Shut Up Fool Awards- Carol Moseley Braun US Senate Election Anniversary Edition

It was on the date in 1992 that Carol Moseley Braun became the first African American woman and the first Black Democrat of any gender elected to the US Senate, representing the state of Illinois.

She unfortunately only got to serve one six year Senate term, and it took until 2016 to have our Second African American female senator elected in the person of Kamala Harris.

It's also Friday, and y'all know what that means.  It's time for me to call out so fools for this week's edition of the TransGriot Shut Up Fool Awards.

Honorable mention number one goes to White House Press Secretary Minister of Propaganda  Sarah Suckabee Huckabee Sanders just for walking into the White House press room and bald face lying every day 

Honorable mention number two is Donald Trump for just pick an outrage.

Honorable mention number three is John 'Papa John' Schnatter, who made the ridiculously racist comment that Black NFL players protesting during the national anthem for social justice are responsible for his sagging pizza sales.

Naw boo boo, look in the mirror as for who the guilty party is as to why nobody's buying your crappy pizza.   You're only the latest fool to learn that supporting Trump is bad for business and your career.

Honorable mention number four is a joint one for Donna Brazile , Elizabeth Warren and the Berners. 

Brazile falsely accused Clinton of once again 'rigging' the  2016 Democratic Primary.   Elizabeth Warren then threw Hillary under the bus by co-signing the statement , that caused drama in the left wing blogosphere all day as Berners seized on the remark and call a woman that they racistly attacked last year a hero/

Now all of them are silent because the comment was debunked.   All this unnecessary drama because one person want to spice up her book sales, one wants to pander to the Berners, and the Berners still wanna hate on Hillary and anyone who dares call out St Bernard of Sanders their lord and political savior and points out the inconvenient for them truth he sucked as a candidate.

News flash to the Berner wing.  Bernie STILL lost to Hillary, and no conspiracy theory you can come up with will change that 2016 primary result.

Now can we get along and move on to the 2018  midterm elections and do the work that reality based America is counting on us to do? 

This week's Shut Up Fool winner in a week crowded with contenders for the honor is Energy Secretary Rick Perry.

Perry embarrassed himself and Aggies everywhere by saying that increased use of fossil fuels can prevent sexual assault and the jury is out on the science behind climate change..

Ugh, my head hurts just even trying to quantify and make sense of the massive level of willful ignorance and WTF level stupidity that went into those statements.

Let's do this.   Rick Perry, shut up fool!

Dallas Lights Up Their Skyline For H-Town

Normally there is no love lost between Houston and Dallas when it comes to our ongoing civic rivalry, and being a proud native Houstonian with relatives in Dallas, I gleefully do my part to remind them they are only the third largest city in Texas and Austin is coming for them population wise.

But when bad things happen in either locale, the rivalry hits the pause button.

Every now and then I also have to give that metropolis on the northern end of I-45 their props when they do things right.  It has been unquestionably blue since 2006 and I love their 100 plus miles of DART light rail that I ride whenever I visit the city.   

Now I have to give them props for the classy move in honor of the Astros first title .

They lit up their skyline. 

Despite the ongoing rivalry between the Rangers and Astros that has only heated up since our move to the AL West Division, Dallas gave us our props for bringing a title to the Lone Star State weeks after Hurricane Harvey made life miserable for a lot of peeps in the Houston area and the upper Texas coast.

And for that gesture I definitely need to tip the Astros cap in their direction.

TransGriot 2017 NFL Picks Week 9

I'm having a great sports week so far.  My hometown baseballers finally won their first title.   The Coogs handed South Florida their first loss of the season, the Dynamo in their MLS playoff game with Portland finished in a 1-1 draw and the Rockets are off to a decent start.

Now the Texans need to handle their NFL business, but that might be tough after the  Bob McNair 'inmates running the prison' comment uttered during the recent NFL owners meeting went viral and thoroughly pissed off the Texans players before their epic game with Seattle.

That was followed by Duane Brown, fresh off his holdout, ripping McNair in the local press and subsequently being traded to the Seahawks.

Y'all have an AFC South division game coming up, so handle your NFL business.

As for me and Mr. Watts season long NFL prognostication business, I had an excellent Week 8, going 11-2.   My only problem was Mr Watts was better.  He went 12-1 and missed achieving our contest's first ever perfect week because of the Dolphins-Ravens game 

So yep, gots to handle my NFL prognostication business this week since Mr.Watts cut into my lead again and I now only have a one game edge going into the second half of the season. 

Enough jibber jabber.   Six teams, the Bears, Browns, Chargers, Vikings, Patriots and Steelers are watching the rest of the NFL play.  That means only 13 games to pick.   Mike's Week 9 picks are here, with the team I'm selecting to win in bold print.   Home team is in CAPS   

Week 8 Results                                                                       2017 NFL Season 
TransGriot   11-2                                                                     TransGriot   74-45
Mike            12-1                                                                     Mike            73-46

Thursday Night Game
Bills over JETS

Sunday Early Games
Texans over COLTS
SAINTS over Buccaneers
Falcons over PANTHERS
TITANS over Ravens
Rams over GIANTS
JAGUARS over Bengals
EAGLES over Broncos

Sunday Afternoon Games
CARDINALS over 49ers
SEAHAWKS over Washington
Chiefs over COWBOYS

Sunday Night Game
Raiders over DOLPHINS

Monday Night Game
Lions over PACKERS

Houston Tapped To Host 2024 College Football Championship Game

Texas conservafools, this is another undeniable example of the Lone Star State getting nice things when you peeps don't go to Austin and pass hateful legislation. 

Houston was a finalist for the initial rounds of College Football Championship games that in large part because of the HERO repeal referendum vote being in the news when these games were awarded on November 1, 2015, subsequently went to Atlanta (2018), Santa Clara, CA (2019) and New Orleans (2020). 

The sites for the next four College Football Championship games from 2021-2024 were announced yesterday.  Guess what Texas city made that final list? 

Assuming the Texas GOP conservafools don't do something stupid to cause it to be moved, the 2024 College Football Championship Game will be hosted at NRG Stadium in Houston.

The 2021 game will be played in Miami, in 2022 Indianapolis, and in the soon to be opened stadium in Los Angeles in 2023.

So don't screw it up, Texas conservafools.  Or to ensure they don't mess with our tourism money, I suggest we reality based Texans kick their butts out of power in the Lone Star State so we can continue to have nice things like major sporting events and conventions come to Houston, Dallas and San Antonio.

Astros Earn History And Finally Win A World Series Championship!

I was 24 days from arriving on Planet Earth when the Astros, then known as the Houston Colt .45's, played their first game at their temporary Colt Stadium home as the Astrodome was being built.
On that April 10 day they beat down the Chicago Cubs 11-2 and swept that series

As my hometown baseball team, I've seen a lot of games.  I even worked at the Astrodome from 1981-1986.   I witnessed my share of heartbreaking Astros playoff losses. I have the bad memories of the 1980 NLCS, 1981 NLDS, the 1986 NLCS, the 1997, 1998 and 1999 NLDS, the 2004 NLCS, the 2005 World Series and the 2015 ALDS 

So when the Astros won 101 games in capturing their first AL West title I was hopeful that this would finally be the year.   Then it was on to the ALDS where they dispatched the Boston Red Sox in 4 games to face the Evil Baseball Empire.

Home field advantage was crucial in that ALCS with the Yankees, with the Astros taking the first two games at Minute Maid to grab a 2-0 lead.  But once the scene shifted to New York the Astros bats went quiet and the Yankees won all three games in the Big Apple to head back to Texas with a 3-2 lead.   

The Astros came back home to take the ALCS Game 6 to tie the series and take down the Evil Baseball Empire in Game 7 to capture their first American League championship

They also became not only the first team in the modern era to win titles in the National and American League, they became the first AL team ever to beat the Red Sox and Yankees in the same postseason.

They would then face the National League champion Dodgers, who won a major league best 104 games to get home field advantage. 
The Astros got the split in LA, and took two out of three at Minute Maid to finish with a 8-1) to got back to LA with a 3-2 lead.

After getting beat in Game 6, they jumped on Yu Darvish again to build a 5-0 lead they never relinquished for their first World Series title in franchise history.

Wipes away a lot of frustration as an Astros fan. They also #EarnedHistory by beating baseball royalty on the way to their first title.    The Red Sox, Yankees and Dodgers have a combined 41 titles to our now one. 

But it's a so sweet one to cap an epic World Series for H-town.   And even better, we beat the Rangers to the accomplishment of bringing a World Series title to the Lone Star State.

And I couldn't be happier.   See y'all at the parade on Friday!

Can You Donate and Help Trans Candidates Make History?

It's the first day of November, and we are six day away from making history with a group of stellar trans candidates who are running for office in Minneapolis  (Andrea Jenkins and Phillipe Cunningham) New York state (Chrissie Browde) and Virginia (Danica Roem)

Our right wing opposition is getting a last minute infusion of cash to oppose these candidates that we must counter, and that's why Trans United Fund needs your help and your cash for these critical home stretch days. 

It's especially critical in Danica's Virginia House of Delegates race since she is taking on the darling of the right wing movement in longtime anti-TBLGQ foe Delegate Bob Marshall.

Phillipe also has a tough Ward 4 Minneapolis City Council race and will also need some help in the final push to the November 7 finish line 

Each one of these breakthrough candidates has already made history in their various locales.  We need to have trans people get elected to office to help push good public policy and be in position to kill bad policy at the legislative level.

These candidates have stepped up to do that.  We just need to do what it takes on our end to help them win and BE in office to help formulate public policy for their constituents and our community.

So could you take a few moments to contribute to the Breakthrough Fund today?  No amount is too small, and could make all the difference in these races.

2017 US Trans Murders List

We're getting close to this year's Transgender Day of Remembrance memorial events, and this is the current list of trans people who have died in the US in 2017.

Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow, 28, Sioux Falls, SD
Mesha Caldwell, 41, Canton, MS
Jojo Striker, 23  Toledo, OH
Jaquarrius Holland, 18   Monroe, LA
Keke Collier, 24, Chicago, IL
Chyna Gibson, 31, New Orleans, LA
Ciara McElveen, 26, New Orleans, LA
Alphonza Watson, 38, Baltimore, MD
Chay Reed, 28, Miami, FL
Brenda Bostick, 59, New York, NY
Sherrell Faulkner, 46, Charlotte, NC
Kenne McFadden, 27, San Antonio, TX
Josie Berrios, 28, Ithaca, NY
Ava Le'Ray Barrin, 17, Athens, GA
Ebony Morgan, 28, Lynchburg, VA
Tee Tee Dangerfield, 32, College Park, GA
Gwynevere River Song,  26, Waxahachie, TX
Kashmire Redd, 28, Gates, NY
Derricka Banner, 28, Charlotte, NC
Ally Steinfeld, 17  Cabool, MO
Stephanie Montez, 47  Robstown, TX
Candace Towns, 30  Macon, GA


So far in 2017 we have lost 17 Black trans people, 1 Native American, 2 Latinas, and 2 White
16 of the 17 Black trans people we have lost in 2017 have been trans feminine, 1 trans masculine.

Breaking it down by age, 3 have been in their teens, 11 in their 20's,  4 in their 30's, 3 in their 40's and one in their 50's.

Youngest has been 17 in the persons of Ava  Le'Ray Barron and Ally Steinfeld, who was killed mere days before her 18th birthday    Oldest so far this year has been Brenda Bostick.

***I use the Gwen Smith Remembering Our Dead List standards to compile this list.  Like the Remembering our Dead List, one of the things I don't count in the overall total is police involved shootings.  Unless the police officer in question is indicted for murder, I can't legitimately consider that trans person's death via a police confrontation as a trans bias motivated murder. 

It's why I don't count Sean Hake and Kiwi Herring's deaths in this year's trans statistics.  They were both police involved shootings.  That's a separate issue with many variables in it.  .  

Also as per the Remembering Our Dead list standards, neither do I count suicides in my TransGriot  Remembering Our Dead count.  This may sound harsh, but a person who has committed suicide made a conscious choice to take their own life. A person who is murdered had their life snuffed out by another person or persons.

Suicide is also another separate issue with many variables, and shouldn't be lumped in with people who were murdered.  Neither should the folks who died via police involvement

Also, another mistake I see on the other lists that is a serious irritant to me is in Brenda Bostick being listed as Kenneth Bostick.

Brenda Bostick was trans feminine.  The New York City coroner who performed the autopsy on Ms. Bostick found breasts and a penis, so translation, she is TRANS FEMININE.

So please stop disrespecting Ms Bostick by listing her with a masculine name and correct your lists ASAP.
Another error that I see in several lists is the Josie Berrios situation.   She was also known as Kendra Marie Adams, and I've seen two lists with BOTH names on it. 
So that's why I have 22 people listed per Remembering Our Dead Project standards.

I just want those murders to stop.

Number 22- RIP Candace Towns

Woke up this morning to find out that we've lost our 22nd trans person to anti-trans violence in the person of 30 year old Candace Towns of Macon, GA.

Candace is also the 17th Black trans person we have lost this year to anti trans violence, and 16 of the 17 people were trans feminine.  Sadly she was just 30 years old.   She's the tenth Black trans person we've lost in 2017 who was age 30 or younger.

And as you probably guessed, the initial article by Laura Corley not only misgendered her, but also deadnamed Candace as well. 

Towns was staying at the Rodeway Inn on Eisenhower Parkway, was last seen alive Saturday,   and war reported missing on Sunday.   At 4 PM EDT Tuesday an anonymous 911 call was received  reporting a person was down at the end of a driveway and was possibly dead. 

That person was our trans sister, and police arrived she was found shot to death on top of a hill on Rosecrest Avenue between  Bright Street and Edgewood Ave. 

This had not been Candace's first brush with anti-trans violence.   In July 2009 the Macon Telegraph reported that she'd been shot in the ankle on Pebble Street, a few blocks from when her body was found Tuesday afternoon.

As of this writing there are no suspects in this case, and if you have any information that will lead to the apprehension and incarceration of the killer, please call  Macon Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-877-68CRIME (1-877-682-7463)

No word of any memorial service or funeral arrangements as of yet.   I'll pass that info on as soon as I receive it.   I also will keep track of the case until justice is served for our sister to the satisfaction of her family and all who loved her..

2018 ACA Enrollment Starts Today

The United States has tried to pass some form of comprehensive health care legislation since the late 19th Century.  President Franklin Delano Roosevelt attempted to do as part of Social Security  was the first to attempt to do so, but was vehemently opposed by the American Medical Association.

President Harry S Truman attempted to do so as part of his Fair Deal, but also ran into AMA opposition .   That same AMA opposition was present when President Lyndon B. Johnson got Medicare and Medicaid passed in 1965, and a serious effort to do so happened during the Nixon and Clinton and Obama administrations.

To tackle the problem of over 40 million Americans being uninsured, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was passed and signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010.

The Affordable Care Act cut the number of uninsured Americans in half, slowing down the rapid rise in health care costs and acted as a stimulus that fueled national economic growth.

It also has saved lives in the process.

But despite the obvious benefits of the ACA, the law has been under attack by the Republican Party since its passage.  With Donald Trump now in the White House, Republicans see an opportunity to repeal the law and replace it with their own plan.   Those efforts have already failed, and were opposed by much of the American population that likes many of the ACA's more popular features like allowing dependents to stay on their parent's health insurance plans until age 26,  no preexisting conditions or coverage caps.

The Trump administration is resorting to other methods to kill the ACA by starving it of funding,  cutting the advertising budget to publicize 2018 ACA enrollment by 90% and the cut of funding for the Navigator program from $62.4 million to $36.8 million.

They cynically hope that the less people know about when to re-enroll for 2018 ACA coverage, it will cause the overall numbers of people enrolled to drop and then the conservative  'the ACA is failing' propaganda has a veneer of plausibility.

So let's commit a revolutionary act and thwart those plans.

The 2018 enrollment period for the ACA starts today, November 1 and runs through December 15th.   It's time once again to get covered, and there are people and organizations out there in your locale who will help you try to get the health care coverage you need that fits your budget. 

Here's the link to Healthcare.Gov to get you started.

Happy Trans National Holiday 2017

There's a reason why I call October 31 the Trans National Holiday. 

It's one of the few times in our binary culture (Mardi Gras, appearing in a film or play, drag in the gayborhood or female mimics clubs are the other moments) in which cisgender men can put on the clothes of the opposite gender and not get crucified for it.

Now if you do it any other time, outside of a female illusionist club or outside the gayborhood, then you are castigated for it.

It's also one of the times that if you are in the questioning phase of your gender identity,  Halloween became the day that you basically ventured out of the closet to make that test drive foray into the world dressed as your true self.

It's why before I transitioned I circled October 31 on the calendar and planned my en femme forays into Montrose with the precision of the D-Day invasion.

Then as the 80's progressed and I became more certain that it 'wasn't a phase' but an intrinsic part of who I am, I stopped just limiting myself to Halloween.

Halloween was also the time that the elaborate drag balls like Finnie's Ball in Chicago and the ones in New York dating back to the Harlem Renaissance happened that drew thousands of people.

It's why there is some truth to the joke that we tell in trans groups and at our conferences that today's crossdresser is tomorrow's trans woman booking a flight to Bangkok for her SRS.

One of the things that surprised me when I first typed in 'transsexual' just to see what happened in Google Books and all these digitized EBONY and JET magazine archived trans themed stories popped up, is my astonishment ho well in many cases EBONY and JET actually covered those issues up to and including the correct pronouns.

Through much of the 50's and 60's JET would post a short story with pics in one of their November issues of the drag queen and later drag king winners of Finnie's Ball

I was also fascinated by those pics from the New York and Chicago drag balls in a 1953 EBONY issue and how much glitz and glamor surrounded those events and the cash prizes paid to the winners.

There were also the Paris female illusionist cabarets of the late 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's like Madam Arthur, Le Carrousel and Cabaret Michou in which April Ashley, Coccinelle, Bambi, Amanda Lear and even a young Caroline Cossey performed.

While the glamorous Harlem Renaissance era balls of the 20's and 30's gave way to the ballroom community, the traditions are still there in terms of people competing to see who can looking flawlessly feminine and who can be on point masculine.

Trans themed pageants serve that purpose today along with the ballroom community.  The capital of the trans cabaret world long ago shifted from France to Thailand, home to Tiffany's and the Alcazar in the seaside resort city of Pattaya.

But on this 2017 edition of the Trans National Holiday, we do so as the dark cloud of the Trump Administration casts a shadow upon our country chock full of people hostile to the trans community.  Fundamentalists Christians and Muslims and Republican legislators attack our communities.   Even Pope Francis has violated his 'who am I to judge' statement by judging the international transgender community.

It's why just being a girl or guy like us is a revolutionary act, and I salute all you peeps who are venturing out later on this Halloween evening and using it to take your first steps toward becoming your true selves.

Girl Becomes First Trans Cheerleader At Her School

Was wondering when I would get to post some positive news on TransGriot concerning the trans Class of 2018 and what trails they blaze at their respective schools, and here is a story straight out of California as usual.

When we transfols have the opportunity to become our true selves, once the gender issue is out of the way, we can focus our attention and awesomeness into fulfilling whatever we wish to do.

In Denair High School senior Amy Fuentes' case it was to become the first ever trans cheerleader at her school. 

"When I was first trying out for the cheer squad, it wasn't like I'm going to be the first transgender girl," Fuentes said in a PEOPLE magazine interview.  "I was just trying out because I wanted to be a cheerleader, and I wanted to dance and cheer."

Amy knew coming into high school that she wasn't one of the guys, and first came out as gay during her freshman year.   But after doing more research in her junior year, had the epiphany she was transgender.

While she has been accepted as the girl she is by her classmates and the cheer squad, she had a rougher road to acceptance with her mother.   She ended up moving in with another cheerleader because of that lack of maternal acceptance.

But the good news is that she and her mother have been resolving their differences, and she plans to move back home soon. 

Congrats Amy!   Hope your senior year is one that continues to be blessings filled for you and continued good luck in your life journey. 

Hard Hitting Ad Deployed In VA Governor's Race

The Virginia governor's race has gotten nasty as Democratic candidate Ralph Northam has pulled ahead in a recent poll over former GOP chair Ed Gillespie to a 17 point lead in his race.

Gillespie went to the Republican race-baiting playbook and unleashed an ad insinuating Northam has ties to the MS-13 street gang in a desperate and despicable attempt to try to cut into that lead.

It's about time that the Democrats hit back against this BS, and they went WWE (hallelujah) with their own ad paid for by the Eva Longoria founded Latino Victory Project (told y'all don't sleep on this Tejana) .

And Eva, please consider coming back home to Texas and running for the US Senate

It hits the GOP where it hurts, in their bigoted base.   It shows kids of color dreaming about being chased by a man in a truck with Confederate flags and a Gillespie bumper sticker on it.  Just as the kids are cornered and about to be run over they wake up as the announcer asks the question, "Is this what Donald Trump and Ed Gillespie mean by the American Dream?"

.


We'll see what transpires on November 7. 

Killer Of Monica Loera Facing Trial Today

Monica Loera of Austin was the first of a record 27 trans people murdered in the United States in 2016.   Thanks to a tip from one of my TransGriot readers Lana Hunter, I've been made aware that the person accused of murdering her, JonCasey William Rowell, is about to go on trial for Loera's murder.

Yesterday Rowell was in court as a jury was empaneled in the 299th District Criminal Court in Austin for the trial that starts tomorrow.

Rowell was charged with first degree murder in this case.

Have a few Austin trans community members planning on checking out the proceedings in the trial in the hopes that our sister receives justice in this case.   We'll also be watching to see if the defense attorney for Rowell attempts to use the trans panic defense which sadly is still legal to use in the Lone Star State.

You know I'll be keeping an eye on what transpires in that Travis County courtroom.  I sincerely hope that justice in served on behalf of Monica and all the people who loved her.

TNA Halloween Fundraising Party At Hamburger Mary's Tomorrow

For those of you who don't want to watch Game 6 of the World Series and wish to break out your costumes  why not head over to Hamburger Mary's and do so for a good cause?

The Transgender National Alliance helps low income trans people get name and gender marker changes.  TNA helped me get mine back in February, so I got to see firsthand the work they do

TNA is hosting a fundraiser there tomorrow night that will be emceed by Lady Shamu and  Veronica Strutts.   In addition to the Zombies of Mary's, they'll have candy, games and a raffle with prizes that include original art, jewelry, champagne and whiskey .

$20 entry fee that includes the games, $5 for the raffle tickets. 

The TNA Halloween party benefits the Transgender National Alliance and Transgender Women of Color United for Change, and will run from 6-10 PM.

If you're interested, you can call Hamburger Mary's at 713-677-0674 to reserve your table.  Hamburger Mary's Houston is located in the heart of the gayborhood at 2409 Grant Street. 

Astros One Win Away From Earning World Series History

I was up late along with much of Houston watching that World Series record five hour extra inning game that put my fave baseball team one win away from capturing our first World Series title,

And it wouldn't be true to the nature of a Houston sports team if it didn't come with a heaping helping of nerve wracking tension.

The Astros fell behind 4-0 in the first inning to the LA Dodgers and their ace Clayton Kershaw who shut them out for three innings until their bats woke up in the bottom of the fourth inning. 

And then it got crazy.   Yuli Gurriel smacked a three run homer that tied the game in the bottom of the fourth at 4-4, only to have  the Dodgers go back in front in the top of the fifth after Bellinger hit a three run homer to put the Dodgers back up 7-4.

The Astros, as has been their pattern all season came back and tied it on he'd better be AL MVP Jose Altuve's three run shot in the boom of the fifth to knot the game at 7-7 and knock Kershaw out of the game.

The Dodger went back up 8-7 in the top of the seventh after George Springer's diving attempt at a sinking line drive by Bellinger got past him for a triple that scored Kiki Hernandez from first base.

Springer atoned for his fielding error by smashing a massive homer that tied the game at 8-8, which was followed up by a Bregman single, a double by Altuve that scored Bregman, and a two run homer from Carlos Correa to push the Astros to a 11-8 lead.

The craziest game in World Series history finally ended when Alex Bregman got the walk off hit that allowed pinch runner Derek Fisher to score from second base for the 13-12 Astros win that gave them a 3-2 series lead, closed out their home playoff run with a stellar 8-1 record and put them one win away from earning the franchise's first ever World Series title.

Can't wait to see if Game 6 in Los Angeles will be a trick or a treat Astros fans have been waiting for since 1962.  I like our chances with Justin Verlander pitching for us and the best offense in baseball now awake at the right time.

Ahh! I Love The Smell Of Indictments In The Morning

Well, the day the Trump Misadministration has been dreading finally happened

The Mueller investigation into the Trump campaign collusion with Russia in last year's election has finally dropped its first indictments, and I couldn't be happier that the prosecution party has started.

Paul Manafort, who was the campaign manager for Trump 2016 has been indicted on 12 counts of conspiracy against the United States. conspiracy to ;launder money, acting as a unregistered against of the Ukrainian government, false and misleading statements, and failure to file reports of foreign an bank accounts.

Paul Gates, Manafort's business partner, was indicted on 8 charges   Of course, Manafort and Gates pleaded not guilty to all the charges they are both facing.

George Papadopoulos, who was a foreign policy advisor to the Trump campaign, in a separate action has pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators about his meeting s in March and April 2016 with a Russsian agent who promised 'dirt' on Hillary Clinton.

This is probably just the first of many indictments to come in the swamp that is the Trump administration, and I'll be eagerly cheering Robert Mueller III on as he continues his investigation.

Number 21- RIP Stephanie Montez

We have lost our 21st trans person to anti-trans violence and the third in Texas this year in 47 year old Stephanie Montez.  She's also the second trans Latina we have lost in 2017 to anti-trans violence.

And yes Dan Patrick, Greg Abbott, Lois Kolkhorst and Texas Republican Party, her blood is on your hands.

She was found in a field off County Road 61 near Robstown, TX on October 21 with multiple gunshot wounds in the chest, abdomen and shoulders.   The reason I'm just finding out about this a week later is because the Nueces County Sheriff's Department misgendered and deadnamed her.

If it weren't for a Planet Transgender story  and her longtime friend Brittany Ramirez  speaking up and talking about her life in a Corpus Christi Caller Times interview , we wouldn't have known about this latest Lone Star State trans murder and the 21st in 2017 

PFLAG Corpus Christ is organizing a Trans Rights Rally in her memory on November 4. 

The Nueces County Sheriff's Department is still investigating the murder, and if you have any information on this case, you are urged to call the Nueces County Sheriff's Department or Crime Stoppers at 361-888-TIPS (8477)

I'll also be keeping track of this case until justice is served.

Rest in power and peace, Stephanie.

Happy 14th Birthday, Trinity!

Today is the 14th birthday of one of our amazing trans kids and budding advocates in Trinity Neal.

I've had the pleasure of meeting and spending quality time with both Trini and her mom DeShanna, and Trini is one impressive young lady.   When I last saw her in Philly during a Trans United Fund event I was part of during Creating Change, she was playing with a game app on her phone that she'd designed and coded herself.

The other special thing about her birthday is that she has been her true self for a decade.

Too bad I couldn't be there in person for they party your mom is throwing that I'm sure is going to be one amazing event, but know I have much love and admiration for you.  .

If you're having a Sweet Sixteen party, maybe I'll be blessed to be in attendance for that one .

Also know Trini that anytime you need advice, to know your history or just vent, I'll drop whatever i'm doing to take that call. 

Happy birthday, Trini!   May you have and celebrate many more of them!

Get Your Early Vote On Texas!

We have a year until the 2018 elections happen in Texas, so get you practice in for that critical election cycle by getting your early vote on for November 7. 

Early voting in Texas started on October 23 and is running until November 3.  So if all that chatter in the wake of the appalling 2016 election about resistance  wasn't you sellin' woof tickets, prove it by getting up off the couch and heading to your fave early voting location to handle your democracy business.

There are seven proposed Texas constitutional amendments on the ballot awaiting your YES or NO vote.  In Houston we not only have five propositions on the ballot, we also have people running for the HiSD school board in Districts I, III, and VIII, but an HCC trustee election in District IV.

And in HISD, the largest district in the state of Texas, there are six school board seats up for grabs .  Due to the death of District III trustee Manuel Rodriguez, Jr with two years left on his four year term, a special election is being held to fill the remaining time on his term.  Four candidates, Sergio Lira, Carlos Perrett,  Rodolfo Reyes and Jesse Rodriguez have filed to fill that seat

Incumbent trustees in Districts I (Anna Eastman) and V (Michael Lunceford) opted not to seek re election.   Three candidates, Gretchen Himsl, Monica Richart and Elizabeth Santos filed for the District 1 seat.   Four candidates, Kara DeRocha, Sean Cheben, Sue Deigaard and Susan Shafer    filed for the District V seat.

Incumbent members Holly Maria Flynn Vilaseca (District VI) , Anne Sung (District  VII) and Wanda Adams (District IX) have challengers   Vilaseca has two challengers in Daniel Albert and Robert Lundin. Sung is being challenged by John  Luman, and Adams by Karla Brown and Gerry Monroe 

Houston is not the only spot in the Lone Star State with November 7 elections.  There are other people running across the Lone Star State for public office who would love to have your votes

Since this will sadly be a low turnout election given the stakes, every vote matters.   Your vote may also be the difference in you candidate either winning or making a runoff.

So go handle your election business,..