Already? Time To Spring Forward 2018!

It's that time again! (pun intended)    This is your friendly TransGriot reminder to unless you live in Arizona or Hawaii, have to move those clocks forward one hour at 2 AM.

If you're a Republican, time to move your clock forward 100 years.

It's time to lost that hour of sleep and move to Daylight Savings Time.   You get that hour of sleep you lost back on November 4, two day before the 2018 midterm elections.

So once again, time to spring forward!    If you don't, you'll be an hour early for everything you do tomorrow. 

Shut Up Fool Awards- Go Coogs Edition

As many of you longtime TransGriot readers are aware of, I'm a proud UH Cougar, and have been paying attention to the men's UH ballers having their best season since the Phi Slama Jama era.

They are ranked in both polls for the first time since 1984,  have knocked off two Top 5 squads in AAC conference opponents Cincinnati and Wichita State and went unbeaten at home for the first time since the 1983 season. They are also poised to break that NCAA tournament drought (last appearance 2010) with a projected 6 seed .   

But first order of business is to get through the AAC tournament in Orlando.  Go Coogs!

Speaking of business, time for me to get to my usual Friday business of gleefully calling out fools.

honorable mention number one is Secretary of (mis)Education Betsy DeVos, who got called out by the MSD students for her publicity stunt visit to the Parkland, FL campus, and got called out bu teachers unions for her jacked up powerpoint presentation attacking public schools. an

Honorable mention number two is RuPaul.   RudePaul once again made some transphobic comments, then botched the apology by posting a non trans pride flag on it.

Honorable mention number three is a joint award for Robert Jeffress who continue to prove the point why white fundamentalism is bankrupt as the continue to make excuses for Donald Trump's reprehensible and KKKristian behavior.

Honorable mention number four is Sarah Suckabee Huckabee Sanders, who couldn't keep her lies straight at a recent White House press conference and just exposed her boss and prolonged the Stormy Daniels affair story in the press

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Honorable mention number five goes to the NRA, for Dana Loesch going on an apocalyptic rant on NRA-TV about 'time being up' for liberals, Black athletes, Hollywood, the media, and the Parkland FL student gun control advocates.

honorable mention number six is Stacey Dash, who went on MSNBC and made herself look clueless by claiming that Trump was right about Charlottesville.

Naw Dana, we're done with your white supremacist terror organization buying Republican legislators and stopping the gun control legislation we need.

This week's Shut Up Fool is my former governor and now Energy Secretary Rick Perry, who parted his lips and let something stupid come out of it again.

Perry said that moving poor nations away from fossil fuels and switching to renewable energy is 'immoral'.

Naw you idiot, NOT moving to renewable energy and away from fossil fuels when the evidence is undeniable they are affecting the climate of this planet is immoral and straight up stupid. 

Rick Perry, shut the hell up fool! .

Happy International Women's Day 2018!

It hit me while I was on this road trip to Austin admiring the blooming bluebonnets along TX 71 that today I International Women's Day!

So I definitely wanted to take a moment while I'm chilling in Travis County for a minute to say Happy International Women's day to all my sisters cis and trans.

It's an interesting one so far.   We have more women stepping up to run for office in this 2018 cycle.  We just had a March For Black Women here in Houston that had 2000 people in attendance.

But International Women's Day sometimes brings mixed emotions for those of us in TransWorld.  Our femininity gets feminized by friend, for and frenemy, so it leaves us trans women feeling at times that we're not part of Team Woman or what this day is meant to celebrate. 

Yes, you are, because trans women ARE women, and we have and will continue to do our part to help uplift women everywhere and build sisterhood in our ranks .

Happy International Women's Day!

Finn Jones Makes Texas Trans Political History

As many of you are aware of, the Texas primary elections were held on Tuesday night.   In addition to seeing who won, who lost, who made it to the May 22 runoff elections and who advanced to the November 6 general elections, some Texas trans political history was made. 

Finnigan  'Finn'  Jones is running for the Texas House 94 seat in North Texas.   Because Jones didn't have an opponent in the Democratic primary, once the voting started, Jones became the first out trans masculine Texan to win a party primary race, and the first to do so for a Texas legislative seat.

Jones said this on his FB page when I pointed out the history he'd just made.

"Wow!!! I honestly had not even thought about that. As I pointed out to her (TransGriot),  I am running for all of us. We have a right to have a voice at the table and be heard. Not just on lgbtq Rights, but on health care, public education, teacher retirement, discrimination in all forms and so much more,." he wrote. 

"I am proud to be that voice and that ear for the community. I will always listen and I will always learn and progress forward. Our citizens deserve that much from their elected officials."

Yes, we do.

Hs opponent in the general election will be the incumbent state rep Tony Tinderholt.(R-Arlington) who is considered the fourth most conservative member of the Texas Legislature, is a member of the Texas Freedom Caucus and as you probably guessed, is not a friend of our community.

Finn is going to have his work cut out for him if he is going to make the history of becoming the first trans Texan elected to our state legislature. 

But as the old saying goes, you have to be in it to win it, and Finn has cleared the first hurdle to make that happen by getting the Democratic Party nomination.

Here's hoping he makes even more history on November 6.

It's TX Primary Election Day!

It's Texas Primary Election Day!    Unlike early voting where you can go to any early voting center, today you'll have to go to your precinct, and you'll have to get there before 7 PM.

The polls opened a few hours ago at 7 AM.   If you're in line when the polls close at 7 PM, stay in line.   They cannot close the location until all persons in line have voted.

This is the first step to choosing candidates for the general election for governor, lieutenant governor, the state legislature, state judicial seats, and county offices. that happens in November in both the Democratic and Republican Parties.   

If you don't get 51% of the ballots cast in your race, you move on to a runoff election that will take place on May 22.

If you aren't registered to vote, now would be a good time to do that so you can help choose who will be on the ballot this November 6..  The deadline to be registered to vote for the runoff elections is April 5.

Thanks to everyone who has stepped up to the next level of public service and who have offered to run for office.   You are exceptional people just for doing so, and may your runs for office be successful ones.

If they aren't, better luck next time.   Hope you learned some things that will help you if you decided to run again that will help you turn this defeat into political victory the next time.

Good luck everyone and we'll see what transpires in the next several hours.

Trans Peeps Rocked The 2018 Oscars

Despite being in a moment in this country in which the humanity and human rights of trans people are under attack by the Trump Misadministration and their white fundie allies, the opposite is happening in Hollywood as trans people become a more visible and active part of the motion picture industry

Trans excellence was on display during last night's Oscars, with Janet Mock and actress Daniela Vega rocking the Oscar red carpets to kick the night off and us waiting to see in trans director Yance Ford's name would be called to collect his first Oscar.

Vega would also make history as the first ever openly trans presenter during the Oscars main ceremony.  She introduced Sufjan Stevens, whose song 'Mystery of Love' for the Call Me By Your Name soundtrack was nominated for a Best Original Song Oscar.

She would later in the evening join her castmates on stage as the movie she was the lead actress in, A Fantastic Woman, won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film.

That made her the first openly trans actress to play a trans character in an Oscar winning film.



So yeah Hollywood, your not so subtle hint to not only hire trans actors and actresses for trans roles, but consider letting them have an opportunity to play cisgender characters as well

Attention then turned on this night to trans masculine director Yance Ford to see if he would make more trans Oscar history on a night that was turning into an amazing one for transkind. .

He had already made Oscar history back in January when he became the first openly  transgender director to be nominated for an Oscar.

Ford already had four previous documentaries under his belt, but his fifth one Strong Island, was up for the Best Documentary nomination



Unfortunately it was not to be his night, as the documentary Icarus got the Oscar in Ford's category..

I have no doubt we will see this gifted filmmaker again on a Oscar stage, and hopefully it will be to make an acceptance speech as he gets to hold that stateutee in his hands

But it sure would have been nice to see #BlackTransExcellence rewarded last night

Congrats to Daniela and Yance for making history and repping our community well.  It was also nice to see my sis Janet ripping the red carpet to shreds.

Will be interesting to see what transpires at next year's Oscars.

The 2018 SUF Lifetime Achievement Award Winners Are:

TransGriot readers, this is the moment you've all been waiting for in breathless anticipation.

It's time to announce who made it into the Class of 2018 for the TransGriot Shut Up Fool Lifetime Achievement Awards    I have been giving these out since 2010, and it has gone from one inductee to five and now ten.

I have been on Oscar Night handing out an SUF Lifetime Achievement award to the person, persons or group of people who have just made it their mission in life to show the world just how stupid, clueless and arrogantly ignorant they are.

The previous year's inductees you can peruse here.

And now, let's get to it..  The envelope, please"

The Class of 2018 for the TransGriot Shut Up Fool Lifetime Achievement Awards

Sarah Huckabee Sanders 
Jeff Sessions
TX state Senator Lois Kolkhorst
Maine Gov Paul LePage
Alex Jones

Steve Doocy
Tomi Lahren
Rep Louie Gohmert (R-TX )
TX State Rep. Jonathan Stickland
Diamond and Silk

You'll Have To Wait Until Tuesday To Vote In The Texas Primary

The Early Voting period is now over for the Texas primary elections , but if you missed the opportunity to cast your vote during that period, you have a final opportunity to make your voice heard and weigh in on who should be on the general election ballot on March 6, which is primary  Election Day.

And Texas Democrats are feeling giddy as that day approaches.  There were according to the Texas Secretary of State's office 885, 574 Texans in the Lone Star State's 15 largest counties who participated in early voting  either by mail or in person.   That smashed the record for a non presidential election cycle.

The increase in Democratic turnout is fueling hopes that this may translate to a blue Democratic wave of voting in November.   

That new participation record was powered largely by a huge surge in Democratic voters, who doubled their participation numbers from the dismal 2014 cycle.   465,245 Democrats had voted during the early voting phase vs just 420, 329 Republicans.   Republican turnout was up 15%, but was dwarfed by the 50% increase of Democrats.

The early voting numbers would probably be even higher if the Republicans hadn't cut out the last weekend of early voting before Election Day.

Here's are my TransGriot endorsements to help you out along with the endorsements of other organizations like the Houston GLBT Caucus,  to help you cast an informed Democratic primary vote. 

I'm not a fan of the Republican Party in large part because of the rabod transphobia, anti-woman attitudes and anti-Blackness , and that's why I don't do endorsements for GOP candidates.

These elections will determine who is on the ballot for you to vote for this fall.  so go handle your business.   Make sure you have the YELLOW texas voter registration card with you along with some ID when you go to your regular precinct location to cast your ballot

Polls open at 7 AM and close at 7 PM    If you are in line at 7 PM to vote, DO NOT get out of line. The polling place must stay open until all persons in line have cast their ballots.

Good luck to all my endorsed candidates, and hope you make it to the November ballot.

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Moni's March For Black Women Speech

TransGriot Note: The text of my speech I'm delivering for the March For Black Women here in Houston.  


To my beautiful Black sisters cis and trans, Kandice Webber, Nisha Randle our allies and accomplices, supporters and friends,   I am pleased, proud and honored that my unapologetic Black trans feminine self was invited to be here and say a few words to you on this historic day.

I find it so apropos to be standing here today in solidarity with my sisters on the hallowed soil of Emancipation Park because this place has enormous historical significance for Black Houstonians.  The ten acres of land you are standing on was bought in 1872 by a group of our ancestors organized by the Rev. Jack Yates in the wake of our emancipation from bondage and to hold our Juneteenth celebrations. .For decades it was the only park Black Houstonians could go to because of Jim Crow segregation.    As a child I watched along with my late grandmother Tama Juneteenth parades come down Emancipation Avenue and terminate at this spot before it became a state holiday.

And in this 21st Century moment, I can't think of a better place for this inaugural March For Black Women to be taking place than on these grounds.   I also can't think of a more appropriate place to announce that on March 6 and in a few short months, we will begin the process of emancipating ourselves from the bondage of Republican tyranny in Texas and beyond.

That emancipation from Republican bondage is going to happen if those of you assembled here and within the sound of my voice do two simple things.  One of them is to vote on March 6 and November 6 as if your life and your democracy depends on it, because frankly, that's where we are right now as a country. 

The second, and most important thing to do is TRUST BLACK WOMEN to lead you to that electoral promised land and in all the fights to come.

Trusting Black women to lead also includes without exception trusting Black trans women.

As Lucy Hick Anderson said several decades ago, "I defy any doctor in the world to prove that I am not a woman.  I have lived, dressed, acted just what I am, a woman.” And yes, Black trans women , despite all the anti-trans rhetoric being spouted by various faux faith based haters and the Republican Party, ARE Black women. 

Black trans women are ready, willing and able to do our parts to uplift ourselves and the Black community.   But were frustrated as hell because the community at large is ignoring our suffering.  We have Black legacy organizations that haven't uttered one syllable about the ongoing slaughter of Black trans women occuring at a near genocidal rate, and we are distress about our legacy organizations and Black church folk being silent in the face of white fundamentalists, the Trump misadministration and the Republican Party attacking our very humanity and human rights. 

You trans siblings are also angry over the fact that some of our skinfolk are gleefully colluding with white fundamentalists , trans exclusionary radical feminists  sellout pastors and the GOP to demonize us, and that reprehensible behavior needs to end today.

Let me say this loud and clear, and I want you to commit this to memory.   Black trans women are women.  Black trans men are men, and Black trans people are Black people.

Saying that is the first step for the Black cisgender community recognizing beyond as shadow of a doubt that Black transgender people are Black people who are part of the kente cloth fabric of the Black community.

Diana Ross once said in a 1989 ESSENCE magazine interview, "I never considered it a disadvantage to be a Black woman.  I never wanted to be anything else.  We have brains. We are beautiful.  We can do anything we set our minds to"

And what we Black women as a group need to set our minds to do is come to the realization that Black trans women are not your enemy, my Black cis sisters. 

Black trans women, it is also past time for you to stop giving your Black cis sisters the side eye and treating them as if they are our enemy.  They aren't..  It isn't Black women who have been gleefully colluding with the GOP to mess with your human rights. it was a far too long list of folks who didn't look like us in the persons of Janice Raymond, Germaine Greer and other TERF's. 

It wasn't a Black woman who wrote SB 6 or other anti-trans Texas legislation.  What I saw in my multiple trips to Austin last year were Black women legislators like Senfronia Thompson calling it out and helping to kill the unjust SB 6.

It was the Lone Star dynamic oppressor duo of Lois Kolkhorst and Joan Huffman,  Kolkhorst authored it, and Huffman shoved it through her senate committee.  Both of them need to be punished at the polls for it along with the man who egged them on in Potty Dan Patrick.

However, a note to Chimamanda Adichie, Stacey Patton and anyone else in the Black feminine ranks cosigning their transphobia, we will not tolerate and will swiftly call out anti-trans rhetoric coming from you or any Black cis woman.  We don't need that TERF crap in our ranks because we have more important societal fish to fry.

Black trans people, Black trans kids and Black trans women exist.   Being trans isn't 'just a white thang', and we aren't going away or going back in the closet as evidenced by those of us showing us and standing here in solidarity with you here today in Emancipation Park.

From this day forward, we want and need our cis sisters standing in solidarity with us, and we want to be standing in solidarity with you our cis sisters.
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We know who our enemy is, and it isn't our cis Black sisters.  We are fighting the same demonization and denigration of Black womanhood you are.   We are dealing with the same anti-Blackness you fight against.  We are fighting the same issues of living in an America hostile to Black people and Black feminine bodies you are fighting in addition to having to deal with transphobic ignorance inside and outside our shared community/   We want to work with you in sisterhood to eradicate it. 

But the non negotiable price of us offering that help is unconditional acceptance of who we are as Black trans people.   It's past time for cis and trans Black women to have those tough ongoing conversations that will lead to us building sisterhood so we can focus on the larger, more important  tasks ahead.

And by doing that you may get an amazing friend in the process.

It's nation time people.  Houston, Texas, America and our people are depending on us to as usual, save this country and this state from itself, provide the visionary leadership necessary to liberate our people and to paraphrase Barbara Jordan bring about a Texas and America better than its promise. .

Let's get to work making it happen.

The Miss International Queen Pageant STILL Has An Anti-Blackness Problem

"I said this on the MIQ FB page and I will repeat it   If the Miss International Queen Pageant is going to claim it's an international trans pageant and wants to have ANY international credibility in the trans pageant world as a fair pageant, from this point forward it is imperative that an international panel of judges be assembled to determine the winner and make sure that any Thai judges that are part of the panel have no ties to Tiffany's show or are severely limited."-TransGriot, November 4, 2011 


Another edition of the Miss International Queen Pageant has kicked off in the Thai resort city of Pattaya and I predict that when the pageant has concluded on March 9 Thai time, a trans girl with dark skin will NOT be the winner of it.

Since the pageant started in 2004. no trans woman with African heritage or dark skin has won this pageant. 

The few times this has come close to happening or an African descended trans women has even placed in the MIQ event top three was in 2010, when the USA's Stasha Sanchez finished as the second runner up, 2011 when Miss SaHHara repping Nigeria finished as the first runner up (and should have won it), and in 2015 when Brazil's Valesca Dominik Ferraz also finished as a first runner up.

The 2011 MIQ pageant was the most controversial one.   Miss SaHHara, representing Nigeria, was presumed by many people, especially after the Thai finalist horribly botched her final interview to be the person that would finally make that history. 

But people in Thailand watching on live TV, in the Tiffany's Theater in Pattaya and around the world on the online feed were shocked when the Thai contestant still won despite blowing the interview. 

That ignited a firestorm of criticism and gave credibility to the allegations brought by Thai and Philippine contestants there was not only an anti-Black bias from the all-Thai judging panel, but an anti-Filipina one as well..

In 2015 Brazilian beauty Valesca Dominik Ferraz almost broke the color line in this pageant, but just as Miss SaHHara had done four years earlier, she wound up as the first runner up to Trixie Maristela of the Philippines. 

What I wrote back in 2011 when I blasted the Miss International Queen pageant about that shady 2011 result is sadly still valid today.   Out of the 12 winners of the Miss International Queen title, eight of them have been from Asia,  and four of the eight Asian winners have been Thai. 

Also to add another things that make you go hmm layer to this, all four Thai winner have worked as Tiffany's cabaret showgirls.   Tiffany's BTW, is one of the sponsors of this pageant. 

The other Asian MIQ winners have been from Japan, South Korea and two from the Philippines.

The other four contestants non Asians who have won the Miss International Queen pageant title have come from South America (Brazil and Colombia) and North America (US and Mexico) 

It's obvious that the Miss International Queen pageant has an anti-Blackness problem, and the immediate fix for that is to have an international panel of judges that doesn't have ties to Miss Tiffany's Cabaret.

And when I say an international panel of judges, I don't mean just grabbing judges from other parts of Asia because that won't fix the glaring anti-Black bias problem.   Y'all still have a continent wide problem in Asia of considering white skin as the penultimate in beauty.

It's why the Miss Universe pageant not only has a diverse judging panel, that panel also includes former titleholders because what is considered beautiful is different in different corners of the world, and yeah Miss International Queen, dark skinned women are beautiful as well. 

If this pageant is going to claim that it is the premiere international pageant for transgender women, some of those trans women are going to be dark skinned ones with African heritage. 

The anti-Black, pro-Asian and pro Miss Tiffany showgirl bias has got to end in order for the Miss International Queen trans pageant to have international credibility with people around the world who are thinking about competing in it.

Because no one is going to travel halfway around the world or put their hard earned money towards entering a pageant that they believe is unfairly rigged or they won't have a shot at winning because the judges are biased against them.

GA Lt. Governor Reveals Who He Really Represents- The NRA

For the last few political cycles since I've came back home to Texas in May 2010, the Republican TV commercial I see love to have the tagline of 'proven conservative leadership'. 

To me and everyone else in reality based world who pays attention to politics, the only thing that 'proven conservative leadership' proves is how off the charts stupid it is.

The latest example of that comes from Atlanta.   Delta Airlines has been headquartered in the ATL since 1941, and is the largest carrier at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.  It is also the world's second largest airline and one of Atlanta and the state of Georgia's largest private employers, with over 33,000 workers in the state of Georgia.

So when Delta asked the state to cut it some slack on the Georgia jet fuel tax, the GOP controlled state legislature, in order to lend credibility to its 'business friendly' political mantra, began to oblige it by putting together legislation to restore a $50 million jet fuel sales tax exemption in a large tax reform package requested by Gov.Nathan Deal (R).

While it as billed as a boon to all airlines, the primary beneficiary would be ATL based Delta. 
The bill sailed through the Georgia House and was in the process of doing the same thing in the Georgia Senate when the February 14 Parkland, FL mass shooting happened and Delta, with United Airlines following suit two hours later, ended the discount National Rifle Association (NRA) members get. for using them to travel to the NRA's annual conference which will be held in Dallas (for now)..

Delta joined a growing list of companies that are ending partnerships with the NRA in the wake of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that killed 17 people.

That pissed off Georgia Lt, Governor Casey Cagle (R) who is not only running to replace the term limited Gov. Nathan Deal (R), but has an A+ rating from the NRA he brags about.  Cagle is also considered the favorite to get the GOP nomination 

He tweeted to Delta in the wake of it, (and probably set himself up for an extortion charge) that he would kill any tax break that Delta benefits from unless the NRA discount was reinstated.

An NRA airline discount that has only been used 13 times in the last 5 years.

The GOP controlled Georgia Senate then followed through on Cagle's threat by cutting the jet fuel tax exemption from the tax cut bill Gov. Deal wanted before passing it. 

Atlanta was in the running for Amazon's second headquarters before this happened, so it remains to be seen if they get it now.   Meanwhile cities that praised Delta's move began to pitch Delta about moving their hub to their areas.

"Hey @delta—Virginia is for lovers and airline hubs. You're welcome here any time," tweeted Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam. 

".@Delta, if Georgia politicians disagree with your stand against gun violence, we invite you to move your headquarters to New York," tweeted New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Randall Woodfin, mayor of Birmingham, Ala., also told Delta his city was open for business."Hey @Delta . You know, in mathematics, Delta represents the change in something, e.g. 🔺HQ. Let’s chat. #BHM," Woodfin tweeted Feb. 27.

Even Cagle had to admit after dissing the airline and killing its tax break Delta's importance to the state's economy, calling the dispute a 'family squabble'.

But Delta's probably not feeling the love for Cagle or his Georgia Republicans, and may do some political punishing of their own by bankrolling dome Democratic candidates in the state

I sure hope that's the result of this.

If this political posturing and attacking of Delta ends up getting Cagle the Republican nomination for governor, I hope Georgians remember that this man revealed that he cares more about the NRA than them, and it results in this Black woman, Stacey Abrams, being elected governor of Georgia on November 6.

Phillip Aronoff Peddles Transphobia On The TX 29 Campaign Trail

The Texas 29th Congressional District was created in 1991 to ensure that a Latix person got elected to the US Congress.   But due to the Latinx vote being split among several candidates, Gene Green got the Democratic nomination and was elected to the seat in 1992. 

He has been its only congressmember ever since, as has comfortably been reelected in every election cycle since. 

Rep. Green announced in November 2017 that he is retiring and not running for reelection in 2018.
That set off a scramble in both parties for the seat and raised hopes in the Latinx community that they would finally get one of their own people to rep the congressional district that was drawn for them by the Texas Legislature to send one of their own to Congress.

State Sen. Sylvia Garcia is considered the frontrunner to get the nomination on the Democratic side, in a crowded field of seven candidates. 

There are four candidates vying for the Republican nomination, with one of those Republican candidates being Phillip Aronoff.   It's obvious based on his recent Meet The Candidate interview he hasn't gotten the message that transphobia is not a winning campaign issue, even in the Lone Star State.

If Aronoff thinks I'm kidding about that, ask former state representatives Debbie Riddle and Gilbert Pena.  They tried to pass anti-trans legislation in the 2015 session and found themselves  on the outside of the Pink Dome at the start of the 2017 Texas Lege session.

This is what he had to say about transgender people during his interview  and you can see it starting at the 33:20 mark

Phillip Aronoff – Republican US Congressional Candidate District 29 Texas

“I think the whole transgender thing is a fraud. I think that if you’re a man; you’re a man physically. They say that we who think that Global Warming is a fraud don’t believe in science. What could be less believing in science when a man can become a woman. To say that a man can have a baby, can identify as a man and have a baby; I find that absurd, and disingenuous. I mean, how can you change like-you can’t. So, so, so the science deniers are the people who say if you have XY chromosomes, you can still be a woman. That’s not the case. You don’t see that happening in the animal world. So I think that it’s pandering to a group of people who may have I think maybe an emotional problem … overcome it pandering to them. You didn’t expect that answer did you? “

That comment is not only transphobic, it's intersexphobic as well as exposing your ignorance of science to the world.    Ever heard of intersex people?  XY women exist due to transsexuality and an intersex condition known as androgen insensitivity syndrome

In the animal world, clownfish are just one of the species that can change their gender orientation.

The anti-intellectualism in the Republican Party has got to be stopped.   

I hope someone other than Aronoff gets the GOP nomination, but if he does manage to walk away with it.  I definitely will be doing my part along with trans folks and our allies who live in the 29th Congressional District to ensure that the Democratic nominee wins this seat.

At this crucial time in our country's history, we don't need a wilfully ignorant transphobe and intersexphobe in Congress.  .

Number 6 -Rest In Power and Peace Phylicia Mitchell

Hard on the heels of hearing the news that the body found stuffed in a trash can in rural Santa Fe County was our missing trans sister, was news out of Cleveland, OH that we have now lost our sixth person of the year to anti-trans violence.

46 year old Phylicia Mitchell was found shot in front of her home in the West Side Edgewater neighborhood on West 112th Street near Detroit Avenue at approximately 6 PM on Friday. She was taken to MetroHealth Medical Center where she was pronounced dead according to Cleveland.com and CPD spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia

The case is under investigation, and Cleveland Police are looking for any information that will help them solve this case and bring to justice the person or persons who murdered her. 

Mitchell becomes the sixth trans person killed in 2018 and the third African American one this year.  She is also the oldest person so far to be killed this year since the pattern is usually trans women under age 40.

As of yet no information as to whether there will be a memorial service or vigil, and when I receive that information I will pass it along.   I'll also keep an eye on this case until justice is served for her, her longtime partner and all who loved her..



Rest in power and peace, Phylicia.

Is The Long Predicted Texas Blue Wave Finally Happening?

Looks like we have the Texas Republican party's attention after years of running roughshod over the Texans who don't look like them or share their politics.

Early voting for the March 6 Texas primary election ends this Friday, and in the 15 largest Texas counties by population (including my home county of Harris County), Democratic Party primary turnout is outpacing Republican turnout.

In Harris County, in the first three days of early voting we passed the total number of Democrats who voted during the entire 2014 early voting period. 

Meanwhile the Republican primary early voting number are just barely over the 2014 pace.

Gov Abbott sent the warning in a fundraising e-mail on Monday.   The Texas Republican Party is 'scurred' right now and they need to be   Texans, and especially non-white Texans and Texans who are part of marginalized groups are tired of having their human rights messed with.   The 2017 regular and Special Oppression Sessions are a major reason why we have  had a record number of Texas TBLGQ people step up to run for office .

The reason the Texas GOP is so concerned about this is it's not just about their own political hides.  Texas is the linchpin for their control of national politics in Washington. 

The gerrymandering of Texas congressional districts adds an estimated 4 seats to their national US House majority.  Texas' 38 electoral votes are the basis of all Republican electoral vote calculations when they run for POTUS.

A purple or blue Texas makes it much harder for them to elect a Republican to the White House

Texas Republicans are also keenly aware of the fact that since 2009, non white Texans outnumber white Texans population wise, which is why they passed voter ID  voter suppression laws that targeted the Black and Latinx community along with young voters .

While we can be happy about these developments, we still have a lot of work to do.  We're still a long way from November 6.   To start turning Texas back to blue, we must on the liberal progressive side be on our A+ political game and keep grinding to #FireTheTexasGOP. . 

Is the long predicted Texas blue wave finally happening?   I sure hope so.

Number 5- Rest In Power Zakaria Fry

When a person goes missing, once you pass ten days that the person was last seen alive or heard from, the likelihood that the missing person in question is still alive drops with each passing day.

So when 28 year old Zakaria Fry went missing along with 70 year old Eugene Carrell Ray back on January 18 in Albuquerque, NM., while we held out hope that both might still be alive, the missing person odds told us there was a high probability she might not be.

Fry had moved to Albuquerque from Indiana several years ago according to her sister Brittany Willis, and was renting a room from Ray.    Rat was a prominent attorney in the area, and Ray's family told APD that they feared that he could have been involved in a violent situation.  He was last seen alive on January 18, and his home was found in disarray along with some suspicious items. 

Fry was reported missing a few days later.  She was last heard from on that same January 18 date, with a friend receiving a text from her.

Yesterday the Albuquerque Police Depart confirmed that the two bodies found by rancher Fidel Montoya in the small town of Stanley, NM on February 19 have been positively identified as Eugene Ray and our trans sister Zakaria Fry. 

Fry's body was found by Montoya crammed in a trash can on the edge of his property 45 miles from Albuquerque   Ray's was found in a different location on a dirt road two miles away.

A person of interest was recently spotted driving Ray's car and APD is looking for him.

This is still an open investigation according to APD Public Information Officer Simon Drobik.  They still don't know why they were killed, and haven't released any information as to how they died.

APD is asking anyone with information that could potentially help solve this case to call Crime Stoppers at 505-843-STOP (7867)

Fry is the 5th trans person we have lost in 2018, and we hope that the person or persons who committed this heinous crime are caught and expeditiously brought to justice.   

Rest in power and peace, Z.   

Stacey Dash Is Running For Congress - Bye Stacey!

Our friends in California have had their share of Democratic and Republican leaning actors running for public office in the Golden State. 

George Lloyd Murphy served as the Republican US Senator for California from 1965-1971 and basically was the person that role modeled the transition path from notable actor to a politician that Ronald Reagan and later Arnold Schwarzenegger successfully followed.

Seaking of Reagan and Schwarzenegger, both have been Republican governors of California.
Reagan parlayed his time as Cali's 33rd governor from 1967-1975 into two terms as the 40th president of the United States from 1981-1989.

Schwarzenegger parlayed his movie career into two terms as California's 38th governor. 'The Governator' served from from 2003-2011.

And I can't forget Sonny Bono.  He served as the Republican congressman from California's 44th congressional District from 1995 until his death from injuries sustained in a skiing accident in 1998

On the California Democratic Party side, there was Helen Gahagan Douglas, who became the third woman in US history and the first Democratic woman elected to Congress from California. 
She represented California's 14th Congressional District from 1945-1951. 

She ran for the US Senate in 1950, and was unfortunately subjected by Richard Nixon to the most vicious smear campaign in California history that ended her political career and started Nixon's until it ended in the disgrace the Watergate scandal.

Democrat Sheila Kuehl was a child actor and attorney who later served three terms in the California State Assembly's 41st District  from 1994-2000 and later in the California Senate's 23rd District from 2008-2008.

She was elected to the LA County Board of Supervisors in 2014 and is still serving her 3rd District constituents.

That pattern continues today, with unabashed Trump supporter Antonio Sabato, Jr announcing last year he was going to run for Congress in 2018 as a Republican and challenge Rep. Julia Brownley (D) in the 26th District that covers southern Ventura County.

Brownley has represented the district since 2013.

And now we have actress and former FOX Nose pundit Stacey Dash announcing that she is going to run for the US Congress in the 44th Congressional District currently represented by freshman Democrat Nanette Barragan.

It's going to be a tough slog for her, since the district is 70% Latinx and covers South Los Angeles. Three of the neighborhoods and cities represented by Rep. Barragan are Watts, Carson and Compton.  It also went overwhelmingly for Clinton 83%-12%   

And if Stacey Dash thinks that Black folks forgot that she sold our community out while taking paychecks from FOX Noise as a political commentator, she really is clueless about the fact her Black card has been revoked and we haven't forgotten what she said about us.

Here's the receipts.

And naw Stacey, I haven't forgotten that foul comment you made on FOX Noise about trans women.  Something about we can 'go pee in the bushes'. 

Naw Miss Thang, my unapologetic Black trans feminine behind doesn't pee in the bushes outside.  I pee in a closed stall in the women's restroom like your transphobic behind does.  When I'm done I wipe my azz, check the seat, flush and wash my hands when I'm done.




And I have no doubt that Black voters in the 44th District feel the same way about her that Gabrielle Union and much of Black America does.

Stacey's Black Card has been revoked for her sellout behavior.   We have long memories about it when people who share our ethnic background sell us out for their own personal and economic gain. (see Omarosa).

When the karmic wheel turns to put the sellout in a position where they need the Black community's help, payback is a you know what.

Republicans are about to learn the lesson once again that Black folks don't vote for just ANY Black face you put on the ballot as they accused us of doing when we eagerly sent Barack H. Obama to the White House for 8 years .

I have no doubts that the Black voters in the 44th Congressional District will not only return Congresswoman Barragan back to DC to rep them, but will eagerly be  heading to the polls November 6  to say #ByeStacey and derail her attempt to 'Dash for DC'.

And it's going to be fun watching that happen. . 

Still Looking For Our First Trans Olympian

The end of the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang also means that we have gone through another Summer and Winter Olympiad since the IOC opened the doors via the 2003 Stockholm Consensus for trans athletes to compete with no trans athlete competing in either Games. . 

The Consensus was subsequently updated so that trans masculine and trans feminine athletes would not require genital surgery to compete in an Olympic Games.

The first Olympics that trans athletes were eligible to compete was the 2004 Summer Olympics in  Athens, and the first Winter Games trans athletes were eligible to compete was in Torino.

Canadian cyclist Kristin Worley made a bid to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Games that unfortunately fell short and was mired in controversy.  She filed an ultimately successful lawsuit that forced Cycling Canada to open up the sport to trans athletes

On our side of the border trans masculine Keelin Godsey delayed taking testosterone for his transition to chase his dream of qualifying for a US Olympic team. 

Godsey tried to qualify for those same Beijing Games, but finished seventh in the women's hammer throw with a 66.55 meter throw.  Godsey missed qualifying .for Beijing and making history by an agonizing ten feet. 

Godsey did make history by making the US 2011 Pan American Games team and competed in the hammer throw, finishing fifth with his lifetime best of 67/84 meters.

He tried to qualify for the 2012 London Games. Despite making another personal best throw at the US Olympic Trials, he missed qualifying for London by an agonizing eleven inches.

So far the only appearance of a trans person at the Olympic Games has been model Lea T breaking ground as one of the placard models for the opening ceremonies of the 2016 Rio Games.

Hopefully that will change either in the next Summer games in Tokyo in 2020 or the next Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022  and we will finally see a member of our trans family qualify as an Olympic athlete. .

Whoever that trans athlete is that finally does this for transkind, one thing they are guaranteed to get is international media coverage for making that sporting history