caucus99percent

free-range politics, organic community

Tucker FitzGerald is the father of a transgender girl. Yesterday he had an opinion published in the Seattle Times.

My daughter is in kindergarten. She’s 6. She loves unicorns and mermaids and soccer. And I’m concerned about Olympia forcing her to share the restroom with men.

Currently she uses the girls’ restroom. But some Washington legislators want her in the men’s room — because she was born with a penis.

It feels uncomfortable writing about my child’s genitals. But I’m not sure how else to protect her.

Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features jazz singer Jimmy Rushing. Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wednesday February 16, 1916
Butte, Montana - Hope Faded for Twelve Missing Men in Pennsylvania Mine Fire

Hope is faded, and, by some accounts, lost for the miners who remain missing in the Pennsylvania Mine. This latest disaster follows, by only four months, the disaster in the Granite Mountain shaft of the Speculator Mine. On October 16th of last year, a mine car filled with 500 pounds of dynamite ignited in a massive explosion which instantly blew seventeen miners into eternity.

From The Omaha Daily Bee:

TWENTY-ONE CAUGHT IN BURNING MINE
-----

Nine Bodies Recovered from Blazing Copper Workings
at Butte by Rescue Crew.
-----
TWELVE MORE MEN MISSING
-----

At least by body count, Henry Kissinger is the United States' biggest living War Criminal, fully comparable to Hitler and Stalin.

Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features jump blues and r&b singer Wynonie Harris. Enjoy!

Kyle Knight and Neela Goshal have written an interesting essay on the rights...or lack of same...of transgender people around the world.

The process is as universal as it gets: when a baby is born, a doctor, parent, or birth attendant announces the arrival of a “girl” or “boy.” That split-second assignment dictates multiple aspects of our lives. It is also something that most of us never question.

But some people’s gender evolves differently, and might not fit rigid traditional notions of female or male.

That should have no bearing on whether someone can enjoy fundamental rights. But for transgender people it does—to a humiliating, violent, and sometimes lethal degree.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tuesday February 15, 1916
Butte, Montana - Miners Trapped by Fire, Rescue Attempts Ongoing

Newspapers across the nation this morning are reporting on the fire which erupted last night in the Pennsylvania Mine at Butte, Montana. We offer a few examples:

From Salina, Kansas:

PENNED IN BY FIRE
-----

Flames In Airshaft of Anaconda Mine
Imprisoned Miners At Butte.
-----
TEN VICTIMS KNOWN DEAD
-----
Other Workmen Have Not Been Heard From
Since the Disaster.
-----

Butte, Mont., Feb. 15.-At least ten miners lost their lives in a fire which started last night in the air shaft on the 12,000 [1200] foot level of a mine of the Anaconda copper Mining Company and which still was burning early today....

Pennsylvania Mine, about 1900
``````````

From Working in These Times of Feb 9, 2016-

“On Bill and Hillary Clinton’s First Date in 1971, They Crossed a Picket Line”
by Zach Schwartz-Weinstein

According to the above article, Hillary Rodham and Bill Clinton, young law students at Yale, were members of the student’s Committee for Local 35 and their signatures were on a statement of support for the union a week before the strike.

If you thought the political and humanitarian situation in Syria couldn't be any worse, you are about to be proven horribly wrong.
Unless several nation pull back from the brink right now, the Syrian Civil War is about to turn into a region-wide war that could plunge much of the Muslim world into open warfare, and could possibly even lead to a military confrontation between Russia and NATO.
Yes, it really is that dangerous.

I was provoked into writing this piece by a diary which discussed Supreme Court review of some sort of proposed regulation of carbon emissions from coal plants.