Happy Now Birther Bigots?

Happy now Birther Bigots?

Maine LD 1046 Update-Testimony From The Father Of ATrans Child

TransGriot Note:  Still keeping an eye on the anti trans bill LD 1046 in Maine, which would circumvent two Maine Human Rights Commission rulings in favor of trans people in the state and  legalize bathroom discrimination against trans people.     One of the people who testified against this bill in the recent public hearing is the father of the trans child the Maine Human Rights Commission stood up for and who Rep Ken Fredette (R) , who was on the Maine Human Rights Commission when that case was heard and voted against it, is trying to oppress.

Here is that father's testimony.

My name is Wayne Maines, I live in Old Town. I have a 13-year-old transgender daughter. In the beginning, I was not onboard with this reality. Like many of you I doubted transgender children could exist, I doubted my wife and I doubted our counselors and doctors. However I never doubted my love for my child. It was only through observing her pain and her suffering and examining my lack of knowledge about these issues did I begin to question my behavior and my conservative values. I learned that the medical standard of care requires parents seek assistance from a panel of experts. We did this and our team of doctors recommended my daughter to live fully as a girl. We cannot turn back now.When my daughter lost her privileges at school and both children and adults targeted her, I knew I had to change and I have never looked back.

When we moved to Maine, it was clear my daughter was transitioning from male to female with us or without us. She used the girl's bathroom with no fanfare; she was confident and very social. Her strong personality helped the entire school transition right along side of her. She was proud and secure with herself and when people asked at the young age of six she openly stated that she was a girl trapped in a boy's body.

The transformation was amazing, but her happiness would not last. Unfortunately the fears of others would destroy everything that our team of doctors, teachers, school counselors, friends and classmates had work so hard to establish.

I know that it is difficult for some of you to understand the needs of transgender children. You only need to spend some time with these kids to see that they are struggling and suffering beyond your imagination only because they are singled out and misunderstood. They are just like your children and grandchildren; they have the same hopes and the same dreams.

In the fifth grade because of significant negative exposure we had to take drastic measures to protect her from harm, including splitting our family up to go in hiding and we are not the only family that has had to do so. When she was told she could no longer use the appropriate bathroom her confidence and self-esteem took a major hit. Prior to this my daughter often said, "Dad being transgender is no big deal, my friends and I have it under control." I was very proud of her. It was only when adults became involved with their unfounded fears that her world would be turned upside down. "She came to me crying and asked, "Daddy what did I do wrong? Daddy please fix this?" That is what dads do -- we fix things. I had to break her heart and say, "You have not done anything wrong sweetie, but Mommy and I do not know how to fix this, but we will try."

Continuing to single these kids out is not necessary. Having the opportunity to use the bathrooms of their true gender is essential for these kids' well being. This bill places transgender children in a position of doom and hopelessness. This bill tells my daughter that she does not have the same rights as her classmates and reinforces her opinion that she has no future. Help me give her the future she deserves. Do not pass this bill.

Canadian Election 2011 Update 4-Record Early Vote Turnout

In what may be a good sign for the Canadian center-left parties such as the NDP and the Liberals , the early voting saw more than 2 million Canadians take advantage of the three day period of advance polling with the May 2 election just five agonizing days away.

In the 2008 Canadian federal elections 1,528,780 people voted early in an election that saw the lowest voter turnout in Canadian history at 58.8 %.

With polls showing the NDP on a historic rise that puts them first in Quebec and second nationally, if it holds they may end up becoming the Official Opposition or if they catch a few breaks may garner enough seats to have Jack Layton become Canada's new prime minister.

Alarmed by the NDP surge, the leaders of the Bloc Quebecois, Liberals and Conservatives have stopped training their rhetorical fire on each other and turned it on the NDP.

NDP Leader Jack Layton noted at a recent campaign event in Winnipeg, "Now, the old parties are spending the last week on the attack, hoping to drown out the voices for change in Canada."

"Well, in the final days of this campaign, New Democrats will launch a few attacks of our own. My friends, I will attack health-care wait times. I will attack doctor shortages. I will attack seniors' poverty. I will tackle the crisis in retirement security."

Too bad there isn't one more debate on the horizon...The last two were fun to watch.  

May 2 is going to be a very interesting and potentially historic day in Canada if the NDP surge continues, and Madame Political Junkie will be watching every minute of it..

Canadian Election 2011 Update 2-The Leaders Debate

The May 2 Canadian federal elections are fast approaching, and the jockeying between the major parties is getting hot and heavy as the Conservatives, Liberals, BQ and NDP continue their Drive For 155..  

The first debate between the major party leaders happened Tuesday night and it was contentious and fun to watch.   I found the YouTube video for it, so have fun political junkies.

 

Brittany Novotny Elected President Of Young Democrats Of Oklahoma

Y'all know that I have made love for Brittany Novotny, who took on homophobic/transphobic Oklahoma state Rep. Sally Kern in the last election cycle in a memorable campaign during the 2010 election cycle but unfortunately lost.

Well, we have some Brittany news that we need to cheer.  

Novotny was just elected president of the Young Democrats of Oklahoma, and in the process has become the first out trans person to be elected the president of ANY state chapter of that organization.


As these legislative battles for trans rights are proving, we are going to need our own people involved in the legislative process, and one of the ways we we make that a relaity is to become involved with the party organizations in the various locales in which we live.

Congratulations Brittany, proud of you!

Farewell Statement From MP Bill Siksay

TransGriot Note:  Another one of the bummer moments coming from the recent dissolution of the Canadian parliament is that MP Bill Siksay's retirement from politics becomes official as he announced a few months ago he was not running for reelection in his Burnaby-Douglas riding.

As a ally to the Canadian trans community, he will definitely be missed.     He could teach our GL community in the States a few things about what it means to be an ally to our community.

Here is his parliamentary farewell statement.

Farewell Statement

March 24, 2011

Mr. Bill Siksay (Burnaby—Douglas, NDP): Mr. Speaker, it has been an honour to represent the people of Burnaby—Douglas. As a gay man, it has been an honour to represent the queer community in this place.

    My work here has been possible thanks to that of many other comrades in my offices: Jane Ireland, Sonja van Dieen, Ayesha Haider, Caren Yu and Andrea Emond, Lynn MacWilliam, Corie Langdon, Gillian Chan and many interns. Their professionalism, creativity and service to the community and this institution have been outstanding.

    I am inspired by my leader and caucus and many party activists. I salute my brothers and sisters in my union, CEP 232, for their dedication to ensuring what we desire for ourselves we seek for all. I want to thank the employees of the House of Commons without whom I could not do this job.

    I want to thank my family, my partner Brian Burke, my parents Bill and Pat in what we came to know as the Whitby office, Keith Gilbert, Brad Teeter, Russ Neely and my brother David and his family for their steadfast love and care. I have also been blessed with the best riding association thanks to the commitment and talents of many folks, including Lil Cameron, Lila Wing, Michael Walton, Marianne Bell, Jaynie Clark and Doug Sigurdson.

    I will miss working in solidarity with dedicated people. The transgender and transsexual communities have taught me so much about our humanity and courage. I wish we had a bit more time. I have learned much from peace, anti-war and nuclear disarmament activists, gay and lesbian couples determined to walk through the front door of the important institution of marriage, those detained and working to repeal security certificates, war resisters, local activists on homelessness and poverty, the environment and industrial and transportation safety, animal rights activists, the labour movement and refugees, immigrants and temporary workers and their allies, supporters of CBC Radio Canada and those seeking more open government.

    My predecessor Svend Robinson once remarked that the highest duty of a member of Parliament is love. Love should be our daily agenda, a daring, justice-seeking and tender love. Someday, even here, we will find that path where all we do we do for love.

Whoopi Blasts Donald 'Birther' Trump On 'The View'

Whoopi calls out Donald Trump on his (ho hum) pandering to the birthers.

The Drive For 155

Since I have close friends living north of the border, I've always liked Canada and want to visit the country someday, I've made it a point to keep up with what's happening there politically.  

Renee of Womanist Musings finally got her wish Thursday as the Conservative run Canadian government of PM Stephen Harper fell on a 156-145 no confidence vote.   That means that Parliament gets dissolved and new federal elections, the fourth in seven years will be held on May 2.    Canada has been run by a series of minority governments since 2004.   The latest minority government since 2006 has been run by the Sweater Vest and his Conservatives.   In the October 2008 election they fell just 12 seats short of getting the majority

As to what this means for the Trans Rights Bill, since C-389 hadn't cleared the Canadian Senate and received Royal Assent to become law, the whole process will have to start over again from scratch in the next Parliament.    It also means that if it does, there will be someone else besides MP Bill Siksay leading the charge on it since he has announced he's retiring

The Canadian House of Commons has 308 seats that the political parties in that country will be battling to get.    Currently the Conservatives hold 143 seats, the Liberals 77, the Bloc Quebecois 47, and the New Democratic Party 36. There are two independent lawmakers, and three seats are vacant.

To form a majority government the magic number is 155 seats.   If  you fall short of that, you have to form a coalition with another party or combination of parties to give you the numerical governing majority, and that's known as a minority government.   Of course, if you want to fully implement your platform without having any interference from opposition parties your main goal for this election is to get 155 or more seats.

The leader of the party with the most seats, or a coalition that gives them a majority of House seats becomes the Canadian prime minister.   The current major party leaders are Stephen Harper for the Conservatives, Michael Ignatieff for the Liberals, Gilles Duceppe for the Bloc Quebecois, and Jack Layton for the New Democratic Party. 

So as you can tell by the party websites I linked to they have already swung into campaign mode.   Until May 2 the political commercials will be hot and heavy on Canadian TV sets and for those of you on our side of the border with cable systems that have Canadian stations on them.

I'll be keeping a long distance eye on what's transpiring in these elections north of the border because they will have an impact on our Canadian trans cousins, and by default, that means it will also indirectly impact us as well south of it.