When We Walk In Public…

…We have a target on our back, there religious zealots, transphobic bigots, and people who just want to deny our existence out there.

Suspects in slaying targeted transgender women for robberies, police say
Washington Post
By Keith L. Alexander
September 16, 2016

Two men with prior arrests who had set out to rob transgender women are responsible for crimes including a deadly July shooting in Northeast, according to authorities and court papers.

One man, Shareem Hall, 22, of District Heights, Md., is charged with first-degree felony murder in the slaying of Deeniquia Dodds. Dodds, 22, a transgender woman, was shot July 4 and died days later.
[…]
“This is a conspiracy targeting transgender women,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Saunders said at a Friday hearing.

In an affidavit for Hall’s arrest, D.C. police said they think Dodds’s slaying is linked to other robberies in which transgender women were targeted, the first of which occurred June 28. In that case, they said, a man forced a transgender woman to disrobe at gunpoint, then ordered her to run across the street. He took her shoes, police said.
[…]
Another armed robbery was reported July 4, after the shooting, police said, in an area frequented by transgender prostitutes, according to the affidavit.

Much of the violence is aimed at those who live on the margins, those who are trying to survive the only way they know how and their lives are usually taken by those who are also living on the margins.

Those who are like me have less to fear, those who are financially better off and or can blend into society usually are not targeted as much. However, we all face danger went we go out, all it takes is for one person to take exception to our existence to snuff out our lives.

In this political climate that is now being stirred up we are being made the scapegoats, we are being used to divert people from the real problems, we are being used by the magicians to distract people from the slide-of-hand.

It Is About Time

Well it finally happened, a trans person was promoted in the Navy. This is a major step for trans servicemembers since we were allowed to serve.

In a First, Openly Transgender Service Member Promoted
NBC News
By Fiona Dawson
September 15, 2016

Just two and a half months ago, as NBC OUT exclusively reported, Navy Lt. Cdr. Blake Dremann was one of four service members historically stepping out of Secretary of Defense Ash Carter's office a week prior to the announcement ending the ban on transgender troops. Then at a ceremony last Friday, Dremann became the first known openly transgender service member promoted since that repeal. To top it off, everyone on his promotion stage was transgender.

Flanked by the American, Navy and Senior Executive Service flags, wearing his male summer whites and surrounded by his parents, family, friends, admirals, officers and representatives from a number of advocacy groups, Dremann stood to attention at the front of the President's Room at the Navy Memorial.

"I couldn't have asked for better people, a better place, or a better person to swear me in. I wouldn't have changed a thing," Dremann told NBC OUT.

Deputy Assistant Secretary
of Defense for Operational
Energy Amanda Simpson (left)
 and Navy Lt. Cdr. Blake
Dremann (right) Ames Photography

And who was there to promote him? Amanda Simpson the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy.

At his invitation, Dremann was promoted by Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy Amanda Simpson, who in 2010 became the first transgender woman appointee ever in the U.S. government, and today is the highest ranking transgender person in the Department of Defense as well as the federal government.

"I suppose I should start by addressing the significance of today's ceremony," Simpson said in opening. "To my knowledge this is the first U.S. military promotion ceremony for an openly transgender officer."

Hopefully Lt. Cdr. Blake Dremann will be the first of many and who knows maybe someday he will be Admiral.

The Doctor Will See You Now… Maybe

For many trans people they are afraid of going to the doctors and they have legitimate reasons. In the 2011 survey “Injustice At Every Turn” they found that 19% of us have been refused medical care and 50% of us reported that they had to training their doctors.

So this will not be a surprise for us…

Transgender patients face fear and stigma in the doctor's office
Reuters
By Daniel Trotta
September 15, 2016

Tanya Walker had lung cancer and was coughing up blood, but she says her emergency room doctor kept asking about her genitals.

"It seemed like they weren't going to treat me unless I told them what genitals I had," Walker, a 53-year-old transgender woman, activist and advocate, said about her 2013 experience in a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in New York. "I felt cornered."

She experienced a stigma shared by many transgender people. The same rejection they confront at home and in society can often await them in the doctor's office, where many report being harassed, ridiculed or even assaulted.
[…]
Walker said the doctor who was distracted by her sex organs misdiagnosed her lung ailment as tuberculosis. He gave her antibiotics and sent her home. Three months later she discovered she had lung cancer, Walker said, though she is now cancer-free.

Some doctors acknowledge their profession is woefully out of date.

"We have a lot to apologize for in the medical community. Our treatment of transgender people has been abhorrent," said Dr. Aron Janssen, founder and director of the gender and sexuality service at New York University Langone Medical Center.

What will happen if I was in a traffic accident? What if I was down south and something happen? Would I get the best treatment or will they just fluff me off?

Someone I know here in Connecticut slipped and fell on some ice and when the emergency room staff found out she was trans they sent her home and told her to see her doctor in the morning. Her doctor found out that she had fractures in her spine and hip.

Private insurers are also at the vanguard, changing record-keeping systems so that, for example, a transgender man who has legally changed his identity documents but is still capable of getting pregnant will not be denied obstetrics and gynecology care.

Maybe.

There are still a lot of insurance companies that try to wiggle out of it anyway they can. I have a hard time getting my prostrate test paid for during my annual physical and Medicare has a special code for us,

B. Policy: For Part A claims processing, institutional providers shall report condition code 45 (Ambiguous Gender Category) on any outpatient claim related to transgender or hermaphrodite issues. This claim level condition code should be used by providers to identify these unique claims and also allows the sex related edits to be by-passed. The CWF [Common Working File] shall override any gender specific edits when condition code 45 is present and allow the service to continue normal processing.

For Part B claims processing, the KX modifier shall be billed on the detail line with any procedure code(s) that are gender specific. The definition of the KX modifier is: Requirements specified in the medical policy have been met. Use of the KX modifier will alert the MAC [Medicare Administrative Contractors] that the physician/practitioner is performing a service on a patient for whom gender specific editing may apply, but should have such editing by-passed for the beneficiary. The CWF shall override any gender specific edits for procedure codes billed with the KX modifier and allow the service to continue normal processing.

So if you are a trans man and you need a Pap Smear it should be covered and for us PSA should be covered. These codes all the doctors to treat the body, not the gender.

UCSF Center of Excellent for Transgender Health says this about Prostrate exams,

Prostate cancer
Documented cases of prostate cancer in trans women with a variety of hormone use and surgical histories have been reported.[1-3] Most cases of prostate cancer in trans women have been in individuals who started hormones after age 50; such cases may actually represent occult neoplasms, which existed prior to initiation of hormone therapy.[4] In a cohort of 320 transgender women in Belgium who had undergone vaginoplasty, PSAs along with transvaginal ultrasound and digital vaginal examination of the prostate revealed lower PSA and prostate volume than what would be expected in a non-transgender men of corresponding age.[5] Some anti-androgens, such as 5-alpha reductase inhibitors have also been documented to decrease the PSA result.[6] Removal of gonads in addition to estrogen exposure likely reduces risk for prostate cancer and benign prostatic hypertrophy.[4,5]

Regardless, primary care providers should remain aware of the possibility of prostate cancer in transgender women, even those who have undergone gonadectomy. The decision to perform screening for prostate cancer in transgender women should be made based on guidelines for non-transgender men. If a prostate exam is indicated, both rectal and neovaginal approaches may be considered. Transgender women who have undergone vaginoplasty have a prostate anterior to the vaginal wall, and a digital neovaginal exam examination may be more effective.[5] It should be noted that when PSA testing is performed in transgender women with low testosterone levels, it may be appropriate to reduce the upper limit of normal to 1.0 ng/ml.[4]

Some trans women believe they don’t need a Prostrate exam, fine. It is your life and if you want to gamble with it go right ahead. For me, I rather have a moment of discomfort for a year of protection.

As We Grow Older…

Sometimes we become isolated and cutoff from our friends. Many LGBT people do not have any children and their families might have cut ties with them.

‘Elder Orphans’ Have a Harder Time Aging in Place
Why we need more services for those without family
Next Avenue
By Carol Marak
September 8, 2016

Thriving in a place that’s safe and comfortable, surrounded by cozy memories, is a natural desire of older adults. We treasure independence and want a space to call our own, and we prefer that place to reflect the person we’ve become. We understand that aging bids compromise, and once 65 hits, the changes bring reminders that we’re no longer the same. We don’t move as quickly, we don’t multitask as well, nor do we easily adapt. Those are the simple cues. As we age, the physical and mental challenges delivered through loss, immobility and dependence are the ones that put us at higher risks.

Who Is an Elder Orphan?
However, the effects of aging land harder on an “elder orphan,” because the worry and concern of “what will become of me if I can’t care for myself?” triples when no one is around. An elder orphan has no adult children, spouse or companion to rely on for company, assistance or input. About 29 percent (13.3 million) of noninstitutionalized older persons live alone. The majority of those are women (9.2 million, vs. 4.1 million men).

The stresses of living alone will likely worsen for the boomers as a group since we have fewer children, more childless marriages and more divorces compared to earlier generations.

Here in Connecticut we are doing something to bring out LGBT seniors, area towns are holding LGBT days at their senior centers. The next one will be at Manchester Senior Center on September 24 from 10:00 AM until 3:00 PM come on and join us.

---

This morning I was at a conference where I gave a workshop presentation and right now I am at a meeting from the Community Research Alliance where we discuss how we can improve research projects to include our community members. For me it is the trans community, one of the suggestions that I made for a professor who was studying diabetes in seniors was to change one question and add one question on his survey… “What was your gender assigned at birth?” and “What is your gender?”

It Can Be Done

Having a trans woman cast in a TV show can be done if the producers want to do it.

Transgender Actress Jen Richards Joins Cast of 'Nashville'
Actress/writer will play a physical therapist on the CMT musical drama
Rolling Stone
By Stephen L. Betts
September 13, 2016

Ahead of Nashville's Season Five premiere on CMT in January, more casting news has emerged — and this one marks a series first. Emmy-nominated actress Jen Richards has joined the musical drama as the show's first transgender character. Allyson Del Lago is described as a "tough but understanding physical therapist who helps a series regular through one of their most difficult challenges," according to CMT.com. Richards is the first out transgender actor to be featured on a CMT series.

In addition to her acting roles, Richards is the co-writer, star and producer of the Emmy-nominated series, Her Story, and co-producer of the upcoming documentary series More Than T and writer for its accompanying series, Trans 102. Born in Mississippi and now living in North Carolina, Richards is also an author, consultant and advocate working with various national organizations and media projects and has appeared on several additional TV series.

All they have to do is want to cast trans actors/actresses for parts

---

This morning I am over in Bristol giving a workshop at the conference for “Connecticut Local Administrators of Social Services” and then once I get out to there I zip up to Hartford for a Community Research Alliance meeting, that is followed by a meeting at the National Association of Social Workers in the evening.

I may fluff off the CRA meeting depending on how I feel and is there is enough time between the conference and the meeting.

This Research Is Fascinating

It should be interesting to see where this research leads; will they find a way to turn off the gene?

This is an old article but it just popped up on Facebook…

Gene required to maintain male sex throughout life discovered: Loss of gene Dmrt1 leads to male cells becoming female
Science News
Date: July 20, 2011
Source: University of Minnesota

University of Minnesota Medical School and College of Biological Sciences researchers have made a key discovery showing that male sex must be maintained throughout life.

The research team, led by Drs. David Zarkower and Vivian Bardwell of the U of M Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, found that removing an important male development gene, called Dmrt1, causes male cells in mouse testis to become female cells.

The findings are published online July 20 in Nature.

In mammals, sex chromosomes (XX in female, XY in male) determine the future sex of the animal during embryonic development by establishing whether the gonads will become testes or ovaries.

"Scientists have long assumed that once the sex determination decision is made in the embryo, it's final," Zarkower said. "We have now discovered that when Dmrt1 is lost in mouse testes -- even in adults -- many male cells become female cells and the testes show signs of becoming more like ovaries."

Hmm… where might this research lead?

"This work shows that sex determination in mammals can be surprisingly prone to change, and must be actively maintained throughout an organism's lifetime," said Dr. Susan Haynes, who oversees developmental biology grants at the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health. "These new insights have important implications for our understanding of how to reprogram cells to take on different identities, and may shed light on the origin of some human sex reversal disorders."

The new findings may force the scientific community to reconsider how disorders involving human sex-reversal occur. Some of these disorders may not result from errors in the original sex determination decision in the embryo, but instead may result from failure to maintain that decision later in embryonic development. In addition, because DMRT1 has been associated with human gonadal cancers, the researchers hope their findings will provide another clue into how gonadal cancer develops.

So does this mean that someday Gender Confirming Surgery might become obsolete, we will just take a pill to turnoff the gene and we will revert to our female body?

As Arte Johnson used to say on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In... Very interesting

Blood Will Spill

A governor calls for terrorism. If the Democrats win in November a Republican governor says

"I want us to be able to fight ideologically, mentally, spiritually, economically, so that we don’t have to do it physically,” Bevin said Saturday. “But that may, in fact, be the case."

Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin said they might have to resort to violence if they lose in November.

Kentucky governor: Electing Hillary Clinton may eventually lead to violence
Washington Post
By Aaron Blake
September 13, 2016

Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) told religious conservatives at the Values Voters Summit this weekend that blood might have to be shed if Hillary Clinton is elected president.

"I want us to be able to fight ideologically, mentally, spiritually, economically, so that we don’t have to do it physically,” Bevin said Saturday. “But that may, in fact, be the case."

He added, citing Thomas Jefferson's "blood of patriots and tyrants" quote: "The roots of the tree of liberty are watered by what? The blood. Of who? The tyrants, to be sure. But who else? The patriots. Whose blood will be shed? It may be that of those in this room. It might be that of our children and grandchildren."

Bevin, a tea party supporter who has been known to make a controversial comment or two, clarified his comments to the Lexington Herald-Leader, saying he was referring to military sacrifice.

"Today we have thousands of men and women in uniform fighting for us overseas, and they need our full backing,” Bevin said in a statement. “We cannot be complacent about the determination of radical Islamic extremists to destroy our freedoms."

To me it doesn’t sound like that he meant the military listen to the video clip below and judge for yourself. To me he said that when he was talking about the elections and this nation not about overseas battles, to me he sounded like he called for rebellion.

And in the media,

Conservative talk show hosts have warned of even worse, up to and including civil war. But Bevin's comments appear to be the most full-throated warning about a Clinton presidency so far from a high-ranking GOP elected official.

Listen to this The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC and what he has to say about the news media.

This Law Doesn’t Make Sense

Why was this law ever passed? It seems to me that this was only meant to discriminate and make life harder for legal immigrants.

Transgender man sues Mike Pence, other Indiana officials, for law barring non-citizens from changing their name  
NY Daily News
By Laura Bult
September 13, 2016

A transgender man is suing Indiana officials, including GOP vice presidential nominee Mike Pence, saying a state law that prohibits him from legally changing his name opens him up to “harassment and violence.”

The 31-year-old plaintiff, identified as “John Doe” in court documents, was born in Mexico but has lived the entirety of his adult life in Indiana as a man. According to the suit, he was unable to legally switch to his chosen name because of a 2010 state law that requires proof of U.S. citizenship.
[…]
“Without a legal name change, I am forced to use an I.D. that is inconsistent with who I am and puts me in danger of harassment, violence, and being outed as transgender whenever I present it. I am simply asking for equal treatment under the law," he said.

He is not an undocumented immigrant, here is here in the U.S. legal. Not only that but,

He is identified as a male on all of his official U.S. documents and his Indiana state ID. But he was unable to adopt the name that reflects his gender identity because of Indiana House Bill 1047, which passed in 2010 and made U.S. citizenship a requirement for a legal name change. HB1047 was one of several anti-immigration laws passed by state legislators throughout the country in 2010 and 2011.

So tell me, why was this law passed?

What was the motivation for the legislature to introduce this bill?

The federal government allows documented immigrant to change the information on their documentation, there is no criminal intent, and he has paperwork which shows that here is here legally so why can’t he change his name? Here in Connecticut all you have to prove is that you are a U.S. citizen or that you are here in the U.S. legally.

He is suing on the grounds that,

The suit questions the constitutionality of the state law, alleging it violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and freedom of speech laws.

I can see no other purpose to this law than to make life harder for immigrants.

Hurting Them In Their Pocketbook

There have been a number of businesses who are rethinking moving to or expanding and there have been a number musicians, conferences, and sports events canceled in North Carolina since they passed HB2and the latest is the NCAA.

North Carolina loses college sports championships over 'bathroom' law
Reuters
By Steve Gorman
September 13, 2016

Two months ago the National Basketball Association moved its 2017 pro All-Star Game from North Carolina to New Orleans for the same reason.

Access to public restrooms, locker rooms and changing areas has become a flashpoint in the battle over transgender rights in the United States as the North Carolina law has sparked boycotts by a number of corporations and entertainers.

North Carolina Republican Party spokeswoman Kami Mueller said the NCAA decision was "so absurd it’s almost comical," according to a statement posted on Twitter.

And NPR wrote.

The events moving out of state include first and second rounds of the Division I Men's Basketball Championship — part of the Road to the Final Four — originally slated to be in Greensboro, DeWitt reports.

I don’t imagine that businesses think the same way; they will be losing millions of dollars.

The NCAA goes on to say that the ban also includes soccer, golf, tennis, lacrosse, and baseball events.

I Can Just Hear His Defense Now…

…Citing the trans panic defense. When I found out she was trans I lost my mind and stabbed her 119 times.

Deputy: Transgender woman allegedly killed by sailor was stabbed 119 times
Stars & Strips
By Associated Press
Published: September 13, 2016

PASCAGOULA, Miss. — A Navy seaman in training accused of stabbing a transgender woman to death appeared before a Jackson County judge Monday for a preliminary hearing.

Sheriff's Deputy Leo Allen revealed details about what investigators found in a St. Martin hotel room on July 23. Autopsy results show 25-year-old Dee Whigham was stabbed 119 times, he said. Allen said many of the wounds were to Whigham's face, and her throat was slashed three times.

WLOX-TV reports Allen said surveillance video shows 20-year-old Dwanya Hickerson and Whigham walking into a Best Western hotel room together around 8:30 p.m. He said Hickerson was seen leaving the room alone about 23 minutes later, his shirt around his neck.

I don’t know if he is going to use this defense but it has been used in past cases like this, Angie Zapata murderer used it and so did Gwen Araujo killers used it in California. All it takes is one juror to feel sympathy for the killer like they did in Ms. Araujo trial the defendant’s lawyer “…had repeatedly argued that the defendants felt “deceived” by Araujo—and that this deception is what fueled the passion that ended in Araujo’s death…” whether this lead to the hung jury we don’t know. But it may have and that is why it should be banned, can you imagine someone using “I killed her because I found out she was black.” that would not be allowed because it is racist but somehow it is okay to be transphobic or homophobic.

“Gay/Trans Panic” defense should be banned!

I Sometimes Laugh When A Doctor Asks About My Love Life

It is very hard for trans people to find love, but it is like I describe it… lighting does hit people once in awhile.

Life As Transgender: Looking For Love
WBUR NPR
September 10, 2016

Dear Sugar Radio is a weekly podcast from member station WBUR. Hosts Steve Almond and Cheryl Strayed offer "radical empathy" and advice on everything from relationships and parenthood to dealing with drug problems or anxiety.

Today, the Sugars are joined by the visual artist and writer Cooper Lee Bombardier, who is a transgender man. In the second of two posts about living as a transgender person, the Sugars respond to a transgender man who sometimes feels that love is out of reach.

Dear Sugars,
How do I get over the fear that I'll never find love? When I type that out, it seems absurd, even to me. I know many people feel the same way at times and that people who open themselves up to love are generally likely to find it. But I don't feel that to be true in my heart, and here's why: I'm a transgender man.
I can't help but feel that being trans makes me an exception to the general rules about love. I know that I'm lovable and deserving of love, but I can't imagine that someone will get through the initial phases of attraction to learn what I have to offer.

The show host wrote,

Cheryl Strayed: As the person who wrote that phrase, "Be a warrior for love," AWFL [Aspiring Warrior for Love, the signature by the trans man], I want to say you are a warrior for love. The whole message is about running into battle without your armor. That's what being a warrior for love is. It's about being vulnerable, it's about taking risks, it's about being brave and emotionally intelligent and not trying to find adversaries. It's trying to really open your heart, and you've done that beautifully.

Cooper Lee Bombardier: I think that it's just part of the process that you go out there without your armor and you get squished, and sometimes I feel a little bit bummed about my failed relationships. But then I also think: Well, where did it bring me in terms of my evolution as a human being and my ability to relate to others? It might not have worked out, but it did push me along on my path of being able to do better.

The willingness to just keep trying is the right thing. So many of us, we have our lists of perceived inadequacies, and we think: Oh, this isn't going to work because I don't have any money, because I'm too short, etc. Spend less time listening to those messages. Spend time in places where people are exhibiting other values.

Well I think that Cooper is right about keep on trying, but I think they just don’t quite understand what we face, Cheryl wrote “We answer this question over and over: Am I too fat to be loved? No. Am I too poor to be loved? No. Am I too fill-in-the-blank to be loved? No. I also think it's true that some people are going to not want to date you…” being trans is so much more than height or weight. The number of people who might date a trans person is slim.

The odds of finding love are probably at par with getting hit by lighting but people do get hit by lighting.

Wait! I that thunder I hear?

There Are Only Two…

…Non-trans people who I think can teach about trans culture.

Comic book store features transgender heroine
WRAL
By Tim Clodfelter, The Winston-Salem Journal
September 12, 2016

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Comic book characters have long fought against supervillains, mad scientists and alien invaders, but on the cover of new comic book out this week, a superheroine takes on North Carolina's controversial House Bill 2, widely known as the bathroom bill.

Ssalefish Comics, in the Silas Creek Crossing shopping center, has commissioned an exclusive cover for "Alters" No. 1, a new series from AfterShock Comics that focuses on Chalice, a transgender superheroine. The cover makes fun of HB2 by depicting Chalice holding up a unisex symbol to replace the sign on a bathroom door.

Magdalene Visaggio writes about what she thinks of non trans people writing about trans people,

Magdalene Visaggio on the Problem with Cis Creators Writing Trans Narratives
Paste
By Magdalene Visaggio
September 9, 2016

Back in 2014, TIME Magazine proclaimed “the transgender tipping point,” a supposed moment humanity had reached in which trans people encountered unprecedented welcome and acceptance in modern society. And to an extent, that transition has occurred. But with the flip side of that increased exposure comes our newfound re-assimilation into American popular culture, a process fraught with missteps, frustrations and pure exploitation.

It’s an arena where respect is mixed with what sometimes feels like a willful disregard, and—as always—an assumption that our stories are the purview of others to tell, as if we ourselves were voiceless.

We aren’t voiceless. But it can feel that way, especially because we often play second fiddle in stories that are ostensibly about us. There are trans supporting actors in Transparent, but the star is a cisgender man. And the justified kerfuffle over Mark Ruffalo casting cisgender gay man Matt Bomer as the main transgender character in his upcoming movie, Anything, while actual trans women play other, less important characters is merely the latest prominent example.
[…]
A cis man is trying to tell a cis audience what it’s really like being a trans woman. This is akin to the pope describing the experience of childbirth, the sort of thing for which ecclesiastics have been rightly called out for ages. Communicating essential parts of the trans experience is not the purview of a cis writer, and it’s extremely frustrating to see yet another “media triumph” for transgender people being once again the product of cisgender people commodifying our experience for cisgender consumption. Transparent is a smash; Her Story is a queer media YouTube afterthought. Eddie Redmayne plays Lili Elbe in The Danish Girl. Again and again, the message is that it matters so much less when we tell our stories ourselves.

There’s a critical difference between cisgender narratives of being trans and real self-directed narratives: it turns being trans into a spectacle, something to be stared at, consumed. It’s strange and other and foreign, and the presentation is driven by a gaping fascination with the facts of transformation. In Alters, the creators produce a loving depiction of Chalice doffing her wig, costume and makeup, and an understated but none-too-subtle full-body reveal panel of her in boy mode, because the cis audience loves a before-and-after photo. What it does is underscore the cis audience’s sense of artificiality; here is something she must become, and not something she is.

A trans woman lives our lives 24/7 trying to deal will gender dysphoria anyone who hasn’t woken up wondering “Why me?” or longing just to be “normal” and not seen by some as a freak does not know what it is like. As the article says it is like a man trying to describe childbirth.

There is a growing number of trans people drawing trans comics, some of them are mediocre and some are really great but they all have one thing in common, they come from the heart (You can see a list of some of the trans comic on the side bar. If you know of any other trans comics please let me know so I can provide a link to them.). I think that the success of Her Story is that it is directed and performed by trans people.

Churches

In all the non-discrimination laws religious organizations can discriminate to their heart’s content, but when you are receiving public funding or when you open and event to the public or you own a company that is licensed to be open to the public such as apartments you cannot discriminate.

ANOTHER STATE ISSUES TRANSGENDER RULES FOR CHURCHES
Open restrooms, censoring members' comments, massive liabilities all on the table
World New Daily
By Bob Unruh
Published: September 10, 2016

President Obama’s transgender agenda has taken huge leaps forward in the last year or so. There have been orders for public building managers, for colleges and even for public schools to allow a male who says he’s female to use locker rooms and restrooms set aside for women.

The privacy and feelings of the biological females who are in those facilities are of no account.

Now a second state has decided that churches, too, are bound by the agenda.

The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination this month released a “Gender Identity Guidance” that imposes its demands on society.

“The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination enforces [state law on discrimination]. The MCAD developed this guidance to educate the public about discrimination based on gender identity, to describe what evidence may be submitted to support a claim of gender identity discrimination, to inform individuals of their rights, and to assist employers, providers of housing, mortgage services, and owners, managers and agents of places of public accommodation in understanding their obligations.”

The conflict arises under the instructions for “places of public accommodation.”

So let’s take a look at the guidelines…

D. Places of Public Accommodation

A place of public accommodation is defined as “any place, whether licensed or unlicensed, which is open to and accepts or solicits the patronage of the general public.” G.L. c. 272, § 92A. This definition includes a wide variety of private and public places, such as retail stores, restaurants, malls, public agencies, public parks, beaches and public roads. The statute includes businesses that provide services and is not restricted to a person's entrance into a physical structure. Businesses that provide services that have been found to be covered by the public accommodation law include loan companies 9, cab services 10, and insurance companies,11 companies that provide long term disability benefits 12, and businesses that actively provide testing services. Currier v. National Board of Medical Examiners, 462 Mass. 1 (2012). The law also covers denying an individual access to a public place, benefit, process or proceeding. For example, a public agency that denies an individual the opportunity to apply for a taxi driver’s license based on the person’s protected class would be in violation of G.L. c. 272. MCAD & Adam Apache v. City of Springfield Police Department, 34 Mass. Discrimination Law Rptr. 59 (2012) (dismissed on other grounds).

Under G.L. c. 272, § 98, places of public accommodation may not discriminate against, or restrict a person from services because of that person’s gender identity. For example, a hotel or motel may not refuse to book a room for a person because of the person’s gender identity. Even a church could be seen as a place of public accommodation if it holds a secular event, such as a spaghetti supper, that is open to the general public.13 All persons, regardless of gender identity, shall have the right to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities and privileges of any place of public accommodation. 14  For example, if it is a supermarket’s practice to bag the customers’ groceries, the store may not refuse to bag a person’s groceries because of the customer’s gender identity. Moreover, it is a violation of the law for any individual to aid or incite another in making a distinction, discriminating against or restricting an individual from a place of public accommodation on the basis of gender identity.15

Oh wait a minute did I see something about churches?

Yes, it says “Even a church could be seen as a place of public accommodation if it holds a secular event, such as a spaghetti supper, that is open to the general public.” Let’s see is a spaghetti supper a religious service? I guess if you are Italian some may think so, but no, it is not religious and two, they say it is open to the public so therefore it is a “Public Event” and not a “Religious Event” but that distinction seems to be ignored by those who claim their religious freedom is being violated.

In Hartford every year a Greek Church has their “Greek Festival” every year the same time as the Out Film Festival and it is open to the public, they advertise it as a food festival and they do not say “only for church members” and by advertising the festival in secular newspapers it is a public accommodation that is serving Greek food with Greek music. 

Shh….

We don’t talk about this.

Domestic abuse of trans partners. It is something that is hidden, it is father back in the closet then we were before we came out, it is not talked about because of the stigma and guilt of the victim.

LGBT victims of domestic violence find new support in Lehigh Valley
The Morning Call
By Sarah M. Wojcik
September 10, 2016

ALLENTOWN — The pivotal moment when a domestic violence survivor seeks help is already laden with fear, but for victims who are gay, bisexual or transgender, that fear can be debilitating.

They worry about being outed by their attacker, treated unfairly by police and losing access to a child. Heaped onto these worries is the burden that a complaint could tarnish a community that's been ostracized for decades.

The Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Center in Allentown is working to remove those barriers and get victims the help they need. Forging a partnership over the summer with Turning Point of the Lehigh Valley, the center now provides counseling services at its West Maple Street offices, which opened this spring.

The partnership is intended to counter a perception that domestic violence only happens in the heterosexual community and that its victims tend to be women, said Adrian Shanker, the center's executive director. That fallacy, he said, keeps some LGBT people from seeking services.
[…]
Yet many shelters have not developed the training or accommodations that would allow them to fully open their doors to the LGBT community, Sywensky said.

Probably ten, fifteen years ago there was a battered trans woman from the Boston and they were looking for a domestic violence shelter that would take her in but nobody could find a shelter for her in Massachusetts, Rhode Island or Connecticut, she had to go to a shelter in New York City.

Fast forward to about 3 years ago, a DV shelter was taking in a trans woman and wanted their staff trained on how to help her.

But part of the blame lies within the LGBT community.

Even within the LGBT community, the issue has taken a back seat. The movement had focused on health care and marriage equality, Shanker said, but now is looking to tackle domestic violence and other issues.

The perception that the LGBT community does not struggle with interrelationship violence not only hurts access to care, but also creates a destructive pattern for those in the throes of abuse, said Wayne Fox, a Turning Point counselor.

I don’t even know what a DV shelter would do if they had a gay man seeking shelter; it is hard enough to get shelter for a trans woman let alone a man.

---

Yesterday was Hartford Pride and I was there from around 1 to 5. I went around visiting the booths saying “Hi” to everyone I knew and then I want over to the LGBT Aging Advocacy booth and did my shift there from 3 to 5.

The Pride was fantastic, but the heat and humidity were brutal!

At the LGBT Aging Advocacy booth I kept hydrated by drinking lots of water and was lucky someone brought frozen bottles of water, because I was using one to cool my forehead and neck. At a booth across the way they were not so lucky, someone there succumbed to the heat and they had to bring an ambulance in for him.

Later I went to the first Connecticut Outreach Society’s first meeting of the season. But I left early because of the heat during the day did me in.

Saturday 9: Mr. Boombastic

Crazy Sam’s Saturday 9: Mr. Boombastic (1995)

On Saturdays I take a break from the heavy stuff and have some fun...
This is the first weekend in over a month that I have been home. 

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) This song is a rather shameless come-on by an accomplished ladies' man. Do you enjoy flirting? 
I am too serious to flirt

2) Shaggy sings that he's like a turtle coming out of his shell. Do you think turtles, snakes and lizards make good pets? Or would you prefer a companion animal that has fur or feathers?
No, I don’t think turtles, snakes and lizards, especially snakes make good pets. I college a student had a boa constrictor, he used to look for ads for free kittens or puppies to feed the snake and I thought that was gross.
I prefer dogs for pets, cats are too independent.

3) He also sings that if you don't feel like driving, you should hand him the keys. Are you comfortable letting others drive your car?
It depends on who I let drive it.

4) He tries to woo the girl with the promise of a bubble bath. Do you enjoy relaxing in the tub? Or do you view baths and showers as simply part of your hygiene routine, like brushing your teeth?  
Yes, I enjoy relaxing to in a nice bubble bath.

5) Born Orville Burrell, Shaggy took his stage name from his shaggy hair. Using your hair as inspiration, what would your stage name be?
First you got to have hair.

6) Sam admits she hadn't thought about this 20+ year old song in years, until she heard it on a Chase Bank commercial. According to the Federal Reserve Bank, checkwriting dropped more than 50% between 2000 and 2010. Who received the last check you wrote?
The guy who does my lawn.

7)  Which would you prefer to receive in a birthday card: a $25 check or a $20 Target gift card?
Either one is fine.

8) Sam's mother refuses to pay bills online. All the news stories about data breaches scare her. Have you ever been hacked? If so, did it take long to get the situation resolved?
Me personally, yes I have. Someone hacked my website and added a secret forum. Also one of the places that I shop at online was hacked and they gave me a year of free protection. I use one card for online purchases so if the site is hacked it only affects one card.

9) In 1995, when this song was popular, Michael Jordan "unretired" and returned to the Chicago Bulls. Tell us about a decision you made that you wish you could undo.
Naw, it will bring up old wounds.

The Only Surprise That I Had…

…When I changed my name was the judge asking me where I was going to have my surgery, he said “That all the other women have theirs’s done in Montreal.” Hun? “All the women?” I didn’t think there were other trans people in town.

Down in Georgia the judge had different concerns.

Local transgender man speaks out after friend also denied name change
WRDW
By Ben Billmyer & Lauren Hoar
Posted: September 08, 2016

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) -- The number of local men fighting to change their name is now up to two as Andrew Baumert is appealing a decision by Superior Court Judge David Roper.

He's the second transgender man to have a request to legally change his name denied by Judge Roper this year after Rowan Feldhaus, Baumert's friend, was denied in March.

"It's more of like a safety blanket because our name is what we present to the public," Feldhaus says. "And if I were to go to somebody and say my name was Rebecca, they'd be like "um I'm having a hard time believing that you're Rebecca."

He's made his transition and says the name change will make things final. After months of traveling, he says his legal name and identity make for a tough time at hotels and restaurants.
[…]
But after two denials have been requested, Feldhaus says it's a clear issue for Judge Roper.

The grounds for rejecting a name change are,

In Georgia, courts must find good and sufficient reasons for any name change and also find it consistent with the public interest.

But the court can deny any request to keep folks from evading creditors or escaping criminal punishment.

The name also can't be seen as offensive, obscene or confusing to the general public. That is where Judge Roper's denial is based.

The article goes on to say,

Senior Attorney in Lambda Legal's Southern Regional Office in Atlanta, Beth Littrell said there are only a few exceptions to allow a court to deny someone the right to change their name. She states it should not be denied based on sexist notions or transgender bias.

Here in Connecticut we are lucky that we don’t have to put up with the stuff they do down south. We don’t have to publish our name change which is really nice but sometimes judges do not like waving the fees because they feel that the name change is not necessary. However, this does create a hardship for those who cannot afford the fee.

Another Law Maker Wants To Screw Us.

A Republican Congressman wants to strip all of gains with a bill he is proposing…

This Lawmaker Wants To Make Absolutely Sure No Law Protects Transgender People
Rep. Pete Olson just wants to make sure everything’s “uniform.”
Think Progress
By Zack Ford
August 19, 2016

This week, the General Services Administration issued a notice ensuring that transgender individuals will have access to facilities to bathrooms that match their identity in more than 9,000 federal buildings and offices. It’s the latest move from the Obama Administration toward recognizing that nondiscrimination protections based on “sex” apply to trans people, but one lawmaker wants to end all of this “executive overreach.”

Congressman Pete Olson (R-TX) filed a bill last month that would eliminate the foundation for these protections. HR 5812 serves only one purpose: clarifying that transgender people do not enjoy protections under the law.

He gave his bill the cute title `Civil Rights Uniformity Act of 2016.' And this is what the proposed law says,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
    This Act may be cited as the ``Civil Rights Uniformity Act of
2016.''
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS AND DECLARATION OF PURPOSE.
    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Over the past half century, Congress has passed         numerous civil rights laws prohibiting discrimination on the  basis of ``sex,'' a designation long understood to be grounded in objective biology up to the present day. There is no evidence that Congress or the American people ever understood the word sex or gender in civil rights laws to include subjective self-identification.
            (2) For years, advocates have pressed Congress to include a person's subjective self-declared ``gender identity'' in Federal civil rights laws that prohibit sex discrimination. Congress has declined to do so except for the Shepard-Byrd Act of 2009 and the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 where gender identity is defined as ``actual or perceived gender-related characteristics'' with ``gender'', there referring to characteristics associated with biological males  and females.
            (3) This demonstrates that when Congress wants to protect sex, it does so explicitly; when it wants to also elevate gender identity it does so explicitly; and when it does not want to elevate gender identity, it can do so either explicitly or by simply not disturbing the status quo.
            (4) Despite the complete clarity of this point, President Barack Obama's administration has attempted to effectively replace the word ``sex'' with the phrase ``gender identity'' for purposes of Federal antidiscrimination law and policy through a series of unilateral executive actions.
            (5) For example, on December 15, 2014, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Department of Justice would reinterpret the ban on ``sex'' discrimination under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to encompass ``gender identity.'' This was followed on March 27, 2015, by an Equal
        Employment Opportunity Commission decision holding that declining to use a female pronoun to address a male who identifies as female constituted ``sex'' discrimination under title VII.
            (6) On May 9, 2016, the Obama administration sued the State of North Carolina and threatened it with fines and loss of Federal funding if it did not adopt the administration's incorrect readings of title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.
            (7) On May 13, 2016, the Departments of Justice and Education issued a ``significant guidance'' letter stating that under title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 ``when a school provides sex-segregated activities and facilities, transgender students must be allowed to participate in such activities and access such facilities consistent with their gender identity.'' The guidance further states that schools ``must treat a student's gender identity as the student's sex'' including in the context of ``sex-segregated restrooms, locker rooms, shower facilities, housing, and athletic teams, as well as single-sex classes.'' In other words, the Departments consider it a title IX violation if a person of the male sex who self-identifies as a female is not granted unfettered access to women's or girls' dorms, showers, locker rooms, and bathrooms. This, despite assurance that such a thing would never happen from the likes of Ruth Bader Ginsburg who wrote in 1975 that ``separate places to disrobe, sleep, perform personal bodily functions are permitted, in some situations required, by regard for individual privacy.'' This position was codified in Federal regulations, 34 CFR 106.33, which state that recipients of Federal funds ``may provide separate toilet, locker room, and shower facilities on the basis of sex,'' with sex obviously referring to biology.
            (8) Also on May 13, 2016, the Department of Health and Human Services finalized regulations that redefined the Affordable Care Act's prohibition on ``sex'' discrimination in federally funded health programs and activities to cover ``gender identity'', thereby opening health care professionals and insurers to extensive liability if they decline to participate in or pay for ``gender transition'' treatments or ``sex change'' operations.
            (9) The Obama administration's actions are an affront to the rule of law, the separation of powers, the will of the people, language, history, safety, privacy, and biological realities.

Notice what is missing in his “Findings” he doesn’t say anything about abut the Supreme Court ruling in the Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, there is nothing about all the other courts’ rulings… zip, noting. It makes it sound like these regulations where pulled out of a hat instead of based on law. It is based on an archaic definition of sex and gender.

So this is what he is proposing…

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION OF POLICIES REDEFINING SEX TO MEAN GENDER IDENTITY.
    (a) Rule of Construction.--In determining the meaning of any Federal civil rights law, and of any related ruling, regulation, guidance, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the words ``sex'' and ``gender'' and their equivalents shall not be interpreted to mean ``gender identity'' or its equivalent, and the words ``man'' and ``woman'' and their equivalents shall refer exclusively to a person's sex.
    (b) Rule of Interpretation.--No Federal civil rights law shall be interpreted to treat gender identity or transgender status as a protected class, unless such law expressly designates ``gender identity'' or ``transgender status'' as a protected class.
    (c) Definition of ``Federal Civil Rights Law''.--For purposes of this Act, the term ``Federal civil rights law'' means any Federal law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex or gender, including title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a et seq.), the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.), the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Public Law 111-148), and any other Federal law or provision thereof prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex or gender.

When you vote this November think about this, the only thing that will stop legislation like this from a Republican controlled Congress is the President. If the Republicans control both Congress and the Presidency we will see a rash of legislation within the first month to unleash their hate against us to repeal all the human rights that we have won in the last eight years: marriage equality, LGBT people in the military, in employment, housing, and education we will see laws passed to mandate anyone to discriminate against just by saying it is against their religion.

---

This morning I am up UConn School of Social Work as a guest lecturer.

Breaking News: Lady Chablis Dead

I just saw this on Facebook...

Lady Chablis, Trans Icon and Savannah's Grand Empress, Dead at 59
The Advocate
BY NEAL BROVERMAN
SEPTEMBER 08 2016 1:11 PM EDT

Lady Chablis — a fixture in the gay clubs of Georgia and South Carolina before finding stardom in the book and film adaptation of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil — passed away at age 59.

Chablis helped bring a touch of glamour to Columbia, S.C., and Savannah, Ga., performing her cabaret at gay nightclubs there. Chablis opened Savannnah's Club One in 1988 and would help define the image of Savannah as a sexy, modern city of the South.

Always looking every inch the star she was, Chablis would figure prominently in John Berendt's best-selling non-fiction book Midnight in the Garden of Evil. The book focused on the murder of a male prostitute, allegedly committed by Jim Williams, a Savannah socialite and antiques dealer. Berendt effectively captured the charms of Savannah, and included Chablis as a major character. When Clint Eastwood adapted the film, Chablis insisted on playing herself — and got her wish.
[...]
After the film, Chablis continued her club performances, wrote an autobiography, and appeared on The Real Housewives of Atlanta and Bizarre Foods America: Savannah. Chablis also used her fame for good, raising money for diabetes and LGBT causes. She remained beloved in Savannah, even though she lived in South Carolina.

I saw her in the movie and she was great, a real credit to the community.

Disturbing

I have questions about why Dr. Jill Stein is so cozy with Russian President Putin. I few weeks ago I asked that question and now on America Blog says that the Russian Green Party asks the same question.

Russian Greens blast Jill Stein’s silence on Putin’s human rights abuses
By John Aravosis
September 6, 2016

Two representatives of the Russian Green Party eviscerated American Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein today for her cozy relationship with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

The Russian Greens said Stein was a willing accomplice of Putin’s human rights abuses against the LGBT community, environmentalists, artists, journalists and political dissidents:

“By silencing Putin’s crimes you are silencing our struggle. By shaking his hand and failing to criticize his regime you are becoming his accomplice. By forgetting what international solidarity means you are insulting the Russian environmental movement.”

In particular, Russian environmental activists Yevgeniya Chirikova and Nadezda Kutepova criticized Stein for her recent trip last winter to Moscow to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Russian state propaganda organ. The event included a dinner at which Stein sat at the same dinner table as Putin.

Also on this same trip Trumps military adviser sat at the same table with Dr. Stein and President Putin.

Here is the letter that the Russian Green Party sent to Dr. Stein,

Open letter to Dr. Jill Stein, Green Party candidate for President of the United States in the 2016 election

Dear Dr. Stein

We are writing to you in the spirit of green values and principles, which include fighting for a sustainable future, defending the environment and human rights, and engaging in international solidarity. We are also writing to you as eco-activists, women and mothers.

 In November of this year, you will face an important challenge which will have an impact all over the world, even far away from US borders. As Russian eco-activists, we are following the US presidential election with curiosity and fear. Curiosity for your democratic system and fear for the impact that the result of this election could have on our lives and the lives of our children.

As environmentalists and human rights defenders, we often support Green candidates all over the world when they run for local, national or continental election. However, we are asking ourselves if we can support your candidature for the Presidency of the United States of America. We have carefully read your program and your website and we have to admit that we are deeply shocked by the position you expressed during your visit to Moscow and your meeting with Mr. Vladimir Putin.

During the last few years, Russian authorities have continued the destruction of the rich and unique Russian environment. The Kremlin is heavily contributing to global climate change and the destruction of global biodiversity by over-using Russian natural resources and promoting unsafe nuclear energy. Corruption and anti-democratic behavior of the current Russian government has also led to negative impacts on Russia’s unique forests and natural heritage. Russian eco-activists and human rights defenders are also facing an increasingly repressive system which was constructed under Putin’s regime. The list of the victims of this system is unfortunately becoming longer and longer. Russian environmentalist Yevgeniy Vitishko spent 22 months in prison for a non-violent action. Journalist Mikhail Beketov was violently attacked in 2008, suffered serious injuries, and died in 2013. Our personal cases are also symbolic: because of our activism, and in order to protect our children, we were both forced to leave Russia and to seek political asylum in the European Union.

After your visit to Moscow and your meeting with Vladimir Putin you said that “the world deserve[s] a new commitment to collaborative dialogue between our governments to avert disastrous wars for geopolitical domination, destruction of the climate, and cascading injustices that promote violence and terrorism.” We agree with you. But how can this new “collaborative dialogue” be possible when Mr. Putin has deliberately built a system based on corruption, injustice, falsification of elections, and violation of human rights and international law? How is it possible to have a discussion with Mr. Putin and not mention, not even once, the fate of Russian political prisoners, or the attacks against Russian journalists, artists, and environmentalists? Is it fair to speak with him about “geopolitics” and not mention new Russian laws against freedom of speech, restrictions on NGOs and activists, or the shameful law that forbids “homosexual propaganda”?

By silencing Putin’s crimes you are silencing our struggle. By shaking his hand and failing to criticize his regime you are becoming his accomplice. By forgetting what international solidarity means you are insulting the Russian environmental movement.

Dr. Stein, you still have several weeks before the elections in order to clarify your position on the anti-democratic and anti-environmental elements of Putin’s regime. We sincerely hope that our voices will be heard and that our questions will not go unanswered
Best regards,
Evgeniya Chirikova
Nadezda Kutepova

I have to wonder on the friendliness between Russian President Putin and Dr. Stein and also between Putin and Mr. Trump. You have to wonder what is involved especially after the Russians hacked into the Democratic National Committee.

We Are Making Headway

Around the world we are slowly make advances in our rights sometimes it is where you would least expect it.

Bolivia's transgender citizens celebrate new ID cards
Reuters
By Karishma Singh
September 6, 2016

Feted by activists carrying a rainbow flag, transgender citizens in La Paz are celebrating their newfound right to register for identity cards with updated details under Bolivia's new gender law.
[…]
The law, which means transgender citizens can register for ID cards using the names and details of their assumed gender, comes into effect under the leftist government of President Evo Morales.

Bolivia's move to grant new ID cards to its transgender citizens follows similar legislation in Britain, Colombia and Australia.

And then in the Middle East…

Sex-change surgery is now legal in the UAE
StepFeed
By Leyal Khalife
September 7, 2016

The United Arab Emirates has just passed a federal decree that introduces substantial changes to healthcare in the Gulf state, and challenges prevailing cultural norms.

Federal Decree No. 4 permits doctors to refrain from resuscitation and to conduct sexual reassignment surgery. These amendments are one of several under Decree No. 4 that reduce doctors’ criminal liability.

Under article 7 of the law governing healthcare, doctors can now perform sex change operations so long as there are “psychological” and “physiological” signs of gender and sex disparity. The law also requires that the patient undergoing sex change surgery receive mental health care to “psychologically prepare” patients for the transition.

The UAE would be the second state in the Arabian Gulf to legalize sex reassignment surgery, after Iran. Certain schools of Islamic jurisprudence recognize transgenderism, and the laws do not necessarily fly in the face of religious teachings. Islam has a long and nuanced history with the subject, which, many argue, is not as straightforward as it might appear at the outset.

It is a small step but it is important step when you consider the consequences if you are gay and hopefully this will not be forced on anyone like it is rumored in Iran when gays are given a choice,   death or surgery.