feh...

Credit:  cygnismedia.com

Just when you thought things were OK... they're not... If you've been expecting new and exciting blogs, fear not.  I will be getting a new computer tomorrow.  'Til then, I'll put new material in until the old machine croaks.  Bye!

Duke Sex Change Surgery: How Many Universities Cover Sexual Reassignment? - http://www.isciencetimes.com/

*more here*

Sure, we believe in freedom... as long as you're a robot...

credit: www.blogspot.com

As I've gone along, I've considered the idea of "freedom" to a larger and more expansive extent.  Whether we are considering freedom to an extent which is wealthier or poorer, there is one axiomatic, indelible fact:  when you consider yourself different, sooner or later, you WILL be blamed, hated, ridiculed or misunderstood.  And if you live in one of the freer states now, wait'll you get sent down to Alabama, Arizona, Texas, or (god forbid) Mississippi. 

Moscow, Russia

Credit:  www.blogspot.com

Hello!

At last, the computer's working!  Here's what's happening... Moscow, Moscow City, Russia...   Costa Mesa, California... Madison, Wisconsin... Stony Brook, New York... San Diego,
California...  Harrisburg, Pennsylvania... The Dalles, Oregon... West Hartford, Connecticut... Kingston, Saint Andrew, Jamaica... Seattle, Washington... Segovia, Castilla y Leon, Spain... Launceston,
Tasmania... Orangeburg, South Carolina... Orlando, Florida... Holland, Michigan... Los Angeles, California... Poplar Grove, Illinois... Norman, Oklahoma... Mountain View, California...Poznan,
Wielkopolskie, Poland... Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast... Auckland, New Zealand... Perth, Western Australia, Australia... Berlin, Germany...Miami Beach, Florida... Akron, Ohio... Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania... Eaton, Ohio... Fort Lee, New Jersey... Bekasi, Jawa Barat, Poland...  Endicott, New York... Dammam, Ash Sharqiyah, Saudi Arabia... Beaumont, Texas... Sunnyvale, California... Odense, Denmark...  

www.redcross.org

www.doctorswithoutborders.org 

Philadelphia City Council Passes Landmark LGBT Equality Bill - Eric Cameron - http://www.hrc.org/

*more here*

Unitarian Church to host transgender film, discussion May 4 - http://www.westport-news.com/

*more here*

Chile Transgender Man Becomes Nation's First To Give Birth: Report - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

*more here

Idaho Revises Requirements for Gender Markers on Driver's Licenses - Sunnvie Brydum - http://www.advocate.com/

*more here*

Transgender People Unite! Day of Empowerment and the Fight in Royal Oak - Crystal A. Proxmire -http://www.pridesource.com/

*more here*

Transgender teen wants to be Pa. prom king - http://www.bellinghamherald.com/

*more here*

Persistance!

As you may know, a minority of sleazebags succeeded in defeating the Senate's gun bill.  For those who support it, it's easy to become depressed.  I urge you to stay the course.  To those who voted against the bill, let them know that their days are definitely numbered.  To those who supported the bill, let them know that this is not a time to be faint of heart.  It is time to fight, and ultimately to win.

To paraphrase Winston Churchill, never, never, never, ever surrender.  We lose too many innocent lives DAILY to gunfire.  Please, please, don't give up!

poetry #1

Entries such as these have been rare for me since my stroke.  Last week, I picked up a volume entitled "Modern American Poetry". I've really dug the poems, but most especially those of Lyn Hejinian, whose stream-of-consciousness poetics struck a chord for me.  No, not every one will like this.  If stream-of-consciousness really suit your style,well, seek another poet.  But if you like Lyn, I hope you'll like this too.  Enjoy! (PS - feel free to lend your thoughts in the "comments" section.)

(#1)
The soil did not stand; it blew away.  Last night I turned, nuzzled your roughening cheek.  The things I knew, I do not know.  It is time.  I insert the token into the T.  Let the game be Monopoly.  The music is played upon a viola. There is no sound.  The woman from Spain swung her maracas about. Stubby fields bind but do not break.  He cast aside the thronE.  A poem writ large and confusing.  His pubic hair rests between my fingers, gently.  We are comfortable, lying near the dune.  The Appalachian mountains are high, forbidding.  We are alone.  The feet of the tiny dogs go clickclackclickclackclickclack.  My pocketbook was laying about.  A silver earring came off, laying next to me.  How many miles is it to Traherne?  My knees ache and scar from your mounting of me.  The sparrow's wings are so lovely.  Sorry, sir, your money has no value here.  Swords drawn, we fought the wild fauna.  The bartender gave a cup to the tired man.  The name others gave me is not the name I gave to myself.  The trees, the knotty ones, are set to be cut down.  We rub each other, gasping.  My head arches back, digging into the old Indian blanket.  A ghost comes near to me, smiling.  We peer far ahead, seeing a tiny empty church.  The rain starts as mist, ends as torrential downpour.  His arms touch my shoulderblades.  It is love.  Or not.  Either way, I am sated, sated.

*ezs*

you are sleepy... VERY sleepy...

The bad news is that my computer is on the fritz.  The good news is that I probably get it back very soon, possibly today.  I'll keep you up to date tomorrow.

The other regards my second favorite city, Boston.  It's been a very rough patch of days.  But I KNOW you'll make it through!

BOSTON, YOU'RE MY HOME!

Duke to offer health insurance coverage for transgender students - Matt Comer - http://goqnotes.com/

*more here*

Movie time!

About 15 years ago there was a Belgian movie entitled Ma Vie en Rose (My Life in Pink).  (Outstanding movie, by the way; catch it if you can)  There was one scene in particular in which Ludovic, a transgender girl takes a boy into a bathroom to prove to him that she's really a girl.  What really did a double take was the fact that the  bathroom was just that - a bathroom, not a boys room or a girls room. Separate bathrooms were just a silly nuisance and an exorbitant expense.  (Funny how Tea Partiers will slash and burn on one front, but insist on separate bathrooms - maybe if we squat over a trench...)

Against Me! Singer Laura Jane Grace Talks About Her First Year as a Woman - RJ CUBARRUBIA -http://www.rollingstone.com/

*more here*

'Batgirl' #19 Features First Openly Transgender Character In Mainstream Superhero Comics - Matt D. Wilson - http://www.comicsalliance.com/

*more here*

national day of silence coming up - april 19

Calif. Tax Bill Seeks to Punish Scouts for Gay Ban - LISA LEFF - http://abcnews.go.com/

*more here*

Suspension of Mitrione is positive step for UFC in ugly situation - Jeff Wagenheim - http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/

*more here*

Hello!

First day of April!  Here's what's happening... Williamsburg, Virginia... San Diego, California... London, England, UK... Saitama, Japan...  Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio... Hialeah, Florida... Morgan Hill, California... Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England, UK... Manchester Township, New

Jersey... Libertyville, Illinois... Mountain View, California... Mumbai, Maharashtra, India... Larne, Northern Ireland, UK... Dennison, Minnesota

Army assistant Amanda Simpson, nation’s 1st transgender presidential appointee, quietly fights for equality in the halls of the Pentagon - David Taffet - http://www.dallasvoice.com/

*more here*

ezs note:  If you're feeling depressed due to a lack of a job, read this.  You can do it!!!

Transgender Spring student wins bid to wear dress to prom - Jennifer Radcliffe - http://www.chron.com/

*more here*

Kayla Moore: Death Of Schizophrenic Transgender Woman In Berkeley Police Custody Draws Activists' Ire - Aaron Sankin - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

*more here*

New recommendations for addressing the epidemic of HIV/AIDS among Transgender communities - http://www.outinjersey.net/

*more here*

Transgender man refused divorce due to same-sex marriage ban - http://www.guardian.co.uk/

*more here*

Transgender Women 49 Times More Likely To Have HIV, Study Says - Meredith Bennett-Smith - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

*more here*

49 TIMES. THAT'S 49 TIMES.

If you have delayed getting tested for HIV, the time for being tested is NOW!!!!!  Please, I beg of you.  

Campaigns to get Richard Littlejohn sacked by Daily Mail signed by 240,000 - William Turvill - http://www.pressgazette.co.uk

*more here*

April Fool's!

Credit: wikimedia.org

To my Jewish friends, Happy Passover!

Credit: oyvey.co.il

To my Christian friends, Happy Easter!

Credit: freakingnews.com

Wyoming, Michigan

Credit:  staticflickr.com

Hello!

Finally, the computer works!  Here's what's happening... Wyoming, Michigan... Esslingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany... Tacoma, Washington... West Hartford, Connecticut... Mountain View,
\California... Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland... Athens, Attiki, Greece... Piscataway, New Jersey... Poughkeepsie, New York... Winchester, Massachusetts... Zenica, Federation of Bosnia and
Herzegovina... Burlington, Ontario, Canada... Le Chesnay, Ile-de-France, France... London, England, UK... Stony Brook, New York... Moscow, Moscow City, Russia... Alabaster, Alabama... Hyderabad,
Andhra Pradesh, India... Novato, California... Grand Forks, North Dakota... Brno, Jihomoravsky Kraj, Czech Republic... Carroll, Iowa... Wixom, Michigan... Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan,
Malaysia... Concord, North Carolina... Deerfield, New Hampshire... Waukee, Iowa... Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan... San Diego, California... Goose Creek, South Carolina... Pune, Maharashtra,
India... Bayside, New York... 's-hertogenbosch, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands... League City, Texas... Towson, Maryland... Florence, Toscana, Italy... Pacific Grove, California... Denver, Colorado...

www.redcross.org

www.doctorswithoutborders.org

Now's the time!!!

I remember the two cases very well.

In the first one, Gore vs. Bush, the nation was deeply divided. Two attorneys, David Boies and Theodore Olson, went into battle with swords drawn.  In the end, George W. Bush won.

Thirteen years later, another case, United States of America vs. Windsor, was about to be waged.  Once more, the attorneys waged battle.  After it was over, the attorneys came out to speak.

But this was different - very different. David Boies and Theodore Olson were on the same side.

First it was the last two presidents and vice presidents.  Then the two attorneys who were against each other so often, yet they come together for this seminal case.

Let your representatives know the tide - finally - is turning.  Let them know that you believe that marriage is equal, whether same sex or opposite sex.

You can do this!

Piscataway, New Jersey - Frank Pallone Jr. (D) - NJ6
Austin, Texas - Lamar Smith (R) - TX21

Conservative group calls Iowa workshop 'evil propaganda' - Mike Wiser - http://muscatinejournal.com

*more here*

ezs note: Uh huh.  We've been caught, all right.  These children will learn the 'virtues' of spanking, homophobia, and bullying.  You know,   good things like that.

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) - Request for Proposals Protecting Transgender Persons From Violence and Combating Impunity - http://www.state.gov

*more here*

Bindya Rani files nomination papers for PS-115 - http://pakobserver.net

*more here*

DC Comics' 'Batwoman' author J. H. Williams III talks transgender representation - J. SKYLER ROBINSON - http://www.examiner.com

*more here*

Activists urge labor unions to support trans health - http://www.washingtonblade.com

*more here*

Repression, homophobia and transgender policies in Iran - MARIA KARI - http://rabble.ca

*more here*

Transgender Teacher Kills Self After Being Bullied By Newspaper - Judy Molland - http://www.care2.com

*more here*

ezs note:  This hits close to home, though the ocean separates us. No one deserves what Lucy Meadows got in Richard Littlejohn's vituperative attack.  Please, if you find yourself depressed or suicidal, seek counseling immediately!  I promise things will get better.

As far as Mr. Littlejohn goes, yes, he should be fired.  Then shipped to an Antarctic island. 

Irish state refuses to issue new birth certificates to transgender people - PATRICK COUNIHAN - http://www.irishcentral.com

*more here*

THANKS TO JOHN DUNCAN - NINA USHERWOOD - http://www.canada.com

*more here*

Justices Hear Landmark Case on Allowing Gay Marriage - ADAM LIPTAK - http://www.nytimes.com

*more here*

Arizona Transgender Bathroom Bill: Let Us Pee Without Showing ID - Julie Strupp - http://www.policymic.com

*more here*

Hulk Hogan Would Fight Transgender MMA Fighter - http://www.wrestlingnewssource.com

*more here*

Maharashtra’s ‘progressive’ policy for transgenders seeks ‘preventive measures’ - AMRUTA BYATNAL - http://www.thehindu.com

*more here*

GLAAD adds transgender equality to its mission - Meredith Clark - http://tv.msnbc.com

*more here*

Upminster, Havering, England

Credit:  www.flickr.com