More Fuel to the HRC Fire

A critical report from the Washington Blade on the method used by the HRC for their survey…

Conducted for HRC by Knowledge Networks, the survey shows most respondents believe national gay groups should support ENDA despite its lack of protections for transgender workers “because it helps gay, lesbian and bisexual workers and is a step toward transgender employment rights.”

According to survey excerpts, about 68 percent of respondents chose that scripted statement among three offered lines to best represent their “point of view.”

Meanwhile a poll by Hunter College found that...

When asked about the proposed federal law making it illegal to discriminate against lesbians, gays, and bisexuals in employment, LGBs (by a margin of 60 to 37 percent) said that those seeking to pass the law were wrong to remove protections for transgendered people in order to get the votes necessary for passage in Congress.

The Hunter College Poll was funded by a grant from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. Sole control over the design of the study’s questionnaire and analysis of the data were maintained by the study’s investigators. The survey was conducted among those who identified themselves as lesbian, gay or bisexual to Knowledge Networks, which recruits its nationally representative sample of respondents by telephone and administers surveys to them via the Internet. The survey has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 4 percentage points.

But wait a minute! Two polls conducted by the HRC that results are totally opposite?

Here is some more excerpts from the Washington Blade…

“I don’t know based upon this response that you could say how the community — the gay, lesbian, bisexual community — feels about the legislation,” Stahura said. “I don’t think those questions give you that answer.”

Christopher Barron, a Washington political consultant Log Cabin’s former political director, who is gay and does survey interpretation, agreed. He said the methodology, which he described as “bizarre,” might not allow the results to be projected nationally.

“It may be that it’s completely and totally sound,” he said. “But there’s nothing there that tells us that it is, so you can’t assume it’s a nationally representative sample.”

Luna told the Blade this week that the survey is nationally representative.

Barron and Stahura, who reviewed a two-page memorandum and three data sets prepared by Knowledge Networks and provided to the Blade, also noted they could not determine whether the survey is scientific.

Both experts said that lingering question would preclude them from using the survey’s findings in their work.

“I would not approve it for publication,” Stahura said. “I think with the ‘becauses,’ you’re really pushing people toward particular responses in this instance.”

Safe and Sound on Long Island

Right now I am on Long Island for a four day conference. I drove three other people down here to the conference and I took the Bridgeport Port Jefferson ferry. Every one turned green except me, I had a blast. Watching them undock and head out into the Sound, watching all the other ships pass by. When they asked how long it will take to cross the Sound, I said that you can see the port where we were heading. They looked out the window to where I was pointed, they moaned as the horizon bobbed up and down. Oh well, I guess I will be driving home on Sunday through New York.

One disappointment was you could not take any pictures on the deck for security reasons, only of the inside of the cabin. I do not think that you want to see the hot dog counter and a picture of my green friends; although they were an interesting shade of green.

The conference is on organizing grassroots actions and is sponsored by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. It was off to a good start last night with the opening ceremony and a workshop problem. There are a number of trans-people here and that I should be able to network with.

This and That

My aunt is so sweet! Yesterday I was visiting her at the nursing home when a new nurse came in and asked, “Is this your daughter?” We both replied at the same time; my aunt saying “nephew” and I said “niece”. You just have to love her. :-)

Also, last night was the support group meeting and a few of us went out to dinner at the Goldroc Diner. While we were there someone walked by the booth and waved; I was busy talking to my friends and just noticed him at the last second so I never got a good look at him. I think it was an engineer from where I use to work, if it was, I would like to thank him for his support.

Off to Long Island for the New York Power Summit

I am leaving this afternoon to go to the New York Power Summit; the hotel has WiFi so I should be able to post from there. It is going to be a very busy schedule for the next four days: Thursday 7 – 9 PM, Friday and Saturday 9 – 6 PM and Sunday 9 – 3 PM.
Hopefully I will have some photo of the ferry trip over to the island and it will not be too rough (I do not want to get off the boat looking like Elphaba from Wicked.)

CNN News

There was a news story on CNN about an assault at a McDonald’s in Memphis Tennessee, why did an assault make national news? There must a dozen assaults at restaurants across the country each day, so why was this covered?

It was because the assault was done by "drag queen" and “transvestite”, do you think the story would have been covered by CNN if they were not involved? Did that make the story worthy of the national news? Or was it to do more with transphobia or heterosexism?

I found this story totally derogatory; the story had air time just for its sensationalism at the expense of a minority. I found this story on the same level as racist, sexist, ethnic and religious bigotry.

What do you think lead up to the assault? Do you think that they did it just for the ”hell of it” deciding to beat up the employees because they were bored? Or was there provocation? In the video the reporter said an argument started at the drive-thru window; were there any trans-baiting comments involved? It should be interesting to see the surveillance video on what precipitated the incident.

Donna Rose and Jamison Green Resign from HRC Business Council

The last two transgender members resign from the HRC Business Council. Donna Rose resigned from the HRC Board of Directors last month, she was the only transgendered member of the Board.

http://tg-news.org/pdfs/BCResignations_DonnaJamison.pdf

…Recent HRC policy decisions - to actively support a version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) that excludes our transgender brothers and sisters as well as gender-variant lesbian, gay, and bisexual people - have placed us in an untenable position. On November 8, the day after the ENDA vote in the House of Representatives, we requested an opportunity to meet personally with HRC President Joe Solmonese to share our concerns and to discuss HRC's strategy for addressing recent legislative shortcomings before making a decision to stay or go. As the only transgender representatives on the Business Council our community expects us to have some influence, or at least to receive the courtesy of a consultation. Almost 3 weeks have passed since that request and we have heard nothing in response. This lack of response speaks volumes, so we feel compelled to take this stand today.
We are announcing our resignations from the HRC Business Council, effective immediately. Considering recent broken promises, the lack of credibility that HRC has with the transgender community at large, and HRC's apparent lack of commitment to healing the breach it has caused, we find it impossible to maintain an effective working relationship with the organization….

Transgender Day of Remembrance Photos and Speech

Here are some of the photos from the Transgender Day of Remembrance.

The first photo is us marching to the state Capital building. We are right in front of the Bushnell Theater when this picture was taken.

This photo was taken at the MCC Chapel as I was reading my speech.

Here is a link to a short (30seconds) video clip from the Ten O’clock news.

And this is my speech that I gave that night….

All of us here tonight are activists. We are activists because we took the time come here tonight to remember those who were murder this year by showing that we care.
There are other ways in which we can show that we care and one of the ways we can show it is by helping others. We have all in one way or another come “Out of the Closet” and we remember what it was like when we for the first time told others that “I am Trans”. We can share that knowledge to help others who are trying to come out. We can be there for them if they need a shoulder to cry on or in sharing their joy. Those of us who have gone out in public can be there for our brother and sisters by offering a hand to guide them and lead the way.
We are a rich diverse group and we can use that diversity in helping others. Some of us have struggled with our families; some of us have fought to keep our jobs, and some of us have fought to stay alive. We can use that knowledge to help others who face the same battles to help guide them.
We do not have to be out there on the frontlines banging our drums; we can help in other way. The theme for tonight is Love Transcends and it does, it can build bridges. It can build a bridge between those who are a just starting out on their journey and those who have progressed further along on their own journey.
One way we can help is by volunteering. We have heard Robin talk about True Colors and their mentoring program. They also have a conference every year for GLBT Youth and they always need mentors and volunteers to help them at the conference. There is the Hartford Gay and Lesbian Health Collective and also the Suicide Prevention Hotline. There are so many places out there where we can help and share our knowledge and love.
I know that I have found that volunteering has been both rewarding and enriching. Knowing that in some small way I have helped out others has given purpose to my life. One of the greatest moments in my life was when I was standing in line for our reservations at City Steam and a woman came up to me and said; “You probably do not remember me. But you spoke in my class at University of Hartford and because of what you said that night I was able to help my client when she came out as transgendered.” Can you imagine what it felt like to hear those words?
Volunteering is so easy to do, all you have to do is pick up the phone and call, just say “What can I do to help?” and by doing that you can affect generations to come, just by that one simple act.

Manic Monday

Manic Monday for November 26, 2007

Which personality trait has gotten you into the most trouble?
I talk before I think and afterward I feel I want to hit my head and go DUH!
Like at Thanksgiving I was talking to my sister-in-law’s sister-in-law about how much I hatred the vegetarian food at the facilitator training last month then I remembered that she is a vegetarian and she was making a vegetarian stuffing…. DUH!

If you had to gain 10 pounds what would you eat to gain the weight?
I am trying to lose forty pounds, not gain it! But if I had to gain ten pounds I would eat lobster and have New England clam chowder.

How is your private self different from your public self?
It uses to be way different, but now the two are a lot closer. The difference is that I am less confident in private.

Just Another Visit by the State Police

Oh hum, it was just another visit by the state police at ten o’clock at night.
It seems that my garage door didn’t go all the way down and the light was flashing so a state cop on his way home stopped by to report it to me. At least I wasn’t in my nightgown and he did call me “Miss.” Well I guess at least one neighbor now knows that I am trans.

Argh...

I hate it when the garage door does that! In cold weather the safety device settings changes and as a result the garage door opens. The last time it did it, it was three in the morning when the doorbell rang and it was the police to tell me my garage light was blink..

People Magazine

Up at the cottage this Thanksgiving there was an ample supply of People magazines thanks to my niece and my nephew’s wife. I was reading an article in the November 19th issue and was very surprised to find a serious article on Gays and Lesbians.
So I thought I would share it with you, this is from the writer’s web-site….

Mary Lou has completed her book entitled THE SLOW MIRACLE OF TRANSFORMATION. The following story highlights a small part of Mary Lou's pilgrimage.

I used to think that the only way to relate to gays was to confront them. I had no use for them. I didn't understand them, and I was judgmental and arrogant. And then one day our lives were changed forever.

It was about 5:15 p.m. on December 8, 1988. I had just walked into the house from work with the mail in my hand. There was a letter from my daughter, Anna. I opened it with the pleasure of anticipation that a mom feels when she hears from her daughter who is away at college. Her letter was dated December 4, 1988. She told me that lots had happened in her life with regard to her sexuality. She said she had fought long and hard to be comfortable and now she was. She said she was comfortable with women.

She went on to say she loved me and hoped I wouldn't try to change her. She said she loved God and knew He loved her.

On December 20, 1988, I answered her letter and told her I was devastated by what she had written. Please allow me to quote one paragraph from my letter to Anna:

“Undoubtedly the most difficult part of your letter was the gay thing. I will never accept that in you. I feel it’s a terrible waste, besides being spiritually and morally wrong. For a reason I don’t quite fathom, I have a harder time dealing with that issues than almost anything in the world. I do and will continue to love you, but I will always hate that and will pray every day that you will change your mind and attitude”

Almost a year later, August 13, 1989, I was taking Anna back to the airport to go back to college after she played the piano for her cousin's wedding. I told her that IF she ever decided she wanted to get her act together, she was welcome to come home.

What followed were more than 8 stormy years, at best. We had a few good times, but not many.

In mid-August 1996, I received a letter from Anna. She basically said she wanted nothing more to do with me. She said that I was her mother biologically only, that I had stolen her childhood from her, and that I had done colossal damage to her soul with my shaming words. She did not want me in her life, not then, maybe not ever. She told me she did not want to, and did not have to forgive me.

I sought advice from a counselor, several friends and family members. To a person, all said the same thing: You must respect Anna's wishes and give her the space she needs. And that's what I did.

I keep wondering what would have happened if, after receiving her letter, I had grabbed my toothbrush, credit card and car keys, driven the 550 miles to where she was living and told her that I loved her no matter what. I didn't do that. The worst part is that I'll never be able to do that.

On February 28, 1997 at 10:00 p.m., I received a phone call from my ex-husband and Anna's Dad. At about 4:00 p.m. that afternoon, Anna had been found hanging from the bar in her closet. She had been dead for 15 hours. It was ruled a suicide by the coroner -- no autopsy, no note, no nothing -- but days, weeks, months and years of pain and anguish.

I have heard it said that when a loved one dies of suicide, there is a sense of utter failure. I can identify with that. I did not love her unconditionally, even though I knew 1 Corinthians 13 well. Among other things it says, Love is patient...and kind; Love is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs...It always protects, always hopes, always perseveres.

Throughout these years, since Anna's death, I have done a lot of soul searching to figure out just what part I played in Anna's death. I have wrestled with who I am and how I treated my own flesh and blood.

No matter what else happens in my life, I will always acknowledge the pain and tragedy of Anna's suicide. However, her death has also brought me face-to-face with the untruth I have been taught throughout my life by the church. My transformation has occurred through a wonderful gift given to me by God: getting to know, understand, and love GLBTA (Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, Transgenders, and Allies). I am now proud to call myself an ally and am honored to count these children of God amongst my closest and dearest friends. This new awareness has been supported through intense study of biblical passages, as well as continued dialogue with individuals on both sides of the issue.

Recently, I went to the curio cabinet that holds Anna's pictures and dolphin collection. I said to her, "I will never again treat a gay person the way I treated you. That's a promise!"

After reading this, I hope you will take this message to heart. In keeping with this promise, my husband, Bob and I are reaching out to all of our new friends. We pray that you will contact us and share your journey. Let us all remember that we are here to support and nourish one another, as Christ does us.

-- Mary Lou

TEACH Ministries
8 Apple Tree Circle
North Little Rock, AR 72118

Please do not let it be a tragic ending to get you to see the way to love and acceptance of your children.

Saturday Six - Episode 188

Patrick'a Weekender: Saturday Six - Episode 188

1. As a general rule, are you more stressed or less stressed during the holiday season?
More stressed, trying to get everything coordinated with the extended family is not an easy thing to do.

2. Do you tend to be happier or sad during the holiday season?
Both, it is a rollercoaster ride, with it highs and lows.

3. How much shopping did you do on the day after Thanksgiving?
- 0 –

4. Take the quiz: What color is your brain?

Your Brain is Blue

Of all the brain types, yours is the most mellow. You tend to be in a meditative state most of the time. You don't try to think away your troubles. Your thoughts are realistic, fresh, and honest. You truly see things as how they are. You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about your friends, your surroundings, and your life.

What Color Is Your Brain?

5. When it comes to Christmas gifts, how organized are you in terms of gift ideas and choosing the right ones for the right recipients?
Not very, we usually past a Christmas list around.

6. What was the most inaccurate part of the answer you received to the brain color quiz?
“You don't try to think away your troubles.” That is totally opposite of what I think, if anyone reads this blog regularly you will know that I am a worrier

Thanksgiving

Whew! It over and now I get to relax.
I got home last night after a long chaotic day with four kids and ten adults all crammed into the cottage. It was bitter cold outside keeping the kids inside, but the guys did hike up to the top of the mountain (A mountain by New England standards: elv.= 2740 about a 1000ft. raise from the lake.) on Saturday. With way too much food (but that is what Thanksgiving is all about.), catching up on family lives, with the dogs come out of nowhere when some food lands on the floor and the kids running around with their hide and seek games, peeking out from under the table
I did have a good time, it was nice to be with the family and I managed to keep my weight gain down to two pounds.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I hope you all have a nice and safe Thanksgiving and please take a little time to remember those who do not have a family to go home to. I am one of the lucky ones whose family accepts me.
All the planning has come together and we are all going to be up at the cottage this holiday.

Lefties

I have always been interested in the brain for obvious reasons and being left handed had leaded me to wonder why about ten percent of the people are left handed. No one has yet to explain why a person is left handed just like no one has ever explained why a person is trans. Are you born left handed or is it something that we learn; is it nature or nurture?
There was an article in the Hartford Courant yesterday about the latest thinking on the causes of left-handedness.

The brains of left-handed people develop more freely in utero, they say, allowing the organization to stray more from the standard design.

[…]

Other scientists are examining how LRRTM1 and other genes might tie left-handedness loosely with all sorts of characteristics. Various studies have found weak but statistically significant associations between left-handedness and schizophrenia, autism and even homosexuality.

[…]

There is some evidence, he says, that mixed-handers have a wider connecting pathway — called the corpus callosum — between the right and left hemispheres. Having a wider connection seems to make it harder to do more than one thing at a time — playing a different rhythm with each hand, for example.

The brain works in mysterious ways that we are just barely starting to understand.

Two years ago during the True Colors Conference (a GLBT youth conference), I was getting signatures for a petition for the Anti-discrimination Coalition and I noticed that a many of signers were left handed. I do not know the actual percentage but I do know that it made an impression on me at the time that there were so many lefties.
I am not saying that there is any links between being gender variant and left handedness but it does raise an interesting question.

Transgender Day of Remembrance: Who We Remember…

Nakia Ladelle Baker
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Cause of Death: Blunt force trauma to the head
Date of Death: January 7, 2007

Ruby Rodriguez
Location: San Francisco, California
Cause of Death: She had been strangled and was found naked in the street.
Date of Death: March 16, 2007

Erica Keel
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Cause of Death: A car repeatedly struck her
Date of Death: March 23, 2007

Bret T. Turner
Location: Madison, Wisconsin
Cause of Death: Multiple stab wounds
Date of Death: April 2, 2007

Victoria Arellano
Location: San Pedro, California
Cause of Death: Denied necessary medications to treat HIV-related side effects.
Date of Death: July 20, 2007

Oscar Mosqueda
Location: Daytona Beach, Florida
Cause of Death: Shot to death
Date of Death: July 29, 2007

Maribelle Reyes
Location: Houston, Texas
Cause of Death: AIDS; Reyes was turned away from several treatment centers due to her transgender status.
Date of Death: August 30, 2007

This year Congress passed a Federal Hate Crime bill that includes Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, but President Bush is expected to veto the bill.

I found this on a friend’s blog: Femulate

Julia Serano: There’s Something About “Deception”

Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 20th will be the 9th Annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, which memorializes those who are killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. Trans people are often targeted for violence because their gender presentation, appearance and/or anatomy falls outside the norms of what is considered acceptable for a woman or man. A large percentage of trans people who are killed are prostitutes, and their murders often go unreported or underreported due to the public presumption that those engaged in sex work are not deserving of attention or somehow had it coming to them.

Some trans people are killed as the result of being denied medical services specifically because of their trans status, for example, Tyra Hunter, a transsexual woman who died in 1995 after being in a car accident. EMTs who arrived on the scene stopped providing her with medical care—and instead laughed and made slurs at her—upon discovering that she had male genitals.

Much of the violence that is directed at trans people is predicated on the myth of deception. For example, straight men who become attracted to trans women sometimes erupt into homophobic/transphobic rage and violence upon discovering that the woman in question was born male. Perhaps the most well known of such cases is that of Gwen Araujo, who was bludgeoned to death by a four men, two of whom she had been sexually intimate with. Despite the fact that the men plotted her murder a week in advance, defense lawyers insisted that the murder was merely manslaughter because the defendants were victims of Gwen’s “sexual deceit.”

[...]

I found this on another friend’s blog: In Shel's Corner - Bloggery and Stuff

Wicked was Wicked!

I went to see the Tony Award winning musical Wicked at the Bushnell last night and it was excellent. We first went out to dinner at the Olive Garden in Manchester and then we to the Bushnell.

If you do not know what the play is about there is a good synopsis on Wikipedia, but I saw the play through a slightly different lens. Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, I saw more as a victim of discrimination because she is different from everyone else (She is green) and is shunned because of her difference. At school everyone makes fun of her and because of her defense of the animals puts her at odd with the head mistress of the school and of the Wizard of Oz. She then becomes an outcast and persecuted. At the end when Dorothy threw the water on Elphaba, as she was melting, I was crying.

I would highly recommend seeing the play. But then I am prejudiced, I love the theater and any play to me is a good play. I just find it amazing how the actors can memorize their lines and I love the sets from the simple sets, Doubts to the high production sets in Wicked.

Manic Monday

Manic Monday for November 19, 2007

What is your least favorite day of the week and why?
When I was working it was Mondays because you had the whole week ahead of you. But now that I am retired one day is just like the next.

What's the best way to end the day?
Coming home from a night out on the town with friends.

Which animal would you have left out of the ark?
The skunks, I think the answer is obvious.

Desmond Tutu - Part II

Last month I wrote about Desmond Tutu, the former Archbishop of Cape Town and a Nobel Peace Price winner, and I just found this update on a friends blog, she posted this BBC article on her blog….

Tutu Chides Church for Gay Stance

South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu has criticised the Anglican Church and its leadership for its attitudes towards homosexuality.

In an interview with BBC Radio 4, he said the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, had failed to demonstrate that God is "welcoming".

[…]

Criticising Dr Williams, he said: "Why doesn't he demonstrate a particular attribute of God's which is that God is a welcoming God."

'Extraordinarily homophobic'

Archbishop Tutu referred to the debate about whether Gene Robinson, who is openly gay, could serve as the bishop of New Hampshire.

He said the Anglican Church had seemed "extraordinarily homophobic" in its handling of the issue, and that he had felt "saddened" and "ashamed" of his church at the time.

[…]

In the interview, Archbishop Tutu also rebuked religious conservatives who said homosexuality was a choice.

By the Way Sunday

~I'm Late, I'm Late~

By the way...

Are you generally early or late?
Late, I try to be on time but it always seems to be I get there late.

Are you concerned with being on time?
Yes, as I said I try to there on time. Read the posting below about “All Dressed Up”, I got there on time but to the wrong place.

If you are chronically late, do you believe it's the result of poor planning or choosing to be late?
Mostly I am running around getting last minute things. Also traffic is hard to judge sometimes. Sometimes it takes only twenty minutes to get to Hartford and other times it can take forty-five minutes.

When others are late, does it bother you?
No, I think there is a saying about stones and living in glass houses

Do you have any tips for being on time?
Yes, leave earlier.

All Dressed Up and No Where to Go!

I had a speaking engagement this morning at a church down in the Southwestern part of the state and I after I drove all the way down there I could not find the church. It turned out the address that she had at the bottom of the email was her home address and the contact information was also her home phone number. So when I got there it was her house and not the church and when I called the number I could hear the phone ringing in the house. I then tried the cell phone number and the phone went to voice mail, so I went into town and asked around if anyone knew where the church was located and had no luck. I came back home after driving around down there. I drove a total 170 miles and three hours driving. Grrr….
I did find the address when I got home it was on a program guide that she made and it was in fine print on the cover. No where in the emails that went back and forth was there any address other than hers.

At least I am going out tonight to dinner and see the play Wicked at the Bushnell.

"Which Superhero are you?"

Your results:
You are Superman

Superman 70% Spider-Man 55% Wonder Woman 47% Iron Man 45% Supergirl 42% Green Lantern 40% Robin 37% Hulk 35% Catwoman 25% The Flash 25% Batman 25%

You are mild-mannered, good, strong and you love to help others.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz

2007 - Transgender Day of Remembrance

Every year around this time we remember all those who were killed because they were transgender. There are memorial services that are going to be held all around the world. To find a service near you check out this list, it is only a partial list of cities. If your city is not on the list try Googling your city using your city name and “Transgender Day of Remembrance” in quotes.
Here in Connecticut we are holding our ceremony on Tuesday November 20th, but other cities are hold their this weekend. The Connecticut program is…

Connecticut's 6th Annual Transgender Day of Remembrance
“Love Tran-scends: The Importance of Allies”

(6:00pm) Meet at First Presbyterian Church and march to Stairs of State Capitol for Candlelight Vigil

Speakers……….

Memorial………..Names of those we remember

(7:00pm) Proceed to Metropolitan Community Church for program “Love Tran-scends: The Importance of Allies”

(7:30pm) Welcoming…..

Song……………MCC Gospel Choir

Speakers………….

Memorial………..Names of those we remember

Songs…………..MCC Gospel Choir and Eve – “They Won’t Accept Us”

(8:30) Closing and Reception


You can come to either or both of the ceremonies. At the Capital there will be speeches and also a reading of a proclamation by member of the Hartford City Council. It will be more public then the MCC Chapel.

Off On Another Great Adventure. – Part 2

I just got an email from the Power Summit; I am not too keen on some of the workshops they have listed. One of the workshops that we have to do is go door to door to talk to people about “Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act” (GENDA) and the other workshop is on phone banks. I have had enough of phone banks when I worked for the Lamont campaign, long enough to know that I do not want to do that again and I don’t even want to think about going door to door.
According to the instructions; we have to come up with a list of 50 names to call on Thursday night. I do not know 50 people who I could list or if I would want to impose on them. You all know how I hate to tag somebody with memes; well it is even more pronounced with phoning. I hate to call someone unannounced, I would much rather email them. My cell phone is also pay as you take at a rate of 30 cents a minute and if each is three minutes that will be $45, no thanks.
As for going door to door, I can just see them now when a 6ft tranny is knocking at heir door, yeah right!
I still think it will be good to go to the conference; I might go door to door but no way am I going to call.