Jenna's Open Letter To A PISD Transphobe

On my Facebook page, we had a discussion on National Coming Out Day about the importance of cisgender allies coming out in support of their trans siblings.   The parents of trans kids also need your support since the Mama and Papa Bears are also along with their kids being demonized by right wingers.

Well, here's an example of what I'm talking about in terms of cis people supporting trans people.

Jenna Hammond is a recent 2016 graduate of Pearland ISD's Dawson High School in Houston's southern suburbs.  Yes, it's the same Pearland ISD whose current transphobic Superintendent Dr. John Kelly made some horrible remarks back in May about one of the transkids I have mad love for in Kai Shappley, who started kindergarten in PISD back on August 22

PISD made it clear at their last board meeting bfore the 2016-17 school year started they were going to ignore for now the DOE/DOJ Dear Colleague Letter and oppress Kai.

Guess y'all want to waste PISD taxpayer money on a anti-trans discrimination lawsuit you're going to lose.

Jenna wrote an open letter to Dr. Kelly taking him to task for his faux faith based transphobia and reminding him that as the Pearland ISD superintendent, his job is not to demonize and oppress the kids like Kai in his district, but to create the best conditions in PISD so that all kids can learn, grow and thrive as individuals and eventually adults once they graduate.

Here's the text of Jenna's letter.

***

Dear Dr. Kelly:

I attended Pearland ISD schools for most of my life and I have always felt and displayed pride in the resources and opportunities I was able to receive throughout my education. I graduated from Dawson High School this year, and I had hoped to leave Pearland with that pride and fondness intact.

However, your words and actions as superintendent, a representative of the district as a whole, have single-handedly shattered that perception. I am frankly shocked and appalled by your response to Kai Shappley, a fellow student in PISD, simply wishing to use the correct bathroom for her identity. The fact that the district that raised me could display such callous bigotry to a child is…upsetting, to say the very least. It genuinely hurts me to even think about it, this hateful precedent that you have set.

I was proud of the fact that I graduated from a school that gave me truly life-changing lessons and unique opportunities, with no consideration of the fact that I was openly gay. I think many of Dawson’s LGBT+ students would say the same. I believed that this district was solely invested in the success and happiness of me and my fellow students, that there was a conscious effort to put aside political and religious differences in order to focus purely on the betterment and education of our youth. I wish I could still allow myself to believe this. But you, with a single declaration, have irreparably damaged this perception.

You may want to write me off immediately because of my admission that I am a lesbian. I would hope that you at least respect and care about your constituents and students enough to listen to my words, regardless of your personal religious beliefs about my “lifestyle.” Honestly, I am not writing you to climb on my soapbox and try to force you to embrace my beliefs.   I am writing you with the hope that you will listen and understand, empathize with the students whose lives you have a great impact upon.

I recognize and understand that you are an adult and my senior, so I will not try to combat your personal beliefs, which you are clearly devoted to.  If we were to argue about bible verses and the relevance of religion, it would only be a rehashing of a debate that has been had a million times, and it would only leave us both exasperated, with neither side having budged and no solution found. I respect that your beliefs are your own, and you have a right to have them, regardless of whether or not I agree. So again, I ask: please listen to what I have to say.

I would like to begin by stating a simple fact: Kai Shappley is a child. First and foremost, above all else, she is a child. It is your duty as superintendent to do what is best for the children in this district. Your statement on transgenderism in May is callous at best, and the clear hatred lingering behind your words accomplishes the exact opposite of what you are meant to accomplish. In this statement, you compared the presence of transgender people in public restrooms to pedophilia and polygamy. I ask that you take a moment to consider these words once more. You have compared Kai’s very existence to abuse and sexual deviancy committed by malicious adults. This is a child, only 5 years old.

Because you work for the district, I assume that you are invested in the wellbeing of the children attending Pearland’s schools. Aside from her gender, Kai is still a young, impressionable child; just like her peers, she wants to play around, watch cartoons, and learn about the world. Think of her not as a trans person, but as a person. Would you call any other child a deviant on the level of child molesters? You are telling this girl from a young age that she wrong simply for existing, that she does not deserve to feel comfortable in the environments that are meant to nurture her as she grows.  I know it is difficult to put yourself in the shoes of someone you are obviously prone to hating anyway, but I ask that you try, for the sake of a child under your care.

I know that this next statement is likely going to fall on deaf ears, but honestly, I find your usage of your religion in your argument wildly inappropriate.  Your religious beliefs are yours and yours alone, no matter how strong your faith is.  It is clear that you are quite passionate in your stalwart devotion to those beliefs.  Again, I realize that I cannot change this.  I cannot force you to stop your abhorrence of the identities and lifestyles of people such as me and Kai.  However, at the end of the day, these personal religious beliefs are not intended to be used to govern the citizens of the U.S., including Texas, including P.I.S.D. Religious freedom is something I learned in these very same schools, and I believe that applies to this situation.  Even if you maintain the belief that we are a Christian nation, based in biblical law, that is still a highly subjective concept.  Every person’s idea of Christianity is unique; how can you decide that yours is the correct one that every person should be compelled to follow?  You may argue that our basis of government is biblical, but is it not based on the concept of freedom as well?  Free practice of religion is a constitutional right; how is forcing your personal religious beliefs on others not a violation of that right? You stated that the government allowing transgender people into the restroom for the gender they identify with is “unconstitutional interference,” but is it not unconstitutional interference to interfere with the lives of others based on your religion, effectively stripping away their right to follow their own beliefs.

The fact is you are dealing with children here.  Kai Shappley is not a pedophile entering the restroom to prey upon her peers.  Kai Shappley is not holding the other children down and forcing them to abandon their religion.  Kai Shappley is trying to use the restroom comfortably.  That you would choose to overlook that and spout bigotry from your public platform deeply saddens me. No kindergartener should have to be taken to court and told by the people designated to help her grow that she does not deserve the basic human right of feeling safe and comfortable.

Kai is a child you are meant to help, not a criminal for you to condemn.  I sincerely hope you take any part of this letter to heart, because right now you are just a hateful disappointment from where I am standing.

Jenna C. Hammond

***

Thank you Jenna for supporting not only Kai, but Kimberly and our community as well.

Hey Caitlyn, You Still Supporting Trump and the Transphobic GOP?

As y'all know, after giving Caitlyn Jenner time after her transition to try and fail to find a voice we could be proud of in our community as an advocate, I finally had enough of the numerous faux pas and ridiculous statements and called her out.

One of the statements out of her mouth that was ridiculous on its face was initially claiming that Republicans were leaders when it came to trans human rights at a time when they were legislatively attacking us in South Dakota and North Carolina and several other GOP controlled states.

She also claimed back in June that Donald Trump is a champion for women and LGBT people.  Yeah, right.  Donald's a champion groper and pervert

Oh the Republicans are leaders all right.  Leaders when it comes to oppressing trans people.  

See my lieutenant governor Dan Patrick, Attorney General Ken Paxton, Caitlyn's fave senator Ted Cruz and right wing state and federal judges like Reed O'Connor for concrete example of being trans oppressors instead of trans human rights trailblazers like President Obama and soon to be POTUS Hillary Clinton.

Well, the reason I'm bringing Caitlyn's comments up again is that the North Carolina gubernatorial debate was held Monday night, and guess whose name came up in the debate discussion about Hate Bill 2?

And who said on stage that you needed to use the men's bathroom?   It sure wasn't Roy Cooper, the Democratic candidate for governor and the one who refused to defend as North Carolina's attorney general that unjust law.

It was that trans oppressor Gov Pat McCrory (R)



And what has been Caitlyn's response so far?

I hope you are waking up from the pink fog you're in and realizing that the party you wanted to be a 'trans ambassador' for has enshrined hatred of trans people in their 2016 platform.

I still have to ask since woke transpeople don't let friends vote GOP, if you are still supporting the anti-trans GOP presidential ticket and anti-trans Republicans?

Inquiring minds wanna know.

'Die Beautiful' Film Opening In The Philippines

This is another film in which I wish the directors would have actually hired a trans woman or cis woman to play the trans protagonist Trisha instead of having another tired instance of a male actor play a trans woman

This film is also entered in the main competition for the upcoming Tokyo International Film Festival taking place from October 25-November 3



The film stars actor Paolo Ballesteros and is directed by Jun Robles Luna.   It tells the story of Trisha, a trans pinay who competes in the pageant world while living her life.

She expresses her wish to be dressed as Katy Perry for her funeral, and that sparks a clash between her conservative Filipino-Chinese family and her friends in the transpinay, drag and pageant world determined to carry out those wishes .

This movie is being released at a time in which a trans pinay in Rep. Geraldine Roman is serving in the Philippine Congress, and like us in the States, are dealing with murderous violence aimed at trans women as the Ashley Anne Reilly case demonstrates. .

Something else that concerns trans pinays as it does their American  trans feminine cousins is that a male actor is playing a trans pinay in a movie role.

They like us, are also increasingly concerned about how they are portrayed in the Philippine media and getting more vocal about it.

"Philippine show business is very much like Hollywood in its thinking of trans people and especially trans women," said Naomi Fontanos, the executive director of GANDA Filipinas. "Trans women characters almost always go to male leads based of course on the transphobic notion that trans women really are men in makeup and dresses."

"We've been trying to fight this damaging stereotype with some degree of success," she added.

While Ballesteros looks the part as Trisha and is known around the world and on Instagram for his gender bending makeup artistry, it's still past time for trans feminine characters to NOT be played by cis masculine actors.  Trans women are women, not men in dresses.  Reinforcing that stereotype is getting trans women in the Philippines and around the world killed.

If you're going to tell our stories and make money off of it, then we have every right to insist that you use a trans feminine actress.  If you can't find a trans feminine actress to play a trans feminine role, then use a cis woman.

But here's hoping that trans feminine actresses in the Philippines also start getting the opportunity to play trans feminine characters.
 

Rest In Power Brandi Bledsoe

We have lost another trans woman to violence, once again in Cleveland.

32 year old Brandi Bledsoe was found dead on Saturday clad only in her underwear and with white plastic bags covering her head and hands in the driveway behind a home on Drexel Avenue near 108th Street.  

And as you probably guessed, she was initially misgendered by the local media.

Her body was found at 10 AM EDT by a 5 year old boy riding his bike with his 12 year old brother

Police also reported that Bledsoe had head trauma and with the investigation of her death in its early stages, investigators are taking her trans status into account.

She is now the 23rd trans person killed this year in the US.  Her death now makes this the deadliest year for US trans women since we started keeping track of the murders of our trans siblings.   And once again for me, it falls into that infuriating pattern of an under 40 Black trans woman being killed

There has not been an arrest in this case yet, but will keep you TransGriot readers apprised of any developments in the Bledsoe case.

As of yet there isn't any information about a memorial service or vigil and I'll pass that info along once I receive it.

Rest in power and peace Brandi.  We will not rest as a community until the waste of DNA who killed you is captured and brought to justice.  

Rest In Power Trans Pioneer Alina Maria 'Cachita' Hernandez

Another one of our trans trailblazers has joined the ancestors in television actress Alina Maria Hernandez at age 46.   She was found by a friend on October 8 at her home in North Carolina.
The cause of death for Hernandez has not been determined because according to reports her relatives are traveling enroute there from Cuba.

Hernandez was one of the first trans icons on Spanish language television, and was on the popular show El Gordo y El Flaca as 'Cachita' for 10 years.

She got her start as the winner of a singing contest on Don Francisco's longtime hit Univision show Sabado Gigante.  

Despite winning that $500 first prize on that show, Hernandez was a still struggling actress when she got her big break in 1999 replacing host Lili Estefan, who had gone on maternity leave to have her first child.



Hernandez's appearance was so popular that she ended up being part of the El Gordo y El Flaca show cast for another decade.  In addition to dishing gossip on that show, she also worked various Latinx awards shows and wrote a column for TVnotas

After being on the show, she decided to step away from the camera until last year, when she gave an exclusive Univision interview explaining that she was transgender.




Rest in power and peace Cachita.  You will be missed by all who loved you.

Happy 41st Wedding Anniversary Mr.President and Madame Secretary!

October 11 also happens to be the 41st wedding anniversary of former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

And hopefully soon to be the next president of the United States

They were married on this date in their Fayetteville, AR home in 1974, and unlike Donald Trump, Newt Gingrich and Rudy Giuliani who have nine wives total but are hypocritically all up in the Clinton's martial business, are still together.

This is the message he sent out on his Twitter feed to mark their 41st anniversary.

41 years ago I married my best friend and the finest changemaker I’ve ever known. And yes, I’m still in awe of her!

— Bill Clinton (@billclinton) October 11, 2016

She hasn't responded with her own Twitter message yet, because she is a little busy at the moment running to become our next POTUS, but will be fun to she what she posts in response to Bill's message.

Happy 41st anniversary Mr. President and Madame Secretary!  May you celebrate your 42nd, 43rd, 44th and 45th wedding anniversaries at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave like you did your 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, and 25th anniversaries.

2016 National Coming Out Day

In addition to today being a voter registration deadline day in Texas and several states, today is also National Coming Out Day

It was founded in 1988 and is based on the principle of the personal being political.  As much as people claim they don't want to be activists, your first and most powerful act of activism is coming out as a trans, bi, gay, or lesbian person.

Being yourself and comfortable in your skin matters.  Once you can do that, then your life begins.

If you're not ready to do that today, don't worry. Take your time.  Do so when you're comfortable with the coming out decision and have thought out the details for your life post coming out because it won't be the same afterwards.

Is coming out an easy process?  Depends on the individual and their life circumstances at the time.

Yes it can be challenging and bumpy at times.  I still have challenges from time to time even 22 years post my coming out April 4, 1994 date.  But what you gain after doing so far outweighs the drama you'll have to  navigate.

For those of you who are trans and come out today, congratulations!  Thanks for taking that first courageous step on the road to living as your true self.   You are about to gain another set of family members not related to you by blood around the world.   You are about to join a community that has a proud history, some amazing people and allies who support us, and despite the haters, we have and will survive and thrive despite their loud and wrong rhetoric.

Welcome to the family!   Happy National Coming Out Day!

Election Registration Deadlines Today In TX And Several States

If after watching (or not watching) the second debate and you are sufficiently motivated enough to vote on November 8, then you better bust a move because today is the deadline day to get registered.

Texas is one of those states in which today is the deadline to get registered to vote along with georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.

Just a reminder, here's the rest of the voter registration deadlines for October.

In the District of Columbia today is also the deadline to register in advance of the election, but you can do same day registration there. I'd suggest you do it now DC if possible.

Florida's deadline was originally today, and Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) refused to extend the deadline despite the fact that county offices in much of the state were closed because of Hurricane Matthew.  
Thanks to a successful voting rights lawsuit filed by the Florida Democratic Party, the voter registration deadline was extended by US District court Judge Mark E. Walker (Obama appointee) by one day, with another hearing coming later today to determine whether to extend it beyond Wednesday.


Once again, presidential elections matter, and if you wish you exercise that right to vote on November 8 or during early voting if your part of the country offers it like Texas does (October 24-November 4), you must handle the first step of it and register to vote.

The clock's ticking.    You can check your registration status or register to vote via this link.

If you believe your voting rights are being messed with, call the ACLU Voter Protection Hotline at 877-523-2792

Angela Rye Blasts GOP Pundit For Defending Rape Culture

One of the people I love seeing when she does appear on TV to set people straight is Angela Rye.

You've got to check out this video of Angela calling out the ridiculousness of Kayleigh McEnany for the GOP wide talking point of trying to blame Hillary Clinton for her hubby's affairs.

I guess by that same standard, Melania Trump is to blame for he's husband's nekulturny behavior.

Check out Angela Rye snatching Kayleigh's wig on air.

Moni's In The Middle Of The JJ Alumni Picnic

From time to time I get to pop my collar about my high school alma mater Jesse H Jones and The Class With Class, AKA the Class of 1980.

So proud of the rich history of my school.  Actress Jo Beth Williams, HPD"s first female police chief Elizabeth Watson, NFL Hall of Famer Darrell Green, former NBC White House correspondent Rosalind Jordan, NFL baller Alfred Williams, NBA ball player Daniel Gibson, Texas State Board of Education member (and my classmate) Lawrence Allen, former HISD bard member Ron Franklin, staffer for Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) Rachelle O'Neal, and former Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson.

So as a Falcon, I have a towering legacy to live up to.    

The 4th annual alumni picnic was Sunday at Christia Adair Park, and for once my globetrotting behind was in town for a JJ class event.   I was there when it started at noon.  It was also taking place during the 35th reunion weekend of the JJ Class of 1981.

I definitely had a better day than the Texans and Donald Trump did.

In addition to seeing many of my Class With Class classmates, there were people from the Jesse H. Jones Classes of 1973 all the way to the Class of 2007 that I enjoyed meeting.   I also enjoyed either meeting or reconnecting with people from the Classes of 78-82 which was the time I was walking JJ's halls.

While there was a barbecue dinner offered and served in the Adair Park barbecue pavilion that was prepaid or paid for on site, the various class tent clusters (Class of 1980 had a cluster of six tents) had different food available from barbecue to fish

There was good times, trash talking domino games, music from the 70s to the 2k's thanks to our DJ,  reminiscing about our days walking JJ's halls, thinking about the classmates who are now Falcons Soaring Above The Clouds, and the always entertaining Parade of Classes that started around 4 PM in which people from that class year marched to the covered pavilion to a song from their JJ class year.

And this march with my classmates was a lot more fun than the one we did on May 20, 1980 at the Astroarena.

Thanks to the alumni picnic committee that spent six months putting this amazing event together and were there at 6:15 AM setting this up   I was happy to be there and can't wait to see what happens at the 5th annual picnic in 2017.

Transphobic Hypocrisy, Thy Name Is The GOP

This was an interesting point that i was pondering as I watched last night's debate.

The GOP and conservative movement has been attacking transpeople for over a year in the wake of their marriage equality loss and needing another marginalize group to demonize for their nefarious political purposes.

We even have Republican attorney generals fighting the federal government so they can continue to be on the wrong side of history and oppress trans children.
 
But this 2016  presidential campaign has revealed they have a real life molester as their presidential nominee, and not a word has come out of their mouths condemning it.

The cricket chirping silence has been most deafening from white fundamentalists who crave power and their desire to oppress people over what is morally correct.

Their religion is the 'dry as dust' religion that Dr King talked about

Can't wait for October 24 to get here.   What's that date you ask?   The first day of early voting in Texas.

Denzell Thomas Charged In Jazz Alford Murder

Some good news to report in the Jazz Alford murder.

23 year old Denzell Thomas, who was already being held on $200,000 bond in the Jefferson County Jail for a home invasion robbery and shooting of a trans woman, is now being charged with the murder of Jazz Alford.

Thomas was already facing attempted murder and first degree aggravated robbery in the home invasion case in which another trans woman was shot in the face, and now he's facing a murder charge for allegedly killing Alford.

Alford was buried in North Carolina on October 1, and we'll now be watching to see if justice is served in this case.   .

Clinton Decisively Wins Second Presidential Debate

The second presidential debate turned out as expected with Donald Trump lying through his teeth once again in addition to having some WTF moments.

Trump at one point is standing uncomfortably close to Clinton during that debate after admitting to co-moderator Anderson Cooper that he doesn't understand what sexual assault is.

As usual, any time Trump was asked a direct question, he didn't answer it and deflected to attacking Clinton.   He also attacked a Clinton that last ran and won re-election presidency in 1996 in Bill.

But Bill isn't running, it's his wife.   What Bill Clinton did 20 years ago isn't for debate in 2016.  That was dealt with back in the 90's.   Donald is the one running for POTUS, and it's your character that is being evaluated.
.
Despite the pathetic attempts of the conservative leaning pundits to attempt to call this a 'win' for Trump, it wasn't, especially when you make the jaw dropping statement that you're going to throw your political opponent in jail and you 'have the utmost respect' for women when it's been glaringly obvious in this campaign and throughout your life you don't .

While co-moderators Martha Raddatz of ABC and Anderson Cooper of CNN did yeoman's work in keeping this debate from spinning out of control and devolving into a WWE cage match, one of the things I didn't like is the fact that despite being less than 30 minutes from Ferguson, MO, not one question was asked during this 93 minute debate about police reform or #Black Lives Matter.

Neither were their any questions asked about LGBTQ rights or what either candidate would do to protect and defend the human rights of transgender Americans.

And with Chris Wallace of FOX News moderating the final debate in Las Vegas on October 19, I doubt any questions on those two subjects will be asked at that debate either.

But once again, a great night for Clinton, with another decisive debate win despite the appearance more combative but still facts free Trump.

Final debate on the UNLV campus will be interesting to see play out.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving 2016!

Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian readers and friends north of the border!   I know you're taking the time to step away from Timmy's and chow down on some turkey and other holiday favorites as you count your blessings in this year.

And one of those blessings is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.   The Conservatives don't think so, but the rest of the planet thinks your current PM is a vast improvement over The Sweater Vest.

For my trans family in the Great White North, you are watching the progress of C-16 through your national legislature, and witnessed another province in British Columbia protect the human rights of its transgender citizens.

Happy Thanksgiving Day!   May the food you sit down to eat with friends and family be tasty, your travels to and from your holiday destinations be drama free and safe in both directions, and you continue to have a blessings filled rest of the year.

My #NotUpForGrabs Story

In the wake of Trump's reprehensible 2005 comments about groping women, I wanted to point out that trans women once our bodies morph to their feminine shape, are subject to the same drama and BS our cis sisters experience, up to and including groping and sexual assault.

In the wake of the Trump comments, women across the country have been telling their stories on social media about the first time they were groped by men.

To point out it happens to trans women as well, I'm sharing my #NotUpForGrabs story

***

I was two years into my gender transition, and  I was on the bus headed to work. Our CAL uniforms at that 1996 time had a walking shorts option, and I was wearing mine on that hot July summer day.

I was asleep against the window of the 65 Bissonnet bus on the first leg of my work commute when I was jolted out of it by a elderly Black male hand feeling the inside of my left thigh. When I woke up I saw him drawing his hand back, so I decided to fake going back to sleep to catch him in the act.

When he thought I was asleep again his hand once again started feeling the inside of my left thigh. He got closer to my crotch before I quickly looked in his direction and once again caught his hand moving back.

So I turned my head once again against the window to feign sleep, and this time he got a surprise when he got to my crotch area.

He was shocked because he was grabbing something he wasn't expecting. I leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Yes, that's 100% beef you're holding. And if you don't get your hands off my crotch you're about to find out how much testosterone I have left in my system when i kick your ass for touching me without my permission."

I was pissed off about it, but I consoled myself on the remaining part of my journey to IAH that it hopefully would make him think twice about doing it to some other woman.

Sadly I have the feeling it probably didn't

Second 2016 Presidential Debate Tonight In St. Louis

The first 2016 presidential debate between Sec. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump at Hofstra University broke a viewing record that had stood since the 1980 Carter-Reagan debate.

Over 84 million people watched Hillary Clinton win that one after Trump self destructed, and thanks to Trump's reprehensible 2005 remarks about groping women into a hot mic that was all over the news Friday, the one in St Louis later tonight may break that record.

The second presidential debate on the Washington University campus, and will be a town hall format moderated by ABC's Martha Raddatz and CNN's Anderson Cooper.

The questions will be asked by the debate audience.   And with Trump's poll numbers sinking, his campaign teetering on the brink of collapse, and the Republicans now calling for him to step down from the top of the ticket, in the wake of his latest self inflicted campaign wound,  this one could be 90 minutes of ugliness as trump tried to salvage his campaign.

Meanwhile Clinton was prepping for the debate tonight as the political firestorm engulfed the Trump campaign that threatens to immolate it with 29 days to go to Election Day and early voting already taking place in several states.

The debate will be simulcast across cable and network TV starting at 8 PM CDT, so you can pick your fave between ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, MSNBC, FOX Noise, FOX Business, Univision, Telemundo, or C-SPAN.

We'll see how this one turns out.  It'll also be interesting to see what questions get asked over the 90 minutes this debate is being televised.

2016 UH Cougar Watch- Battling Navy

The number 6 University of Houston Cougars (5-0, 2-0) are in Annapolis for another The American conference game with Navy  (3-1, 2-0)..

This game will determine early control of The American West Division, and once again will be a challenge for the UH defense to stop Navy's unique in college football triple option attack.

Navy's challenge will be to stop or contain Cougar quarterback Greg Ward, Jr, who is bidding to become the second UH quarterback to win the Heisman trophy.

The Coogs are also trying to stay unbeaten and on track for a possible spot in the College Football Playoff and a repeat The American title.

We'll see if they are successful  in accomplishing all those goals starting at 2 PM CDT.

TransGriot Update:  Coogs were upset by Navy 46-40

T-30 Days To Election Day

It's 30 days to Election Day and in several states people are already voting for president and other offices thanks to early voting.   This is also a time in which many states have looming voter registration deadlines.

There are people in several states voting as a bombshell 2005 tape of Trump saying some other disgusting things about women on a hot mic emerged yesterday afternoon that has finally enraged the Republican Party to the point where Utah Republicans like Rep. Jason Chaffetz, Sen Mike Lee and Gov Gary Herbert not only have rescinded endorsements of him, but in Lee's case are calling for him to resign.

Yeah, too bad for y'all Donald's not listening and his ego is too big for him to do that.

It's also telling that he can say jacked up things about Black, Muslim, LGBTQ and Latinx Americans and Republicans say nothing, but insult the white suburban women and it's a crisis.

October 24, the first day of early voting in Texas ,can't get here fast enough for me.

Meanwhile Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton keeps chugging along and wisely letting Donald's mouth keep destroying his campaign.

While I'm doing the happy dance over this schadenfreude laced situation the Trumpenfuhrer and his Not Ready For Political Primetime campaign staff is facing, I'm still concerned that 40% of his base is going to vote for him no matter what.

That means those of us who are with her need to handle our political business for the next thirty day and not relent in the work we do to get her elected until we hear the words 'President-elect Hillary Clinton'.   Then we can exhale.

We also need to show up and show out on November 8, and fire his behind and every Republican who supports him at all levels of government..

Should be an interesting second debate tomorrow.

Sade's Child Comes Out As Trans

Peeps who have known me for a while know that I have mad love for Sade, and I own every CD she's ever produced.  Even got a chance to see her in concert in Houston back in 1988.

Some other interesting news that has come out this week is that Sade's 21 year old child has recently come out on his Instagram page as a trans man.

There's also no word yet about what his masculine name will be, and hopefully he'll let us know that soon, especially since the usual reprehensible transphobes in Black gossip blog world (cough, cough 'Sandra' Rose) have already started throwing facts free shade.

No reaction from his Grammy winning mom yet, but we're happy to welcome him to our international trans family.

Rest In Power and Peace Jazz Alford

Once again it's my sad duty to report we have lost another trans woman to anti-transgender violence.

The latest sister to prematurely join the ancestors is 30 year old Jazz Alford.  The High Point, North Carolina resident was found on the floor of her second floor motel room shot to death by the housekeeping staff at the Kings Inn in Birmingham, AL on September 23.

As you probably guessed, the local media not only misgendered her in the initial reporting of the killing, but dead named her on top of it.

"She was such a loving person and we didn't know anybody who would want to kill her," said Toya Milan, Alford's sister who also happens to be a girl like us.

The Alford case was followed up by a 24 year old trans woman in the eastern Birmingham suburb of Homewood, AL being shot in the face October 3 during a home invasion robbery.  The trans woman in that case is still at UAB Hospital, and she is recovering from her injuries at this time.

23 year old Denzell Thomas was arrested and charged with attempted murder and first degree robbery in the home invasion robbery case.   He is being held in the Jefferson County Jail on $200,000 bond and being questioned by investigators as a person of interest in the Alford slaying.

Alford's death now makes this the 22nd trans person slain in 2016.  This also makes 2016 the deadliest year ever for US trans murders.  It also keeps up the infuriating to me patterns of the majority of the victims being African American trans women, but being under age 40.

And yes, I blame the anti-trans rhetoric deliberately being thrown around by the Republicans for their political gain for the escalation of anti-trans violence.

I also have to ask the question when Black community, will our Black trans lives matter to you as much as cis Black ones do?

Rest in power and peace, Jazz.  Your life was taken far too soon from those of us who loved you, and we will not rest until the person who took your life is brought to justice.