Secretary Clinton Breaks Out the Victory Broom

The voters in five states spread out from the South to the Midwest went to the polls yesterday for Democratic presidential primary elections.  There were 793 delegates at stake with the big symbolic prizes being Florida (246 delegates at stake), Sec. Clinton's home state of Illinois (182 delegates) and Ohio with 160 delegates.   North Carolina  had 121 delegates at stake and Missouri with 84.

Within minutes of polls closing in Florida and North Carolina came the first indication it would be a YUGE night for Secretary Clinton.   The network calls of Clinton wins in Florida and North Carolina came swiftly, with the call for Ohio coming an hour later.

The Ohio win for Clinton was a disappointment for Sanders, who had predicted he would win the state after the shocking upset win in Michigan last week.

Illinois and Missouri took longer to decide, with Clinton taking her home state of Illinois and eked out a narrow win in the Show Me State late thanks to the voters in Kansas City and St Louis.

#BlackVotersMatter  

Told you Bernie supporters that losing the Black vote would cost him the nomination. Clinton's massive 84-16% support with African-American voters was critical to fueling her sweep of all five primary states.

Thanks to the sweep, Sec. Clinton has opened up a 300+ delegate lead on Sanders and effectively ended the talking point among Sanders supporters that Clinton could only win in Southern states.

Next up are caucuses in Utah and Idaho and the primary election in Arizona on March 22.  Arizona is the big prize with 85 total delegates..

While Sec. Clinton is not the 2016 presumptive Democratic nominee yet, she took another huge step toward making history as the first woman to win a major party presidential nomination.

The obese opera singer may not be singing yet in this Democratic contest, but is definitely beginning to warm up to sing the aria.

Raffi Makes Trans History Again!

Just last August Raffi Freedman-Gurspan made history as the first out trans staffer ever to work at the White House as the Outreach & Recruitment Director in the presidential personnel office and Associate Director for Public Engagement. .

Now the 28 year old trans Latina is set to become the first trans person to be named as the White House LGBT Liaison in the 21 year history of the position. President Obama appointed her to replace Aditi Hardikar, who left the post in January to join Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

I'd met both previous occupants of the LGBT Liaison position, and met Raffi last year during the Trans WOC White House panel event I attended last March.  

Raffi will not only take on the LGBT Liaison job duties, she will continue in her role as Outreach & Recruitment Director

This appointment is a big deal.   It's fantastic to witness a trans person finally being appointed as the initial point of WH contact for LGBT groups on all issues, and continues to illustrate that President Obama has been the best president ever when it comes to not only advancing trans human rights issues, but actually entrusting us with key positions in his administration..

Congratulations Raffi!  

LA Mayor Garcetti Announces Transgender Advisory Council Formation

More trans progress from the Left Coast.

Was excited to hear that Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has announced this morning the formation of a Transgender Advisory Council in the City of Angels.  It is the largest city in the US to do so and only the second nationally  to create one after LA metro area neighbor West Hollywood, CA

"Today, the City of Los Angeles sends a clear message to transgender Angelenos:  your voices matter and your experiences count," said Mayor Garcetti. "The nine members of our Transgender Advisory Council will bring a new and important perspective to City Hall that will help empower trans Angelenos to lead stigma-free, productive and meaningful lives"

The stated purpose of the TAC once it finishes setting up it basic formation, is to advise the city on how best to serve trans Angelenos and it work under the auspices of the Human Relations Commission to do precisely that.   Advisory Council member Karina Samala stated at the press conference that the TAC would focus on city hiring policies and anti-trans hate crimes.

The LA Transgender Advisory Council will advise the Office of the Mayor, the LA City Council, city departments and various elected officials on projects and policies that affect the Los Angeles trans community like economic development, public safety, accessibility, and public awareness of LA's transgender citizens.

Congrats to Jazzmun Crayton, who was selected for the TAC from a blind application process based on criteria set by the Human Relations Commission and is one of the people I've had the pleasure of meeting at other national events.

Congrats also to other inaugural members of LA's Transgender Advisory Committee: Karina Samala, Diana Feliz Oliva,  Jaden Fields, James Wen, Justine Gonzalez, Talia Bettcher, Terri Jay and Zoey Luna

Yo, H-town, can we form something similar to the TAC here?

Five More States Vote Today

Five more Democratic primary elections happen today in Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio.  They are all delegate rich, which Florida being the big prize of the night with 246 delegates

Illinois has 182 available, Missouri 84, North Carolina 121 and Ohio will also be another critical state with 160 delegates and Sec. Clinton is favored in all five states.

And bad news Sanders supporters, two more Southern states with large Black populations are voting today

We'll see what transpires later tonight after the votes are cast and the polls close. .

Moni's 2016 NCAA Women's B-Ball Bracket

While I didn't have time to do my men's bracket in 2015, I definitely had a chance to do one for the women's tournament.  I started as part of Women's History Month compiling it in 2008 , and I have continued that tradition every year since.  

Since I just mentioned it, here are my 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 , 2014 and 2015 women's brackets.here

My record in picking the eventual women's NCAA champion is slightly better at 5-3, and I've also correctly picked all four women's NCAA  Final Four teams in 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2015.  Also nailed last year's NCAA women's title game.

But it's a year later.  Can I get it right again and select the four teams that will be playing for NCAA women's basketball supremacy on April and 5?   Will UConn continue their dominance of the NCAA women's basketball ranks and their 69 game winning streak? Will they make NCAA history and become the first women's team to win a fourth straight title or will there be an upset for the ages?..

We're about to find out.

Bridgeport Regional
First Round
Connecticut, Seton Hall, Mississippi State, Michigan State, South Florida, UCLA, BYU, Texas

Second Round
Connecticut, Mississippi State, UCLA, Texas

Sweet 16
Connecticut, UCLA

Bridgeport Regional Champ
Connecticut

Dallas Regional
First Round
Baylor, St John's, Florida State, DePaul, Louisville, Oklahoma State, Oregon State

Second Round
Baylor, Texas A&M, Louisville, Oregon St.

Sweet 16
Baylor, Oregon St.

Dallas Regional Champ
Baylor

Lexington Regional
First Round
Notre Dame, Georgia , Miami, Stanford, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Washington, Maryland

Second round
Notre Dame, Stanford, Kentucky, Maryland

Sweet 16
Notre Dame, Maryland

Lexington Regional Champ
Notre Dame

Sioux Falls Regional
First Round
South Carolina, Kansas State, Florida, Syracuse, West Virginia, Ohio State, Tennessee, Arizona State

Second Round
South Carolina, Florida, West Virginia, Arizona State

Sweet 16
South Carolina, West Virginia

Sioux Falls Champ
South Carolina

Final Four
Connecticut, Baylor, Notre Dame,.South Carolina

Championship Game
Connecticut, Notre Dame

2016 NCAA Women's Champ
Connecticut

Why Y'all Shocked Violence Happened At A Trump Rally?

I was paying attention Friday night when well organized protesters shut down a Donald Trump Chicago rally that was on the campus on the University of Illinois-Chicago campus.

Frankly I wasn't shocked it happened and I've been surprised a racially charged outburst hasn't happened sooner..

Donald trump has been race baiting for several months at his Tea Klux Klan rallies, the white dominated media was silent or in FOX Noise's case, deliberately obtuse about what was blatantly obvious to any person of color in this country, and you're shocked that the people you're race baiting weren't going to do something about it?

And on top of that, you actually thought that you would be able to do you're usual racist campaign shtick at an arena smack dab in the middle of the ethnically diverse South Side?

And yeah, here's Rachel Maddow laying out the escalating Trump race baiting over several campaign events.




Trump and the Republican Party tried to spin this as his free speech being messed with.  Both Trump and the GOP conveniently neglected to mention that the protesters were also expressing their First Amendment free speech rights to protest his ongoing race-baiting..

But the bottom line is this racial tension in the USA didn't just happen.  The Republican Party has been race baiting their way to political power since the Dixiecrats migrated to the GOP in the late 1960's as the Democrats embrace passing civil rights legislation.  You have also engaged in an ongoing campaign of massive resistance aimed at President Obama.

So nope, not shocked at what happened in Chicago last Friday.

Moni's 2016 NCAA Men's B-Ball Bracket

I am a serious college basketball fan, and love March Madness except for replays of a certain painful to watch 1983 NCAA championship game that get nauseatingly run every year

Since 2007 I'd been putting my NCAA bracket on the blog for you TransGriot readers to peruse.  But last year my travel schedule was so jam packed full of events in March that I didn't have time to sit down long enough to post my 2015 NCAA Men's NCAA tournament bracket.   

But I did make a prediction that turned out to be way off, and the Duke alums I know made sure to remind me of it.  Oh well, that's the way the ball bounces sometimes.  It also broke my three year streak of correctly predicting the eventual men's champ.

I'm now 4-4 in the picking the NCAA men's champs, and here's my previous NCAA men's brackets for 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014

But it's a new year as the Final Four will be played in my hometown this year at NRG Stadium.  But before we get to those national semifinal and national championship games on April 2 and April 4, we have several weeks of games in which the 68 teams will be whittled down to the Final Four teams that will play for the NCAA men's title.

And  now, my 2016 NCAA Men's Bracket

First Four Games
Wichita State, Florida Gulf Coast, Michigan, Southern

South Regional
First Round
Kansas, Connecticut, Maryland, California, Arizona, Miami (FL), Temple, Villanova  

Second Round
Kansas, Maryland, Arizona, Villanova

Sweet 16
Kansas, Villanova

South Champ
Kansas

West Regional
First Round
Oregon, Cincinnati, Baylor, Duke, Texas, Texas A&M, VCU, Oklahoma

Second Round
Oregon, Duke, Texas A&M, Oklahoma

Sweet 16
Oregon, Oklahoma

West Champ
Oregon

East Regional
First Round
North Carolina, USC, Indiana, Kentucky, Notre Dame, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Xavier

Second Round
North Carolina, Kentucky, West Virginia, Xavier

Sweet 16
Kentucky, West Virginia

East Champion
Kentucky

Midwest Regional
First Round
Virginia, Butler, Purdue, Iowa State, Seton hall, Utah, Syracuse, Michigan State

Second Round
Virginia, Iowa State, Utah, Michigan State

Sweet 16
Virginia, Michigan State

Midwest Champ
Michigan State

Final Four
Kansas, Oregon, Kentucky, Michigan State

Championship Game
Kansas, Michigan State

2016 NCAA Men's Champ
Kansas

It's 3 AM...Did You Spring Forward Yet?

It's now 3 AM CDT.   It's time to move those clocks forward one hour in case you forgot.   If you're a Republican voter, move your clocks forward 200 years.

You'll get your one hour of sleep you lost on November 6, two days before Election Day.

So check your watches, clocks and move them forward.  If you don't, you'll be an hour early for everything today.

Need To Recharge The Creative Batteries

Need to take the weekend off and recharge the creative batteries.   Have been fighting with writer's block, and the best thing to cure it for me is to just take a weekend break and do something besides give my computer a blank stare.

I'll be back with the regular TransGriot posts on Monday, but if some breaking news happens or I get some inspiration to write something on the blog, up it will go.

See y'all  Monday.

Shut Up Fool Awards- Spring Forward 2016 Edition

Believe it or not, it's that time to move those clocks up one hour on March 13.  At 2 AM you'll need to moe those clocks up, otherwise you'll be an hour early for everything you do on Sunday.

So keep the time change in mind if you're going out on Saturday night, because when the club clses, you will have already lost an hour of sllep before you get home.

It's now time to segue into our usual Friday business in this week's Shut Up Fool Awards, so let's not waste time and get right to calling fools out.

Honorable mention number one is Lil' Scrappy, who let loose with a transphobic rant that even his mama called his azz out on.  Now it's my turn.

Naw you ignorant transphobic azz, I nor any trans woman is not obligated to post our baby pics on our Facebook pages, and neither are we in you less than eloquent words 'men with wigs on'.   What, you mad because a trans woman turned your down for a date?

Bttom line it is hate speech like yours that fuels the anti-trans attitudes in the Black community that lead to us being assaulted or murdered., and we will not tolerate that shyt..

Honorable mention number two is Lisa Ling, for letting loose a problematic comment aimed at Caitlyn Jenner.   While she is on my caca list for the long list of problematic statements and comments that she deserves to be called out for, still doesn't give you cis women a free pass at throwing transphobic shade at her.

Call Caitlyn out for the jacked up comments, not her trans status.

Honorable mention number three is Sen John Cornyn  (R-TX), who threatened at CPAC to ruin the career of anyone who accepted a SCOTUS nomination from President Obama.  I don't know who I hate more representing my state in the Senate between him or Ted Cruz. 

2020 can't get here fast enough.

Honorable mention number four is Guy Benson, the conservagay who also put his foot in his mouth during a CPAC panel and said that gays should be more tolerant of discrimination aimed at them by their right wing haters.

Still trying desperately to get that lost white privilege back, huh Guy?  

Honorable mention number five is Ted Cruz, who opened his mouth on the campaign trail and said that gays are 'waging a jihad against Christians'.

Um Ted, shut the phuck up and stop projecting.   The jihad is only going one way, and your lying dominionist azz knows it..   Once again people, do NOT elect this Canadian for the GOP nomination.

This week's Shut Up Fool Award winning loser winner is the still unidentified Greene County, GA teacher who told Shaniyia Hunter in front of her high school class in December that she was 'dumb' and her purpose was to 'have sex and have children' because in his estimation she would never be smart..

Obviously this fool failed to read the mission statement of the Greene County School System. which states. 'The mission of the Greene County School System is to educate, inspire, challenge and support students to be productive citizens prepared to compete globally.'

This waste of DNA failed to do that for Shaniyia and Lord knows how many other kids who had the misfortune of being in his class.


This is why any Black parents are homeschooling their kids nowadays.  And why is this fool not being identified?  He needs to be outed for saying something that foul to a child and drummed out of the teaching profession.

And one other thing he needs to do:  Shut up fool!

 

Prime Minister Trudeau's State Visit Is Today

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie are in Washington DC for a state visit, and it may be a toss up who is more excited about that happening.

Despite Canada being our northern neighbor and our number one trading partner, this was the first visit by a Canadian Prime Minister to the US since 1997.

They were welcomed with a pomp and circumstance filled State Welcoming Ceremony on the White house South Lawn this morning and later tonight will enjoy the first state dinner held for a Canadian leader in 20 years.

 

Another Split Decision In The March 8 Democratic Primary Contests

There were two primary contests Tuesday in Mississippi and Michigan that were favored to go in Sec. Hillary Clinton's direction on this International Women's Day.

Once again, the Black vote mattered as she stomped Sanders in Mississippi in another electoral blowout by an 83-17% margin.  Michigan however turned out to be a Sanders upset as the white independent and crossover Republicans vote helped Sanders as he eked out an upset victory that for now, has the Sanders peeps crowing until Saturday.   

A little reality check for sanders folks.  He's still trailing in the all important delegate count and in fact because of the Clinton blowout in Mississippi LOST ground because of the proportional allocation rules.

Clinton finished the night with 88 delegates while Sanders picked up 70,and she's now up 761 to 547 not including the superdelegates which Sanders still massively trails in.

On to the March 15 contests in Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio.

No Guy Benson, I'm Not Tolerating Intolerance

I don't want tolerance I want acknowledgment from society that my humanity and human rights as a trans person living in this country are non-negotiable.' 
--TransGriot, October 2013
If you wonder why I can't stand Republicans, here the latest example of why I have zero respect for them..

One of the things I can't stand is the GOP penchant for deploying useful fools from marginalized communities to mouth the same loud and wrong policies and idiocy as the conservative white males do.

The latest example is Guy Benson, the openly gay conservafool FOX Noise commentator that went to CPAC last weekend and lost his damned mind.  While he was on a 'Religious Liberty' panel during that event that LGBT activists need to be more tolerant of anti-LGBT activists.



Not no, but HELL NO.   I nor anyone else in LGBT World is compelled to be understanding and tolerant of people that wish to oppress me and my SGL allies. Only a conservative white gay male sellout would say something that over the top stupid.

Not only will I happily join my lesbian and gay counterparts in fighting you and your conservafool friends with every fiber of my being, I'm going to make it my business to point out how ridiculous you sound.  

You're suggesting  that a marginalized group facing dehumanizing attacks on multiple fronts just to exercise their constitutional rights should just roll over and meekly accept racist, bigoted and homophobic conservafool oppressors wanting to do what their great grandparents did with impunity?.

And just an FYI Guy Benson, that severe case of Stockholm Syndrome you seem to have is treatable by Obamacare.

Naw boo boo kitty, we ain't going back to those days.   Nor are we tolerating intolerance gleefully aimed at us..

Say Hello To Lillly

We are aware that director Lana Wachowski came out as trans in 2012, but it was a mild shocker to hear that her younger sibling  and the other half of the prolific directing duo is also coming out.

Lilly Wachowski came out in a statement published in the Windy City Times that was done so she could control the narrative she wanted to tell as opposed to the media outlets threatening to run the story.

"Being transgender is not easy," Wachowski wrote. "We live in a majority-enforced gender binary world. This means when you're transgender you have to face the hard reality of living the rest of your life in a world that is openly hostile to you."

"So yeah, I'm transgender."

"And yes, I've transitioned"

GLAAD commented in the wake his her statement,."GLAAD is thrilled that Lilly Wachowski is able to be her true and authentic self today, however, she should not have been forced to disclose her transgender identity before she was ready to do so. Journalists must learn that it is unacceptable to out a transgender person, in the same way it is unacceptable to out a person who is gay, lesbian, or bisexual," said Nick Adams, GLAAD's Director of Programs for Transgender Media.

Hello Lilly!   Welcome to the trans family...

Help A Pioneering Blogger Out

One of the people who was instrumental in giving my nascent blog a leg up back in 2006 was when Pam Spaulding graciously ave me a link on her wildly popular and award winning Pam's House Blend blog .

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to meet her and Alvin McEwen during the 2012 Netroots Nation and personally thanking her for doing that.    Pam is a beloved and well respected figure in our ranks, and it saddened me to hear that due to health issues she closed down the Blend after nine years.

Those same health issues that caused her to close down Pam's House Blend have now caused her to lose a longtime job she had, and she's going to need a little help from us to get her through this fiscal crunch she's in.

So if you can help a blogging sister out, please do so.   Link is here.

Happy International Women's Day 2016

'International Women's Day also includes the issues that impact and ail trans feminine women across Planet Earth . Don't let anyone tell you it doesn't.'
--TransGriot,  March 8, 2015

I said that in my post concerning last year's observance of International Women's Day, and that still rings true 366 days later.

Today is International Women's Day, which is observed internationally every March 8.  it originally started in 1909 as a campaign for better pay and voting rights, it has evolved as a day to celebrate the achievements of women across the globe in the social, political, economic and cultural realms. 

it is also a call to action to speed up the day that gender parity happens.

But sadly, this year's theme, Pledge For Parity, speaks to just how far we have to go to actually get to full equality for women across the planet.  On a day that has its roots in agitating for voting rights and equal pay, it's sad to note that Saudi Arabia's women just received the right to vote last year, and the numbers of women who have led their nations is still a very small sorority.

It's also past time to equalize pay for men and women doing the same jobs.  We have families in which women not only head the household , but whose income from those jobs are helping them to raise kids.

As to where trans women fit in this International Women's Day conversation, as women of trans experience that understand all too well how feminine bodies are demonized and dehumanized, we have our voices to add to this conversation.   We also need to discuss how trans feminine women are fighting tooth and nail just for human rights recognition in our various nations.

We also need to talk this moment to point out that fighting for the human rights of trans feminine people expands human rights for cis women.

Happy International Women's Day to all my sisters, cis and trans..
.  

Michigan And Mississippi Primary Votes Today

Two more primary elections are taking place today in Michigan and Mississippi in the wake of Sanders supporters getting all happy over their three caucus wins in Kansas, Maine and Nebraska while Clinton took Louisiana in another blowout fueled by Black voters.  

But what they conveniently forget to mention is that despite the caucus wins in (ho hum) predominately white states, by the proportional allocation rules, Clinton still walked away with 76 delegates while Sanders came away with only 64 delegates.

Drip, drip drip.   That's a +12 delegate gain for Clinton to add to her growing delegate lead, and it's only going to get better for her starting tonight..

Told y'all that failure to connect with Back voters would cost him the nomination.  And as the media finally does the deep tissue vetting of Sanders, a problematic picture is emerging even before he opened mouth and inserted foot in it during that Flint debate with the stereotype laced comment about Black people just in time for the Michigan and Mississippi primaries.  .

Michigan will be the big prize today with 130 delegates available, with Mississippi chipping in 35 more before this upcoming cluster of Saturday primary elections in Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio that are worth 691 electoral votes.

And yeah, not only is Clinton leading in Michigan and Mississippi, she's also leading in all five states voting on Saturday,.  Black Democratic voters will have a major say in who emerges victorious.in the wake of Bernie Sanders continuing to fail to connect with Black voters.

Will be fun to watch it play out in a few hours.

RIP Jasmine Sierra

This murder happened on January 22 in Bakersfield, CA, but because of media deadnaming and misgendering by KBAK/KBFX-TV, we're just now finding out that we have lost 52 year old Jasmine Sierra.

Her body was found in an apartment in the 1000 block of Monterey St with signs of trauma indicating foul play is possibly involved..

Once again media peeps, misgendering a trans person has ripple effects.   It not only pisses our community off, it makes it harder to find the killer because we don't know or don't care to use a person's deadname out of respect for them   

Bakersfield police are still searching for the perpetrator of this crime, and if you have any information concerning this case you're asked to call 661-327-7111

Does TSA = Transsexuals Searched Always?

'Neither should I or any trans person face dehumanization or disrespect when we are simply doing what other cis people are doing and are traveling across the country for business or pleasure.'
--TransGriot, October 10, 2016


One of the reasons that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) exists is because of the poor job private security contractors did at the nations airports prior to the 9-11 terror attacks.

Since November 2001 they have been part of the air travel experience for all Americans, and there is a love-hate relationship with the TSA that has even been commented on in movies like Baggage Claim and She's Out Of My League.  

But the interactions with the TSA when we travel are no laughing matter to transgender travelers, and it seems increasingly to trans people that we are being disrespectfully at times targeted even before the Shadi Petosky mess in Orlando.  Those concerns led to 32 Democratic congressmembers sending a letter to TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger expressing their concerns about their transgender search protocols.

Traveling while trans is already stress inducing at times. Getting singled out for scrutiny by the TSA when we know that trans bodies are regarded as 'anomalies' by this organization just adds another level to the anxiety we feel when we are taking to the skies to handle our business or pleasure travel.    

It leads us in the trans community to perceive we're being harassed despite TSA assurances our community concerns are being heard and dealt with inside the organization with trans specific training and policies.

Those assurances ring hollow when I continue to be told disturbing reports from a diverse group of trans people about incidents ranging from snide transphobic comments by TSA agents as people are clearing security to inappropriate questioning about our transitions and genital area searches by TSA personnel who obviously don't have a clear understanding of the protocols supposedly put in place to protect the dignity and human rights of trans travelers.

The TSA needs to redouble their efforts to root out transphobia in its ranks that manifests itself at our nation's security checkpoints into harassment of trans travelers.

Split Decision In Saturday Democratic Primary Contests

It was a split decision in Saturday's contests for the Democratic Party presidential nomination. 

There were two caucuses in Kansas and Nebraska, and a primary election in Louisiana.  While Sanders won the two Democratic caucuses in once again, predominately white states, Clinton won the Louisiana primary handily fueled by once again, the African-American vote.

The end result was that Sanders lost ground to Clinton despite the two caucus wins.  Blowout win in primary state worth 51 delegates trumps (pun not intended) two caucus wins in state worth combined 55 delegates split proportionately.

Lets look at the math.  Sanders won 37 delegates in Kansas and Nebraska to Clinton's 22.  but because he lost in Louisiana, Sanders only received 12 delegates while Clinton gained 39 delegates

Sanders total delegates add up to 49, Clinton received 61 which means that she increased her lead by another 11 delegates last night.   

Drip, Drip Drip.  And while that was happening, she continued to add to that massive superdelegate lead, with more commitments coming her way in the runup to a critical week of contests starting on Tuesday.

Tuesday's contests will talk place in Michigan (130 delegates), Mississippi (36 delegates) and the Democratic caucus in Maine in which 25 delegates will be available.

And FYI,  Michigan and Mississippi have large Black populations, Maine doesn't.

This is the lead in to the five Democratic primary contests in Florida, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio in which 691 delegates will be up for grabs and once again, Sanders supporters, Black voters will have a major say in who wins those states.

And FYI, just another reminder that early voting is happening in Florida right now..

Clinton is inching closer to that magic number of 2.383 delegates, and we'll have a better idea how close she is to the prize that eluded her in 2008 after this weekend.