TUYA:

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 23 Jan 2016 05:03:00 +0000

SF Protest! No ‪#‎Airbnb‬ rental listings in ‪#‎StolenHomes‬ on illegally occupied territories. ‪#‎WestBank‬ ‪#‎Palestine‬
WELCOME HOME
Rent unique place to stay in illegal Israeli Settlements
https://www.facebook.com/events/989347137797063/

CODEPINK
http://www.codepink.org/splash?splash=1
POOR/PRENSA POBRE Magazine
http://www.poormagazine.org/
AirBnB Site
https://www.airbnb.com/s/Palestinian-Territories
Why Palestinians Are Boycotting Airbnb.
http://thinkprogress.org/…/why-palestinians-are-boycotting…/
Not-so-sweet home: Airbnb under fire for profiting off settlements in occupied West Bank
http://www.albawaba.com/…/not-so-sweet-home-airbnb-under-fi…
Airbnb lists properties in illegal Israeli settlements
Dozens of listings on occupied Palestinian land on the accommodation bookings site raise questions about its legal position in profiting from the rentals.
http://www.theguardian.com/…/airbnb-listings-illegal-settle…
Palestinians Lambast Airbnb's West Bank Settlement Listings.
http://abcnews.go.com/…/palestinians-lambast-airbnbs-west-b…
Airbnb Slammed Over Rental Listings in West Bank Settlements
http://forward.com/…/airbnb-slammed-over-rental-listings-i…/

Vaya con Dios dear SF Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi. Dear Ross...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 06:22:00 +0000

... I'm not saying good bye, far from it, I'm welcoming you back to the civilian world -- Which will happen on Friday, January 8 2016 at noon -- and wishing you the best in all of your present and future endeavors. Count me in.

As a community activist, I know that we'll be meeting each other in the same circles, for, how could it be otherwise? Yes, you were what I refer to as a community activist who chose to also run for elected office to represent and serve the people from there, indeed Ross, that's my impression of you.

You were always with the people, in the good times and in the not so desirable ones, no matter the day, or the time of day, you were always there, in those moments of much need of support when we welcome the presence of humans' humane company and solidarity, especially in tragic moments, you were there.

A community's concern translated by you meant the need to do something about it, which you did so many times and sucessfully I might add. Plastic shopping bags poluting our streets, flying around in the wind tunnels that regularly are what we call 'the streets of San Francisco', chocking water fowl and fish in the bay, plugging our sewage systems? Presente! In those concerns you saw the need to do something, you did and it's been working like a charm ever since. Good job Ross.

Displacement of tenants? You were there, and are. Women's rights? You were there, and are. Gay rights? Or closer to me, Transgender issues? You were there, and are. Human and civil rights for immigrants? You were there, and are. Law enforcement and criminal prison system? You were there, and are. I could go on, and on listing all the issues whose concerned advocates can look at you and say, thank you Ross for being there for us.

And there were a few of them who called in the radio program you were on today, Jan. 4, '16. They took the opportunity to say 'thank you' on a day you went on radio, Hecho en California at La Grande, KIQI 1010AM in SF, for the last time as SF Sheriff to say good bye and thank the audience who in large part supported you, as it turns out, callers were the ones who felt they had to recognize your contributions and thank you instead. You were there for us.

Clip of his radio appearance

There is so much to do and the need to do something about it as you pointed out on the air today as you do everytime you get the chance to speak up. I know that you will continue to work in helping fix our broken justice system, even so you will no longer be an elected official, at least for the time being... (Emphasis added) but I know it will be a blessing in disguise your being out of office, sometimes people are far more effective and hence, successful working form the outside. No doubt you'll help move forward the innovative programs your predecessor, Sheriff Michael Hennessy, and you put into effect in the San Francisco City And County jail system; it is not a jail problem, but an education and training matter in preparing inmates deal once released with the vagaries that life and society present us with on a daily basis.

I'm with you that the drug problem is not a criminal matter, or an enemy that you need to declare war on it, it is a health issue and shoul be treated as such, by the same token, I'm also with you in that undocumented immigration it is not a criminal issue too, but a labor and human rights matter and the violations to immigration laws, are at best administrative violations. I'm with you in those as well because you've been there for us in these too.

So, again, welcome to the civilian world and now that you are in between jobs, join us in working from the outside for the time being!

I will be in touch...

NHMC mourns the passing of an icon, Lupe Ontiveros, Award-winning actress and trailblazer

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 18:03:00 +0000

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 27, 2012

NHMC mourns the passing of an icon, Lupe Ontiveros

Award-winning actress and trailblazer

Lupe Ontiveros and Alex Nogales, NHMC President & CEO

PASADENA, CA - Today, NHMC mourns the death of our dear friend Lupe Ontiveros, an award-winning actress, producer, trailblazer, and activist for Latino actors across the country. Ontiveros passed away at the age of 69 after a battle with cancer.

Ontiveros' prolific career began on the stage where she starred in Zoot Suit, the first ever Mexican-American production on Broadway and was a founding member of The Latino Theater Company in Los Angeles. Over the course of her career, she had memorable roles in a number of films such as El Norte, As Good As It Gets, Selena, and Real Women Have Curves. She has also appeared on television in a number of popular series such as Desperate Housewives, Greetings From Tucson, and Rob!. Ontiveros was awarded NHMC's Lifetime Achievement Impact Award in 2002.

"Lupe was a dear friend. She worked tirelessly to perfect her craft and open doors for countless Latinos along the way. Hollywood never gave her the lead role, but in our hearts she will be remembered as our leading lady. She will be deeply missed by all of us," said Alex Nogales, President & CEO of NHMC.

Please direct media inquiries to:

Inez Gonzalez

Executive Vice President, NHMC
C: (213) 718-0740

igonzalez@nhmc.org

###

RE Mikarimi case: What I request of my SF Supervisor David Campos

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 07:16:00 +0000

San Francisco California, July 23, 2012

To: David Campos

From: Aurora Grajeda

Cc: Eric Mar, David Chiu, Christina Oleague, John Avalos, Mark Farrell, Carmen Chu, Jane Kim, Sean Elsbernd, Scott Wiener, Malia Cohen, Office of the City Attorney.

Good morning Supervisor Campos,

This email is a follow up to my approaching you to share my deep and urgent concerns on aspects of the Sheriff Mirkarimi's case, when you informed me of your inability to speak about it, but in terms of sharing my concerns to you, you also informed me that not only you'd listen to me, but urged me to do so, and that this goes for anyone else. Thank you.

As you may have noticed, a Cc of this email goes to each one of all of the other members of the Board of Supervisors and City Attorney Dennis Herrera's Office, there are many reasons for my doing so, but the most relevant are that in the event that you choose to honor my request and for it to be effective, it needs the support from the other Supervisors. It is intended to be Board's business and instead of repeating it to each one of them, I think we all will agree that it is better to do it all at once, in the open and be open about it to all. To that effect, this email will be made public.

Immediately below, please find two propositions that I expose for you review. Hoping that if you find some merit on what I propose, you'll seek a legal opinion from City Attorney for you and the SFBOS to proceed accordingly:

I do propose that the items of the Sheriff Mirkarimi's salary and his back pay, are irrelevant to the case heard in the San Francisco Ethics Commission's hearings in that matter, due to that these items were not before them and thus, are outside the scope of their considerations for their recommendation to the Board, ergo, do not fall under the Supervisors' restrictions on the Sheriff Mirkarimi's case and accordingly, any Supervisor is free to initiate, discuss and pass legislation regarding these two items, and consequently right a wrong, and it is under these grounds that I do hereby respectfully and formally ask of my Supervisor, David Campos, that to at his earliest, introduce and pass, a motion or a resolution to the effect of overriding and reversing Mayor Ed Lee standing directive to withhold salary from Sheriff Mirkarimi, and to instruct that he be awarded back pay hence,

I do further propose, that in view of the fact that it is longstanding practice and tradition to reassign any city officer to administrative duties with full pay while under investigation of official wrong doing and, in view of the fact that the we in the City and County of San Francisco do not treat our employees the way Sheriff Mirkarimi - in an exceptional departure from past and present norms - has been treated and, in view of the fact that the breaking of this longstanding practice and tradition has irrefutably - but hopefully not irreparably - caused great harm and pain to the family of an elected official whose marriage was going through difficult times and, in view of the fact that the couple's wishes and intentions were, and are, to seek marriage counseling to work out their problems and start their healing as a family and, in view of the fact that the lack of family income or other financial resources have curtailed essentially to zero the number of options they could afford to adopt and start their healing and, in view of the fact that neither city agencies, nor the anti-domestic violence organizations involved in the case, even offered material support much less provide it to the - in their understanding - victim, Eliana Lopez and, in view of the fact that as result, Eliana Lopez became a de facto single mother without any financial support whatsoever and thus, had to leave the country to her native Venezuela where there was family support circles and the possibilities of gainful employment to support herself and her 3 year old son and in her opinion, conditions for positive results were better in Venezuela than in San Francisco and, when viewing all of the just enunciated facts, it obscenely offends every sensibility that I have as a human being and as an immigrant to San Francisco, because this city of immigrants that I so much love and cherish, does not treat its immigrants the shameful way in which Eliana Lopez was treated and, in view of the fact that Family Court on July 20, 2012 lifted the stay away order on Sheriff Mirkarimi and thus, the family is in a better position to reunite and have a chance to heal; just as any other family.

I believe we will be in agreement that a precarious state of affairs in domestic finances, is one of the stressors that factors very high in marriages falling apart, this is the current state of affairs for the Mirkarimi family, while at the same time separated by thousands of miles and still working to continue their healing. And since love between the couple is not an issue and neither is lack of desire to heal as a family; an infusion of monetary resources would go a long way in helping them achieve their goals. Funds which should have been available to them from the very beginning by virtue of the City and County of San Francisco's long standing practices which are applied without exceptions, except this time where they have been withheld; should be made immediately available to them. I can not identify any valid reason on why these funds should not be awarded, there is nothing to gain in withholding them, unless, the objective is to impose stress, pain, suffering and curtail the couples' options for healing, all for reasons that I can't even begin to imagine other than to harm the marriage and family; I totally reject that notion.

As I informed you, I'll be present at the July 24, 2012 Board Meetingto lend support. Though last minute, I'll be asking my friends if anyone can and would also like to attend as support, or to make requests to their own Supervisor for passage of a motion or a resolution, either at the July 24, 2012 Board Meeting, or the week after that, or the one after. At their discretion.

Dear Supervisor Campos, it is not only a good thing to do, but the correct thing to do. The mirkarimi family can surely put to good use a helping hand.

Thank you for your attention and consideration to this matter.

Loving regards,

Aurora Grajeda

Mission District

SFCA 072312

BREAKING ALERT: Family Court lifts restrictions on Ross & Eliana Mirkarimi

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 17:39:00 +0000

BREAKING NEWS ON THE ROSS MIRKARIMI CASE --
ALERT: Ross & Eliana are together again, they are on their way to Hecho en California with Marcos Gutierrez, they are on the way to the station, you can listen to them (Spa&Eng) with Marcos at 1010AM in about 10 minutes.
If you are too far away to listen on radio, you can stream it by phone by calling at 832.551.5087 or you can stream it by going to http:hladc-sf.blogspot.com (Left column)

PRESENTING: "THE PROGRESSIVE GRASSROOTS' COMMUNITY STIMULUS ACT"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 13:30:00 +0000

Attached, please find MS Word Document containing a very simple and basic business model Titled "Community Stimulus Act Utilizing Community Banks to Support Local Business Enterprises and Infrastructure Development", henceforth knows as "The Act"

Excerpt: "Goals and Objectives"

"To energize this proposal and enhance the chance for success, we visualize a basic community-based or bottom up plan of implementation. Persons in the Community need to be aware of the proposal. Thus, it will be important for local agencies to take responsibility for distribution of information and education. This must include local newspapers and other communication channels. Each individual, based on knowledge and consciousness, is capable of evaluating the initiative, forming an assessment, and if viewed as viable, talking with other persons to ask them if they agree it is a sound business opportunity plan, ask them if they would like to implement one in their community, and join in an effort to make it happen."

It is free and open to be tailored for the individual and specific needs of local communities as they see fit to meet/comply their issues in relation to The Act.

Below the fold, the Introduction to The Act is included.

To view/download, to embed download link http://tinyurl.com/3sl6yhf

It could work. Hoping you will review it too. If you find it worth of at least a second look, please be generous and share widely.

En'Lakesh,

Aurora

PROGRESSIVE GRASSROOTS AGENDA

A SIMPLE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY WHICH ALSO CREATES JOBS

1. Introduction / Overview

2. Goals and Objectives

3. Focus Points

INTRODUCTION / OVERVIEW

This proposal is a partial answer to the ongoing critical problems in the United States of America. The tone of the political and social rhetoric dominating the American landscape challenges all efforts to solve these problems. Additionally, there is no clear assignment of responsibilities amongst those wanting to address the problems and no clear reference point for solutions given the dismal failure of the tactics used to date. These conditions lead us to a deep and detailed exploration of the problems and issues we face; thus, our effort to offer a model of economic change that supports a progressive agenda.

We have made an effort to explore much that has transpired since the start of the historic 2008 Presidential Campaign; including those trends that preceded the nomination of Barack Obama. Our efforts examined, as best we were able, events, policies, attitudes, motives, hopes, expectations, performance, accomplishments, actions, reactions, of those involved, both in favor and against, what we envision is a journey in uncharted territory in the political process of a newly emergent Democracy.

Sadly, to expect less than absolute intransigence from the Republican Party is gross naiveté. We base this not on caricature but their words. The Republican Party acts from a core purpose: to make President Obama a one term President. The welfare of the nation is secondary to this core mission. There is no possibility of compromise, good-faith negotiations, or bipartisan cooperation. And no hope, in the future or the present, of Republican Party representatives agreeing to legislative action other than the ones which favor the richest 2% of the population, corporations, banking, finance, the industrial military complex, and more wars; especially ones unfunded. It is why we see any ultimate solution emerging not from these uncaring and unyielding representatives, but from replacements representative of a true loyal political opposition, interested in governing for the good of all of the people, for the country as a whole, and in a spirit of honest patriotism.

It is urgent and imperative that the people of the United States of America take matters into their own hands. In the spirit that guided the American Revolution, and all mass movements seeking equity and justice, it is the intrinsic right to restore order to the outrageously ineffective governing structure in Washington D.C. We are in great peril. The people are hurting. The economic health of the country, reliant on a robust middle class and poorer economic classes grounded in opportunities for betterment, is in shambles. In 2010, the poverty rate was 15.1%, the highest since 1993 (Lost Decade). People of Color were hit hardest. Blacks experienced the highest poverty rate, at 27 percent, up from 25 percent in 2009, and Latinos rose to 26 percent from 25 percent. For whites, 9.9 percent lived in poverty, up from 9.4 percent in 2009. Asians were unchanged at 12.1 percent. Net worth is one measure of economic justice. Trend data is only available from 1984. From 1984 to 2009, the wealth of Whites increased from $76,951 to $92,000. For Latinos, wealth decreased from $9,660 to $6,325. In addition, for African Americans, wealth decreased from $6,679 to $4,900 (full report). Indeed, today, the top 1% of the country owns more than the bottom 50%. We have not seen this kind of economic inequality since 1928, right prior to the Great Depression. In addition, if you think it does not make a difference whether we have a Democratic or Republican President, from 1945 – 2005, every income percentile had a higher annual economic growth under a Democratic than under a Republican (comparative graph). Moreover, the difference in gains made increased the less income earned. Thus, while it cannot be said that the rich do not get richer regardless of party, it is certainly true that all economic strata are better served and those with less income more so under a Democrat than a Republican. There are two critical lessons: (1) the people are in a crisis and (2) the times are direr when Republicans are in power.

In this document, we, members of the progressive political base, respectfully submit proposals and suggestions for immediate implementation and continuance through the Nov. 2012 election and beyond. The inauguration of President Barack Hussein Obama to a second term is necessary to complete the objectives, yet to be fulfilled, of our 2008 contract.

The " Goals and Objectives" Section presents a simple, but very creative, business investment plan that will generate jobs, increase the consumer purchasing power, generate additional tax revenues and lay the foundation for decrease in the federal debt and reliance on purchases of the dollar by other nations. We achieve this primarily through domestic funding of national infrastructure projects and support for business enterprises in local Communities. Direct and targeted funding of community development initiatives will make the people safer, better educated and healthier, allowing them to compete in the global market and optimizing their chances of making progress.

In the "Focus Points" Section, we briefly examine what we identify as political realities, we attempt to assign some responsibilities and credit when and where justly earned, and a few practices and tactics that when employed will enhance our level of effectiveness.

There should be no mistaking whom we mean by the People. They are the ones who need a roof over their head, food on the table for themselves and loved ones, health sufficient to survive the vagaries of living, and time for study or rest or imagining a future that is achievable and one in which we can all be proud. Pride in a world that has peace, a world where justice at homes means justice throughout the world.

Not too much to ask and aim for, is it? You can make the difference!

GOALS AND OJECTIVES

Community Stimulus Act Utilizing Community Banks to Support Local Business Enterprises and Infrastructure Development

Los Monólogs de La Vagina Regresa a San Francisco

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 10:12:00 +0000

V-Day San Francisco en Español 2011 [TVM] ORGULLOSAMENTE PRESENTA UNA PRODUCCIÓN DE: "Los Monólogos de La Vagina" Del premiado guión de Eve Ensler "The Vagina Monologues"

TEATRO VICTORIA, UN SOLO DÍA MARZO 20, 2011 - DOS FUNCIONES 3:00 p.m. y 6:00 p.m.

COMPREN SUS BOLETOS

V-Day San Francisco en Español 2011, se enorgullece de ser un participante en el V-Day 2011 de la campaña V-Day. Nos han concedido los derechos para una producción benéfica de V-Day de la premiada obra de

_ Eve Ensler, Los Monólogos de la Vagina (En español) , en dos presentaciones el Domingo, Marzo 20 2011, en el Teatro Victoria en San Francisco para recaudar fondos y levantar conciencia para las organizaciones locales que trabajan en detener la violencia contra las mujeres y las niñas.

En 2010, más de 4000 eventos a beneficio de V-Day se llevaron a cabo, producido por activistas voluntarios en 130 países de todo el mundo, la educación de millones de personas sobre la realidad de la violencia contra las mujeres y las niñas, tanto a nivel local como mundial.

En 2011, V-Day de San Francisco en Español, seró uno de los miles de eventos en todo el mundo, canalizando su energía creativa en hacer una diferencia en el marco de la campaña de V-Day. Es nuestra intención hacer de V-Day de San Francisco en Español 2011, un gran éxito. Esto será posible, en gran parte, a través de la ayuda y la generosidad de los patrocinadores.

Parte de lo que hace este evento tan especial, es la oportunidad que ofrece a las empresas y organizaciones en las comunidades locales - a participar en este movimiento global, para celebrar y honrar a las mujeres y las niñas en su vida y de la comunidad, para formar parte de una voz colectiva, una voz que se niega a ser ignorada, una voz que dice NO a la violencia contra las mujeres y las niñas.

Todos los beneficios de nuestro evento serán donados a estas organizaciones, Casa Rosalie en San Francisco California y Casa Amiga en Ciudad Juárez, México.

Aurora Grajeda Organizadora de V-Day San Francisco en Español 2011 (TVM) y,
Co-Productora de "Los Monólogos de La Vagina" (Marzo 20th, 2011)
415.368.8406
>aurora-grajeda@comcast.net
http://www.vday-sf-spa.org/

"Tu tienes que ser el cambio que quieres ver en el mundo."
-- Mohandas Karamchand Ghandi

Respectfully, Mr. President: Thank You! -- ("Obama has not done anything?") CHECK THIS OUT!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 02:11:00 +0000

There are lots and lots of Progressives(?) clamoring "Barack Obama has not done anything", No, I'm not exaggerating, that's what many, many are saying -- while some of them may be parroting Republican Operatives' 'Talking Points", some of these voices are actually Republican Operatives in our midst, including many who infiltrated or sold out in the pro-immigrant rights movement; their goal? Well, not to difficult to figure out, isn't? Bottom line is, many gullible folk are believing them.

So, after reading "ThisIsMyTime" Post with a list of some of President Obama and Dems' accomplishments in spite of vicious attacks and blatant obstructionism, do you think these voices are telling the truth to us all?

Most of us know someone who is repeating the Right Wing lies, send them this information, ask them to read it and then ask them to repeat what they've been saying.

Millions of us worked very hard to elect President Obama and we accomplished this historic and revolutionary act, take credit for your hard work and foresight, but let's not slip into complacency, the work is far from done, there is so much that needs to be corrected/changed, let's continue with our pledge to work for change, to pressure our Representatives to act, after all, this is the bargain we entered with then Candidate Barack Obama, just to be clear, this is what we agreed on "That we were going to help/make him do it", for,

"WE ARE THE ONES WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR" And,

That "YES, WE CAN - SI SE PUEDE"

Aurora

Obama Will Triumph -- So Will America by Frank Schaeffer

by ThisIsMyTime [Daily Kos]
Wed Oct 13, 2010 at 08:56:57 AM PDT

As the battle for control of Congress has tightened and the so called enthusiasm gap is evaporating, we must continue speaking to voter about what Democrats in Congress have accomplished.

If you are a democrat and you have an enthusiasm gap, I am hoping that this could change your lack of enthusiasm.

The facts are in the last 23 months, the following are things that I think are worth keeping scores about what President Obama and the Democratic congress have accomplished that get over looked without an ounce of credit by some who are always disappointed about something.

More below the fold...
ThisIsMyTime's diary :: ::

Crossposted at The People's View

I think it is important to not only speak to voters about the fact we are moving forward together but remind activists to see what they have been resisting.

I don't know about you but I am ready to go and these are the reasons why I have more Enthusiasm than ever:

Health Care Reform:
Coverage can't be denied to children with pre-existing conditions.
Adults up to age 26 can stay on their parents' health plans.
Freepreventive care.
Rescinding coverage is now illegal.
Eliminating lifetime limits on insurance coverage.
Restricting annual limits on insurance coverage.
More options to appeal coverage decisions.
$5 billion in immediate federal support to affordable Coverage for the Uninsured with Pre-existing Conditions.
$10 billion investment in Community Health Centers.
Create immediate access to re-insurance for employer health plans providing coverage for early retirees.
Made an $80 billion deal with the pharmaceutical industry to contribute to cut prescription drug costs for the nation's seniors reduce the size of the "donut hole" in the Medicare (Part D) Drug Benefit.

Economy:
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) has worked. The Economy Has Been Growing - take a look at the graph of GDP growth between 2007 thru 2010.
US auto industry rescue plan -- Detroit making profits again and at least 1 million jobs saved.
Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 that extended Unemployment benefits up to 20 weeks and more.
Provided $14.7 billion in small business loans increasing minority access to capital.
The $26 billion aid to states package preventing large-scale layoffs of teachers and public employees.

Banking and Financial Reform
Signed a sweeping bank-reform bill (the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act)into law
Managed the $700 Billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) that Banks have repaid 75% of TARP funds, bringing the cost down to $89B as of June 2010.
Cuts Salaries For 65 Bailout Executives
Closed offshore tax safe havens, tax credit loopholes on companies that use the tax laws to ship American Jobs oversees. HR 4213.
Signed into law the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act to fight fraud in the use of TARP and recovery funds, and to increase accountability for corporate and mortgage frauds.
Signed the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act

VETOED Big Banks' notarization sweetheart deal

Education
Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 that increased the amount of federal Pell Grant awards and enabled the stripping of banks privileges as intermediaries for student loan servicing.
Created the Race to the Top Fund, a $4.35 billion program to reward States that submit the best proposals for change.
As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, funded over $100 Billion for reforms to strengthen Elementary and Secondary education, early learning programs, college affordability and improve access to higher education, and to close the achievement gap.

Jobs
The $787 billion economic stimulus package has created or saved nearly 2 million jobs slowing the bleeding
Jobs for Main Street Act (2010)injected $27.5 Billion for Highways, $8.4 Billion for Transit into the country's transportation system to create jobs and spur economic activity.
A $33 Billion Jobs Package that will allow Small businesses to get $5,000 tax credit for new hires.
A $26 billion State Aid Package Jobs Bill saving 300,000 teachers and public workers jobs from unemployment.
The Auto bailout saved 1 million jobs.

Green Energy
Implemented renewable fuels mandate of 36 billion gallons by 2022, four times what we currently consume.
Automakers will be required to meet a fleet-wide average of New Gas Mileage Standards at 35.5 MPH by 2016.
A $60 billion investment in renewable and clean energy.

Housing
$275 billion dollar housing plan - $75 billion dollars to prevent at-risk mortgage debtors already fallen victim to foreclosures and $200 billion to bring about confidence to offer affordable mortgages and to stability the housing market.
Established "Opening Doors" to end the homelessness of 640,000 men, women, and children in the United States in 10 years.
Provided $510 Million for the rehabilitation of Native American housing. ref
Provided $2 billion for Neighborhood Stabilization Program to rehab, resell, or demolish in order to stabilize neighborhoods.
Provided $5 billion for Weatherization Assistance Program for low income families to weatherize 1 million homes per year for the next decade.
Provided grants to encourage states and localities to take the first steps in implementing new building codes that prioritize energy efficiency.

Medicaid/Medicare/Social Security
giving $250 economic stimulus check to 55 million Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients in 2009.
Cutting prescription drug costs for Medicare recipients by 50% and began eliminating the plan's gap ("donut hole") in coverage.
Passing as part of H.R.3962 (Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010) a $6.4 billion measure reversing a 21 percent cut in physician payments that would have started a flood of rejections by some doctors of seniors covered by Medicare.
Expanded eligibility for Medicaid to all individuals under age 65 with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level ($14,400 per year for an individual).

Military Veterans and Families
Implemented a strategic plan to increase the hiring of Veterans and Military spouses throughout the Federal civil service.
Provided for the expenses of families of to be at Dover AFB when fallen soldiers arrive.
Passed the Veterans' Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2009 increasing the rates of compensation for veterans with service-connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for the survivors of certain disabled veterans.
Declared the end of the war in Iraqi bringing back nearly 100,000 U.S. troops home to their families.
Donated 250K of Nobel prize money to Fisher House, a group that helps provide housing for families of patients receiving medical care at military and Veterans Affairs medical centers

LBGT
Extended benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees
Signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act
Instructed HHS to require any hospital receiving Medicare or Medicaid funds (virtually all hospitals) to allow LGBT visitation rights.
Banned job discrimination based on gender identity throughout the Federal government (the nation's largest employer)
Signed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act
Extended the Family and Medical Leave Act to cover Gay employees taking unpaid leave to care for their children of same-sex partners
Lifted the HIV Entry Ban.
Implemented HUD Policies that Would Ban Discrimination Based On Gender Identity

Well, there is more but you see we have done a lot. We have the tools to shape the message. We need to move forward together and focus on what we will accomplish forward in the coming years. That is why we have to work hard for the next three weeks to GOTV.

These are my kids at the One Nation March about a week ago. They are fired up as I am. Are you?

Yes indeed, there is more, check out this list:

Accomplishments by the Administration and Congress on LGBT Equality

No one should rest until we have full LGBT equality. But after eight years of Republican disrespect, progress is being made. In its first 20 months, the Obama Administration has...

By Andrew Tobias | Contact

DNC treasurer Andrew Tobias is the author of several books, including The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need and The Best Little Boy in the World.

Reversed an inexcusable US position by signing the UN Declaration on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Extended benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees in 2009 and, further, in 2010

Endorsed the Baldwin-Lieberman bill, The Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2009, to provide FULL partnership benefits to federal employees

Signed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act

Lifted the HIV Entry Ban effective January 2010

Released the first Presidential PRIDE proclamations since 2000

Hosted the first LGBT Pride Month Celebration in White House history

Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Harvey Milk and Billie Jean King, joining past recipients such as Rosa Parks

Appointed the first ever transgender DNC member

Issued diplomatic passports, and provided other benefits, to the partners of same-sex foreign service employees

Committed to ensuring that HUD's core housing programs are open to all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity

Conceived a National Resource Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Elders -- the nation's first ever -- funded by a three-year HHS grant to SAGE

Testified in favor of ENDA, the first time any official of any administration has testified in the Senate on ENDA

Signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which expanded existing United States federal hate crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability -- the first positive federal LGBT legislation in the nation's history

Hired and appointed a record number of qualified LGBT Americans (like these), including more than 20 Senate-confirmed appointments

Sworn in Ambassador David Huebner

Changed the culture of government everywhere from – among others – HUD and HHS to the Export-Import Bank, the State Department, and the Department of Education

Appointed Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, instead of conservatives who would have tilted the Court even further to the right and virtually doomed our rights for a generation. To wit (quoting McCain): "I've said a thousand times on this campaign trail, I've said as often as I can, that I want to find clones of Alito and Roberts. I worked as hard as anybody to get them confirmed. I look you in the eye and tell you I've said a thousand times that I wanted Alito and Roberts. I have told anybody who will listen. I flat-out tell you I will have people as close to Roberts and Alito [as possible]."

Named open transgender appointees (the first President ever to do so)

Banned job discrimination based on gender identity throughout the Federal government (the nation's largest employer)

Emphasized LGBT inclusion in everything from the President's historic NAACP address ("The pain of discrimination is still felt in America. By African American women paid less for doing the same work as colleagues of a different color and a different gender. By Latinos made to feel unwelcome in their own country. By Muslim Americans viewed with suspicion simply because they kneel down to pray to their God. By our gay brothers and sisters, still taunted, still attacked, still denied their rights.") . . . to the first paragraph of his Family Day proclamation ("Whether children are raised by two parents, a single parent, grandparents, a same-sex couple, or a guardian, families encourage us to do our best and enable us to accomplish great things") and his Mothers Day proclamation ("Nurturing families come in many forms, and children may be raised by two parents, a single mother, two mothers, a step-mom, a grandmother, or a guardian. Mother's Day gives us an opportunity to celebrate these extraordinary caretakers") . . . to creating the chance for an adorable 10-year-old at the White House Easter Egg roll to tell ABC World News how cool it is to have two mommies . . . to including the chair of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce along with the Secretary of the Treasury and the President of Goldman Sachs in the small audience for the President's economic address at the New York Stock Exchange . . . to welcoming four gay couples to its first State Dinner

Recommitted, in a televised address, to passing ENDA . . . repealing Don't Ask/Don't Tell . . . repealing the so-called Defense of Marriage Act

Spoken out against discrimination at the National Prayer Breakfast ("We may disagree about gay marriage, but surely we can agree that it is unconscionable to target gays and lesbians for who they are -- whether it's here in the United States or, as Hillary mentioned, more extremely in odious laws that are being proposed most recently in Uganda.")

Dispatched the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to call on the Senate to repeal Don't Ask / Don't Tell, in the meantime dialing back on discharges

Launched a website to gather public comment on first-ever federal LGBT housing discrimination study

Appointed long-time equality champion Chai Feldblum one of the four Commissioners of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Eliminated the discriminatory Census Bureau policy that kept our relationships from being counted, encouraging couples who consider themselves married to file that way, even if their state of residence does not yet permit legal marriage

Produced U.S. Census Bureau PSAs featuring gay, lesbian, and transgender spokespersons.

Instructed HHS to require any hospital receiving Medicare or Medicaid funds (virtually all hospitals) to allow LGBT visitation rights.

Appointed Retired Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer, an early public champion of open service in the military, to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services

Required all grant applicants seeking HUD funding to comply with state and local anti-discrimination laws that protect LGBT individuals.

Adopted transgender recommendations on the issuance of gender-appropriate passports that will ease barriers to safe travel and that will provide government-issued ID that avoids involuntary "outing" in situations requiring ID, like hiring, where a gender-appropriate driver's license or birth certificate is not available

Extended domestic violence protections to LGBT victims

Publicly invited shunned MIssissippi high school prom student to the White House

Extended the Family and Medical Leave Act to cover employees taking unpaid leave to care for the children of same-sex partners

Issued guidance specifically to assist LGBT tenants denied housing on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity

Issued a National HIV/AIDS Strategy praised as "long-overdue" by the Task Force, Lambda and others

Successfully fought for UN accreditation of IGLHRC (the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission) -- against Republican attempts to block it

Convened the first-ever anti-bullying summit to craft a national strategy to reduce bullying in schools.

Awarded $13.3 million to the LA Gay & Lesbian Center to create a model program for LGBTQ youth in the foster care system.

The Administration will continue to make steady progress on our issues whether we help strengthen its hand or not. But the stronger it is, the faster that progress will come.

SF Gay Pride(?) 2010: Is YouTube Transphobic Wittmann51, DLC's Marshal Wittmann?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 01:38:00 +0000

Or, I just got them confused?

Probably not judging by the overwhelmingly militaristic tendencies in his YouTube Channel's Videos, but since I do not know for sure, let's say I got them confused.

I'm more than a bit ticked-off by what transpired on the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade 2010.

This is how it started to raise our hopes that... Finally!!! Transgender Folk's Role in the struggle for equality, was to be recognized, at least in San Francisco where we had the first recorded act of Defiance, IN OUR HISTORY, against the abuse:

Trans People are LEADING the San Francisco Pride Parade
June 14, 2010, For Immediate Release

The Center of Excellence for Transgender Health is proud to announce that trans people will be the Lead Contingent for the 2010 San Francisco Pride Parade on Sunday, June 27th! The lead contingent directly follows the Dykes on Bikes and the official SF Pride float. This historic first is a wonderful opportunity to show that trans people are proud, united, and fierce!

"From the Compton's Cafeteria riot and the Stonewall rebellion through today, transgender people have always been at the forefront of the LGBT movement," said Amy Andre, the Executive Director of San Francisco Pride. In recognizing the many significant contributions of trans community members to the larger LGBT movement, San Francisco Pride honors our trans communities with the invitation to participate as the Lead Contingent for the Parade.

At El / La Para Translatinas, where we are always in action [MAYDAY 2010 (Our 4th year)], [Vagina Monologues in Spanish (San Jose, 2nd time & first in SF 2009] the excitement was so great! I, being the oldest of it's members, was very doubtful that it would really happen, how would be otherwise? With a large segment of the Gay community and parts of the Lesbian Community still exhibiting their historical active and latent Transphobia, why should this time be any different?

I told my younger and beautiful sisters, good luck! As for me, I will not march again in this Gay Parade until the LGBT community is fully inclusive - I was asked: Again? What do you mean? Well, I said, as a matter of fact, this will be the 11th year of my personal boycott of the Gay Pride Parade, which should be renamed, Gay Shame, the last time I was in it, was 1999.

Back to SF Gay Pride Parade 2010.

Albeit I didn't even go to watch it, I was curious if it had really happened and how did it look, I searched for videos and found the ones (3) posted by wittmann51, I viewed the first, which at it's end had the 'River City Gems' Contingent (Sacramento), I thought this was weird, because they were behind the Transgender Contingent, which was not leading the Parade, in fron of them was Cheer Started by a Gay Man and who do great work but, as far as I know, were not scheduled to lead the parade, but they were ahead of the Transgender People.

I don't know and maybe it really doesn't matter if they (Cheer) were thought more important or the Cheer group just cut in front, I'm inclined to think the latter is what happened, why not cut in front? After all, they are just Transgender Folk who will take it from us, least they be labeled 'divisive' or, maybe selfish or, discontent.

So, I started watching wittman51's video one, this is what I saw:

Dykes on Bikes
Mikes on Bikes
Cupcake Cars
SF Official Gay Pride Float was around here, I think.
Cheer San Francisco
Cheer LA
Cheer Sacramento
The Transgender Contingent, which included the River City Gems, marched in this slot, but it was cut out of the video, except for the Gems, which were shown.

See for yourself

This is the part that was cut out or, left out or, not included, whatever! (Aprox. 1:24 min.)

San Francisco Pride Parade 2010 Trans Contingent

I'm trying to figure out why, what was the objection? The many, many ENDA signs carried by my community?
I also ask: Is wittmann51 a Transphobic Gay? I saw the other 2 videos and there appears to be a lot of attention on his part for young, good looking gays.
Or, is he just another Transphobic Hetero Male?

Is he the same Marshall Wittmann of the DLC?

DLC Mooseshit: A Letter to Marshall Wittman - The BEAST: Buffalo's ...
DLC Moose Shit. Matt Taibbi ...Marshall Wittmann, the former legislative director for the Christian Coalition and also a veteran talking head of such

The reason I ask is that if you look at the videos in his YouTube Channel, would fit this guy's militaristic tendencies in them, I have not checked out all of his videos, but at a glance, it is about war plane, tanks, et al.

Whatever the case may be, he cut out the Transgender Contingent in SF Gay Pride(?) 2010 Parade.

As you may know, many of us in the Transgender Community have huge issues at how we are thrown overboard, under a bus or just left behind, the latest and most notorious is passage of an ENDA which also protects Transgender Folk.

Still remains to be seen if HRC and assorted Gays and Lesbians will leave us behind again, or if, for a change, this time they will not accept anything that it is not fully inclusive -- my money is on that is that if a bill which covers sex orientation but not transgender folk is offered and has a chance of passing, it will be another instance of 'we will come back for you transgender sisters and brothers' - don't worry, we will help you.
I hope I'm wrong in spite of decades of exclussion and discrimination Hate 101: Gay and Lesbian Transphobia - Historical, and also looking at the "Traditional Support" by the HRC Why The Transgender Community Hates HRC .

Perhaps I'm being overly sensitive, but since Sunday, I've cooking in my own juices and, by now, I need to get it out.

I also feel that the ENDA Bill will be again stripped of the protection clause/s for Transgender People.

Will the TG Community be thrown under de bus again?

21st Century Apartheid? Tell AZ Governor to Veto Racial Profiling Bill

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 23:49:00 +0000

Please, inform your friends and family about this and ask them if this is ok with them, if this the United States of America they want to be living in.

Is it a CRIME to be Brown in Arizona? - 21st Century Apartheid Racial profiling, SB 1070 will go hand in hand

If you disagree with this way of dealing with a problem, please, speak up!

Thank you,

Aurora

Imagine driving through the neighborhood you grew up in and being pulled over for no apparent reason. Your crime? Being brown in Arizona.

This might seem unimaginable in the 21st-century United States, but the Arizona State Legislature is on the verge of passing a law that would authorize officers to pull over, question, and detain anyone they have a "reasonable suspicion" doesn't have proper documentation. The legislation would essentially legalize racial profiling, creating a police state for immigrants.

The bill will be on the Governor's desk as soon as today.¹ This is a moment for all of us to stand with the people of Arizona against this injustice. Please join us in telling Governor Jan Brewer to do the right thing and veto this bill, and ask your friends and family to do the same:

http://act.presente.org/go/arizona?mid=2057-38634

According to the LA Times, "The bill, known as SB 1070, makes it a misdemeanor to lack proper immigration paperwork in Arizona. It also requires police officers, if they form a 'reasonable suspicion' that someone is an illegal immigrant, to determine the person's immigration status... Immigrant rights groups say it amounts to a police state." ²

If this bill passes, Arizona is declaring itself an apartheid state, where people who "look" undocumented are treated differently than the rest of the population. Leading police chiefs and sheriffs have even come out against the bill, saying that it will cause immigrants to avoid reporting crimes, and divert officers' attention from going after violent offenders.³

The future of Arizona is now in the Governor's hands. Please join us in telling Governor Jan Brewer to veto this bill.

http://act.presente.org/go/arizona?mid=2057-38634

Thank you and ¡Adelante!

Laurie, Favianna, Roberto and the rest of the Presente.org team

References
1. "Backers defend AZ crackdown on illegal immigrants," Associated Press, 4-15-10,
http://bit.ly/a47Yjc
2. "Arizona passes strict illegal immigration act," L.A. Times, 4-13-10
http://bit.ly/b6f9IL
3. "Racial profiling, SB 1070 will go hand in hand," Arizona Daily Star, 4-16-10
http://bit.ly/cnoLiP

"Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets."
-- Napoleon Bonaparte
"What you want in a media system is an ostensible diversity that conceals an actual uniformity."
-- Joseph Goebbels

http://hladc-sf.blogspot.com
http://elrinconcitodeaurora.blogspot.com/

Stuck in the Middle with You: Inventing "Normal" for Sex and Gender

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 09:18:00 +0000

From: Alternet Speakeasy Soapbox

By Anat Shenker-Osorio

April 6, 2010 - 4:15pm

An Amish couple walks into a hospital, only there's no joke here. This could be the hook to a story Dr. Tracy Bekx, a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, told me. Having safely given birth with a midwife on their farm in rural western Wisconsin, the family she was called in to attend found themselves in a thoroughly modern setting -- with an ancient predicament.

Their newborn had a noticeably large clitoris, a tell-tale sign of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) -- the most common of the conditions grouped together under the term intersex or disorders of sexual development (DSD).

Historically, and still today in many places, the solution to these conditions is surgery; this implies, of course, that there is a problem. In fact, the variable terminology named above stems from this very issue -- is intersexuality an identity or a disorder?

Removal of some flesh would make this little girl look the prescribed ways we've determined she should. All her chromosomal, hormonal, physical -- and eventually behavioral -- traits would tell a single story. It's a tale many have been asked to tell, even when they don't believe it.

However, she was being seen in Madison where Dr. Bekx and her colleague Dr. Aaron Carrel help ensure that the tendency is to hold off on surgery unless it's medically necessary. In large part thanks to the activism by and on behalf of people with intersex conditions--many of whom have testified to dissatisfaction with their surgically altered bodies--momentum is gaining toward waiting till the child can express its gender identity. However, Dr. Carrel reports this practice is far from universal; as "the parents sometimes feel great relief that things 'look normal'."

Even when nature doesn't supply it, we're content to invent, reify and enforce a standard.

The Way God Made Them

Gender expression occurs across a spectrum. For all our pink-wearing, doll-loving princesses, we find tree-climbing, car-collecting "tom-boys" -- or kids who shift easily between these as the mood, toys and company inspire them. This range of gender expression is certainly not as wide for boys. However, as more men (and boys) embrace traditionally feminine pursuits, we will see the bandwidth of what's acceptable include more frequencies.

But what about sex? How many sexes are there in humans? Is it quite obvious or subject to interpretation? Perhaps sex, like gender, is simply a man-made convention, upheld more by social norms than biological "fact."

By gender I mean our presentation in the world. The roles we choose, or are required to play; the clothes we wear and the preferences we demonstrate. Gender can be understood as the coupling of two more concrete notions: gender roles and gender identity. For some lucky people, these two are a natural match -- for others the disparity between them causes great difficulty.

Gender roles are perhaps most familiar to us. This is "father knows best" and mother having dinner on the table. It's a set of social conventions that tell women to behave in certain ways and men in others. Gender identity, on the other hand, is what an individual feels compelled to do -- the roles he or she (or none of the above) elects to play in any given interaction.

Gender identity can be fluid. Gender roles shift more like tectonic plates. Drifting imperceptibly over time, these seemingly fixed foundations can then accelerate and collide, shake and demand our attention. The legalization of abortion was just such a quake. It challenged our assumptions about what women "are," how they differ from men, and what they're put on earth to do. Some people are still jolted by the impact of this event and feel the earth is a shaky and unstable place ever since.

Read the full story >>>

Rage on the Right - The Year in Hate and Extremism

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:37:00 +0000

FROM: The Southern Poverty Law Center

Intelligence Report, Spring 2010, Issue Number: 137

The Year in Hate and Extremism

By Mark Potok

The radical right caught fire last year, as broad-based populist anger at political, demographic and economic changes in America ignited an explosion of new extremist groups and activism across the nation.

Hate groups stayed at record levels almost 1,000 despite the total collapse of the second largest neo-Nazi group in America. Furious anti-immigrant vigilante groups soared by nearly 80%, adding some 136 new groups during 2009. And, most remarkably of all, so-called "Patriot" groups militias and other organizations that see the federal government as part of a plot to impose "one-world government" on liberty-loving Americans came roaring back after years out of the limelight.

The anger seething across the American political landscape over racial changes in the population, soaring public debt and the terrible economy, the bailouts of bankers and other elites, and an array of initiatives by the relatively liberal Obama Administration that are seen as "socialist" or even "fascist" goes beyond the radical right. The "tea parties" and similar groups that have sprung up in recent months cannot fairly be considered extremist groups, but they are shot through with rich veins of radical ideas, conspiracy theories and racism.

"We are in the midst of one of the most significant right-wing populist rebellions in United States history," Chip Berlet, a veteran analyst of the American radical right, wrote earlier this year. "We see around us a series of overlapping social and political movements populated by people [who are] angry, resentful, and full of anxiety. They are raging against the machinery of the federal bureaucracy and liberal government programs and policies including health care, reform of immigration and labor laws, abortion, and gay marriage."

Sixty-one percent of Americans believe the country is in decline, according to a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. Just a quarter think the government can be trusted. And the anti-tax tea party movement is viewed in much more positive terms than either the Democratic or Republican parties, the poll found.

The signs of growing radicalization are everywhere. Armed men have come to Obama speeches bearing signs suggesting that the "tree of liberty" needs to be "watered" with "the blood of tyrants." The Conservative Political Action Conference held this February was co-sponsored by groups like the John Birch Society, which believes President Eisenhower was a Communist agent, and Oath Keepers, a Patriot outfit formed last year that suggests, in thinly veiled language, that the government has secret plans to declare martial law and intern patriotic Americans in concentration camps. Politicians pandering to the antigovernment right in 37 states have introduced "Tenth Amendment Resolutions," based on the constitutional provision keeping all powers not explicitly given to the federal government with the states. And, at the "A Well Regulated Militia" website, a recent discussion of how to build "clandestine safe houses" to stay clear of the federal government included a conversation about how mass murderers like Timothy McVeigh and Olympics bomber Eric Rudolph were supposedly betrayed at such houses.

Doing the Numbers
The number of hate groups in America has been going up for years, rising 54% between 2000 and 2008 and driven largely by an angry backlash against non-white immigration and, starting in the last year of that period, the economic meltdown and the climb to power of an African American president.

According to the latest annual count by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), these groups rose again slightly in 2009 from 926 in 2008 to 932 last year despite the demise of a key neo-Nazi group. The American National Socialist Workers Party, which had 35 chapters in 28 states, imploded shortly after the October 2008 arrest of founder Bill White for making threats against his enemies.

At the same time, the number of what the SPLC designates as "nativist extremist" groups organizations that go beyond mere advocacy of restrictive immigration policy to actually confront or harass suspected immigrants jumped from 173 groups in 2008 to 309 last year. Virtually all of these vigilante groups have appeared since the spring of 2005.

But the most dramatic story by far has been with the antigovernment Patriots.

The militias and the larger Patriot movement first came to Americans' attention in the mid-1990s, when they appeared as an angry reaction to what was seen as a tyrannical government bent on crushing all dissent. Sparked most dramatically by the death of 76 Branch Davidians during a 1993 law enforcement siege in Waco, Texas, those who joined the militias also railed against the Democratic Clinton Administration and initiatives like gun control and environmental regulation. Although the Patriot movement included people formerly associated with racially based hate groups, it was above all animated by a view of the federal government as the primary enemy, along with a fondness for antigovernment conspiracy theories. By early this decade, the groups had largely disappeared from public view.

But last year, as noted in the SPLC's August report, "The Second Wave: Return of the Militias," a dramatic resurgence in the Patriot movement and its paramilitary wing, the militias, began. Now, the latest SPLC count finds that an astonishing 363 new Patriot groups appeared in 2009, with the totals going from 149 groups (including 42 militias) to 512 (127 of them militias) a 244% jump.

That is cause for grave concern. Individuals associated with the Patriot movement during its 1990s heyday produced an enormous amount of violence, most dramatically the Oklahoma City bombing that left 168 people dead.

Already there are signs of similar violence emanating from the radical right. Since the installation of Barack Obama, right-wing extremists have murdered six law enforcement officers. Racist skinheads and others have been arrested in alleged plots to assassinate the nation's first black president. One man from Brockton, Mass. who told police he had learned on white supremacist websites that a genocide was under way against whites is charged with murdering two black people and planning to kill as many Jews as possible on the day after Obama's inauguration. Most recently, a rash of individuals with antigovernment, survivalist or racist views have been arrested in a series of bomb cases.

As the movement has exploded, so has the reach of its ideas, aided and abetted by commentators and politicians in the ostensible mainstream. While in the 1990s, the movement got good reviews from a few lawmakers and talk-radio hosts, some of its central ideas today are being plugged by people with far larger audiences like FOX News' Glenn Beck and U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn). Beck, for instance, re-popularized a key Patriot conspiracy theory the charge that FEMA is secretly running concentration camps before finally "debunking" it.

Last year also experienced levels of cross-pollination between different sectors of the radical right not seen in years. Nativist activists increasingly adopted the ideas of the Patriots; racist rants against Obama and others coursed through the Patriot movement; and conspiracy theories involving the government appeared in all kinds of right-wing venues. A good example is the upcoming Second Amendment March in Washington, D.C. The website promoting the march is topped by a picture of a colonial militiaman, and key supporters include Larry Pratt, a long-time militia enthusiast with connections to white supremacists, and Richard Mack, a conspiracy-mongering former sheriff associated with the Patriot group Oath Keepers.

What may be most noteworthy about the march, however, is its date April 19. That is the date of the first shots fired at Lexington in the Revolutionary War. And it is also the anniversary of the fiery end of the government siege in Waco and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

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Will We Once Again Reject the Politics of Hate?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 18:34:00 +0000

From: The Southern Poverty Law Center

By Richard Cohen

03/25/2010

Earlier this month, my colleagues and I at the Southern Poverty Law Center were privileged to stand with U.S. Rep. John Lewis at the Civil Rights Memorial as he led a bipartisan congressional delegation in laying a wreath in honor of those who lost their lives in our country's epic battle for equality.

The ceremony was held on the eve of the 45th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday," that Sunday back in March of 1965 when Lewis and other civil rights advocates were beaten and tear-gassed by baton-wielding state troopers as they crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., on a march in support of voting rights.

The pictures of the bloodied marchers pricked the conscience of the nation. Thousands of people of all races and faiths flocked to Selma and joined Lewis, Dr. King, and the people of the Black Belt of Alabama as they resumed the march for justice. As Dr. King explained, "If the worst in American life lurked in [Selma's] dark street[s], the best of American instincts arose passionately from across the nation to overcome it."

On March 25 45 years ago today the marchers reached the state capitol in Montgomery. Their courage, their example, inspired the introduction and passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, legislation that transformed our nation.

This past Sunday, Lewis was involved in another march. Along with other members of Congress, he walked up to Capitol Hill to cast a vote for health-care reform, another important piece of legislation with the potential to transform our nation.

But once again, Lewis was confronted with the ugly stain of racism. Angry "tea party" protesters shouted racial slurs at him and Rep. Andre Carson of Indiana. Another black congressman, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri, was spit on. Rep. Barney Frank, an openly gay congressman, was the target of anti-gay epithets.

Lewis said that the protesters at the Capitol reminded him of the angry mobs that confronted him during the ugly days of civil rights movement in the 1960s.

The question now is whether America will respond as it did 45 years ago when it saw the pictures of the racism at the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Will people of good faith of all races and faiths stand with Rep. Lewis and reject the politics of hate? Or will the angry mob, fueled by racism and demagoguery, continue to swell?

Will "the best of American instincts," to use Dr. King's words from 45 years ago, once again arise "passionately from across the nation to overcome" the hate and fear that threatens to engulf us?

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Transgender or Transgendered?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 05:11:00 +0000

Posted at the Huffington Post

Joanne Herman

Transgender advocate and author of Transgender Explained For Those Who Are Not

Posted: March 11, 2010 12:57 PM

I've increasingly been seeing and hearing the word "transgendered," and I have cringed every time. What's wrong with the seemingly subtle difference between saying "transgendered" and "transgender?" Actually, a lot.

Readers of my age and older will remember a sad time when this country labeled African-Americans as "colored people." One problem with this label was that it implied something happened to make the person "of color," which denied the person's dignity of being born that way. Today, we are somewhat more enlightened and say "people of color" instead.

Most transgender people I know have felt a gender incongruity for as long as they remember, and evolving science says we were probably born feeling like this. The only thing that changed along the way has been our awareness that there are others like us. We didn't "decide" to be transgender.

If hearing "transgendered people" is a problem for me, you can imagine how I felt when two different non-transgender friends recently told me independently that they knew a "person who had transgendered." These friends were assuming that all transgender people transition from living in one gender to living in another, just as I did. In reality, only part of the transgender population does this.

Other transgender people feel that their gender is part male and part female, or perhaps they feel gender-less. For them, a transition from one gender to another would be pointless.

I have found that whenever "transgendered" is being used, it is usually by a person who is not transgender, or by an organization wanting to be inclusive of transgender people, but not yet having a transgender person involved. I'm guessing one or both were true in the case of the Des Moines Register article that I cited in my prior post "Can One be Transgender and Catholic"?

Note to journalists: In the Associated Press Stylebook, transgender is listed but "transgendered" is not.

I find that the Media Reference Guide of GLAAD, the nonprofit organization that watches over how lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender people (LGBT) are portrayed in the media, says it best.

"The word transgender never needs the extraneous "ed" at the end of the word. In fact, such a construction is grammatically incorrect. Only verbs can be transformed into participles by adding "-ed" to the end of the word, and transgender is an adjective, not a verb."

Another problematic extension of the word occurs when people refer to transgender individuals as "transgenders." Here the Media Guide advises:

"Transgender should be used as an adjective, not as a noun. Do not say, 'Tony is a transgender,' or 'The parade included many transgenders.' Instead say, 'Tony is a transgender person,' or 'The parade included many transgender people.'"

Of course, terminology does evolve in everyday usage, in spite of what any media guide, dictionary, or blogger says. Perhaps "transgendered" and "transgenders" will become accepted usage one day. I hope not.

That said, I wrote this post out of a strongly held belief that people should be able to call themselves whatever they want. So while I think the Media Guide's position reflects the desire of most in the transgender population, if a particular transgender person chooses to refer to themselves as "transgendered," I have to accept that.

Yet if that person is using "transgendered" because of a reluctant belief that they must accept whatever box society wants to put them in, feeling fortunate to have any recognition at all, I have to object. We are humans; we can and should be able to speak for ourselves.

Books & More From Joanne Herman

Barbara Lopez: Homo/Transphobia Hate Speech by Dave Chapelle @ New Parish Oakland

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:30:00 +0000

ACTION ALERT

Aurora Grajeda Thank you Bobi and Mika for standing up for us and speaking up, I also appreciate sharing the story for us.
I'm posting and emailing.

By:Barbara Lopez: Homo/Transphobia Hate Speech by Dave Chapelle @ New Parish Oakland

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=344990397889

Dear Friends,

After what has been a long and stressful couple of weeks, my girlfriend and I were excited to go see the 8pm showing of Dave Chapelle at the New Parrish in Downtown Oakland. Comedy can be empowering and that's always what I thought of Chapelle. I really needed a good laugh.

He began with a story of being in San Francisco and being approached by a "man" with "titty balls" and how weird that was and began to mock a gay male voice. He said he was trying to not look at this "man with titties." He talked about how he was uncomfortable and how he was worried about "US Weekly catching them together." He even said "I thought I was gonna walk away without his gayness offending me." He then talked about how the trans individual asked him out to lunch and he reacted angrily.

People were laughing. The environment was hostile and unsafe.

Mika and I looked at each other uncomfortably. Mika started to tear up. She's been dealing with similar homophobia at her school site. I got pissed. I work in the TL and there are a lot of trans folks who are resilient and are often living in SRO hotels despite their talents and abilities because of transphobia. So...I told him off.

I told him "I came to hear you talk about politics and race and instead what you are saying is fucked up." He told me but you have "real titties." I told him I was a lesbian and was offended. He said "I love lesbians." I was gonna tell him to fuck off more (I was angry by this point) but by then I had security guards around me. My baby and I stated we were leaving.

Outside we engaged the co-owners of the club in a twenty minute discussion. My partner grew up with one of them.

I explained to them that when we people of color make fun of ourselves there is an inherent power dynamic that allows us to reclaim stereotypes. That comedy is about the comedian and their location to the subject. I can make fun of Latins but I have to also be aware of my audience. However If I am not Latin and I deride a group of people, I must understand my location to them. Am I othering them? Am I engaging in hateful speech?

I was bothered when one of the owners said that they support artistic merit and he wouldn't censor artists. "Chapelle is edgy." Well...hate speech is NOT edgy. It is a type of language that breeds violence. He said he had Lesbian family members. I told them I was ready to organize against them and at that point I felt the conversation was not going anywhere productive. In the end we all agreed constructive dialogue at some other point would be good.

Remember what happened to the guy from Seinfeld when he went on an N-word rant? This is so not cool.

I want my $105.00 dollars back. I want some action.

We need to take action:
1) Keep New Parrish accountable by having a group of folks dialogue with them about transphobia and homophobia. They were open to dialogue and as my gf reminds me we must take the opportunity to educate. Can folks be part of a delegation? Also, we need a mediator.
2) BOYCOTT DAVE CHAPELLE. Hate speech is hate speech and his words about trans folks suggested that violence is a permissible response to Queer sexuality. This is not acceptable and he is not welcome back to the bay unless he realizes the hate he breeds.
3) A lot of folks were in the room and people just laughed. I want to know what Weyland from KPFA, Nancy Nadel, and Rebecca Kaplan have to say. They were all in the room as trans folks were demonized, dehumanized, and othered as "weird" and disgusting by Mr. Chapelle.

Suspect in trans murder found guilty in separate case

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 19:16:00 +0000

FROM:

by Seth Hemmelgarn

s.hemmelgarn@ebar.com

The man suspected of murdering a transgender woman in San Francisco more than two years ago has been found guilty of several charges related to the rape of another transgender woman.

The March 2007 murder of Ruby Ordenana is still under investigation, but Donzell Francis, 41, could face 15 years in prison for charges related to the rape of another transgender woman in 2007.

Michael Swart, the assistant district attorney who prosecuted Francis in the recent trial, said the district attorney's office is presently reviewing the Ordenana case. Sergeant Wilfred Williams, a spokesman for the San Francisco Police Department, said the case is still under investigation.

"Now that the jury has convicted the defendant of committing his atrocities against the victim" whose case was the subject of the recent trial, "the DA's office is looking forward to charging the defendant with the serial rapes of several other transgender women in San Francisco, including the rape/murder of one such victim," Brian Buckelew, director of legal affairs and public information for the district attorney's office, wrote in an e-mail to the Bay Area Reporter .

On Wednesday, December 23, a jury found Francis guilty of one count of forcible oral copulation, robbery, assault causing great bodily injury, and false imprisonment.

The jury acquitted Francis of sodomy, two counts of forcible oral copulation, and one count of kidnapping.

The charges against Francis included sodomy by use of force, using a dangerous weapon (a knife), and tying/binding the victim.

DNA that had been recovered in the Ordenana case hadn't been processed until nearly two years later. The evidence was matched with Francis, whom law enforcement officials suspect went on to assault three transgender women after killing Ordenana. Her legal first name was Rudy.

Lena H., the victim whose case was at the heart of last month's jury trial, was one of those women. She survived the attack. Her name is not being released.

Erwin Fredrich, who represented Francis in the trial, did not return a call for comment on the trial.

Aside from the Ordenana murder, the DA's office is also reviewing two other uncharged cases in which Francis is a suspect: the rape of a non-transgender woman in December 2007, and the rape of a transgender woman known as Vanessa V. in February 2008.

Vanessa V. testified in the Lena H. trial, where evidence from her case was also used to show Francis's propensity to commit sexual assaults.

In addition, he was suspected of raping another transgender woman in September 2007. That case had to be dismissed after the alleged victim returned to her home country.

Francis was charged with the 1997 rape of a lesbian. He pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of abduction/procurement by fraudulent inducement for prostitution and received three years probation in 1997, according to the district attorney's office.

DNA evidence has linked Francis to all five of the women, not including the 1997 rape case, according to the DA's office.

Records from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation show Francis has previously served time in prison.

In 2002, he began a five-year sentence for a domestic-violence related offense. He was paroled in July 2006, then returned to prison again in June 2008, records indicate. He was paroled again in April 2009.

He is currently being held in San Francisco county jail. His bail has been revoked.

Francis is expected to be sentenced in the Lena H. case January 25 in San Francisco Superior Court.

IN MEMORIAM: TRANSGENDER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE - NOVEMBER 20

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:59:00 +0000

TRANSGENDER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE November 20

"This day was set aside to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. The event is held in November to honor Rita Hester, whose murder on November 28th, 1998 kicked off the "Remembering Our Dead" web project and a San Francisco candlelight vigil in 1999. Rita Hester’s murder — like most anti-transgender murder cases — has yet to be solved. Although not every person represented during the Day of Remembrance self-identified as transgender — that is, as a transsexual, crossdresser, or otherwise gender-variant — each was a victim of violence based on bias against transgender people. The Transgender Day of Remembrance serves several purposes. It raises public awareness of hate crimes against transgender people, an action that current media doesn’t perform. Day of Remembrance publicly mourns and honors the lives of our brothers and sisters who might otherwise be forgotten. Through the vigil, we express love and respect for our people in the face of national indifference and hatred. Day of Remembrance reminds non-transgender people that we are their sons, daughters, parents, friends and lovers. Day of Remembrance gives our allies a chance to step forward with us and stand in vigil, memorializing those of us who’ve died by anti-transgender violence." Note: The original post can be found at http://www.rememberingourdead.org/day/what.html The Remembering our Dead Web Project and The Transgender Day of Remembrance are owned by Gwendolyn Ann Smith, All Rights Reserved

TRANSFOBIA EN LA MARCHA CONMEMORATIVA DEL 2 DE OCTUBRE

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 04:45:00 +0000

• Granaderos del Distrito Federal incitan al odio contra activistas transgéneros en la marcha del Distrito Federal.

Agencia de Noticias Independiente Noti-Calle: Jaime Montejo, México D.F., a viernes 2 de octubre de 2009.- Aproximadamente 50 granaderos de la Secretaría de Seguridad Pública del Distrito Federal, cortaron el paso del contingente de la Otra Campaña convocada por el EZLN, a la altura de Madero y Eje Central Lázaro Cárdenas, en un intento por cercar e inmovilizar a dicho contingente.

La activista detenida es la compañera transgénero “Nayelly”, integrante del Colectivo de la Otra Cultura del Distrito Federal, detenida por defender su derecho a la libre expresión y a la manifestación pacífica.

La detención de “Nayelly”, activista trans de la Otra Campaña, fue un acto de transfobia, ya que los granaderos se abalanzaron sobre ella, la apalearon y privaron de su libertad, incitando al odio contra las personas de orientación sexual diferente a la heterosexual; por el sólo hecho de portar ropa femenina y no ser una mujer biológica.

La actuación del cuerpo de granaderos del Distrito Federal, dista mucho de las declaraciones oficiales del Gobierno del Distrito Federal en torno al respeto y a la promoción de políticas públicas no discriminatorias hacia el sector lésbico, gay, bisexual, transexual, transgénero e intersexual de la Ciudad de México.

Please sign on to our new anti hate speech campaign.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 02:22:00 +0000

www.StopDomesticTerror.com
A VelvetRevolution.us Campaign

Stop Domestic Terror

Recently, there has been an explosion in threats and acts of domestic terrorism. The majority of these can be traced to groups and individuals who do not accept the results of our recent election or the laws enacted or proposed by those who have been elected. They seek to undermine the democratic process through threats, intimidation, and even outright murder. They can't accept the legitimacy of the President, or a woman's legal right to make choices about her own medical care, or an immigrant's right to be treated humanely under the law, so they carry out acts that are antithetical to American democracy, American values, and both civil and human rights.

The fringe elements that makes up those who commit these acts of terror, are frequently exploited by a continuous wave of rightwing media advocating violence, either directly or indirectly, by commentators amplifying the talking points of extremist religious leaders and extremist political leaders. The fringe is incited on our public airwaves, and urged to take matters into their own hands, with the underlying belief that the Bible and/or U.S. Constitution justify using "whatever means" are necessary to oppose what they believe to be immoral laws.

We are taking a stand against this dangerous trend towards the incitement of lawlessness and violence. We strongly believe in the First Amendment right of free expression and discourse, even when that expression is abhorrent or not in line with our own beliefs. However, the First Amendment does not protect debate where one side includes the threat or act of violence.

We have written a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder outlining our concerns and requesting that he act quickly to address this wave of domestic terrorism. A copy of the letter is here with the exhibits A-F here:

Exhibit A-Pet for Inquiry (FCC Letter)
Exhibit B-Letter to NTIA (NTIA Letter)
Exhibit C-Armed Revolution (Armed Revolution Website)
Exhibit D-Tiller Report (Op Rescue Tiller Baby Killer)
Exhibit E-talk radio(Structural Imbalance of Talk Radio)
Exhibit F-Frank Schaeffer letter (Schaeffer Letter to Holder)

Specifically, we are taking the following steps to address this dangerous trend toward extremism.

Urge the Department of Justice to:
- study this trend toward the encouragement of violent lawlessness and initiate action to counter it,
- investigate and prosecute those who are committing and inciting others to commit acts of violence,
- review whether any media groups are violating antitrust laws by monopolizing media or media markets, or failing in their obligation to meet the "public interest" of their FCC broadcast licenses.
- support an update and study by the FCC and NTIA of the 1993 report, "The Role of Telecommunications in Hate Crimes."
- Conduct an investigation into the rise of extremism and violence and the role of the media in this phenomenon
Urge Congress to hold hearings on the responsibility of the licensed broadcast media to conduct itself in the public interest
Support legislation to require diversity in media ownership, encourage broader minority ownership of FCC licensed media outlets, and that otherwise reverses the dangerous trend of media monopolies allowed following the passage of Bill Clinton's Telecommunications Act of 1996.
We are calling on the CEOs and Boards of media organizations to denounce and remove hosts, commentators and others who use the media to incite violence and spread lies that lead others to violence.
We are calling on advertisers to cancel all ads on any media that uses the airwaves to spread a message of hate, intolerance, racism, lies and violence.
We are calling on religious leaders to denounce all forms of intimidation and violence, and to cooperate with the Department of Justice by reporting information about those who intend to commit violence.
We are working with leaders in the religious community who have taken a stand against violence, such as Frank Schaeffer, who was one of the architects of the Religious Right. Mr. Schaeffer, who will be promoting this campaign, has written a letter to Eric Holder offering his cooperation and insight into this trend toward violence and offering suggestions on how to address it.
We are supporting the efforts of other organizations that are addressing various aspects of this campaign, such as www.colorofchange.org, www.mediamatters.org, www.shockjock.org, www.rightwingwatch.org, www.splcenter.org, www.nhmc.org., suewilsonreports.com, www.alternet.org, www.freepress.net, www.thinkprogress.org, www.americanprogress.org, www.latinosagansthatespeech.org, www.adl.org, hladc-sf.blogspot.com.

We ask other organizations to sign on to this campaign by sending an email to StopDomesticTerror@velvetrevolution.us. Individuals can sign on using the form below. This campaign will include a broad public relations push so we urge everyone to spread the word and for the press to contact us for comment and interviews.

You can make targeted donations to this campaign at with an earmark comment in the box at http://www.velvetrevolution.us/donate.php.

Sign On Form

Please add your name and email address to sign on to this campaign

PROGRESSIVES ON THE MOVE: NATIONWIDE MARCHES FOR PUBLIC OPTION ON SEPT. 13

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 23:21:00 +0000

Please, let us not take it upon ourselves to choose for others whether or not to take individual action in their best interests as shareholders of this commonwealth; hence, let's give others the opportunity to choose for themselves to mobilize and take action, or not, on this vital issue to ourselves, to our families, to our fellow citizens and to the Economic Health of this Republic as a whole.

PLEASE DISTRIBUTE THE INFORMATION BELOW IN WHATEVER FORM BEST ADJUSTS TO YOUR TIME AND CAPABILITIES.

(Suggestions are: to post pertinent info on Blogs, listservs, Facebook Walls and Groups, Tweeter and any and all info-sharing networks and services, in addition to emailing our family, friends and any and all individuals in our circles and that we interact with)

For those of us who may even hate or, strongly dislike or, disapprove of what is being sold and passes as Capitalism today, feel that in order to lower down costs of Health Coverage, a robust public option is imprescindible.

We need competition in the Health Insurance Providers Market Place, hence, the need for a Public Option in the Health Care Reform Bill, and

Whereas, it is the Responsibility of elected Representatives to be Responsive to the Needs of their Constituents and do what the Majority charges them to enact on their behalf, and

Whereas, it is the duty of the Citizens to be engaged in what it is supposed to be a De-Facto Participatory Democracy, to, under no uncertain terms, let their respective Representatives in both Houses of Congress and to The President of the United States of America, know the terms and conditions of the Legislation that this majority mandates for their Representatives to Enact and it's Demands of these same Elected Representatives

Therefore, it is imperative that each of us, let our Representatives know our wishes in the loudest and widest possibly form

Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital, quality for those who seek to change a world which yields most painfully to change. (Robert F. Kennedy)

DEMAND A PUBLIC OPTION NOW!

"No Public Option, No Vote" - 66 members so far

1) CALL or WRITE PRESIDENT OBAMA! Phone: 202-456-1111 email: president@whitehouse.gov

I'T HAS BEEN ADVISED BY THE STRATEGISTS, INCLUDING JANE HAMSHER, THAT ALTHOUGH CALLING THE WHITE HOUSE FEELS GOOD, IT'S MUCH MORE IMPORTANT TO FOCUS ON CALLS AND EMAILS TO CONGRESSPEOPLE. SO PLEASE, PLEASE MAKE YOUR PRIORITY THE LONG LIST OF CONGRESSPEOPLE WHO MUST HOLD THE LINE FOR THE PUBLIC OPTION.

2) CALL or WRITE YOUR SENATORS! The Phone numbers and emails can be found here: Senate, General Information

3) CALL OR WRITE YOUR REPRESENTATIVE: The contact information is here: House, Write your Representative

DNC Main Phone Number: 202-863-8000

To contact the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, click here.
To contact the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, click here.

MARCH FOR HEALTHCARE

March For Healthcare NationWide Marches on September 13 at 12:00 - List of cities where marches are already comfirmed.

We will be marching on September 13th @ 12:00 PM in every city across the country for affordable healthcare. We demand a public option. Let the president and congress know that we will not accept a watered down bill. Click on events to see locations that are confirmed for the march. We will need help to organize all of these rallies. Please fill out your information in the contact us section if you can help.

Please join our group on facebook at March For Healthcare

Read the March for Healthcare blog

An Activist's Complete Guide to Health Care Reform

It's time to let that voice be heard. Now is time for the crowds, the independents, the young, new voters to show up by the thousands and show up for what you want; what you believe in. (Gerald Britt)

FACEBOOK GROUPS CALLING FOR REAL HEALTH CARE REFORM / PUBLIC OPTION

There are many Facebook groups and fan pages demanding the public option that are rapidly attracting members. If we can get everyone who belongs to all of these groups to join all of the others, it will exponentially multiply the effect and send a strong message as to what the American people really want from health care reform.

March for Healthcare - 1227 members so far

The purpose of this group is to organize a march on September 13th across the USA. Congress is wavering on the public option and we must demand one if we expect healthcare costs to go down. Every city in the country needs you to come out on that day and March For Healthcare. I am just one person who is fed up with the system. If there are a million of you out there like me then we can make our voices heard. Let's March!!!

A Public Option for HealthCare - 9315 fans so far

We are "Fans" of a public option for health care. We are tired of delays, we are tired of ridiculous scare tactics, and we are tired of excuses. America needs a public option for health care -- and it's time for Americans to stand up and demand it.

1,000,000 Americans for a Public Health Care Option - 4769 members so far

This is a place to show support for an American Public Healthcare option and share stories about issues and solutions to the current nightmare we call healthcare. Discussion is encourage but distractors will be blocked from the group.

Healthcare-NOW! - 3244 members so far

Healthcare-NOW! is an education and advocacy organization that addresses the health insurance crisis in the U.S by advocating for the passage of national, single-payer healthcare legislation. Right now, the National Health Insurance Act (HR 676) is the only legislation that will create a national, single-payer healthcare system.
We see healthcare as a human right, not a privilege tied to the ability to pay.
HR 676, United States National Health Insurance Act, was introduced by Representative John Conyers (MI-14) and has 91 congressional co-sponsors--more than any other current healthcare legislation in Congress. For more information on HR 676 (it's not very long or difficult to understand), go to http://www.healthcare-now.org/hr-676/.
Healthcare-NOW! has more than 400 committed activists all over the country. Let us know if you'd like to get involved by visiting http://www.Healthcare-Now.org.

Dear President Obama: Keep The Public Option! - 429 members so far

President Obama and his aides have indicated that in order to reach a compromise, he may drop a government option from the health care reform. Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says it's "not the essential element". Kent Conrad, a senator in the Finance Committee, calls it "a wasted effort". We need to let them know that this compromise will be unacceptable. Obama should not waver on something he at one time claimed to have strongly believed in, just because he has some loud vocal opposition! The public option is necessary, and dropping it from this bill is not only a disservice to the American people, it is a slap in the face of every single person who voted for or supported him!

I support the Public Option - 1415 members so far
Do you support a public option component as part of Healthcare Reform?
Let Congress and President Obama hear your voice!
Shout louder than the opposition. There's strength in numbers.
Yes We Can Pass A Healthcare Bill That Includes A Public Option

Demand a Public Health Care Option TODAY! - 297 members so far

I am creating this group because I am sickened by the way the right wing and the health care corporations have hijacked the Health Care debate.
Let the DEMOCRATS know we are holding them accountable to providing a public option.
Please take ten minutes out of your day to write or call the White House, your Senators, and your Represantative DEMANDING a public health care option in this year's Health Care Deform.

You can't do healthcare reform without a public option - 680 members so far

Meaningful healthcare reform is on the ropes! And it's partially our fault. The insurance industry and their supporters are organizing effectively, sending huge numbers of letters and emails to Congress, and sending people to town hall meetings to stifle other voices.
The result? Our elected officials are running for cover on the public option.
Polls show that we are still in the majority on public option, but as the old saying goes "the squeaky wheel gets the grease." Right now our opponents are squeakier. We can't let them defeat meaningful healthcare reform simply by being louder.
We can still win a public option, but it will take serious work on our part. Will you renew your commitment to this effort by taking action right now?
Progress Now Colorado

Contact Info
Email: mailto:keystoneprogress.org
Website: Keystone Progress
Location: 641 R Penn Ave.
West Reading, PA

Sign the petition for a public option in the healthcare plan - 669 members so far

This group is intended simply to spread news of a petition to be signed. If you agree with it, please sign the petition, and invite all your friends to join this group.
In his speech on June 3, President Obama reaffirmed his support for the "public option" of the healthcare plan. That's the crucial ingredient of the plan. The petition at
http://pol.moveon.org/popetition/
urges legislators to include that option in the legislation.

t's Time to March for Health Care - 59 members so far

We think that the only acceptable result of the health care debate is a public option or a single payer system - and we would be willing to take to the streets to peacefully demonstrate this belief.

email: jmass@comporium.net

"The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis"

"Los lugares más obscuros en el Infierno están reservados para aquellos que mantienen su neutralidad en tiempos de crisis moral"
-- Dante Alighieri

Rob and Arnie: Tell me what you presume the most about yourself...

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 00:47:00 +0000

and I will tell you of what you lack the most.

In addition, tell me what you fear the most, it tells what's on your heart.

Dawn, you gave me joy when I heard you talk about Transgender, I also like that you think 'the world is beautiful' and that 'life can be wonderful', the latter is true until morons take it upon themselves to make it difficult for others, I can't tell if it is good or bad that you don't have to look far to find them, you work with two prime examples.

Embed code:

Links to the recordings (Open in new Window)

I heard what they said on May 28 about transgender and I heard how they try to weasel out hiding behind Free Speech, I agree that it is a right they have, that they use that right to air their insecurities and low self-esteem by making fun of others or themselves, it is their choice, to which they have a right to do as well.

But your rights stop when mine start, so, all we needed was for our parents tell us we are not girls and to take us to do 'boy things', you are so sure about this, absolutely sure, yeah, right - you are so wrong and I might add, dense - transgender who get support from their parents, friends, society, are the exception, not the rule.

We were told all that you suggest as 'cure', many of us were verbally abused, beaten, kicked out of our homes, it doesn't work.

You are making more difficult a difficult situation, for what?

There is so much more that I could say, specially about Ron, but I won't waste my time by going into what Ron is, he called me a freak, a weirdo, it is pure projection and for his sake I hope he knows it too, he is a sick little puppy.

Anyway, I got recordings of the original broadcast and of the subsequent broadcasts of segments they did on the subject, this post is to make them available to whomever wants to hear them, a little bit about how this is not the first time they show how warped their minds are and an update on how some of their sponsors are reacting.

KRXQ Sacramento Radio Hosts Have History of Obscenity Involving Children: FCC Report

In the wake of the media and Internet firestorm which followed a call to action by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and coverage in The Huffington Post, which broke this story well before most major media outlets, several national advertisers have pulled their accounts from Rob, Arnie & Dawn in the Morning on KRXQ 98.55 in Sacramento.

For its part, the station has taken the broadcast down off the station's public website and removed its list of advertisers and sponsors.

During the May 28th broadcast, two of the show's three hosts, Rob Williams and Arnie States, spent approximately thirty minutes of the segment berating transgender children as "idiots," "freaks," and "freaks of nature," who were "just out for attention." They compared the children to "fat bastard kids on Maury" who just needed to be put in their places with verbal abuse and even physical punishment if necessary. States said that if he had a male child who put on a pair of high heels, he would discipline him by striking the little boy with his own shoe.

For more updates on this issue, GLAAD is staying on top of it.

Pam at Pam's House Blend has been blogging about it too.

A LIST OF EMAIL CONTACTS FOR KRXQs ADVERTISERS:

CARLS"S JR. (CKE RESTAURANTS):
pr@ckr.com Press Room

HOME DEPOT
public_relations@homedepot.com

TOBACCO REPUBLIC:
trcigar@aol.com

ALBERTSON"S:
Alicia Rockwell
arockwell@savemart.com

FLEX YOUR POWER
enewswire@fypower.org Editor
info@fypower.org

NISSAN:
Darryl Harrison - Media
Darryll.harrison@nissan-usa.com

BANK OF AMERICA:
joseph.l.goode@bankofamerica.com

AT&T
John Britton
john.britton@att.com

VERIZON:
Debra Lewis
908-559-7512
Debra.Lewis@VerizonWireless.com

McDONALDS:
Walt Riker
Vice President, Corporate Media Relations
walt.riker@us.mcd.com
Heidi Barker
Sr. Director, Corporate Media Relations
heidi.barker@us.mcd.com

WELLS FARGO:
Media Relations: corpcsf@wellsfargo.com

GRIFFIN & REED EYECARE:
info@LASIKworld.com

PRO CITY MORTGAGE:
procity@procitymortgage.com

TAKE ACTION: Demand that KRXQ Radio Hosts Rob Williams and Arnie States Apologize for Encouraging Violence Against Transgender Children

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 22:01:00 +0000

Cross Posted at Hispanic / Latino Anti-Defamation Coalition SF

TAKE ACTION: Demand that KRXQ Radio Hosts Rob Williams and Arnie States Apologize for Encouraging Violence Against
Transgender Children

Contact:
Cindi Creager
Director of National News
(646) 871-8019
creager@glaad.org

Richard Ferraro
Director of Public Relations
(646) 871-8011
ferraro@glaad.org

June 2, 2009— In a lengthy May 28 tirade on the Rob, Arnie & Dawn in the Morning radio show heard in Sacramento, California on KRXQ 98.5 FM and Reno, Nevada on KDOT 104.5 FM, hosts Rob Williams and Arnie States verbally attacked transgender children. While discussing a recent story about a transgender child in Omaha, Nebraska and her parents’ decision to support her transition, the two hosts spent more than 30 minutes explicitly promoting child abuse of and making cruel, dehumanizing and defamatory comments toward transgender children.

You can listen to the entire segment beginning at 4:48 by
clicking this link "Transgender Children In America" or, if you want to listen only to the segment where Rob viciously attacks Transgender folk,
you can do so here =>

KRXQ Radio Hosts Rob Williams and Arnie States

Embed code:

Among the comments made by the hosts:

ROB WILLIAMS [11:12]: This is a weird person who is demanding attention. And when it’s a child, all it takes is a hug, maybe some tough love or anything in between. When your little boy said, ‘Mommy, I want to walk around in a dress.’ You tell them no cause that’s not what boys do. But that’s not what we’re doing in this culture.

ARNIE STATES [13:27]: If my son, God forbid, if my son put on a pair of high heels, I would probably hit him with one of my shoes. I would throw a shoe at him. Because you know what? Boys don’t wear high heels. And in my house, they definitely don’t wear high heels.

ROB WILLIAMS [17:45]: Dawn, they are freaks. They are abnormal. Not because they’re girls trapped in boys bodies but because they have a mental disorder that needs to be somehow gotten out of them. That’s where therapy could help them.

ROB WILLIAMS [18:15]: Or because they were molested. You know a lot of times these transgenders were molested. And you need to work with them on that. The point is you don’t allow the behavior. You cure the cause!

ARNIE STATES [21:30]: You got a boy saying, ‘I wanna wear dresses.’ I’m going to look at him and go, ‘You know what? You’re a little idiot! You little dumbass! Look, you are a boy! Boys don’t wear dresses.’

ARNIE STATES [29:22]: You know, my favorite part about hearing these stories about the kids in high school, who the entire high school caters around, lets the boy wear the dress. I look forward to when they go out into society and society beats them down. And they end up in therapy.

To her credit, co-host Dawn Rossi stood up to Williams and States during the segment.

Despite her apparent lack of familiarity with transgender issues, Rossi repeatedly defended transgender people and made an on-air apology for her colleagues’ defamatory remarks.

TAKE ACTION NOW!
Please contact KRXQ management in Sacramento, California, where the show is produced and demand that radio show hosts Rob Williams and Arnie States publicly apologize. Call on KRXQ to hold Williams and States accountable for their remarks and establish clear standards to ensure their media platform will not be used to condone or promote violence against any parts of the communities they serve.

John Geary
Vice President & General Manager
KRXQ-FM
(916) 339-4209
jgeary@entercom.com

Arnie States
On Air Personality
KRXQ-FM
(916) 334-7777
rad@robarnieanddawn.com

Rob Williams
On Air Personality
KRXQ-FM
(916) 334-7777
rwilliams@entercom.com

Please forward this link to any of your friends and others who may also wish to take action. When contacting KRXQ, please ensure that your emails and phone calls are civil and respectful and do not engage in the kind of name-calling or abusive behavior.

For the latest news and updates on GLAAD's work, signup at www.glaad.org.

About GLAAD
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. For more information, please visit www.glaad.org.

Buenas noticias transexuales Cuba, Ministerio Salud autoriza cirugías CRS, anuncia Mariela

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 29 May 2009 16:28:00 +0000

SUSCRIBIRME A NOTICIAS DIARIO DIGITAL

(Diario Digital Transexual; en La Red desde el año 2.000)

Hombres y mujeres que no estén conformes con su cuerpo ya pueden realizarse operaciones de reasignacion de sexo en Cuba, gracias a una resolución del Ministerio de Salud Pública que las autoriza.

BBC-. Así lo confirmó este martes la directora del Centro Nacional de Educación Sexual (CENESEX), Mariela Castro, a través de la televisión cubana.

"Hemos sido autorizados a aplicar el tratamiento completo", dijo quien es también hija del presidente Raúl Castro y agregó que eso incluye "la cirugía feminizante y masculinizante" , algo que estuvo prohibido por dos décadas, hasta el año 2008.

En 1988 se realizó la primera de estas operaciones, apoyada por Vilma Espín, la presidenta de la Federación de Mujeres Cubanas y madre de Mariela Castro. Sin embargo, sin que mediase explicación alguna, se prohibieron nuevas intervenciones quirúrgicas.

Desde que en 2008 se anunció que se reiniciaban las operaciones de cambio de sexo, empezaron a producirse reacciones dispares en la sociedad, desde el silencio incómodo de líderes políticos hasta la total oposición de la Iglesia Católica.

Primera y única

En 1988 se realizó la primera cirugía feminizante, que fue todo un éxito. En los años 90 BBC Mundo conversó con la persona operada, pero la entrevista no fue publicada entonces porque nos pidió que no reveláramos su nombre ni su dirección ni su centro de trabajo.

Los psicólogos le aconsejaron que se cambiara de barrio para iniciar su nueva vida y se le entregó un apartamento en la otra punta de la ciudad. Sin embargo, pocos meses después la nueva fémina regresaba a su antiguo lugar de residencia.

Cuando conversó con BBC Mundo estaba casada, pero afrontaba algunos problemas psicológicos por el acoso de los hombres que conocían su condición y por la frustración de no poder tener hijos a pesar de ser, aparentemente, una mujer normal.

El primer y único transexual cubano operado recordó, en nuestra conversación, que lo primero que recibió fue un ramo de flores y el carnet de la Federación de Mujeres Cubanas con su nuevo nombre y firmado por Vilma Espín, la esposa de Raúl Castro.

La larga espera

En este momento hay una treintena de transexuales esperando para hacerse una cirugía de cambio de sexo. Si bien es gratuita, lleva años de estudios y tratamiento previo del paciente, tanto en el aspecto físico como en el psicológico.

Llevan décadas esperando que la sociedad los reconozca como transexuales. El avance ha sido lento: aún hoy afrontan problemas para el cambio de nombre y para vestirse de mujer, aunque el "paraguas" de CENESEX les sirve de gran protección.

Recientemente realizaron la primera marcha por las calles de La Habana, celebrando el día contra la homofobia. Todos los entrevistados reconocieron que se ha avanzado pero recalcaron que a veces de forma muy lenta y algunos se cansan de la espera.

"Para mí no hay nada más importante en mi vida", nos había confesado Daniela, una transexual del CENESEX que se quedó en Canadá hace 3 años. "Lo siento, pero no puedo seguir esperando a ver si algún día autorizan las operaciones" , le dijo en ese entonces a BBC Mundo.

Contradicciones

Las reacciones en la sociedad con el tema de la homosexualidad son complejas y contradictorias. Dentro del gobierno existen grandes diferencias, la Iglesia Católica condena las propuestas del CENESEX y la población también está dividida.

Cuando se anunció el pasado año la propuesta de ley que reconoce las uniones de los gay, el presidente del Parlamento, Ricardo Alarcón, se mostró bastante reacio, mientras que el ministro de Cultura, Abel Prieto, expresó su total apoyo.

La Iglesia Católica lanzó durísimas críticas; el propio cardenal Jaime Ortega afirmó que los fieles se sienten "sorprendidos y disgustados" por estas medidas que califica de "ideología liberal del vale todo" que, según él, promueve la homosexualidad.

En la calle hay de todo, pero la sociedad parece cada vez más comprensiva con el tema, las actividades educativas del CENESEX y del Centro de Información del SIDA han sido claves en la aceptación de esta minoría marginada durante años.

Letter from GLAAD President on California Supreme Court Decision

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 26 May 2009 20:25:00 +0000

Above:
GLAAD Media-Trained Couple Ángeles Domínguez &
Yamileth Escobar

See their story from
People en Español (PDF)

Dear Friends,

Today’s decision by the California Supreme Court is a painful but temporary setback. We know in time we will achieve full marriage equality in California and across the country, but that doesn’t make today’s news hurt any less.

GLAAD knows that strong and effective media advocacy – elevating our voices and stories and those of our allies, friends and families -- is what will continue to change the hearts and minds of the Americans we must reach.

Today’s setback provides us with the need and the opportunity – as an organization, as a movement, and as a community – to renew our dedication to this important work and to our pursuit of full equality.

In the past several months, Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, and Vermont have shown that our culture and our nation are moving toward equality. At the same time, anti-gay activists are trying harder than ever to deny our families the security and legal protections they need. If we do not amplify our voices, we will not achieve the real and lasting change we seek.

The visibility our movement has achieved has changed hearts and minds, but today’s decision shows we need to work even harder to raise our voices and our visibility in the media. As our community continues to pursue fair and equal treatment under the law, GLAAD needs your support to ensure that media share even more stories of loving, committed same-sex couples in California and across the country.

We are sharing the stories of couples like Ángeles Domínguez & Yamileth Escobar, who received media training from GLAAD after marrying in June. GLAAD worked with People en Español to place the story of how Ángeles’ family embraced and accepted her marriage, ensuring that the magazine’s coverage was fair and accurate for its millions of readers. Through our media trainings and advocacy, millions nationwide are experiencing the stories of same-sex couples and the common ground we share.

Because when people get to know loving, committed couples like Ángeles & Yamileth, understanding and support can lead to real and lasting change.

It is worth noting that the California Supreme Court has ruled that the marriages of same-sex couples who married before Nov. 5, 2008 “remain valid in all respects.” Media now have a unique opportunity to turn a spotlight on these more than 18,000 couples, and GLAAD needs your support to help elevate and share their stories – as well as the stories of the countless same-sex couples who are unfairly denied that same most basic right.

Please consider a gift of $20, $40, or as much as you can give to help GLAAD’s media advocacy and anti-defamation work, to raise our visibility and continue these vital conversations that change hearts and minds.

Only with your support, visibility and involvement, will we achieve the cultural change that leads to full equality.

In Service,

Neil Giuliano

Micahel Savage calls transgendered trolley driver "sick degenerate," "insane,"

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 15 May 2009 08:14:00 +0000

SOURCE: A Truly Elegant Mess
And Video From: Media Matters for America

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

MSM, Why Do You Wish Me Pain?

Posted by Dori at 08:28

Okay, so there was this trolley crash in Boston, about 50 people were injured. I only noticed it because the stated reason for the crash was that the trolley operator was texting his girlfriend while driving. Your standard tale of human stupidity in a Western, industrialized nation, yes? Certainly sounds like it to me.

Then I checked my Google Alerts.

Savage calls transgendered trolley driver "sick degenerate," "insane," says docs performing sex reassignment surgery "should be arrested" May 13, 2009 1:04 pm ET
From: Media Matters for America

Apparently, the driver in question identifies himself as transgendered, and this is somehow considered relevant news. In an article that is almost completely about the accident, that talks extensively about the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's policies and actions regarding their employees behavior, it is somehow relevant to title the article: "Texting Trolley Driver Is Transgendered Male" and make frequent references to Mr. Quinn being hired because of his minority status.

Okay, this has gone from a story about how sad our culture is with being so interconnected that someone can't be away from their toys long enough to not crash a trolley, to something that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I would give ABC News credit for proper pronouns and gendering (with the exception of including Mr. Quinn's birth name which is fucking skeezy) if this entire article didn't have that subtext of "See what happens when we hire those minorities? Affirmative action is bad, mm'kay?" and if that subtext wasn't so goddamn subtle. Its the kind of thing that someone who is not the most progressive, or who doesn't think to look for things like this, will see, will skim over and will assimilate without even realizing it.

If someone gets a job they are not qualified for because whoever hired them was afraid of being "offensive" then blame the person who hired them, but this subtle "See what happens when we try to level the playing field? See? White, het, cis doods really are just better at everything!" shit is disgusting.

Note to media: Someone's gender identity, no matter how open with it they are, is COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY IRRELEVANT to whether they are going to do stupid shit and there is no reason to bring it up except to put this person and vicariously the community they are part of, on display for those who have access to privileges that people like Mr. Quinn are denied.

More plainly, y'all are being privileges assholes. Fucking stop it.

TUYA:

Vaya con Dios dear SF Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi. Dear Ross...

NHMC mourns the passing of an icon, Lupe Ontiveros, Award-winning actress and trailblazer

RE Mikarimi case: What I request of my SF Supervisor David Campos

BREAKING ALERT: Family Court lifts restrictions on Ross & Eliana Mirkarimi

PRESENTING: "THE PROGRESSIVE GRASSROOTS' COMMUNITY STIMULUS ACT"

PROGRESSIVE GRASSROOTS AGENDA

A SIMPLE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY WHICH ALSO CREATES JOBS

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION / OVERVIEW

Los Monólogs de La Vagina Regresa a San Francisco

Respectfully, Mr. President: Thank You! -- ("Obama has not done anything?") CHECK THIS OUT!!!

Obama Will Triumph -- So Will America by Frank Schaeffer

Accomplishments by the Administration and Congress on LGBT Equality

No one should rest until we have full LGBT equality. But after eight years of Republican disrespect, progress is being made. In its first 20 months, the Obama Administration has...

SF Gay Pride(?) 2010: Is YouTube Transphobic Wittmann51, DLC's Marshal Wittmann?

21st Century Apartheid? Tell AZ Governor to Veto Racial Profiling Bill

Stuck in the Middle with You: Inventing "Normal" for Sex and Gender

Rage on the Right - The Year in Hate and Extremism

Who We Are

What We Do

Get Informed

Get Involved

Will We Once Again Reject the Politics of Hate?

Intelligence Report

Teaching Tolerance

Civil Rights Memorial

Take Action

Transgender or Transgendered?

Joanne Herman

Barbara Lopez: Homo/Transphobia Hate Speech by Dave Chapelle @ New Parish Oakland

Aurora Grajeda Thank you Bobi and Mika for standing up for us and speaking up, I also appreciate sharing the story for us.I'm posting and emailing.

By:Barbara Lopez: Homo/Transphobia Hate Speech by Dave Chapelle @ New Parish Oakland

Suspect in trans murder found guilty in separate case

by Seth Hemmelgarn

IN MEMORIAM: TRANSGENDER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE - NOVEMBER 20

TRANSFOBIA EN LA MARCHA CONMEMORATIVA DEL 2 DE OCTUBRE

Please sign on to our new anti hate speech campaign.

PROGRESSIVES ON THE MOVE: NATIONWIDE MARCHES FOR PUBLIC OPTION ON SEPT. 13

Rob and Arnie: Tell me what you presume the most about yourself...

TAKE ACTION: Demand that KRXQ Radio Hosts Rob Williams and Arnie States Apologize for Encouraging Violence Against Transgender Children

Buenas noticias transexuales Cuba, Ministerio Salud autoriza cirugías CRS, anuncia Mariela

Letter from GLAAD President on California Supreme Court Decision

Micahel Savage calls transgendered trolley driver "sick degenerate," "insane,"

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

MSM, Why Do You Wish Me Pain?

Aurora Grajeda Thank you Bobi and Mika for standing up for us and speaking up, I also appreciate sharing the story for us.
I'm posting and emailing.