http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRNAGcP-gOA

but thought i’d check in first…

i’ve never felt so blessed to have had my particular upbringing than i do now.

a cavalcade of religious monstrosities pelted at me

day after day

week after week

year after year.

it gave me the tools to survive any weather

and to understand the current political climate.

sarah palin is a member of the assembly of god church,

the church of my own upbringing.

my parents, brothers, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins

are all “upstanding” members of the church.

i’m pretty sure they’ve dropped my membership by now.

and in this church, here are some things I learned:

i learned to identify the ways of the world community

(the UN was considered a nation constructed by the ‘evil’ world),

and to identify this world community’s ideals as “other than” or “wrong.”

i learned to be ready for a spiritual war that was brewing,

a war that would come soon and one that we would lead.

they taught me to be ready to die for the church,

to kill for the church,

and to teach others to do the same.

i was taught to not question authority.

i was taught that the gay community is to blame for AIDS.

i was taught that condoms don’t work.

in my early teens, the entire youth group was brought up onto the platform (stage)

and persuaded (forced) to sign a contract with god,

stating that we would save ourselves for marriage.

my sex was exploited. my life was expendable. my identity was raped.

in this church, i learned to hate my queer-self along with the world around me.

fast-forward through years of great friendships, wonderful support groups, an amazing therapist

and a career that’s allowed me to see the world for it’s diverse beauties…

now i can say i love who i am, and i love the world around me.

but what about those who weren’t able to escape

the pelting cavalcade of religious monstrosities

know as the ‘assembly of god’ church?

what about those who fit into the tidy teachings of their ‘conservative values’?

sarah palin seems to have gone from one of their victims to one of their leaders,

as most abuse cycles turn-out.

a woman who will unleash this mental un-health onto the rest of the nation

if she gets into office.

god, assembly or not… help us all.

A federal district court judge in Washington, D.C., ruled today that the Library of Congress discriminated against Diane Schroer when it offered her a job and then rescinded it after learning she was transgendered.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which represented Schroer, said Judge James Robertson’s ruling is the first to hold that the federal sex discrimination statute, Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, applies to transgendered people.

Other courts that have considered the issue have said Congress only intended for the anti-discrimination statute to protect men and women, but not people who change their sex, the ACLU said.

Robertson disagreed, saying Schroer’s case “was discrimination based on sex.”

“It is tremendously gratifying to have your faith in this country, and what is fundamentally right and fair, be reaffirmed,” Schroer said. “I very much hope that this ruling will help to eliminate the all-too-pervasive discrimination against sexually nonconforming people in all areas.”

She added, “I hope, too, that employers, family members, friends and co-workers will begin to understand variations in sexual orientation and identity from a basis of knowledge and not fear.”

Schroer said she applied for, and was offered, a job at the Library of Congress as David Schroer.

When David went to his first meeting with his soon-to-be boss, Schroer told her that he would be transitioning to a female before starting the job. The next day, the job offer was rescinded, Schroer says.

GO TO ABC.COM for more on this!

i can’t believe this article!

From DallasVoice.com Texas Tuesday trans ban trashed!? By Ben Briscoe Jul 24, 2008 - 7:10:00 PM Crews Inn rep says drag queens allowed in on certain conditions; performers vow to continue fight Ivana Tramp, left, and Celesete Williams lead a protest against Crews Inn’s alleged ban on transgenders outside the Fitzhugh Avenue gay bar on Tuesday, July 22. Tramp and Williams said they’ll be back next week and plan legal action. Depending on whom you ask, Crews Inn’s Tuesday night ban on transgender women and drag queens may be over after about 60 people showed up to protest this week. “I never expected a turnout this large,” said Celeste Williams, one of the transgender women kicked out of the bar two weeks ago. “It makes me feel honored to be part of this community, and it makes me even more sure that what happened to us is happening to others, and it’s just wrong.” Crews Inn co-owner David Moore wouldn’t comment on the protest, other than to say, “The whole thing got blown way out of proportion.” He added, “You got your story, and that’s all I’m giving you.” Another representative from Crews Inn, who asked not to be identified, argued that there is no ban because transgender women whose IDs match their appearance will be allowed in. Others can go to Moore individually and ask to be let in if they promise to behave, the representative said. “It’s still discrimination, point blank,” said Dallas Lesbian and Gay Alliance President Patti Fink. “Could you imagine what would happen if they made all black people individually ask to be let in and promise that they will behave?” No one at the protest had identification that didn’t match their appearance to test whether the ban stood. But two transgender women whose appearances matched their driver’s licenses were allowed into the bar. Still, Sierra Nicole Standridge, who performs as Sierra Nicole Andrews, is hesitant to accept that everything is okay now. “Of course he is going to be nice right now, but I was kicked out three years ago for the same reason, and my ID matches. If it happened back then and again this year, what’s to say it won’t start going on again as soon as the protest goes away?” she said. Robert Clawson, a dancer at Crews Inn who stopped by the protest on his way into work, said he’s sure very little has changed. “David is set in his ways,” Clawson said. “I think it is just awful, but I have to make my dollar.” If they couldn’t change Moore’s mind, the crowd hoped to at least “put a dent in his pocket,” according to Williams. The picketers chanted, “One, two, three, four. Don’t give cash to David Moore,” and told people walking into the bar that going inside meant they support discrimination, too. Station 4 performer Krystal Summers swaps out her high-heels for tennis shoes at the protest because all the marching was beginning to hurt her feet. Summers says she is one of the transgender women kicked out of Crews Inn last week because of her gender identity. She plans to file discrimination paperwork with the city this week. BEN BRISCOE/Dallas Voice Many turned away. An employee at the bar across the street said business there was up by about 30 percent. That club was at capacity, with a line outside the door for the first time in memory, the employee said. But overall, the attention to the ban might have backfired as Crews Inn’s business tripled over the weekend after an article about the ban appeared in Dallas Voice last week. Billy Vinson is one of the customers who crossed the picket line. He said: “It doesn’t bother me. They just seem so bitter and silly, and I think every one should just communicate.” That’s not the reaction the protesters were hoping to receive. “It hurts to hear that,” said Ivana Tramp, another transgender woman asked to leave last week. “But we are not going to take this lying down.” Tramp and Williams have already filed a complaint with the Dallas Fair Housing Office, which prohibits business owners from denying service based on gender identity. Station 4 performer Krystal Summers said she plans to file one The three also passed out the forms to others at the protest, and DGLA sent out a press release asking anyone else who has been denied entry to call the city’s 24-hour hotline at 214-670-FAIR. Williams and Tramp also plan a lawsuit. They have approached Lambda Legal, the LGBT civil rights group, about taking the case, but have not heard back because the staff attorney for this region is on vacation. “It doesn’t matter if I have to go through 500 attorneys, I’m going to find one who will take this to court,” Williams said. But for now, the group plans to picket again next Tuesday, July 29. “I’ll be here,” Williams said. “We can let him get away with this, and we probably won’t stop until the bar no longer is open or [no longer] owned by David Moore.” E-mail briscoe@dallasvoice.com This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition July 25, 2008. © Copyright by DallasVoice.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaYGwpFaeaU

tonight, @ dinner with justin glenn and nathan.

but before dinner, glenn and i went to gmhc

to watch a practice round of the very competitive vogue-ing balls.

unfortunately, the evening was cut short because of a fight…

… which continued outside.

and the next thing you know

i saw a tranny with her hair in one hand and a knife in another.

and then others took knives and hammers out of their bags

and beat the shit out of each other.

weaves were flying in the air down 7th avenue.

ok… as much as i love the idea of tranny knife-fighting madness,

the reality of it isn’t that cute.

come on, girls. we have enough going against us in the world as it is.

we don’t need to turn on each other.

isn’t the point of ballroom culture to get out our aggressions in a constructive way?

leave your knives at home, where they belong

(next to your bed- to ward off your tricks who won’t go home.)

just don’t bring them to the balls!!!

Jesus saw some babies nursing.

He said to his disciples, “These nursing babies are like those who enter the kingdom.”

They said to him, “Then shall we enter the kingdom as babies?”

Jesus said to them, “When you make the two into one,

and when you make the inner like the outer and the outer like the inner,

and the upper like the lower,

and when you make male and female into a single one,

so that the male will not be male nor the female be female,

when you make eyes in place of an eye,

a hand in place of a hand,

a foot in place of a foot,

an image in place of an image,

then you will enter [the kingdom].”
His disciples said to [Jesus],

“When will the rest for the dead take place, and when will the new world come?”

He said to them, “What you are looking forward to has come, but you don’t know it.”