We Got Mail!

The post on Trump banning transgender troops from the U.S. military garnered many comments, and rightfully so. I am going to try my best to get to all of them soon in no particular order.

From Jeni:" You have it wrong. 
Your Congress and Senate BACKED Trump's ban. 
Recall their behavior towards EVERYTHING positive that President Obama proposed or tried to get done. Now look at their either active support, or silence on blocking, for what Trump is doing. 
So who is making this ban happen?"

Granted Jeni. we have a Republican dominated congress, but if you recall, even they voted down the strongly anti transgender  "Hartzler Amendment" recently. Remember also, Trump's ban was a tweet , not even an executive order, so as of yet (as with much of of Trump's activity) no one yet has stepped up to activate it because it could change next week.

From Michelle: " I saw her interview last night as well as several other women who served and did local news interviews. I doubt that Frump will backtrack on his ban and I'm just waiting to to who else he will go after. I wonder which other government agencies he will include in his ban."

There were so many interviews Michelle, I am not sure which one you are writing about, but I agree with your point.

From Pat: "I was sorry that Kristin Beck failed in her race for Congress against Stenny Hoyer. Beck would have been a much more honorable member of Congress than Hoyer.

I thought that Caitlyn Jenner had reasonable comments about Trump's tweets. Remember tweets are not rules or regulations. They are not even executive orders. They have no force of law. I suggest that the most reasoned explanation of the current situation of Transgenders in the military would be the comments of Senator McCain. I think that we need to wait for Secretary Mattis to complete his study."

Jeni, this may help to clear up some of the confusion on what Tramp actually did.

Michelle went on to write: " Unfortunately I think that he starts a controversial item to draw the public's attention away from other matters that effect millions. The ploy is one that he's used in the past when someone is looking into his past life dealings."

So true!!!!

And, from Connie: "Whether a ban on trans troops comes to fruition or not is not so important now as the states of mind of the troops who have learned their Commander-in-Chief has deemed them undesirable. Imagine being embedded, voluntarily, in a war zone, knowing that your highest ranking official has given you a vote of no confidence. At the very least, it would have a negative effect on your morale. I just can't understand how this dufus can be so uncaring, yet I'm still more confused by the number of Americans who voted him into office. Maybe this will be the stupid move that finally changes their minds. I can only hope."

Thank you all for your insight! It means a lot.

Trump Frumps Again

In a not so surprising move, Trump banned all transgender troops from the military, leaving an estimated 15,000 troops or more in limbo. Frump of course never served his country prompting 20 year veteran and former Navy Seal Krisin Beck to call him out to a face to face meeting. Which we all know will never happen. What a shame. So close yet so far, and the U.S. takes another step backwards.

Kristin Beck

TSA Strikes Again

On Tuesday afternoon,  Kristin Beck, who is transgender and a retired Navy SEAL, was bound for Kansas City to give a speech to federal employees about gender sensitivity. It's what she does, since she stopped going by her birth name, Christopher Beck, wrote a book about her life as a member of SEAL Team 6 and was featured in the CNN series, "Lady Valor."

Beck told CNN she arrived at Reagan National Airport with enough time to spare, but not too much. Beck entered the security checkpoint, put her bags on the conveyor belt and stepped into the body scanner, as she's done countless times before.

When flagged for secondary screening, she took it in stride. She said she waited for one of two Transportation Security Administration agents -- a man and a woman -- to step forward and pat her down. Instead, they turned their backs to her and started whispering.

But to Beck, it was clear what was happening. Despite her makeup, long hair and low-cut blouse, the agents thought she was a man. It wouldn't be the first time since she began publicly living as a woman.

But it still was humiliating, Beck said. It never gets easier.

"I'm a female," she said she told them. "It's no big deal."

Apparently, it was enough to prompt the agents to call their supervisor, she said. When he arrived, the supervisor directed the male agent to pat "him" down in front of the security line, as everyone waited.

"These are my real boobs, he's not going to pat me down," she recalls telling agents.

"This is wrong. I'm a female, it says female on my Maryland driver's license. This is the real me."

According to Beck, the supervisor responded, "Then somebody pat him down."

The female agent stepped forward and did the pat-down, Beck says. After that, Beck went on her way, holding back tears. She pulled out her phone and recounted the experience in a Facebook post."

Ironically, Kristin wrote that this was probably an isolated incident but unfortunately not to certain transgender passengers who travel by air frequently. In fact a trans woman here in Cincinnati was given fits often when she flew from here to LAX Airport.

Please go here to read more of Kristin's comments.. 

Cyrsti's Condo "Sunday Edition"

KerPlunk! Another Sunday edition is hitting your virtual front porch. It's sunny here in Southwestern Ohio but around 30 degrees with winds yesterday around sixty three miles per hour, As things calm down, it's time to grab a hot "cup-o-joe" and get started.
Page One:The Week That Was or Wasn't: As the North Carolina Governor signed the worst LGBT bill in the country, battle zones were settling up or fought in many other states. Currently, over one hundred companies have protested the law alone-not to mention the general public. Unfortunately, this is only the tip of the ice berg.
Page Two: Yesterday's Coffee-Opinion: Last week (three times) we mentioned the Go Fund Me page for Kristin Beck. Kristin of course is the former Navy Seal who came out as transgender and now is running against one of most powerful Democrats in the U.S Congress. After she wins the election, I am going to try to ask her some specific questions about her transition I haven't heard asked. Being a transgender veteran myself, I just wonder what it must be like to bring the respect and even power (my word) of being a Navy Seal to the public. If you can donate to her election you can by going to the "Go Fund Me" page.
Page Three: What's in a Name? Quite a bit when it comes to transgender women and transgender men, It's a rare chance to change our name to fit a new gender. I ran into a name buzz saw when I had established myself as Cyrsti when all of a sudden I had my daughter ask me why and what would the grand kids call me, At that point, I decided to look back on some family names and came up with two which come up with the initials J.J. Now the name is on my legal markers and Cyrsti has become more of a "stage name." Plus, since it is a legal deal for the first time in my life, I know I have to be a little careful on how far I go here on Al Gore's internet.
Page Four: The Back Page: Chilly or not kids, it's time to go face a busy Sunday and always, thanks for stopping by Cyrsti's Condo

Kristin Beck

Kristin Beck

As many of you probably already, transgender woman and former Navy Seal Kristin Beck is running for Congress in Maryland. She dropped me a thank you note recently about the five dollars I donated some time ago then lost track of where her election stood.



"Hey!  Even $5 makes a difference.  Thank you.  It's been a while since I last heard from you.  When I get to congress you are going to come up and have lunch or give me a call so we can talk.  I will pulling the volunteers together in the next few days. I hope everything is going well for you. Right now I am very much in my "happy place".  I am very, very tired, but I am happy.  I know that I have done just about everything I can to win this election.  I just need to push past the finish line by putting one foot in front of the other. I need you to send out the word again.  I need a lot of very small donations to go to my "GoFundMe" crowd sourcing website.  I have to raise some money for the final signs to be posted along the roads to the voting polls. (I donated ten more dollars)   

It's nearing the end of the Primary race and we are all exhausted and feeling a little beaten down.  Mike and I are going through all the nice emails we received over the past year."

Needless to say, being a transgender veteran myself (regardless of being another trans woman), we need all the individuals we can running against these ignorant bigots we face in state and national legislatures. 

For more on Kristin, go here.

Wishful Thinking?

With a couple of the real scary presidential candidates who were given "no chance" not long ago-who now are.

This picture of transgender veteran and Navy Seal Kristin Beck standing in front of what could be "Air Force One" (if the Prez was on board) is somewhat reassuring.

Cyrsti's Cotndo "Sunday Edition"

Ker Plunk! Listen up! Another Sunday Edition is hitting your virtual front porch. Around here, Momma Nature is doing her best to provide a beautiful cool fall Sunday morning along the Ohio River in Southwestern Ohio. In fact I'm taking advantage of her gift by writing this morning outside. Let's get our "Cup o Joe" and get started!

Page One-The Week that Was or Wasn't: The surprise of the week for me was the Thursday "Dr. Phil" Show transgender episode.I was completely surprised when Dr. Phil "counseled" a young trans woman's step father concerning her transition-which in my book she was managing to destroy in every conceivable way she could. In fact, it took a visit from transgender Navy Seal Krisitn Beck to provide real insights.My fave moment came when Step Dad in a moment of ultra confusion called Kristin an "it".  Dr. Phil cautioned him later never call a Navy Seal an "it"-he could get kicked over the roof.

Page Two.- "Movin Picture Shows": Friday night after my speaking engagement, Liz and I had a chance to see a new "movin picture show" which was just opening called "Grandma". All I can really tell you about the movie is we enjoyed it immensely, it stars Lily Tomlin and transgender actress Lavern Cox has a role. 

Also, yesterday I received a message in one of my emails concerning a "Romance/Murder Mystery" which involves a trans "protagonist." At the beginning of the message and link, I was dismissing it out of hand-until-I read more about it. So, in a later post, I will pass along the link to the project and you can make your own decision. At this point, I can only say (from what I have seen) the movie will walk a fine line between the interaction between a transgender woman and her "admirer."

Page Three: Opinion: It's been a big Sunday edition this week as we deal with all sorts of contentious trans issues. Let's throw in another and call it "Shape Shifting." That's right-shape shifting. Friday night at the "Love Must Win" get together, another transgender woman named "Steph" (as I mentioned) spoke also. Her story was vastly different than mine in many areas yet so similar in others. The biggest similarity came when she said her journey to her present was not as clear cut as many of the trans kids (like Jazz Jennings) are today. Similar to my story. She also detailed briefly her cross dressing years- Still perceived as a negative somehow by trans "purists"." As I normally do, I began to backtrack in my noggin the next day about our "cross dressing" years and how I could even explain them somehow as my "shape shifting years." We will see.

Page Four: The Back Page: Today did mark a sad milestone in my life as I removed my last estrogen patches from my body. On the positive side, I have steeled myself to the point of living longer is my ultimate goal. If by chance the opportunity to begin estrogen again comes my way again-great. If it doesn't, at least I can thank my Goddess for letting me live it for awhile.

In the meantime, I hope you all have a wonderful day and as always-thanks for taking your valuable time and stopping by Cyrsti's Condo. "Luv ya" all!!!

Transgender Veteran Care

I try to pride myself in passing out praise as much as I am negative. Which I have to admit has been tough lately...but infinitely doable. Especially yesterday at my latest Veterans Administration appointment. 

I'm up now to giving regular blood labs first and then going over to hematology to give a pint. Hopefully if this works, I will only be scheduled for two to four more.

The reason I am writing this post is, I simply can't believe how nice they all are to me. I was greeted as "Ms" Hart and pronouned correctly all the way.

Hopefully, they all are just treating me so well because I trans-not because of my illness!!!!

Whatever the reason, I plan on carrying the theme on through into my speaking engagement tonight.

The bottom line is, the world does not have to accept or understand us any further than knowing we didn't have a choice with any of this- Transgender, gay, lesbian or whatever.

What we do have a choice in though, is how the world treats us.  Kristin Beck said it again yesterday: (I paraphrase) If we (trans women and men) aren't trying to kill ourselves-we are trying to do it ourselves in record numbers. Tragic.

Ending this post on a positive note, I am fairly sure no one from the Dayton, Ohio VA hospital reads Cyrsti's Condo-but if you do-THANKS!!!

Dr. Phil - Meet Kristin Beck

Liz is a bigger Dr. Phil fan than I am. So, I cringed when she couldn't wait to tell me the "Philster" was actually going to tackle a transgender topic today.


More precisely, the show was about a former trans military cop who was cutting a wide swath through her family as she transitioned. Her step Dad at the beginning of the show was so upset he was shaking and I was afraid he was going to hyper-ventilate. Her wife? Seemingly without much warning, the transgender woman said she now liked men and wanted out.


No surprises right? Dr. Phil is going to rush in and tell the newly minted trans woman to stop or at least slow down. 

Wrong...spoiler alert...former Navy Seal Kristin Beck was called in. (Transgender herself) -To add perspective and perspective she did. Her main point with Step Dad was being transgender is not a choice and Dr. Phil backed Kristin 110 %! Kristin also told the trans woman to "slow down" with her transgender "puberty" and don't destroy all of those who love her.


Dr.Phil did a wonderful job of asking Step Dad if he could even consider a person could be "hardwired" into a non birth gender. After miss pronouning Kristin to the point of calling her an "it", Phil finally made it through-with a final warning-never call a Navy Seal an it!!! He could get kicked over the building.

Liz made me swear I would not tell any of you how impressed I was with this show...to the point of tears.

So I won't. Except to say follow the link above to find it!

The Right or Wrong Person for the Job?

I really don't know how many times I have sworn myself off the "allure" or lack of it from Caitlin Jenner. 

Kristin Beck 

Of course I know the non negotiables. Without a doubt she is the biggest public relation's splash ever in the transgender community. Now we have a former Olympic hero along with Navy Seal Kristin Beck as recent "coming out" stories. In fact, Kristin is running for US Congress.

I am sure Jenner's life will ever allow her to ever experience the everyday lives we live as transgender women. Can you imagine the paparazzi crowding into a women's restroom with her?

After watching her last show rater intently (and knowing it's a glossy over produced Kartrashian show) I couldn't see the emotion in Jenner. Again, I don't know all the facts about her, except she went out and bought the best plastic surgery money could buy. Again, maybe that's why I can't see any emotion in her face-she can't move it!!!!

Plus, I have no idea how long she has been back on HRT. It took me three years on hormones to begin to see the world in a different way. When I watch Jenner, I wonder if she has passed over (no pun intended) to the feminine side much at all. She tries to overtalk most people and doesn't want to listen for the real problems-typical male.

Then again, maybe I am just watching the true quandary of a Mtf gender transition play out with Jenner. I don't question the pure persistence and strength it takes to jump the gender fence. It will be interesting to see in the years to come what happens with Jenner. Will a "softer-gentler" Caitlin truly begin to enjoy a life in the girls sandbox? Or, will the ego trip of doing it still be more important? 

Cyrsti's Condo "Sunday Edition"

"Ker Plunk!" Here comes a new Sunday Edition "fresh off the press!"  The coffee pot is on, so have a seat in your comfy "jammies" and lets get started.

Page 1.- Don't Look Now.  The big public relations "splash" this week was when previously androgynous super model Andrej Pejic, came out as transgender woman Andreja.  This move most likely wasn't a complete surprise to those who have followed Pejic's career.

What is important is what she (Andreja) said:  announcing on social media Thursday that she’s officially transitioned from male to female, and that doing so has saved her life.“As a transgender woman I hope to show that after transition (a life-saving process) one can be happy and successful in their new chapter without having to alienate their past,”

Now I would expect her to make talk show rounds on places like "The View" which would bcome decidedly become trans-centric after the recent appearance of Laverne Cox. (**Editor's Note-  maybe closet blond transphobe bigot Jenny McCarthy will keep her moth shut!)
Seriously, when coming out as transgender becomes rather "Ho-Hum" we will finally begin to ascend the power ladder in the GLBT hierarchy.  Pejic's move will certainly help!

Page 2.- Women Drivers?  A topic this week in the "Condo" which garnered much attention were the stories of being "caught" cross dressed as a woman behind the wheel of a vehicle. Just jump back two or three posts and catch up if you haven't!!!!

As Mandy commented, there is really no way to control the other drivers of the world and driving cross dressed (or en femme) does have it's inherent risks.  No way around it.  My original point to the discussion was, if you are really thinking about transitioning further, a little peak into what a woman goes through in a male dominated profession is when you have car problems!  We don't have enough space here for me to tell you all the dumb things I did when I first began to explore the world in my car as my feminine self.  These days though it's a bit different for me since I'm more confident of myself and more apt to understand a man trying to "over explain" why my tire does not hold air!  I'm not above playing  the "dumb woman" card just to get my damn tire changed! Somehow it's Karma. 

FYI Mandy et all, my little prayer for everything I do is, "But by the grace of the Goddess go I!"

Page Three .- Pot Potpourri.  This week I proved once again why I'm not the sharpest tack in the box by not taking my meds right and cheating myself out of approximately six months of a higher dose of the testosterone reducing drug Spiro. As I wrote last week, I really don't "measure" the girls too much but I do know I'm getting close to a full  "C" cup bra these days.  To me one of the bigger changes I have felt is the amount of extra "tissue" under my arms. I am fairly certain my Mom was a "D" or "DD" (we never discussed it) so genetically - on HRT, any thing past a full "C" cup may exceed my expectations.


Once again there seems to be a steady push going on to establish equal rights for transgender veterans.  In many ways, the Andreja Pejic of we trans vets everywhere is former Navy Seal Kristin Beck. (shown at left) It's important to note on Facebook she is pretty much disowning what happened to her in her first book "Warrior Princess". She has a new web site called "Lady Valor" you may want to check out.  The link is above. 

Finally, if you are a transgender vet, there is a survey for you to take from the VA.  If you need the link, please email me- cyrstih@yahoo.com.

Page 4.- The Back Page.  As I said, it has been quite the week around the "Condo" and I soooo appreciate all of "youse girls comments!" "Goddess willing and the creeks don't rise, have a great week!!!"

Class

I recently found former Navy Seal and transgender veteran Kristin Beck's Facebook page and sent her a friend request.

Here was her reply:  "Thank you for the support and for your service.  Welcome home sister on two fronts."

Class!

Kristin Beck

Perhaps you didn't know there is an on line "portal" where anyone can report transgender violence-anywhere in the world.  The name of it, is just about that:  The Transgender Violence Tracking Portal.



Yesterday the group made a great move by naming retired Navy Seal and Transgender Woman Kristin Beck as it's spokesperson (Shown above.)  Here's the story:

The Transgender Violence Tracking Portal is proud to announce Kristin Beck as our new National Spokeswoman.  Ms. Beck is an activist, author, and retired Navy SEAL who has embraced a journey towards her true self as portrayed in a CNN Films documentary called "Lady Valor: The Kristin Beck Story."  A book by the same name will be released this fall which details her true journey.   

Ms. Beck will greatly aid the TVTP in its mission to grow greater awareness of the epidemic of anti-transgender violence, harassment and victimization of transgender people across the world.

Transgender   people make up 1 to 1.5% of the world’s population but are about 400 times more likely to be assaulted or murdered than the rest of the population. These crimes are more likely to be violent, and are often meant to intimidate the entire community. Many of these crimes are left unsolved, which makes it doubly important to track and hold law enforcement accountable to solving these crimes.

Go here for more.

Some Hide Better than Others

It's no secret transgender veterans occupy a much larger percentage of world wide military's than anyone has been able to measure.

After all, for the MtF trans person, the military is one of the great places to prove how macho you really aren't.  Finally, as in other segments of society, transgender veterans from the most macho areas of the military are coming forward-and out. The primary example from this country is former Navy Seal Kristin Beck.

Now, there is a documentary being shown in Australia called Sex Change Soldier.  It's the story of  Ian - now Jan - Hamilton.(left)  Hamilton was an officer in the British elite parachute regiment, serving in Northern Ireland, the first Gulf war, Bosnia, the Iraq war and Afghanistan. After suffering near fatal injuries in a bomb blast in Afghanistan, he decided that he wanted to live the rest of his life as a woman. “The only emotion I was able to show in the army was aggression, and I became quite good at that,” she says. “I hated myself, hated the world, and I hated being in the world ... I was volunteering to go back in operations simply because I thought I would die.”

Jan Hamilton makes several key points which hopefully educate the general population.  One was willingness to commit a form of suicide rather than accept her transgender leanings.

Another addressed the fading idea that any of us had a choice in any of this. Hamilton said:

"No sane person would do this,” she says of her upcoming facial reconstruction surgery in Thailand. “I would rather walk out of Basra palace with an unloaded rifle into the middle of a hostile crowd than put myself through this."

Go here for more.

Cyrsti's Condo "Sunday Edition"

Welcome in to the "Super Sunday" edition in the "Condo".  If you are passionate about either team, I hope you win!  Looking back a year, I know what I was up to during the big game-or down to.  For some crazy reason I was offered the morning after the game for a colostomy.  So I spent the evening not sampling wings and beer but drinking some brand of system "flushing" liquid and trying to make my toilet as comfortable as possible. Duh!


Section One.- The Week in Review.  Bruce Jenner's refusal to come out of the closet comes to mind as one of the memorable moments of the week.  It's Jenner's business to do as he/she pleases but why not do something positive with his transition.  If he is not transitioning MtF, then his time with the Kardashians' certainly wore off on him.  Check the latest picture of Bruce on the left.  He seems to have a nice little set of HRT induced breasts working.  The negative of course is Jenner sets himself and the transgender community up for ridicule.  Coming out would give us another example of a guy who lived under the cover of an intensely male life such as former Navy Seal Kristin Beck.  If you don't know, Jenner was once considered one of the top male athletes in the world as a decathlon competitor.  The worst case scenario is having Dr. Phil, who struggles to even say transgender, speculate on your transition Bruce, on the Inside Edition television show.  Really Bruce?

Section 2.- Breaking News:  Patricia, a former Ohio Buckeye who now lives in California, was kind enough to send me this information from Planned Parenthood:


Planned Parenthood Mar Monte (California) is offering transgender hormone services at the following health center locations: Fulton Street Health Center – Fresno Mountain View Health Center – Mountain View B Street Health Center – Sacramento Westside Health Center – Santa Cruz 

Our transgender hormone services include: Transgender Female (MTF) Hormone Therapy including estrogen and spironolactone Transgender Male (FTM) Hormone Therapy including testosterone We may be able to start or continue hormone therapy and provide referrals for gender-qualified therapy and resources if needed. 

If you are on hormone therapy, you can utilize the health center for ongoing care and monitoring. In order to receive transgender services you need to be over 18 and capable of providing consent for services. We can provide services for younger patients in Santa Cruz with a parent or guardian’s permission. There are special consents for these services.

For more info, go here.  Thanks Patricia, I have no idea if Planned Parenthood offers these services on a wider basis.  Frankly, it's the first time I've even heard of them and I am impressed!

Well, it's about time to get another hot cup of coffee and the dog is happy the weather is warm and dry enough for a walk.  Here's hoping you all have a great week!  This should be a special one here in Cyrsti's Condo as we pass the one million hits mark!  I wish I could give away a new car but it's not in the budget!

Out and About

All of the sudden if you look around, there are transgender women and men who are jumping into the spotlight simply because of who they are.

Take Kristin Beck, the Navy Seal and now Jennifer Pritzker, 63, formerly James, who officially changed her listing to female and has become the world's first transgender billionaire. Only 12 percent of the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans are female, but in 2013, the ranks gained one member from the other side of the list.

Or the South Dakota woman who just reached a landmark transgender discrimination settlement, keeping in step with a growing trend of cases that say transgender discrimination is applicable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

 The $50,000 settlement is bringing transgender workers one step closer to federally recognized equal opportunity in the workplace. Transgender Discrimination Settlement Cori McCreery, 29, was fired in 2010 after telling her employer at Don's Valley Market in Rapid City, S.D. that she would be transitioning from a man to a woman, reports Time.

We can't forget the omni present Lynn Conway the transgender pioneer whose longtime passion has been sports, particularly adventure sports. She's overcome two similar life obstacles (transitioning and a fear of heights) en route to her current state: a 75-year-old Michigan resident—reflective and respected, passionate and accomplished, innovative and intelligent. "In a strange way, while rock-climbing years ago I was learning exactly what I needed to transition, learning how to overcome fear," Conway said. "Although scared of heights, I worked up to some modest climbing in Yosemite Valley—and passionately enjoyed it."

Or Nikki Araguz's incredibly important court fight in Texas:.  The result of her case in the appeals court could affect the transition status of transgender people throughout the state of Texas and beyond.  Cristan Williams, director of Houston's Transgender Center Williams said. "I think that this case is incredibly important not only to transgender people throughout Texas, but transgender people throughout the nation."

Wow, the good news is we are just beginning to scratch the surface thanks to all these determined transgender citizens!

To "She" or not to "She" Chelsea

Manning

I'm sure I'm not alone in my conflicted feelings about convicted "Wickileaks" soldier "Bradley/Chelsea Manning". Then again, I really don't have much of a conflict not supporting Manning's claim to prison supported HRT or whatever. Just because he claims to be gender dysphoric, does not mean I have to be on his side. I feel doubly insulted by him- as a trans vet and trans woman. Why?

My major problem  as a transgender Vietnam Era vet, I was one of a great many draftees who really did not agree with the "non-war" we were in. Most of us were able to serve out our time the best we could and made it home safely without resorting to Manning's actions.

Kristin Beck

My point is, who the hell is Manning to even slightly suggest his gender issues may have anything to do with his issues? Really?

It's always nice not to be alone. Here's what Kristin Beck (transgender retired Seal) had to say she has nothing but contempt for the Army private who blamed gender issues in part for leaking nearly a million classified documents. “Someone that does something like that, then uses an excuse to behave badly, is an amazingly poor human being,” said Beck, now a St. Petersburg resident, in a telephone interview moments before boarding an airplane."

For me to call Manning "Chelsea" or
"she" is an insult to the entire feminine gender- genetic or transgender.

Autumn Sandeen On Transgender Vets and More

All you regular peeps here in Cyrsti's Condo know I am a transgender vet and follow Autumn Sandeen's (left) views on the subject with great respect.
Following transgender Navy Seal Kristin Beck's coming out party and book, I was anxious to read Autumn's take on the whole situation. To fill you in, Autumn is truly a ground breaking trans vet fighting what often I'm sure looked like a very lonely fight.

Here's an excerpt of what she said:

"I’d like to comment on instead is the implications of her story on the broader movement toward open service for trans people. One of the many arguments that were made by the LGBT public policy organizations, such the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), was that we wouldn’t want to discharge hardcore fighting corps, such as SEALS and Army Rangers, just because they were gay. America would be removing tough, smart, well-trained soldiers out of America’s special forces for a reason that had nothing to do with whether or not they were effective at doing their jobs.

That’s an effective narrative, but the LGBT community never had any former SEALS or Army Rangers it could point to and say, “And this is the kind of special forces soldier you’ll kick out of the military if they said they were gay on active duty.” In the trans community, we do have such a soldier now. We can now point to Kristin Beck and say, “If Senior Chief Beck came out as transgender while she was in the Navy SEALS, she would have been kicked out for a reason that had nothing to do with whether or not she were effective at doing her job. Is that what America really wants?” And is it?"

Allow me to paraphrase and get you to her actual statement but Autumn points out there are questions for an open trans military service AND the the preliminary work has been set in motion for a national discussion. Such as (from her previous column) the narratives of trans Department of Defense (DOD) contractors and civilian employees who’ve recently served in Middle Eastern combat zones – narratives such as those of Nicole Shounder, Rachel Bolyard and Erika Stetson.

Then there’s (Autumn's) narrative about her historic fight to have her recorded gender changed in the DOD databases. Huge, in that it showed that the DOD  acknowledged that trans servicemembers and veterans even did exist. Fortunately, this seems to be just the tip of the iceberg and hopefully the hypocritical transgender ways of the Pentagon have first class seats on the Titanic!

As you can read much is happening on this front. For more on the story go here

.

Kristin Beck Speaks Out

CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 seems to have cornered the first Kristin Beck interviews I have been able to see.

Go here for an inside look how Kristin was able to live her life as a Navy Seal. Much of what she says sounds very familiar. If you were a transgender vet or not!

Sealing the Truth

Well my post earlier today was true according to ABC News:


"A former member of the elite U.S. Navy SEALs has come out to say she's now a woman. Kristin Beck, formerly Chris, served 20 years as a SEAL and fought on some of the most dangerous battlefields in the world, but after she left the service she realized she wasn't living the life she wanted. "Chris really wanted to be a girl and felt that she was a girl and consolidated that identity very early on in childhood," said Anne Speckhard, co-author of Beck's biography "Warrior Princess," which was published over the weekend.

Speckhard told ABC News Beck suppressed that secret for decades, however, through the trials of SEAL training and the harrowing missions that followed, growing a burly beard as she fought on the front lines of American special operations. Brandon Webb, a former SEAL who served on a different SEAL team than Beck, said that Beck's reputation in the SEALs was a good one and said she was, by all appearances, the "consummate guy's guy." But the book says that Chris "had considered living as the woman he felt himself to be for a very long time, but while he was serving as a SEAL he couldn't do it.

" "For years Chris had turned off his sexuality like a light switch and lived as a warrior, consumed with the battle -- living basically asexual. For Chris the other SEALs were brothers and in the man's man warrior lifestyle, even if he had wanted to entertain sexual thoughts, there really was never any time to be thinking too much about sexuality," the book says."

Of course none of Kristin's story is entirely alien to most of us who tried the macho lifestyle.  Go here for more and expect this story  to be huge!

I just wonder how I saw this first in the middle of the night coming from an Australian News Source...although Amazon.com was credited too...time change?