The World According to ENDA 3685

Pam is one of the best friends that trans people have right now, so I’m linking to the Pam’s House Blend posting about this. 

Our trans brothers and sisters are human beings. How difficult is this concept to grasp for the bigots out there? I’m sick and angered by story after story about grown adults — in this case a law enforcement officer sworn to serve and protect everyone — acting like violent brutes out of fear and ignorance. And all the while they are enabled by others who look on and do nothing. Memphis station WMC-TV has the video. You must watch it.

She’s not exaggerating. From WMC:

The video, recorded February 12th, shows Duanna Johnson in the booking area at the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center after an arrest for prostitution.   The tape clearly shows a Memphis police officer walk over to Johnson - a transsexual - and hit her in the face several times.

Now, here is a comment I added over at PHB in response to someone putting out a call to contact the Rhode Island Avenue Cesspool of Transphobia about this.

Make it clear that, if ENDA 3685 becomes law, Duanna Johnson would still be eligible to be relegated to prostitution.

Yes, under the verson of ENDA that St. Barney, Lame Crain and The John have wet dreams about, people like St. Barney, Lame Crain and The John who live in Memphis would still be free to hang signs in their windows proclaiming that transsexuals need not apply.

That means Duana Johnson - and everyone like her.

Including me.

That means that, in order to eat, Duana Johnson - ane veryone like her - could still be relegated with impunity by six-figure-salary-addled gay men to what she was alleged to have been doing on the night of February 12.

Here is another comment I made over at PHB:

From the WMC story:

 

Meanwhile, the Memphis Police Department confirmed to Action News 5 that the officer holding Johnson was on probation, and has been fired.  The officer who threw the punches is currently on non-enforcement status pending an administrative hearing.

Why should these thugs act any differently if they know that the worst that will happen to them is losing their jobs?  If Duanna Johson had fought back and killed (or, for that matter, even seriously injured) one of these wothless pieces of garbage, she’d already be convicted of capital murder and on her way to the death chamber.  Criminals with badges know that - ultimately - no civilian has any power to stop them from beating the shit out of anyone they want to any time they want to.

 

A copy of the tape was reviewed by both the FBI and the District Attorney’s office, the latter of which dropped all charges against Johnson.  An FBI investigation into possible civil rights violations is still underway.

The Bush junta’s FBI doing anything about this?  That’s as funny as the video is sad.

That is a serious aspect of this story as well.

However, when I look at that video, in addition to seeing Duanna Johnson being mercilessly beaten by criminals with badges, I see all trans people being mercilessly beaten by criminals with copies of ENDA 3685 and purple-n-yellow equal signs.

Yet Another Reason to Hate Shillary

She’s caused me to again find myself in agreement with The John:

Hillary is Tanya Harding

I was going to write that line and a Democratic party official beat me to it. From Jake Tapper at ABC, interviewing an anonymous Democratic party official:

…

“Her securing the nomination is certainly possible - but it will require exercising the ‘Tonya Harding option.’” the official said. “Is that really what we Democrats want?”

The John adds:

A leader of the women’s movement recently said to me, explaining why she had a problem with a woman choosing to remain with a cheating husband in order to advance her own career: “You don’t choose a job over your own self-respect.”

Now, if that was the reason there still are apparently no MTFs holding jobs with the Scampaign, et. al., the employee demographics would be more aceptable, not to mention understandable.  However, as we all know, we never have the opportunity to decide for ourselves whether we want to sacrifice a bit of self-respect in order to secure a paycheck funded by the money that has been sucked out of our community.

Another Exception That Proves the Rule

One more reason to hate HRC’s HRC: forcing me into agreement with The John.

DailyKos has the original scoop. I went and got the original footage from the Clinton ad, and then compared it to 3 different video clips of the same debate from 3 different sources. I did this so as to take into account any editing, or quality issues, that might have accounted for Obama having darker skin in any particular video. None of the 3 video sources I found showed Obama nearly as black as the Hillary ad does.

…

It just keeps happening again and again and again. The Clintons keeps doing things, saying things, that sound awfully racist. And we’re to believe that this, the - what? 8th, 10th time? - this has happened is again just a coincidence.

Fine, John.  We’re in agreement on this.  It smells like what it is.

I do, however, ask that you apply the same standard to your Raymond-esque remarks about cutting off your penis and ‘construct’-ing a vagina.

[ADDENDUM]

Of course, there are other reasons to hate HRC’s HRC:

A lawyer in a predominantly Democratic suburb of Cleveland relates this tale to The Swamp on the day before the all-important Ohio primary:

So last night around dinner time, the phone rings. It’s the Hillary campaign–official number, per the caller ID. The woman on the other end asks me if Hillary can count on my support Tuesday. I say I have not decided.She asks what would help me decide. I say, “Well . . . maybe she can make Bill her vice president.” She does not know how to take me, of course, but has to assume I am serious. “I don’t think she can do that.” “Bill will have a significant role in major decisions, though, won’t he?” I ask. “Oh, certainly he will be very involved. Do you like Bill?” “Very much.” I reply.

She then launches into a two-minute spiel on all the very specific initiatives and proposals Hillary has put forth on health care, the war in Iraq, etc., etc. At the end of her spiel, she says, “And we haven’t heard anything that specific from Osama bin Laden.”

I say, “You did not just say that.” She replies, “I’m sorry . . . just a slip of the tongue.” She then thanks me for my time and encourages me to vote for Hillary on Tuesday.

The lawyer says he was “stunned” and tells The Swamp the call originated from the Clinton campaign in Columbus.

Oy.

We Won’t Cry For You, Rudytina…But, Of Course, The John Will

After all - Rudytina opposed trans rights.  That must make him a heroine to Purity of Rich Gay Male Elitist Essence crowd. 

From The (Tear-Drenched) John:

No room in the GOP for moderates like Rudy

If you’d stopped after the word “moderates,” we could have found something to agree on.  Having some gay male friends and parading around in drag, however, does not necessarily a moderate make - particularly when almost all of the other acts of the person in question add up to making the person objectively describable as a crooked, adulterous, opportunistic fascist.

Crooked.

Adulterous.

Opportunist.

Fascist.

Hmmmm…..have I forgotten anything?

Oh yeh…How could I have forgotten?  How could I have forgotten?  Add: self-loathing transphobe.  And speaking of transphobes, here’s what The John had to say after the title of his post:

Giuliani’s stunning loss in Florida tonight

 Stunning? Stunning to who? Rudytina herself?  Stunning would be a loss by the New England Patriots this coming Sunday.  They’re undefeated.  Rudytina the Transphobic Drag Queen was winless going in to Tuesday (meaning that even a Giants victory on Sunday would be less stunning than a win by Rudytina in the State of Chad.)

, and his utter flaming out of the Republican nomination - he has a grand total of 1 delegate

Would it still be drag if he now starts dressing up like John Connally at charity events?  Inquiring transsexual former Texans want to know.

- shows the degree to which far-right Republicans have taken over the GOP and forced moderates and anyone else who doesn’t breathe fire or speak in tongues out of the party

 That part of the statement I can agree with (just not its antecedent.)

(your faithful blogger, Markos, Arianna and so many more included).

I’ll reserve judgment on Markos and Arianna.  But…The John?  Sorry - classist arrogance also does not a moderate make.

Just as messed up, conservative Republicans may end up rallying around Romney, a man who once ran for the Senate claiming to be more pro-gay than Ted Kennedy.

 Considering what Dubya claimed to be going into 2000, you’re actually surprised?

A guy who in the past two years has suddenly become a lifelong conservative, after 58 years of embracing gun control, abortion, and gays.

 58 years of endorsing gays?  Wow.  I guess in ‘77 he took time out from becoming a dog-abusin’ , job-cuttin’ greedmeister to fly out to San Frsancisco to campaign for Harvey Milk.  I guess Randy Shilts had to cut that part from The Mayor of Castro Street, eh?

This is the standard-bearer for conservative Republicans, a guy who on the litmus test “conservative” issues is - oh I’m sorry, was two years ago - a liberal Democrat. This is the standard bearer for evangelical jam-Christ-down-your-throat Christians, a Mormon.And they wonder so many of us left.

Because they let Mormons in?  I might understand The John’s frustration if Marie Osmond or Glenn Beck was the potential nominee, but why is he surprised about anything that a cartoon robot repug from central corporate casting (a friend of mine encountered him at a staged spontanaiety event at a grocery store in Iowa and said that he looked just as fake and creepy in person as he does on TV) would say or do to win any nomination to any office? 

Hitting a Nail, er…, Male on its Arrogant Head

Yes - Its another post about The John’s elitist Johnfoolery.  However, I think it is necessary.

The John may have yanked the original obnoxious post, but the comments can still be found - and I found this one rather enlightening:

John… I’m a big fan of you and the site. I respectfully disagree with your take on the Middle class and the stimulous package. The line had to be drawn somewhere and it just seems a little selfish (hate to use this word for someone who’ve I’ve respected for years) to expect special consideration because you and I live in desirable locations. I’d rather lower income people get the rebates and the rest of us making $75k and living in SF or NY will just have to find new ways to live within our means.

No, I’m not spotlighting the fact that this person has had respect for The John.  Rather, I’m zeroing in on the second layer of hypocrisy in The John’s whine: The Line.

The line had to be drawn somewhere.

Sound anything at all like the Barney-HRC-Aravosis-Crain rationale between who would be covered by ENDA and who would not be? 

Get your money out of your ears, John - and it will.

The John’s Magic Disappearing Post

I commented on the ENDAblog post about John Aravosis’s right-wing rant about poor people getting “our wealth” to ask where I could find the rant, since the original seems to be gone.

Turns out that John took it down. Here’s Mahatma X Files with the sordid tale:

Unfortunately, I guess Aravosis became both unhappy with the negative feedback that he received in mass quantities, so he killed off the original post (thus decoupling it from the 500+ comments it had received), reposted, got yet another set of negative feedback (which he subsequently censored heavily), and then deleted the post altogether. Like Sir Robin, he “bravely ran away.”

Aravosis was awarded “Wanker of the Day (Twice)” by James, and was also blasted by Liza at Feminist Bloggers Network, KayInMaine at White Noise Insanity, The Editors at Poorman.com, calipygian at DailyKos, zuzu at Feministe, Andrew at Air Pollution, and others.

Poor John just couldn’t take it. As zuzu wrote, “boo friggin’ hoo!”

Pinko Punko at 3 Bulls has more of John’s comment wankery.

Something Else That The John is Divorced From Reality About

Namely - The Dubya Bribes, Part II. 

According to The John:

 The Dems just gave away your stimulus check.

Uh huh.

(cue the Dead Kennedys’ ‘Kill the Poor’)

BTW - The emphasis is mine.  If that doesn’t forever telegraphs who his constituency is, then this should.

According to AP, congressional leaders have reached a deal on those economic stimulus checks. And rather than being geared towards helping the economy, they’re apparently geared towards redistributing wealth (that would be our wealth) to the poor.

…

Families with children would receive an additional $300 per child, subject to an overall cap of perhaps $1,200, according to a senior House aide who outlined the deal on condition of anonymity in advance of formal adoption of the whole package. Rebates would go to people earning below a certain income cap, likely individuals earning $75,000 or less and couples with incomes of $150,000 or less.

That means that if you make $75,000 or more a year, no check for you. Forget that fact that you live in NYC or DC or San Francisco, where prices from property to food are outrageous.

So…

We’re supposed to feel sorry for people making over 75K (which, from the tone of your I’m-craftily-trying-to-sound-like-a-reasonable-progressive-but-I’m-really-a-greedy-republishill whine - you did whine ‘our wealth’ after all - would appear to include you)?  Perhaps even supposed to have some empathy for you?  When you imply - with the force and subtlety of a shit-covered sledgehammer - that yuppies/guppies such as yourself are better suited to stimulate the economy than people who may not see 75K over the course of 3-5 years?

Go stimulate yourself on the streets of DC in the back seat of a red sports car - and then get thee to a Barney Frankery.

If you’re whining about life in DC or SF or NY, then why don’t you get the fuck away from big-coast-city life and go out and live in that Middle America whose purity of non-progressive essence you and your ilk like to invoke whenever (you think) it suits an anti-trans-inclusion argument?

I didn’t think it would be possible to find The John any more disgusting than I already did - but, unlike most in his world, I can admit when I’m wrong.

More Cheesy Transphobic Whine

From the Bay Area Reporter:

I am curious to know the connection between gender identity and sexual orientation and why they are considered to be one in the same? To me they are not only in separate universes but each camp should have its own decisive, powerful message to society and to our legislators that no one should be discriminated against, no matter what.

The emphasis on separate there is mine - but, in your heart, you know thats where it is at its origin. 

The gay community has a rich history of coming together for one another but the minute we start to muddy, even dilute, the waters of our message is when we spell trouble for our cause to be legally and socially treated as equals. 

Why then, if we take the trans community under our wings do we not include everyone living with physical and mental challenges? Obesity, anorexia, autism, and so on and so on – where does it stop? 

Nice to know that such strides have been made in genetic engineering.  Obviously, the author of this missive has had a germ-line genetic transplant from The John and it has taken hold.

In regards to the president of the Police Commission: she needs to grow up and stop trying to get publicity by staging such a show by bluntly returning her Human Rights Campaign award. HRC no longer represents equality? Is she serious when she says something so baseless and careless?

Uh…

What’s baseless and careless is to assert that the Scampaign represents anyone or anything other than rich white gay privelege - and it is insanity to assert that it has ever represented trans-anything.

Go get your own bandwagon, Ms. Sparks, if you are going to be spitting in the face of the very community that welcomed you.

LOGIC FLAW ALERT!

LOGIC FLAW ALERT!

LOGIC FLAW ALERT!

Your assertion of ’spitting in the face’ of a community that ‘welcomed’ her doesn’t apply unless you’re referring to something that actually ‘welcomed’ her or any trans people. 

And the Scampaign is not such an entity.

Reality trumps transphobia any day of the week.

Guess Who Didn’t Get All of the Memos From Frankrainvosis?

Morocco!

Seriously.

From Pam’s House Blend:

Apparently now dressing in women’s clothing in Morocco is automatically considered a “homosexual act,” even though it doesn’t involve 1) any actual sex, 2) involves anyone other than the person wearing said clothing.

A Moroccan appeal court on Tuesday upheld the convictions of six men jailed for homosexual acts after video images of a man dressed as a woman dancing at a party sparked street protests and a police investigation, lawyers said.

Seriously.

How could an entire country have missed the multiple pronouncements from the all-seeing, all-knowing St. Barney, The John and Lame Crain that all of that dirty, evil disgusting tranny stuff has nothing to do with robust, pure manly male homosexuality?

I’m just asking.

Time for the incremental approach in Georgia!

So, a hate-crimes bill in the state of Georgia is in trouble because it includes protections for gay and lesbian people:

A bipartisan effort to restore Georgia’s hate crimes law could become bogged down in a behind-the-scenes debate over whether to include gays and lesbians in its reach, according to those familiar with the issue.

A state Senate study committee must decide by mid-January whether to proceed with the legislation, which is supported by a broad array of prosecutors, religious and civil rights groups — and GBI Director Vernon Keenan.

…

“We understand that there are legislators who are going to be more skeptical about the bill if it includes sexual orientation,” said Bill Nigut, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League. Nigut said his group nonetheless supports the inclusion of gays and lesbians in the legislation.

Sadie Fields, leader of the Georgia Christian Alliance, said she doesn’t necessarily agree with the concept behind a hate crimes measure. “We definitely would oppose any legislation that included sexual orientation,” said Fields, who spearheaded the effort to incorporate a ban on gay marriage into the state constitution in 2004.

Cathy Woolard, former president of the Atlanta City Council, is a lobbyist for Georgia Equality, an advocacy group for gays and lesbians. Woolard said she considers extending hate crime coverage to homosexuals as the primary sticking point in the Legislature. Without it, she said, “I think it would go through in a minute.”

I am very concerned about the 2.9 million African-Americans Georgians who have been homojacked and are being held hostage by far-left gay-rights activists. Not to mention 281,000 or so Asian Americans, some half-million people who speak Spanish at home, and a strong Jewish community.

The solution, as I see it, is for the gay-rights extremists to simply back down and allow the bill to go through to protect people whose national origins, ethnicities, or races place them in danger as potential victims of hate crimes.

Once the hate crimes bill is passed, it will be easy to just go back and add in gays and lesbians at a later date. When exactly did sexual orientation get added to “race, religion, …, ancestry or nation of origin?” Did any people of color actually get to have their say as to whether gays could crash the party?

Don’t get me wrong, I am all in favor of gay and lesbian rights. I just don’t know what black people or Asians or Jews or Latinos have in common with a man who wants to act like a woman and take some other man’s penis into his anus or his mouth.

It’s clear to me that the incremental approach gets results — and that’s why I can’t understand why Bill Nigut of the ADL is willing to turn his back on his Jewish brothers and sisters by supporting this homojacking.

Can’t the gays just get their own civil rights movement instead of trying to piggyback on someone else’s? Can’t they just be happy for the Asians and Latinos that they’re getting protected from hate crimes?

Why is it all-or-nothing? Isn’t it better to protect those who you can protect, rather than asking for everyone to be protected and losing it for everyone? Some have asked if perhaps gays and lesbians want Blacks and Jews to be attacked — I can’t say I am convinced of that, but what do you think?

As for me, I say “no” to the homojacking of the Georgia hate crimes bill!

…did I do that right, John?