Category: politics & causes

politics, both trans & otherwise

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Fair Wisconsin Endorsements: Vote Today, WI!

Here’s Fair Wisconsin’s list of endorsements in tomorrow’s election. I am so pleased to see both my friends Sarah Garb and Teege Metille.

Wisconsin Supreme Court: Ed Fallone

Dane County Circuit Court Judge, Branch 16: Rhonda Lanford

Dane County Executive: Joe Parisi

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge, Branch 45: Janet Protasiewicz

Appleton Common Council
District 1: Teege Mettille
District 3: Curt Konetzke
District 5: Sarah Garb
District 13: Kyle Lobner

Appleton Area School District, Board of Directors: Jim Bowman and Elizabeth Panzer (at-large)

Beloit City Council: Mark Spreitzer (at-large)
Dane County Board of Supervisors, District 1 Special Election: Mary Kolar
Eau Claire City Council: Michael Turner (at-large)
Fitchburg Mayor: Shawn Pfaff
Fitchburg Common Council
District 4, Seat 7: Steve Arnold
Fond du Lac City Council: Dan Manning (at-large)
Janesville City Council: Sam Liebert (at-large)
La Crosse City Council
District 2: Dempsey Miller
District 3: Ryan Cornett

Madison Common Council
District 1: Lisa Subeck
District 2: Bryan Post and Ledell Zellers (dual endorsement)
District 3: Lauren Cnare
District 4: Mike Verveer
District 5: Shiva Bidar-Sielaff
District 6: Scott Thornton
District 7: Steve King
District 8: Scott Resnick
District 11: Chris Schmidt
District 12: Larry Palm
District 13: Sue Ellingson
District 14: John Strasser
District 15: David Ahrens and Hawk Sullivan (dual endorsement)
District 17: Joe Clausius
District 18: Anita Weier
District 19: Mark Clear
District 20: Matt Phair

Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education
Seat 3: Dean Loumos
Seat 4: James Howard
Seat 5: Sarah Manski, TJ Mertz, and Ananda Mirilli (all endorsed)

Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, District 2 Special Election: Khalif Rainey and Ravae Sinclair (dual endorsement)

Milwaukee Public Schools, Board of School Directors
District 6: Tatiana Joseph
District 7: Claire Zautke

Oregon School Board: Rae Vogeler (at-large)

Sun Prairie City Council
District 2: Andrea Gage
District 4: Dave Carlson and Trish Schaefer (dual endorsement)

Waunakee School Board: David Boetcher (at-large)

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Local Elections: Sarah Garb

My friend Sarah Gab is running for City Council here in Appleton, and she’s amazing – a new cool voice for the city, a lawyer, a mom, a Wisconsin native. Since most of you reading can’t vote for her – although I’m sure you would if you could – she could use some donations to keep her campaign afloat, as she’s up against an umpteen-year incumbent.

If you’re out of town and want to make a donation, you can donate to me via PayPal as she’s only accepting checks at this time.

Really: we need another council member here who’s looking to the future & not the past. Really, really, really.

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Go Canada!

Canada has just passed a bill that would protect transgender people nationally. The Prime Minister voted against it, and it still has to make it through the Senate, but still: impressive.

I’m adding a bit sent in by a reader about how the Canadian system works, and some info on what’s actually going on up there in terms of this specific bill. Interesting stuff.

 

Continue reading “Go Canada!”

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Kate Bornstein Needs You

Kate Bornstein is fighting cancer. Help her kick its ass by donating something to help her pay her bills and for her treatment.

I can say for one thing: I don’t know that I’d be around without her. Please let’s keep her alive. She blew the roof off this trans thing for so many of us; she continues to do amazing work year in and year out, and her heart is about as big as they come. I know that every time I see her, or talk with her, I have a renewed sense of my own dedication to this movement.

So give until it hurts. Masochist that she is, she’ll love that.

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6 Year Old Transgender Menace?

I love this graphic. Love it. (For those of you who don’t know, Transexual Menace is/was one of the first direct action trans rights groups, & it was formed in response to the transphobic screed written by Janice Raymond called The Transsexual Empire. Moving on…)

www.facebook.com/TransRights

As I like to point out in my workshops, I am firmly convinced that we have a national, if not international, obsession with penises. OR, some people are just walking around with penis on the brain all the time.

(& You know, not in the good way.)

If you haven’t heard the story, TLDEF has filed a complaint on behalf of a six year old whose parents and teachers and fellow students recognize as female. She’s been using the girls’ bathroom for a long while, and first told her parents she was female at about 18 months old. But for some reason, she was recently banned from using the girls’ bathroom and told to use the boys’ bathroom.

Which is, yes, ridiculous. So let’s all get over this problem with genitals, can we? Genitals do not determine gender. Rinse and Repeat.

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Howard University Files Amicus Brief on Behalf of Same Sex Marriage

Wow, this is cool news. Howard University’s Law School has filed an amicus brief in support of same sex marriage. (An amicus brief is filed by an amicus curiae, or “someone who is not a party to a case who offers information that bears on the case but that has not been solicited by any of the parties to assist a court. . . a way to introduce concerns ensuring that the possibly broad legal effects of a court decision will not depend solely on the parties directly involved in the case.)

from the Summary of Argument:
Today, public debate over interracial unions ha sgenerally died since this Court’s Loving v. Virginia decision in 1967 such that we are now long past the time when anyone would seriously claim that race-based marriage equality threatens the moral fabric of our civilization, is contrary to nature, or is harmful to children. Yet these arguments, however discredited, have not disappeared altogether.Instead, they have been recycled to oppose same-sex marriage.

This brief demonstrates that there is nothing new about the arguments marshaled to oppose same-sex marriage; the very same arguments – eventually categorically rejected in Loving v.Virginia — were assembled in opposition to interracial marriage. As a society, we have rightfully come to embrace full human dignity for interracial couples and individuals. We should do no less for same-sex couples.

To which I can only reply: YES. This is especially cool, coming as it does, from an historically black university.

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Victory Fund Endorses Mel Wymore

Well isn’t this cool? The Victory Fund just endorsed Mel Wymore, a trans candidate running for NYC City Council on the Upper West Side.

(god love the Upper West Side, ha. My favorite story about it is when George Bush Jr. was touring the devastation of 9/11, and he and Giuliani were sharing a ride up Riverside Drive, and Giuliani turned to Bush while waving his hand at the numerous beautiful apartment buildings up there and said, “No one up here voted for you.” For those not from NYC – it’s where a lot of Columbia and CCNY professors live, along with many other overeducated liberals. It’s the kind of place you can get into a conversation about Pynchon while buying bagels and three other people in line join in just to clarify some obscure point about Lot 49.)

Anyway: cool a man who happens to be trans is running, and cool that Victory Fund endorsed him.

If you can donate – or vote for him – please do.

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Vote Today, Wisconsin

Here are Fair Wisconsin’s Endorsements for tomorrow’s vote:

Wisconsin Supreme Court: Ed Fallone

Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, District 2 Special Election: Khalif Rainey and Ravae Sinclair (dual endorsement)

Milwaukee Public Schools, Board of School Directors
District 6: Tatiana Joseph

Madison Common Council
District 2: Bryan Post and Ledell Zellers (dual endorsement)
District 13: Sue Ellingson
District 15: David Ahrens and Hawk Sullivan (dual endorsement)

Madison Metropolitan School District Board of Education
Seat 5: Sarah Manski, TJ Mertz, and Ananda Mirilli (all endorsed)

& Here’s information on your polling place.