These Cases You Should Know

There was an article in Time last year about the Supreme Court and the cases that have affected the LGBTQ+ community (In reality they are on cases that affect the Ls and Gs).

9 Landmark Supreme Court Cases That Shaped LGBTQ Rights in America
By Tara Law
October 8, 2019

he United States has witnessed a remarkable shift in LGBTQ rights and visibility in the 50 years since the Stonewall uprising — and in just the last few years, LGBTQ people have won the right to marry, have hit a record high in representation on television and have seen the first openly gay major presidential candidate begin his campaign.

But the path of LGBTQ rights in America has not been a simple one. And just as advocates fought their battle American culture, they also did so in the courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. Over the last half a century, the court first denied and then affirmed that LGBTQ people have the right to consensual sex, and then the right to marry whom they choose.
[…]
One, Inc. v. Olesen (1958)
One of the first Supreme Court cases to consider LGBTQ rights concerned freedom of speech.

In 1953, a publisher associated with the Los Angeles chapter of the Mattachine Society, one of the country’s first “homophile” groups, released something unique for its time: ONE: The Homosexual Magazine. The magazine, which is considered by One Archives Foundation to be America’s first widely-distributed magazine for gay readers, included articles, editorials, short stories and other content. Not long after publication began, its August and October editions were seized by the Los Angeles postal authorities. Authorities argued that the publication violated obscenity laws.

In its decision, the Supreme Court tossed out a lower court’s ruling, and established that material aimed at a gay audience was not inherently obscene. The decision validated that people had the right to publish LGBTQ media.
[...]
Baker v. Nelson (1972)The Supreme Court considered the issue of marriage equality for the first time in 1972.
[…]
Bowers v. Hardwick (1986)
The LGBTQ rights movement was dealt a major blow when the court decided to uphold a Georgia sodomy law in 1986.
[…]
Romer v. Evans (1996)
In this decision, the Supreme Court ruled that laws couldn’t single out LGBTQ people to take away their rights.
[…]
As Loewy explains, “In Romer, the Supreme Court recognized for the first time that carving LGBTQ people out of protections that everybody else could have access to violated equal protection.”
[…]
Boy Scouts of America v. Dale (1996)
The same year the court found that laws couldn’t single out LGBTQ people, the Supreme Court also considered whether a private organization could single them out with specific rules — and found in favor of that organization.

And the biggie was…

Lawrence v. Texas (2003)
The Court ultimately eliminated sodomy laws in 2003, overruling Bowers v. Hardwick with a vote of 6-3.

Justice Kennedy delivered the opinion, saying that the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment gave the petitioners “the full right to engage in private conduct without government intervention… The Texas statute furthers no legitimate state interest which can justify its intrusion into the individual’s personal and private life.”

The article goes on to list other cases…

United States v. Windsor (2013)
Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018)

But I think that missed listing these cases,

• Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins (1989) The Supreme Court ruled that employment discrimination based on sex stereotypes is recognized as unlawful sexual discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
• Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Serv., Inc. (1998) In this case, the Court held that sex discrimination consisting of same-sex sexual harassment can form the basis for a valid claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The Price Waterhouse case is the basis for the courts to find that LGBTQ+ people are covered by Title VII because the Supreme Court ruled that sex stereotypes applies to sexual orientation and gender identity (SO/GI) because what could be could be more sex stereotyping LGBTQ+ people and that is the case that the Supreme Court heard back in October and they will probably issue their ruling in June.

The cases that they heard back in October were about a gay man who was fired for being gay and a trans woman who was fired because she transitioned on the job. In both cases the EEOC ruled in their favors and the cases have been appealed all the way up to the Supreme Court.

My predictions…

Chief Justice Roberts is presiding over the Senate Impeachment trial and I think it is going to effect him deeply. I wrote this on a friend’s Facebook page,

I wonder how this trial is affecting Chief Justice Roberts? Will it change how he views on the Supreme Court? Will it change his views on Congress? Will it change his opinion of the conservatives and the Republicans?

I think (or maybe hope) that it will make him more liberal, I think it will wake him up on the liberal/conservative divide and that he will come down on our side in these cases and rule that we are covered by Title VII and Title IX and the ruling will be 5 – 4 in our favor.

Medical Coverage

You probably read about all the states that are banning trans children from transitioning (I wrote about it here), well new research has shown how having proper medical care reduces negative impact on transitioning.

Transgender Care Access Tied to Less Suicidality
— But study finds that few who want pubertal suppression get it
MedPage Today
By Kristen Monaco
January 23, 2020

Receiving pubertal suppression during adolescence was linked with lower odds of lifetime suicidal ideation among transgender young adults, researchers reported.

In a survey of over 20,600 transgender adults, about 17% said they ever wanted to receive hormonal therapy to suppress puberty, but only 2.5% actually received this care.

However, those who received the pubertal suppression they wanted had significantly lower odds of lifetime suicidal ideation compared with those who never received this care (adjusted OR 0.3, 95% CI 0.2-0.6), according to Jack Turban, MD, of the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues.
[…]
Having received desired pubertal suppression in adolescence also was tied to a reduced risk for adulthood suicidal ideation in the past 12 months (OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.4-0.8) and half the odds of experiencing several psychological distress in the past month (OR 0.5, 95% CI 0.3-0.8).

With the states banning medical invention at the most critical time for trans children when they enter Tanner Stage II can have disastrous results.

Beat The Gay Out Of You

Conversion therapy is the process of creating an aversion to being gay or trans out of children, it is a treatment that is banned in some states and rejected by every medical and psychological association but is endorsed by evangelical religious organizations.

LBGT bills clear Virginia Senate and head to a friendly House of Delegates
The Washington Post
By Laura Vozzella
Jan. 21, 2020

RICHMOND — The Virginia Senate on Tuesday passed a host of LGBT rights bills as Democrats continued to flex their new power in the Capitol.

The Senate voted to ban conversion therapy on children, repeal the state’s now-defunct ban on same-sex marriage and establish statewide policies for the treatment of transgender students. The chamber also voted to replace “husband and wife” with gender-neutral “parties to the marriage” language in divorce law and make it easier for transgender people to change how their sex is listed on their birth certificates.

The bills now move to the Democratic-controlled House of Delegates, where they are expected to get a warm reception.

Down in Kentucky…

KY lawmakers seek to ban ‘conversion therapy’ for gay youths, citing health risks
The Lexington Herald Leader
By John Cheves
January 14, 2020

“Conversion therapy,” a discredited practice by which gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals are counseled in order to change their sexual orientation, would be banned for state-licensed mental health professionals treating Kentucky children under bills sponsored by a bipartisan group of lawmakers.

Critics of the practice say it can lead to withdrawal, anxiety, depression and suicide among youths. It is uniformly opposed by the nation’s leading medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Kentucky is not alone in trying to ban conversion therapy,

Bill Would Protect Oklahoma Kids From Conversion Therapy
Public Radio Tulsa
By Matt Trotter
January 20, 2020

A state representative is aiming to keep youths in Oklahoma from being subjected to conversion therapy.

House Bill 3872 by Oklahoma City Democratic Rep. Jason Dunnington would add practicing conversion therapy on kids to a list of offenses that can get a health professional’s license revoked.

Meanwhile in other states the Republicans want to ban the bans on conversion therapy.

Florida Republicans submit 4 last-minute anti-LGBTQ bills ahead of 2020 legislative deadline
The bills were filed just hours before the 2020 legislative deadline.
ABC News
By Karma Allen
January 16, 2020

Republican lawmakers in Florida submitted a batch of anti-LGBTQ bills this week with just hours to spare before the 2020 legislative deadline.

If signed into law, the four bills would walk back local ordinances that protect LGBTQ employees, legalize the controversial practice of "gay conversion therapy" and imprison doctors for up to 15 years if they provide certain transition-related medical care to transgender youth. Conversion therapy is a discredited practice that attempts to change a person’s sexual orientation through psychological or spiritual means. It is grounded in the belief that being LGBTQ is abnormal or unnatural and is banned in more than a dozen states and Washington, D.C., according to the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

And on the federal level…
Trump adviser said lesbian teen “seriously” considering suicide should undergo conversion therapy

Dallas pastor Robert Jeffress has described gay people as "filthy" and "miserable"
Metro Weekly
By Rhuaridh Marr
January 16, 2020

A prominent member of Donald Trump’s Evangelical Executive Advisory Board once said a lesbian teenager who had “seriously contemplated suicide” over her sexuality should undergo conversion therapy.

Robert Jeffress, a Dallas pastor and Fox News contributor, has been described as one of Trump’s closest evangelical advisers and is part of the “Evangelicals for Trump” coalition — created to mobilize evangelical voters in the 2020 election.

It seems to me that the Democrats want to keep us alive while the Republicans want kill us.

---

This morning I have been ask to a discussion on how to protect trans people from violence. I have been asked by a local hospital to come to meeting trans violence at their Domestic Violence unit.

We Are Stuck…

With lifetime federal judges that they Republicans and Trump stuffed the courts and we are starting to see the results of that abuse of power.

We’re at war over gender pronouns. Can’t we all just show some respect?
The Washington Post
By Ruth Marcus
January 19, 2020

“I am a woman,” wrote federal prisoner #18479-078. “Can I not be referred to as one?”

Apparently not, according to a ruling last week from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. Dividing 2 to 1, with Trump appointee Stuart Kyle Duncan writing the opinion, the panel not only rebuffed inmate Norman Varner’s petition for a name change in the prison system to Kathrine Nicole Jett — it rejected her request that the court use the female pronoun in referring to her.

This is a single, obscure skirmish, although a particularly dispiriting one, in the larger pronoun wars. As the country struggles with questions about the legal and social status of transgender individuals — and with the parallel, emerging understanding that others may not fit into a binary, either/or gender category — pronouns have become an unexpectedly and unnecessarily heated area of-contention.
[…]
Federal judges hearing these cases have generally treated the transgender litigants with courtesy, which is to say they have used the individual’s preferred pronoun. Not Duncan. He cited the example of his fellow Trump appointee James Ho in the Texas transgender prisoner case, who said he would refer to the transgender female prisoner by the male pronoun, “consistent with” the policy of Texas prison officials.

Vox had this to say about the ruling…

Trump judge lashes out at a transgender litigant in a surprisingly cruel opinion
Judge Kyle Duncan was a prominent anti-LGBTQ lawyer before joining the bench.
By Ian Millhiser
January 17, 2020

Federal appeals courts hear cases that impact the rights of millions. They decide matters with billions of dollars at stake. They sometimes hear cases where thousands of lives hang in the balance.

United States v. Varner is not one of those cases. The main thing at stake in Varner is whether three judges will treat a woman with courtesy or with needless cruelty.

Two of them chose the latter option.
[…]
Unfortunately for Jett, she drew a panel of judges dominated by two unusually conservative Republicans. The author of the Court’s opinion in Varner, Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan, spent part of his career as general counsel to a leading Christian right law firm and litigated multiple cases seeking to restrict LGBTQ rights.

Among several other cases, Duncan defended the state of Alabama’s failed attempt to strip a lesbian mother of parental rights over her adopted child. He filed a brief arguing against marriage equality in the Supreme Court’s landmark Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) case. And he represented a school district seeking to bar a trans student from using the bathroom that aligns with his gender identity.

It is only going to get worst!

A third of Trump's court nominees have anti-LGBTQ history, report finds
“The damage that is being done to our federal judiciary may be this administration’s most lasting and dangerous legacy.”
NBC News
By Brooke Sopelsa
December 23, 2019

A third of the more than 50 circuit court judges nominated by President Donald Trump since he took office nearly three years ago have a “demonstrated history of anti-LGBTQ bias,” according to a new report by LGBTQ civil rights group Lambda Legal, which asserts that the justice system is “now indisputably in a state of crisis.”

“The damage that is being done to our federal judiciary may be this administration’s most lasting and dangerous legacy,” Kevin Jennings, CEO of Lambda Legal, said in a statement shared with NBC News.

Lambda Legal has opposed 19 of the Trump administration’s 53 nominees to the country’s 12 circuit courts (50 of whom have since been confirmed) because of their anti-LGBTQ record. Among those that Lambda has opposed are Steven Menashi, Lawrence VanDyke and Allison Jones Rushing, all of whom were confirmed this year to lifetime appointments.

Unlike Trump’s Executive Orders and agencies regulators the judges cannot be changed, these are lifetime appointments.

They still have over a year to pack more anti-LGBTQ and anti-abortion judges to the court and if they lose in the fall elections you can bet your bottom dollar that one the Republicans will not hold up the judicial nominees until the Democrats take over like they did for Obama Supreme Court nominee and second they will make stuffing the courts their number one priority. 

So You Have Been Discriminated Against

Your job is giving you a hard time with your transition, what do you do? Another employee is harassing you because you're trans, what do you do? Your employer is not giving you plum assignments or job training or promotions because you're trans, what do you do?*

AARP has some tips for age discrimination which can also be used by us for GI/GE discrimination.

How to Fight Back Against Age Discrimination
Take these steps to protect yourself against this illegal workplace activity
By Tamara Lytle, AARP,
December 30, 2019

Workers who believe their age has cost them — whether it's a job, a promotion, a raise — have options for fighting back. Eric Bachman and Kellee Boulais Kruse, legal specialists in employment discrimination, recommend these steps:

1. Talk with a supervisor.
“It doesn't have to be a formal complaint right off the bat,” says Bachman, a principal at Zuckerman Law in Washington, D.C. “Sometimes the issues can be addressed in an informal conversation."

A lot of times we want to bring in the heavy guns right away but sometimes that is the worst way to begin. Both side become entrenched in and the struggle can become very expensive for us fast… lawyers want to get paid.

Many times the company HR has no idea what is happening and takes corrective action imedidately.

2. Keep a log.
Document comments and actions you believe were driven by discrimination and keep any records, such as emails. A time line is helpful, especially to show retaliation after a complaint has been lodged.

This is the best tip.

I was a department supervisor and the first thing HR told me to do is to keep a log on infractions on an employee and the first thing I did was to tell the employee that I was instructed to keep a log on them. I told them that they should start keeping a log on the company. Now when someone asked what they should do if they feel that they are being discriminated is to keep a log, if it goes to court you can bet that the company will bring up every little infraction.

3. Lodge a complaint with the company.
If conversations with managers don't achieve anything, go through the organization's formal complaint process, whether it's via the human resources department or a higher-level manager. Make sure your concerns and observations are in writing.

4. Get a lawyer.

Notice that this is way down on the list.

5. Submit an inquiry to the EEOC.

I would add also to the state agency in charge of enforcing discrimination complaints and bear in mind that the clock starts counting the moment the incident happened. In Connecticut you have 180 days and for the EEOC only 45 days to file the complaint.

6. Consider mediation.
The EEOC offers mediators who can help resolve disputes. Mediation is voluntary but can lead to agreements between the worker and the employer that are settled more quickly and more cheaply for both sides.

Warning! Warning! Your employer might mandate binding arbitration… then you are screwed.

The AARP last tip support legislation and I second that… support the Equality Act. Call you congress member and tell them to support the Equality Act. Find out how you can support state and local legislation and if there is no discrimination find out why not and what you can do to sponsor legislation.

Employment discrimination and other forms of discrimination is hard to prove unless they are stupid enough to come right out and say they you are not being hired because you’re trans.

My advice is that if you are planning on transitioning on the job, wait until you have a job review or two under your belt before transitioning. Yeah, it sucks but it will make it a lot hard for them to say that  they fired you because of you job performance.

*These are all illegal under GI/GE non-discrimination laws. In Connecticut your employer cannot prevent you from transitioning, must maintain a work environment free from discrimination and harassment, and must provide you with training and promotions that they are giving other employees.

What Is The Conservative Fawning Over Russia All About?

[RANT]
At one time the Republican and the conservatives thought Russia was the arch-enemy of the United States they were the party of McCarthyism but now they are kowtowing all over Putin.

Kansas City radio station agrees to broadcast Russian-owned ‘propaganda’ program
Kansas City Star
By Steve Vockrodt
January 17, 2020

A Kansas City area radio station can broadcast Russian state-owned media programming, the type that U.S. intelligence called a “propaganda machine,” for six hours a day through a lease agreement struck by a local radio operator.

RM Broadcasting LLC, a Florida-based company that has agreements to broadcast the Russian state media program Radio Sputnik, reached a deal on Jan. 1 to lease air time through Alpine Broadcasting Corp. in Liberty. Alpine Broadcasting Corp. broadcasts on three frequencies in the Kansas City area: KCXL 1140 AM, 102.9 FM and 104.7 FM.

The lease agreement lets RM Broadcasting air its programming from 6 to 9 a.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. seven days a week. KCXL’s website, which says that it’s the radio station that will “tell you the things that the liberal media wont (sic) tell you,” lists Radio Sputnik in its morning programming.
[…]
Sputnik, along with Russian television outlet RT — formerly Russia Today — “contributed to the influence campaign by serving as a platform for Kremlin messaging to Russian and international audiences,” the DNI [Director of National Intelligence ] intelligence assessment said.

Is it because of the Republicans ties to the mega-billionaires that they are so infatuated the Russian’s oligarchies? Is that the Republican dream? To turn the US in to an oligarchy?

Politifact reported that,

In 2015-16, Blavatnik’s [Len Blavatnik, a dual U.S.-U.K. citizen - he emigrated to the United States with his family in the late 1970s and returned to Russia in the late ’80s as the Soviet Union began to collapse.] contributions went to GOP PACs and top Republican leaders, including McConnell, according to FEC records.

In that cycle, his companies contributed over $6.3 million, with $2.5 million going to McConnell’s Senate Leadership Fund. In 2017, Blavatnik donated another $1 million to the committee, records show, bringing the total to $3.5 million.

Then we have…

NRA got more money from Russia-linked sources than earlier reported
Politico
By Josh Meyer
April 11,2018

The National Rifle Association reported this week that it received more money from people with Russian ties than it has previously acknowledged, but announced that it was officially done cooperating with a congressional inquiry exploring whether illicit Kremlin-linked funding passed through the NRA and into Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said on Wednesday.

Wyden released a letter from the NRA, dated Tuesday, in which the gun rights group reported receiving $2,512.85 in contributions and membership dues “from people associated with Russian addresses” or known Russian nationals living in the United States from 2015 to the present. In the past, a congressional aide to Wyden said, the group had confirmed receiving only one financial contribution, in the form of a lifetime membership purchased by Alexander Torshin, a Russian banker.

Then there is…

Maria Butina Pleads Guilty to Role in a Russian Effort to Influence Conservatives
The New York Times
By Matthew Rosenberg
December 13, 2018


WASHINGTON — To the conservative Americans she courted, Maria Butina was the right kind of Russian.

She loved guns and the church and networking with top officials in the National Rifle Association. She schmoozed with Republican presidential candidates, and became a supporter of Donald J. Trump. She spent Thanksgiving at a congressman’s country house, took a Trump campaign aide to see the rock band Styx and helped a Rockefeller heir organize “friendship dinners” with influential Washingtonians.

On Thursday, Ms. Butina, 30, pleaded guilty to a single charge of conspiring to act as a foreign agent in a deal with federal prosecutors. In doing so, she acknowledged that her activities were motivated by more than mere personal conviction.

As part of the deal, Ms. Butina admitted to being involved in an organized effort, backed by Russian officials, to open up unofficial lines of communication with influential Americans in the N.R.A. and in the Republican Party, and to win them over to the idea of Russia as a friend, not a foe.

And it looks like it worked.

The investigation has focused on Aleksandr P. Torshin, a Russian government official who worked closely with Ms. Butina for years. Mr. Torshin is close to Christian conservatives in Russia and has been attending N.R.A. conventions in the United States since 2011.

The Christian conservatives… the enemy of my enemy is my friend, Russia is strongly anti-LGBTQ and xenophobic and makes a good match for the Christian conservatives.

We have seen the Republican’s stalling the investigation of the Russian influence in our 2016 elections and their continued interference on our politics.

This was written back in 2017…

How the GOP Became the Party of Putin
Republicans have sold their souls to Russia. And Trump isn’t the only reason why.
Politico
By James Kirchick
July 18, 2017

[…]
None of this should surprise anyone who paid attention during last year’s campaign. Trump Sr., after all, explicitly implored Russia to hack Clinton’s private email server. He ran as the most pro-Russian candidate for president since Henry Wallace helmed the Soviet fellow-traveling Progressive Party ticket in 1948, extolling Vladimir Putin’s manly virtues at every opportunity while bringing Kremlin-style moral relativism to the campaign trail. Worst of all, GOP voters never punished him for it. This is what they voted for.

Nor was Trump Jr. the only Republican to seek Russian assistance against Clinton. In May, the Wall Street Journal reported that a Florida Republican operative sought and received hacked Democratic Party voter-turnout analyses from “Guccifer 2.0,” a hacker the U.S. government has said is working for Russia’s intelligence services. The Journal has also reported that Republican operative Peter W. Smith, who is now deceased, “mounted an independent campaign to obtain emails he believed were stolen from Hillary Clinton’s private server, likely by Russian hackers.”

This was in the Atlantic last month…

The Russification of the Republican Party
GOP lawmakers used to oppose the president’s embrace of Putin and the Kremlin. Not anymore.
By Ronald Brownstein
December 5, 2019

Just how far will Republicans go in following President Donald Trump’s embrace of Russia? An answer may be crystallizing as the GOP mobilizes its defense of the president against impeachment.

Both congressional Republicans and conservative commentators are defending Trump from impeachment partly by accusing Ukraine of intervening against him in the 2016 presidential election—despite repeated warnings from national-security and intelligence officials that those claims are not only baseless, but advance Vladimir Putin’s goal of discrediting Ukraine.

Earlier in Trump’s presidency, many Republicans sought to distance themselves from his warm tone toward Putin. But just this week alone, a number of Republican lawmakers, the official House Republican report rebutting impeachment, and the Fox News host Tucker Carlson have repeated Kremlin lines on Ukraine.

This flurry of GOP rhetoric comes as Democrats are raising alarm about the Republican-controlled Senate’s refusal to take action on the DETER Act, a bipartisan bill that would impose sanctions on Russia if it interferes again in 2020.

The Republican party is no longer the party of the fifties and sixties, the new Republican party is a divisive and drives a wedge between us, they are after only one thing… POWER. Power for their oligarchical masters.
[/RANT] 

Saturday 9: Miss Independent

Sam’s Saturday 9: Miss Independent (2003)

On Saturdays I take a break from the heavy stuff and have some fun…



Unfamiliar with this week's song. Hear it here.

1) The song begins with Kelly describing a woman who is "independent" and "self-sufficient." Are you feeling especially independent and self-sufficient this morning? Or is there a particular task on your to-do list that you wish you had help with?
Yes, taking down the Christmas decorations.

2) Kelly especially enjoys that this song was a hit, because she had to argue with the record company to even include it on her album. Tell us about a time you're glad fought to get your way.
Well… I helped pass a half a dozen laws and I am helping to bring about changes for seniors.

3) The video depicts a very lively party that spills from the house to the pool area. What's the last party you attended? Was it held indoors, outdoors, or did the revelers enjoy themselves both inside and outside?
It was indoors… a tree the Christmas tree party.

4)The partiers are playing with "silly string." Have you ever indulged in a "silly string" battle?
No, I always felt it was a stupid practice; spraying people with sticky stuff that gets into people’s hair.

5) Kelly Clarkson has a new daytime talk show. Who hosted the last entertainment talk show (as opposed to news) that you watched?
No one because I don’t watch them.

6) Kelly Clarkson told a foodie website that one of her favorite foods is sushi (especially California rolls). She said she's surprised how fond she is of it, since as a kid, sushi is a food she wouldn't even try. Tell us about something you had to be convinced to try, or do, that you were surprised to find you enjoyed.
I don’t know about enjoying it but I never believed in physical therapy, when I strained my back this spring everyone said to go to PT and I said my back has always gotten better on its own. Well after a summer in pain I broke down and went to PT, after the first appointment my back felt better and after the month of PT my back fine and now I have a set of exercises that I can do if I sprain my back again.

7) In 2003, when "Miss Independent" was released, Microsoft and Sony were furiously competing for gamers' attention. Do you own Playstation or Xbox, neither or both?
Nope, I don’t own any game boxes.


8) Also in 2003, the best-selling cookbook was The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion. It features foolproof recipes for old favorites like waffles, pancakes, flat breads and crackers. When you look for a new recipe, are you searching for an easier/better way to make something familiar, or are you more likely looking to try something new?
I am more likely to try a new recipe, but I go online to see other recipes and combine elements of the different recipes to customize the recipe.

9) Random question: Which has gotten you in more trouble -- love or money?
Love… Back in high school I got stood up once and I saw the person on a date with another person that night at McDonald's. 

Why Do Republicans Hate Us?

It is like they all got the same memo. We are being attacked all around the country with flood of anti-LGBTQ legislation introduced this election year by Republican legislators.

Republicans declare war on transgender people in state legislatures all over the US
Some of the bills go as far as making it a felony to provide health care to a transgender child.
LGBTQ Nation
By Alex Bollinger
January 16, 2020

Republican lawmakers have filed a bevy of bills restricting transgender rights all over the country in the last two months.

The organization Freedom for All Americans is tracking anti-transgender legislation at the state level, where numerous bills have been filed this month and in December.

Many of the bills are intended to stop gender-affirming health care for minors. Bills have been introduced in Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Missouri, New Hampshire, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas that would restrict young transgender people’s access to health care.
[…]
Other states, including Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Missouri, New Hampshire, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Washington, are attacking transgender students’ ability to compete in sports, requiring them – or just trans girls, like in Washington’s bill – to compete with the gender indicated on their birth certificates or with their sex assigned at birth.

And I would not be surprised if we see the same legislation introduced here in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

It is a wedge issue that the Republicans think can distract the public from everything going on in Washington. It is smoke and mirrors that they think can deflect the voters and rally their angry base and we are the target of that hate of anyone who is different from their lily white base.

---

And it is not just trans people that the Republicans are attacking but anything LGBTQ.

Tennessee passes bill to stop same-gender parents from adopting, violating human rights
The bill discriminates against LGBTQ+ parents and leaves thousands of children in need of loving homes completely stranded.
Upworthy
By Chandni Ganesh
January 16, 2020

The Bible Belt has been on a roll as of late, attempting to strip American citizens of their human rights. Most recently, the state of Tennessee passed a bill that would essentially stop same-gender parents from adopting children if they wished to become parents. Technically, the bill proposes protection to faith-based foster care and adoption agencies if they choose to exclude LGBTQ+ parents from adopting children, NBC News reports. Nonetheless, the impact of such a bill is the continued marginalization of the LGBTQ+ community. This is especially problematic as the majority of Tennessee's population is religious, in particular, Christian. Over 80 percent of the residents in the state are some form of Christian.

The State Senate (at present controlled by the Republican Party) passed the oppressive bill on the first day of the 2020 legislative session. It was approved by Tennessee's House of Representatives during the last legislative session, in April. After the Senate passed the bill, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced on Tuesday that he would sign the bill into law without hesitation, despite several warnings that doing so could possibly result in dozens of "negative consequences for Tennessee’s reputation." Governor Lee’s communication director, Chris Walker, confirmed on Tuesday that he plans to sign the resolution shortly.

Why do the Republicans hate us?

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On Monday I was channel surfing, I came across PBS and they were showing “Frontline investigates 'America’s Great Divide: From Obama to Trump'”

SEASON 2020: EPISODE 8
FRONTLINE begins its 2020 election year coverage with a two-part, four-hour documentary series investigating America’s increasingly bitter, divided and toxic politics.

From veteran FRONTLINE filmmaker Michael Kirk and his team, America’s Great Divide: From Obama to Trump draws on revelatory new interviews with key political and cultural figures, as well as an unparalleled archive of in-depth broadcast reporting across two presidential administrations, to offer crucial context for the current moment.

Part One traces how Barack Obama’s promise of unity collapsed as increasing racial, cultural and political divisions laid the groundwork for the rise of Donald Trump. Part Two examines how Trump’s campaign exploited the country’s divisions, how his presidency has unleashed anger on both sides of the divide, and what America’s polarization could mean for the country’s future.

It was an excellent program, it showed why the Republican party turned to hate as a strategy, why they adopted hate and divisiveness as a campaign strategy.

Please watch…
America's Great Divide, Part 1 (full film) | FRONTLINE
America's Great Divide, Part 2 (full film) | FRONTLINE

You See A Person Who You Think Is Trans… What Would Do?

A. Walk up to them and ask them “When did you transition?”
B. Give them the secret signal that you’re trans.
C. Do nothing

I have always joked that we should have a secret signal, something like tug your ear and rub your nose but alas we don’t so just walk away.

But outing someone is an important no-no.

Outing Is A Serious Threat To Trans People, And NikkieTutorials Isn't The First To Experience It
Nikkie de Jager, better known as NikkieTutorials, came out as a transgender woman after being blackmailed over her identity.
BuzzFeed
By Lauren Strapagiel
January 15, 2020

When YouTuber Nikkie de Jager came out as a transgender woman this week, it was on her own terms but not quite on her preferred timeline.

De Jager, better known as NikkieTutorials, came out in a video posted Monday titled "I'm Coming Out." In it, she announced that not only is she trans, but that someone who knew was attempting to blackmail her and threatening to out her.

"I have been blackmailed by people that wanted to leak my story to the press," she said in the video. "At first it was frightening. It was frightening to know that there are people out there that are so evil that they can’t respect someone’s true identity. It is vile and it is gross. And I know that you are watching this."

That is a very scary worry of many trans people, I was outed at work when I accidentally printed out my testimony on the department printer… ops. The technicians who found it couldn’t wait to tell everyone in the company once I left the company. He sent out emails to the “whole” company… all users. But it backfired on him, I got number of emails congratulating me on my transition and when one of my former technicians passed away and I went to his funeral all my techs came up and talked to me except him… I found out that the other techs avoided him after he outed me.

Some people say that not being an “out” trans person is living in another closet.

But not being out is not itself a lie, said Adams.

"Transgender people are absolutely entitled to keep their gender history private," he said. "People who have transitioned are living as their authentic self. They are showing you their authentic self every minute of every day."

It is not up to us to decide if another trans person should be out, it is up to them to make that decision and only them.

And besides they might not be trans.

Someone that I know was at a party with me and she walked up to a woman and asked her if she went to “Doctor O” for her FFS (Facial Feminization Surgery) said she would never have known that she was trans… well she wasn’t trans. She got mad, left the party and broke up with her trans girl friend. The trans girl friend got mad at the other trans woman, what a mess. It would never have happened if she obey the first law of the LGBTQ+ community… never out a person.

At the grocery store where I shop there was a clerk who looked like she was trans… oh how I would have liked to ask her if she was a member of the tribe. But I never asked.

"So, to the people who tried to blackmail me and thought they could really mess up my life with that, this one’s for you," she said.

So Now You Have Insurance… Now What?

Have insurance coverage for trans people is one thing, getting them to pay for trans related procedures is another thing.

Health insurance for transgender people exists. Good luck understanding it.
America claims “Liberty and justice for all,” yet it continues to ignore its transgender citizens' medical struggles.
LGBTQ Nation
By Fei Lu
January 14, 2020

Coming to terms with being transgender is difficult, but getting trans-inclusive insurance is worse.

Socially and legally, cis people are debating whether insurance companies are obligated to cover transition-related costs. Many trans people are now turning to dangerously unregulated transition methods, just to save money.
[…]
Yet depending on the state, insurance companies and Medicaid can discriminate against trans people. Medicaid only covers transition-related costs in 23 states, while states like Alaska can legally deny trans coverage. With 1 in 5 Americans on Medicaid, low-income trans people face two choices: either move to a trans-affirming state or switch to private insurance. 

Here in Connecticut the Insurance Commissioner said that any coverage for cisgender people must also cover trans people and that covers a lot! Gender Confirming Surgery isn’t just one procedure but is make up of something like seven different surgeries and all of them are covered for cisgender people so  therefore they should be covered for us.

There are a few expectations. For example, Blue Cross/Blue Shield Massachusetts (each state differs) considers GCS and facial feminization surgery necessary only when certain criteria are met. 

Here in Connecticut facial feminization surgery should also be covered because once again the surgery is made up of covered surgical procedures.

For my annual physical the insurance company balks at my prostate exam for a woman and I have to fight with them for months to get it covered

Some tips for getting insurance coverage for trans-affirming procedures;

• Don’t take no for an answer, “No” is the favorite answer of the insurance companies because most people do not appeal. If you get a no from an insurance representative hang up, wait a minute or two and call back again so you get a different operator. Sometimes that is all it takes, the original operator might not have been properly trained or was a bigot. 
• Many procedures are gender specific… for example electrolysis. For women hirsutism (L68. 0) is covered so if you want to have it covered you have to be “female” on the insurance policy. So check to see what is covered under what gender before you change your gender markers on your policy.
• Remember the important phrase… “medically necessary.” Otherwise the insurance companies say it is comedic surgery, breast reductions or enlargement are always considered comedic surgery unless the doctor says it is “medically necessary” for your well being.
• There is an insurance code that prevents the claim from automatically rejected and forces a medical override. (Code 45 for Medicare and Code KX for non-Medicare claims)
• If nothing else works it is time to bring out the heavy weights… contact the insurance commissioner‘s office.

Good luck!

People Who Live In Log Cabins

Are living in the past.

Log Cabin Republicans are LGBTQ Republicans and they vote not for human rights but for their own profits and racism.

Log Cabin Repubs Rail Against Muslims, Socialism at Wilton Manors Rally 
South Florida Gay News
By Jason Parsley
January 13, 2020

Andrew Brett, president of the Broward County Log Cabin Republicans, tore into muslims, President Trump’s impeachment, and several U.S. House Representatives during a rally in front of Wilton Manors City Hall Monday morning.

About 12 people showed up in support of the organization. The LCR represents LGBT Republicans. About three dozen counter protestors also showed up.

“The Democratic Party has become the party of division in America,” Brett said starting off a speech that was riddled with wild claims, conspiracy theories and inflammatory rhetoric. “Whereas, the Republican Party is the party of inclusion for all Americans.” 

Okay get up off the floor laughing.

These people are living in a fantasy world, just look at the Republicans¹ in Congress… they are lily white and male. Out of 105 women in the House, 90 are Democrats, and 15 are Republicans, in the Senate there are 25 women, 17 are Democrats and 8 are Republicans. There are 56 African American members in Congress, 52 of the African American House members are Democrats, and one is a Republican, in the Senate two Democrats and one is Republican. In religious affiliation there are 26 are Jewish of which 24 are Democrats, and 3 are Muslims, 3 are Hindus, and 1 Buddhist and they are all Democrats.²

Yeah, right, “Republican Party is the party of inclusion”

“I think it’s important to be here because generations that follow us will be subject to the horrible laws and punishments from this administration if [Trump] should be reelected,” Rajner said. “He’s appointed some terrible judges that are hostile to the LGBT community, and our protections are eroding so quickly. We must stand up, we must register to vote, and we must get the community to mobilize to stand up against this hate.”

But they still support the Republicans.

“So when GLBT folks, not only in Broward County, but throughout the country say — ‘President Trump is taking our rights away.’ I always ask ‘What rights has he taken away from you when you woke up this morning?’ He hasn’t. And didn’t.”

Lets take a look at what he took away...

• He took away our right to health care.
• He took away our right to have a job
• He took away our right to housing
• He took away are right to serve in the military
• He took away are right to be free from discrimination

---

While we are talking about the Republicans attack us…

Transgender employees sue Florida over state's trans health care ban
State employees are unable to access gender-affirming health care due to a ban on those services in their health insurance plan.
NBC News
By Tim Fitzsimons
January 13, 2020

Two transgender women filed a lawsuit against the state of Florida on Monday over its ban on transgender-related health care for state workers, arguing it violates the U.S. Constitution and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

“We brought this lawsuit because all people need access to medical care. This is not about special treatment; this is about equal treatment,” said lead counsel Simone Chriss. “Transgender state employees are singled out and explicitly denied coverage for one reason: They are transgender. That is discrimination, and it cannot stand.”

The suit, which was brought by Southern Legal Counsel, the ACLU of Florida and Eric Lindstrom, an attorney, seeks to end Florida’s State Plan Exclusion, a rule that prohibits state employer-provided health plans from covering “gender reassignment or modification services or supplies.”

This law suit might become moot depending upon what the Supreme Court rules in June on if we are covered by Title VII and Title IX, the court could dash all our hopes for protection under the Civil Rights Act Titles VII and IX.

1. Membership of the 116th Congress: A Profile, Congressional Research Service
2. Faith on the Hill: The religious composition of the 116th Congress, Pew Research Center 

Let’s Face It, We Are All Getting Old

And it sure beats the alternative.

As we age at sometime in our life we will need senior care, whether it is a senior center, over 55 communities, home-care, or long tern care facilities and we need to make sure that they know our special care we need and are accepting of us.

Nurses study the needs of transgender senior citizens
Medicalxpress
By Christine Phelan Kueter, University of Virginia
January 7, 2020

Of the 1.5 million Americans who identify as transgender, roughly 217,000—about 14—are older than age 65. According to a 2011 report by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 97 percent transitioned (claimed their preferred gender identity that differed from their sex at birth) at age 55 or older.

Sometimes called "Generation Silent," many transgender senior citizens—like LGBTQ seniors more generally—are particularly vulnerable at the end of their lives, and sometimes conceal their status with care providers out of fear of being mistreated, according to University of Virginia nursing professor and scholar Cathy Campbell. Without a concerted effort to prevent such discrimination, these groups may experience gaps in care, unchecked pain associated with their illness or even outright abandonment by clinicians.
[…]
As frontline caregivers, nurses are particularly well-positioned advocates for these individuals. Campbell, with nurse and Ph.D. student Lauren Catlett, recently wrote a case study examining the unique social and spiritual needs of a transgender woman named Carmelita who, at age 60, was dying of esophageal cancer. The study, which offers an intensely personal glimpse into the life of a transgender senior, was just published in the Journal of Hospice & Palliative Care Nursing.

Here in Connecticut we are working to help educate caregivers in the needs of our community. The state department on Aging & Disability Services is working to ensure proper and respectful care for us and I am on its the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program committee on inclusive care.

Also Connecticut Community Care has a program to train healthcare providers to the needs of the LGBTQ community.

"I'm sick. I'm dying. I need you," these patients say. What they really want to know is: "Can I be safe with you?"

When my parents were still alive I used to do what I called “sanitize” my house when they came over, I hide all my trans stuff and clothes. Seniors are now doing that when they have a home healthcare provider come over to their house, their partner of 30 years becomes “a close friend” and all of their photos of them together get hidden.

If I have to go into a LTC facility I wonder how will I be treated. Crossdressers wonder will I be able to dress in a LTC facility? Sadly I know of one crossdresser who stopped dressing in a LTC and became very transphobic to hide his secret.

---

Also in healthcare news a federal court has banned the military from expelling HIV positive military personnel.

Federal Appeals court rules Trump can’t discharge ervicemembers just for being HIV-positive
The judges wrote, "This ban is outmoded and at odds with current science. Such obsolete understandings cannot justify a ban."
LGBTQ Nation
By Daniel Villarreal Friday,
January 10, 2020

The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court ruling saying that the Trump Administration cannot discharge members of the Air Force just because they’re HIV-positive.

The decision prevents two HIV-positive Air Force members, identified in the court case as “Richard Roe” and “Victor Voe” to protect their anonymity, from being discharged. Now they may stay in the military while their case against the military’s ban on HIV-positive servicemembers proceeds.
[…]
However, the judge ruled that the Air Force violated the Americans with Disabilities Act because it discharged the soldiers before actually sending them to CENTCOM to get officially rejected. In doing so, the Air Force violated pre-existing military protocols because members of the Air Force Physical Evaluation Board recommended Roe and Voe for discharge without actually evaluating either man’s physical fitness or ability to complete service duties.

I Don’t Know

I am willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

RuPaul Responds To Transgender Drag Queen Controversy In AJ & The Queen
In his new show AJ and the Queen, RuPaul addresses his previous Drag Race scandals that arose from his comments about trans queens "cheating."
Screen Rant
By Sarah Bea Milner
January 10, 2020

RuPaul Charles, the public figure behind the hit TV series RuPaul's Drag Race, responds to his transgender drag queen controversy in AJ and the Queen, his Netflix series. No stranger to such scandals, the public figure and gay-rights icon found himself the target of backlash from the LGBTQ+ community in March 2018 following the publication of a profile on him published by the Guardian. The subsequent outcry prompted an apologetic response from RuPaul over social media, admitting he was in the wrong. He has responded once again to the scandal: this time, in season 1 of AJ and the Queen.

RuPaul has been accused of transphobic behavior in the past, most obviously his "she-mail" pun he used in seasons 1-6 of RuPaul's Drag Race. The reason for the 2018 controversy? RuPaul's comments on whether or not a transgender woman can be labeled a drag queen. Although his comments were clearly carefully-chosen, his statements were deemed transphobic by many, especially because he stated he (probably) would not let a post-op transgender queen compete on the show.
[…]
In both the AJ and the Queen episode and the Twitter apology, RuPaul makes a powerful statement affirming the right of an individual to choose their own identity. By telling trans queens that they are somehow cheating if they are post-op, RuPaul was dictating who is allowed to identify as what.  His character's response to AJ in AJ and the Queen is a sly wink to the knowing audience that RuPaul has learned his lesson: he won't be putting drag queens in a box any longer.

I believe that people can change, they can see the error of their ways, but I also believe that people can see that what they did hurt their bottom line and say they changed. Only time will tell if he was sincere in his apology.

---

Another totally useless and hurtful bill from the Republicans… they want to ban trans surgery on minors.

Utah lawmaker proposing ban on transgender surgery for minors
KUTV
By Brian Mullahy
January 11th 2020

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — A long-time Utah lawmaker is proposing a ban on transgender surgery and hormone therapy for minors.

Rep. Brad Daw, R-Utah County, said his bill, not yet released, is about protecting kids—not demeaning teens who already identify as transgender.

Daw told 2News Friday:

We want to treat them with love and compassion and understanding. You’re not wrong, you’re not bad, but you need to wait to make a fully informed decision when you’re an adult.

He is convinced transgender surgery and taking hormones are too much, too soon for those under 18.

The useless part of the bill is the ban on surgery for minors and the hurtful part of the bill is the ban on hormones. Puberty blockers and hormones are needed to prevent secondary sexual characteristics that cause anguish and thoughts of self-harm in trans children.

This bill seems to be another knee jerk bill by the Republicans to butt in on something that they know nothing about.

These very same Republicans have no issues with preforming surgery on two day old intersex babies… talk about being a hypocrite. 

File Under Conservative Stupidity

Republicans come up with some really crazy ideas about us…

Evangelicals are praying that God “exposes” Michelle Obama as transgender
No, seriously.
LGBTQ Nation
By Bil Browning Friday
January 10, 2020

White evangelical Christians have been the Trump administration’s biggest supporters. Whether it’s unrepentant adultery, non-stop lying, destroying the Earth, abusing immigrants, or harming the poor, the far-right religious subset has gone all in.

Coincidentally enough, they also comprised a large percentage of Obama critics the believed and propagated wild conspiracy theories about our first black president and his family. But the latest claim may take the cake.
[…]
An intercessor is a Christian term for someone who prays to God on behalf of a different person.

Jamie’s prayer was a little different. They prayed that former President Obama would be exposed as a sex trafficker and Michelle Obama would be revealed as transgender.

“I am asking you, Father, that the general public would see all of the stealing and all of the dirty things that Obama has been involved in,” Jamie prayed. “How did he get this $15 million home in Martha’s Vineyard? Father Lord, I’m thanking you that every bit of money laundering, that he is involved in child trafficking, all of that would be exposed.”

Ignorance, fear of the “others” and unquestionable obedience is what drives these crazy notations. If their faith leader says it, it must be true.

A New Legislative Season (Update)

Since I wrote this morning’s blog I cam across two more bills that have been introduced by, who else but Republicans.

In New Hampshire…

The New Hampshire Facebook page has about a rally against HB1251.

After years of focusing on restrooms and locker rooms as an entry point for excluding trans people from public life, opponents of LGBTQ equality have shifted strategy to focus on excluding trans people, particularly students, from participating in athletics consistent with their gender identity.

HB1251, a proposed bill at the New Hampshire State House, offensively attempts to define participation in female student sports by the student's internal and external reproductive anatomy, naturally occurring level of testosterone, or an analysis of the student's chromosomes. Sweeping bills that purport to determine a person’s sex by documenting the person’s chromosomes and reproductive anatomy raise serious privacy concerns and are discriminatory, plain and simple.

This is the new focus of the Republican hate against us, they think they have found a clink in our armor… student athletes.

Then there is a bill that was introduced down Arizona that is totally ridiculous (No surprise there, it was introduced by a Republican).

Arizona Republican introduces bill to ban the word “homosexuality” from public schools
And that's only the beginning of what she wants.
LGBTQ Nation
By Daniel Villarreal Thursday,
January 9, 2020

Republican Arizona State Senator Sylvia Allen has proposed legislation to remove the word “homosexuality” from all public school teaching materials and to prevent any student below the age of 12 from receiving sex education. The legislation is scheduled for hearing by the Senate’s Education Committee on Jan. 14, 2019

Progressive lobbyist Geoff Esposito says that Allen’s legislation is merely a conservative response to the state’s April 2019 repeal of its infamous “no promo homo” law which prohibited instruction in HIV/AIDS curriculum that “promotes a homosexual lifestyle” or “suggests that some methods of sex are safe methods of homosexual sex.”
[…]
Esposito says Allen’s proposed legislation shows that “’anti-LGBT forces’ have been losing ground in recent years,” adding, “[Conservatives] are pushing an incredibly unpopular issue among the exact people they need to win over, and threatening vulnerable legislators’ re-election with a bad vote that will get a ton of media attention.”

Being an election you are going to see a big Republican push to attack us. They see it as a wedge issue and will be pushing them because the public just does not understand that trans athletes. We have to make sure that the Republicans don’t brand the issue like they tried go do with “Bathroom Bills.”

A New Legislative Season

A new year bring new draconian bills from the Republicans, a number of states have introduced bills against us.

Spate of bills targeting transgender athletes shows social conservatives believe they've found a salient wedge issue
Metro Weekly
By John Riley
December 23, 2019

Republican lawmakers in three different states are pushing legislation to restrict transgender athletes.

The bills would all bar transgender athletes from competing in sports designated for the gender with which they identify, and have been introduced or proposed ahead of the 2020 legislative session.

Earlier this month, in Tennessee, State Rep. Bruce Griffey (R-Paris) introduced a bill requiring schools that receive public funding to ensure that students may only participate in sports based on the student’s biological sex as listed on the athlete’s “original” birth certificate.
[…]
In Georgia, State Rep. Philip Singleton (R-Sharpsburg) has filed a bill similar to the Tennessee measure, proposing a blanket-ban on transgender participation in sports that do not match their assigned sex at birth, arguing that the bill will ensure no student has an “unfair advantage.”
[…]
In Washington State, a bill recently introduced by State Rep. Brad Klippert (R-Kennewick) takes a more tailored approach, prohibiting only transgender female athletes from competing “with and against female students in athletic activities.”

And I would not be surprised to see a similar bill introduced by Republicans here in Connecticut.

Then in Kentucky a Republican introduced this bill,

Kentucky bill would let students sue over transgender bathroom use
Similar legislation has failed twice before. Supporters say privacy is at issue, but critics say that's “not based in reality."
NBC News
By Gwen Aviles
December 13, 2019

A bill has resurfaced in Kentucky seeking to allow students to sue their school if it allows transgender peers to use school bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity, instead of their sex assigned at birth, despite the bill’s previous failures in the state Legislature.

Republican state Rep. David Hale revived the Kentucky Student Privacy Act last Thursday. The bill would require that K-12 public school facilities, like restrooms and locker rooms, separate students “based on their biological sex.”

There has been so good legislation introduced…

Jude's Law takes effect, helping transgender, non-binary Coloradans amend birth certificates
Colorado Politics
By Joey Bunch
January 1, 2020

Starting Wednesday with the new year, Coloradans will have an easier time amending their birth certificate to reflect their identity, noted One Colorado, the state's largest advocacy organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer residents and their families.

The legislature passed House Bill 1039, named Jude's Law, last session after trying unsuccessfully in three previous years. The bill is named for a transgender student who started testifying at the Capitol when she was 9 years old. Jude's last name has not been publicized, because advocates cited safety at school for the child and privacy reasons for the family.

In Ohio…

Transgender woman says hate crime laws in Ohio need to change
ABC 6
By Lu Ann Stoia
January 8th 2020

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX/WTTE) — A transgender woman said she was beaten and choked by her mother and her mother’s boyfriend. But it was what they said that has Paris Cyrus pushing for it to be labeled a hate crime.

“I was trying to stop from being strangled. I was being strangled and kicked in the face at the same time. They were saying you are not a woman. You’re not a woman. You are a guy with mascara on. They say the faggot word, F word a lot,” Cyrus said.
[…]
BRAVO, Buckeye Region Anti Violence Organization is working to eliminate violence perpetrated on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identification.

Director Aaron Eckhardt said “this certainly sounds like hate and bias violence. But hate crimes do not include sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. So in Ohio, people with those identities don’t have access to the hate crimes law.”

Then in Virginia

Bill seeks a state model policy for transgender Virginia students
Virginia Mercury
By Jahd Khalil
January 9, 2020

A bill before the General Assembly this year would require the state Department of Education to develop model policies for issues affecting transgender students.

The proposed legislation comes as disparate school policies across the state have contributed to lawsuits brought against school systems and as transgender Virginians gain visibility in schools.

The bill, proposed by Del. Marcus Simon, D-Fairfax, and Delegate-elect Joshua Cole, D-Stafford, would require the model policies to cover non-discrimination laws, bullying and harassment, protecting students’ privacy, sex-based dress codes and identifying students. The policies would have to be developed by the end of 2020.

What to expect here in Connecticut…

As I mentioned I expect the Republicans to introduce a bill forcing trans students to play on teams of their birth gender.

The other legislation I expect to be introduced is a bill to add gender neutral or non-binary to state forms… this I expect to pass if it gets voted on in the legislature.

I also expect some version of the intersex bill introduced last year to be reintroduced this year.

I say that because the Connecticut legislature is in short session this year, Connecticut adds a month to the legislative season on odd years so the bill might not get voted on this year. So the budget might take up the session this year especially because of tolls, there will probably be a lot of debate over tolls and the budget.

So what bills would you like to see introduced here in Connecticut?

Birth Certificates

Here in Connecticut we can change our birth certificate with a letter from a healthcare provider but others states do not allow the birth certificate to be changed and our neighboring state, New York require just a letter like Connecticut but for adults only.

Transgender teen sues New York over birth certificate gender marker
While New York state has permitted transgender individuals to change the gender on their birth certificates since 2014, the policy does not apply to minors.
NBC News
By Brooke Sopelsa
January 7, 2020

A 14-year-old transgender boy is suing New York state over its policy barring minors from changing the gender marker on their birth certificates.

“Possessing accurate identification documents that are consistent with a person’s gender identity — a person’s core internal sense of their own gender — is essential to their basic social and economic well-being,” the lawsuit, filed Tuesday by the LGBTQ legal advocacy group Lambda Legal, states. “Access to employment, education, housing, health care, banking, travel and government services all hinge on having appropriate and accurate personal documentation that reflects a person’s true identity.”
[…]
In a statement emailed to NBC News on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Gov. Andrew Cuomo, one of the defendants listed in the suit, touted New York state’s record as a leader in LGBTQ rights and said the lawsuit was currently being reviewed.

“From passing GENDA, to outlawing conversion therapy and eliminating the so-called ‘trans panic’ defense, New York has always been at the forefront of protecting and advancing the civil rights of transgender and gender nonconforming people,” Peter Ajemian, senior deputy communications director for the governor's office, stated. “We are deeply sympathetic to the situation as it has been described to us and are reviewing this lawsuit.”

Well it all good that they are deeply sympathetic to our plight but they cannot stand on past history. I don’t see any reason why trans children under 18 cannot change their birth certificates.

What arguments can they make for not allowing trans children to change their birth certificates? That they are too young to know their true gender?

If the child by any small chance wants to de-transition what’s the big deal? They can change their birth certificate back, it is not like they can only do it once. It is far more likely that changing their birth certificate will have a positive change in their health.

Are We Becoming Saturated?

When I first came out for trans people there was only the Connecticut View, Connecticut Outreach Society and the Twenty Club here in Connecticut. People came from as far away Springfield, Norwalk, and Norwich to attend COS or the XX Club. PFLAG held meetings in Hartford but at the time they were mainly attended by lesbians and gays.

But times have changed.

Now there are over dozen support groups throughout the state and some of them are run by hospitals that I know of… have we reached a saturation point?

Many of them are financially backed by pride centers or hospitals, there are a few independent support groups left but they are struggling to stay open.

When I first attended COS in October 1999 there were about twenty members at the meeting now they struggle to get eight people at the meetings, it is really great that there are a dozen trans support groups here, people don’t have to travel half way across the state but as a result each group are small clientele.

Some groups meet in the evenings during the week, some meet during the day on Saturday s and some met in the evening on Saturday s, so there is now variety when they meet that fits everyone schedules. But at the same time if you want to attend a meeting on a week night you have to once again travel across the state.

One of the problems that I see is the lack of coordination between groups. COS had to end their Wednesday night meetings due to lack of attendance because some met the same night as COS, so having staggered meeting nights might be better for the community in that it gives more options. Maybe they could also share events like a summer picnic at a state park or something.

It is a mixed blessing that we now have support groups all over the state.

Queens

I don’t know why many trans people have aversions to Drag Queens, I have some thoughts about why… but more on that later.

Trans Performer Chilli Pepper: What I Learned from Decades of Entertaining
Chicago's iconic Chilli Pepper reflects on winning trans beauty pageants and appearing on sensational talk shows in the 80s, and the three decades she's spent performing at legendary clubs like The Baton.
Vice
By Zackary Drucker
Dec 3 2018

[…]
Chilli’s iconic on-stage persona, which she refers to as her “cartoon,” is soulful, unapologetic, and disinterested in anyone else’s judgement. In 2015, I encountered the electrifying presence of Chilli Pepper in the flesh for the first time the same way millions of people before me discovered her: on the stage at the Baton Nightclub. Living up to her name, she looked to be on fire, pantomiming, shifting through emotions. Her fluid movements seductive and self-possessed––an artist in her zone.

In Jim Flint: The Boy From Peoria, author Baim Keehnen quotes Chilli analyzing her own stage persona:

“Any description of Chilli must come from the audience, from you. Chilli is a response. Chilli is a mirror. This is my art, this is what I use to perform. I’m not naked. That’s not what I’m selling. This,” gesturing to her face, “this is what I use. I make an expression and I see how they react. The key is seeing yourself through their eyes. If you judge me because you think I care about this or that, or judge me because of who I hang out with, I don’t care. It’s taken me years to get acceptance. That is going to be handed down to other people. That is another and maybe a larger way of being kind.”

I think that the reason a number trans trans people do not like Drag Queens is that they are afraid of being labeled gay. I think a lot of trans folk come from the straight community and avoid anything that might associate them with being gay. Is it homophobia or is it internalized transphobia?

Personally I have a very wide transgender umbrella.

When I say that I am trans I mean that I am under that umbrella, I consider Drag Queens and Kings to be under the umbrella, and crossdressers, and post-op, and non-binary people also. I believe that anyone who crosses the gender norms to be trans if they so identify because after all it is the person who put labels on themselves, we don’t get to labels other people.

Only You Can Help A Trans Child

One thing that we have found out over the years is that one adult can make a difference in the life of a trans child, or lesbian or gay child.

Just one supportive adult cuts the chance an LGBTQ youth will attempt suicide by 40%
0ver 1.8 million young LGBTQ people considered suicide each year. Any supportive adult can make a difference - not just a parent.
LGBTQ Nation
By Gwendolyn Smith
July 25, 2019

A pair of reports courtesy of the Trevor Project shine a light on the importance of a supportive adult voice in the lives of LGBTQ youth: just having at least one accepting adult in their lives reduced the chance of a suicide attempt by an LGBTQ youth by 40 percent.

While past studies have focused on the importance of parents who accept their LGBTQ children, this new report goes farther, finding out that any supportive adult can make a difference.

So what can you do to help?

Become a mentor.

Check your local LGBTQ center to see if they have a mentoring program, here in Connecticut True Colors runs a mentoring program.

Make sure your school system has a Gay Straight Alliance (GSA).

Ask your board of ed if they have GSA in the school system, if find out what you can do to start one in town and remember if the school system has after school clubs they must allow a GSA.

With all the increase in hate around the country your support is now needed more than ever.

On Vacation

I am on vacation and will be back on Sunday. 

Do You Think This Will Happen?

Do you think that the Trump administration will comply to a court order? Or will they ignore or drag their feet in complying with the order?

Federal Court To Pentagon: Turn Over Documents Used to Justify Transgender Military Ban
Modern Military Association of America
By Stephen Peters
December 18th, 2019

Today, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington ordered the Department of Defense to turn over documents that it has withheld regarding the Trump-Pence administration’s ban on open military service by transgender people, including its purported justifications for the policy.

“The government cannot conceal the truth about the development of this discriminatory policy and the absence of any justification for excluding qualified transgender people from serving our country,” Lambda Legal Counsel Peter Renn said.

“We look forward to the court shining a light onto what the government has fought very hard to hide. There is no cloak big enough to hide the deficiencies of the Pentagon’s rushed plan, which was cobbled together after-the-fact to backfill a justification for President Trump’s arbitrary tweets. We look forward to having our day in court when we can prove at trial why this ban remains rank discrimination that cannot stand.  This ruling brings us one step closer to that day.”

In June 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit confirmed that the government’s policy still discriminates against transgender people and is subject to heightened scrutiny by the courts.  It directed the district court to consider its discovery rulings with that legal framework in mind.

I think that they don’t have any justification in barring us from military service, it is all based on hating us and the religious right wing Christians. I don’t think that they have any paperwork on the new policy.

“We deserve transparency when it comes to major policies that impact the wellbeing of our troops,” said HRC National Press Secretary Sarah McBride. “This decision will help us show the discriminatory agenda driving this administration, and demonstrate what is already clear, this ban is based on nothing more than personal animus. This is a critical win in the fight to protect transgender service members, and we thank Lambda Legal and MMAA for their representation in this case.”

I think Trump said make it happen and then they tried to justify the discrimiantion.

We Ended The Year On A Sad Note

It was a record breaking year.

At least 26 transgender people were killed in America this year, but the number is likely higher
It’s been more than 20 years since Gwendolyn Ann Smith started keeping track of transgender people killed around the world. She says it’s getting worse.
The Hill
By Anagha Srikanth
December 26, 2019

Story at a glance

• While the Human Rights Campaign reported 26 transgender people killed in the U.S., other estimates put the number as high as 40.
• The FBI reports a 34 percent increase in hate crimes against transgender people between 2017 and 2018.
• A majority of transgender people killed in America this year were black women.

At least 26 transgender and gender nonconforming people were killed in the United States this year, according to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), with some outlets reporting higher numbers.

“We’re seeing the number of cases go up,” said transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith, who started the Transgender Day of Remembrance. “The last couple of years they’ve been growing and growing very quickly and that’s concerning.”

In November, monitoring group Transrespect Versus Transphobia Worldwide reported 331 killings of transgender and gender-diverse people between October 2018 and September 2019. Thirty-one of those murders took place in the U.S.

Since then, seven more transgender people have died in the U.S., according to the "trans lives matter" web project, which reported 40 deaths this year, including suicides. The most recent was the death of Yahira Nesby, a black trans woman killed in Brooklyn on Dec. 19.
[…]
Despite increased awareness in recent years, the transgender community still faces high rates of discrimination, which creates barriers to employment, health care and housing. This year the Federal Bureau of Investigation released statistics on hate crimes that showed a 34 percent increase in violent hate-based attacks on transgender people between 2017 and 2018. Nearly 9 in every 10 victims were transgender women, and 58 percent of all domestic deaths occurred in southern states, according to a report by the Human Rights Campaign.

There are many factors that have caused a rise in murders and hate crimes, some maybe caused by better reporting of trans murders but I think one of the many causes is the hate coming from our “leaders” in Washington.

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I thin another factor in the increase of hate crimes against us is our increased visibility, the haters feel threaten and in a corner, they feel that they have a right to subjugate us.

The internet made trans people visible. It also left them more vulnerable.
This decade has been a double-edged sword for trans people.
VOX
By Katelyn Burns
December 27, 2019

Few marginalized communities have experienced such dramatic whiplash of fortunes over the course of the 2010s as trans people. Where once the public only had access to trans stories through traditional media coverage (that was rarely flattering), we exit the decade with trans people starring in regular roles on television and in film, and transgender journalists beginning to break through into the traditionally cisgender-controlled media apparatus.

This year, 24 percent of Americans reported having a close friend or family member who is transgender, according to a Public Religion Research Institute poll — that’s more than double the 11 percent who reported knowing a trans person in 2011.
[…]
We didn’t arrive at this moment overnight, though. The story of how we got to a point where centuries-old conceptions of gender are now being regularly challenged in popular culture begins and ends with the thing that we love to hate: the internet.

It was the internet that brought me out of the closet, reading the stories of Dr. Becky, Melanie Anne Phillips, and others I realized that the world didn’t come to end for them when they transitioned.

While the early internet of the 2000s established a way for trans people to connect with each other quickly and over long distances, the second wave of web progress — social media and YouTube — has helped trans people leverage visibility into substantial policy gains. But with that progress also came a conservative backlash and campaigns to discredit our basic human rights. The internet, and trans visibility at large, has devolved into a double-edged sword for the trans community. It’s a dynamic I am all too familiar with.

Do you remember the early talk show hosts like Maury Povich, Geraldo Rivera, and Jerry Springer that made us into freaks.

But then all that started to change… we started to get positive coverage.

That media dynamic only began to shift after another pivotal Cox moment. In a 2014 interview, Katie Couric asked trans model and actress Carmen Carrera invasive questions about her genitalia and her transition. Couric’s next guest was Cox, who pointed out how Couric had been out of line. According to Adams, Cox was one of the first trans people to immediately push back on an interviewer’s inappropriate questions.
[...[
“[The internet] was a game-changer as far as I’m concerned,” trans writer and activist Monica Roberts told Vox. “Unlike the ’90s, we now have real-time communication links where we can not only talk to each other nationally, but internationally and in an inexpensive way.”

But at the same time the opposition also found the internet and their lies and hate also had a real-time communication link between like haters and the internet because an echo-chamber for their hate.

As we started to win our human rights the haters were pushed back into the corners where their hate festered along with other like minded haters. We now see their hate live-streamed like happened down in New Zealand and other haters are emulating their ‘heroes.”

We see down in Washington an administration that fosters the hatred and has white nationalists on their staff. In an interview Linda Ronstadt said,

“If you read the history, you won't be surprised. It's exactly the same," Ronstadt replied. "Find a common enemy for everybody to hate. I was sure that Trump was going to get elected the day he announced, and I said it's gonna be like Hitler, and the Mexicans are the new Jews. And sure enough that's what he delivered."

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One last thing...

What we need is a national trans organization to speak for us. The news media shouldn't have to go to the Human Rights Campaign a GAY INC non-profit to find out how many trans people died this year.