Connecticut Is In The Big Time.

Unfortunately not in a good way.

There are two individuals who have sued the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference and multiple school boards in the state over allowing trans student athletes.

Justice Department Says Title IX Doesn’t Cover Transgender Status of Student Athletes
The National Law Review
By Benjamin Daniels andCatherine Baiocchi
April 7, 2020

The Justice Department recently filed a brief opposing the participation of transgender athletes in women’s high school sports. In Soule et al. v. Connecticut Association of Schools, Inc., et al., No. 3:20-cv-00201-RNC (D. Conn.), the Department of Justice said that Title IX’s prohibition of “sex” discrimination does not prohibit discrimination based on transgender status. In fact, the Justice Department believes that allowing transgender athletes to participate might violate Title IX.

The Lawsuit
Since 2017, two transgender Connecticut high school student athletes who identify as female have dominated girls' track. The pair has won a combined 15 girls' track championship races. The plaintiffs in Soule are three high school student athletes who say that a high school athletic conference’s policy that allows transgender athletes to compete in women’s events violates Title IX because it discriminates against athletes who were born biologically female. The plaintiffs say that among other things they lost races, missed out on potential college recruitment, and never experienced the “thrill of victory.”
[…]
The choice of gender identification is left to the student and the local school. Once identified, the student’s eligibility to participate in a gender specific sport is fixed for the rest of the athlete’s high school career. The conference believes that this prevents students from gaining an athletic advantage. The conference also cleared the policy with the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (“OCR”), which confirmed that Title IX supports transgender athletic opportunities.

The thing is that the CT Department of Education, and the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference didn’t just pull the regulation out of a hat, there was research that went into the decision.

The NCAA has this booklet out on trans athletes and they state,

Guiding Principles
Policies governing the participation of transgender student-athletes should be informed by the following principles, and be included in the institution’s transgender student-athlete policy statement:
1. Participation in intercollegiate athletics is a valuable part of the education experience for all students.
2. Transgender student-athletes should have equal opportunity to participate in sports.
3. The integrity of women’s sports should be preserved.
4. Policies governing sports should be based on sound medical knowledge and scientific validity.
5. Policies governing sports should be objective, workable, and practicable; they should also be written, available and equitably enforced.
6. Policies governing the participation of transgender students in sports should be fair in light of the tremendous variation among individuals in strength, size, musculature, and ability.
7. The legitimate privacy interests of all student-athletes should be protected.
8. The medical privacy of transgender students should be preserved.
9. Athletics administrators, staff, parents of athletes, and student-athletes should have access to sound and effective educational resources and training related to the participation of transgender and gender-variant students in athletics.
10. Policies governing the participation of transgender students in athletics should comply with state and federal laws protecting students from discrimination based on sex, disability, and gender identity and expression.

The IOC statement…

The group recommends that individuals undergoing sex reassignment from male to female after puberty (and the converse) be eligible for participation in female or male competitions, respectively, under the following conditions:

• Surgical anatomical changes have been completed, including external genitalia changes and gonadectomy
• Legal recognition of their assigned sex has been conferred by the appropriate official authorities
• Hormonal therapy appropriate for the assigned sex has been administered in a verifiable manner and for a sufficient length of time to minimise gender-related advantages in sport competitions. In the opinion of the group, eligibility should begin no sooner than two years after gonadectomy.

So athletic associations do not have a problem with trans student athletes.

What about legal ruling that include trans student athletes or Title IX?

Well the National Center for Transgender Equality list these major cases.

Federal Appeals Court cases:

• Whitaker v. Kenosha Unified School District, 858 F.3d 1034 (7th Cir. May 30, 2017) (holding that discrimination against transgender students constitutes sex discrimination under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution).
• Dodds v. U.S. Dept. of Education, 845 F.3d 217 (6th Cir. Dec.16, 2016) (holding that discrimination against transgender students likely constitutes sex discrimination under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution).
• Glenn v. Brumby, 663 F.3d 1312 (11th Cir. Dec. 6, 2011) (holding that termination of employee based on her gender transition, transgender status and unsubstantiated “bathroom concerns” constitutes sex-based discrimination in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution).

Federal Court cases:

• Adams v. School Board of St. Johns County, 318 F.Supp.3d 1293 (M.D. Fla. Jul. 26, 2018) (holding that excluding transgender student from school restrooms consistent with his gender identity constituted sex discrimination under Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause).
• Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board, No. 4:15-cv-54 (E.D. Va. May 22, 2018) (holding that denying a transgender boy access to school restrooms matching his gender violated Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution)

And in state courts, Maine Supreme Court rule in favor of Nicole Maines, GLAD wrote…

January 30, 2014 – Victory! Maine High Court rules that denying a transgender girl the use of the girls’ restroom at her school violated her rights under the state’s Human Rights Act. Read the decision.

I wrote about Nicole Maines here and here. (Yes it is the same Nicole Maines that stars on Supergirl).

So there are many reason that the case should go in our favor and I’ll will make this prediction that the case will  go all the way to the Supreme Court… why? Because that is what the lawyers for the Alliance Defending Freedom want, to overturn court precedents that are in our favor and to be able to legally discriminate against trans people.

How Does COVID-19 Affect Us?

The great unknown!

If you look at the data you will see that women get the COVID-19 virus more than men but men are dying at a higher rate… so what happens if you are trans?

Supporting transgender people during the COVID-19 pandemic
UNAIDS
06 APRIL 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted people’s lives around the world, including those of many marginalized people, who suddenly face additional burdens and vulnerabilities.

Many areas in Indonesia, which as of 6 April had 2491 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 209 deaths, have put in place measures, such as physical distancing, to curb the spread of COVID-19. While effective in responding to the disease, many people have been impacted by the effects of physical distancing on the economy.

Out of 1000 people living with HIV and members of key populations surveyed by the Indonesian Positive Network, more than 50% are experiencing severe impacts on their livelihoods, including many transgender women. Sanggar Swara, a civil society organization of young transgender women in Jakarta, conducted a rapid assessment that found that more than 640 transgender people in greater Jakarta have lost their jobs, leaving them unable to support themselves. “On several occasions when the distribution of basic food staples took place, many of them could not access it as they do not have their identity cards on hand or simply due to their gender identity,” said Kanzha Vinaa, the head of Sanggar Swara.

Even if you don’t have HIV/AIDS the virus is still affecting us in many ways.

Coronavirus isn’t transphobic. But America’s economic and health systems are.
Here’s how the pandemic could further devastate trans people.
Vox
By Katelyn Burns
April 3, 2020

Ade was about to begin onboarding for two separate jobs, one at a bar and the other at a guitar store, in Lansing, Michigan, when the coronavirus pandemic first hit the state. But several days later, Michigan issued a shelter-at-home order and both job offers evaporated overnight.
[…]
Ade, a 25-year-old black transmasculine nonbinary person, had just recently moved in with their partner, who is a faculty member at a local university. The couple can pay their bills for now, thanks to their partner’s job, but she’s a contract worker, so Ade is unsure how they will pay their bills once the semester is over.
[…]
But while there’s no evidence that Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, disproportionately affects trans people, America’s economic and health care systems often marginalize the trans community in several unique ways.

In other words, the coronavirus itself isn’t transphobic, but the US is.

In New York City the Samaritan’s Purse charity’s set up a coronavirus field hospital operation in Central Park, Samaritan’s Purse is affiliated with Franklin Graham, the son of Billy Graham (I wrote about it last week here). Now they are monitoring to see is the keep their promise.

One thing we do know is that your socioeconomic status affects your chances of getting and how the virus will affect you.

Trans people started the pandemic economically behind
Aisling, a 28-year-old trans woman from Boston, lost her only source of income when the local university where she was working as a part-time lifeguard shut down because of coronavirus. Aisling would have been in a much better position to weather the financial storm, but she was forced several months ago to quit another part-time job as a swim instructor because of transphobia.
[...]
If Aisling had been able to continue her other job, she may have had more savings in the bank to deal with the pandemic. Now she and her seven roommates, six of whom are also trans, find themselves struggling to make rent.

And they are a prime target for the virus with all of them in one apartment.

“A lot of us work in food service,” she said. “One of my housemates is on disaster pay, but most of us just aren’t getting any income at all. There [are] only three people in the house who have full-time income and it’s a house of eight people.”

With the lost of jobs is the loss of health insurance.

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Then there is the problem with gendered spaces.

Panama’s Gender-Based Quarantine Ensnares Trans Woman
Trans-Sensitive Police Protocol Needed to Prevent Harassment
Human Rights Watch
By Cristian González Cabrera
April 2, 2020

When Panama announced it would implement a gender-based quarantine schedule in response to COVID-19, transgender activists were alarmed. And with reason: on April 1, police detained a transgender woman alleging that she was male and out on “the wrong day.”

The Ministry of Health’s quarantine measures allow women to do essential shopping on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, while men are only permitted on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. No one is allowed out on Sundays. The measures also restrict the time of day people can leave their home depending on the last digit of their national identification card or passport. The ministry describes this as “the simplest procedure” to reduce the number of people on Panama’s streets.

Not so simple for Bárbara Delgado. She left her house on Wednesday morning, a women’s day, outside of the allotted time for her identification number, to attend a medical center near her home, where she volunteers as a health outreach worker. She said the center had not yet issued her a letter of transit and she planned to explain that she was a volunteer and needed to get to work if stopped. Soon after leaving home, two police officers stopped Delgado, along with two men and a woman, all quarantine offenders. The police let the others go with a warning, but detained Delgado, apparently because the “male” gender marker on her ID did not match her appearance. At the police station, she said, a justice of the peace accused her of not being a woman and remarked it was good that she had been taken in. Delgado was made to pay a US$50 fine for violating quarantine measures and was released after three long, humiliating hours.

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But we are also leaders.

In Pennsylvania a trans women leads the way.

A Trans Woman Is Leading The Fight Against COVID-19 In Pennsylvania
Forbes
By Dawn Ennis
March 31, 2020

As the coronavirus pandemic spreads around the world and across the United States, Pennsylvania’s secretary of health is hard at work, hand in hand with Gov. Tom Wolf. They’re trying to manage more than 48-hundred cases and growing of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, which as of press time has claimed more than 60 lives in Pennsylvania.

That top leader at the right hand of the governor is Dr. Rachel Levine, a transgender woman. And according to the Pittsburgh City Paper, she is also a heroine.

“In the midst of chaos, a sound voice has emerged with a confidence and candor that Pennsylvanians can depend on in times of uncertainty: Dr. Rachel Levine,” wrote aspiring journalist Ollie Gratzinger.

It is great to see a shining light in all of this gloom.

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There is an awful lot of disinformation going around about us, some have labeled us as the cause of the virus, others have blamed us for the stay-in-place orders, and other rumors question the meds we are taking saying that they weaken our immune systems.

Stay safe and healthily.

Trans Day of Visibility

The TDoV was last week and as you might have guessed I had some thoughts on the matter.

For those of us who have transitioned it really doesn’t make too much sense, for us everyday is a TDoV. For those who crossdress what are they supposed to do, get dressed up and walk up and down the a street?

A lesbian that I know says on National Coming Out Day she is going to call random people and say, “Hi, I’m a lesbian” and hangs up. are we supposed to do the same thing?

I can see the TDoR where we remember those who were killed this year, but a TDoV?

I know that many trans people only dress in the safety of their own home or at a support group and for the rest of us we go out throughout the year. For the rest if us we are visible all year, we go to plays, movies, restaurants, and shopping. Or are we supposed to do something special? Something like my lesbian friend jokes about calling random people and say “Hi I a trans woman.” or wear a sign around our neck saying that?

The famous quote from Harvey Milk,

Gay brothers and sisters… You must come out. Come out to your relatives… come out to your friends… Come out to your neighbors… to your fellow workers… to the people who work where you eat and shop… break down the myths, destroy the lies and distortions. For your sake. For their sake. For the sake of the youngsters who are becoming scared…

I have always added, only if it is safe.

And that’s the thing… safety, Harvey Milk was right about visibility it does change minds but it can also create violence against us, if you live in a red state or if some bigot sees you it could be dangerous and that is why I don’t post anything about the TDoV because it might not b safe.

Sometimes I wish that I wasn’t so visible.

At the deli counter the clerk said that she saw me on the news last night! Ugh. I just wanted to buy so cold cuts or the time at a department store someone came up to me while I was looking at blouses and said that they were at one of the places where I was a guest speaker.

But in the back of my head little warning bells go off… it could have been someone who hated trans people just as easily.

But then there is this.

Standing in line waiting for our reservations to be called a woman came up to me and said that she’s a social worker and attended my workshop at the NASW conference and because of what she learned that day when a client came out to her she knew what to say and do for her client.

Always remember safety first.

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Guess what I forgot yesterday?

I spaced out and I thought that I had pre-written the blog for yesterday but I didn’t. Ops...

Nothing happened to me yesterday, I'm okay and thank you for those who asked if I was all right.

Saturday 9: Could've Been

Sam’s Saturday 9: Could've Been (1987)

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



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

1) This wistful song is about a love affair that ended. What song reminds you of a long-ago love?
Oh that is a hard one to answer… it has been a long time ago.
Ah… I thought of a song

I saw the movie on a date and I always like this scene.

2) It was written by Lois Blaisch, a singer-songwriter who performs at clubs around Los Angeles and has sung outdoors at Disneyland. Would you prefer to attend a concert indoors, or outside under the stars?
Well I am not a big fan of crowds so I would prefer outdoor concerts.
The last concert that was Falcon Ridge Music Festival a couple of years back (Wow it was actually six years ago).
Here is a video I made of the photos that I took at the festival

3) This week's featured artist, Tiffany, appeared on the TV talent show Star Search when she was just 14. She came in second. Though she was disappointed, she admits she learned from it. She studied the singer who won and says it made her a better performer. Can you recall a time when you weathered a tough time and came through stronger?
Ha! Ha!
Being trans is not a walk in the park.

4) Early in her career, she toured Alaska, opening for country legend George Jones. Have you ever visited our 50th state?
No, but I would like to visit it sometime… but time is running out  on my long “Bucket List”

5) Tiffany provided the voice of Judy Jetson in 1990's Jetsons: The Movie. Which cartoon did you enjoy more: the space-age Jetsons or the pre-historic Flintstones?
I was a little old for them when they came out so I never really got into them, however being a sifi fan I would pick the futuristic Jetsons.

6) In 2007, she appeared on VH1's Celebrity Fit Club and lost 28 lbs. Are you making an effort to stay fit during this stay-at-home period?
I want to go to the park to walk but the weather has not been cooperating it has either been rainy or cold and windy.

7) In 1987, when this song was popular, Aretha Franklin became the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. What's your favorite Aretha song?
I think it has to be “Respect”

8) Also in 1987, third-generation race car driver Marco Andretti was born. Are you a race fan?
Well I don’t like NASCAR, I don’t see the sport in driving a round, and a round, and a round.
I like road racing like the Formula 1 Grand Prix racing. I have been to Lime Rock Park a number of times.

9) Random question: Do you find it easy to sit still, or are you fidgety?
I’m fidgety, I have a short attention span. I wouldn’t doubt that I have some type learning disorder.

It Is Hard

Our bodies betray us sometimes when we go to the healthcare providers we should be honest with them and we should tell them that we are trans.

The article is from a very right wing anti-LGBTQ newspaper, however they are correct we need to tell healthcare providers*.

Ideology is endangering transgender lives from coronavirus
Washington Examiner
By Andrea Jones
April 03, 2020

Radical gender ideology — the belief that whether one is male or female is rooted in subjective feeling, not objective fact — has gained devoted adherents in the most influential spheres of our culture. The argument that one’s chosen gender should override biological sex has taken hold even when it comes to medical care.

The coronavirus pandemic, however, has again highlighted the importance of basing medicine on scientific facts. Though much is still unknown about the virus and its effects, there is strong evidence that it affects men and women differently.

Early statistics from Italy, where the outbreak has been severe, indicated that many more men than women have died from the disease, with men constituting more than 70% of COVID-19 deaths. As scientists and medical professionals race to find effective treatments for the virus and provide the best possible care, they need clear data, including accurate records of basic information — such as a patient’s sex.

No one know why more men are dying then women; is it genetic? Is it hormonal? They don’t now and we should go by the worst case that it is genetic and be truthful to our healthcare providers.

An online questionnaire intended to help screen patients who think they may have contracted the virus includes a standard request for patients to specify whether they are male or female. Next to this question, however, the website provides a link titled “Why aren’t there more options?” beyond those two categories. Users who follow this link are informed that “Some clinical assessments can be different depending on your sex. Not everyone sees themselves as female or male” and that they should call the NHS hotline “if neither option is right for you.”

However, they could have worded it different, they could have said something like “What was your sex assigned at birth?” and then “Ask how do you identify now?”

I have always said that we should be honest with our healthcare providers, our lives depend on it.

The preference for politics and ideology over science has led to confused messaging from activists. A coalition of more than 100 prominent activist groups recently released a joint letter claiming that gay and transgender people are particularly vulnerable to coronavirus due to higher rates of smoking, a higher population of immunosuppressed individuals due to the treatment of HIV and cancer, and invidious discrimination in the medical system.

A couple of things about this paragraph… the first sentence calls us all liars and I don’t think the message from “activists” is what they claim then their next sentence contradicts the first sentence.

But the message is the same, we need to be truthful to our healthcare providers.

*I say healthcare providers because we see a lot more providers than a doctor... some are APRNs, x-ray technicians, lab techs and other professionals that we see for our health care.

It's Spreading

No, not the virus but the hate.

If you look through out history you find that in times of economic stress people look for scapegoats and the low hanging fruit this time is us. LGBTQ+ people we are the target of their hate, the former Soviet block countries have attacked LGBTQ+ people ever since the break up of the Soviet Union.

In Chechnya they started concentration camps for us, in Poland they have started “Gay Free Zones” and in Russia itself they made it illegal to “promote LGBTQ.” The latest country to  join the hate is Hungary.

Hungary’s far-right leader Viktor Orban immediately moves to strip away trans rights after being granted absolute power
Pink NewsUK
By Emma Powys Maurice
April 1, 2020

Hungary’s far-right prime minister Viktor Orban has moved to strip away trans rights as one of his very first acts after his pandemic power grab.

On Monday, the Hungarian parliament agreed to extend Orban’s already strong powers by granting him the right to rule by decree indefinitely, meaning he no longer needs to consult other lawmakers before making decisions.
[...]
The effect of this [new law]] is that Hungarian citizens will be unable to change their gender legally, a significant rollback of rights in the eastern European country.

Since data in official documents such as ID cards, driving licenses and passports are taken from the civil registry, the change would affect these as well.

It can’t happen here!

Oh, you think so…

COVID-19, Bill Barr and the American authoritarian tradition
The Hill
By Patrick G. Eddington
March 26, 2020

National crises—real or manufactured—often bring out the worst in government officials. It was reported on Saturday that the Justice Department requested from Congress the ability to ask chief judges to indefinitely detain people without trial during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This penchant of federal officials to attempt or actually suspend the Bill of Rights dates from the first decade of the American republic to the present day. Now, Attorney General Bill Barr is seeking to revive the use of at least some of those past tools of political repression in the name of combatting a microscopic, and all-to-frequently lethal virus.
[…]
Exactly how would suspending court proceedings prevent the spread of the virus? Given where we are in this pandemic, eliminating in-person court proceedings might be prudent from a public health standpoint, but much of the American justice system can operate utilizing existing telecommunications technology.

As I said in time of socioeconomic strife many dictators have come to power. Even in our time we have seen it; during the “Arab Spring” when the people rose up, there were other groups waiting in the wing usurped the revolutionaries.

Barr’s power play for essentially open-ended suspensions of criminal proceedings and related matters has nothing to do with stopping the spread of COVID-19. Barr’s proposals, at least so far as we know from public reporting thus far, involve giving judges the power to suspend court proceedings “whenever the district court is fully or partially closed by virtue of any natural disaster, civil disobedience, or other emergency situation.” The only reason to suspend court proceedings would be if no judges, court recorders, or other court personnel were available to deal with cases. That’s not the case now and is highly unlikely ever to be the case. Our legal system can absolutely continue to operate in the digital age, as my own experience and that of many others demonstrates.

Beware!

This is the time when hate spreads… the way Trump uses xenophobic words for COVID-19 has stirred up hate and violence against the Asian community, look at the words that Trump uses against democratically elected officials, look at the way he uses need medical supplies as a weapon against governors who don’t kowtow to him. Watch out for secret sweetheart deals with the “Captains of Industry” where the details of contracts are kept out of the public eyes.

As the pandemic spreads keep an eye out for “Emergency Powers” coming from the power hungry in Washington.

Day 18

The sun was out! Whoa I haven’t seen that since Saturday and it turned out to be a beautiful day. I had to go to the post office and it was interesting, you know that large plastic wraps for wrapping up pallets?  Well they had that stretched across the counter with just a small gap at the bottom.

I took the long way home and I can say without a doubt my car will not get apple worms!

I drove by one of the apple orchards in town and they were spraying the trees and the pesticide cloud drifted over the road (I rolled up the windows and put the AC on recirculate). I drove around the back roads until I used up the battery and the gas engine started (I have a plug-in hybrid car). It was the first time in over a month that the gas engine ran and thought it might be good idea to have it run for a while.

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There are some suggestions for trans people during this medical crisis…

Transgender legal group releases coronavirus guide
The Washington Blade
By Michelle Siegel
March 29, 2020

The Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund has prepared a free online guide, available in both English and Spanish, for transgender and non-binary individuals attempting to navigate life during the coronavirus pandemic.

“A Know Your Rights Guide for Transgender People Navigating COVID-19,” which contains information that was accurate as of March 22, explores both trans-specific concerns and equity concerns that disproportionately impact trans and non-binary individuals, such as issues involving employment, housing and health care. It also features a national appendix of health and advocacy resources.

The guide stresses the existence of a pandemic does not void the fact that trans and non-binary individuals are entitled to receive care and access to services. As TLDEF interprets federal law within this guide, medical providers must address individuals by the names and pronouns that they use and provide individuals access to facilities consistent with their identities.

GLAD (GLBT Legal Advocates and Defenders) also has a guide that they out out.

COVID-19 Resources
Social distancing and quarantining are critical to limit the spread of the virus and protect everyone’s health, but it can cause or increase isolation for many in our community. For those of us who are most vulnerable, whatever the reason, we’re compiling resources that may help. We’ll continue to update this page with additional resources as the situation evolves.

Be safe!

It is a jungle out there!

Sad News

Yesterday was a sad day for trans people in these troubling times, the state of Idaho passes two horrible laws against us.

Idaho governor signs two anti-transgender bills into law
CNN
By Andy Rose and Hollie Silverman, CNN
March 31, 2020

Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed two anti-transgender bills into law Monday.

One measure bans transgender girls from playing on girls' and women's sports teams, while the other prohibits transgender people from changing their gender on Idaho birth certificates.
Little's office did not comment on the laws.

House Bill 500, also known as the Fairness in Women's Sports Act, says "athletic teams or sports designated for females, women, or girls shall not be open to students of the male sex." The measure says that a "dispute" about an athlete's gender can only be resolved by examining "the student's reproductive anatomy, genetic makeup, or normal endogenously 19 produced testosterone levels."

Little also signed into law Monday House Bill 509, which prohibits transgender people from obtaining a new birth certificate with their gender identity on it.

This is atrocious.

The Republicans have tried hundreds of time to pass and they finally found a state to pass it, hopefully this does open up a flood of new bills in other Republican states.

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Southern Poverty Law Center just came out with their new list of hate groups and there is an increase in their numbers, they attribute it to the Trump administration… no big surprise.

Anti-LGBTQ hate groups on the rise in U.S., report warns
In its annual report, the Southern Poverty Law Center largely attributes this 43 percent increase to the policies and rhetoric of the Trump administration.
NBC News
By Julie Moreau
March 30, 2020

The number of anti-LGBTQ hate groups soared 43 percent last year, rising from 49 groups in 2018 to 70 in 2019, according to a recent report from the Southern Poverty Law Center.

“Groups that vilify the LGBTQ community, in fact, represented the fastest-growing sector among hate groups in 2019,” the report states. The SPLC found the surge in anti-LGBTQ groups occurred amid an overall decrease in hate groups last year, which dropped to 940 from an all-time high of 1,020 in 2018.

The report said the surge was “possibly fueled by continued anti-LGBTQ sentiment and policy emanating from government officials,” largely attributing it to the Trump administration.

“Anti-LGBTQ groups have become intertwined with the Trump administration, and — after years of civil rights progress and growing acceptance among the broader American public — anti-LGBTQ sentiment within the Republican Party is rising,” the report states. “Though Trump promised during his campaign to be a ‘real friend’ to the LGBTQ community, he has fully embraced anti-LGBTQ hate groups and their agenda of dismantling federal protections and resources for LGBTQ people.”

The Republican party should be labeled as a “hate group.”

The SPLC defines a “hate group” as…

The Southern Poverty Law Center defines a hate group as “an organization that — based on its official statements or principles, the statements of its leaders, or its activities — has beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics.”

Most of the growth in new anti-LGBTQ hate groups, SPLC’s report found, comes from grassroots churches.
[…]
One of the best known is the Family Research Council, which was founded in 1983 and hosts the annual Value Voters Summit for conservative politicians and thousands of participants each year. At last year's summit, President Donald Trump repeated his opposition to the Equality Act, a bill passed by the House that would extend federal nondiscrimination protections to LGBTQ people.

FRC and the Heritage Foundation have been picking the federal judges for Trump, their common trait is that the nominees all were anti-LGBTQ, anti-abortion, and pro-Bible. And these judges are appointed   for life!

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And of course we are being blamed for COVID-19

Amid COVID-19 Spread, Influential D.C. Pastor Says ‘God’s Wrath’ Caused By LGBTQ People
Ralph Drollinger, who leads a Bible study for Trump’s cabinet members, claims homosexuality, environmentalism and atheism are signs of God’s wrath.
Huffington Post
By Carol Kuruvilla
March 27, 2020

An evangelical pastor who holds regular Bible studies on Capitol Hill for members of President Donald Trump’s cabinet is suggesting that the crisis America is now experiencing is proof of God’s disapproval of LGBTQ Americans.

In a Bible study he published last weekend, Ralph Drollinger pointed to several signs he believes are evidence of God’s displeasure ― including “a proclivity toward lesbianism and homosexuality” and the “religion of environmentalism.” Ultimately, he says, these groups are “largely responsible” for God’s wrath on America today.

“Whenever an individual or corporate group of individuals violate the inviolate precepts of God’s Word, he, she, they or the institution will suffer the respective consequences,” Drollinger wrote last Saturday. “Most assuredly America is facing this form of God’s judgment.”

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In New York City Central Park they have erected field hospitals to help with Mt. Sinai Hospital… sounds good right?

But not so fast see who donated the field hospitals.

Be a good Samaritan: N.Y. lawmaker calls out minister for anti-LGBTQ remarks
New York Daily News
By Denis Slattery
March 30, 2020

Sen. Brad Hoylman wants to make sure Franklin Graham practices what he preaches: tolerance and acceptance.

Hoylman (D-Manhattan) put the evangelical Christian preacher on notice Monday, warning the notoriously anti-LGBTQ pastor that his Samaritan’s Purse charity’s coronavirus field hospital operation in Central Park better be open to all New Yorkers.

“COVID-19 doesn’t discriminate, and neither should Franklin Graham," said Hoylman, who is gay. “It’s unacceptable that a New Yorker infected with COVID-19 could be subjected to discriminatory treatment from an organization whose leader calls us ‘immoral’ and ‘detestable.’ ”
[…]
The site will be run in conjunction with the Mount Sinai Health System and take overflow patients dealing with the deadly COVID-19 disease.

This bears watching to see if they adhere to nondiscrimination policy or if we will have to put up with preaching by the staff.

It also bears watching because Mt. Sinai is the home of “Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery.”

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It is a jungle out there for us so beware,

Fenway Health report: LGBTQ community and COVID-19
By Sean Cahill
March 27, 2020

Everyone is at risk of infection in the COVID-19 pandemic.

But history shows that people who are marginalized, including LGBTQ people and people living with HIV, will suffer more than the general population.

Due to the impact of stigma and minority stress on overall health, LGBTQ people are more likely to have some of the underlying health conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes that could increase their vulnerability if they are exposed to the novel coronavirus. They’re also more likely to engage in some of the behaviors, such as smoking and vaping, that increase the risk of infection by increasing the possibility of transmitting the virus from hand to mouth.

It is a scary time we live in and being trans exposes us to even more dangers.

We now have a greater chance of needing our healthcare system and the question is how will we be treated.

Too Depressed

Today I am not in much mood to write anything.

The past 18 days I have only been off my property one three times and well it is getting to me. Each day I tried to do something different but I have run out of different things to do.

Right now I am in a comment war with someone on the forum for my health problem. This individual is a Trump fan.

He lives in Texas probably out in the middle of no place and he sees this as all hype…

The thing if you look at the polls something 80 percent of the Republicans think that it is a news media and Democrat plot to get a Democrat elected this fall. The comments on the forum this guy is making contradicts even what he is saying a couple of sentences earlier. The states west of the Mississippi River and east of California have very little infections, COVID-19 is mostly a coastal phenomenon and large cities in the mid-west. People in rural Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas, Wyoming, and Idaho are going what virus?

So those who are Trump fans see it like he is saying, it is all a hoax. These Democrat governors are all making it up to make Trump look bad. When Trump says that the eastern Democrat governors don’t need all of those ventilators, he is playing to his base and they believe him. Some Republicans are even holding COVID-19 parties.

I am depressed over all those who look but don’t see.

Privilege In The Age Of COVID-19

I have privilege, I have a lot of privilege. I am white, was AMAB, and I am educated.

All of those add in my favor for surviving the plague. If you look though history you will find that it is true throughout history.

‘White-Collar Quarantine’ Over Virus Spotlights Class Divide
Child care options, internet access and extra living space leave a gulf between rich and poor in coping with disruptions to school and work.
The New York Times
By Noam Scheiber, Nelson D. Schwartz and Tiffany Hsu
March 27, 2020

For about $80,000, an individual can purchase a six-month plan with Private Health Management, which helps people with serious medical issues navigate the health care system.

Such a plan proved to be a literal lifesaver as the coronavirus pandemic descended. The firm has helped clients arrange tests in Los Angeles for the coronavirus and obtained oxygen concentrators for high-risk patients.
[…]
In some respects, the pandemic is an equalizer: It can afflict princes and paupers alike, and no one who hopes to stay healthy is exempt from the strictures of social distancing. But the American response to the virus is laying bare class divides that are often camouflaged — in access to health care, child care, education, living space, even internet bandwidth.

If you look at a map of the infection you will notice something… the virus is attacking high density populations.

Coronavirus COVID-19

The rural areas have very little exposure, they’re lacking the population density needed to sustain the spread of the virus.

Counties without coronavirus are mostly rural, poor
Associated Press By Morgan Lee and Nicky Forster
March 29, 2020

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — As the coronavirus rages across the United States, mainly in large urban areas, more than a third of U.S. counties have yet to report a single positive test result for COVID-19 infections, an analysis by The Associated Press shows.

Data compiled by John Hopkins University shows that 1,297 counties have no confirmed cases of COVID-19 out of 3,142 counties nationwide. Of the counties without positive tests, 85% are in rural areas — from predominantly white communities in Appalachia and the Great Plains to majority Hispanic and Native American stretches of the American Southwest — that generally have less everyday contact between people that can help transmit the virus.

When it comes to housing the suburbs and rural areas mostly are single family housing and in the city it is mostly multifamily housing. When I take out the garbage or get the mail I just walk down to the curb alone but in the city just getting the mail you have to walk down a common area.

The Times article list some other factors also determine the likelihood of getting the virus.

“This is a white-collar quarantine,” said Howard Barbanel, a Miami-based entrepreneur who owns a wine company. “Average working people are bagging and delivering goods, driving trucks, working for local government.”
[…]
Still, a kind of pandemic caste system is rapidly developing: the rich holed up in vacation properties; the middle class marooned at home with restless children; the working class on the front lines of the economy, stretched to the limit by the demands of work and parenting, if there is even work to be had.

Then there is also this…

Long before the new coronavirus, another kind of equalizer was being promoted: the internet. For decades, tech evangelists cited the democratizing power of the World Wide Web, which they said would bring high-quality services to strata of society that had previously gone without them.
[…]
Still, the technology that makes these services accessible remains out of reach for many Americans. While data on internet access is inexact, the most recent Federal Communications Commission figures, from 2017, showed that 30 percent of households did not have even a slow broadband connection.

I read that in Connecticut some of the internet providers open up their WiFi Hotspots to the public and in Hartford K-12 but if you are lucky to live in Hartford I heard that they are giving out Chromebooks to students.

Then there is food insecurity. Many students counted on the school lunch program for their main meal and now with the schools closed they finding it hard to get enough food. Some towns and cities are distributing the food to students at pickup points in various locations around the cities or towns.

In other cases, the rich aren’t going east or west, but down. Gary Lynch, general manager of Rising S, a Texas maker of safe rooms and bunkers that range in price from $40,000 to several million dollars, said he had added a second shift of 15 workers to handle the flood of new orders, mostly for underground bunkers.

It give a different meaning to hunkering down… bunkering down.

Another inequality is health insurance, the have and have nots when it comes to health insurance is the difference between going bankrupt or not.

Most people get their health insurance through work and with the numbers of unemployed growing beyond sight they will no longer have health insurance when they need it the most. Even though they will have COBRA they will now have to pick up the insurance premiums and the “Catch 22” is that it comes at the time when they lost their job and cannot afford the premiums.

I will continue fighting for a living wage, universal health insurance, and our human rights.

I have privilege and I hope that I don’t abuse it.


Update 4/2/20 3:30 PM

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Saturday 9: Everybody's Somebody's Fool

Sam’s Saturday 9: Everybody's Somebody's Fool (1960)

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



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

None of this week's questions mention the corona virus. However, if you want to share how you're feeling about Covid-19 at this extraordinary time, please feel free to do so.

1) Next Wednesday is April Fool's Day. Do you have any pranks planned? Do you expect to fall victim to any April Fool's Day mischief?
Not this April 1^st I will be in “social distancing.”
Hopefully we are all hunkered down.

2) When she was a kid, Crazy Sam would fool her mom by putting bubble wrap under the bath map so there would be a POP! when her mother stepped on it. When you encounter bubble wrap, do you always indulge in a pop or two?
I can’t stop popping the bubbles.
One time at work I put a strip of bubble wrap down on the floor and I sat in my chair and went zipping over the bubble wrap and it sounded like a machine gun… pop, pop, pop, pop...

3) While we're using this song to celebrate April Fool's Day, it was written about another subject entirely: heartbreak. The lyrics tell us that at some point, we each get our hearts broken by someone who doesn't love us as much as we love them. Do you think that's true?
Yes. It has happened to me.

4) In 1962, this week's featured Connie Francis published a book aimed at teens called For Every Young Heart. It addressed topics like going steady and schoolwork vs. social life. Do you ever read advice columns or self-help books?
Well I think most people I do glace at Dear Abby every morning. More for entertainment than for advice.

5) Connie Francis can play the accordion. Sam has never met anyone adept at this complicated instrument -- not even in her high school band. What about you? Do you play the accordion, or do you know anyone who can?
Thank goodness no.
There is a big Polish community here and at weddings there usually a group of accordion playing polkas.

6) In 1960, when this record was popular, Harper Lee's classic To Kill a Mockingbird was published. Have you read it?
Yes, in school and I didn’t like it and I didn’t like the movie.

7) Also in 1960, one of Life magazine's best-selling issues had Sophia Loren on the cover. At that time, she was an international film star and considered one of the world's most beautiful women. Who do you consider one of 2020's most beautiful women?
Who knows, if my mother was still alive I would say that tit was her.

8) A 1960 issue of Vogue acknowledged how expensive it had become to maintain a fashionable wardrobe and asked, "If you were to buy only one thing, what would it be?" If it's good enough for Vogue, it's good enough for Saturday 9: If you could purchase only one new article of clothing for spring 2020, what would you buy?
A bathing suit with a wrap-around skirt.

9) Random question: When someone makes you really angry, are you more likely to respond with stony silence or a big noise?
Silence as my blood pressure rises.

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In the town in Connecticut where I live the virus just got a foot hold, we just had our first cases... 9, it doesn't sound like many but we are a small suburb town and New York City is only about 60 miles away with 26,697 confirmed cases. I'm nervous.

I have been hibernating, I only been to the grocery store, and I have been walking the park. This weekend I want get take-out pizza tonight and seafood tomorrow night. The weather was nice yesterday and I read out on the deck.

Support Groups

Everywhere you look you see events canceled including peer support groups,but there are other types of places where we go for companionship.

How the disappearance of Cambridge pubs threatened the city's only transgender support group
The Diamonds are the only transgender support group in the city and their story parallels that of Cambridge's disappearing pubs. Learn its history through newcomer Gem, as she explains why these lost venues were so important
Cambridge News
ByDebbie Luxon
25 MAR 2020

The Diamonds are Cambridge's only transgender support group and they've been quietly making history in the corner of pubs across the city for the last 20 years.

It's still running today, however they first met up at a time when transgender people weren't met with the acceptance that is more common today.

It was a time before reliable information and support was readily available online, and before many had access to language that would help them understand their identites.

Coming to terms with a new gender can be an incredibly isolating experience, but for those in Cambridge the Diamonds were there for vital and life saving solidarity.

The article is about losing the pub they used to meet at as a result of bigotry in the community.

The impact of these pubs disappearing may not be obvious, but for the Diamonds, it meant whether or not they felt safe. Transphobic attacks have risen every year since 2015 in Cambridge, and as one of the most vulnerable groups in our community, having pub owners on their side is vital.

The number of places where trans people can meet socially is deceasing and I notice also that the LGBTQ+ community centers hold a number of drag show annually but they don’t have many events for the woman.

I am not a fan of drag shows, it is not that I don’t like drag it just that my cup of tea are board game nights or maybe coffee shop with folk music.

The senior centers that hold a LGBTQ+ events find that mostly women show up for their events and one of the thing that we have been talking about was having a coffee shop with music at the senior centers. The younger set like their loud music and flashing lights while many of the older set like to relax and have good conversation with friends.

You know support groups can mean a formal peer supported groups or it can mean a quite evening out with friends to a drop-in center or a coffee shop.

There was a coffee shop on Capitol Ave, I forgot the name of the shop but it was where you could stop by have a coffee and talk to some friends. They had a shelf of games and some of the table tops had game board tops to play chess or checkers.

I go out once a month to a game night at “an alternative multidisciplinary arts organization that presents and supports contemporary artists and their work, facilitates the creation of new work and creatively engages, builds and informs audiences and communities.” and I would add a space to build communities. I go with about eight women, most of whom are lesbians, to play board games.

It is a relaxing evening out having fun with others and that is what we need more of.

The Times, They Are A Changin’

Under the Obama administration we made great headway in gaining our rights. The courts ruled in our favor, the Department of Justice said that Title VII and Title IX covered us. To paraphrase one federal appeals court judge, he said just like being discriminated against for changing your religion is still religious discrimination so is changing your gender sex disdcrimination.

However, the Trump administration has taken an anti-LGBTQ+ stance.

DOJ Says Title IX Doesn't Cover Transgender Status of High School Athletes
The Justice Department has weighed in on a Connecticut case that addresses whether transgender students can take part in girl's sports.
Law.com
By Robert Storace
March 25, 2020

Saying the federal government “has a significant interest in the proper interpretation of Title IX,” the U.S. Department of Justice filed a statement of interest in a case that could decide whether transgender athletes can compete in girl’s high school sports in Connecticut.

In its 13-page brief, the Justice Department on Tuesday took aim at the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, the primary defendant in a lawsuit in which three high school girls claim they are at a disadvantage in competing with transgender athletes in sports such as track and field.

This is an 180 degree turn from the Obama administration.

Nina Pirrotti, a partner with New Haven-based Garrison, Levin-Epstein, Fitzgerald & Pirrotti, said the Trump administration often gets involved in litigation across the country siding against the interest of the LGBTQ community.

“The broader issue is that they are using Title IX as a sword, rather than a shield. It’s about trying to marginalize one of the most vulnerable segments of our population, which are transgender people,” Pirrotti said,

Pirrotti continued: “Everything the Trump administration has done with respect to Title IX is consistent with this approach. It’s chipping away at Title IX protections and that includes transgender people. This narrows the class of people who can seek protection under Title IX.”

And Trump and the Republicans have packed the courts with judges who are anti-LGBTQ+. In the past  the amicus curiae briefs from the Obama administration were favorable, now they are all negative and relying on antiquated 1950s belief that only chromosomes determine gender.

And here is the kicker…

The Justice Department’s brief was signed by Matthew Donnelly, an attorney in the Civil Rights Division.

The  Civil Rights Division has become an anti-civil rights department narrowing the definition of civil rights to just “religious freedom.”

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Justice Dept. Religious Freedom Training Spurs Concern Among Lawyers
Some department lawyers expressed worries that the workshops were held to teach ways to limit civil rights protections for gay and transgender people.
The New York Times
By Katie Benner
March 13, 2020

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department this week hosted training for its lawyers on religious liberty laws as part of Attorney General William P. Barr’s push to prioritize religious freedom cases, but the workshops prompted concern among some career lawyers that they were being educated on ways to blunt civil rights protections for gay and transgender people.

Lawyers who worked at the Justice Department during the past three administrations could not recall a similar week of training sessions on any topic that were open to all employees, regardless of which section they worked in.

The training week was part of an ongoing campaign at the department to bolster ​its work to​ protect religious freedom, which is regularly described by top leaders as the first right protected by the First Amendment​, a department official said in response to a request for comment.

This is just a tip of the iceberg.

Mark my words… you are going to see this so called “religious freedom” exemption not only applied against LGBTQ+ people, but also against race, religion, and marital status.

It is against my religion… to allow blacks in my store!
It is against my religion… to allow an unmarried couple to stay in my apartment building
It is against my religion… to hire a Jew.

You can justify all of those because somewhere in the Bible you can find something banning all those.

Defenders of slavery noted that in the Bible, Abraham had slaves. They point to the Ten Commandments, noting that "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, ... nor his manservant, nor his maidservant." In the New Testament, Paul returned a runaway slave, Philemon, to his master, and, although slavery was widespread throughout the Roman world, Jesus never spoke out against it.

US History

The focus on us because we are the low fruit, we are easy picking.

The Supreme Court will issue a ruling in June on the cases they heard in October on Titles VII IX cases, my prediction is that Chief Justice Roberts will be the swing vote and he will vote in favor of an inclusive Civil Rights Act, not an exclusive law. 

Being Counted.

I completed the Census yesterday and you should also fill out the Census questionnaire.

When we were trying to pass the non-discrimination bill for us the most common question was “Well how many trans people live in Connecticut?” and all we could do was shrug our shoulders.

There was no definitive answer to their question because there never was any accurate counting of trans people. When the first National Transgender Survey came out we now had some answers to the question about the needs of our community.

The 2020 Census originally had questions about us, but the questions were stripped out by the Trump administration.

2020 census: What LGBTQ Americans should know
The decennial survey won’t inquire about individuals’ sexual orientation and gender identity, but it will count cohabiting same-sex couples for the first time.
Out NBC
By Tim Fitzsimons
March 24, 2020

As households across the United States start to receive their 2020 census packets, LGBTQ advocacy groups are ramping up efforts to ensure lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people living in the country are counted and understand what’s at stake when it comes to the decennial survey.

“We want LGBTQ folks to know that census data are used to allocate political power,” said Meghan Maury, policy director of the National LGBTQ Task Force, which runs the Queer the Census campaign. The drive, formed just before the 2010 census, works to raise LGBTQ awareness and participation in the population count.

Under the Obama administration there were questions pertained to us such as sexual orientation and gender identity but they were removed from the questions. However, some questions about marriage remained.

The 2020 census asks respondents about their relationship to the person with whom they share their home, and now includes “‘opposite-sex husband/wife/spouse,” “same-sex husband/wife/spouse,” “opposite-sex unmarried partner” and “same-sex unmarried partner.” In previous surveys, the options were “husband and wife” or “unmarried partner.”
[…]
According to NBC News’ reporting from 2017, LGBTQ advocates pushed to add an explicit question about sexual orientation and gender identity, and they briefly rejoiced when a draft of the census was leaked in 2017 showing such a question. But soon after, the Census Bureau issued a statement saying that the question had been a “mistake.”

Why we need to be counted.

Mainly it boils down to money. But it also effects Congressional representation… how many House districts would represent Connecticut, we could lose a seat in the House. Funding for programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid, Ryan White funding for those who have AIDS/HIV, and public housing.

The questions would also help to answer questions that we get from legislators when we try to pass needed legislation.

The Census form that I filled out yesterday was the short form, it just asked who lived at your address and a few demographic questions.

Please fill out your Census forms, it could mean a lot to you and Connecticut.

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Day 14 of Social Isolation… er… Social Distancing

Same as all the other days except that I dropped off my bills at the post office and went grocery shopping. The only thing different at the grocery store was when I went to get my cart, there was a store clerk who handed me my cart after she wiped the cart with a disinfectant.

At night I had a NASW macro committee meeting (National Association of Social Workers) which was held via a conference call. It wasn’t very productive because everything we had planned was canceled. Workshops on macro social work… canceled. Macro social workers career panel... canceled. Social Workers meet and greet… canceled. The state NASW CT conference… canceled.

Stepping Up To The Plate.

Sometime trans people are in the background, not attracting attention, just doing their job when suddenly they thrust into the spotlight.

Who is Rachel Levine? Pa. health secretary offers calm, reassurance amid pandemic
“She’s been exemplary in her public health approach and exemplary in her communication."
PA Post
By Ivey DeJesus
March 19, 2020

(Harrisburg) — Dr. Rachel Levine joined Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration amid a raging opioid epidemic, which up until now she had described as the worst public health crisis in the state.

Then came the coronavirus.

In the weeks since public health officials have scrambled to address and contain the potentially lethal public health crisis, Levine, the Pennsylvania Secretary of Health, has distinguished herself among medical professionals and peers, pre-emptively and proactively addressing the coronavirus and the state’s response to the virus.

“She has been exemplary in her approach,” said Dr. Jennifer Chambers, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Capital BlueCross. “She’s been exemplary in her public health approach and exemplary in her communication. She’s been thoughtful and measured. She’s been very good providing calm, timely and accurate updates. Her voice of reassurance has been very helpful.”

And she’s trans!

But not all are happy with a trans woman leading the fight against COVID-19

Central Pa. restaurant owner apologizes for ‘hateful’ message on sign about Rachel Levine
PA Live
By Sue Gleiter
March 19, 2020

A Cumberland County restaurant/bar is under fire for posting a derogatory message directed at Pa. Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine on its business sign.

Trindle Inn Bar & Grill’s sign in Carlisle read “Dr. Levine or is it Uncle Fester in a wig?" and prompted hundreds of people to express outrage on Facebook.
[…]
“Well, if you frequent Trindle Inn, I hope you don’t anymore. This is absolutely disgusting. In a time where we should be banding together, this kind of [explicative] is even MORE appalling than it usually is,” wrote Bryden Farrell McCurdy.

Levine has been instrumental in leading Pennsylvania during the coronavirus pandemic.

Of course with all the backlash over his comment he is now trying to back off of his comment. Sorry your true nature has shown through and the people don’t like it.

Still Kicking

Day 12:
It has been twelve days in self-isolation, except for grocery shopping, a walk in the park and a friend stopping by I have been in isolation… I read a couple of books, listen to a book, watched YouTube videos, listen to “Old Time Radio” shows, I’m on Facebook too much, and I talked to friends on the phone. For an introvert it is heaven.

No, not really. I like to be with friends just like everyone else. But I am in the high risk group… a senior and a diabetic. I am not worried or scared, I’m just taking sensible precautions and keeping away from idiots who think that they are immortal. Yeah, they probably won’t die of COVID-19 but someone they give it might.

The infected young people can pass it along to the “at risk” population to seniors like me, or to my friend who is undergoing chemo. And the younger generation are also getting infected and need hospitalization.

New analysis breaks down age-group risk for coronavirus — and shows millennials are not invincible
STAT
By Sharon Begley
March 18, 2020
[...]
In general, the U.S. experience largely mimics China’s, with the risk for serious disease and death from Covid-19 rising with age. But in an important qualification, an analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Wednesday underlines a message that infectious disease experts have been emphasizing: Millennials are not invincible. The new data show that up to one-fifth of infected people ages 20-44 have been hospitalized, including 2%-4% who required treatment in an intensive care unit.
[…]
In an alarming development, however, scientists in China are now reporting that the new coronavirus does not spare the very young. In the first retrospective study of Covid-19 among children in the country where the pandemic began, they count 2,143 cases in children. Of those, they report in the journal Pediatrics, more than 90% were mild or moderate, confirming earlier observations that children are at lower risk of severe disease. (That may be because the molecule that allows the virus to enter human cells seems to be less developed in children.)

But 6% of pediatric cases were severe and even critical, compared to 19% of adult cases. And in an unexplained finding, nearly 11% of the Covid-19 cases in infants were severe or critical, though no babies died. An important caveat, however, is that some of what doctors believed to be Covid-19 might have been another respiratory disease, including respiratory syncytial virus, which is known to cause severe illness in children.

The young people think that it is just like the flu but it isn’t, COVID-19 infects to lungs unlike the flu and can very easily turn into pneumonia. I had pneumonia back in the 70s when I was in my thirties and I can tell you that it is not fun. I still remember not being able to catch my breath and the feeling that you are drowning. The fever cause hallucination; I remember seeing people who were not there walking up and down in front of my bedroom door. After my doctor said that I could now go back to work after being out of work for eight weeks, I remember being out of breath just walking across the parking lot.

Just this morning I found out that a friend who already has breathing issues is hospitalized with the flu and the doctors are worried that she could also get the COVID-19 virus.

Please follow the CDC guidelines… keep your physical distance from people. The life you save might be a loved one.

The Long Road Ahead

I wanted to write something positive today but it is very hard to find hopeful news, listening to the news all you hear about is COVID-19 and if you search for trans news all you find is conservatives trying to criminalize us or ban us from medically necessary treatments.

As Trump would say, “Sad, sad…”

In Idaho they passed a bill preventing us from changing our birth certificates. You know at one time it was the Republican states that passed some of the first laws allowing us to change our birth certificates. Back then they recognized the need to get a job or to marry so that we could become productive members of society… now their hate has blinded them.

Over in Britain Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in the same camp as Trump and doesn’t like us and Britain is looking to overturn the protections for us. Over across the pond bathrooms, locker rooms, and protecting the “children from being mutilated” are the rallying cries from the right.

To me it seems like as the world focuses on COVID-19 the conservatives are trying to sneak in all their legislation that they know will not pass under normal scrutiny but now is buried to the back page.

The Connecticut Legislature is closed and they are trying to figure out how to hold hearings, committee meetings, and pass bill under the quarantine. Many would say that the closure is great… no new laws, no new taxes but in reality it spells disaster. The budget has to be passed, funds have to be redirected to support public health initiatives to fight COVID-19, relief for the businesses that have been forced closed, and all the little things needed to keep the government running.

The legislative committee that I am on is meeting via conference call and all the training I was to do this spring have been canceled. The Trans Health and Law conference has been canceled for the year. The True Colors conference has been moved to the end of May, and the National Association of Social Workers conference was delayed until late May and those two conference are now in limbo.

One of the problems those cancellations or delays cause is that for social workers they need Continuing Education Credits to maintain their licenses so with conferences being canceled it could create licensing problems for them.

In times of crisis we see what our leaders are made of, how do they handle the crisis? With leadership or passing the buck.

Back when the Blizzard Of 1978 hit governor Ella Grasso stepped up to plate and was seen to take charge of the state in its time of crisis. Trump approval rate was dropping until he started to make daily press conference, people want leadership. In November people will be voting on what they see today.

My predictions:

• By mid or late April we will see how well made out with our efforts to flatten the curve.
• The virus will be with us forever jut like SARS and Ebola, and they will flare up form time to time.
• The stock market will find its bottom in a couple of weeks, right now it is a shock and in a couple of weeks it will become the new normal.
• Governments around the world will try to circumvent their constitutions and impose martial law. Attorney General Barr is asking to permanently detain an individual without trial during emergencies. We are entering a dangerous time for democracies around the world.

What makes it manageable is the fact that we are all in this together. 

Saturday 9: Complete Symphonies

Sam’s Saturday 9: Complete Symphonies (2019)

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



This week we're classing up the joint with a well-received box-set by the Danish Chamber Orchestra. You can listen to the orchestra here.

1) Beethoven is one of classical music's best known composers. Do you often listen to classical music?
Once in a great while, I do like Ferde Grofé’s Grand Canyon Suite

2) Though a musical genius, Beethoven never learned to multiply or divide. When faced with a simple arithmetic problem, do you do it in your head? Or do you rely on the calculator in your phone or on your computer?
On a machine… my head makes errors.

3) Beethoven bathed often, which was considered "quirky" for a man of his time. (Understandable, since you had the heat the water, haul it to the tub, and then empty the tub bucket by bucket when you were done.) Do you bathe in the morning or in the evening?
Yes.
Both,since I am retired showering is not tied to work so I can take a shower anytime that I want.


4) Adam Fischer conducts the Danish Chamber Orchestra for this 5-disc set. He began his musical career young, when he sang in the children's choir of Budapest's National Opera House. Have you ever sung in a choir or chorus?
Ha!
In six grade there had the class children's choir to sing for our parents. I was told to shut-up and mouth the words. After that do you think that I ever sang again?

5) Mr. Fischer was awarded the Gold Medal of Arts from the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Tell us about a prize or award you have received. (Yes, that ribbon you earned for penmanship in second grade counts.)
Well my first award was in the ninth grade for a science project.
Since then I have received a number of awards, including first and second prizes in the photo contest at the local Ag fair.
My latest was from the Metropolitain Community Church in Hartford, I received their “Unsung Hero Award.

Photo by Dawn

6) The Danish Chamber Orchestra is beloved in Denmark. When, in 2014, the Danish Broadcasting Company announced it would no longer fund the Orchestra, citizens began a crowdfunding campaign and raised more than $1,000,000 to keep the music playing. Have you ever contributed to a crowdfunding platform, like GoFundMe, Kickstarter or FundRazr?
Yes, I gave to a couple of “GoFundMe” causes.

7) The Orchestra's "home" is the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music in Copenhagen. Where were you when you last heard music played live?
Hmm…
I think it was on my deck, during a party last fall a couple of friends brought their guitars.

8) In 2019, when this boxed set was released, China became the first nation to land a spacecraft on the far side of the moon. Are you fascinated by stories about space?
Ha!
Are you kidding everything about space fascinates me. I even have a scrapbook on news articles from the 50s, 60s and 70s that my brother started and I continued.

9) Random question: Tell us about your week. These are extraordinary times, and it might feel good to share.
Well Sunday I visited a friend
Monday grocery shopping and a walk in the park
Tuesday sat around and read or listened to an audiobook
Wednesday sat around and read or listened to an audiobook… oh an I helped a friend who is a professor learn how to do her classes online. I played the student while she figured out the software.
Thursday sat around and read or listened to an audiobook
Friday sat around and read or listened to an audiobook and went grocery shopping again
Saturday I plan on going for a walk again
And tomorrow… Shh! I plan on going to a friend’s house and having a spaghetti dinner with a couple of other senior shut-ins. (Update 6:30 PM: it has been canceled)

Thanks so much for joining us again at Saturday: 9. As always, feel free to come back, see who has participated and comment on their posts. In fact sometimes, if you want to read & comment on everyone's responses, you might want to check back again tomorrow. But it is not a rule. We haven’t any rules here. Join us on next Saturday for another version of Saturday: 9, "Just A Silly Meme on a Saturday!" Enjoy your weekend!

Here Comes The Judge

I know of one trans judge, Phyllis Frye, she is from Texas and I believe sits on the housing court but there are other trans judges in the country.

Trans Judge Candidate Wins, Anti-LGBTQ Congressman Loses in Illinois
Jill Rose Quinn is set to be the state's first trans judge, while LGBTQ ally Marie Newman bested one of the most conservative Democrats in Congress.
The Advocate
By Trudy Ring
March 18 2020

Several LGBTQ and ally candidates had success in the Illinois primary Tuesday, with four out judicial candidates winning, including the state’s first transgender elected official, and a pro-LGBTQ progressive defeating one of Congress’s most conservative Democrats.

The judicial candidates all won races to serve on the Cook County Circuit Court; Cook, the state’s most populous county, includes Chicago.

Jill Rose Quinn, an attorney who is trans, won the Democratic primary to fill a vacant seat on the court, and there is no Republican candidate, so she is assured of election in November. “It’s not just a victory for me, it’s a victory for everybody out there who’s marginalized, everybody who’s different, everybody who’s trans,” Quinn told the Chicago Tribune.

She had the support of the LGBTQ Victory Fund and of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, and she was rated highly by bar associations. “Jill Rose Quinn has fought for fairness, equality and justice her entire life and her perspective and experience will be invaluable for our courts and our community,” Lightfoot said in her endorsement.
[…]
Marie Newman, a strong LGBTQ ally, won the Democratic nomination for U.S. House from the Third Congressional District, which includes parts of Chicago and some suburbs. She bested incumbent Dan Lipinski after having unsuccessfully challenged him in 2018.

In the Chicago Tribune article they reported,

For years, Chicago attorney Jill Rose Quinn has wanted to be a judge.

But for the longest time, Quinn said, she didn’t think she could land a seat on the bench.

“I didn’t think the people would accept a transgender judge,” Quinn told the Tribune.

But on Tuesday night, with most precincts reporting, Quinn declared victory after taking a large lead in her bid to become the Democratic nominee for a Cook County judicial vacancy. If she holds on, that likely would make her the fourth openly transgender judge across the country and the first transgender candidate in Illinois voted into public office.

To bad we cannot get trans judges in the federal court systems instead of Trump’s Christian anti-LGBTQ judges.

War Of The Worlds

How many of you remember the original War of the World movie?

How did the martians die?

Yup. By a virus.

How many SiFi books, movies, and television shows that has for their theme lost civilizations that died out because of a virus? That is one of the common themes but why is it? I think it is because it is true, thorough out history we have seen civilizations here on earth die out and new ones form up in their vacuum.

Plague ships was one of the most dreaded ships on the high seas, in the days of sail ships were found drifting where the whole crew were dead of an infectious disease. Now with global travel we can cross the oceans in the matter of hours and transporting the contagions long before the symptoms begin to show.

Back in the Obama administration when the SARS and Ebola epidemics hit they realized that we needed to track future epidemics before they became an epidemic so departments in the CDC and the NSC were created. So why didn’t they detect the COVID 19 virus?

Well the simple answer is they were disbanded or their funding were cut by the current administration.

In 2018, Trump fired Homeland security advisor Tom Bossart, whose job was to coordinate a response to global pandemics. He was not replaced.

In 2018 Dr. Luciano Borio, the NSC director for medical and bio-defense preparedness left the job. Trump did not replace Dr. Borio.

In 2019 the NCS's senior director for global health security and bio-defense, Tim Ziemer, left the position and Trump did not replace the rear admiral.

Trump shut down the entire global Health Security and Bio-defense agency. Yes, he did.

Amid the explosive worldwide outbreak of the virus Trump proposed a 19% cut to the budget of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention plus a 10% cut to Public Health Services and a 7% cut to Global Health Services. Those happen to be the organizations that respond to public health threats.

In 2018, at Trump's direction, the CDC stopped funding epidemic prevention activities in 39 out of 49 countries including China.

We knew.

We knew that the next virus would be coming, we didn’t know where it would come from and we didn’t know when it would come, but we knew it would come.

We knew it could be bad as early as the beginning of January when the WHO organization warned the world that this could be very bad. Nations around the world started to take precautions.

We all know what our president did… nothing.

This will not be the last global pandemic, every decade we will probably see a pandemic and with global travel we are going to see it spread fast and we need to be prepared.

However, Trump hasn’t seen the light. He cut the 2021 budgets for the CDC and medical research. He cut funding for HIV/AIDS testing and we are seeing an uptick in AIDS and STD cases because funding for testing has been cut.

Infectious diseases take no time off and we have to always be on top of future pandemics.

Next time you watch Stargate SG-1 remember the civilization that made the stargates was wiped out… we do not want to end up like them.

This is a TED Talk by Bill Gates in 2015,listen to him!