidates will be seated at a table for this discussion.

And hoping debate moderator Martha Raddatz of ABC doesn't allow herself to get run over and bullied ilike Jim Lehrer did.

Coming Out Is Different For A Trans Person

With today being  National Coming Out Day, you'll see ceremonies and events all over the country that will be primarily focused on the LGB end of the community rainbow.  For the trans end of the spectrum, coming out has a different twist to it. 

When people come out as lesbian, bi or gay, they are still the son or daughter that their parents brought home from the hospital that day.   But when you come out as trans, it means that's akin to a death in the family.

The child they once knew will eventually be morphing into an outward gender presentation different from the one they brought home from the hospital.  Those parents will have to get used to that morphed body over time just as it took the trans person involved a certain amount of years to come to grips with the reality they are trans.

From the moment of that declaration that we are trans, we are going from zero to femininity or masculinity and begin the process of having to navigate all the societal baggage that particular desired gender role comes with while unlearning it from the birth gender role. 

We trans people are the only part of the rainbow community that have to pay for the privilege of being ourselves. In addition to having to go through medical and surgical intervention, there's also wading through the paper trail we have piled up and changing those identity documents to reflect who we are now.

I don't want to underestimate how liberating it is for a trans person to come out to family, friends and allies.  It does wonders to lift the burden of carrying that tremendous secret off our psyches so we can begin to openly and honestly live our lives. 

But a dose of reality as you make this life changing decision, especially if you're planning to do so under the euphoric environment of National Coming Out Day.    

If you're a trans person of color, it's even tougher to come out and I understand that reticence to do so.  When we average two transwomen of color killed every month, 70% of the names we read during every  Transgender Day of Remembrance are Black and Latina, and we have the unwoman meme and disrespect hurled at us on a regular basis, it's enough to make you pause. 

Unlike our white counterparts, we transpeople of color don't have the long established support groups or organizations that are fluent in our culture, backgrounds and needs.

We've only started getting the attention we deserved in the tail end of the last decade.  The Trans Persons of Color Coalition was founded in 2010, and we still have to fight tooth and nail just to get any kind of positive visibility or media attention for our role models and our issues.

Coming out for trans people of all ethnicities is tempered with the knowledge that we still have a long way to go to achieve trans human rights in this country   We still have a lot of education we have to do even with recalcitrant hardheads in our rainbow family and within trans circles about what being trans is.

But as I've discovered ever since I began my own transition in 1993, my life not only began when I did so and got comfortable in my own skin, my family expanded.  We have a proud history that is still unfolding every day.  I have out and proud trans brothers and sisters all over the world now.  I have trans elders who are eager to pass down their hard won knowledge to me so I can do the same for you.   I love the fascinating journey of discovery I've been on.

And I'm proud to be an African descended #girllikeus.    That outweighs whatever negatives connected with our coming out decision.

But to get to the point where I, Janet Mock, Isis King, Kylar Broadus and countless other trans brothers and transsisters are, the first step is coming out and living your life openly and honestly.   You need to not only do so for yourself when you feel comfortable and confident in yourself to do so, frankly the trans community needs you to do so as well.

The rest of being trans we can deal with one day at a time..

Happy National Coming Out Day 2012!

Today  is National Coming Out  Day, in which the rainbow community in the US and in several nations around the world celebrate being trans, bi, gay, lesbian or wherever you fit in the community rainbow. 

It was founded in 1988 by Robert Eichberg, a psychologist from New Mexico, and Jean O’Leary, an openly gay political leader from Los Angeles, on behalf of the personal growth workshop, “The Experience and National Gay Rights Advocates.”

There are events held across the country and the world that seek to raise awareness of the community, our human rights struggles, and assist those people who are trying to come to come to grips with the epiphanies they have had.

It happened for me decades ago, but I still remember how overwhelming and scary a time it was.  It's almost 20 years later and the only regret I have about coming out and transitioning is I didn't do it sooner.

For those of you who choose today to do so, I congratulate you.  You're taking the first small step for you but a giant leap in living a happy, more honest life for yourselves.

Stacey Blahnik Lee Case Still Open Two Years Later

October 11 marks two years since Stacey Blahnik Lee's boyfriend Malik Moorer found her lifeless body in the South Philadelphia home they shared.   While there was a person of interest in this case, the ongoing investigation has yet to lead to enough solid evidence to get an arrest.

Philadelphia Police Department Homicide Capt. James Clarke said in a Philadelphia Gay News interview last year that there was DNA evidence that placed the person of interest at the house, but it was not enough to warrant an arrest.

But that's of little comfort to the people who loved her, the members of the House of Blahnik and the Philadelphia LGBT community.   The recent death of Kyra Kruz Cordova has only heightened the sense of frustration and nervousness people feel in the community about the lack of resolution of the Lee murder.

Damon Humes, founder of House of Blahnik, said to PGN Blahnik’s survivors worry that the case could fall to the wayside because of the identity of the victim.

“We feel like had it not been a trans person, there would have been more attention to finding and capturing the person who did this to her,” Humes said. “It reminds us all how alive and kicking transphobia really is, as well as heterosexism and all the other ‘isms’ we fight against every day.”

Gloria Casarez, director of the city’s LGBT affairs, said the most alarming aspect of the unsolved murder is that the person responsible remains free.

“The biggest frustration is that there is still a killer on the loose,” she said, noting that the recent murder of transwoman Kyra Cordova reiterated that idea for many in the community. “Kyra’s case brought this all back for a lot of people. It was a reminder, and it wasn’t a pleasant reminder, that there are murderers out there and there are unsolved murders in our community. These cases need timely eyewitness participation, and I think when you don’t have that, you’re going to have a harder time.”

Police spokesperson Lt. Ray Evers told PGN that investigators “don’t have much new.”

“They have some folks at the house but that’s still where they’re at,” Evers said.

As Ms. Casarez and the PPD investigators have noted, in order for this case to get solved witnesses will need to come forward and provide information.  Bear in mind that information you provide may be the final piece in the puzzle that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person who committed the crime.
  

Told Y'all The Republicans Were Neo-Confederates

I had a proud conservative ask me recently why Black people hated conservatism and the Republican Party.  He didn't like my answer when I told him because his party had become the home of racist neo-Confederate idiots and people like him were turning a blind eye to it.  

He tried to play the 'both parties do it' card that all conservatives resort to when they are confronted about their party's frequent bigotry eruptions, but I wasn't having that.   I pointed out that the Dixecrats have called the GOP home since the late 60's and long ugly racist history the Republican party has had since then.  

The recent events have only added an exclamation point to what I told this proud conservative. 

The firestorm hasn't died down yet from the comments that Arkansas Republifool state legislator Jon Hubbard made about slavery being 'a blessing in disguise for Blacks' and now another Arkansas Republican has put the pointed hood on, poured gasoline on the fire and co-signed what his KKKonservative KKKolleague has said.

Arkansas state rep Loy Mauch is the latest conservafool to go down the Lost Cause path by being outed by the Arkansas Times for being a pro-slavery pro-Confederacy defender in letters to the editor dating back over a decade.

Here's a sample of Loy Mauch's Greatest Hits:.

“If slavery were so God-awful, why didn’t Jesus or Paul condemn it, why was it in the Constitution and why wasn’t there a war before 1861? The South has always stood by the Constitution and limited government. When one attacks the Confederate Battle Flag, he is certainly denouncing these principles of government as well as Christianity.”

Nowhere in the Holy Bible have I found a word of condemnation for the operation of slavery, Old or New Testament. If slavery was so bad, why didn’t Jesus, Paul or the prophets say something?
This country already lionizes Wehrmacht leaders. They go by the names of Lincoln, Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, Custer, etc. These Marxists not only destroyed the Constitution they were sworn to uphold, but apostatized the word of God. Either these depraved infidels or the Constitution and Scriptures are in error. I’m more persuaded by the word of God.

Yeah right, Loy Mauch.   You're still mad because the South (thank God) and your ancestors lost the War to Perpetuate Slavery their traitorous azzes started.   Get over it and the fact you can't own me or any other African-American much less treat us like crap because of it.  

The Arkansas Republican Party can say all they want or put out the canned press release that they repudiate those remarks and they don't support these people, but the campaign money flowing into their campaigns and the support from US Rep Tim Griffin (R-AR) says otherwise.

And you're on the list for this week's Shut up Fool Award.

The Supreme Court Taking Up Affirmative Action Again

The Supreme Court is hearing arguments today on the contentious subject of affirmative action once again in a case that has Texas roots.

The SCOTUS will hear an hour of arguments in the case of Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, which asks the court to rule on whether the university's consideration of race in admissions is constitutional.

Abigail Fisher, a 22 year old white woman who was rejected from UT Austin in 2008, has filed suit against the school, arguing its consideration of race doesn't meet standards previously set by the high court in the 2003 Grutter v Bollinger case.

The Supreme Court set a precedent in Grutter v. Bollinger  by rejecting the use of racial quotas but said that schools could consider race as part of a "holistic" review of a student's application.

In 2003, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was the swing vote in favor of the "holistic" approach and when this Fisher case is argued Anthony Kennedy may possibly be that swing vote.

The University of Texas and other state schools as a result of the Hopwood case automatically takes the top 10% of high school graduating seniors, but Fisher wants college admissions to be "completely race neutral and race blind."

It has drawn amicus briefs for and against it with the opponents being sellout Rep. Allen West (R-FL), former Reagan Attorney General Ed Meese and the libertarian leaning Cato Institute.  The supporters range from Democratic Senate leaders Harry Reid (D-NV) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Teach for America and the American Psychological Association. Dozens of organizations in favor of the University of Texas system plan on holding a rally outside of the Supreme Court today.  

If the court rules against the University of Texas, it could potentially change the way schools across the nation talk about race.

Pivotal Trans Historical Events and Personalities

I have to thank Nephew (AKA Jaison Gardner) for giving me the idea for this post..   Since it's TBLG History Month, he'd asked the question on his Facebook page what people thought were some of the pivotal events, people, and cultural events in LGBT history.  

After contributing a few comments to the thread on Jaison's page I decided I needed to do something similar focusing on the trans end of the rainbow community historical spectrum.

I'll focus on the USA trans community in this one.   I'll do an international trans one as well.

Ahem. Let's get this historical party started shall we?

For our trans ancestors we still don't know about yet

Lucy Hicks Anderson


The February 1953 arrival in New York of Christine Jorgenson from Denmark which is the beginning of American media and international attention on trans people.

Carlett Brown's 1953 attempt to become the 'First Negro Sex Change"

The 1965 Dewey's Lunch Counter Sit In in Philadelphia, the first instance of a protest based on gender variant issues.

The Compton's Cafeteria Riot in 1966.

The trans initiated Stonewall Riots in 1969

Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson founding STAR (Street Transvestites Action Revolutionaries) in 1970

The 1976 MT vs JT case.

Renee Richards challenging the USTA in 1976 for the right to play in the US Open as a woman

Phyllis Frye beginning her role as the Grandmother of the trans rights movement with the August 1980 repeal of the Houston anti-crossdressing ordinance.

Althea Garrison becomes the first transperson to be elected to a state legislature in November 1992 when she wins her race for a Massachusetts House seat.

The 1994 Phyllis Frye led Trans Lobby Day in Washington DC that signals the reviving of trans political activism. 

1995 founding of GenderPAC

The Littleton v Prange Case in 1999

Kim Coco Iwamoto's 2006 election to the Hawaii State Board of Education

Vicky Kolakowski becoming the first out transperson elected to a judicial seat in 2010 (Alameda County, California).


The beginning of the Southern Comfort trans conference in Atlanta and its growth to become the largest trans conference by the close of the 20th century.

The 2005-2006 Transsistahs-Transbrothas Conferences in Louisville that led to other African-American themed trans conferences.

Jane Fee becoming the first transperson to attend a major political party convention at the 2000 DNC.

The DNC having 13 trans delegates in Charlotte. Dr. Marisa Richmond becoming the first African-American trans delegate to a DNC at the Denver one in 2008 and Kylar Broadus becoming the first African-American trans man delegate to the DNC in 2012

 Kye Allums becoming the first out transperson to compete at a Division I NCAA institution in 2010.

Keelin Godsey attempting to make the US Olympic team as an out trans athlete in 2008 and 2012


Will probably keep adding to this one..

Got Mentioned In A Jill Stein Interview

You know people are reading your blog when you get mentioned in a question posed to one of the alternative presidential candidates. 

The Green Party's Jill Stein has been mentioned by some of the far left folks as their preferred presidential candidate, and in this interview with Peter J. Reilly I get mentioned along with our odious vanillacentric cis privileged trans oppressor.  

There's a portion of the Stein interview in which he brings up the specious women's spaces argument being pimped by Bug and her Whyte Radfem Womyn Gone Wyld.  

Mr. Rogers Defends PBS

In 1969, when President Richard Nixon (R) wanted to cut funding to PBS (sound familiar?)  Fred Rogers of  the long running PBS show Mister Rogers Neighborhood headed to Capitol Hill to defend that funding in a Senate hearing  

Why I'm On Your Behinds To Vote

Today is the last day in CO, FL, OH, NM, PA and Texas that you can register to vote for the upcoming 2012 presidential election cycle. 

You regular readers have probably noticed I've been frequently posting news and updates about unjust voter suppression laws being overturned by the courts, impending registration deadlines and who to call and how to report it if the True the Vote Teapublican azzholes try to commit a felony and intimidate you from casting your ballot.

I'm also writing posts about what's at stake in this November 6 election.  I will continue to frequently do so until the day after it happens.

If you're asking why I'm on your behinds to vote, I'm about to tell you.

African-American men got the right to vote via the 15th Amendment to the Constitution in 1870 and African-American women via the 19th Amendment in 1920.   While we African-Americans on paper had the Constitution backing up our right to vote, in reality grandfather clauses, literacy tests and poll takes effectively shut us out of the electoral process until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The first election I eagerly got to participate in was the 1980 presidential one between President Carter and Ronald Reagan.  My first Houston mayoral race in 1981 was the historic one in which I got to cast a vote for our first female mayor in Kathy Whitmire.  I stood in line in the rain in 1983 to participate in my first Texas gubernatorial one in which I helped to vote Mark White into the governors mansion and kick Republican Bill Clements out and in 1990 when I proudly cast my ballot for Ann Richards in 1990.

And I remember the pride I felt when I was able in 1997 to elect Houston's first African-American mayor in Lee P. Brown and four years ago when I cast my ballot for President Obama. 

But I'm on your behinds to vote because it's your way to own your power and help determine the people who will be entrusted with the power to govern us at our various government levels.

I'm on your behinds to vote because people like President Lyndon B Johnson used his political capital to get the 1965 Voting Rights Act passed

I'm on your behinds to vote because too many people like Rep John Lewis (D-GA) fought, shed blood, took beatdowns and in some cases died for you to take your butt to your nearby polling place and take a few moments out of your day to cast a ballot  in each and every election.


And yes, from time to time you get the opportunity to help make history in the process.

Your vote is your voice in this political system.  All the marches, Occupy whatever events, blog posts and seminars will not change the system if you have a problem with the way we are governed.   Taking your behind to a polling place and actually casting a ballot for candidates running for office will. 

The first step to that is making sure you're registered so you can do so, and then participating in each and every election cycle, not just presidential ones..

So if you aren't registered, get busy doing so.
    

2012 Texans Watch- 5-0!

Last week in expressing how deep his support for Mittens was, NY Jets owner Woody Johnson said he would rather his football team lose than Mitt Romney lost this presidential election..  

Well Woody, the Houston Texans helped you out on that score on national television.  On November 6 the American electorate will determine the other part of your statement.  

But back to discussing my fave NFL squad.

In only their fifth Monday Night football appearance ever and their first since that heartbreaking 34-28 overtime loss in 2010 to the Baltimore Ravens, the Texans kept their 2012 season perfect with a 23-17 win at Met Life Stadium over the struggling but determined New York Jets.  

It was also the first win ever in Texans franchise history after five tries against the Jets.

Arian Foster has 152 yards rushing on 29 carries and a touchdown, but the Bulls on Parade and especially JJ Watt made life miserable for Mark Sanchez.  

Watt had two sacks to take the NFL lead in that category, six tackles overall and three tipped passes.  One of those tipped passes led to a critical red zone interception that led to a 17-7 Texan halftime lead.

The Jets gave them a beter game than people expected including a 100 yard Joe McKnight kickoff return for a TD after the Texans had taken a 20-7 third quarter lead, but they didn't have enough offensive firepower to beat a Texans team that was not on their 'A' game tonight.

The Texans next game is their debut on NBC Sunday Night Football at Reliant Stadium against the Green Bay Packers.

More News In The Nizah Morris Case

Our late trans sister Nizah Morris in Philadelphia has been gone almost ten years.   The Philadelphia trans community and our allies have never gotten a satisfactory explanation of how she died from a fatal head wound on Christmas Eve after leaving a downtown area LGBT bar seriously inebriated.and receiving a courtesy ride on December 22, 2002 from the Philadelphia Police Department.

In the latest intrigue surrounding this case it seems the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office refuses to confirm or deny whether it has a police log pertaining to the Nizah Morris case, even though such logs are considered public records under Pennsylvania state law.

Something else to make you go hmm about the Morris case and the ongoing investigation into it.

It also leads me to ask the question I asked last year and add to it.   What does the Philadelphia District Attorney's office and the Philadelphia PD know about what happened to Nizah Morris, when did they know it, and if the po-po's are involved, who did it? 

Thanks to Kathleen Padilla for sending me this PGN link about the updated news in the Nizah Morris case