On My Soap Box Today.

I’m in a “Grr…” mood today for some reason. Maybe it is the political climate we are in but today I’m waiting for the news on the tariffs… I have a 2017 Toyota Prius Prime and I was planning on getting a new one but forget it if Trump puts a tariff on them. You know it affects not only me but also the car dealers, the mechanics, the sales and office staff.

I am making Southern Homestyle Buttermilk Biscuits (The house smells delicious!) to have with strawberries and blueberries, and whipped cream. I glanced at the blueberries… product of Peru. So that will most likely be hit with a tariff!

After four years of steady growth we are now back to where we were back in Trump’s first term, it only took 70 days for him to tank the economy.

*****

Then we have all the anti-trans bulls**t.

This is from GLAD (GLBT Legal Advocates and Defenders)...

Second Federal Court Blocks Trump’s Transgender Military Ban   

Lead attorneys in earlier case Talbott v. Trump respond to the now second nationwide preliminary injunction—this time in the case of Shilling v. Trump

In Shilling v. Trump today, U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Hale Settle issued what will now be a second nationwide preliminary injunction blocking implementation of the transgender military ban resulting from Trump’s January executive order. Earlier this month, U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes in Talbott v. Trump issued a first nationwide preliminary injunction blocking the ban. In a forceful order in which Judge Reyes held that the ban undermines national security and is likely unconstitutional she called it “soaked with animus and dripping with pretext.” Earlier tonight in Talbott, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the Department of Defense can take no action negatively impacting any servicemember while the court is considering the department’s motion for emergency stay.

Department of Defense implementation of the ban to identify and separate transgender servicemembers was scheduled to begin on March 28, a rapid timeframe former military leaders have characterized as “rushed” and “alarming,” noting that the complexity of the military personnel system requires “months of careful planning and timelines.”

Today’s order in Shilling, along with the injunction previously issued in Talbott by Judge Reyes, prevents the Department of Defense from initiating separation proceedings against any transgender service members or otherwise enforcing the ban.

I am friends with a number of lawyers at Glad and one of them wrote on Facebook:

I've never really understood Shakespeare's line 'The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers' from Henry VI. Admittedly, I've never even thought about it that deeply, not being a Shakespeare fan myself, far from it. But given the current climate, I find myself repeating this line over and over, trying to make sense of what's happening. Turns out (probably not news to my more literate friends), it's spoken by a character plotting to overthrow the government, recognizing that eliminating those who uphold the rule of law is the first step toward creating tyranny. This takes on new meaning as we witness systematic attempts to neutralize the legal profession's independence, a cornerstone of our democratic system.

[…]

And then there is the policy activated by this administration to routinely request bond, essentially a financial deposit, from plaintiffs challenging government actions. People who seek to challenge unconstitutional government action could face demands for thousands of dollars as "security" before a case moves forward. This money stays locked up during litigation, which often takes months or years. Everyday citizens don't have this kind of money lying around, exactly why this administration is pushing this policy. It's another way to deny access to justice for those who can't afford the cost of admission.

These tactics reveal a comprehensive strategy to neutralize legal opposition, and some major law firms are helping it happen.

[...]

This isn't merely, or even largely, about bringing powerful law firms to heel. It's about neutralizing the essential mechanisms of democratic accountability. By intimidating the legal profession, the administration creates a chilling effect on those who are sworn to uphold the constitution and preserve its values.

These tactics are what dictators do. It what fascists do, and it what authoritarians do! 

Through My Lens

I wanted so much to go to the Capitol on Monday but my back said... "No I don't think so!" I did not think I could stand that long on hard marble floors. But one thing that I did notice from all of the post on Facebook about it at that and at other LGBTQ+ events.

Nobody spoke for the seniors or the disabled. "Nada", "Zilch" and "Zip".

They need a check list...

☐ At Pride parades events do they have a trolley or a bus for seniors or the disabled people to ride?

☐ At rallies do they have anywhere seniors or the disabled people can sit?

☐ At Pride events do they have sign language interpreters or other forms of communication assistance for those with hearing impairments?

☐ At Pride events do they have any speakers for the disabled or seniors at the events?

At many events I see that they do have sign language interpreters, they do have seating for those who can stand too long but those are far and few between.

Pride is all about inclusion but let us not forget those in our community who have additional barriers to cross.

Editorial: What Are They Hiding?

[Editorial]

Set your Wayback Machine to the House Select Committee on Benghazi hearings on March 4, 2015! They were investigating Secretary of State Hillary Clinton use of a private email server. All totaled Secretary Clinton received  House Republicans issued over 70 subpoenas and letters as part of broader investigations into Clinton-related matters while she was in office.

Fast forward to today…

Trump says he won’t ‘fire people’ over Signal messages, reiterates support of national security team

AP News

By  CHRIS MEGERIAN

March 29, 2025

President Donald Trump on Saturday made his clearest commitment to not fire anyone over an embarrassing accidental leak of his administration’s plans for an airstrike against the Houthis in Yemen.

“I don’t fire people because of fake news and because of witch hunts,” Trump said in an interview with NBC News’ Kristen Welker.

He also said that he had confidence in Mike Waltz, his national security adviser, and Pete Hegseth, his Pentagon chief.

Waltz inadvertently added Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor of The Atlantic magazine, to a group text using the Signal encrypted messaging service where top officials were discussing plans to attack the Houthis.

Is there a parallel?

What are the Republicans in Congress focusing upon? The use of an unclassified app? No… The violation of Federal Records Act? No… Who invited the reporter? Yes…

This shows that at a high level the disregarding for laws and security, and exposing the backroom antics by cabinet level people to the light of the public. This is more than the use of an unclassified app and the violation of federal laws… this goes to the morality of the politicians. How twisted the Republican party has become.

You have to wonder about what they are hiding when they use an app they disappears in 30 days? Why do the cabinet Secretaries think they have to hide their conversation from the public? I am on a government committee and if more than a certain of us meet we have to record our “meeting” when the committee does meet it is recorded, but somehow these government offices think this is okay?

I suggest you look back in history to the time of the Robber Barons for parallels. Tammany Hall and the breaking up of the monopolies… we did it once we can do it again.

[/Editorial] 

Mini-Post: Indefensible

Just listen to her!

She can't answer any of the question he asks, she just dances around answering his question... why don't you follow the AMA, the APA, and all the other mainstream medical associations?

I don't think any Republicans can answer his question... "Why do you follow the mainstream medical associations for all other things but for us?"

Not An April Fool's Joke

Letting the grubby little hands of the billionaires get their hands on all the money!

'Rates are going to go up': The challenge in privatizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

The government-backed companies could be released from oversight when home affordability is near an all-time low.

Yahoo Finance

By Claire Boston

March 31, 2025

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shares jumped this week after new comments from Trump administration officials and a board shake-up at the companies drew fresh attention to their potential release from government control.

But beyond the stock market, housing experts see plenty of reasons to be skeptical about the end of an arrangement that dates back to the depths of the financial crisis. The biggest one? Privatization will probably send mortgage rates higher.

“We can debate how much of a cost it will be,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. “That’s a legitimate debate, but rates are going to go higher.”

The Trump administration is considering sweeping changes to a crucial piece of the US housing ecosystem at a time when affordability is near an all-time low and home sales are mired in a years-long slump. While Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac don’t make mortgages, they play a crucial role in lending by buying up mortgages from banks and other lenders and packaging them into bonds. The system frees up money for more loans.

Okay what are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans. According to Perplexity AI:

Fannie Mae (Federal National Mortgage Association) and Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation) are government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) created by Congress to provide liquidity, stability, and affordability to the U.S. housing market. They play a pivotal role in the secondary mortgage market by purchasing mortgages from lenders, bundling them into mortgage-backed securities (MBS), and selling them to investors. This process ensures that lenders have access to capital for issuing new home loans, making mortgages more accessible and affordable for Americans.

Key Functions

• Liquidity: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buy mortgages from banks and other lenders, providing them with funds to issue more loans.
• Stability: By securitizing mortgages into MBS, they attract investors, ensuring a steady flow of funds into the housing market.
• Affordability: Their operations help lower interest rates on mortgages, making homeownership more attainable for families.

Historical Context

• Both entities were placed under federal conservatorship during the 2008 financial crisis due to their significant exposure to subprime mortgages. They remain under the oversight of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).
• Together, they support around 70% of U.S. residential mortgages.

Recent Developments

In March 2025, discussions about privatizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have intensified under the Trump administration. Privatization could potentially increase profits for investors but may also lead to higher mortgage rates and reduced affordability for homebuyers due to diminished federal backing

ChatGPT wrote:

"So, these financial institutions were designed to support affordable housing for low-income people, but in 2008, they faced a collapse during the 2008 Financial Crisis. Many of these institutions, particularly mortgage lenders, were involved in risky practices that contributed to the crisis, including the widespread use of subprime mortgages. When the housing market collapsed, it triggered a wider financial collapse, impacting brokerage houses and banks.

The U.S. government intervened to bail out these financial institutions to prevent a complete economic collapse. However, the bailout was not necessarily in exchange for nationalization in all cases. Some institutions, like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, were placed under government conservatorship, which is different from full nationalization. Others, like AIG and the big banks, received emergency loans or capital injections, but they were not directly nationalized."

Key Points to Clarify:

Affordable Housing and Subprime Mortgages: Institutions like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were created to support affordable housing, especially for low-income individuals. However, the 2008 crisis was exacerbated by the widespread issuance of subprime mortgages (loans to borrowers with poor credit), which were packaged into risky securities.

The 2008 Financial Crisis: The collapse occurred when these risky mortgages and mortgage-backed securities lost value as home prices plummeted, causing widespread panic. Financial institutions, including banks, brokerages, and insurers, faced massive losses, leading to the government stepping in to stabilize the system.

Government Bailouts: The government provided bailouts to many financial institutions. For example, AIG received a massive loan, and major banks were supported through capital infusions. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were placed into conservatorship, meaning they were temporarily taken over by the government, but they were not fully nationalized (i.e., the government did not own them outright, but it did take control).

Nationalization vs. Conservatorship: Nationalization involves the government taking complete control and ownership of a company. In contrast, conservatorship means the government takes control to stabilize an institution but doesn’t necessarily take full ownership.

So now Trump & Company want to give them back to the billionaires so they can rip us off again!

Yahoo goes on to write...

In the years since the financial crisis, Fannie and Freddie returned to profitability, paid back the government, and developed new methods to shift credit risk away from taxpayers. Meanwhile, the housing market recovered, and homeowner equity sits near record highs.

Now that it profitably they want it back!

Most experts agree that Fannie and Freddie would need some sort of government guarantee when they go private to continue without disruption. Even a return to an implicit guarantee would likely raise mortgage rates, said Jim Parrott, a nonresident fellow at the Urban Institute and a former White House economic adviser during the Obama administration.

So if it goes belly-up again, it won't cost the billionaires anything, we take all the risk and they take all the money!

"This is such a big issue," Fratantoni said. "The numbers are so big ... that this is going to take a lot of attention from the Treasury and particularly from the Treasury secretary."

Keep in mind that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were created to help low income people buy their first home to insure their mortgages, if they become "for profit" again how will it affect low income buyers?

Mini-Post: What Hath He Done?

This is a short post on a big topic... the tearing down of the United States! This is from the Canadian Juno Awards...

Listen to the crowd!

We used to be the leader with human rights... now we have warnings posted about coming here.

We used to be the leader with the environment... now we are becoming the pigsty of the globe.

We used to be the leader with humanitarian aid... now the world is looking to China and Russia for humanitarian aid.

We used to be aligned with the democratic nations... now we align  with Russia, China, and Venezuela, authoritarian regimes.

We used to have a rising economy since October 2022 the stock market has been on one of the longest growth period in history... now since January 20^th we have been in a decline! It only took a little over two month to put us on the edge of a recession!

We used to be on a friendly terms with Greenland... now we are talking about invading it.

We used to be respected... now we are the laughing stock of the world!

Golden Cuckoo Award

I have been amiss in awarding the coveted Cuckoo Award, today it is for the crazy stuff that Musk is saying to justify his job.

Musk shares 'mind blowing' chart showing millions of 'noncitizens' given Social Security numbers under Biden

'We went there to find fraud and we found this by accident,' DOGE advisor said

Fox News

By Alec Schemmel

March 31, 2025

Elon Musk shared a chart during a get-out-the-vote rally in Wisconsin over the weekend, which he claimed showed millions of noncitizens received Social Security numbers during former President Joe Biden's tenure. 

The event came just a day-and-a-half before polls opened in a contentious state judicial race. 

The Sunday town hall garnered a lot of attention Monday over Musk's move to hand out $1 million checks to two Wisconsin voters who signed a petition calling for an end to "activist judges," after the state's Supreme Court declined to take up a challenge arguing the sweepstakes was unlawful.

After handing out the money, Musk brought friend and DOGE colleague Antonio Gracias on stage to discuss the work he has done with the federal government's Social Security system. Shortly after Gracias joined Musk, a large graphic that read, "New Non-Citizen Social Security Numbers Issued," was illuminated on the screen behind them.

Now here is the thing. They have Social Security numbers , now get this, because they pay taxes. If you don't have a SS you can't file a tax return!

To receive a Golden Cuckoo Award you have to double down...

Last week, DOGE said it had removed approximately 7 million Social Security accounts belonging to people listed as being over 120 years old. DOGE has also found through its audits that the Social Security database included 20 million dead people marked as alive, Musk said at the Wisconsin town hall Sunday.

Um... that is because the computer language the tax data is in is written in COBOL and the young computer aces have no idea what they are doing! 

We Did It Once...

...We can do it again!

We fought for our rights in '59 at Cooper’s Donuts, we fought for our rights in '65 at Dewey’s, we fought for our rights at Compton Cafeteria in' 66, and in '67 saw us at the Black Cat Café! And we were leading the way at Stonewall!

From Stonewall to now: LGBTQ+ elders on navigating fear in dark times

LGBTQ+ elders share what survival looks like under a hostile political regime and their advice to young people right now. 

The19^th News

By Orion Rummler

March 17, 2025

Karla Jay remembers joining the second night of street protests during the 1969 Stonewall uprising in New York City. For her, and for so many other LGBTQ+ people, something had shifted: People were angry. They didn’t want things to go back to normal — because normal meant police raids. Normal meant living underground. It meant hiding who they were at their jobs and from their families. They wanted a radical change.  

Radical change meant organizing. Jay joined a meeting with the Gay Liberation Front, which would become the incubator for the modern LGBTQ+ political movement and proliferate in chapters across the country. At those meetings, she remembers discussing what freedom could look like. Holding hands with a lover while walking down the street, without fear of getting beaten up, one person said. Another said they’d like to get married. At the time, those dreams seemed impossible. 

Jay, now 78, is worried that history will repeat itself. She’s worried that LGBTQ+ people will be put in the dark again by the draconian policies of a second Trump administration.

Today saw a rally at the Capitol in Hartford on the Day of Transgender Visibility.

The 19th spoke with several LGBTQ+ elders, including Jay, about what survival looks like under a hostile political regime and what advice they would give to young LGBTQ+ people right now. 

Many states protect LGBTQ+ people through nondiscrimination laws that ensure fair access to housing, public accommodations and employment. Supreme Court precedent does the same through Bostock v. Clayton County. Other states have passed shield laws to protect access to gender-affirming care for trans people. But to Jay, a cisgender lesbian, it all still feels precarious. The Trump administration is trying to make it harder for transgender Americans to live openly and safely, and lawmakers in more than a handful of states want to undermine marriage equality.

It is those who do not fit the Republican's imagine of a man or a woman who are being persecuted!

As Ramos watches the Trump administration use the power of the federal government to target transgender Americans and erase LGBTQ+ history, she’s not afraid for herself. She’s afraid for young LGBTQ+ people, especially young trans people who now find themselves at the center of a growing political and cultural war. If someone transitioned six months ago, she said, they now have a target on their back — and little to no experience with what that feels like. 

“They don’t know what it is like to be a soldier going into war, as far as social issues. So I fear for them,” she said. “Who wouldn’t be scared?” 

At today's rally many attendees talked to their legislators and then attended a news conference.

The National Park Service deleted all references to transgender and queer people from its web page honoring the 1969 Stonewall uprising — the most well-known moment from LGBTQ+ history in the country — leaving references to only lesbian, gay and bisexual people.  Hundreds gathered in New York City to protest. Among them was Renee Imperato, a 76-year-old trans woman and New York native. 

We will not be defeated! This 76 year-old trans woman, however health will keep me home.

---

This was in the Hartford Courant this morning...

Opinion: Reflecting on the 20th anniversary of my transition

By Tony Ferraiolo

March 31, 2025

Once you know it, you can’t un-know it. That’s something I think about when I reflect on the moment that I realized I was trans back in 2003. The fact that once I came to the true realization that I am a man, there was no turning back.

Throughout my life, I had experienced tremendous suffering and abuse at the hands of people that were supposed to have loved me. I carried it with me and it weighed on me in ways that led to self-harm, self-doubt and loneliness.

I had lived my life as a lesbian up until that point, but I wasn’t happy. There was some relief in the awareness that I was trans and that I needed to change. But there was fear and isolation. And so, suicidal ideations began, especially since I didn’t know anyone else that was trans. There was no one to help navigate this unchartered territory.

My thoughts turned to the idea of not being able to live if I was never going to be happy. I couldn’t imagine living a closeted life or a life as a trans person. At the time, you mostly heard about trans women – and people were not kind to them at all. Trans men were essentially invisible.

So, I decided there was no alternative. I went to the beach fully intending to end my life. But someone, something, had a different plan for me that day. I heard a very loud voice tell me “STOP! CREATE YOURSELF!”

I have known Tony since 2003 when he first came out, I sat next to him when he had his first public gig at Central Connecticut State University. He is one of leading trans people in Connecticut.

We Are Just A Drop In A Bucket

But we make a big splash. You would think by the way Republicans talk that we are a plague taking over the world... but,

Transgender people are about 1% of the US population. Yet they’re a political lightning rod

AP News

By  GEOFF MULVIHILL and JESSE BEDAYN

March 30, 2025

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump used contentiousness around transgender people’s access to sports and bathrooms to fire up conservative voters and sway undecideds. And in his first months back in office, Trump has pushed the issue further, erasing mention of transgender people on government websites and passports and trying to remove them from the military.

It’s a contradiction of numbers that reveals a deep cultural divide: Transgender people make up less than 1% of the U.S. population, but they have become a major piece on the political chess board — particularly Trump’s.

For transgender people and their allies — along with several judges who have ruled against Trump in response to legal challenges — it’s a matter of civil rights for a small group. But many Americans believe those rights had grown too expansive.

[...]

“What he wants is to scare us into being invisible again,” said Rachel Crandall Crocker, the executive director of Transgender Michigan who organized the first Day of Visibility 16 years ago. “We have to show him we won’t go back.”

So why has this small population found itself with such an outsized role in American politics?

Because fascism needs a scapegoat, and we are it! They need a boogeyman to scare the voters.

Zein Murib, an associate professor of political science and women’s, gender and sexuality studies at Fordham University, said there has been a decades-old effort “to reinstate Christian nationalist principles as the law of the land” that increased its focus on transgender people after a 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling recognizing same-sex marriage nationwide. It took a few years, but some of the positions gained traction.

We are something like 0.5% of the population! We are the low hanging fruit.

Fact Sheet: Misleading Narratives About Transgender People and Restrooms, Locker Rooms, and Other Single-Sex Spaces

By GLAAD

March 4, 2025

Current proposals in the US that prohibit transgender people from being able to use public restrooms that align with who they are (e.g. proposals forcing transgender men to use women’s bathrooms, and trans women to use the men’s room) are constructed on intentional falsehoods. This trend of inflammatory fearmongering and demonization is a threat to the health and safety of transgender people, as well as cisgender people perceived to be trans. Safety and privacy is important to all of us, and banning transgender people from these spaces does nothing to make other people safer.

These discriminatory endeavors are part of the broader, escalating wave of attacks on basic civil rights. These attacks include attempts to ban essential health care for transgender youth and adults, restrict participation in sports, block accurate identity documents, curb freedom of expression, endanger transgender inmates by incarcerating them in institutions inconsistent with their gender identity, and suppress and even criminalize books, education, and culture by and about LGBTQ people.

All of these efforts are part of the same broader goal to roll back the clock on acceptance for transgender people, and make it increasingly difficult for transgender Americans to go about their daily lives.

Their goal is to force us back into the closet and bring back the era of "Father Knows Best" of the 1950s!