Carli Lloyd's Coming To H-Town!

I see the Houston Dash were serious about putting a competitive team on the field after a challenging inaugural NWSL season that saw them finish last in the league.

The team recently announced they had acquired via a trade with the Western New York Flash US national team star Carli Lloyd in exchange for midfielder Becky Edwards, defender Whitney Engen and a 2016 NWSL third round college draft choice.

That's a lot for Lloyd, since Edwards and Engen were probably two of the best players on the Dash in the team's maiden season and Lloyd is going to be busy for a month in Canada next year during the World Cup.  But Houston Dash Managing Director Brian Ching believes the deal to acquire her services was worth it..

“She’s a household name when it comes to the US women’s national team. It’s going to help build our brand even more. These are the types of players we want to go after, these are the types of players we feel need to be playing here in Houston, especially if we want to be considered one of the best clubs around.

“We feel that to pick up a Carli Lloyd, it makes your team 100 times better and we’re a team that is looking to compete for the championship. She’s the kind of player that we can build a team around while she is here.”

We'll see what other moves Brian Ching has in store for the Dash to fulfill their goal of turning the team into a perennial NWSL playoff squad, but Dash games at BBVA Compass Stadium just got a little more interesting.

Bye Chicago! Headed Back To H-Town Again

After spending a wonderful weekend in Chicago for the Representing Trans* Symposium here, getting to demolish a deep dish pizza and some Slurpees, staying a a wonderful hotel for two nights and seeing a few of my Chicago area friends, time to head back to the warmer climes of Houston.

Was happy I got to see some of my trans peeps during my time up here, and hope I can return to the Windy City soon

But preferably in the summer months.

I thoroughly enjoyed the symposium, hanging out with some old friends on that panel, making some new ones and the fascinating conversations I had during the event. 

Thanks to Kristen and Chase for the invite and I'm so glad I came.

It's been real Chicago, but Houston and my life there awaits along with some Pappas Barbecue in the Hobby Airport terminal.

Just hope I'm not hanging around Midway as long as I did back in August.

25th Anniversary Of The Fall Of The Berlin Wall

Like the Cold War and Jim Crow segregation, the Berlin Wall was a part of the world when I was born in 1962.   It was erected in August 1961 to stop the flow of East Germans fleeing their 'worker's paradise' to West Germany and came down in dramatic fashion on November 9, 1989.

For something that seemed like it was going to have a permanent place during my time on Earth to the point it was a tourist attraction and two US presidents made speeches near it, the stunning way events unfolded 25 years ago that brought The Wall down and several months later on October 3, 1990 led to the reunification of Germany are still mindboggling at times to me as a Cold War baby.

The Berlin Wall was such a reality in my world that I used it as a visual example of my determination NOT to do something.   I would say to peeps, "That will happen when the Berlin Wall falls."

And now, within my lifetime, before the close of the 20th century, it was beginning to happen before my very eyes.   The official dismantling of the Wall didn't start until the summer of 1990 and was completed in 1992

But happen it did, and the process got started 25 years ago on this date.

Representing Trans* Symposium Today

This is what I flew up here for and was the event I was focused on while all the unnecessary family drama was swirling around me.

November 8 is finally here, and I'm in the house to take part in a symposium on the University of Chicago campus entitled Representing Trans*

The symposium kicks off at 1:30 PM CST with a 'Sociological Approaches to Trans Representation' panel moderated by Dr. Kristen Schilt of the University of Chicago.  The panelists for this discussion will be Vivian Namaste, Tey Meadow, and Salvador Ortiz-Cruz.

Then it will move to the 3:30 PM panel I'll be taking part in entitled ''Artistic and Activist Approaches To Trans Representation.'  moderated by Chase Joynt..   In addition to your favorite award winning blogger, my fellow panelists will be Amos Mac, Tiq Milan, Jen Richards, and Ariel Schrag.    All five of us definitely will have something to say about this topic, and this should be a fascinating discussion scheduled to run until 5:00 PM..

Both of those panels will take place in the Gray Center Lab Midway Studios at 929 E 60th St.

Then at 6:30 PM we move the symposium action to the Logan Center For the Arts and an Evening with Kate Bornstein.   You'll get to see this legendary author, playwright, gender theorist and performance artist live and in person

Logan Center is located at 915 E. 60th St. for those of you in the Chicagoland area wishing to attend this event.

And I'll let y'all know if I got to destroy that Giordano's Pizza I was fiending for ever since I confirmed I was coming to Chicago.

Mia Love Is NO Shirley Chisholm

The Republicans are still crowing about the history they made in terms of Mia Love being elected to congress as the first ever Black* female Republican.   

Took y;all until 2014 to do it.  Meanwhile the Democratic Party has been electing powerful Black women to Congress since 1968  starting with Shirley Chisholm, and even elected the first ever Black female senator in Carol Moseley Braun in 1992.

Ho hum.  She lost by a mere 768 votes in the 2012 cycle to Democrat Jim Matheson who retired, is a Mormon and got elected in Utah, a state that rivals Wyoming as Safe Republican turf.  Color me impressed when a Black female Republican spouting that same conservabullfeces gets elected in the 'hood in LA or Oakland.

I have a better chance of you  seeing me sashaying down the runway of the Victoria's Secret show than you seeing a Black female Republican getting elected to Congress from a predominately Black district where GOP is an epithet. 

Ask Star Parker about that. .

Love may have Caribbean roots, but that's where the similarities end between her and the first Democratic woman to get elected to congress in Shirley Chisholm back in 1968.

Love espouses the same jacked up policies white Republicans love while denying her Black heritage unless it's convenient for her to do so..


And Love declaring herself 'a problem for the Democratic Party?'  

Excuse me one moment.

So spare me if the GOP is going gaga over her right now.  Ask Michael Steele or JC Watts what happens when your useful fool days are over in the conservative ranks

Trinidad And Tobago Starts Their FIFA Playoff Leg Today

In the history of the FIFA Women's World Cup, a Caribbean based team has never played in the tournament. 

With CONCACAF tournament qualification play dominated by women's soccer powers the USA, Canada and Mexico and only 16 women's national teams around the world being involved in the tournament, that made it tough for a Caribbean based  women's team to break through a tough CONCACAF region and play on the big FIFA international women's stage.

Female players in Caribbean nations also had to contend with the sexist notion that soccer was a 'man's game'.  That resulted in little to no funding or corporate sponsorship for their teams.

;But with the FIFA women's tournament (finally) being expanded to 24 teams, and Canada hosting the 2015 edition, it created an opening for a Caribbean team to finally break through and qualify for the tournament.

The Reggae Girlz of Jamaica tried but were eliminated in the group stage after heartbreaking losses to Costa Rica and Mexico.

That left the Women Soca Warriors of Trinidad and Tobago with a goldenGroup opportunity to grab that history for themselves

After holding the FIFA world number one ranked Americans to one goal in their initial group play loss, the rebounded to beat Haiti 1-0 and Guatemala 3-1 to finish second in their group.

They faced Group B winner Costa Rica in the semifinals with a berth on the line, but lost after a 1-1 draw on penalty kicks.   Trinidad and Tobago still had a shot to qualify with a win in the CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament third place game, but they fell to Mexico 4-2 in extra time. 

That sent them to a two leg aggregate score playoff starting later today that has the Soca Warriors facing the daunting task of playing CONMEBOL rep Ecuador in the 9300 foot altitude of Quito's Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa.   They will return to the friendly confines of Hasely Crawford Stadium on December 2 for the second leg with the last Women's World Cup berth on the line.

I'm paying attention to this playoff for multiple reasons.  I want to see the Soca Warriors make that history because it's their best shot to do so. With Trinidad and Tobago being a fellow CONCACAF member, I'd love to see another CONCACAF squad playing next June.

It also strikes a blow for women's sports in the region and will hopefully lead to better funding and corporate sponsorship if they pull it off.

There's a large cadre of Trinis that live here in Houston and I'd love to see the smiles on their faces if it happens.   Randy Waldrum,, the coach of the Houston Dash, is also the national coach of the Trinidad and Tobago women's squad

Will they do it?  We'll find out as the opening chapter of this sports story unfolds later today.

TransGriot Update:  Trinidad and Tobago 0-Ecuador 0  in a Leg 1 scoreless draw.  

Moni's In Chicago!

After a flight that arrived at MDW early, which allowed me to catch the first CTA train headed to downtown to my hotel, got here to the Palmer House Hilton a little after 4:30 PM

And one of the things on the agenda was destroying a Giordano's Pizza for the first time since I did so with my Louisville housemates back in 2009.

There were a few tour groups that had the same idea.

Thanks to my fellow Texan Lisa Martinez, we made that happen..  There was a Giordano's location on W. Jackson St. a few blocks from my hotel, the Palmer House Hilton.

Thanks Lisa for the pizza and the conversation.

All I can say about the hotel is wow. Nice doesn't even begin to cover it.   This historic hotel has pictures on the walls of all the artists that performed at its Empire Room like Eartha Kitt, Dorothy Dandridge, Sam Cooke and Nat King Cole just to name a few of them that were hanging on the wall of my floor.   My room has an art deco feel to it.

They are also filming scenes for a movie not far from where I'm staying.

Hoping to catch up with my Chicago peeps while I'm here, and your best shot to do that is catch my panel I'm on during the Representing Trans* Symposium tomorrow or call me on my cell.

Shut Up Fool Awards- Post 2014 Midterm Election Edition

Well peeps, the election didn't go the way we wished it to go, and we now have to deal with when the 114th Congress starts in January the specter of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

For all you liberal progressive people who didn't vote, for all you didn't do on Election Day, the new GOP majorities on Capitol Hill are the result.  

So when they gleefully start repealing the 20th century over the next two years, don't look at me because I and other peeps tried to warn you what was coming if they got their paws on the Senate in addition to having control of the House.

And I'll be saying, "I told you so."

Okay, so while I'm traveling to the Windy City for the Representing Trans* Symposium that's happening on the University of Chicago campus tomorrow (and hope to see you Chicago peeps while I'm there) let's get to my usual Friday 'bidness' of calling out the fool, fools or groups of fools who deserve to get lambasted for their arrogance, stupidity, and jaw dropping WTF level ignorance.

Honorable mention number one goes to 'errbody' eligible to vote in the 2014 midterms who came up with whatever weak ass excuse NOT to do so.   

I'll will repeat this again:  If you're eligible to vote, there is NO acceptable excuse for sitting out an election.   Every rime the GOP majority does something that you don't like and you start complaining about it, the first question out of my mouth will be "did you vote in the 2014 midterms?"   If you didn't you'll be getting cussed out and the sideeye from me, so get ready for it.

Honorable mention number two goes to every white woman in Texas who voted for Greg Abbott.  Texas Black and Latina women voted for Wendy Davis, and you voted for your oppressor instead of one of your own?

Honorable mention number three goes to Anthony in San Diego, who called C-SPAN as part of the post mortem over the 2014 midterm and let loose the real reason why the GOP won the midterms: racist hatred of President Obama.

Thanks for giving me the ammo to prove once again that the Republican Party and the conservative movement is nothing more than the political arm of white supremacy.

Honorable mention number four goes to all the  Democrats who failed to run on the ACA, societal fairness. and embrace President Obama.  Gee, how did that work out for you on election night?

I can tell you that those House and Senate candidates who did embrace Democratic values and didn't run from the president won Tuesday night.

Honorable mention number five is Joe Rogan, who once again ignored the mounting evidence and went back to transphobically bashing Fallon Fox. 

Joe , you owe my talented WMMA homegirl an apology which I suspect will come the same time that Ronda Rousey's transphobic behind gets into the cage with Fallon

Honorable mention number six is a local fool in Houston Pastor Willie Davis, who while christopimpin' for his GOP massas opened his mouth and said the HERO would take away rights from heterosexuals?

Conservakneegrow please!  Pay very close attention.  One of the 15 categories the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance bans discrimination on is RELIGION.   But I guessed you missed that point while you were kissing Dave Welch's and Max Miller's behinds.
 .  
This week's Shut Up Fool winner I go straight (pun intended) to New York City for in Pastor James David Manning, the head of the ATLAH hate church there who is making a late run for the 2014 Shut Up Fool of the Year.  

He gets this week's nod for a double shot of homophobic coonery and buffoonery.

First he parted his lips to say that 'upscale sodomites' make Starbucks a 'Ground Zero for Ebola'.

Then Uncle Ruckus, er Pastor Manning took another shot at Starbucks by claiming their lattes are flavored with 'sodomite's semen'.   Hmm, wonder if the good pastor is doing wide stances in his office, because he sure does spend an awful lot of time and what little brainpower he has fixated on the LGBT community.

Any takers on how soon the cease and desist defamation legal papers should be hitting the ATLAH World Church doors from Starbucks?

Pastor James Manning, shut up fool.

Texas Non-Discrimination Ordinances Panel Discussion Today

If you're looking for an interesting and timely discussion concerning non-discrimination ordinances in Texas especially in light of our upcoming court fight over HERO, that will be happening on the campus of the South Texas  College of Law this afternoon at 1 PM.

It's sponsored by the Stonewall Law Association of Greater Houston , South Texas College of Law AMICUS, Social Sciences & The Law Society and the ACLU Student Organization.

It will take place at the Joe M. Green Auditorium on the South Texas College of Law campus at 1301 San Jacinto St. in beautiful downtown Houston from 1:00-5:00 PM CST

The panel will feature Houston City Attorney David M. Feldman, Attorney and human rights advocate Susan L. Hays, Founding CEO of First Person Christina Canales Gorczynski,  South\Texas College of Law Professor Richard R. Carlson, and ACLU Texas Legal and Policy Director Rebecca Robertson.

Leaving On A Jet Plane- To Chicago

After a drama filled month of October, I'm finally taking the trip to Chicago that I had planned before the drama was set in motion by transphobic relatives resulting in me having to scramble to find new housing arrangements.

I'm headed to the Windy City for the  Representing Trans* Symposium in Chicago at the Gray Center for Arts and Inquiry on the University of Chicago campus November 8.

I'm part of a 3:30 PM panel on Saturday entitled ''Artistic and Activist Approaches To Trans Representation.'  moderated by Chase Joynt..
.
In addition to myself, the panelists will be Amos Mac, Tiq Milan, Jen Richards, and Ariel Schrag.  It should be a fascinating discussion scheduled to run until 5:00 PM..

Looking forward to it, and seeing as many of my Chicago trans family as I can see during my all too brief scheduled time up there.

C-SPAN GOP Caller's Pointed Hood Is Showing

Remember  over the weekend when Sen Mary Landrieu (D-LA) said that the major reason that President Obama was having problems in the South was because of his race, and the GOP and conservafool movement went apoplectic about it?

Well people,  Sen. Landrieu's observation just got majorly cosigned. 

In the afterglow of the Republicans bigoted white peeps fueled midterm win, in addition to their sore winning, many of their supporters have been letting their inner Klansmen out.   They have also exposed their acute cases of Obama Derangement Syndrome since Tuesday as well.  

One named Anthony from San Diego, CA did so on C-SPAN yesterday when he called President Obama the n-word on-air.

"This is about race. The Republicans hate that n----- Obama."
-Anthony, San Diego, CA C-SPAN GOP caller

And here's the C-SPAN video to prove it.



Well duh, you conservabigots have made that quite KKKlear you hated the man and by extension his family since November 2008.  It was clear in the runup to this 2014 midterm you were going to race bait..

So no, GOP, don't even try to tell me your or your political base's animus with the POTUS is not race based.   Because the teabagging members of  your base have no problem thinking or saying it.

And the next white conservafool that tries to argue with me that my assertion that the Republican Party is the political arm of white supremacy is wrong will get cussed out and blocked afterwards.

The bottom line is that conservatism IS a racist movement, and you have used white male resentment and anger to fuel it since the 1970's.   Anthony isn't just 'one bad apple' as you GOP defenders will try to claim, you have a Republican Party and a movement full of them in which proud members of your GOP ranks say bigoted, racist, sexist, misogynist, transphobic and homophobic crap on a weekly basis.   

You are reaping the continued harvest of the racist seeds you sowed with the Southern Strategy and your four decades of anti-Black rhetoric.

And yeah, you can't suppress the Black vote forever.   You will pay at the ballot box for it

TransGriot 2014 NFL Picks Week 10

Well, last week was a disastrous one for me as I had a sub .500 week, and it was bad timing for it because I'm fighting to stay close to Mike and Eli.  This was also the first time this season I picked against the Texans, and sadly got it right. 

But I also had a few upsets wreck my picks last week in my defense.

Well, won't have to worry about the Texans this week because they are on their bye week along with the Colts, Patriots, Vikings, Chargers, and the Washington NFL Franchise.

Told y'all I'm refusing to call them by their racist nickname.

Well, I'm ready to move on to Week 10.   Once again, only 13 games to pick because six teams are on their bye week, and not a lot of room for error.   My picks will be as usual in underlined bold print.

Week 9 Results

TransGriot    6 -7
Eli                9-4
Mike             9-4

2014  NFL Season Results

TransGriot     83-50-1
Eli                  85-48-1
Mike              89-44-1

NFL Week 10

Thursday Night Game
Cincinnati over Cleveland

Sunday Early Games
Kansas City over Buffalo
Detroit over Miami
Dallas over Jacksonville
New Orleans over San Francisco
Baltimore over Tennessee
Pittsburgh over NY Jets
Atlanta over Tampa Bay

Sunday Afternoon Games
Denver over Oakland
Arizona over St. Louis
Seattle over NY Giants

Sunday Night Game
Green Bay over Chicago

Monday Night Game
Philadelphia over Carolina

Been Nominated For Another Local Award!

Wasn't expecting this one either, but thanks to Suezen Hoza, another nominee, I was advised that I was nominated in the  2014 edition of the First Achievers Community Excellence or FACE Awards.

They are being coordinated by AbOUT Magazine and the Montrose Star, and the awards ceremony will be held at Neon Boots Dancehall on December 8 starting at 8 PM.

The awards are currently being voted on right now.   I'm nominated in the Activist of the Year category along with Ray Hill, Noel Freeman and Lane Lewis.

I'm honored just to be named with such distinguished company, and we'll see how it plays out on December 8.  

Congratulations to all the nominees, and we'll see who walks home with the awards in the various categories on that date.

Not A Good Night For Trans Candidates Either

It's raining here in Houston, and it's matching my mood as I type this post sorting through the news coming from a forgettable political night.

While it's no secret the Democrats had a lousy Election Night 2014, it wasn't much better for trans political candidates either.  

We'd already witnessed Paula Sophia miss in an August runoff taking an open Democratic leaning Oklahoma state legislative seat back in August by an agonizing 23 votes.

There were two other trans candidates in this election cycle trying to make history, with Lauren Scott attempting to claim the historical footnote for the GOP and get elected in the state of Nevada as an out transgender legislator.

While it was a great night for her party, which erased a 27-15 Democratic advantage in the Nevada State Assembly to take control of the Nevada House, unfortunately for Scott she wasn't one of the GOP success stories.

She fell to AD 30 incumbent Assemblyman Michael Sprinkle (D) by a 54%-46% margin.  While that was impressive along with the 5,293 votes she got, wasn't enough to overcome the 6,187 votes that Sprinkle received for the win.

In Wyoming, Democrat Larissa Sneider lost her bid for a House seat against a popular GOP incumbent Garry Piiparinen in Wyoming's 49th District.

Sneider was unopposed in the Wyoming Democratic primary, but in the general election had to deal with a three way race that included Independent Clarence Vranish.

Vranish finished second in the balloting and garnered 724 votes to winner Piiparinen's 1,333.    Sneider picked up 417 votes in her unsuccessful effort to make trans legislative history.

So we are still waiting for an out trans candidate to be elected to a state legislature in the US.  It's going to happen, and it's a matter of if and not when that trans political history is made.

It's just last night wasn't the night for it and 2014 wasn't the year that trans history came to fruition


 

Disappointed Doesn't Even Begin To Cover...

How I feel about the midterm election results last night.

It was a very short night as Wendy Davis and Leticia Van de Putte went down in defeat.   But hey, don't blame Black voters for this debacle.   We tried to save this state and your asses from yourselves but remember, we only make up 12% of the population and the GOP voter suppression laws are designed to stifle our ability to affect elections.

According to exit polling, Black women voted 94%-5% in favor of Davis while Black men voted at a 90%-10% clip for her..  Latina women broke 61%-39%  in favor of Davis, while Latino men (what the hell were y'all thinking?) voted 50%-49% for Abbott.  

And White women?  67%-32% for Abbott to go with that 80%-19%. white male margin.

You're welcome Texas Democratic Party, but I'm not holding my breath that the Texas Black community will get the credit along with Latina women for being the one ethnic group in this state who wasn't bamboozled by the Texas GOP bull feces.

And you wonder why the Rev Dr. MLK, Jr. in his 'Letter From Birmingham City Jail' expressed his disappointment in the white moderate and said you were the biggest stumbling block to progress, more than conservatives and more than the Klan.

I'm feeling Dr. King this morning when I look at those exit polling numbers, the gloating going on in GOP circles and the bigots gleefully letting their inner Archie Bunkers out on the Net. 

For you Teapublican conservafools to get this midterm win, nationally you had to massively suppress the votes of my people, bamboozle and lie others into believing the Massive Resistance 2.0 you engaged in was the Black POTUS' fault, and spend millions to get turnout down in the 30% range to make it happen..

In Texas you had to get the SCOTUS to reinstate the unconstitutional voter suppression law.  Thanks for nothing Uncle Ruckus, er Thomas.

And for all those Democratic senators and congressmembers that ran away from President Obama and his accomplishments to appease conservative white voters, how did that strategy work out for you last night?

The one Democratic senate candidate that embraced the Black POTUS , Gary Peters in Michigan, won his race, while Louisiana's incumbent senator Mary Landrieu, who called out the race problem in the South and the racism aimed at President Obama is headed for a runoff.

And Democratic Party, you screwed this up as well.   I'll deal with listing your electoral sins later.

I'm not in a celebratory mood and I'm pissed off.   Don't be surprised if the GOP co-signs what I've said about them being the party of whiteness and white supremacy when the 114th Congress starts in January 2015.  And don't even trot out Mia Love or whatever other kneegrow sycophant on your payrolls to claim otherwise or how 'diverse' you are..

But as me, my sis and Mom discussed yesterday afternoon, that may be the only way to wake some peeps the hell up and get them to see that there is light years of difference policy wise between Democrats and Republicans, and the need to be bumrushing the polls in each and every election cycle.

I'm tired of seeing that 'no difference between the two parties' conservalie pimped in liberal progressive circles.   That needs to die before we regroup for the battles ahead..

I also don't want to hear from those of you living in the liberal oases or LGBT enclaves on the coasts, "Why don't you move from Texas and come here?"   Been there, done that and all that happened in the nearly nine years I was gone is that Texas stayed red and my hometown didn't get a comprehensive non-discrimination ordinance until May of this year.

And what makes you think moving to the coasts will be better?   Intolerant people live in those areas, too.  The only way Texas is going to turn blue along with the rest of the South is if peeps stay here and do the hard multicycle work to make that happen. 

Can't do that work from the Left Coast, New York City, DC or overseas.

Many of you are also going to find out the had way what I've been reciting like a mantra for years now:  You cannot get liberal-progressive change from conservative governments or politicians.

TransGriot Update:  Turnout for this election according the United States Election Project, 38.6% nationally, 28.5% in Texas.

Once again,, thanks for nothing SCOTUS GOP majority.

Upcoming TSU Town Hall On Being Black, Gay & Trans

It's an event that is sorely needed in Black Houston.,

I've been pushing to have more of these panel discussions take place, and it figures I'll probably be out of town when this one takes place on the TSU campus November 13.

One of the things that has been upsetting to me as a proud Black Houstonian who also happens to be a proud transgender person is the total ignorance on display about trans lives here.  It's the ignorance about trans people and our lives that has been exploited by the opponents of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance and their sellout christopimpin' sycophants. 

The depth of ignorance in Black Houston has shockingly been exposed even in the ranks of 'ejumacated' Black people you presume would know better and our SGL community.

To combat the spreading of disinformation and lies by the hate ministers, another effort to do some community outreach education is taking place, and this one is being sponsored by Delta Phi Upsilon Fraternity Inc, Legacy Community Health Services, TSU OUTLaw, and the House of Capri.

The panel is entitled The Misfits: Being Gay And Transgender In The Black Community.  It will take place starting at 6:30 PM CST at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Moot Court Room #105.   Address is 3100 Cleburne St.

It's another event designed to drive home the point that #WeExist , we aren't going away, and you are going to have to deal with the fact that Black trans and SGL people are part of the kente cloth fabric of the Houston Black community.

Hope you take the opportunity to check out what I'm sure will be a lively and informative panel discussion.

Y'all Know What Today Is...

Because I've been talking about it for the last two months.   

It's Election Day!  November  4.   Get the f*%k up and vote day!   Take your soul to the polls.  Vote out the stupid.  I'm not the only person in this country that wants you to do so.   I just have a bigger electronic platform to say it from.

This is it.  This election will determine the course of the nation, your state, and your locals for the next two years, so handle your electoral business.

And it's razor thin.  

I stopped trusting the polls a long time ago because they are off.   I believe not enough Black and Latino voters have been sampled.

As far as I'm concerned, the only poll that counts is the one that happens today.   So do your part and vote for the candidates in your area up and down the ballot, and pay extra close attention to the judicial ones.

You cannot afford, especially if you are a member of a marginalized community, to sit out ANY election because your human rights and the quality of your life depend upon it

The Republican Party of 2014 is not your grandfather or great-grandfather's GOP.   They wish to repeal the 20th Century.

Am I happy with the Democrats?  Nope, but I'm highly pissed off at the Republicans.  

I have been paying attention not only to their racist voter suppression policies and anti-woman and anti-POC rhetoric, I've noted the unprecedented Massive Resistance 2.0 obstruction coming from the GOP on anything that President Obama proposes to get this country moving forward.  

And in 2014 and beyond, until the GOP changes its racist tune,  I would rather have the Democrats in in power than a party that hates government and my people.

Besides, when you have one party like the Republicans that controls half the government and actively refusing to participate in governing the country, you don't reward them by giving them control of the fracking US Senate.

So go do your civic duty and vote.

We Must Vote

Hey, whatever it takes to get you peeps to the polls tomorrow.

Here's civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), who took a beatdown at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, AL during Bloody Sunday so you can walk your behinds a few blocks to your local polling place to vote.

HERO Updates, Notes and News- November 3

Well, the big hate rally at Riggleworld is over. and it was wonderful to see the Houston LGBT community meet those multiple violations of the Ten Commandments by Riggle and his friends with an outpouring of action.  

While his conservasheeple were buying t-shirts proclaiming they had the right to discriminate against gay peeps (and naw, you don't), we were busy collecting winter clothing and supplies for homeless LGBT youth and role modeling what real Christianity looks like.

Just to remind you peeps around the country.   Steve Riggle and his not so righteous flock don't represent the majority of Houstonians.   An overwhelming 75% of us favored passage of HERO and outnumbered the bussed in suburban haters when we testified in favor of it.  Neither do they represent the Houston clergy who testified in favor of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance by a 2-1 margin over the hatemongering preachers.

The citizens of Houston, especially those of us who face discrimination every day, wanted this ordinance implemented back when it passed on May 28.  Unfortunately that's being prevented by a gaggle of loud and wrong ministers who want to impose their hatred on the rest of our city.

Speaking of loud and wrong preachers,  the kneegrow sellout ones of the Baptist Ministers Association of Houston and Vicinity trotted out another one to test another talking point lie.

Pastor Willie Davis laughingly tried to claim that 'HERO takes away the rights of heteros'.

Seriously?   Once again, because it seems like you missed it while kissing Dave Welch's  rump,   HERO protects all Houstonians from discrimination based on sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, familial status, marital status, military status, RELIGION, disability, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity, and pregnancy.

So where exactly Rev Davis, does it 'take away the rights of heteros'?    If you weren't so hellbent on selling out and cooning it up for the Harris County GOP,  you'd see that the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance EXPANDS the rights of heterosexuals like Judge Alexandra Smooths-Hogan, whose discrimination case was the catalyst for passing this much needed Houston human rights advancement.

And Rev Davis, since you went there, contrary to what your misguided ally Becky Riggle said, you so called Christians don't have a right to discriminate against LGBT people either based on your misguided interpretation of scripture.

And I still have to ask the question, what are the members of the Baptist Ministers Association of Houston And Vicinity getting from the conservative movement in exchange for being the sellout melanin laden faces of this HERO repeal effort so it has the appearance of looking less overwhelmingly white and Republican that even Stevie Wonder can see it already is? 

And why are you doing the conservative movement and FOX Noise's dirty work for them?

The  other question I have to ask is this.   When will members of the local African-American media start asking the hard questions of the opponents I just asked?   When will they start calling these ministers out about opposing a long needed Houston human rights ordinance that benefits the ENTIRE African-American community?

And yeah, a message for my H-town peeps.   If you want human rights laws in Houston and in Texas, this is another TransGriot reminder to take your souls to the polls tomorrow if you haven't done so already.   Don't stop with Wendy and Leticia, hit those judicial races, too.   We need more fair minded judges on our Harris County benches instead of ideologically driven ones.

The fight to keep the HERO continues.



 

Naw, You Don't Have The Right To Discriminate

If y'all thought I was being harsh for calling yesterday's star studded event at Riggleworld a hate rally, peep these shirts that were being worn by some of the attendees.

Meanwhile, the Houston LGBT community spent the day role modeling what Christianity is really supposed to be like.

Contrary to the lies you were told from the Grace KKKommunity Church stage, you DON'T have the right to discriminate against gay folks or anybody else, and that goes double if you think (and yeah I'm going there) because of your white skin and that vanillacentric privilege you're swimming in you do.

And bigotry wrapped in scripture and prayer is still bigotry.  As a Christian I'm beyond sick and tired of right wing conservafools hiding behind the Bible to push their reactionary political agenda.

Oh yeah Steve. it's been T+5 months since HERO passage, and there have STILL been no bakers in the Houston city limits forced to bake swastika cakes as you  predicted.

Don't think that non-white folks like myself didn't notice the overwhelming whiteness of the room, the suburban location of the hate rally, or the speakers flown in for this event who are heavily involved in GOP political circles and the anti-LGBT industry.

Religious Freedom' doesn't mean, 'I get to be as bigoted, hateful and intolerant as I want to peeps I despise and you can't call me on it."    

As I said during the HERO battle and will continue to say it, you don't like me or anyone else in the trans, bi and SGL community calling you haters and bigots, stop behaving like it.

What it means is you can have whatever religious beliefs you wish.  What you can't do is try to forcibly impose them upon me, or use political power to do so. 

In a pluralistic society that has multiple faiths and even allows you the right to not have a religious faith preference if you so choose, that's the way it needs to be.

As my homegirl Christina Gorczynski said in an interview yesterday, "Religious freedom and equality go together, they're not mutually exclusive."

But unfortunately, some of y'all in your zeal to rewrite history and christopimp forgot that salient point.