Powerball Jackpot Climbs To Record $1.3 Billion

Nope TransGriot readers, that's not a typo.

After 'errbody' in 44 states, DC, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico including the TransGriot didn't have the winning ticket numbers in last night's record $940 million drawing, it set the stage for a world record $1.3 billion jackpot on Wednesday which will probably go up between now and 10 PM CST.

Those numbers BTW were 16, 19. 32, 34, 57 with 13 being the powerball.

As to what would Moni do if she won it, I mused about it the last time a Powerball jackpot climbed to record levels back in 2012 and I took some time to write about it.

Not much would change in terms of what I would do with that kind of windfall, but there is a downtown condo or two I have my eye on, some nice office space, and setting up college education trust funds for my nieces.

On that note, time to go get in line and get another $2 Powerball ticket or two for Wednesday.

And hope that either I or somebody I know wins it.

5th Annual BTAC Conference Call For Workshop Proposals

The 5th annual Black Trans Advocacy Conference will be happening in Dallas April 25-May 1, and the call for workshop proposals is now open.

The BTAC organizers are looking for proposals in the areas of HIV/AIDS, business development, career services, financial literacy, spirituality and healing, SOFFA's, health, arts and media, and social justice.

This 5th anniversary edition of BTAC is moving to a new hotel, the Dallas/Addison Marriott Quorum By The Galleria, and those rooms are going fast.   If you're interested in attending this fast growing conference, better get busy booking your rooms.

You also need to get those workshop proposals in ASAP too.

TransGriot 2015 NFL Picks- Wild Card Weekend Edition

The 2015 NFL regular season has concluded and it's now playoff time.  All is right in my prognostication world as I have captured the 2015 TransGriot NFL regular season prognostication title, and now I will attempt to prove to 'errbody' that it wasn't a fluke.

As a reminder, here's who I thought would be the AFC and NFC champs in Super Bowl 50.

'As to which teams I'm predicting will be in Super Bowl 50 in San Francisco, I like New England and Seattle. We'll see how accurate that prediction is in February.'

So far so good.  While the Patriots ended up as the AFC number 2 seed with a bye into the Divisional Round, the Seahawks, if they are going to make it to their third straight Super Bowl, will have to do so from the number 6 seed and win three straight NFC playoff road games to do so.

So let's get to the Wild Card Weekend predictions.

AFC Wild Card Round   Saturday January 9, 2016

#5 Kansas City (11-5) at  #4 Houston Texans (9-7)

This is a rematch of the season opener at NRG Stadium in which the Chiefs sprinted out to a 27-9 lead before the Texans comeback led by Ryan Mallett fell short in a 27-20 loss

Since that Week One clash, both teams are not only light years different from the teams that met back in September, they are riding win streaks.  The Chiefs closed out the season with 10 straight wins to punch their playoff tickets after sliding to 1-5, and the Texans overcame a 3-5 start and using four quarterbacks to finish the season 6-2 and capture their third AFC South title in five years thanks to the having the number 3 ranked defense in the NFL and a certain NFL sack leader named Justin James Watt on their side.

But the Chiefs are no slouches on defense either, ranking seventh in the league defensively.

But they have also lost eight straight playoff games, and the last time they won one was in 1993 in the Astrodome with Joe Montana as their quarterback against an Oilers team that won 12 straight games after an 0-4 start to win the AFC Central Division. That shocking playoff loss set in motion the events that led to them moving to Nashville.

The Texans have never lost a wild card round game, beating the Bengals twice in front of raucous home crowds, so somebody's playoff streak is about to die.

My heart is with my hometown NFL team, my head says the Chiefs will win because they have a starting QB in Alex Smith, the Texans don't unless Brian Hoyer plays his A game, and they lost their All-Pro Duane Brown off the offensive line who usually gets the assignment of neutralizing the opposition's best pass rusher.

But won't be too upset if I get this one wrong.

#6 Pittsburgh (10-6) vs #3 Cincinnati (12-4)


The Steelers are in thanks to the Jets losing, and the Bengals won the AFC North for the second straight year thanks to their franchise best ever 8-0 start. The teams split the season series, with the Bengals taking a 16-10 come from behind win at Heinz Field to go 7-0.

The Steelers returned the favor in Week 14, spanking the Bengals 33-20 at Paul Brown Stadium in which the Bengals lost QB Andy Dalton to a thumb injury.

Bit this time these AFC North division rivals are playing for a spot in the Divisional round of the playoffs and the Bengals aren't playing the Texans.   The Steelers also have problems in their secondary that the Bengals deep passing game will exploit even if the QB throwing those deep balls is AJ McCarron.

 Bengals to move on to the next round.

NFC Wild Card Round   January 10, 2016

#6 Seattle (10-6)  vs #3 Minnesota (11-5)

The Seahawks bid for a NFC championship threepeat and a third consecutive trip to the Super Bowl starts at 12 noon in a frozen Minneapolis against the NFC North champs.  The new US Bank domed stadium doesn't open until this summer, and this will be the first outdoor home playoff game for the Vikings since their quarterback's name was Fran Tarkenton.

The temp at kickoff is predicted to be at 1 degree F for the high.  That last chilly Viking playoff game BTW, was a 24-13 victory in the NFC Championship game against the Los Angeles Rams in 12 degree F weather on December 26, 1976.

This chilly wildcard game is also a rematch of the Week 13 one played at TCF Bank Stadium in which the Seahawks came to town and ran over the Vikings 38-7 in 37 degree F weather.

And bad news for Vikings fans, Marshawn Lynch will be in the lineup for this playoff game,

But the Vikings have been exceeding expectations all season.  Nobody expected them to win the NFC North and they did in a do or die Week 17 game against the hated Packers at Lambeau Field.

Nobody expected them to win at Lambeau Field or Soldier Field and they accomplished both this season on their way to their first NFC North title since 2012.  Nobody expected Adrian Peterson to win the NFL rushing title this season but he did. Nobody is expecting Teddy Bridgewater to outduel Russell Wilson this Sunday either.

But tomorrow, their luck runs out,   They say it hard to beat a team twice in the NFL, but the Seahawks are on a roll and will start their road to a third consecutive Super Bowl with a close win.

#5 Green Bay (10-6) at  #4 Washington (9-7)

Somebody had to win the NFC East, and it was the NFL ballers from DC who  went 6-3 after their bye week to capture the division and enter this clash at FedEx Field on a four game win streak.

The Packers head to our nation's capital for this wild card matchup limping in with a 4-6 record down the stretch and the Packer offense not being its usual prolific self, ranking 31st in the league.  It's obvious the Packer offense REALLY misses Jordy Nelson.

It also isn't helping that the Green Bay offensive line is giving up sacks in bunches, which means that Aaron Rodgers isn't getting time to find any open receives, when they aren't being blanketed by opposing defenses.

I don't know of any NFL quarterback that can throw TD passes while seated on the bench or tasting turf.  Meanwhile Washington is riding a four game winning streak coming into this game.  They went 6-3 down the stretch after their bye week,

Gotta go with team that's on a roll, and that's Washington.

Shut Up Fool Awards - First Week of 2016 Edition

This is the first full week of 2016, and now that the news cycle has come out of its holiday hibernation, my fools runneth over this week.

So yeah, let's get straight to our Shut Up Fool business.

Honorable mention number one is Donald Trump, for ordering his security minions at his Klan rally in Burlington, VT  to take the coats of protesters, among his other messed up stuff he's said this week.

Ladies and gentlemen, your front runner for the GOP nomination

Honorable mention number two is Wu Tang Clan founder RZA, who said in an interview that Black people 'dressing better' would prevent police harassment.

Oh really?  A suit and tie didn't prevent James Blake from being jacked with by NYPD.  Nether did it prevent Bull Connor in 1963 from releasing the dogs and fire hoses on civil rights protesters in Birmingham.

Honorable mention number three is George Zimmerman, who child murdering behind opened his mouth about President Obama.

STFU George.  Your azz should be in jail for Trayvon Martin's murder

Honorable mention number four is a group award for VanillaISIS, AKA the terrorists holed up in Oregon who are looking more like the Keystone KKKops than a group that has their stuff together.

Two have been busted for claiming they are Marines when they aren't.  They are begging for snacks on the Internet, told by the chief of the Paiute tribe to 'get off my land' and  have been told by the sheriff and townspeople of Harney County they need to go back home.

Honorable mention number five we go north of the border for in former Harper cabinet minister Ujjal Dosanjn for his post complaining about political correctness.

Really, you're going write a post about white men whining because they can't be as racist as they wanna be?  No wonder Harpo had you in his cabinet.

Honorable mention number six is the GOP congress for passing that Obamacare repeal and gloating about it.

Honorable mention number seven is Boglarka Balogh who thought she would highlight the plight of African indigenous peoples by dressing in Blackface.

Really?  Did it occur to you to simply use your platform as a journalist to write articles about those groups.

Honorable mention number eight is Cleveland police officer Matt Cicero, who unleashed a racist online rant aimed at Tamir Rice's mother.

This week's Shut Up Fool winner is Maine governor Paul LePage (R).

Maine's teabagging governor unleashed his inner Klansman when he said out of state drug dealers were impregnating young white girls, are to blame for Maine's drug problem.

"The traffickers -- these aren't people who take drugs.  They are guys by the name D-Money, Smoothie, Shifty,"he said. "These type of guys that come from Connecticut and New York.  They come up here, they sell their heroin, then they go back home.,"

"Incidentally, half the time they impregnate a young, white girl before they leave.  Which is the real sad thing, because then we have another issue that we have to deal with down the road."

When the backlash from those comment hit, he issued a half azzed apology for it, then did what conservafools usually do when they get busted for saying something racist and blamed the media for 'twisting his words'.

 I also found it interesting that on the day you unleashed those racist comments, three Maine drug dealers named James, Jody and Donna were busted for trafficking heroin by the Maine DEA.

But yeah, blame your state's drug problems on non-white out of state non-white people.

Gov. Paul LePage, shut up fool.

Fran Watson Elected Houston LGBT Caucus President At Historic Meeting

I was pleased to be at the Montrose Center last night to witness some Houston LGBT history Wednesday night.

The first LGBT Political Caucus meeting of the new year kicked off at 7 PM to a capacity crowd in Room 106 of the Montrose Center, and in addition to hearing the speeches of candidates wishing to walk away with the coveted endorsement of the Caucus for their 2016 primary campaigns, the caucus was also having their own elections to choose a new president and several new board members.

The people in the house seeking the Caucus endorsement for their various races included former Harris County sheriff Adrian Garcia, who is now running for the US congress, Kim Ogg, who narrowly lost her 2014 race for Harris County district attorney, current Precinct 1 constable Alan Rosen who is running for reelection, and numerous judicial candidates like Ramona Franklin.

CM Mike Laster, Harris county Democratic Party chair Lane Lewis and HISD trustee Anna Eastman were also in the house to thank the Caucus for their endorsements and their support.  

There was also a moment of silence for the late county commissioner El Franco Lee and

But what the overflow crowd was there to see in addition to who would get on the Caucus board was whether current board member Fran Watson would become the first African-American female elected to head the caucus.

I said the first African-American female caucus president because I was advised by Houston LGBT historian JD Doyle that an African American man has served, albeit briefly as the Caucus president

The first African-American MAN to serve as Caucus President was Jim Cotton, from late 1977 until April 1978...he was the 3rd Prez....this is per Scott Tillinghast, who is one of the few who was around and involved to remember...wish I could find a photo of Cotton, but apparently he did not make much of an impact.  

When the speeches were over, it was time to get to our historic business.  Once the call for candidates was opened, former CM and Caucus president Sue Lovell gave a moving and heartfelt nomination for Fran which was enthusiastically seconded by much of the crowd.  

A few minutes later, history was made and Fran Watson officially became the new and first ever African-American female president of the Houston GLBT Caucus.  And when the mayor is tweeting congratulations on your election, you know this is a BFD.  It's about time the organizations that lead our community also reflect its diversity.  When it comes to one like the influential Houston GLBT Caucus in which its endorsement can boost the credibility of a liberal progressive candidate despite its non-partisan status, it's past time it happened.  

Congratulations indeed Fran!  I have no doubts that you will successfully handle the Caucus business and whatever challenge comes your way as the Caucus president.

'Her Story' West Coast Premiere

You know I have mad love for Jen Richards, and can't wait for the web series premiere of Her Story to happen on the website January 19.

Wednesday night it had its West Coast premiere in the West Hollywood City Council chambers to a packed house that included my Houston homegirl Nikki Araguz Loyd, the cast of  Her Story, casting directors, actors, and West Hollywood Mayor Lindsey Horvath who presented a proclamation to the cast and crew.

The Advocate's Dawn Ennis was in the house to cover what happened, and here's her take on it.

One of the things that needs to happen in 2016 and beyond is more media productions written, acted, directed and produced by trans people so that we can tell our stories in the way they deserve to be told.

As I and others have pointed out, having Hollywood doing just that is just as important to our trans human rights movement as all the lobbying we do at the local, state and federal levels for human rights laws that protect us.   Positive media coverage, and especially accurate portrayals of us in non-fiction and fictional stories paves the way for that to happen.

It's why I'm rooting for the blockbuster success of Her Story,.and hope it leads to a second season for it and more of our stories being aired on network and cable television.  

Tamara Adrian Sworn In

Tamara Adrian made history as the first elected trans national legislator in Venezuela, the second in the Western Hemisphere and South America, and only the fifth worldwide.

Now that she has been sworn in, it's official.   She took the oath of office on January 5 and has become a member of a very exclusive sorority of trans feminine politicians who serve in their national legislatures.

As the new rep for Caracas, while Adrian would like to pass a gender identity law, a same sex marriage one, and an anti-discrimination, she is aware that much of the reason she and many of her fellow assemblymembers were elected was to tackle the economic issues that have resulted in 160% inflation. and Venezuela's currency being worthless outside the country despite having oil reserves .

"People are poor now, and poverty has increased a lot this year, "said Adrian.  "But next year, they are going to be hungry if we don't take steps to make the economy better.  Things could come to a head in the first quarter of [2016]"

Let's hope that she and her fellow legislators are successful in tackling that problem

3rd Annual NBJC The Black Institute Features Groundbreaking Panel Discussion

One of the highlights of any Creating Change event is the daylong institutes that are eagerly anticipated parts of the conference programming.

Since the 2014 Creating Change hosted in Houston, The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) has organized The Black Institute, which focuses on the issues impacting the Black TBLG/SGL community and also functions as a space to foster policy discussions on a national and local level.

I've been blessed to be part of the conversations at the Houston and Denver events in 2014 and 2015, and the daylong The Black Institutes have been informative and needed substantive family conversations about the various issues that ail the Black gay, lesbian, bi, trans and SGL community

The #CC16 edition of the Black Institute once again in coordination with the Trans Persons of Color Coalition (TPOCC) will have the theme of Healing, Healthy and WHOLE and features another one of those groundbreaking panel discussions it is renowned for.

This year at 11 AM will be a discussion moderated by trailblazing musician and trans advocate Tona Brown that discusses the men who love trans women with a panel of trans attracted men.

One of the men taking part in that panel is one you TransGriot readers are familiar with from his Trans Attracted man videos in Troy.

In addition to discussing the dearth of visibility, support and resources from trans attracted men, it will also discuss the role that cisgender trans attracted men have had in perpetrating the intimate partner violence that has lead to the deaths of Black trans women when those secretive relationships are discovered.


The Black Institute will also discuss what holistic health looks like for the Black SGL/ LGBT community among other subjects they can squeeze in during that programming day  .

The NBJC The Black Institute will take place on January 21 from 9 AM-6 PM  CST at the host hotel for this year's Creating Change Conference, the Hilton Chicago.

Hope those of you headed to the Windy City will check it out.

Will Houston LGBT History Be Made Tonight?

The Houston GLBT Political Caucus was founded in 1975 and calls itself the South's oldest LGBT political organization.  It is one in which if you lean liberal progressive in your politics, the Caucus endorsement is a highly sought after and fought over endorsement in local races.

The caucus endorsement is so highly prized there are people who are still upset they failed to get it.

The Caucus is also an organization that has had serve as its president former mayor Annise Parker and former Houston City Councilmember Sue Lovell among other storied names in our Houston LGBT community ranks.

At tonight's Houston GLBT Caucus meeting history may be made tonight as Maverick Welsh's term as Caucus president ends and his replacement is selected.

The person that people are considering as a leading candidate for the position is attorney Fran Watson.  Fran currently serves on the Caucus board, has had increasing visibility and a front line presence in H-town activist circles,  is involved in other Houston human rights issues including HERO, and is a thoughtful leader who would be amazing in that role.  If she's elected, she would become the first African-American woman to head the organization.    

We'll find out at 7 PM at the Caucus Meeting tonight at the Montrose Center if that history is made.


TransGriot Update:  Yep, it was.  Congrats, Fran!  

Note To KY Bigots: Don't Yell The N-Word At A Black Judge

We're barely six days into 2016 and we already have vanillacentric privileged white guys showing their asses and jockeying for SUF honors.

The latest example came in my old Louisville stomping grounds in Kentucky Circuit Court Judge Olu Stevens court..   He was elected to the 30th Judicial Court seat in Louisville in 2010 and was unopposed in his 2014 reelection campaign for an eight year term that doesn't expire until January 1, 2023.

Stevens is one of the few African-American judges in the commonwealth of Kentucky, and has had to deal with his share of racist commentary from people transiting his Louisville area courtroom.

He is also not 'scurred' to tell it like it T-I-S is either.   He chided one person for writing some problematic racist comments in a victim impact statement.  He has criticized all white juries for trials involving Black defendants in a Louisville that is 25% African-American.

And on Monday, the latest instance in which he has faced racism in his courtroom happened.

Adam Satterly was facing the legal music in front of Judge Stevens for violating the terms of his bond on multiple methamphetamine charges.  
As he was being taken into custody, Satterly uttered the audible to many observers in the courtroom comment of "punk azz n----r",

He was immediately brought back before Judge Stevens, and realizing he'd screwed up, tried to claim he was speaking to his brother.  Judge Stevens wasn't buying that excuse, held Satterly in contempt of court and gave him a 60 day sentence for it.   After Satterly apologized the next day to him in his courtroom, he commuted the sentence to time served.

And what did we learn here Kentucky bigots?  If you get in legal trouble and find yourself in front of a Black judge, it would be wise of you to keep your racist commentary to yourself..

Happy Trans New Year 2016!

This is the first full week of 2016, and after a year like the previous one in which it seems the word 'transgender' was on everyone's lips, what can we do to build on that progress, locally, nationally and globally?

We  have much work to do over the next 52 weeks.  Part of the work we have to do in the 2K16 is stating the obvious.  We must take our butts to the polls, vote for the folks who govern us at the city, county, state and federal levels in addition to the person who is going to succeed President Obama in the White House next January.

That 2016 presidential election by the way, is also one that will determine the makeup of the Supreme Court and the federal judiciary for the next 25 years, since the next president could appoint up to four SCOTUS justices and also federal judges to replace the ones hitting retiring age who were appointed by Reagan and GHW Bush

So yes trans peeps, get registered to vote, and exercise it on November 8 and in your state primary elections when they happen.  If you don't like the selection of candidates offered, then consider running  for office your damned self.

In 2016 we have no choice but to continue fighting for our human rights and our humanity since we have right wing legislators and activists, pissed off they lost on marriage last year, now seeking to demonize and criminalize the existence of trans people.   The Forces of Intolerance are also seeking to do reparative therapy on our trans kids and attack trans friendly school board policies.

Yes, the trans rights fight requires us to multitask.   As we seek to change laws and policies to protect our human rights, we also have to continue the ongoing education efforts that have the goal of expanding knowledge about who we are, dispelling myths, and making the world safe for trans kind.

One of the things we trans folks must be careful about is our safety.  I pray that we do not exceed the record 20 trans people we lost in the United States in 2015.

I am looking forward to seeing my trans fam at the different conventions we attend like Creating Change in Chicago, the Black Trans Advocacy Conference in Dallas,  the Philly Trans Health Conference, Southern Comfort and Fantasia Fair just to name a few and whatever events pop up like the Trans Wpmen of Color one did last year..

I hope I finally get the chance to go to the LGBT Pride Reception this year because this will be the last one that President Obama will preside over.

I hope to finally get an opportunity to meet some trans icons this year like Lauren Foster, Caroline Cossey, Tracey Jada O`Brien, Tracey Norman and Justina Williams just to name a few.  

Hey, just putting it out there. I can be a fangirl at times, and just getting the opportunity to listen to the wisdom and life experiences of these women would be awesome to this trans historian.  

We`ll see if it happens for me.  And yes, trans younglings, looking forward to meeting and talking to you peeps as well.

And finally, hope that the positive trans developments continue happening for our trans cousins around the world.  

If and when it does, you know in this tenth anniversary year for TransGriot, I`ll hopefully be on the scene to cover it.

 

And The 2015 NFL Prognostication Champion Is....

For the first time since 2012,  Moi!

Something else that's happened for the first time since 2012 is my Texans, after a 2-5 start and being written off for dead after the Dolphins spanked them 41-2, regrouped to go 7-2 down the stretch, win in Indianapolis for the first time in franchise history and take a surprise AFC South title.

Their reward is a playoff rematch at NRG Stadium against the same Kansas City Chiefs team that ruined their home opener 27-20.    Both teams are light years away from where they were back in September, and this time the game has higher stakes.

As or the prognosticarion contest, we started back on September 10 with Mike as the defending champ and attempting to become the first ever repeat champion.  He gave it a nice run, but 256 games and 17 weeks later it's Moni back on top.  

As for our final NFL week 17 results, we all tied at 9-7.



Week 17 Results                                        Final 2015 Season Record.
TransGriot      9-7                                        TransGriot       166-90
Mike               9-7                                        Mike               159-97
Eli                  9-7                                        Eli                   153-103

Happy Anniversary, 'So POPular!'

Looks like TransGriot isn't the only media platform celebrating an anniversary in 2016.

Janet Mock's MSNBCshift show So POPular turned one this year as well.  Every Friday at 10 AM Central time Janet and her guests discuss pop culture and the issues of the day and do it in a informative, fun and lively way.   Just wish they would dump the prison shows and put this one on the regular MSNBC lineup.

If you're interested in catching up on past episodes of So POPular, here's the link to it.

Congrats Janet!   Here's hoping for another successful season of shows for you  

It's H-town Inauguration Day!

Because the Houston City Charter mandates that all elective office terms start on January 2, Mayor Sylvester Turner, Controller Chris Brown and all the council members were sworn in during a small ceremony at City Hall Saturday in front of family, friends and supporters.

In addition to fulfilling the requirements of the city charter, it was also done that way so that the city wouldn't have to pay overtime for a inauguration event held on what is technically a holiday weekend.

The official inauguration event is taking place in a few hours starting at 9:30 AM at Jones Hall, and this time Mayor Turner, Controller Brown and all our returning and freshman councilmembers get to repeat taking the oath of office with the TV cameras from all our local stations running.

The event is free to the public, with the doors opening at 8:15 AM.  It will be televised and livestreamed for the benefit of everyone who can't make it to the ceremony.

If you decide not to take METRO to the downtown theater district area, parking will be free in the Theater Center garages.

I know I'm looking forward to seeing history unfold and hearing Mayor Turner's inaugural address.

'Liberal Media', Why Is This Not Domestic Terrorism?

On Saturday a group of armed anti-government terrorists seized a federal building on the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, announced their intention to occupy it and kill anyone who tried to remove them from it, and called for other like minded terrorists to join them in southeast Oregon.

And what is the media reaction to this event?   Cricket chirping silence.

There has also been the laughable and credibility straining extremes that various media outlets like the AP and ABC News took to avoid calling the armed thugs terrorists or this a domestic terrorist incident.

The only reason it is even beginning to get any coverage at all is because people have been all over Twitter and  on social media calling out the blatant hypocrisy of the initial coverage along with the silence of the major networks about it.

Where you at ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX Noise?  Where's the video trucks?  The reporters?   Where are the armed po-po's, the National Guard and their tanks, tear gas and armored personnel carriers ready to take the building back and crush the resistance as we saw deployed against non-white unarmed protesters?

Still haven't heard the call for the Oregon National Guard or the local sheriffs to deal with this situation as was done in Ferguson and Baltimore.

And as you probably guessed, the Whiteness and White Supremacy Protection Brigade are rushing out to do their online defense of VanillaISIS and come up with every excuse to defend their actions of taking over a closed for the holidays federal building.

As a matter of fact, I suspected this would happen again after the 2014 Nevada standoff involving Cliven Bundy and friends, and the feds letting them walk in order to allegedly avoid bloodshed.

Guess when it comes to white lives, you'll do everything possible to do so. When it comes to non white peeps, we get no such considerations whether we're armed or unarmed.

Far from dissuading them from taking it to that level again, it has emboldened these vanillacentric privileged domestic terrorists to try it again.  This time law enforcement and the feds need to drop the hammer on these thugs so they never even think about seizing another federal or attempting another action like this again.    

But then again, the media and the conservative movement are desperate to cover up the fact that when it come to domestic terrorism in the United States, the face of it is an overwhelmingly white male conservative one.

We'll see how this latest incident plays out as the week progresses.

Trans Women, Stop Attacking The Men Who Love Us

I've also discussed the fact that girls like us need to do a better job of appreciating the men who do genuinely love us (and not in a fetishistic way).

If we trans women want to have stable, long lasting relationships that will result in them putting a ring on our fingers we've got to do our part to deal with our shame, guilt and fear issues and love ourselves so we can properly love somebody else.
And naw cis men, loving a girl like us doesn't make you gay.
-TransGriot, February 4, 2013 

My San Antonio based video blogging sis  Nicole Ramos told the truth about this issue.  So has my Houston based blogging homegirl Diamond Stylz. and now I want to build on what she said in terms of trans women and our relationships with men, be they cis or trans.

I also wish to build on the comments of Cheryl Courtney-Evans and what she had to say about the subject.

The ultimate goal in the romance game is to find someone who loves you for who you are and who wishes to spend the rest of their life with you.

What has got me thinking about it is not only Nicole's video blog post, but many of the previous videos I've posted on this blog from Troy, who discusses the fact that he unapologetically prefers trans women and some of the issues that crop up along the way on his YouTube Channel ..  

Troy has been the godfather of the movement to get trans attracted men to not only name and claim the fact they love us, but battle the shame and guilt issues in their ranks.

At the same time Troy has sought to point out to the rest of the world that loving a trans woman doesn't automatically devalue their masculinity.

I also need to point out there are trans men who are attracted to trams women, as the upcoming marriage of Precious Davis and Myles Brady this summer emphatically demonstrates.

What is bothering me is that far too often, I've observed that my trans sisters who are chasing pseudo cis privilege diss the cis and trans men who love us.  They fling the term 'chaser' like an epithet at the cis guys who love us and think of us as viable LTR partners.  They also dismiss the trans men who love and see us as people they wish to spend the rest of their lives with by shadily saying they want a 'real man' to woo them.

By doing that, you are devaluing your own femininity, and are saying at the same time you are unworthy of being loved.

Well, in the 2K16 and beyond my sisters, we need to reject that negative and destructive thinking because we trans women are worthy of being loved.

Let me say that again.  Trans women, you are worthy of being loved.  

Note to the cis women out there who like to throw shade at us, we don't have to 'trick' or 'deceive' a man to get his romantic attention.  Most of the time, they are stepping to us because they like what they see and like our personalities even better.

Speaking of stepping to us, just because a cis man loves a trans woman, it does not diminish or devalue his masculinity or make him gay.

Now my sisters. if a guy is only looking at us as his exotic fetishistic fantasy, call his ass out.  Also call out the guys who don't recognize your femininity.  The primary person you have to please in a relationship situation is yourself.  You do not have to accept a substandard relationship, one that disrespects your humanity or your femininity, or one that makes you unhappy because you want to prove to the outside world you are feminine enough to get a man.

Quality is what you need to be looking for, not quantity.  Waiting for the person who is best suited for you and makes you happy may take a while, but is worth it in the end.