Pope Francis-Liberal?

I'm not a Catholic, but as a Christian in the Baptist tradition and a student of history I acknowledge the large role and influence the Roman Catholic Church and its leader can have on world affairs, politics and social justice issues.

I was born during the reign of Pope John XXIII who died on June 3, a day short of me turning 13 months old.  Pope Paul VI was the one whose reign covered much of my childhood and teen years.  He succeeded the late John XXIII a few weeks later and died when I was a junior in high school.   I watched the all too brief 33 day reign of Pope John Paul I in which the conspiracy theories are abundant about his death.  He was followed by the man who held the papacy longer than anyone in my lifetime in Pope John Paul II.   He was followed by one I grew to loathe for pimping that anti-trans doctrine in Pope Benedict XVI and I cheered when he resigned.   

So now we have Pope Francis running thangs in the Roman Catholic Church.   He has been its history making leader since March 13 as the first pope from the Southern Hemisphere, The Americas, South America, Latin America, and the first Jesuit priest to ascend to the papacy.

I remember having the conversation with Rev. Carmarion Anderson during the BTMI Advocacy Conference which was going on when Francis became pope.  I stayed at her house for two days of it before heading to the hotel.  One of our conversations when I was chilling at her place was about the new leader.   

While I expressed my wait and see attitude about Pope Francis, she was encouraged by what he had to say concerning refocusing the Roman Catholic Church on being concerned about the poor and inequality than their war on contraception and LGBT people. 

In the months since that conversation with Carmarion I've noted that Pope Francis ditched much of the trapping of the extravagant papal lifestyle of his predecessor.  I've gleefully noted the increased unhinged complaints and attacks from conservafool pundits aimed at this pontiff. (which is always a good sign), especially after he called out trickle-down economics, global capitalism for its greed, called for better interfaith relations with Muslims, and being concerned about income inequality.

"Just as the commandment 'Thou shalt not kill' sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life, today we also have to say 'thou shalt not' to an economy of exclusion and inequality," Pope Francis wrote. "Such an economy kills."

While I like what I see so far concerning Pope Francis, the jury is still out on just how liberal he is. 

I've always believed and my personal faith is in the thoughtful Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. mode  I like religious leaders who are social justice oriented and who speak truth to power.  I tend to have respect for religious leaders in that mold who stand up for working class people, society's downtrodden people and who aren't 'scurred' to speak moral truths that piss off friend or foe.

Whether Pope Francis is that type of pontiff and continues to be one during his papal reign remains to be seen.
    . 

Nope, Haven't Forgotten About CeCe McDonald

Back in June 2011 CeCe McDonald and her friends were minding their own business and headed to a nearby Target store in their south Minneapolis neighborhood.  As they passed the Schooner Tavern they were subjected to racist and transphobic slurs and a fight instigated by Molly Shannon Flaherty that resulted in the death of neo-Nazi sympathizer Dean Schmitz

CeCe ended up taking a plea deal that has her spending 41 months in jail for 2nd degree manslaughter, when there was clear evidence of self defense.  Molly Flaherty, the person who instigated this mess only served 180 days.

If CeCe hadn't 'stood her ground', there a possibility that we would have been reading her name on that year's Remembering our Dead list.   But 41 months in jail is still an unjust price to pay for defending yourself against an unprovoked racist and transphobic attack

You may wish to check out CeCe's writings at the 'Support CeCe McDonald' blog.   It also has the address for you if the mood strikes (and I hope you do) to take some time out of your busy days to write CeCe a letter or send her a Christmas card to let our unjustly incarcerated sis know that she does have trans community support..

Cleveland Media Back To Disrespecting Black Trans Women Again

WKYC-TV and WTAM-AM radio, did y'all learn anything from the media hate crime that the Cleveland Plain Dealer committed against Cemia Dove Acoff earlier this year?  

Apparently not.

So once again, since you Cleveland media peeps just can't seem to get it right when it comes to covering trans people be it the print, television or radio ends of it, here's the AP Stylebook guidelines for covering transgender people.

transgender-Use the pronoun preferred by the individuals who have acquired the physical characteristics of the opposite sex or present themselves in a way that does not correspond with their sex at birth.

If that preference is not expressed, use the pronoun consistent with the way the individuals live publicly.

We have had two transpeople killed in the Cleveland area in the last 24-36 hours.   Betty Janet Skinner, a 52 year old disabled transwoman who was found dead in her apartment by her home healthcare worker on Friday morning, and now 22 year old Brittany-Nicole Kidd-Stergis

She was found in a car in the 21200 block of West 25th and Barber Streets at 2:30 AM EST Friday morning with a gunshot wound to the head and pronounced dead at the scene. 

Brittany was not as you reported WTAM-AM, a 'man dressed in female clothing' or as you reported it WKYC-TV, a 'man found with gunshot wound to the head'..   

Do you Cleveland media people not get the fact that every time you disrespect the lives of transwomen, you not only are disrespecting the deceased ones, but piss off the trans women who are trying to live their lives in the Cleveland area?

You are also by your transphobic reporting making it difficult for the police to solve these cases.  Many people in the Cleveland trans community only know Brittany by her femme name, not the male one you gleefully posted in your article WTAM-AM along with the salacious headline.

That misgendering of Brittany could potentially make it difficult for local law enforcement to access information that may only be available in the trans community that leads to the killers of Brittany being captured and punished if you keep going down the media misgendering rabbit hole.

Your media misgendering of trans people also fuels the anti-trans biases that manifest themselves into anti-trans violence.

The other point of contention is that we trans women, and especially non-white trans women, are beyond sick and tired of predominately white news organizations disrespecting and misgendering Black trans women who have unfortunately lost their lives

It's a pattern of disrespect that we have seen happen far too often, most recently in the Cleveland area back with Cemia's case in May.
 
Sad when bloggers and people in the community show more respect for the murder victim than the local media of record, and that needs to change.

So Much For Our Trans Murder and Trans Hate Free Holiday

Well, so much for our trans murder and trans hate free holiday in the United States and elsewhere around the world. 

Transfofa em Blog's Eduarda Santos is keeping up with the grisly task of documenting all the trans murders happening in Brazil and elsewhere in Europe.   I'm sad (and pissed off to report) that one has already occurred in Brazil this month during the holiday period with Agata de Melo being found shot to death.

And I was hopeful we'd be able to go at least a little deeper into the holiday season before I'd have to start reporting on anti-trans murders or transphobic idiocy being aimed at us.

We've also had one in the United States as well.  


Zoe Lapin passed the word to me yesterday that a home healthcare worker found 52 year old Betty Janet Skinner dead in her apartment early Thursday morning with severe head injuries. 

Cleveland Police say Skinner was physically disabled, required assisted living and received regular home health care.   She was last seen alive by her home health care worker when she left the Devonshire Road apartment of our fallen trans sister at 10 PM EST Wednesday night.

Unfortunately ther are no witnesses or suspects at this time in the Skinner case.   Police are asking if you do have information in this case to please call the CPD Homicide Unit at 216-623-5464.

And yeah, transphobic Colorado school board member Kathy Svenson continues to spread her special brand of trans hate for the holidays.  

She's not only  not backing down from her faith based conservaignorance around trans issues, but is doubling down on it by stating that she doesn't believe trans people exist?

Bless Kathy's little transphobic heart.   Hon, hate to intrude on your delusional world, but we transpeople most certainly do exist.   Matthew 19:12 will verify that for you along with a few other scriptures and even your boy Pat Robertson. .   

You can deny it all you want, but we transpeople are definitely part of the diverse mosaic of human life.

Now where's my egg nog?   And I'm definitely going to need something else stronger to mix with it this time.

Renee, Sochi Olympic Hockey Is Coming!

I know you and other Canadian women's hockey fans are still crying in your Timmy's after you lost the IIHF women's ice hockey championship to us for the fifth time in seven years.

What was even sweeter about this IIHF title win was it happened in Canada and in your nation's capital. 

It may be your game, but y'all got your butts kicked on your home soil in your nation's capital in the IIHF final.  And we didn't even need overtime this time to beat you.3-2.

USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!

Just sounds so good rolling off my tongue along with the words '2013 IIHF Women's Hockey World Champions.'
  
So now let's get to talking about the next major international women's ice hockey tournament, and it's going down in Sochi during the Olympic Games.   Yeah the Russian women claim they'll be motivated to prevent a USA-Canada Olympic final, and to be honest they have some recent positive results to back up those woof tickets they're trying to sell to the peeps back home.   They did take a bronze medal back home to Mother Russia from Ottawa, but we know who the real women's hockey powers are according to the 2013 IIHF Women's World Rankings that the (ahem) USA sits on top of..

The Olympics are a mere two months away from starting, and the hockey competition will start at the Shayba Arena on February 8. 

Unfortunately we'll be in the same preliminary Group A with Finland and Switzerland while the host Russians will be in Group B with Germany, Japan and Sweden.

But circle February 12 on your calendar because that's the night the USA and Canada meet in the final game Group A play.  If both teams play the way they normally do, that game will probably decide who wins Group A and who gets the runner up spot.

Yeah yeah, big deal that Canada has won the last three women's Olympic gold medals, but you didn't win the first ever one in the 1998 Nagano Games.  

And yes, all winning streaks must come to an end.

 

The USA Men's Soccer Team Will Play In...

One of the 'Groups of Death'.

Yours truly was tuned in along with much of the planet this morning to see how the 2014 FIFA World Cup draw was going to shake out for Team USA and their current head coach Jurgen Klinsmann.

Under Klinsmann the USA is 27-10-7.  They have been moving up the FIFA rankings and climbed to 14th.  They've had some historic firsts in their centennial year, had a best in program history 12 game winning streak and against FIFA Top 10 ranked clubs they are now 2-1-1 in the Klinsmann Era.

Klinsmann continues his commitment of not only building to team into an elite squad, but do so by having the US Men's team play the top European squads.   And surprise, surprise, as they get familiar with Klinsmann's system, increasingly they are beating them. 

Some of the European teams they beat this year were Germany, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Italy on their way to a best ever total of 16 wins this year.  

In addition to winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup for the fifth time with six straight wins, the USA enroute to qualifying for the seventh straight time for the FIFA World Cup finals also finished at the top of the CONCACAF hexagonal qualifying for the second consecutive cycle.  They compiled a 7-1-2 record including a thrilling 3-2 extra time comeback win in Panama at the end of the campaign and the dos a cero clinching match against Mexico in Columbus,.OH that secured the ticket to Brazil

While this centennial year of USA soccer was a spectacular one on the men's side and we all know how awesome the women's team is, in order for the USA men to make that next leap into the elite echelons of the FIFA men's soccer ranks, you have to not only consistently beat the top teams, but shine on the World Cup stage.    

If Team USA was looking to prove to themselves and to the soccer world that 2013 wasn't a fluke and were looking for a challenge in World Cup group play, they just got their opportunity to do so.

They ended up in Group G, one of the 'Groups of Death' in which they will be playing against FIFA number 2 ranked Germany, FIFA number 5 ranked Portugal and FIFA number 24 ranked Ghana.

And unlike 2010's World Cup Final in South Africa, where they clocked 192 miles total of group stage bus travel from their training base in Pretoria to matches in Rustenburg, Johannesburg and a game in Pretoria, their travel script is flipped for this one.  From their training base in São Paulo, they'll be adding to their frequent flyer miles by going to Natal, Manaus and Recife for a total of 9,000 miles in the 5th largest country on our planet.  

"It couldn't get any more difficult or any bigger," said Klinsmann at the draw in Costa do Sauipe, Brazil. "It's a real challenge. And we'll take it. We'll take it on, and hopefully we're going to surprise some people there."

“What’s exciting about this draw is that it’s time for us as a National Team to show how far soccer has come in this country and to earn the respect that we worked hard to have. If you go back to the 2006 World Cup and look at where the team was to where the team is now, we have a lot more guys playing consistently in the big leagues and gaining experience within our National Team. That’s making us a stronger National Team. When we face these European teams and bigger teams, [we are] pulling out results in the past three to four years like getting a good result in Italy and playing against the bigger teams like Germany in D.C. For us, and for the rest of the world, it shows how far we’ve come, and we couldn’t ask for a better draw than Germany Portugal and Ghana.” - See more at: http://www.ussoccer.com/news/mens-national-team/2013/12/131206-mnt-player-quotes.aspx#sthash.kHJzSzSn.dpuf

“What’s exciting about this draw is that it’s time for us as a National Team to show how far soccer has come in this country and to earn the respect that we worked hard to have. If you go back to the 2006 World Cup and look at where the team was to where the team is now, we have a lot more guys playing consistently in the big leagues and gaining experience within our National Team. That’s making us a stronger National Team. When we face these European teams and bigger teams, [we are] pulling out results in the past three to four years like getting a good result in Italy and playing against the bigger teams like Germany in D.C. For us, and for the rest of the world, it shows how far we’ve come, and we couldn’t ask for a better draw than Germany Portugal and Ghana.” - See more at: http://www.ussoccer.com/news/mens-national-team/2013/12/131206-mnt-player-quotes.aspx#sthash.kHJzSzSn.dpuf

Team USA opens their 2014 World Cup tournament group stage play in Natal on June 16 against Ghana, the team that has knocked them out of the 2006 and 2010 quarterfinals. 

After tangling with the Black Stars, they face Cristian Ronaldo and Portugal June 22.in what will probably be a critical group match in Manaus, and then Jurgen Klinsmann and Team USA close out group play on June 26 by facing in Recife the team he coached and played for in his homeboys from Germany.

While most international soccer pundits and fans consider the USA long 200-1 underdogs to take the trophy back to US soil, much less get out of their group to face whoever comes out of Group H, the Team USA members are looking forward to the challenge.

'What's exciting about this draw is that it is time for us as a national team to show how far soccer has come in this country and to earn the respect that we have worked so hard to have." said forward Eddie Johnson. 

"If you go back to the 2006 World Cup and look at where the team was to where the team is now, we have a lot more guys playing consistently in the big leagues and gaining experience within our National Team. That's making us a stronger National Team," he added.

"When we face these European teams and bigger teams, we are pulling out results in the past three to four tears like getting a good result in Italy and playing against the bigger teams like Germany in DC.  For us, and for the rest of the world, it shows how far we have come and we couldn't ask for a better draw than Germany, Portugal and Ghana." 

Can the USA men shock the world and not only get results, but get out of Group G into the knockout round?   We'll find out in six months.
   
    

Saber Claus Is Beating You Down

As many of you long time readers know, during my eight years as a Texan in Exile my housemate started fencing.  Polar and I got to tag along on some of her fencing tournament trips and watch her exploits. 

Along the way I got to meet many of the Baby Vets and the Senior Mama's (AKA the US Fencing Association's Vet 40 and Vet 50's division fencers), many of the officials, coaches and parents in the USFA, the Kentucky Division and Great Lakes region of USFA, Maestro Les Stawicki, the LFC, Bluegrass and Knight of Swords clubs along with Uof L's fencers. 

I even had the pleasure of watching the rise of a US Olympic fencer in Lee Kiefer, who was a 2011 Pan Am Games gold medalist, competed in London and fell just short of collecting a medal there.

And yes, Fencing World, I miss y'all.

So with Dawn telling me she'd be in Dallas next week for an upcoming North American Cup tournament (presuming everything's thawed out up there by then), this fencing themed Christmas rewrite came to mind.

It's not the first time I've written one of those fencing themed rewrites.   The Baby Vets unofficial theme song is one I penned to the tune of the Supremes 'Baby Love', and 'All The Saber Ladies' is sung to Beyonce's 'Single Ladies'. 

So pull out your iPod's and sing along with Moni's remixed lyric as I wish all you peeps in Fencing World a hearty Season's Beatings!        

Saber Claus Is Beating You Down
(sung to the tune of Santa Claus Is Coming to Town)

En garde now watch out
Ow!  You better not cry
I got the touch
Ref is telling you why
Cause Saber Claus is beating you down.

She's racking up points
And fleched on you twice
That jump lunge touch
Was naughty and nice
Cause Saber Claus is beating you down

She's got another victory
The gold is hers to take
So you go back to your salle
To get better for your sake

Oh! En garde now watch out
Ow!  You better not cry
I got the touch ref is telling you why
Cause Saber Claus is beating...
Saber Claus is beating you down
  

Shut Up Fool Awards-Nelson Mandela Memorial Edition

As South African President Jacob Zuma said yesterday, while we all knew this day was coming, it's still a shock to actually see the words broadcast yesterday and on the front pages of you local newspaper that Nelson Mandela is no longer walking amongst us.

An inspirational human rights warrior and leader is gone, and it's now left to the historians and academics to debate his legacy.

So let's start some debates of our own since this is Friday, and determine what fool, fools or group of fools deserve this week's Shut Up Fool award.   Have a bumper crop of them to sort out, and will also be determining who earned the 2013 Shut Up Fool of the Year award on New Year's Eve. 

So let's get to it.

Honorable Mention number one goes to Lady Gaga, who can't tell the difference between the winter and summer Olympics and their competitors.

She congratulated British diver Tom Daley for coming out, then launched into a justified tirade about Sochi, the anti-LGBT laws and her position we should be boycotting the Games.   But the problem with that whole rant is that Daley, who won a bronze in diving last year in London, competes in the SUMMER Olympics, of which the next summer games aren't happening until 2016 in Rio.  

And last time I checked, a diving venue wasn't part of the facilities built for the Sochi Games, even though it's on the Black Sea.  

Honorable Mention number two goes to Bryan Fisher, who parted his lips to say that Muslim prayer rooms on Christian campuses are 'idolatrous temples. 

Can somebody get him a 64 oz cup of STHU?   Better yet, bring a 3 liter sized bottle of it..  

Honorable Mention number three goes to cookie chomping conservakneegrow Erik Rush, who made a strong bid for weekly honors with a double dip of idiocy by first stating that anyone who criticized him belonged in jail.  Then he got seditious with it by saying that President Obama needed to be removed from office by 'any means necessary.' 

Our shining Black prince is spinning in his grave upon hearing his famous words co-opted by a clueless conservanitwit like you whose 15 minutes were up months ago.  

Honorable Mention number four requires a trip to the Lone Star State.  Y'all knew I had to have at least one Texas conservafool to bash before I was done, and naw, it's not the usual Lone Star suspects.

It's Hempstead, TX Middle School principal Amy Lacey, who showed her 'proven conservative leadership' skills by banning the speaking of Spanish at the school to 'prevent disruptions.'  

Que?   Our as we'd Ebonically say in the 'hood?   Why you trippin'?

Waller County, deal with the fact you're less white than you used to be, Texas since 2009 has beena  majority-minority population state, and with Houston's exurbs creeping to your doorstep, only a matter of time before you have Spanish speaking citizens running thangs in Waller County and on the Hempstead ISD board.

This week's Shut Up Fool Winner is John Scarpa, the defense attorney for Rasheen Everett, the 32 year old waste of DNA convicted last month for killing Amanda Gonzalez-Andujar  

Everett should probably sue his fool for legal malpractice.  First mistake was during the trial in which he put Everett's ex-girlfriend on the stand to testify, and during the cross examination the devastating info came out that Everett and his ex broke up because he tried to strangle her.

Then in the sentencing hearing yesterday, Scarpa made the ridiculous and transphobic argument that the life of a Latina transwoman isn't as valuable as the the rest of cisgender society.

"Shouldn’t that [sentence] be reserved for people who are guilty of killing certain classes of individuals?" Scarpa reportedly asked, adding, "Who is the victim in this case? Is the victim a person in the higher end of the community?"

Naw motherfracker, the victim is Amanda Gonzalez-Andujar, who is no longer here to defend herself from the attempted character assassination of her you tried to do to get your client a reduced sentence. 

It,s also morally bankrupt lawyers like you pimping that transpeople are less than human TERF bullshit that results in us reading long lists of deceased transfeminine names every November 20.

Fortunately Queens Supreme Court Justice Richard Buchter didn't like that transphobic argument any more than I did.  "This court believes every human life in sacred," he said. "It’s not easy living as a transgender, and I commend the family for supporting her."  

Everett got sentenced to 29 years to life for being convicted of killing Amanda Gonzalez Andujar, and John Scarpa is sentenced in the Court of TransGriot Public Opinion to this week's Shut Up Fool Award for being a transphobic douchebag.

Take it away Mr. T. 

2013 TDOR's Around The World

(TransGriot Note)  from 2013 TDOR in Myanmar.

The 2013 cycle of TDOR's came to a close around November 24, and the photos from those events are being posted in various spots around The Net.   While we can debate about whether the TDOR memorials are 'too somber', one thing that isn't up for discussion is that the 238 people who died due to anti-trans violence need to be remembered and there needs to be an end to the unacceptable levels of violence aimed at our people.

We also need to redouble our efforts toward bringing change in our various nations that gives them hope for the future and reduces the intolerably high suicide rates for transpeople to zero.  

Let's never forget the people who died this year and in previous years as we continue to work toward a world that will make the TDOR's obsolete.

Turkey




New York, NY, USA




Louisville, KY, USA



Rome, Italy



Manchester, UK



Dallas, TX, USA 

Rest In Power, Madiba!

"Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do."
--Nelson Mandela"

Talk about irony.   As the movie based on his autobiography Long Walk To Freedom starring Idris Elba as him is set to premiere on multiplex screens around the world, we get the sad news moments ago that Nobel laureate Nelson Mandela, the first democratically elected Black president of South Africa, (at 8:50 PM South African time) has passed away today at age 95 after a long illness at his home in Johannesburg.

He has been under round the clock care since being released from the hospital after fighting off a lung infection, but the iconic human rights warrior's own Long Walk Home happened today.

Nelson Mandela has been around in my life as long as I have been on the planet.  At the time I was born in 1962, South Africa's African population chafed under the intolerable oppression of apartheid that he, the ANC and a coalition of anti-apartheid activists there and around the world fought mightily to end.   I was a mere three months old in August 1962 when he was arrested and later sentenced to five years in prison for inciting workers strikes and leaving the country without permission.

After the Rivonia Trial, which started October 9, 1963 in which he and his ANC comrades were charged with four counts of sabotage and conspiracy to violently overthrow the government, he was sentenced to life imprisonment on June 12, 1964.   He was subsequently sent to Robben Island to serve 18 years of the 27 total years he served in prison until due to international pressure he was released from Victor Verster Prison by South African President FW de Klerk in February 11, 1990.

As our right-wingers called him a 'terrorist' and flung the C-word at him, (Communist) he was busy along with a multiracial coalition there negotiating the agreements that would end apartheid.  He was also building the consensus that would result four years later on April 27, 1994 in him being elected president of South Africa.   

During his presidency that lasted until 1999, he put South Africa on a path of unifying the country and building a multiracial democracy until he stepped down from that position.   .

There are his critics on the left who call him out about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that they charge allowed too many of the crimes committed by people during the apartheid era and their perpetrators to get away with them without punishment.

As President Obama said in his remarks concerning the passing of Nelson Mandela:
     

Today he's gone home and we've lost one of the most influential, courageous and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this Earth. He no longer belongs to us; he belongs to the ages. Through his fierce dignity and unbending will to sacrifice his own freedom for the freedom of others, Madiba transformed South Africa and moved all of us. His journey from a prisoner to a president embodied the promise that human beings and countries can change for the better.

His commitment to transfer power and reconcile with those who jailed him set an example that all humanity should aspire to, whether in the lives of nations or in our own personal lives. And the fact that he did it all with grace and good humor and an ability to acknowledge his own imperfections, only makes the man that much more remarkable. As he once said, "I'm not a saint unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying."

South African president Jacob Zuma said in his remarks to his nation:

"Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father. Although we knew that this day would come, nothing can diminish our sense of a profound and enduring loss. His tireless struggle for freedom earned him the respect of the world.

That it did and it's obvious from all the people around the world now commenting in the wake of his death he was loved.  As someone who fights for the human rights of transpeople, I draw upon his words for inspiration at times and try to live up to his example.      

Two of my favorite quotes from him are, "For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the rights of others."

The other Mandela quote that has particular resonance for me as an African-American trans person is, "'To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity'



There is no doubt that we have lost a revered human rights champion. South Africans have lost the revered father of their nation.  Like millions around the world, we African descended Americans loved and admired him just as much as he did African-Americans, our culture and our concurrent human rights struggles here in the USA.  

Rest in power, Madiba.   You've more than earned it.

2013 TransGriot NFL Predictions Week 14

Well, this trainwreck of a season for us Houston Texans fans at this point of the year was supposed to be a battle for the number one seed in the AFC as we cruised to our third straight AFC South Division title.

But this season went off the rails when they lost to Seattle in overtime at Reliant.   Now ten consecutive losses later they have an AFC South Division rematch with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday Night Football.  Because our local ABC station has the broadcast rights for that NFL Network game, it's going to delay viewing of Scandal here until way past midnight

Hopefully we'll be happy campers in H-town after that game and the losing streak will be history.  But only if they play four quarters of football, score30 points again this week while keeping Jacksonville to that 13 they scored in the last matchup. 

Hmm, maybe Bob McNair needs to consider hiring Pope and Associates to sort out what's wrong with this team.   Naah, this is more of a job for Dr. Dani Santino.  

It's also being called by my fellow prognosticators the 'Teddy Bridgewater Bowl'.  Whoever loses it probably will have the inside track on the number one pick in the 2014 NFL draft and possibly selecting the Louisville junior quarterback who is a Heisman candidate.

Speaking of that prognostication battle, it was Eli and I that tied for Week 13 top honors with identical 11-5 records.

So let's get to Week 14...no more byes, so it's 16 games for the rest of the season as we get loser to playoff time and teams clinching playoff berths people .. Mine are in underlined bold print,  Eli's and Mike's are here.

Week 13 Results
TransGriot     11-5
Eli Blake        11-5
Mike Watts    10-6

2013 Season Record
TransGriot      107-84-1
Eli                  121-70-1
Mike              118-73-1

Thursday Night
Houston at Jacksonville

Sunday Noon
Indianapolis at Cincinnati
Cleveland at New England 
Oakland at NY Jets
Kansas City at Washington
Minnesota at Baltimore
Atlanta at Green Bay
Buffalo at Tampa Bay
Miami at Pittsburgh
Detroit at Philadelphia

Sunday Afternoon
Tennessee at Denver
St Louis at Arizona
Seattle at San Francisco
NY Giants at San Diego

Sunday Night
Carolina at New Orleans

Monday Night
Dallas at Chicago

Time To Deal With The Contentious Relationship Between Cis Black Men And Cis Black Women

I commented on that disgusting video earlier this week that has been generating somewhat heated discussion across the Blackosphere and beyond.  

But in the wake of me posting my response to it, it also gave me time to contemplate why has the relationship between cis Black women and cis Black men gotten this contentious? 

Is it as bad as this video indicates?

I sincerely hope it isn't.  I hope it was just a random event that happened to have a camera around to capture it.. 

My sis Laverne Cox mentioned during one of her speeches at UNC-Chapel Hill a few weeks ago that she was saddened to hear the go-to gender identifying terms among younglings are not male and female, but the n-word and the b-word.

Ouch.  And yeah, that's a problem.  Then toss into this volatile mix misogyny, stir in resentment on both sides, bake and voila, drama will ensue. 

Some elements of our Black male population are resenting the fact that sistahs are not only getting their educations and degrees, but getting the stacks of Benjamins and CEO positions that come with those degrees.

Some sistahs are upset that when they do make the sacrifices to get that sheepskin, elevate their status, and reach that point in their lives they are ready to get married and have children with men who have the same status levels and ethnic background they do, they irritatingly see that pool of brothers increasingly getting coupled with non-Black women..

Whether this is just one of the issues feeding into that drama between Black men and Black women, or there are others to add to these two I briefly mentioned, whatever the drama is that's causing heightened agitation between Black men and Black women and damaging our potential to form long lasting romantic relationships with each other needs to be squashed as soon as possible. 

We have a long laundry list of problems to deal with as a community that need our undivided attention to solve together without having adding hostility between Black men and Black women to it.    .

And if it means we Black trans men and trans women end up being the ones who step up to role model what a healthy relationship looks like between Black men and Black women to the cis Black community and the world, then let's get busy Black trans community doing so.

The time has come for us as a community to deal with the contentious relationship between Black cis men and cis women.  

Johnny Weir Puts Skates In Mouth

With the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Sochi a mere 62 days away, the debate is heating up in LGBT World on whether or not to boycott those Games. 

While I'm pissed off about what is happening in Russia to our TBLG cousins there, after watching the Olympic Boycotts of 1976, 1980 and 1984 I personally believe a boycott only hurts the athletes, and will not result in the change the community is seeking in terms of getting the Russians to repeal those draconian anti-LGBT laws.   That being said, if you want to try to make it happen, go for it.

The option I support and still do was moving the Games to Vancouver.  With two months left and the IOC being as cowardly as they usually are, I expect on February 7 for the Olympic cauldron to be lit in Sochi.

But the controversy over those Russian anti-LGBT laws which were pushed by anti-gay activists in the US, will continue right up until that date and probably beyond the conclusion of those Games.

Meanwhile here in the States, Johnny Weir opened his mouth and inserted his figure skate clad foot into it. He pissed off the LGBT community and his rainbow community fanbase by stating “the Olympics are not the place to make a political statement” about Russia’s anti-gay laws and “you have to respect the culture of a country you are visiting.” while speaking a group of 40 female students at Barnard College December 2.

Weir poured more gasoline on the controversy stirred up by his earlier comments by calling the four veteran activists outside his talk exercising their free speech rights to picket him 'idiots'.  

It was a group that according to a Gay City News report that had 100 years of combined activism on behalf of gay and HIV/AIDS causes that included rainbow flag creator Gilbert Baker and Queer Nation's Ann Northrup.

Note to Johnny: Dude, the people you insulted made it possible for your ass to get married to your Russian husband.  Respect is due to your elders who paved the way for you to have the space to come out and live your self described fabulous life. 


Weir later apologized for his unfortunate choice of words, but the damage may be done with his gay fanbase he alienated with his comments.

We'll see what Johnny does when he has to travel to Sochi as part of the NBC analyst team covering the Games.  Question is will anyone be watching?

What Has The POTUS Done For My Community? More Than Your Party Has Lately

The RNC attempts to reach out to my African-American community and compete for its precious votes (when they aren't suppressing them) get more laughable by the day.

Because they stepped in it Sunday and got called out by Black Twitter, the Blackosphere and moi for their 'Racism is over' tweet on the anniversary of Rosa Parks' December 1, 1955 arrest that jump started the Montgomery Bus Boycott and a renaissance of the African-American Civil Rights movement, the Republifools trotted out this cookie chomping kneegrow, Orlando Watson to clean up their communications mess.   

Watson has the unenviable job of being the RNC's Communications Director for Black Media, and was only hired just last month.  Whatever five figure salary they're paying you, it isn't enough.




Laughing my behind off at Watson for parting his lips to even ask the question, 'What has the POTUS done for the Black Community?'  

For starters, if he'd even tried to do anything overtly tilted toward specifically helping the Black community, y'all conservafools would be cranking up the Conservafool Noise Machine, screaming bloody murder and ranting with foaming at the mouth rage at how 'racist' he is.

Oops, my bad, y'all do that already.   

But let's flip the script and ask the more pertinent question inquiring Black minds wanna know.  What have you Republicans done for the African-American community?   Nada, except give us grief.

And Orlando, in case your GOP paymasters haven't briefed your Oreo cookie chomping behind on what your party has done TO my people, here's the list.

Demonize it, suppress our right to vote, call us everything but children of God, massively disrespect the twice elected first African-American president and his family, cut funding for public education, block the jobs bill President Obama pushed that would create those good jobs, blocked an increase in the minimum wage that the POTUS supports, blocked legislation that makes it easier to join a union, block African-American and other Obama appointees to the federal courts, hate on and threaten to impeach Attorney General Eric Holder for doing his job, and blocked Rep. Mel Watt's FHFA nomination.  

Your party is also fighting to kill the signature accomplishment of President Obama in the Affordable Care Act that would move many of our people from the ranks of the uninsured for the first time and provide many benefits that we like.  

So considering you Teapublicans have been waving the Confederate flags and engaged in Massive Resistance 2.0 to everything President Obama has tried to accomplish in the last five years, it's amazing that he still succeeds despite you peeps showing your pointed hoods..   

So what has the POTUS specifically done for Black America?  

To answer the question, his administration oversaw the settlement that awrded $1.2 billion to Black farmers, got the ACA passed, got expanded funding for HBCU's, signed the Crack Cocaine Fair Sentencing Act that eliminates the punishment disparity between powder and crack cocaine that disproportionately punishes African-Americans, and created The Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department that has led the most aggressive defense by the federal government of our human rights since the Clinton administration.

And from where I sit as an African-American trans person, while you peeps are gearing up to hate on and demonize my community, President Obama has been busy becoming the best POTUS ever on trans issues.

So what has President Obama done for the African-American community?  More than you Republicans care to do or have done for my community in the last four decades.

Now where's my Janet Jackson Control CD?  Time for me and the Black community to sing 'What Have You Done.For Me Lately" loud enough for y'all to hear it at GOP Headquarters inside I-495. 

Better yet, we'll let you hear our voices speak loud and clear at the voting booth on November 4 as we hum that Janet tune on our way inside our favorite voting locations.. 

Naomi Testifies At Philippine Congress Hearing

Y'all know I have much love for my transpinay sister Naomi Fontanos, who is the Executive Director of GANDA Filipinas.

Was thrilled to hear she spoke at a December 5 (Philippine time) Philippine House of Representatives hearing as a resource person.  It was for a Committee on Women and Gender Equality (CWGE) hearing on proposed national anti-discrimination measures.   Multiple bills have been filed in the Philippine Congress to protect the human rights of our LGBTQ brothers and sisters in that nation

I'm exceedingly proud of Naomi, our transpinay and transpinoy sisters and brothers, and our allies there who have worked tirelessly for years to make this day happen.  

Let's hope and pray the arc of the moral universe is bending toward justice and human rights for our trans cousins in the Philippines.   Let's also hope that their testimony legislators heard opened hearts and minds, leads to legislative passage and heralds the beginning of a marvelous 2014 human rights wise for all of us around the world. 

Here's what Naomi had to say about it courtesy of her FB page:

Spoke at Philippine Congress in a hearing on anti-discrimination legislation and was overjoyed that more than one bill to protect the rights of Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Filipinos had been filed in the House of Representatives.

I was happy, too, that representatives from the Civil Service Commission (CSC), the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), and the Philippine National Police (PNP) and other agencies expressed their full support to end all forms of discrimination in the Philippines. This, certainly, did not happen overnight and is the product of the hard work of activists and allies who came before us. I am grateful to them for making this moment possible. I also want to thank activists of the present time who work tirelessly and sometimes anonymously but always lovingly to make sure that those who will come after us will have, hopefully, a better quality of life.

Dios mabalos sa indo gabos! Maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat! Thank you all so very much!

***

 Your trans cousins here in the States and around the world hope that the better life you're working towards for you and future generations happens sooner rather than later.

Lordy, Lordy Tyra Banks Is 40!

Well peeps, y'all know I have much love for multimedia personality Tyra Lynne Banks, who is having a milestone birthday today.   She was born on this date in Inglewood, CA in 1973.  

She first became know for her history making and lucrative modeling career that started in 1991.  Banks not only ripped the runways for Chanel, Valentino and Fendi among others, but was featured in advertising campaigns for Dolce & Gabbana, Yves St. Laurent, Nike and Ralph Lauren.

She became the first African-American model to appear on the covers of GQ, the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue twice (1996-1997 solo), and in 1997 the Victoria's Secret catalog.   She was also one of the original Victoria's Secret Angels from 1997-2005.

She has acted in television shows, done several movies, music videos, and currently produces and hosts America's Next Top Model.  From 2005 to 2010 she produced The Tyra Banks Show, a talk show geared toward an audience of 18-35 year old women that won a Daytime Emmy in 2008.

Tyra is also a published author, releasing the novel Modelland in September 2011 that hit the New York Times Best Seller List in October 2011.  She co-authored another book that's on my shelf today called Tyra's Beauty, Inside and Out. 

One of the reasons I love Ms. Banks so much is that at the time I started my transition, I was still having issues about my height.  Tyra's blossoming modeling career taking off at the same time I was starting to go through my metamorphosis was a factor in helping me getting over my height issues and deal with the reality there are sistahs who are not only my height but taller.

And it was nice to know that one of the people I observed and liked as a feminine role model was not only as down to earth as she appeared to be, but also was a supporter and ally of the trans community.

She put her money behind her support when she helped a trans sister out who I have had the pleasure of getting to know in Isis.

So now that Tyra's hit another milestone birthday, is still looking fabulous and handling her business, what's next for our birthday girl?

Going to be interesting to see how this next decade of her life shapes up and if she can top what she has spectacularly accomplished in her 20's and 30's.  

Happy milestone birthday Tyra!   May you have many more. 

Houston 2013 Runoff Election-Talkin' To My District D Peeps

The early voting for the 2013 City of Houston runoff elections starts in a few hours and runs through December 10, with the final runoff election date on December 14.

In case you're wondering, the only thing Mayor Annise Parker will be doing on this date is voting in the two at large council races since she already won reelection for her third and final term back on November 5. 

We have runoff races in Council Districts A, D (where I live) and District I, and the Position 2 and 3 At large City Council seats are also being contested.

In District A it's a rematch between incumbent Helena 'Madame No' Brown and the woman Brown knocked out of that seat in 2011, former councilmember Brenda Stardig.

In District I the runoff for this open seat is between Robert Gallegos and Graciana 'Graci' Garces, the former chief of staff for term-limited District I Councilmember James Rodriguez..

In Position 2 incumbent councilmember Andrew Burks, Jr was forced into a runoff against David W. Robinson, and in District 3, the open seat that Jenifer narrowly missed getting into the runoff for, Michael Kubosh will square off against Roy Morales.
 
But I want to talk to my peeps in District D for a minute.

There have been some disquieting revelations coming out lately about Dwight Boykins, who along with Georgia Provost is one of the two candidates in the District D race vying to replace term limited Councilmember Wanda Adams.

Adams is leaving City Hall to move on to the HISD Board of Trustees after winning her school board race.    

We had twelve candidates that filed to run for this race.   Whoever gets that District D City Council seat will be representing our various communities in it for the next two years.

We already have an infuriating example of a white conservative Republican anti-TBLG activist in Dave Wilson misrepresenting himself as a Black person in order to get elected to the HCC board seat that represents our community and knocking out 24 year incumbent Bruce Austin in the process. 

In Wilson we now are stuck with for the next six years someone in that seat who is polar opposite of Bruce Austin.   Wilson doesn't live in our community, is a Tea Party member and doesn't have nor cares to acquire the cultural competency necessary to successfully represent our community's interests on the HCC Board.

But back to talking about the District D council race.

With the original Red light rail line crossing District D, the Purple Line under construction that is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2014 and the east-west Blue Line under design that will terminate near UH combined with worries about gentrification as a result of development along those light rail lines, there have been people in the district concerned about the historic levels of money business interests have poured into Boykins' campaign.  

But the one thing that is not sitting well with people and sending red flags up is his admission that he voted in the 2010 GOP primary.   That's a major problem if you're claiming to be a Democrat in this solidly yellow dog Democratic leaning predominately African-American council district because Republicans are as well liked in my part of town as a Longhorn fan in College Station.   DINO's get kicked out of seats in this district with the quickness.. 

For you TBLG Houstonians who live in District D, Boykins has the added problem of being evasive concerning where he stands in terms of adding gender identity and sexual orientation language to the City of Houston's non-discrimination ordinance. 

If Dwight Boykins is indeed the DINO he's been revealed to be, and more concerned with doing the GOP's bidding than standing up for District D's residents, it's not only great we found out now, but at a point where we can do something about it at the ballot box and vote for the other candidate in the race in Georgia Provost between now and December 14. 

Anything you find out about Boykins after December 14 or if he wins, after he's standing up there on January 1, 2014 taking the oath of office from Mayor Parker at the Wortham Theater is too late. Character and integrity matter in this runoff election. We've already seen the evidence that the Harris County GOP and its conservative acolytes like Wilson will stoop to any level to get elected.   Their unwavering support of voter suppression legislation is ample proof of that. 

I have no doubts their shady 'win by any means necessary' campaign tactics include running for office in our neighborhoods chocolate coated Republicans with little to no paper trail or history of service to our community.   They know that because an overwhelming majority of African-Americans reject the racist Texas GOP message, they know they couldn't win in this district with their standard 'proven conservative leadership' rhetoric spouting vote NO on everything obstructionist peeps like Helena Brown, much less a cookie chomping knee-grow spouting the usual Teapublican crap.  .

So District D peeps and 'errbody' else in H-town, you have until December 14 to handle your electoral business.