Monica Loera was shot and killed on her front doorstep on January 22.

Although police have made an arrest in the case and a suspect has been charged, there’s been no public acknowledgement of her death or the community that has been further traumatized in its wake. And that’s wrong.

Reading the arrest affidavit or local news reports about the death, you’d have no idea that the victim was a transgender woman. The wild curls and wide grins from her Facebook page – and above all else, her chosen name – have been omitted to a staggering degree. Instead Loera has been described using her birth name and masculine pronouns.

--Nina Hernandez, Austin Chronicle

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Thursday January 13, 1916
From the International Socialist Review: The Life of the Tenant Farmer

In this month's edition of the Review, W. W. Pannell describes the life of the tenant farmer, how tenant farmers are manufactured, and the deep pit of debt in which they and their families struggle to survive:

Tenant Farming in the United States

By W. W. PANNELL
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Tenant Farmers Levi and Beulah Stewart with children,
CIR Hearings at Dallas, March 1915
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Well folks, tonight was one of the most exciting nights I've ever had in politics in Texas.

It was a meeting with the state campaign staff of Bernie for President. They laid out the agenda. Then we divided up into working groups.

I met with a few people under the Labor for Bernie banner. And here's where it gets exciting! I met the former long-time editor of Labor Notes. Yes he's moved down here to San Antonio from Detroit and he's now working with Unite Here.

A super great guy. And this is BREAKING NEWS. The Hyatt workers FINALLY have union recognition. It hasn't even been publicly announced yet, so you are hearing this ahead of the public announcement. This has been a SIX YEAR fight. So exciting.

I met a local leader of National Nurses United. She invited me to a Bernie gathering at her house on Saturday afternoon. Great lady. They don't have any hospitals organized yet in San Antonio, but they are here on the ground and active.

There is a six-year-old boy in Katy, TX who is transgender. His parents, who happen to be a gay couple, informed the Children's Lighthouse Learning Center that their child now should be referred to as a boy and disclosed his new name.

The school administrators were okay with that. Indeed, they appear to have been prepared for their first transgender child. A set of guidelines entitled How to Handle Transgender Students was distributed to staff members.

Two "Christian" staff members objected. They were fired.

As you might imagine, this has caused an uproar from certain sources.

Hey! Good Evening!

This evening's music features blues steel guitar player Freddie Roulette and r&b singer Tyrone Davis. Enjoy!

Janette Tovar was a 43-year-old transgender woman. She was said to be a popular nightclub promoter.

Tovar had been in a relationship with Jonathan Stuart Kenney, 29, for over a year and were living together in October of 2012. From all reports, however, it was a "very turbulent relationship." According to the apartment manager, who dived on the floor below their apartment, the couple were always fighting and were at it again between 8am and 9am on October 15, when he heard Tovar yell, "Get off me." The couple left the apartment at that time...still fighting.

Kenney now admits to slamming Tovar's head into the pavement before they returned to the apartment. Kenney then beat Tovar again.

Around 4pm Kenney called 911 to report that Tovar was unconscious and unresponsive...but not before he posted the following on the Book of Face:

I love you my baby Janette, your my love my everything and I will miss you so much. Your the best thing that ever happened to me girl kisses!!!!!! I hope you can see me down here even though I can’t see you I feel your spirit still living in me. Rest in peace mi amor mi vida.

Tovar was determined to have died from blunt force trauma.

Hey everybody! It's hump day Friday! Today's Beastiable is Senator Ted Cruz(mel). He has said and done beastly things for many years now, and so he has earned his turn as one of Les Beastiables.

NOTE FOR NEW READERS: This series features a new Les Beastiables cartoon every Wednesday about 1:45 PM Eastern. We indulge in a little Franglish because the French are tres classy. But I digresse.

For serious discussion of the issues, please join me below the break. Then you'll be able to "cleanse your palate" with a cute photo before you leave.