It's Not the Dress that Makes the Man

Via Joe. My. God.:

Mayor Stu Rasmussen of Silverton, Oregon made history as the first openly transgendered mayor in the U.S. Now he's being criticized for his choice of attire after wearing a short skirt to an event.

Alright ladies and gentlemen and the rest of you, I know trans folks have the hardest row to hoe as far as acceptance goes. It's easy to get befuddled around transgendered people, especially when it comes to pronouns. But come on. The whole we don't mind if you wear dresses as long as you don't wear THAT dress argument is transparent.

I'm sure Mayor Rasmussen knew from the start that people would react negatively. That doesn't excuse his critics' behavior.

Did You See This?

Via Slog:

Is Cheney trying to keep his hand in for some reason? He just won't go away. And to be honest, if he's going to say things like, "I think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish, any kind of arrangement they wish," I don't mind so much if he does stick around. It's a message people, especially Republicans in the U.S. need to hear. The problem, as Andrew Sullivan points out, is he was a part of an administration that made strides against LGBT rights. 

The more serious problem is the Obama administration doesn't seem to be doing much to counteract what the previous administrations did against LGBT people. I know he doesn't want to make under-researched policy choices (like Clinton) and be forced to backpedal. But come on, there were campaign promises made to the LGBT community. People voted for him because of those promises. What do we have to show for it several months in?

Dear god, I hope Cheney doesn't start looking like a viable moderate candidate in the near future. Didn't we already have enough of the Dark Lord while he was Bush's V.P.?

Hateful AND Crooked?

Via Good As You:

Don't you just love it when bias-pedaling miscreants turn out to be the thieving crooks you know them to be? According to an article from Out & About the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has arrested former State Senator Jeff Miller. This is the same Jeff Miller who sponsored the Marriage Protection Amendment in Tennessee in 2005. He also sponsored the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. These two pieces of legislation banned same-sex marriage and defined marriage as between a man and a woman respectively. 

Incidentally, Miller's then-wife of 15 years also did her part to spread his message of marriage sanctity by divorcing him, also in 2005. Smart woman. 

From Out & About:

A press release from the TBI says that Miller, 46, was indicted on one count of Official Misconduct, one count of Conspiracy to Commit Official Misconduct and one count of Conspiracy to Commit Aggravated Perjury. April Miles, 28, was charged with one count of Aggravated Perjury, one count of Conspiracy to Commit Official Misconduct and one count of Conspiracy to Commit Aggravated Perjury. Miles was Miller’s secretary.

The TBI opened the investigation at the request of the District Attorney General on January 25, 2009 after there were allegations that Miller was overbilling the county while he served in the appointed position of Delinquent Tax Attorney for Bradley County. When Miller was removed from office, he was ordered to turn over title search records. He did not have the records that showed he performed the required title searches even though he received payment for these searches. TBI executed a search warrant on Miller’s office on January 28, 2009 as part of the investigation. 

See? Good things come to those who hate.

Obama's Message to Iran

Via Towleroad:

Don't you just miss the good old days when the US President couldn't even pronounce Nowruz? Much less other tongue-twisters like nuclear? 

Yeah, me either. 

Obama recorded a video message to the people of Iran yesterday on the occasion of Nowruz, a celebration of spring that marks the Iranian New Year.

This is why we voted for this guy. This is the way you communicate with other human beings. This is how you fight the notion that Americans are a bunch of fat capitalist war-mongers who only want to spread their empire across the globe. You don't fight terrorism with terror. You fight it with education, infrastructure development, and diplomacy. Reaching out with cultural understanding is a much better first step than threatening rhetoric.