Error message

Deprecated function: Array and string offset access syntax with curly braces is deprecated in include_once() (line 20 of /home/caucusni/public_html/includes/file.phar.inc).

Diaries

What good are anti-discrimination laws anyway?

Submitted by Robyn on Thu, 11/05/2015 - 2:25pm

The District of Columbia has had anti-discrimination laws protecting transgender people for quite some time (since 2005). But a new study, qualified and transgender", by the Office of Human Rights, reveals that nearly half of D. C. employers prefer less qualified cisgender applicants to more qualified trans applicants.

Five employers will face director's inquiries from the Office of Human Rights for their results—two in the restaurant industry, two in the administrative sector, and one university. These investigations will determine whether the actions were discriminatory and could become public documents.

OHR submitted resumes to openings in various sectors from February to July.

OT - 11-05-15: Leave them laughing

Submitted by Shahryar on Thu, 11/05/2015 - 6:00am

I hate how Hollywood changes books and makes them syrupy, feel-good stories, like Elmer Gantry for example.

The movie version ends with Elmer being a changed man who has seen the light is now able to see clearly. Yikes!

"When I was a child, I spake as a child. I understood as a child. When I became a man, I put away childish things. St Paul, First Corinthians"

Here's that bit, as he sings with Patti Page

Looking for a spark of brightness

Submitted by Robyn on Wed, 11/04/2015 - 2:28pm

It's a grey day, full of grey people leading their grey lives. The defeat of HERO in Houston was not unexpected. The recent rhetoric from the sidelines is of concern...especially when it comes to the membership at DK.

It's really quite easy:

Transgender men are men. Transgender women are women. A penis on a transgender woman is a woman's penis. A vagina on a transgender man is a man's vagina.

Averring or Insinuating otherwise is the very definition of transphobia.

Suggesting the abandonment of transgender people in order to increase rights for LGB people is not cool. We are of the body, Landru. All of us.

Please tell me you don't want to be grouped with those people who have recently spoken out against transgender people having equal rights: Phyllis Schlafly, Germaine Greer, Tony Perkins, Pat Robertson, et. al.

Open Thread - Wednesday November 4, 2015

Submitted by gulfgal98 on Wed, 11/04/2015 - 7:00am

Good Morning, 99%'ers!

I was expecting to be traveling today, heading south to Florida for my 50th high school reunion. Instead, we decided to leave a day early because my husband had some business he needed to take care of today. Because of this and my own procrastination, this open thread diary is being constructed on the fly. Today's diary is a personal one.

DoE to Illinois school district: We're serious

Submitted by Robyn on Tue, 11/03/2015 - 2:51pm

Yesterday federal education authorities found that Township High School District in Palatine, IL violated anti-discrimination laws when it denied a transgender girl who participates on a girl's sports team free access to change and shower in the girl's locker room.

Education officials said the decision was the first of its kind on the rights of transgender students, which are emerging as a new cultural battleground in public schools across the country. In previous cases, federal officials had been able to reach settlements giving access to transgender students in similar situations. But in this instance, the school district in Palatine, Ill., has not yet come to an agreement, prompting the federal government to threaten sanctions. The district, northwest of Chicago, has indicated a willingness to fight for its policy in court.

Pages