Archive for the ‘Congressman Frank’ Category

The 21st Century Rules of Engagement

Thursday, September 18th, 2008

By Monica F. Helms

I received a phone call from a good friend, Zan Thorton, telling me that Congressman Barney Frank had fifteen disabled people arrested in his office, Tuesday, September 16, 2008, at around 3 PM.  Zan informed me that around fifty LGBT and straight disabled people entered the Congressman’s office around 1:30 PM and asked to speak to him about the housing crisis for disabled people.  They were there representing the Center for Disability Rights.

 

According to the Congressman’s Chief of Staff, Peter Kovar, the group, several in wheelchairs, came into the office, went right into Congressman Frank’s office and “moved things around” to have a place to sit.  He informed them that they couldn’t be in there and that Frank was about to go to the House floor for a vote.

 

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Posted in Congressman Frank, HRC, Zan Thorton | 2 Comments »

And, the big question for Senator Obama is . . . . ?

Monday, August 25th, 2008

Guest posting by Angela Brightfeather

Angela has been an activist for the transgender community is some form or another for the last 42 years. Some of our community’s activists weren’t even born then. She has been on the board of NTAC, It’s Time, North Carolina and the several other organizations too numberous to mention. Currently, she serves as the Vice President of the Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA) and is one of its Co-Founders. Also, Angela is one of my closest friends.

And, the big question for Senator Obama is . . . . ?

You know something? I am so tired of arguing with people about HRC and about their loyal transgender members and workers at the bottom of the food chain we call the “GLB community.” I am also getting tired of the absolute position of transgender leaders whom I know, about their insistence that we don’t need HRC and that they compare them to our worst enemies..

I actually agree with both sides of all this argument, which makes me stop and think a minute about why we need to argue in the first place?

Deep in the pit of my stomach, I have always sought the most acute area of pain in our community and focused the things I have done in that direction. As a professed and unashamed healer in our community, I really have no choice but to be drawn to ease the pain and that is how it has been for most of my life.

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Posted in Congressman Frank, ENDA, Gender Identity, Obama, Pelosi | 4 Comments »

The Cause of Anger in the Transgender Community

Monday, August 4th, 2008

by Monica F. Helms Monica’s Picture

Recently, there has been a heated discussion on The Bilerico Project about the emotion of Anger.  I have written articles on love and being in love and finding love, but I have never tackled the very misunderstood emotion of anger.  I felt that this could be a challenge to spark my meager writing talents.  Here goes.

 

I will be the first to admit I can get angry at times.  (I can hear the audience now, “F-in’-A, Monica!”)  I have no delusion about this one bit.  I don’t deny it like others try to do.  It has been made apparent several times that I am one of the biggest mixer of feces on blogs, in articles and on Yahoo lists.  Yep, I even bought a huge wooden spoon at Target to make the mixing easier.  Sometime, it’s real anger, while others is more like faux anger, or even “anger lite.”  Less filling.

 

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Posted in Anger, Congressman Frank, ENDA, HRC | 6 Comments »

Transgender Inclusion Goes Mainstream

Tuesday, July 8th, 2008

Guest Post by Rebecca Juro

Rebecca “Becky” is probably one of the top trans bloggers in the country, with articles that appear in some of the most visible LGBTQ blogs on the Internet, including The Bilerico Project. She also hosts her own talk show, “The Rebecca Juro Show,” on QMORadio, Thursdays at 7 PM. Becky has been one of my inspirations in starting my own blog.

If there’s anything you can count on the city of San Francisco for when it comes to LGBT rights and community support, it’s that even when they’re not on the very leading edge of something, they’ll still do it bigger, better, and more fabulously than anywhere else. New York, Philadelphia, and several other major cities have had protests and demonstrations against the Human Rights Campaign at their local fundraising events, but what’s waiting for HRC in San Francisco on July 26th, when they hold their next fundraising dinner in that city, is likely to make the rest look like a warmup act.

The “Left Out” protest/counter-party, organized by Pride at Work and local area organizations, will take place outside the hotel where the HRC dinner is being held and is expected to draw more attendance than the HRC event itself, featuring appearances by celebrities and political figures who are loudly and publicly shunning the HRC event.

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Posted in Congressman Frank, ENDA, HRC, Joe Solmonese | 12 Comments »

Congress comes out to the Transgender Community - Part 4

Monday, July 7th, 2008

Guest posting by Angela Brightfeather

Angela has been an activist for the transgender community is some form or another for the last 42 years. Some of our community’s activists weren’t even born then. She has been on the board of NTAC, It’s Time, North Carolina and the several other organizations too numberous to mention. Currently, she serves as the Vice President of the Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA) and is one of its Co-Founders. Also, Angela is one of my closest friends.

“Final testimonies and Summary of the Hearings”

Before Sabrina Marcus Taraboletti testified or even said one word, I predicted under my breath and to myself, “She is going to jump up and give her testimony holding the mic.” I was wrong of course, but Sabrina is a no nonsense woman who many of us are used to seeing control the situation at past Southern Comfort Conference. She did not let me down. As always, Sabrina started right out with enthusiasm and conviction.

Sabrina has always been a very “real and committed” person in every respect. It became even more evident during her testimony that Sabrina Marcus is the Transgender Community and of all the testimony given that day, she is the one who represented the average TG person; you, me and the whole community. Her story is the one heard at every support group meeting on any given night when one might attend such a gathering. Sabrina is exemplary of what we are and what we have been screaming from the hilltops for so many years. No matter how much we follow the rules of life and being a good person, if we express ourselves we are going to get fired, blacklisted or worse. Please stop the pain. Not just my pain, but also that of the people I love and who love me.

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Posted in Congressional Hearings, Congressman Frank, Congresswoman Baldwin | 1 Comment »

Congress comes out to the Transgender Community - Part 3

Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008

Guest posting by Angela Brightfeather

Angela has been an activist for the transgender community is some form or another for the last 42 years. Some of our community’s activists weren’t even born then. She has been on the board of NTAC, It’s Time, North Carolina and the several other organizations too numberous to mention. Currently, she serves as the Vice President of the Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA) and is one of its Co-Founders. Also, Angela is one of my closest friends.

“Our Opposition Testifies Against Us”

Before I report on the opposition, I need to mention the testimony of Dr. Bill Hendricks of the Dow Chemical Company, who was a witness from the corporate sector. He addressed the hiring of Transgender employees and Dow’s perspective about what has happened to them.

During his testimony, I could not help but think of the work that is being done all over the country today in corporations and businesses to broaden their HR policies to include Transgender people. I specifically want to mention the work done along those lines by Donna Rose and Jamison Green, who felt compelled to “draw the line” when it came to what we used to call “biting the apple.” They recruited the favor of many HR executives in their work on behalf of our community.

I appreciate a company like Dow and many others being inclusive. I also know that they are obtaining loyal, hard working and intelligent employees in the process, people who also really appreciate their jobs.

With 48,000 employees, working in 150 countries across the world, I was rather set back to hear that they have only experienced one person transitioning. I could not help but wonder about that single employee who transitioned at Dow since 2005. That would be two and a half years, give or take a few months. I may be stepping on a few toes here in saying that it is strange for a company of 48,000 employees to have only one Transgender person who they know about, when they probably have hundreds of Transgender people working for them. I heard this perspective echoed throughout the hearing. Most people feel that the only real Transgender people who are discriminated against are those who wish to transition on the job. This assumption is ridiculous.

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Posted in Congressional Hearings, Congressman Frank, Definitions, HRC | 6 Comments »

Congress comes out to the Transgender Community - Part 2

Saturday, June 28th, 2008

Guest posting by Angela Brightfeather

Angela has been an activist for the transgender community is some form or another for the last 42 years. Some of our community’s activists weren’t even born then. She has been on the board of NTAC, It’s Time, North Carolina and the several other organizations too numberous to mention. Currently, she serves as the Vice President of the Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA) and is one of its Co-Founders. Also, Angela is one of my closest friends.

“Congressman Barney Frank and Colonel Diane Schroer”

You never seem to see Congressman Barney Frank enter or leave a room, or so it seems to me on every occasion I have seen or talked with him personally. Even sitting at the witness table, he folds his hands in front of him with his palms flatly on the table and bends over and rests his chin on them to lower his profile. But, when the time comes, Barney Frank literally explodes in your face and you know you’re in a room with a very astute and respected politician.

When called to speak, Congressman Frank (who I will refer to as “Barney” henceforth, after having shaken his hand a few times) went right into his routine of cracking a few jokes at the Senate’s expense, in connection with having to deal “with the wrong body.” It was his diplomatic attempt to leave the last thought on the failures of Congress to move the ENDA legislation through the Senate. The man is a master.

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Posted in Congressional Hearings, Congressman Frank, Diane Schroer | No Comments »

Congress comes out to the Transgender Community - Part 1

Saturday, June 28th, 2008

Guest posting by Angela Brightfeather

Angela has been an activist for the transgender community is some form or another for the last 42 years. Some of our community’s activists weren’t even born then. She has been on the board of NTAC, It’s Time, North Carolina and the several other organizations too numberous to mention. Currently, she serves as the Vice President of the Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA) and is one of its Co-Founders. Also, Angela is one of my closest friends.

It was my great privilege to attend the recent hearings held in Washington, DC this week on Transgender Unemployment, as the representative from the Transgender American Veterans Association, TAVA. My thoughts are fresh from the hearing and my sense of having to be there to witness an historic moment in our community was more than justified.

I pleasure myself sometimes in thinking that I am a person of vision. Only those who have been active in the Transgender Community for a few years may understand it. In my fondest visions of the past concerning our community, I would have to be the Transgender reincarnation of Nostradamus to have been able to predict our community giving testimony at a Congressional Hearing about Trans Unemployment problems. We all know that this is at the heart of so many of our long list of problems.

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Posted in Congressional Hearings, Congressman Frank, Congresswoman Baldwin, ENDA, HRC, IFGE, Joe Solmonese, TAVA | No Comments »