Cyrsti's Condo "Sunday Edition"

KerPlunk and SMOOTCH!  Welcome to another Valentines Sunday Edition of the Condo which has hit your virtual front porch. We are between the bitter cold I wrote of yesterday and snowy weather today a great day to cuddle in my "jammies" with a hot cop o joe or cocoa! Let's get started.
Page One-The Week that Was or Wasn't: The week that was, revolved again around LGBT rights, especially transgender restroom rights in many areas of the country. Do the best you can to get out and support the trans youth in your communities. Here in Ohio, once again, legislators once again are trying to push a LGBT rights bill past a Republican controlled legislature. Not to mention a governor who happens to be a presidential candidate which means he is not above "blowing in the wind" and changing positions for votes. Now he is in South Carolina groveling to the Evangelical conservative right. 
Page Two- Yesterday's Coffee-Opinion: Perhaps you have heard by now U.S.  SupremeCourt Justice Antonin Scalia, the leading conservative voice on the high court, has died at the age of 79, a government source   and a family friend told CNN on Saturday. Perhaps, he was known recently for his "gobbly gook" opinions such as same sex marriage rather than sound conservative opinion. Like him or not, Scalia may have been an example of why Supreme Court justices should not have an automatic seat for life, once approved. Now of course the fight begins on who will replace him and many are saying the Obama administration should not have a choice. All in all, the process should be another increasingly interesting and important look into the American justice system.
Page Three- Rest Rooms and the Alamo? Both have incredible inconsistencies. The story (as told) is mostly fiction as you saw it on the big screen. To the uneducated, the easiest way for the radical right to prey on our rights is to mention imagined horrendous restroom activities by transgender women. The reason I bring it up again is, according to Mara KeislIng:

"The backlash against trans people that we’ve been expecting for years is here. As of today, we’re fighting against 29 pieces of anti-trans legislation in elevenstates. And more are coming. And if we lose even one, our opponents will only accelerate their efforts. We need your support to stop each and every one of these bills. Make no mistake, these anti-trans bills are not only attacking trans adults, but they’re attacking trans youth. Our children. They’d make it illegal for transgender students to use the restroom at school and even place a bounty on their heads—rewardingclassmates for turning them in. NCTE is taking a strong leadership role in these battles. We are helping coordinate messaging and strategy while finding trans people in target states to step up tell their stories. We have spent a year gearing up for this, but NCTE simply doesn’t have the resources to fight these. Please consider pitching in. We can’t combat these alone. Even if you don’t live in Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington or Wisconsin, where these bills are already up and running, they are threatening all of us and our kids all over the country." Page Four-The Back Page: Well kids, it's time to go. As always I love you and thanks for stopping by Cyrsti's Condo!

Thanks-Giving

It's that time of year to consider what the year has done for you - or what you can do moving forward in your life - in the community. You thank then give.

Of course that is all up to you. As I always repeat here in Cyrsti's Condo, no matter how small your contribution is, it will come back to you three fold.

Having written all of that though, this is the day to consider your blessings. Many times they are there, just hidden. 

Best wishes from the staff and management of Cyrsti's Condo (me!) and I decided to pass this along from a group which is working diligently to make transgender lives easier. 

It's Time Trans Peeps!

U.S. Trans Survey (Closes 9/21) ***From helenboyd If you haven't yet taken NCTE's current trans survey, get to it! It will close on Monday, 9/21, & it's important they hear all your voices. By *all*, I mean especially those who tend not to do online surveys or who are otherwise often cut out by mainstream trans representation: those who have stayed married crossdressers who identify as trans* genderqueer individuals older trans people trans people of color Please, folks, this is your chance to get counted. If you tried before and it didn't work, do try again: they've got a fitter system in place.

Health Care for All? Really?

From the NCTE:

When it passed five years ago, the Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare, prohibited discrimination in federally-funded health settings based on race, national origin, age, disability, and sex. The Obama administration agency in charge of enforcing it, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), just released proposed rules that make it clear that transgender people are protected by this federal law, including when it comes to health insurance! The proposed rules would make illegal the practice of categorically excluding all gender transition-related health care from coverage, common in private health insurance plans, as well as in state Medicaid, Indian Health Service, and CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program) programs. Instead, plans will have to cover services for transgender people if they offer those services to non-transgender people.

Obviously this is huge if it "is what it is!" Follow the link above and thanks Connie!

Another Transgender Barrier Shot Down?

Bobbie just sent this to me to pass along to all of you and it marks the end of one of the most hypocritical transgender episodes since the word was invented!

The Pentagon’s ban on transgender troops would end May 27 under a draft timeline on repeal of the policy that affects about 12,000 troops, according to a document obtained by USA TODAY.

The memo, circulated last week among top personnel and medical officials, lays out the road map for ending the policy and highlights some of the potential issues, including a pilot program that would provide leaves of absences for transgender troops being treated with hormones (HRT) or having surgery. (SRS)

I was beginning to think hell was freezing over when Obama appointed the first transgender employee to the White House recently.  Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, a former policy adviser at the National Center for Transgender Equality, will serve as an outreach and recruitment director in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel.

Now I know why the late summer weather around here has been unseasonably cool!

Cyrsti's Condo "Sunday Edition"

Ker Plunk! Another special virtual edition is hitting your front porch! It's a beautiful day around here, sunny and highs expected in the low 80's. The "Joe" (coffee) is brewing, so are the ideas. Let's get started!

Page One-the Week that Was-or Wasn't:  Around the Condo we evoked quite a bit of response from our discussion about transgender senior health care. The post was called "Headed for the Nursing Home Closet?"  I urge you to go back to the post and check out two comments by Paula and Connie. Paula's represents a very positive look at a friend's passing days. Connie's - not so much. Overall, I share a boatload of paranoia about reaching that point in my life. 

Along the way, we also covered (or tried to) the complex world of "gender markers" As all of you who are attempting or completed the process know, the problem is on the local level, each state often is different with certain requirements. An example is, I still can't get the gender changed on my birth certificate here in Ohio and I have the Veteran's Administration to factor in. Fortunately, there is a central information point from The National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) where you can take a look at the process.  I have often said the legal gender transition is as difficult as the physical one.

Page Two-Stand Up and Be counted! The US Trans Survey is going on now. Of course I don't think I need to tell you how important this survey is. It's a chance to step up and tell the world how numerous we really are and so much more than all the glossy television media time transgender women and men are getting right now.

Page Three-Opinion-Privilege is What You Make it: I believe some of the first big "wars" on the internet I read when I began my "explorations" years ago were waged on "gender privilege." Of course I knew generics made less money, had certain promotional "glass ceilings" and were generally disrespected by men in certain area's of their life. However, I knew  the cost of "male privilege" also. It's a huge, complex and often an emotional issue I found-an easy one to stay the hell out of. I did, for the most part, think being trans was an ideal spot to sit back and watch the battles. 

Page Four-The Back Page: Well kids, it's time to get the old dog and I moving and get outside and enjoy the day. For those of you in the Pacific Northwest, I am sending positive vibes your way-put the fires out!!! And, for the rest of you, thanks for taking your time to stop by Cyrsti's Condo!

Transgender College Info

From the "Gay Philly" site:

 Navigating college life can be a big change for anyone making the transition away from home for the first time. And for trans students, the experience can be even more challenging. That’s why the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) launched the Transgender On-campus Nondiscrimination Information (TONI) project, one of the first websites for trans college and university students in the country.

A free webinar about the site is here.