caucus99percent

free-range politics, organic community

I grew up just about two miles, as the crow flies, or as the child finds a path through what we called the Creek, from Lewis and Clark College. My older brother matriculated there, played basketball for them in the late 60s for awhile. One of my major life heroes, William Stafford, taught English there for many years while I was growing up.

So it has been a major blow to me to discover that this past weekend at least two hate crimes occurred on the campus in the span of a couple of hours.

Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features doo-wop, r&b and rock n' roll group, The Coasters. Enjoy!

I first wrote about Samantha Hulsey back in January, when she was attacked with a friend on a Muni bus by a man who stabbed her twice with a steak knife while calling Hulsey and her friend "faggots".

On November 15 a San Francisco couple, Dewayne Edward Kemp, 36, and Rebecca Louise Westover, 42, were arrested near Eighth and Mission for allegedly assaulting transgender resident Samantha Hulsey.

In court Friday afternoon, Kemp and Westover pleaded not guilty to the charges, contending that they were acting in self-defense when Westover threw a cup of hot coffee an Hulsey and her girlfriend, Daira Hopwood and Kemp punched Hulsey four times in the face while uttering transphobic comments.

All over the world people are in universal agreement that the solution to the endless, horrible wars in the middle east is to escalate the levels of violence. All the Republican presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton, leaders from both political parties, foreign leaders such as Putin, Presidents Cameron and Hollande, news media pundits and former generals are speaking in one voice.

HUD Secretary Julián Castro has announced the agency has proposed a new rule to update the existing policy that bars discrimination against LGBT people seeking public housing or housing assistance from the federal government.

Under the new proposal HUD would provide access to housing and services based on a person's gender, not sex assigned at birth.

If there is ever to be any hope that this forever War on Terror will end, we must first face the reality of the world.
Unfortunately, if this statement is an example, then reality is the last thing on the agenda.

Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features blues and soul singer Syl Johnson. Enjoy!

Bleeding

The blood runs thin
In the dark settings
the dangerous regions
where the ragged people
attempt to assemble themselves
people building meaningful identities
unwanted anywhere uptown
And when the blood spills
into the bleek gutters and rickety dwellings
those identities are so often
then erased
stolen in the night
discarded
just like the bodies of the people
who strove to own them

On this day we remember those lost souls. We remember their names, and try to summon memories of those who chose them.

The Evening Blues - 11-19-15

Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features blues harmonica player James Cotton. Enjoy!

The recent spate of stories about the transgender teen in Palatine, IL has, among other things, drawn some real exhibition of lack of understanding...one might even call it ignorance...on the part of some of those commenting. It's the sort of thing one might expect to find from the right-wing commentariat rather than at Daily Kos.

It has made me question whether the 11 years I have spent posting at DK have done anything good whatsoever.

Tuesday's Editorial at WaPo An Illinois high school’s tragic discrimination against a transgender student serves a couple of necessary purposes beyond what I have written or what Kerry Eleveld has written about the situation.

First of all it will be read by more people. Secondly, it includes some facts previously not mentioned.

The writer begins by decrying the fear-mongering, which is good. When it comes to trans people, the Fearmongers Shoppe is always open.

The Fearmongers Shoppe, serving all your phobia needs since 1947.