8/23/10

Transgender Texas edispu nwod/upside down should Nikki Araguz lose


Think your transgender day in the grand republic of Texas is bad now?

Should our worst fears be realized, you may very well have to revert to your gender identity the doctor assigned you at birth, and up to this point the national gay and lesbian organizations may as well be helping to hang us out, upside down.

Maybe they feel it's a no win battle her or perhaps as the ENDA Blog suggests or perhaps they just don't give a damn.

Money talks and according to attorney Phyllis Frye gay.com hasn't antied up.

In a email Phyllis asks:

Where is the same national support given for the L and G same-sex marriage struggles? Has it remained nonexistent for over six weeks now because this Texas fight is insignificantly and merely a “tra##y” same-sex marriage fight, so who nationally gives a shit? Then are we a National LGBT-inclusive community, but NOT when it comes to financing the “tra##y” same-sex marriage fights? From here, it seems to me — still — that the national L and G groups and the big bucks L and G attitudes haven’t really changed very much. FOLKS, IT IS TIME YOU FIGURED IT OUT THAT THE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE FIGHT IS JUST AS MUCH A TRANSGENDER FIGHT AS IT IS A LESBIAN, GAY AND BISEXUAL FIGHT.

8/22/10

TransYouth Family and Allies Organizing Legal Battle for Denied Kansas Student

Pennies From Heaven

Two moms transgender daughter denied access to school becuse of her gender expression seeks your love from our rainbow!

From Kim Pearson Friday, August 20, 2010

Those of you who follow my Facebook may be aware that I made an emergency trip to Kansas this week. A school there was refusing to recognize a 10 year old transgender girl's gender identity. They were requiring her to attend school as male and wouldn't budge.

I met with a school across town and they were happy to have her and wanted to learn how to make her school experience safe and productive. We registered her and expected that she would start school later in the week. I flew home to AZ.

Now the district administration has become involved and informed the parents (two moms) that their child will not be accommodated at ANY SCHOOL in their district. The child must present male or gender neutral, must use a male name and male restroom. The reason given is that to do otherwise would "interfere with the learning environment".

We are going to file suit against this school system. TYFA has retained the best attorney in KS with experience in GLBT discrimination. We need to raise an estimated $25,000 (or more) to litigate this case. I am calling this fund raising effort "Pennies From Heaven". Make any donation amount but end it with .01 (example 20.01) so that we know you are donating for the KS Defense Fund. Are you with me here?

It is time to take back our schools for gender variant students everywhere and we are going to start in Kansas.

LETS MAKE IT RAIN LOVE!

THANK YOU! TO MAKE YOUR DONATION NOW: click here

Kim Pearson
Executive Director
TransYouth Family Allies

8/19/10

Cristan Williams Debates the Nikki Araguz case with fascist Dave Welch

Cristan Williams of the Transgender Center of America agreed to debate on Fox News the controversy surrounding the Nikki Araguz case. Of course the lead questions all were bent to put Cristan at a disadvantage. Happily the Fox channel home-turf was of no benefit to Dave Welch who writes for 'world daily' which publishes extremist pseudo-christian, borderline psychotic right wing screeds. Watch and enjoy.



Welch: "Clearly we are at a point when we have to defend (activate the good ol' boy netwerk) and (re)define (discriminate) with the (Texas) constitutional amendment."


Welch: "You can't legislate on a fractional percentage of society". (like blacks, Jews, transsexuals and woman?)

It is clear.

Welch is a talking head for racist patriarchal white transphobes who would pervert Christianity inorder to facilitate the subjugation of ALL minorities by the Texas legislature.

Yes Welch, we CAN 'undefine' a institution inplaced by the majority that not only discriminates against, but denies minorities by segregation the privileges enjoyed by powerholders, this is America you plastic smiling turd.

Thanks to ENDA Blog's appropriately tittled post How to debate a plastic-smiled turd!

8/17/10

Uniting against hatred: the Shirley Sherrod Plea

I received this from the NAACP. It's about racisim but the bigotry that is behind this hatred is universal. Transgender people must stand with all people in a united strugle against injustice no matter who or where it is found.

from Shirley Sherrod Back in March, I delivered a speech to an NAACP Freedom Fund banquet in my home state of Georgia. I drew on my personal life story to urge poor people, white and black, to pull together and overcome racial divisions. We have to understand that our struggle is against poverty and against those who are blocking our path out of poverty.

Unless we figure this out, I warned, our communities won't thrive and our children won't prosper.

As you know, a Tea Party blogger named Andrew Breitbart released an intentionally deceptive, heavily edited clip from that speech to make it look as if I was delivering exactly the opposite message. Then Fox News blasted that false message across America's airwaves, creating a firestorm that led to my ouster as the USDA State Director here in Georgia.



Not long ago, I sat here in my living room in Albany, Georgia for an afternoon of deep conversation with NAACP President Benjamin Jealous. As he has done in public, Ben movingly apologized for the fact that the NAACP was initially hoodwinked by Breitbart and Fox into supporting my removal. I told him what I want to tell you.

That's behind us, and the last thing I want to see happen is for my situation to weaken support for the NAACP. Too many people confronted by racism and poverty count on the NAACP to be there for them, especially those in rural areas who often have nowhere else to turn.

People ask me, "Shirley, how are you getting through all of this?" I tell them that, if they knew what I have lived through, they'd understand that these current challenges aren't about to throw me off course.

When I was 17 years old, my father was murdered by a white man in Baker County, Georgia. There were three witnesses, but the grand jury refused to indict the person responsible. I knew I had to do something in answer to my father's death.

That very night, I made a commitment that I would stay in the South and fight for change.

I have lived true to that commitment for 45 years. I didn't yield when, just months after my father was killed, they came in the middle of the night to burn a cross in front of our house with my mother, four sisters, and the baby brother my father never got to see still inside.

And I'm surely not going to yield because some Tea Party agitator sat at his computer and turned everything I said upside down and inside out.

I learned a lot of lessons from my parents growing up, but one of the most important ones is what my mother taught her children after our father was killed. She told us we mustn't try to live with hate in our hearts.

My mother led by example. Just 11 years after that cross-burning incident, she became the first black elected official in Baker County, and she's still serving, still working to bring people together.

You and I have to keep working as well. Change has to start with us. I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support I have received over these last few weeks. It means so much to me and my family.

But you and I have to make sure that people all across the country who wage a daily struggle against poverty and racism have support networks as well. And that's why your personal involvement in sustaining the NAACP is so critical.

The NAACP confronts the virulent racism that my family and so many other families have had to endure. But it is also leading the way in breaking down the structural barriers that block so many people's paths out of poverty.

In our struggle between the "haves" and the "have-nots," they want to keep the poor divided - and we have to insist, by our words and our actions, that there is no difference between us.

As we move forward together, I urge you to remember this: Life is a grindstone. But whether it grinds us down or polishes us up depends on us.

Thank you for all you are doing to challenge poverty and racism. I look forward to working and struggling right by your side.

Sincerely,

Shirley Sherrod

8/14/10

Degrassi FTM portrayed by cisgender actress powerful and intuitive

Cisgender female 15-year-old Jordan Todosey portrays a female to male transgender character Adam. The episode follows a purposefully hard hitting storyline about being a young transgender man who's very masculinity is challenged and even attacked.

xtra.ca"Hit teen TV show Degrassi has introduced its first trans character this season, and Xtra went on set to speak with actress Jordan Todosey, who plays the role of Adam. Watch our interviews with Todosey and writer Michael Grassi, and watch a clip of an upcoming episode featuring Adam."



"Watch Degrassi in Canada on MuchMusic from Monday to Thursday at 9pm ET/ 6pm PT. The show airs on TeenNick in the United States. Adam's storyline comes to a head in the episodes airing August 11 and 12, "My Body Is A Cage". Catch the episodes online at muchmusic.com/tv/degrassi. www.xtra.ca



Read more from Steve Williams "Trans Story Tackled on Hit Teen Show Degrassi"

8/13/10

Jesus Christ, Kelli Busey and Whoopi Goldberg Give a Damn


I hope my transgender friends join this effort and are counted! Its the only way people will know you are alive. A New PSA from We Give A Damn.Org!



My shared story on Wegiveadamn.org

I am transgender male to female and having completed many of the prerequisite steps in rectifying my gender expression to match my identity and yet I still felt something was missing. I felt a unexplainable emptiness.

That was untill a cisgender friend finally convinced me to attend a service at a Metropolitan Community Church. The next few Sunday's my legs would buckle, my heart would roar and tears of joy fell from my eyes with uncontrollable joy!

After all these years of denial I could show love for Christ without reservation, without being belittled, without shame.

This is a love story, a begining, a wonderfull joining with Christ as I walk in his footprints on a shared 'path less taken'.

I wanted to share this what after all these years remains the very most important part of my transition. I hope you like it.

We give a Damn On twitter

Wegiveadamn.org

8/10/10

Stop Corporate Takeover of Web No Pay Per USE

PETITION: STAND WITH ME TO SAVE NET NEUTRALITY AND STOP THE CORPORATE TAKEOVER OF OUR MEDIA



The Comcast-NBC merger is the first domino. If it falls, the rest will soon follow. If no one stops them, how long do you think it will take before 4 or 5 megacorporations effectively control the flow of information in America not only on television, but online? How long do you think it will take before the Fox News website loads 5 times faster than DailyKos?

It's almost too late to stop this from happening, but not quite. The government can stop them… but first the government has to be MADE to act.

Net Neutrality is THE First Amendment issue of our time. If you want to protect the free flow of information in the country and all that depends on it, you have to help me fight this.


Sign the Petition! Help Senator Al Franken fight the corporate takeover of media

Texas Transgender peoples Lives Riding on Nikki Araguz Marriage Litigation as Attorney General Declines to Rule

Texas transgender people like myself have long understood that living in a specific county and petitioning a particularly progressive judge to amend our drivers licence was key in establishing our correct gender identity, regardless if you were post SRS. Because there was no law or ruling by the Attorney General it allowed us to fly under the radar in this the bluest of states. It was our secret.

This allowed Texas transgender people to live our lives presenting ourselves as who we truly are without fear of arrest in the workplace and in most social situations. Most.

This is all possibly coming about to a screeching halt as our anonymity has become headlines because of the marriage controversies. Texas transgender people such as myself have our worlds riding on the outcome of the Nikki Araguz litigation recently filed in the 245th District Court of Wharton County, In the Estate of Thomas Trevino Araguz III, Deceased, Cause No. 44575.

Source Texas Attorney General Declines To Issue Opinion To Clarify Same-Sex Marriage Controversy In El Paso
"EL PASO, Texas -- El Paso County Attorney Jo Anne Bernal on Monday announced that the Office of the Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has formally declined to issue a legal opinion regarding the granting of marriage licenses to individuals who have undergone sex change operations."

"The request was made after two Hudspeth County women - Sabrina Hill and Therese Bur requested, and were denied, a marriage license in El Paso in February of this year. As proof of identification, Hill presented a birth certificate identifying her as a male, a court order approving his name change from a male to female, and an Arizona driver's license with her new identity as a female."

"Presented with conflicting documents, the El Paso County Clerk's Office requested guidance from the County Attorney's Office as to the eligibility of the applicants to obtain a marriage license."

Legal analysis revealed the existence of a legal gray area around this particular issue, raised by recent changes adopted by the Texas Legislature. Up until 2009, the identity and gender of a marriage license applicant was established through a birth certificate.

"However, during the 81st Session, the Texas Legislature expanded the list of documents acceptable to establish proof of identity and age for purposes of obtaining a marriage license. Section 2.005(b) of the Texas Family Code lists the nineteen documents approved and, to make things more difficult, all are given equal legal weight. This is important for transgender individuals, as conflicting information on various personal documents may arise not from fraud, but because of sex reassignment surgery, and so transgender applicants should be able to self-identify their gender, as opposed to a court doing it for them."

"In a letter dated on August 6, 2010, the Texas Attorney General's Office notified the El Paso County Attorney's Office that they will refrain from answering any questions or issuing an opinion, and in fact are closing the file on this request. The reason provided for this action is that issues included in the opinion request are the subject of pending litigation recently filed in the 245th District Court of Wharton County, In the Estate of Thomas Trevino Araguz III, Deceased, Cause No. 44575. The letter further states that, once that litigation is concluded, the El Paso County Attorney could submit another request if these questions remain unresolved."

"El Paso County Attorney Jo Anne Bernal expressed her disappointment regarding the decision of the Texas Attorney General Gregg Abbott."

"Unfortunately, the ambiguity in the law and confusion for the County clerk remains," Bernal concluded.

8/9/10

Angie Zapata Missed 21st Birthday, Drag Queens and CNN


Drag Queens and Angie haven't been a good mix lately but the reigning Miss Rocky Mountain Shining Star, Leo "Sable" Corona, is doing her part to heal the wounds. What can happen when people act in a socially responsible and caring manner (take note Israel Luna).

According to the West Word Blog Friends and family joined with Sable to remember Angie on her missed 21st birthday and to raise money for a documentary of Angie's life that is missing just one very expensive two minute segment from CNN shot during the Allen Andrade trial. Donations can be made via the Photos of Angie Facebook page or through Just Media, a local nonprofit that backs social justice media projects.

Photos of Angie - Day 1 from Alan Dominguez on Vimeo.

Fort Worth Weekly Writer Jimmy Fowler Fouls Out with "Ticked Off"

Fighting misogony one trashy publication at a time.

Fort Worth Weekly stoops to deceiving, defaming and maligning minorities to increase readership.

"Transgender activists took to the streets to oppose a locally made movie — and made it more successful than ever."
~FW Weekly Tittle and lead paragraph.

FT Worth Weekly author Jimmy Fowler called me and asked if I would interview for a article about TO#WK and my first response was "why now?". I had read the earlier Weekly article which liberally used pejoratives defaming transgender people without attributing the sources and I was very wary. I explained I have turned down similar requests from print and radio media because of their histories of past hate inciting journalism. Fowler reassured me saying previously he was unaware that 'tra##y' was demeaning and that the FW Weekly was blessed with great writers. I was led to beleive it would be a intuitive thought provoking piece.

It was a piece, a piece of crap that is. The second line proclaimed that efforts of all woman to advocate only results in promoting those that would harm us and any further efforts would be futile.

It pissed me off the author claimed ignorance about the word "tra##y. While he never offered he would not use the word 'tra##y' his tone and sincerity suggested that he now understood how harmful that word is for transgender people. That led me to beleive Fowler would at least obscure some of the letters. He did not and in fact Fowler quoted the pitiful excuse Luna made for reneging on his promise to 'blur' tra##y.

In essence, the Fort Worth Weekly is using a pejorative intentionally, being aware of it's injurious nature to transgender people while simultaneously insinuating standing up for our dignity was futile.

It really pissed me off they did not use a photograph of me. The photographer was told I was a principle in the story and that was confirmed by the FT Worth Weekly's Fowler. The FW Weekly had been initially unsure if they were going to pay the photographer for the session, dependent on his editors decision.

These two pictures were supplied by the photographer and should have been next to my interview.

I felt they refrained from including any of my picture from the session was because they wanted the readers to form a perception of my physical being which would not be supported by a photograph showing me as who I truly am.

A beautiful, well adjusted transgender woman.

Why did the Fort Worth Weekly lower itself to such depths?

Of course as anyone who was in the room when Fort Worth city council debated on amending the non discrimination policy to include transgender people will confirm there is a massive contingent of the north Texas population who would See us stoned, raped and institutionalized.

The Fort Worth Weekly editors obviously realized a huge potential for readership and lowered themselves to publish that despicable article catering to sexual perverts, haters and bigots.

I would ask you to comment on the fort Worth Weekly article, but instead of increasing their web visibility, comment here. You will be doing the transgender community good.

8/7/10

Declaration of Transgender Independence.

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to arise and demand the political and social rights other Citizens enjoy, a decent respect to the opinions of humanity requires that they should declare the causes that impel them such.

We hold these truths to be self-evident. Regardless of gender identity, expression and sexual orientation, all people are created Equal – that they have been endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these Rights, governments are instituted among people, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to that end, it is the Right of the People to use the electorate process to change such government and institute new representation that will secure these rights and positively affect their safety and happiness.

Prudence, indeed, would dictate that representatives long in office and that have represented the people well should not be changed for light and transient causes. Indeed, experience has shown that people are willing to tolerate and suffer positions of their representatives as long as such evils are sufferable.

However, when such abuses and usurpations of Civil Liberties arise providing evidence to dehumanize any one group, it is the right and duty of the People to cast aside such representation in favor of new guardians that would secure the future and the liberties of all.

Such has been patient suffering of the Transgender Community, and such is now the necessity to replace those Oppressors with New Representation. The history of the Transgender Community is a history replete with injury and usurpation designed to dehumanize and eradicate a people within a society. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.


    * The trivializing and ridiculing to the Transgender Community before the general populace.

    * The casual abuse of the Transgender Community.

    * Psychological warfare against the Transgender Community has been committed to affect a disassociation between the Community and the General Populace.

    * Censure of the Transgender Community for expressing the desire to be treated with the same respect as other Citizens.

    * Allowing the Abuse of Freedom of Speech to inspire and incite violence and maltreatment against transgender people.

    * Deprivation of liberty against the Transgender Community.

    * The committing of Murder against the Transgender Community with the purpose of eradicating an entire Community within the general populace.


In every stage of these oppressions, we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms. Our petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. Any representative whose vote and actions have given concurrence with these oppressions is unfit to be a representative of a Free People. And, thus, must be removed from office using the electoral process to place New Representation in its stead.

We, therefore, the Transgender Community, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, declare that we are a Free People – Equal with all other citizens and subservient to none. We state now and for all time that we have the right to Fair Treatment under the Law; retention of employment and housing; medical treatment as deemed necessary and prudent; to love and marry those whom we chose and do all other acts that a Free People may of right do.

And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our live, our fortunes, our time and our sacred honor.


*********************
About the author Shauna Marie O'Toole,

It was recently discussed online that we need a declaration of what we believe and stand for. And, just as Concord & Lexington occurred over a year before the Declaration of Independence, we, too, are at war. As long as there is a need for a Transgender Day of Remembrance to honor those recently killed in hate crimes, we are at war.

What we seek is the peaceful installation of representation that would secure the rights of the Transgender Community as well as those of all Americans.

I have taken some thoughts that Mr. Shay has shared with me and merged them with a familiar document

You may friend Shauna Marie O'Toole on facebook here

8/4/10

Ball Memorial Hospital Refuses Woman Coughing up Blood because She's Transgender

Erin Vaught after correctly filling out the ER admittance forms ...was told "we don't know how to go about treating someone with your condition," referring to her transgender status. Star Press

"Ball Memorial spokesman Will Henderson said the hospital first became aware of Vaught's concerns on July 19 via a Google alert, and that a patient representative was investigating the issue. We take our patients' rights policy very seriously," Henderson said." The Indy Channel 6


GOOGLE ALERT THIS BALL!

Sign the Change.org petition Demand Ball Memorial Hospital Stop Discriminating Against LGBT Patients

Then leave a comment on the Ball Facebook page

8/2/10

Lady Gaga Supports Boycotting AZ's LAW SB1070 During The Monster Ball Tour in Phoenix 31 July 2010

From GETEQUAL: Your pressure, combined with some amazing on-the-ground organizing, created a moment in Arizona on Saturday night that was unforgettable.

Just before her Phoenix concert, Lady Gaga met with the two queer migrant youth who we introduced you to last week. They originally launched the petition asking Lady Gaga to speak out against the discriminatory SB 1070. [1] During that meeting, the youth talked with her about their lives -- and about the culture of fear that has been created for immigrants in Arizona.



Following that backstage meeting, Lady Gaga tweeted to more than five million followers, "Tonight we will continue to actively protest social and political injustices in Arizona. We will sing, we will stand up, + we will be heard."

She performed that night with "Stop SB 1070" written on her arm -- which Victor and Amelec had helped her paint on -- pausing in the middle of her show to denounce the bill and call on fans to "peacefully protest and speak against discrimination everywhere." After a mix of applause and boo's, she continued, "Without immigrants this country wouldn't have sh*t."

GetEQUAL was thrilled to be asked to be part of the organizing effort that helped create this opportunity, and are proud of Lady Gaga's ongoing commitment to stand up to legal and social discrimination. We will continue to support the work of the young organizers who created this conversation -- and others who stand at the intersection of LGBTQ and immigration issues.

We know that there is a lot of work left to do in educating people about the overlap between LGBTQ issues and immigration issues. GetEQUAL is committed to continuing the work of intersectional organizing, and we hope that you will join us.

Thank you for taking action -- we look forward to doing more work with you soon!

Get out! Get active! GetEQUAL!

Robin, Kip, Heather, Jay, and Michelle