Watching the primary coverage, you might think money was the most nefarious thing in politics this year. Former Council President Scott Peters allegedly “bought” his place in the November election with a $1.25 million loan to his congressional campaign. The Citizens United decision will allow supporters of Rep. Brian Bilbray to use PAC money to…
Those who’ve seen the film Milk may remember the scenes in the film showing Harvey Milk working with labor leaders to further civil rights for his primary identity community. And when he ran for San Francisco supervisor multiple times, and eventually won his district’s seat, he achieved office, in part, by not only working on…
Look out for a battle of battles for our next mayor. Right wing conservative Carl DeMaio vs. progressive Bob Filner. You have to give it to DeMaio, as he was talking about running for mayor to many of us even before he ran for City Council. Bob Filner has served our city on the board…
Most of Tuesday’s primary election results are in the books, paving the way for our first way-too-early look at the general election in November. Obama vs. Romney. If California is in play in the presidential election, you can practice saying President Romney. Still, the amount of money and effort the candidates put into the state…
I recently listened to a trans activist talk around a table about the work of his trans-specific service organization. The organization provided antidiscrimination training that complied with a particular government mandated sexual orientation and gender identity training requirement for a particular service sector. There were no broader LGBT organizations in the immediate area providing that…
It’s true; I’m back after weeks in and out of hospitals; extensive travel; finding out that, after 50 years, some of my plastic surgery is shifting (a story in itself – stay tuned). Still, some days I’m in great shape; and other times I need to use a cane. Well, this golden girl is just…
“Someone who can rule and should rule. Centuries come and go without a person like that coming into the world.” – Ser Jorah Mormont, Game of Thrones When Nathan Fletcher left the Republican Party, I wondered (in this space) if he was trying to light a fire under his candidacy or start a centrist independent…
Here’s the gist of a parable told by the Transgender Law Center Executive Director Masen Davis, May 22 to a group of trans people, their significant others, friends, families and allies (SOFFAs) set to participate at 2012 Transgender Lobby Day in Sacramento, Calif.: “There was a man standing by a river. While looking across the…
At a recent leadership training session, I was told that part of the “Ying/Yang” philosophy is negative energies producing positive results. Never was that more clear than when President Obama declared his support for marriage equality in the wake of North Carolina enshrining discrimination in their constitution. But beyond the elation of the LGBT community,…
Here in the United States, the Department of State recently implemented a relatively new regulation for changing one’s gender marker/one’s recognized sex for one’s passport. The new regulation for changing one’s gender marker/one’s recognized sex, as identified in 7 FAM 1300 – Appendix M: Gender Change, states the following: “b. Medical Certification Accepted for Gender…
