Emily's virtual rocket

08 June 2018

Botswana - Group challenges criminalisation of same-sex relationships in Botswana

Press
news24

Gaborone, Botswana

Credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/CBD_towers%2C_Gaborone_2.jpg

please press: www.news24.com

civil rights - Civil rights 'under assault' at Justice Department, DOJ 'exile' says

Julie Moreau
NBC News

Credit: https://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Untitled-23.jpg

please press: www.nbcnews.com

Wyoming - Fight LGBTQ discrimination everywhere we find it

Kerry Drake
WyoFile

Lander, Wyoming

Credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Lander%2C_WY.jpg

please press: www.wyofile.com

lead story - A judge has struck down Iowa's Medicaid ban on transgender transition-related care. Here's why.

Courtney Crowder
Des Moines Register

Des Moines, Iowa

Credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2f/Civic_Center_of_Greater_Des_Moines.jpg

please press: www.desmoinesregister.com

07 June 2018

The National Popular Vote

Credit: https://i2.wp.com/www.projectvote.org/wp-content/uploads/ElectoralCollegeUnfair.png

ezs note: Recently, I picked up one of the cards Andy Fleischmann distributes to the part of the town he represents. Normally, I find that these are a waste of time - but not this time. He passed a compact for a National Popular Vote (HB 5421 in Connecticut) What this means, essentially, is that Connecticut - and all the other states that agree to the compact - is they will pledge to vote for the popular vote nationwide, thereby eliminating this asinine Electoral College. I am happy to report that the State Senate passed it, and it was signed by Gov. Dannel Malloy. If your state hasn't signed this good bill yet, call your State Representative and State Senator to urge a YES vote for the National Popular Vote compact. Thanks.

Donald Trump - Voters really, really want a check on Trump. This new poll confirms it.

Greg Sargent
The Washington Post

the big blue wave?

Credit: https://www.sporcolobbista.it/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/tsunami-facts-1.jpg

please press: www.washingtonpost.com

Hungary - Hungary greenlights first-time features through Incubator Program (exclusive)

Geoffrey MacNab
ScreenDaily

King Saint Stephen (975-1038)

Credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Istvan-ChroniconPictum.jpg

please press: www.screendaily.com

civil rights - Civil rights rally for transgender community June 23 in SF

David L. Shaw
Finger Lakes Times

Keuka Lake

Credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Bluffpoint.jpg

please press: www.fltimes.com

Vermont - Green Mountain State again leads way on LGBTQ rights

David Jordan
OutSmart

Vermont State House

Credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Vermont_State_House_Montpelier_VT_2014_10_18_09.JPG

please press: www.outsmartmagazine.com

lead story - Pure Romance CEO, gay rights leader unveil study that shows transgender teens in peril

Sharon Coolidge
Cincinnati.com

Glacier au dessus de Saas-Fee

Credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Glacier_au_dessus_de_Saas-Fee.jpg

please press: www.cincinnati.com

06 June 2018

Donald Trump - Exclusive: Trump invokes War of 1812 in testy call with Trudeau over tariffs

Jim Acosta, Paula Martin
CNN

Credit: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXxZZCOf9zc4gnqcPTn8WlXXDB4BmuHo3blJqhBRju9LO0_itz3svr57ofFY5ueeEEvkVw9gFJi5fR3Ue2weLeCNpmI-zutlHbm-EV0xXPknSe6fUIPLsQ4XO_F_lf1UHeCtA_S8qoabQ/s1600/trump+crazy.jpg

please press: www.cnn.com

Romania - LGBT rights, marriage definition, ‘defending justice’: Three rallies in Bucharest this Saturday

Press
Romania Insider

Bucharest, Romania

Credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Lacul_Vacaresti_-_Delta_Vacaresti_-_Vara.jpg

please press: www.romania-insider.com

civil rights - Courts Take Expansive View in Transgender Rights Cases

Mark Walsh
Education Week

Credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/HistoricMNsupreme.JPG

please press: www.edweek.org

Massachusetts - Slim Majority Of Mass. Voters Want To Keep Transgender Public Accommodations Law

Yasmin Amer
WBUR

old sketch of Provincetown, MA

Credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/North-eastern_view_of_Provincetown%2C_Mass_%28NYPL_b13512827-420860%29.jpg

please press: www.wbur.org

ezs note: Massachusetts voters: Remember, you don't have to plan something gargantuan to make a real difference. Go to town/city hall meetings. Go to a pancake breakfast. If you a person of faith, go to meetings at your church, synagogue, or mosque. You get the picture. And you don't have to wear a badge the size of a paper plate. Just strike up a casual conversation.

Oh, by the way, register and VOTE. This makes a REAL difference.

lead story - By Any Other Name

Colleen Flaherty
Inside Higher Education

Vibia Sabina (ca. 136 CE)

Credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/Vibia_Sabina_%28Villa_Adriana%29_01.jpg

please press: www.insidehighered.com

05 June 2018

Donald Trump - DeVos: Trump school safety panel won’t look at guns

Michael Stratford
Politico

Betsy DeVos

Credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Betsy_DeVos_official_portrait.jpg

please press: www.politico.com

Netherlands - Dutch court rules third gender should be recognised

Staff
Independent

Credit: https://wikitravel.org/upload/shared//c/c8/Netherlands-regions-new.png

civil rights - Despite Recent Gavin Grimm Court Ruling, Trump Administration Unlikely to Change Course on Transgender Rights...

Mark Keierleber
T74

Gavin Grimm

Credit: http://images.tritondigitalcms.com/6616/sites/184/2018/05/15173921/gavin.png

please press: www.the74million.org

Wyoming - Jackson Town Council moves forward with non-discrimination ordinance

Meg Daly
Planet Jackson Hole

Jackson, WY (colloquially Jackson Hole)

Credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Jackson_from_snowking.jpg

please press: planetjh.com

lead story - Ind. Teacher Challenges District Transgender Name Policy

Press
NBC News

scene in Brownsburg, IN

Credit: http://brownsburg-photos.funcityfinder.com/files/2011/04/The-Cabana-Room-outside-seating-in-downtown-Brownsburg-Indiana.jpg

please press: www.nbcchicago.com

This is the end... (of Manafort?)

Robert Mueller
US District Court of Washington DC

Credit:https://i.gifer.com/2qq.gif

ezs note: You can read the document here.

PS - Although the individuals are unnamed, they can be found here:

Although the indictment documents did not name the leaders, the former Prime Minister of Italy Romano Prodi stated in an interview on Saturday that he and former Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer were the leaders mentioned.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/former-european-leaders-manafort-hapsburg-group-2018-2?r=UK&IR=T

04 June 2018

Donald Trump - Mueller has waited long enough. It’s subpoena time.

Ruth Marcus
The Washington Post

Credit: http://brucebrammallfinancial.com.au/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Time-for-Action.jpg

please press: www.washingtonpost.com

Japan - Social security for transgender people expands; obstacles remain in old age

Press
Japan Today

Japan, Takezaki Suenaga, 1293 CE

Credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/M%C5%8Dko_Sh%C5%ABrai_Ekotoba_2.jpg

please press: japantoday.com

civil rights - Mineola marchers press fight for transgender rights, laws

Christine Chung
Newsday

dirigible landing in Mineola, NY

Credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/R34.jpg

please press: www.newsday.com

New York - How one Democrat stopped New York from passing transgender job protections

Alex Bollinger
LGBTQ Nation

Simcha Felder

Credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Simcha_Felder.jpg

please press: www.lgbtqnation.com

ezs note: I don't know if you are too late, but if not, please challenge Mr. Felder. If you are too late, run as an independent. Hell, you may not win (maybe!) but at least you'll get a real Republican rather than a fake, backstabbing 'Democrat'. (a DINO if there ever was one)

lead story - Six People Told Us Their Favorite Things About Being Transgender

Anna Goldfarb
Vice

Credit: http://mandmglobal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Vice.jpg

please press: www.vice.com

VIDEO - Michael Isikoff and David Corn - "Russian Roulette"

Credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_xhLuGkYpg

03 June 2018

Donald Trump - President Trump Thinks He Is a King

Harry Litman
The New York Times

Credit: https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/finalfantasy/images/9/9d/DNC_Donald_Kefka_Trump.png/revision/latest?cb=20160331222950

please press: www.nytimes.com

Canada - Bisexual Canadians more likely to experience violence: Statistics Canada report

Beth Macdonell
CTV

Credit: https://gatenbylaw.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Stop-violence.jpeg

please press: winnipeg.ctvnews.ca

civil rights - 'This is a civil rights issue'

Michael Romain
OakPark.com

Credit: http://www.birminghamtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/gayciv.jpg

please press: www.birminghamtimes.com

Minnesota - Human Rights Campaign Endorses Dan Feehan for Congress

Ianthe Metzger
HRC

Dan Feehan and family

Credit: https://danfeehan.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Feehan-Family-Portraits-0079.jpg

please press: www.hrc.org

lead story - FX’s ‘Pose’ puts transgender and gay actors front and center — and all Utahns can relate

Scott D. Pierce
The Salt Lake Tribune \

Credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ae/Pose.png

please press: www.sltrib.com

02 June 2018

Donald Trump - The Equal Rights Amendment Was Just Ratified by Illinois. What Does That Mean?

Matthew Haag
The New York Times

Illinois State Capitol

Credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Illinois_State_Capitol_pano.jpg

please press: www.nytimes.com

ezs note: Whoa... this could be interesting. After reading The New York Times article, it still remains murky whether it will pass or not. On the off chance that it would, Virginia seems most likely to pass it. Virginia, please call your state senator and your House of Delegates member and ask them to vote YES on the Equal Rights Amendment. If nothing else, it'll put your thumb into Herr Trump's eye.

Russia - Russian football hooligans threaten to stab gay and transgender England fans at the World Cup

Khaleda Rahman
Daily Mail

Oh, yeah. Russia's so civil. Yeah...

Credit: https://latuffcartoons.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/russia-in-syria.gif

please press: www.dailymail.co.uk

civil rights - Virginia school district vows to fight on despite losing transgender bathroom ruling

Casey Quinlan
ThinkProgress

Or the Board of Education. Take your pick.

Credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Syracuse_1855_state-idiot.jpg

please press: thinkprogress.org

Alaska - Alaskan recognized by NPR for 'Tiny Desk Contest' submission

Jack Carney
KTUU

Credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG4cN-nvVjQ#action=share

please press: www.ktuu.com

lead story - Crowdfunding platform suspends campaign to distribute 'deceitful' school resources on transgender young people

Yas Necati
Independent

London, UK

Credit: https://educaspain.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/londres.jpg

please press: www.independent.co.uk

VIDEO - How Democracies Die - Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt

Credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v4NTtS2f5k

01 June 2018

Zanesville, Ohio

estimated transgender population: 148*
(rounded up)

Credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Muskingum_County_Courthouse_Zanesville_OH.jpg

ezs note: Well, do you like bridges? In particular, old bridges? Zanesville, Ohio has the only Y-bridge extant from its original building at the confluence of the Licking and Muskingum rivers. Come on... it's worth at least a crossing!

*Credit: http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/How-Many-Adults-Identify-as-Transgender-in-the-United-States.pdf