Category: politics & causes

politics, both trans & otherwise

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Lying Ryan

Abagond does the short and sweet summation on Ryan.

Upworthy gets you the facts on Ryan’s policies and women and choice. (In other words, don’t believe all of what he said during the debate. He is distinctly against reproductive technologies and a woman’s right to choose.)

HRC’s got his anti-LGBT track record: voted against ending DADT, is against marriage equality, voted against hate crimes enhancements twice, and voted to keep same sex couples from adopting in Wisconsin.

Still, he’s a really good liar. And he does have, in my opinion, a way of selling a kind of heartfelt earnestness that really pisses me off.

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Swing State

So there are endless political ads on the TV machine, BUT there’s also a lot of cool people speaking in Wisconsin these days too, & this Friday, in fact, Michelle Obama will be speaking at Lawrence.

Let’s just say we’re really really really excited.

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What Got Eugene Debs Arrested

Actor Mark Ruffalo delivers the speech that sent presidential candidate Eugene Debs to jail for 10 years. He knew they’d arrest him if he gave it, and he gave it anyway. It was 1918. Two years later he would run for president again, but that last time, from jail. He got nearly a million votes, too. He was a Socialist.

He’s one of my heroes. This C-SPAN bit is good, but I prefer books, anyway, and liked Salvatore’s biographySalvatore’s biography, although his own writings are great, too. And, um, might be useful for those who keep using “socialist” to describe Obama’s presidency.

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Wendy Carlos at the DNC?

A reader sent this along:

Didn’t Wendy Carlos (Switched on Bach, The Well Tempered Synthesizer, A Clockwork Orange, etc.) sing / preform the National Anthem at a DNC? I think it was one of the Jimmy Carter Conventions which would be 1980 or 84. There was a bit of an uproar since the Convention Program listed . . . her former first name . . . but out came Wendy.

Can anyone confirm this?

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Trans Delegates at the LGBT Caucus

This is too cool. Historically cool.

That said, one of my readers has pointed out that a trans person served as a delegate as early as 1968. After that, not until 2002 (as far as I know). And now: 14.

And one delegate is from Wisconsin, even.

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President Obama’s Accomplishments for Transgender Americans

President Obama’s Accomplishments for Transgender Americans is a new document (pdf) that you can download to print or send to your friends & family.

In honor of these accomplishments & to celebrate President Obama’s speech tonight, do consider donating to his campaign.

President Obama has taken unprecedented steps to expand rights, benefits, and resources for transgender people. From jobs and health care to veterans’ benefits and safer working, learning and traveling environments, the well-being of transgender Americans has been a priority of this Administration.

PRESIDENT OBAMA TOOK PIVOTAL STEPS TO ENSURE THAT TRANSGENDER AMERICANS HAVE STRONGER PROTECTIONS AGAINST HATE CRIMES AND DISCRIMINATION

  • On October 28, 2009, President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law, making it a federal crime to assault another individual because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity. This is the first time gender identity has been protected by federal law.
  • Obama Administration Officials have collaborated with transgender advocates to discuss strategies to prevent bullying and end gender-based violence.
  • The State Department now includes an evaluation of the state of LGBT citizens in its annual country reports, in order to better identify abuses, state-sanctioned homophobia and transphobia overseas.

PRESIDENT OBAMA TOOK STEPS TO HELP MAKE SURE THAT PROFESSIONAL ENVIRONMENTS ARE SAFER FOR TRANSGENDER EMPLOYEES

  • The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission clarified that Title VII sex discrimination law covers transgender workers.
  • The Obama Administration ended the Social Security Administration’s gender “no-match” letters, helping to protect the privacy of transgender workers.
  • President Obama sent the first U.S. Executive Branch official to testify before Congress in support of the Employment Non Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
  • President Obama banned employment discrimination based on gender identity in the federal government.
  • President Obama‘s Office of Personnel Management produced and distributed guidance to promote safer federal working environments for transgender employees.

PRESIDENT OBAMA HAS WORKED TO SAFEGUARD TRANSGENDER YOUTH FROM BULLYING AND HARASSMENT IN SCHOOLS

  • President Obama worked with educators across the nation to prevent bullying and his Department of Education clarified that laws enforced by the department include protections against gender and sexual harassment of transgender students.
  • President Obama’s Secretary Of Education reaffirmed federal support of young people forming Gay-Straight Alliances (GSA) under the Equal Access Act.

FROM VETERANS TO FAMILIES, PRESIDENT OBAMA HAS IMPROVED ACCESS TO RESPECTFUL, QUALITY HEALTH CARE FOR TRANSGENDER AMERICANS

  • The Department Of Health and Human Services confirmed that federal health care programs and those receiving federal funds are barred from discriminating against transgender people.
  • President Obama required all hospitals that receive Medicare and Medicaid funds to recognize a patient’s designated partner, both for hospital visitation and decision-making rights, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity.
  • The Department of Health and Human Services is collecting health data on LGBT populations in an effort to help researchers, policy makers, health care providers, and advocates identify and work to reduce health disparities in the community.
  • Under President Obama’s leadership, the Veterans Health Administration established policy to ensure comprehensive and respectful health care to the transgender and intersex Veterans enrolled in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system or who are otherwise eligible for VA care.
  • The Veterans Health Administration now allows transgender veterans to update their medical records according to their gender identity.
  • The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced grant opportunities to address HIV health care quality specifically for transgender women of color, a demographic disproportionately limited by quality care.
  • The Affordable Care Act bans discrimination on the basis of gender identity in operating insurance exchanges.

THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION CONTINUES TO ADDRESS THE UNIQUE DISCRIMINATION FACED BY TRANSGENDER AMERICANS SEEKING SAFE, EQUAL HOUSING

  • The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced new anti-discrimination rules in federally funded housing prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
  • HUD’s Live Free fair housing education and outreach campaign specifically targeted the transgender community, to inform them of their resources and rights to report discrimination.
  • The Obama Administration has set a goal of ending youth homelessness, including LGBT youth homelessness, by 2020, and has awarded a $3.3 million grant to the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center to begin to address LGBT youth homelessness.

UNDER PRESIDENT OBAMA’S LEADERSHIP, TRANSGENDER AMERICANS AND THEIR INTERNATIONAL LOVED ONES ARE NOW ALLOWED PASSPORTS AND IMMIGRATION DOCUMENTS ACCORDING TO THEIR GENDER IDENTITY

  • The State Department now allows transgender Americans to update their passport gender markers without requiring invasive medical procedures.
  • The Obama Administration updated the nation’s immigration procedures to allow transgender people to update and record their gender on immigration documents without being required to undergo invasive medical procedures.

PRESIDENT OBAMA HAS EXEMPLIFIED ACROSS HIS ADMINISTRATION HIS UNPRECEDENTED COMMITMENT TO INCREASED VISIBILITY, DIGNITY, AND RESPECT FOR THE TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY

  • President Obama appointed three openly transgender people to serve in his administration, making him the first president ever to do so.
  • The U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan became the first U.S. Cabinet Secretary to address a transgender-specific community event.