Can Y'all Use This Photo Of Moi?

While I deeply appreciate being being honored lately on some compiled online leadership lists, one thing that is really beginning to annoy me is the consistent use of a less than flattering photograph that I absolutely hate.

he photo I hate popped up again in the latest list on Austostraddle I was named to, and while I saw attractive photos for the other honorees, what made y'all choose the one you used?

Now, this is the one that's on my Facebook page, and I would deeply appreciate it if y'all start using it.

Congrats HPD Chief Montalvo!

Some H-town history was made today when Martha Montalvo was named bu Mayor Sylvester Turner as the interim HPD chief in the wake of the sudden retirement that takes effect February 26 of former HPD chief Charles McClellan.

She was born in Ecuador, immigrated her with her family in the 60's, and grew up in Houston's predominately Latinx East End.   After earning a bachelors of science from UHD and a masters from Sam Houston State, she started as a HPD beat cop in May 1980 and rose through the ranks as a sergeant, lieutenant, captain, and assistant chief of police in her now 35 year career.

She was serving on former Chief McClellan's command staff, supervising five departments, 60 civilians and 128 officers before her elevation to interim chief.  

Chief Montalvo becomes the first Latina to be named to the top job in the Houston Police Department and the second female (first was Elizabeth Watson 1990-1992) to hold the position.

'I'm very invested in ensuring that as long as I'm interim, that we continue to ensure that the officers continue their exemplary professionalism, and that we continue to be transparent and accountable to the community we serve," said Chief Montalvo.

She will serve as the interim chief until a permanent one is found to fill the job.  Hey, why not her?

We'll see how that plays out.   Congratulations Chief Montalvo on making Houston and HPD history.  

The SD War On Trans People Continues With HB 1209

If you thought the just passed HB 1008 which is now awaiting Gov. Daugaard's signature was the only bill that my South Dakota trans cousins had to worry about, here comes another unjust bill which is a frontal assault on our humanity

HB 1209, which rolls back and prevents us from getting our birth certificates changed to reflect who we are now. just passed a SD House committee on a 4-2 party line vote.

Well, South Dakota trans community, let us know what your trans cousins around the country can do to help you beat back this latest assault on your humanity.

Countdown To The 2016 LGBT Media Journalists Conveming

One month from now, I'll be up in Baltimore attending the 7th annual LGBT Media Journalists Convening with many of the top LGBT journalists in the country.

It's sponsored by the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr Fund and the NLGJA, and the purpose of it is to build and diversify LGBT media capacity, help us get better versed in writing and talking about the issues germane to our LGBT community and foster improved working relationships between those of us involved in LGBT media.

This will be my fourth one. The first LGBT media event for me was the 2013 Philadelphia one after inexplicably missing the one that was in my Houston backyard in 2012.  I was in the house for the Washington DC edition in 2014 and last year's return to Philly.

This 2016 edition of the convening will take place March 18-20.  Once again I'll be in the house hanging out with my fellow journalists, getting my learn on during our all day panel sessions on Saturday, and enjoying the opening reception with our yet to be revealed #LGBTMedia16 keynote speaker.

Last year we had the honor of hearing and I had the honor of getting reacquainted with the Rev Dr. William Barber.  I'd met him in Louisville at our Unity Dinner back in 2005, which he remembered when I got to chat with him after his speech was concluded.

I also got to ask him a question during the post keynote Q&A about where the national NAACP stands when it comes to standing up for the human rights of trans people.

It's one in the wake of the unjust anti-trans legislation being passed in South Dakota that cries out to be asked again.

I also enjoyed that moment in which the trans feminine contingent of the LGBT Journalists Convening took that group photo in front of what was once known as Dewey's Lunch Counter a few weeks before the 50th anniversary of the April-May 1965 trans human rights sit in and protest that took place there. .

I also enjoyed the first ever LGBT women's journalists meeting we had Saturday night coordinated by Trish Bendix and cutting up with birthday girl Faith Cheltenham, Berlin Sylvestre in the hotel lobby after I'd polished off a cheesesteak that wasn't from Pat's or Geno's.

Hope we have another one of those LGBT Women's Journalist meetings planned for the Baltimore event because I learned so much in that multi-generational conversation last year.

Looking forward to seeing who our keynote will be for this year's event, who is coming for this year's edition of the LGBT Media Journalists Convening, and tearing into some crab cakes..

And hopefully we'll have some nice weather for it as well.

Honored To Be Named A Transformative Leader By Planned Parenthood

While I don't do what I do human rights wise to get awards, it sure is nice when that hard work fighting for people's human rights gets recognized.

Sometimes I'm shocked at times at where the recognition is coming from.

Was surprised and pleased to note this Black History Month post on Planned Parenthood's website that highlighted leaders transforming our community.

Amongst the names of people I have long admired like Rep. Maxine Waters,  Rep. John Lewis, Kimberle Crenshaw, Danielle Moodie-Mills, Faye Wattleton and Sharon Lettman-Hicks, was mine.

Thank you Planned Parenthood for that honor, and hope I'm blessed to continue to grow and evolve as that transformative community leader you see me as.

Diamond Stylz Talks About BTAC 2016

Diamond talks about BTAC 2016 happening from April 25-May 1, and looking forward to seeing her and my trans brothers and trans sisters.

And congrats on eight years of YouTube video excellence!

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Bans Open Carry For 2016 Event

Still chuckling because the backlash continues against HB 901, the open carry law the GOP controlled Texas Lege passed that took effect January 1.   A long list of venues in Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio have banned open carry in their establishments, and earlier today the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo joined that long list of events in doing so.

"The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, in an effort to provide a safe environment and promote a family friendly atmosphere at the city's iconic entertainment event, will prohibit concealed and open carry by private citizens at the 2016 show," the organization said in a press release.

"It's our goal to promote a family friendly atmosphere," said Joel Cowley, president and CEO of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo."We don't think the private carry of handguns is conducive to that."

Even though RodeoHouston is held on Harris County property in the NRG Stadium/Astrodome complex, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo retains exclusive use and control rights of the complex for the duration of the rodeo that will kick off March 1 and run through March 20.

Hmm, may have to check our the rodeo for the first time since i moved back home, now that I know drunken fools walking around the complex won't be armed.

South Dakota Fighting Unjust Anti-Trans Bill

While Washington state and Virginia trans peeps have been able to fight off attempts to pass unjust anti-trans bills in their respective states, unfortunately the unjust HB 1008 has kept chugging through the legislative process pushed by Republicans eager to oppress, bully and demonize trans people.

But as Kara Thrace, one of my fave characters in Battlestar Galactica once said, "We do what we always do.  Fight 'em until we can't."

That's the attitude trans South Dakotans and their allies are adopting to push back against this unjust  transphobic bill as it passed the GOP controlled South Dakota House 58-10 and is winding its way through the GOP controlled South Dakota Senate toward a vote on the Senate floor after clearing the Senate education Committee on a 4-2 party line vote.

The unjust HB 1008 would demonize transgender South Dakota students and violate Title IX in doing so.   It would also put federal funding for South Dakota schools at risk just so some Republican legislative bigots can get their jollies on.

When Gov Dennis Daugaard (R) said in a press conference that he'd never met a transgender person he was aware of, activist Kendra Heathscott wrote an open letter reminding him he had.

South Dakota native and attorney Case Strangio has also penned an open letter imploring his home state to not pass anti-trans hate legislation.

Here's hoping that the governor will veto the unjust HB 1008 bill when it gets to his desk.   In the meantime what you can do for our trans brothers and sisters in South Dakota is call his office and urge him to do just that.

TransGriot Update.  The unjust HB 1008 was passed by the South Dakota Senate on a 20-15 vote.   it now goes to Gov. Daugaard for his signature.

2016 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament Happening In Texas

While I have been busy with other events, on opposite ends of 1-45 we have had eight CONCACAF women's teams battling to get the two spots available from our FIFA region for the upcoming Rio Olympic Games women's tournament.

The tournament started on February 10 with the Group A teams, the USA, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Costa Rica playing their games at Toyota Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, TX while the Group B teams Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Guatemala started a day later at BBVA Compass Stadium here in Houston.

Team USA got their Olympic qualifying campaign off to a flying start with a 5-0 win over Costa Rica as Carli Lloyd scored the first of her two goals just one minute into the game to get the USA off to a 3-0 halftime lead in a match they never trailed in as Mexico was thumping Puerto Rico 6-0.

That set up a crucial clash on February 13 in which the USA prevailed 1-0 over Mexico thanks to the game winning goal from Carli Lloyd in the 80th minute on a penalty kick while Costa Rica recovered from their loss to the USA by spanking Puerto Rico 9-0.

The win also gave the USA the top spot in Group A with two wins and a +6 goal differential.

Yesterday Group A play concluded with the USA clinching the group and their trip to the semis here in Houston with a 10-0 win over Puerto Rico in which Crystal Dunn scored five goals.

In the battle between two 2015 World Cup squads to determine the runner up in the group, Costa Rica prevailed 2-1 in which Raquel Rodriquez scored two goals, with the game winner being on a penalty kick in the 57th minute to clinch the runner up spot in Group A and their ticket to Houston for the semifinals.

Group B play started on February 11 at BBVA Compass Stadium, with Trinidad and Tobago shocking Guatemala 2-1 and Canada behind an Ashley Lawrence hat trick spanking Guyana 5-0.

On February 14 Guyana sent Guatemala packing with a 2-1 victory as Canada clinched Group B with a 6-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago.

Later today while Canada closes out group play with homeward bound Guatemala, Guyana and Trinidad and  Tobago will play to see who will be the Group B runner up and get the unenviable task of taking on the world champion USA in a knockout round semifinals on Friday at BBVA Compass Stadium.

Canada will play this final group game knowing that they will face Costa Rica in the knockout round on Friday with an Olympic berth on the line.

The Friday semifinal game winners will get both CONCACAF berths to the Rio Olympic Games women's soccer tournament, and play each other on Sunday for the tournament title.

Moni Checks Out 'The Vagina Monologues' H-town Style

I had the pleasure of seeing for the first time ever a live performance of Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues Sunday night in which many of my friends and FB friends were involved.

It was ably produced and directed by Natalie 'Fox' Maisel in addition to being a sold out fundraiser for the Houston Area Women's Center.

Meagan Gillett and Veronika Simms were two of the cast members I knew going into the event, and Sheena Sunshine and Natalie 'Fox' Maisel are two of my FB friends involved in the production.

I also got to sit at a table in Blue by Massa's right by the wonderful group of ladies performing this play with Dee Dee Watters and Vancie Vega cracking me up at our table before it started.

It was an amazing evening of great food, fun, music and spending a few hours watching the production that at times, has moments besides the trans specific monologue that was performed by Veronika, that connect with girls like us.

I and the crowd, laughed, cheered, chanted, cried.and went into thoughtful mode as those various monologues were performed over the next hour and a half,  I also enjoyed talking to many of the cast members before and after the event and congratulating them on a job well done.

Brava once again Natalie 'Fox' Maisel, Julianna Alexander, Mary du Plessis, Anna Faro, Leslie Claire, Meagan Gillett, Monika LaBadie, Veronika Simms. Sheena Sunshine, Stephanie Fenton and Abby Buchold.

And thanks to my tablemates for making it an even more enjoyable evening and a wonderful way to spend a Valentine's Day .

The TransGriot 2016 Democratic POTUS Nominee Endorsement Is...

Early voting for the March 1 Texas Primary election starts in a few hours and runs through February 26, and since that's about to take place, think it's a good time to reveal who I support for the Democratic nominee.  That March 1 Texas primary is part of Super Tuesday, in which twelve states will have their primary elections or caucuses.

I was sitting on the fence basically waiting to see which of the surviving candidates in Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders would do what they needed to do to get my support.

I've also looked at both their records, and electability in the fall campaign against the Republican nominee in this crucial election is also important to me as well.

The person who will be getting my endorsement for the Democratic nomination for president is Hillary Clinton.

With this election being a critical one, especially in light of the death of Antonin Scalia highlighting one of my major issue concerns in the composition of the SCOTUS,  we need to have a Democratic nominee who can beat all Republifool comers in the fall election.   Frankly that isn't Bernie Sanders, despite what his overwhelmingly young white supporters think.

He has yet to prove to me he can gain the support of non-white voters, much less has yet to lead in ANY national tracking poll of the 2016 Democratic presidential race.

In addition, where's the beef on his policy proposals?   I also haven't heard much besides his one note railing about 'The Establishment' and Wall Street bankers and 'Hillary is a liar' rhetoric from Sanders supporters.

That doesn't tell me what his plans are to tackle the United States' pressing problems in 2016 and beyond

Note to Sanders supporters before you even attempt to come for me, Bill Clinton isn't running for president. his wife is.  Stop blaming her for the policies that came out of her husband's administration you don't like that Sanders also voted for like the 1994 Crime Bill and against the assault weapons ban in the Brady Bill.

I have not liked the sexist attacks that Bernie Sanders supporters have aimed at Hillary Clinton that basically drove me toward making this announcement.

I'm also concerned about the fact Sanders isn't a Democrat, has disparaged the party in the past and I question just how loyal and committed he would be in getting down ballot Democrats elected nationally and in the various states holding election contests in 2016.

I watched along with the nation as Clinton underwent 11 hours of having the GOP throw the kitchen sink at her in their fake Benghazi hearing and she came through it like a champ.

That's why if she is our nominee I have far more confidence that she will be taking the oath of office on January 20, 2017 than a Bernie Sanders that has never endured 30 years of relentless attacks by the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy that foaming at the mouth hates her like she has.

The bottom line is Hillary Clinton as the former Secretary of State, a US senator, a longtime member of this party and as First Lady is more than qualified to lead and make history as our nation's first female president.

And that's why I'm endorsing her and urging my readers to vote for her in your Democratic primaries for president.

Denise 'Vanity' Matthews Has Died

Like most people in the 80's I was a huge Prince fan and loved Vanity 6, the girl group he started that was fronted by Canadian born model, actress and singer Denise Katrina Matthews.

I humorously had happen after I wrote a 50th birthday post to her, someone erroneously thinking that TransGriot was her blog.  I wrote two clarification posts breaking it to those peeps it was mine and not then Evangelist Denise K. Matthews' site.

I was surprised and saddened to hear as a huge fan of hers that she passed away today at age 57 in a Fremont, CA hospital after battling inflammation of her small intestines.

It was the latest in a series of health challenges including a 1994 overdose that so damaged her kidneys that she required regular dialysis.

She was born in Niagara Falls, ON on January 4, 1959, the child of a Polish-Jewish mother born in Germany and an African-American, Hawaiian and native American father and a a teen began entering local beauty pageants. She won the Miss Niagara Hospitality title in 1977 and competed in Miss Canada in 1978 before moving to Toronto and at 17 to New York to begin a modeling career.

She was also the cover model for Cameo's 1982 album Alligator Woman and posed for Playboy magazine twice in May 1985 and April 1988

She met Prince during the 1980 American Music Awards, and after discovering she could sing, he offered her the lead singer spot in Vanity 6 and christened her with her stage name Vanity.

'Nasty Girl' became the group's breakout hit, and she and Vanity 6 along with The Time toured with Prince during his 1999 tour in 1982-83

But as the breakout star of Vanity 6, while she lost the role in Purple Rain that Prince had created for her after she went solo and signed with Motown in 1984, she parlayed those looks into a stream of movie and television acting roles that included The Last Dragon, 52 Pick-up and Action Jackson.




She eventually turned away from Hollywood and became a born-again Christian evangelist after nearly dying of renal failure during that 1994 overdose. After a 1997 kidney transplant, she began touring the country and the world as a traveling evangelist and released her autobiography in 2010 entitled \Blame It on Vanity.

But once again, another oe of our music stars has joined the ancestors.   Rest in power and peace Denise Matthews.

You Lost, Scalia's Gone, And President Obama Gets To Pick His Replacement

I am laughing my azz off at the ridiculous comments and excuses coming from the Republicans in the wake of the unexpected death last weekend of Supreme Court (In) Justice Antonin Scalia.

His death shifts the balance of Supreme Court power once President Obama makes his selection to the liberal-progressives on the court, which has sent the GOP and the conservative movement into a foaming at the mouth frenzy trying to come up with excuses to keep from doing their job and holding confirmation hearings to avoid filling that critical SCOTUS seat.  

One of the WTF suggestions from Conservaworld was that President Obama appoint a conservative justice in the Scalia mode. Naw conservaplayer, that ain't how this works, so let Moni break it down for you.

There was an election in 2012 that you conservafools lost when President Obama was reelected.  The POTUS, because there is a vacancy on the SCOTUS in the wake of Scalia's death and he has another 340 days left in his second term, under Article II, Section 2 of our Constitution has the right and the duty to select his successor.  

I recall when Thurgood Marshall retired from his Supreme Court seat in 1991 and died two years later he wasn't replaced with another liberal SCOTUS jurist by George HW Bush, he was replaced by Uncle Thomas.

That was the consequence of the Democrats losing the 1988 presidential election.

So what if this is an election year?   No excuses GOP.  Anthony Kennedy, who is now the longest serving jurist on the SCOTUS was appointed by Reagan in November 1987 and confirmed on February 3,1988.

I do seem to recall a presidential election was held a mere nine months later.

As y'all probably guessed, I am deliriously happy that the SCOTUS is on the verge of flipping to liberal-progressive control and that President Obama will deliciously replace that dearly departed judicial bigot Scalia.

More importantly, President Obama's SCOTUS justice pick will shift the balance of power on the Supreme Court back to decency. fair interpretations of our laws, justice and not the WTF conservafool partisan excesses we've seen under the Rehnquist and Roberts conservative leaning courts.

And not only is America watching, so is the world.

You lost, Scalia's gone, we need a SCOTUS justice to replace him, and President Obama is chilling in the Oval Office waiting to select the next one. 

Houston Performance of The Vagina Monologues This Evening

Looking forward to the Houston performance of the Vagina Monologues starting at 6 PM at Blue By Massa's that features a few friends of mine in the community and is produced by Natalie 'Fox' Maisel.

It may be a surprise to some of you, but one of the monologues is trans feminine specific.  It's entitled, 'They Beat The Girl Out Of My Boy...Or So They Tried'

It's one trans members of a Vagina Monologue cast get to perform, and before some of y;all start tripping, back on February 21, 2004 there was an all trans production of the Vagina Monologues in Los Angeles that my sis Valerie Spencer (happy belated birthday, Val) was part of that was memorialized in the LOGO documentary Beautiful Daughters.

To give you a taste of it, here's that monologue that I'm looking forward to seeing performed tonight along with the rest of the Eve Ensler play.

Break a leg tonight ladies!   Looking forward to seeing the

Happy Valentines Day 2016

Happy Valentines Day 2016!  Love is in the air and I'm looking forward to seeing happen two anticipated weddings of trans couples this year.

Of course many of us are already aware of the upcoming nuptials of Precious and Myles this summer, and have seen episode of Say Yes To The Dress  that she was featured in.  It is going to be fun to finally see them jump the broom to the land of matrimony

But Precious and Myles  aren't the only trans couple I'm aware of that is getting married this year. Laila Villanueva and Logan Ireland are also stepping down the aisle less than 100 days from now. They are representative of the estimated 15,000 trans people serving in our nation's armed forces, and they got the opportunity to meet the Commander in Chief himself at the White House last year.

To both couples, love y'all both, and I wish you long, happy and healthy marriages.

As for those of you who have asked when it is going to happen for me, that depends on whether the right person comes along in my life at this juncture.  While I am blessed with many talents that I excel at, one of the things that has eluded me over the years is a long term relationship.  

I joke that I have been wandering the dating Sinai for so long that the paired off Israelites passed me up on their way to the matrimony Promised Land and shake their heads.

But for those of you who are in relationships on this Valentines Day 2016,, I am happy for you.

One of the things I am also happy to see is that the men who love us are on the verge (if they aren't doing so already) of naming and proudly proclaiming it while dealing with the issues that come with that.

 I'm talking about the trans attracted men, and despite the shutdown by some loud and wrong transwomen of that panel in Chicago, it is not going to stop the conversation from happening, and has created even more interest in having it.

Trans women need to hear that the men who love them are proud of them and see them shout it to the rooftops instead of the shame inducing current pattern for both parties of keeping those relationships secret.

We have worked hard, gone through many trials and tribulations and spent lots of money at times to live in our truth, and it's past time that the men who love us be unafraid to live in theirs as well.

We have a shared responsibility to get society on board with the idea that choosing to love a trans women is no different than preferring cis women who are brunette, blonde, tall, petite, older, younger, non-white, white, et cetera.

Love is love, and if dating or marrying a trans woman is going to make you happy, then handle your romantic business and do so.    

And as the HerStory YouTube series, the Game Face documentary and the movie Boy Meets Girl all point out, there are cis women who are increasingly kissing trans girls and discovering they like it and the trans woman they kissed enough to want to be in a relationship with them be it short or long term.  There are cis girls kissing trans guys and also ending up in long term relationships and marriages with them.

But the main point of this Valentine's Day post is that trans folks, be they trans masculine, trans feminine or non-binary, deserve and are worthy of being loved.

And what better day than Valentines Day to spread that message.

(In)Justice Antonin Scalia Dies

Was shocked to hear while I was at the State of Black Lives  convening that 79 year old Supreme Court (In) Justice Antonio Scalia has died of natural causes while on a hunting trip at a luxury ranch in Marfa, TX.

I have been pointing out that one of the critical issues in play in this 2016 election cycle is the Supreme Court, and with Scalia's death this just got real .

While I feel for his family and the people who loved him tonight as his body is transported back to his McLean, VA home from my home state, as you long time readers of TransGriot know, he was not one of my favorite justices on the court because of his racist comments and problematic rulings.

And that's as nice as I'm going to be about the man appointed by President Reagan to the SCOTUS in 1986.  He has been on the wrong side of history and human rights as part of a conservative SCOTUS majority rolling back or in outright opposition to laws and policies I believe are essential to advancing human rights in America..

And Clarence Thomas is now going to have to think for himself instead of just voting the way Scalia does..  

While President Obama has promised to appoint his replacement in due time, the GOP controlled Senate is going to attempt to do everything possible to stall replacing Scalia until 2017 in the hope they can win the presidency this November. .

President Obama and the Senate Democrats are going to have just as much pressure on them to get the nomination done before he leaves in January 2017 by liberal progressive groups.

Well, as I have been saying for months, the composition of the Supreme Court would be a major issue in this 2016 election cycle with four justices in their mid to late 70's .   With Scalia's death, that just became a reality and something we have to consider when we choose our Democratic Party presidential nominee.

It's just I and a lot of people didn't expect that fight to begin now with the unexpected death of Antonin Scalia..

State Of Black Lives Convening Day 2

Spent an interesting first day at the State of Black Lives Convening sponsored by Freedom Bound Texas and #Black Lives Matter at the Emerson UU Church near the Galleria area yesterday.

I took part in a discussion moderated by Dee Dee Watters entitled "Before I'm Trans, I'm Black' that was merged with one conduced by Dr Rachel Afi Quinn and Eesha Pandit that focused on gender based violence.

It was also wonderful to spend some quality time talking with one of my JJ Falcon classmates in addition to the other first day attendees.

Dee Dee felt that the two topics needed to be merged since gender based violence is an all too real part of trans feminine lives.  It led to a dynamite panel that could have gone on for another hour.

Another event anticipated today is the keynote speech from Elaine Brown, th former president and Minister of Information with the Black Panther Party.

You can check out the hashtag #FreedomBound to see some of the tweets about today's panels and other discussions that take place today, or even better, if you can, show up.
     

Canada's First Trans Judge Sworn In

Kael McKenzie made Canadian history yesterday when he was sworn in as the country's first transgender judge after being appointed to that position by a independent judicial nominating committee in December.

The 44 year old McKenzie is not only the first ever trans judge in Canada and the province of Manitoba but is possibly the first out trans masculine judge on the planet.

He is also of First Nations descent.

"I'm just one example of many of my colleagues and people who are attaining certain levels of notoriety that can show people we are just people." McKenzie said in a December interview. "We are just doing what everyone else does and we can achieve whatever we want with hard work and dedication."

After serving in the Canadian Armed Forces and graduating with his law degree from the University of Manitoba in 2006, he transitioned in 2011, served as a prosecuting Crown attorney for five years and in private practice before getting his history making appointment to the Manitoba provincial court bench on December 17.

McKenzie has also been active in the TBLGQ and legal communities as a member of the Canadian Bar Association  and the news about his appointment has been overwhelmingly positive.

"This is something to be celebrated," said Ken Champagne, the Manitoba Provincial Court's Chief Justice.

Yes it is.   Congratulations to Judge McKenzie, and I hope to see many more Canadian trans folks making history

Lake County, FL Needs Help With This Trans Cold Case Death

Back in 1988, the body of a trans woman was found decomposing in the woods in the Four Corners area along County Road 474.   Julie Doe as they call her was found wearing a greenish tank top, a long acid washed jean skirt with partially pulled down pantyhose.

Julie Doe also had breast implants,long dyed blonde hair, long manicured nails, was estimated to be between 24-33  years of age and was 5 feet 11.  At the time her remains were tested, the result indicated she was a cis woman who had given birth to one or more children.  

Julie Doe's remains were recently retested as part of a Florida initiative to revist cold cases, and with the new forensic technology gave the result she was a trans feminine woman.

Items of clothing found with Julie Doe's body were send to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement lab in Tallahassee, and  Detective Tamara Dale is hoping that once the results come back in several weeks, it will lead to clues that will help them generate leads in the case.

"I'm hoping their will be foreign DNA on her clothing and if so interview that person as someone who would have had contact with Julie near the time of her death," said Detective Dale in an Orlando Sentinel interview

She also hoping that the renewed interest in the case generates leads that will identify who she is.

"I would love to identify Julie so she can have a proper burial and so her friends and family can have closure on their missing loved one," said Detective Dale.  "I don't think anyone should have o lie unidentified in a laboratory while their family wonders what happened to them."

If you have any information concerning this case, please call the Lake County, FL Sheriff's office at 352-343-2101 or Crimeline at 1-800-423-8477

KY Rep. Marzian Files Bill Requiring Spousal Permission & Doctors Visits To Get Erectile Dysfunction Drugs

Mary Lou Marzian was my state rep during the nearly nine years I was living as a Texan in Exile in Louisville, and while I was there had a chance to talk legislative shop with her and see her at other events during my time in Kentucky.

Her day job when she's not bouncing to Frankfort to look out for the interests of her constituents is as a registered nurse, and as you probably guessed she wasn't happy with the 'informed consent' bill the boys in the KY legislature overwhelmingly passed on January 28 and Gov. Matt Bevin (R) signed into law.

To register her disgust with the Commonwealth of Kentucky inserting themselves in the private health decisions of the women living in the state, Marzian on February 11 filed HB 396. a bill that would require men in the commonwealth who wanted an erectile dysfunction drug like Viagra or Cialis to get a sworn and dated letter from his spouse, make two office visits with a medical practitioner and make a sworn statement with his hand on the  swear Bible that he will only use the erectile dysfunction drugs while engaged with sexual relations with his current spouse.

In an interview, Rep Marzian said while HB 396 is tongue in cheek, the issue she is highlighting in government interference in women's health decisions

"Maybe it will wake some people up in this state to say, "Hey wait a minute, where are they going with seven abortion bills?'"

Go get 'em Rep. Marzian!