Lady Bears Going To San Antonio!

Brittney Griner hit the go ahead jumper with 45 seconds remaining to propel Baylor to a 51-48 win over Number 2 seeded Duke and a trip to San Antonio for the 2010 Women's Final Four.

The Lady Bears are headed to only their second Final Four in school history. The last time Baylor went they claimed the 2005 Championship.

But can they knock off mighty UConnn?

Alright Brittney!

Brittney Griner scored 27 points, grabbed sever rebounds and blocked ten shots to help the Baylor Lady Bears beat Number one seeded Tennessee 77-62 and advance to the Elite 8 round of the Womens NCAA tournament for only the second time in school history.

Griner has blocked 26 shots so far in the Lady Bear tournament run and is only five blocks away from breaking the NCAA record.

The Lady Bears will face Duke with a trip to the Women's Final Four in San Antonio on the line.

Sic 'em Lady Bears!

Dallas Peeps-Call To Action On DART Transphobia

Dallas has been challenging Austin for being the most TBLG friendly city in Texas, and cemented it with the narrow loss of an openly gay councilomember who ran for its mayor's chair two years ago.

However, native Texans are also aware of the fact that the third largest city in the Lone Star State one upon a time was Republican turf. As evidenced by Dubya moving there to live post mispresidency, still has that fundie GOP undercurrent despite the Democrats taking control of Dallas County politics at all levels in 2006

Nevertheless, I was stunned to find out courtesy of the Dallas Voice along with the Dallas area trans community that attorneys of DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit Authority) for some inexplicable reason decided to go to court to get the gender marker change of a 20 year post operative DART employee reversed.

The identity of the person involved is being concealed to protect her, but this case is taking some interesting and disturbing twists.

The judge that granted the reversal, 301st Family District Court Judge Lynn Cherry, received the Pink Pump Award from the Stonewall Democrats of Dallas in 2009 for being an ally to the group.

There will be a DART board meeting taking place Tuesday, March 9 from 6:30-9:30 PM to press the DART board to expand their anti-discrimination policies to cover transpeople in light of this jacked up situation.

The meeting will take place in the DART Headquarters Akard Station Board Room, and the address is 1401 Pacific Ave in Dallas, TX.

Okay DFW Metroplex, time to stand up for a trans sister and help yourselves at the same time. If DART did this to an employee with a clean record because someone in DART has their hate on for transpeople, who's next?

So give 'em hell Dallas trans community and get justice for our sister.

Someone in Dallas County also needs to be seriously contemplating a run against Judge Lynn Cherry as well.

Another SAPD Officer Arrested For Sexually Assaulting A Transwoman

Back in 2005 former San Antonio police officer Dean Gutierrez sexually assaulted and was convicted in 2007 of violating the civil rights of transwoman Starlight Bernal.

Seems as though the 24 years of federal jail time Gutierrez received in Bernal's case didn't resonate within some elements of the SAPD.

Seven year SAPD officer Craig Nash has been arrested and charged with sexual assault and official oppression of a transwoman.

The alleged victim claimed that Nash picked her up shortly after 3 AM CST at Guadalupe and Zarzamora streets on San Antonio's West Side. Nash handcuffed the victim in the back of a marked patrol car before taking her to an unknown location and forcing her to engage in multiple sexual acts.

The affidavit states Nash reportedly was wearing his police uniform at the time.

The transwoman told police that after the assault occurred, the suspect dropped off the victim at a nearby school on Guadalupe Street.

She boarded a bus for a trip to a police substation to file a complaint, telling officers according to the affidavit, Nash 'wasn't going to get away with this.”

San Antonio police used a Global Positioning System to confirm that Nash's vehicle was in the area at the time of the alleged incident in addition to the complainant being able to pick Nash out of a police lineup.

“We will not for a second tolerate this or make any excuses on behalf of anyone who is found guilty of misconduct in this department,” San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said.

Nash has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of both the criminal and administrative investigations.

But once again, it's concrete evidence of why transpeople, especially transpeople of color, have issues with the people who are supposed to protect and serve us.

Shipley's Donuts

I've discussed my love of iconic Houston centric foods on TransGriot. One of them I got reacquainted with when I went back home for the Christmas holidays was Shipley's Donuts.

Before Krispy Kreme even opened their first store in the Houston area, for 73 years Shipley's has been synonymous with donuts in H-town. They have expanded their reach beyond Houston and have 220 locations in Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma.

Some of the Shipley's locations have drive through windows in addition to being open 24 hours for all us night owls who wanted something to eat after leaving the club, on the way home from a late night at work.

So if I was fiending for a ham and cheese or sausage and cheese kolache at 3 AM or wanted a half dozen glazed donuts to eat when the mood struck me with my hot chocolate, no problem.

One of the Shipley's locations is just four blocks down the street from my grandmother's house on MLK Blvd near Loop 610. I needed some exercise and fresh air, so I decided to bounce from my grandmother's place for a few minutes and take a little stroll to grab a half dozen since I hadn't eaten them since 2000.

Yep, they were still as delicious as I remembered them,

I went back the day I was going to leave Houston to take some with me to eat on the bus ride back to Da Ville, but the moment I picked to purchase them they were out of glazed donuts. I was a little disappointed and didn't consider grabbing a few kolaches instead because I had my heart set on the donuts.

Oh well, they'll be waiting for me on my next visit home.

You Can Take The Girl Out Of Texas...

But as I've discovered over the last eight years of being a Texan in exile, you can't take the Texas out of the girl.

The time I've spent in Louisville and the state of Kentucky has been an interesting part of my life. I've met and made some wonderful friends here and needed the change of scenery back in 2001. I've been embraced by the progressive community, met some of the movers and shakers here and had delightful days at Keeneland.

I'm only a ten hour drive from Washington DC, five hour drive from Chicago, four from St Louis, two from Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Nashville, seven hours from Charlotte and six from the ATL.

And Impellizzeri's and Spinelli's pizza is the bomb along with Adam Matthew's cheesecake and Derby Pie.

But despite all the positive experiences, it ain't home despite the fact they sell Blue Bell up here. I'm just simply a Texan who misses Texas.

The recent bus trip I took back to Houston was the best Christmas I'd had in eight years in addition to being a microcosm of the last decade of my life. I just seemed to come alive when I crossed the Mississippi River, the Texas state line, the Harris County line and entered the Houston city limits. I don't get that same feeling when I'm crossing the Mississippi heading east, the Kentucky border or into the Louisville city limits.

My homegirl Jo Tittsworth reminded me when we were eating at Katz's in Montrose and I was happily scarfing up their caramel fudge cheesecake that you can take the girl out of Texas, but you can't take the Texas out of the girl.

I pondered that comment on the long ride back to Da Ville and she's right. I'm a Texas girl who misses everything about it.

I miss high school football Texas style. My childhood friends. Mom and pop barbecue stands on every corner along with fresh seafood. Tex-Mex. Pop top stadiums and professional sports. Having two HBCU's in my backyard like Texas Southern and Prairie View A&M. The Ensemble.

I miss being a 30 minute drive from the Gulf of Mexico or being a five hour drive down I-10 from New Orleans. I miss the bluebonnets blooming alongside the highways in the area. I miss being two hour drives away from Austin, rolling west on I-10 toward San Antonio and being four hours from Dallas up I-45.

I miss knowing with certainty that when one of my favorite artists does a concert tour I won't have to drive several hours to a neighboring city in another state to see them.

I also miss 60 degree weather in January. These single digit temperatures are for the birds but I did adapt to it.

But a lot of my pining for the Lone Star State has to do with the bulk of my family living in either Dallas or Houston and spending most of my life on the Gulf Coast. I have unfinished business in Houston that calls out for resolution as well.

During my time as a Texan in exile I've evolved and grown a bit toward becoming a proud African descended Phenomenal Transwoman. When I arrived in 2001 I was embraced by the local progressive community and my church family here and it was deeply appreciated at a time when I was in a down period of my life. Dawn, AC, Susan, Karen and her nieces are my family up here, and it's been an interesting eight years getting to know them better.

I've tried to do my part in the time I've lived in Louisville to make the city and the state a little better than it was when I arrived.

Maybe it's time for me to do the same back home.

The 'Class With Class'

I have another reunion coming up the weekend of October 8-10 with the fellow members of my Jesse H. Jones High School Class of 1980, AKA 'The Class With Class'. We received that nickname from Annie Booker, one of our counselors, and it has stuck with us throughout the years and the turn of the century as well.

We were the kids that entered kindergarten in 1967 as the pace of integration of HISD schools was taken out of the 'with all deliberate speed' setting.

We muddled through pairing plans, busing, and the adoption and formation of magnet schools by HISD as we grew up during the 70's. At the same time Houston was annexing territory, well on its way to becoming the fourth largest city in the United States and was in the news on a regular basis thanks to NASA and the space program. Houston's Black community was continuing to make progress economically, politically and socially as the city also became a magnet for people from various nations and ethnic groups as well.

By the time we members of the Jones Falcon Class of 1980 began arriving on campus from our various junior high schools we were this interesting multicultural blend of kids who not only were sophisticated beyond their years, we carried ourselves from the first day on campus as if we owned the school. Whether it was in sports, academics, student government or other extracurricular activities we quickly established ourselves as leaders despite the short time we'd been walking JJ's halls.

Some of my classmates were already driving cars and were fashion plates wearing skirted suits and three piece suits to class. But we also combined that sense of sophistication and single minded purpose with a cocky, fun loving attitude and wicked sense of humor.

During the three years we were there (HISD was on a 6-3-3 system at the time) we'd build on that reputation. The 'Class with Class' would cheer our school's victories, mourn our losses, watch romances blossom and break up and form lasting friendships in the process. I was in the Vanguard gifted and talented magnet program housed on the campus at the time, but as far as I was concerned I was a Falcon and member of the Jones Family first, and King Arthur (our nickname for Mr. Arthur Pace, our principal at the time) was the head of it.

Through all the wild and crazy stuff we did with a late 70's music soundtrack blaring in the background as we matriculated through our high school years, the thing we were most proud of was not only that nickname that had been bestowed upon us that we wore with pride, it was our teachers constantly telling us that we were a special class.

But all good things unfortunately must come to an end. We entered the decade of the 80's for the last five months of our high school days with the dizzying backdrop of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the Lake Placid Olympic 'Miracle on Ice', the upcoming Carter-Reagan presidential election and the Iran hostage crisis in the background as we excitedly exchanged senior cards, signed memory books, attended the Astroworld All Night Senior Party, and counted down the days to Senior Week, our graduation and our prom.

On that May 20 night in the Astroarena we noted our diploma covers had 'The Class With Class' printed on them, tossed our caps in the air, took endless pictures and waved goodbye to each other as we counted down to the last day of the school year and prepared to begin the next chapter in our lives.

As we 'Accepted the Challenge of the 80's' (our class motto) we've taken time out of our lives to get together for our 1985, 1990 and 2000 reunions and relive that almost magical time.

With the 2010 reunion rapidly approaching, our teachers and counselors were right about us. We have turned out to be a special class. One of my classmates sits on the Texas State Board of Education and ran for city council. Our class president also ran for city council in the mid 80's. Another classmate was VP of the Houston Urban League and had a radio talk show on Majic 102. One was a Harris County DA while others are excelling in various fields.

As for me? I'm just some award winning activist, Kentucky Colonel and trans blogger.

But I am looking forward to once again seeing my classmates later this year.

Hatin' On Houston-Christofool Style

The rest of Texas, especially the conservative sections of it have always had their hate on for my beloved hometown as the largest city in the state.

But one of the questions I asked myself in the wake of Annise becoming mayor is how long would it take before the haters started tripping about her personal life?

About two weeks after her inauguration.

A 'christian' conservafool in Amarillo is taking his hatred of my hometown to another level in the wake of the historic election that elevated Annise Parker to our mayor's chair.

Reverend David Grisham has set up Boycott Houston.com which seeks to bring economic sanctions from other like minded christohaters to the Bayou City.

***

Do you want a Texas version of San Francisco? Neither do we!
Do you want Texas to be the abortion capital of America? Neither do we!
Houston has elected an openly homosexual mayor and built the largest abortion clinic in the United States and you can do something about it!

While you may or may not be a resident of Houston and eligible to vote for mayor, you can vote with your dollar.

This is why we are calling on Christians everywhere to boycott the city of Houston.
We want to impose “economic sanctions” on Houston, Texas!
Please make your voice heard and join our cause. By signing the online petition you send Houston a message; That you are tired of babies being murdered and the radical homosexual agenda being shoved down the throat of normal society.

Texas is a Christian state! Help keep it that way!
Don’t mess with Texas or Texas children.

Pastor,
David H. Grisham
Director, RepentAmarillo.com, RavenAmarillo.com

***

Now that I've had the opportunity to stop rolling on the floor laughing at this fool, time for the smackdown.

Methinks the good reverend needs to tend to his own flock in Amarillo and stop wasting time hatin' on Houston. I also find it amusing that the server that hosts his Hate On Houston website is based in San Francisco, a city he hates so much.

What's wrong Reverend, no 'Christian' high tech companies to host your website? That's what happens when you send your kids to private 'christian' schools and teach them Flintstones science.

When I crossed the Texas-Louisiana border on my long bus ride from Kentucky back home during the holidays, the sign posted at the state line welcoming tourists and highway travelers read 'Drive Friendly-The Texas Way'.

We're also known worldwide as The Lone Star State', not the 'Christian' State.

Your brand of 'Christianity', Reverend Grisham, runs counter to our state motto of 'Friendship' and is the reason our state and our country is so jacked up right now.

Frankly reverend, your wingers staying away from my hometown will actually improve the quality of life for those of us who love living there.

FYI, Planned Parenthood does mammograms, pap smears and other general health related care. If you right wing conservafools would quit fighting universal health care, low income peeps wouldn't need to go to them for basic medical needs.

I'm proud to be from and have grown up in the largest city in Texas and the fourth largest in the United States. The population of my hometown in the 2K's grew 13.6% to 2,242,173 because it is a diverse, international city.

And the population of Amarillo is what, 175,000?

I'm proud to be from a city that produced outstanding congressmembers such as Barbara Jordan and Mickey Leland.

I'm proud to be from the city that is the hometown of Debbie Allen and Phylicia Rashad, Beyonce Knowles, Jobeth Williams, Jennifer Holliday and Yolanda Adams.

I'm proud to be from a city that recognizes the talents of all its citizens and values their contributions to its civic life and growth no matter what their race, gender, sexual orientation and hopefully soon gender identity.

I'm proud to be from a city that has world class museums, orchestras, ballet, theater, nightlife, professional sports, colleges and universities, and eclectic gayborhoods.

You know, culture.

I'm proud to have our homegirl Annise Parker as our mayor. She has served this city for over a decade, knows it inside out, wants to be in that chair, and hope she gets rewarded by the voters with two more two year terms.

Oh yeah, Revered Grisham one more thing: You need Jesus.

Mayor Parker's Inaugural Speech

The public swearing in ceremony for new Houston Mayor Annise Parker took place today at the Wortham Theater Center with five of our previous mayors, Fred Hofheinz, Kathy Whitmire, Lee Brown, Bob Lanier and Bill White (the one she's succeeding) on the stage with her.

Due to regulations in the city charter, she was sworn in Saturday in a private ceremony to become our 61st mayor and only the second woman to hold the office.

Here's the link to Mayor Parker's inaugural speech

It figures that Phred Phelps and 4 members of his Westboro Baptist Hate Church KKKlan would show up to picket today. They were countered by an even larger group picketing them. I hope the city disinfected and scrubbed down the sidewalk where the Phelps family was standing.

Congrats Madame Mayor. May you have much success and two more terms in the mayor's chair.

It's Officially Mayor Annise Parker!

The arrival of the New Year meant that the day Houston's new mayor would take office was fast approaching.

In a Saturday private ceremony witnessed by her partner Kathy and a small group of her family and friends, Annise D. Parker was officially sworn in as my hometown's 61st mayor.

Longtime friend and former campaign manager State District Judge Steven Kirkland had the honor of administering the oath of office.

Mayor Parker used her grandparents’ Bible for that ceremony, and plans to do so again when she takes part in the public ceremony on Monday at the Wortham Theater Center.

According to a statement issued by the city, Parker kept Saturday’s swearing-in private to avoid overtime costs that would have incurred if police and other city employees were needed for a weekend inauguration.

“At a time when the city is facing budget shortfalls, we will be continually looking for ways to cut expenses,” Parker said in a statement.

During the Monday inaugural festivities, she will take the oath again at 9:30 AM CST along with City Controller-elect Ronald Green and members of the Houston City Council.

As the Houston Chronicle noted and many of us who have watched her rise to the mayor's chair already know, the incoming mayor knows her way around City Hall.

She spent six years as an at-large council member and six more as city controller, years in which she was immersed in city finances and department audits,

“We have someone with institutional knowledge in charge, someone who can recite 12 years of city policy-making off the top of her head,” said local political observer Nancy Sims. “This is truly unique since we adopted term limits.”

And it's that unique aspect which will serve her and the citizens of Houston well.

She also is a straight shooter, and plans to remind Houstonians during her inaugural speech that our city faces difficult choices.

“I'm not going to paint a rosy picture when that's not the truth,” she said. “I am by nature an optimist, but I believe that optimism has to go with hard work and commitment — you have to do the preparation — but Houstonians know how to do that. We'll get by, and things will be fine, but it's not going to be easy.”

But judging by your past work, Houston will be in good hands as you make the tough decisions that will help us get by.

I'm Finally Home

Well, after 23 hours, several bus transfers and 9 plus years, I'm finally standing inside the Houston city limits during the Christmas holidays.

My bus just pulled into the Greyhound station here in H-town, and I'm getting a first hand look at how much things have changed since my last trip here.

The METRORail light rail line that runs from UH Downtown through Hermann Park and the Med Center to Reliant Stadium runs right past it.

I'm going to probably take an up and down trip on the line just to give me something to do on one of my days here I'm waiting to hook up with Crys, Ness, the gang at IAH and my family.

Hoping my first time home for Christmas since 2000 will be drama free, but only time will tell.

Rolling Towards Houston

At this moment my Greyhound bus is pulling out of the Louisville station and heading south on I-65 to start the first leg of my long journey back home to Houston.

It's nonstop to Nashville, TN from Louisville, then I change buses and depart Nashville at 4:25 PM EST to continue south on I-65 to Birmingham, AL.

I change buses again and depart Birmingham at 9:50 PM EST enroute to Shreveport, LA where I make my final bus change and arrive in beautiful downtown Houston at 12:30 PM on December 23.

The best part about it is I'm not doing the driving.

As you TransGriot readers probably guessed I'll be keeping a diary during my journey back to the Lone Star State. If I get access to a computer I'll post as often as I can.

But on Christmas Day, I will definitely be taking the day off ;)

Shut Up Fool! Awards-Madame Mayor Elect Edition

This edition of our illustrious awards is dedicated to Houston mayor-elect Annise Parker. On January 1 she'll take the oath of office to become only the second woman elected and first Rice University alum to run my hometown.

Congrats madame Mayor-elect, it's been a pleasure to watch your rise to the highest elected office in Houston. You are definitely the best candidate for the job, I have the utmost confidence along with your fellow Houstonians in your ability to do so and may you get the full six years to prove it to your detractors.

Moving from the best to the worst, it's now time to shift gears and see what fool or fools won our award for this week.

Thanks to Renee at Womanist Musings, I've found him.

Keeping with the Texas theme for this one, it's conservaactor Chuck Norris. He has a ranch just north of Houston in the town of New Waverly, TX and is (ugh) thinking about running for public office as a Repugnican.

The conservafool went there in terms of his opposition to the health care legislation now percolating in the senate by mixing the image of the Virgin Mary and doing a little slut shaming at the same time.

Lastly, as we near the eve of another Christmas, I wonder: What would have happened if Mother Mary had been covered by Obamacare? What if that young, poor and uninsured teenage woman had been provided the federal funds (via Obamacare) and facilities (via Planned Parenthood, etc.) to avoid the ridicule, ostracizing, persecution and possible stoning because of her out-of-wedlock pregnancy? Imagine all the great souls who could have been erased from history and the influence of mankind if their parents had been as progressive as Washington's wise men and women! Will Obamacare morph into Herodcare for the unborn?

Bottom line Chuckie, you and your Republican friends not only can afford to go to the doctor, you don't have to be concerned about the costs.

Many of your fellow Americans don't have that security.

But then again, since when did Republicans care about anyone living inside this country's borders except wealthy white males?

Chuck Norris, shut up fool!

A Trans Houstonian Reflects On Annise's Win

TransGriot Note: My latest post for the Bilerico Project;

As many of you Projectors already know, Annise Parker handily won her runoff election race against city attorney Gene Locke Saturday night to become only the second woman elected as mayor of my hometown.

It was a watershed moment in GLBT history and GLBT politics as well as Houston became the largest city in the United States and the first in the Lone Star State to elect an openly gay mayor.

And best of all for me as a proud Houstonian and Texan, we beat Dallas to that distinction.

Hey, the rivalry between Houston and Dallas never dies.

Even though I was a thousand miles away at the time and bummed about it, I was still proud to see someone from our GLBT community rise to the highest office in our city.

In addition to her impressive political resume and compelling story, Annise has been a friend to the Houston trans community and had our back on our issues. She's a straight shooter who talks the talk and walks the walk. The Houston trans community enthusiastically supported her and volunteered in her successful city council runs in 1997 and 1999. Many of those vets were back for this nearly year long campaign.

Annise's election emphatically makes the case for something that I continually point out to people who live in blue states and have the misguided impression that relocation to GLBT meccas is the way to advance our cause.

We shouldn't be abandoning 'red states' to right wingers and never should have in the first place simply because they aren't San Francisco, Los Angeles or New York.. In some cases the advances in TBLG rights, LGBT history, BTLG culture, and GLBT politics have come out of red states.

GLBT people live all over this country, including 'red states'. Many of us grew up in locales like Houston and Texas and have mad love for them. It gives us the impetus and the incentive to want to stay, fight and do the work to make them better, more progressive places to live.

And in many cases, because we 'red staters' have organized Christohaters in our midst that hate all of us GLBT peeps equally, we're better organized politically and as a community than you 'blue staters' to work in an intersectional manner.

We red staters have to have all hands on deck efforts in many cases just to keep our passed civil rights from being rolled back in referenda or restricted in the first place.

We don't have time to engage in the internecine warfare that roils some GLBT communities in blue states, and as we painfully found out in Houston in the early 80's, the only people we hurt when we do engage in it is ourselves.

Annise's election also sends the message that just because you are a GLBT red state resident, it doesn't disqualify you from serving in your city council, your county commission, your city's mayor's chair, your school board or your state house as long as you are open and honest about your life.

It's time for qualified GLBT peeps in red and blue states to dream big and aim higher politically.

Ray Hill, the dean of the Houston GLBT activist community, said this in the Houston Chronicle about Annise's win. “For me, it means 43 years of hard work has finally paid off. “For Houston, it means we have finally reached the point where being gay cannot be used as a wedge issue to divide the community and prevent us from reaching our aspirations. Annise Parker is not our mayor — she is the city's mayor.”

Damned right she is. She represents 2.2 million people, not just Montrose.

But I can't help still seeing at times the person I met at the Houston trans community's Unity Dinner and smiling about it.

It is going to be so cool to see Annise on January 1 standing in the Wortham Center once again standing next to Kathy, holding up her right hand, but this time taking the oath as the 61st mayor of Houston.

Historic Runoff Election In H-town

I'm still anxiously keeping watch on an election transpiring today in my hometown that will result in us either having our second African American mayor or our second female mayor. I'm also anxiously watching the race between my UH classmate Jolanda Jones and her GOP opponent.

As I've been mentioning ever since she filed to run for mayor, I'm well aware of Annise Parker's activism on behalf of the community and her service to it as an at large councilmember and city controller.

I'm hoping that she gets elevated to the mayor's chair today. It's in the hands of the voters now and has been since 7 AM CST.

There have been a lot of dedicated people who have worked hard to make it happen, and I hope the voters will see through the right wing smears and make her our next mayor.

She had this to say in a recent Bilerico Project interview about my hometown, but it's something I already knew.

I think people misunderstand Texas, and I think people misunderstand Houston as well. Houston is an amazing, international city. We are ethnically and racially the most diverse city in the United States, closely paired to New York City. If you look at what drives the economy, we are the world's largest medical center, largest port in the United States, huge high-tech NASA and aerospace presence, all four sectors are tied into the world.

If you go anywhere in the world and say Houston, people have an image of a modern, progressive, bustling city. If you go to the east or west coast, somehow the image is very different. The fact that I am the front-running candidate for Mayor of Houston, and view myself as an activist, Houston is a place where you look at what you can do and bring to the table more than who you are.

I've been successful with a direct style of speaking to the voters of dealing with issues. Houston would surprise people. We are not a redneck wasteland. We are a modern progressive city with a very independent streak. I love my hometown and I absolutely believe in the people of Houston and their willingness to embrace change and tackle problems together.

We'll find out after the polls close at 7 PM CST if Annise not only becomes our second female mayor, but the first open lesbian to helm a major US city.

Rudd Transgender Scholarship Deadline Set For March 1, 2010

TransGriot Note: Announcements from the Houston Transgender Unity Committee. Been a long time (2001) since I attended a Unity Banquet.

The Houston Transgender Unity Committee has set Monday, March 1, 2010, as the postmark deadline for applications for the Peggy Rudd Transgender Scholarships. The nonprofit organization will award two scholarships for $1,000 each at the annual Houston Transgender Unity Banquet on Saturday, May 1.

Transgender individuals who are attending or will attend accredited institutions of higher learning are eligible. The application is available at www.htuc.org.

The year 2010 will mark the fifth anniversary for the Peggy Rudd Transgender Scholarship Fund, established by educator and author Dr. Peggy Rudd and her spouse, Melanie Rudd.

The Houston Transgender Unity Committee formed in 1990 to bridge the gap between the groups and organizations representing transgender persons in the Houston area, to promote unity among the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, and to educate and advocate with open and honest advocacy. Representatives from Houston-area transgender groups serve on the Unity Committee.

Tickets will soon be available for the Unity Banquet, which is one of the premiere single-night transgender events in the nation. Proceeds from the ticket sales support the Rudd Transgender Scholarship Fund. Tickets are $50 in advance ($60 at the door) and can be purchased on line through the Unity Committee website (www.htuc.org). The banquet will be held in the Grand Ballroom of the Sheraton Brookhollow.


Unity Banquet sponsorships are available at a range of levels, from $75 to $2,000 to underwrite the Brenda Thomas Education Table, named in honor of Thomas (1943-2006), the transgender and HIV activist and educator and longtime Unity Committee executive director. Interested individuals and companies may contact the committee at www.htuc.org.

A silent auction held during the banquet will raise additional funds to support Unity Committee programs.

In addition to the Unity Banquet and the Rudd Scholarship Fund, Unity Committee programs include the Brenda Thomas Memorial New Year's Day Social, Unity Month, Pride month activities in June, and Transgender Day of Remembrance in November. Unity Committee representatives frequently speak to schools, businesses, and organizations.

Back To Back Houston Snow?- Get Outta Here!

Wow, what's going on weather wise back home? Last year I posted about Houston getting early snow in December.

In 2004 they got whacked with a Christmas Eve snowstorm that dropped significant amounts of snow all along the Gulf Coast from northeastern Mexico to as far east as New Orleans. It gave my hometown its first White Christmas in its history.

Today H-Town is expecting 1-3 inches, and the ironic thing is that Hobby Airport, which is on the south side of town near where I grew up may get more accumulated snow than IAH, which is on the far north side of town.

It is not only the earliest date we've ever had snow in Houston history, it's the first time ever its occurred in back to back years.

They are already releasing the kids out of school in the area according to reports on The Weather Channel.

I know my niece is loving it ;)

UH Coogs Climb to Number 18 in Football Rankings

The Coogs climbed up the college football ranking ladders this week in the wake of their 73-14 demolition of the Rice Owls.

They moved up to Number 18 in both the AP and USA Today College Football polls. They jumped two spots on the AP one and seven spots on the USA Today poll.

They also gained ground in the BCS poll, moving up two spots from Number 23 to Number 21.

And best of all, the Bayou Bucket is back where it belongs.

The Coogs play for the C-USA Championship Saturday against the C-USA East Division Champion East Carolina Pirates. Should be a fun game with Case Keenum only needing 50 yards to pass the 5000 yard barrier for the season.

Eat 'em up!

Number 20 Coogs Win The West-Barbecue Rice

The C-USA West Division that is.

My number 20 ranked fave college football team walked into the game with our crosstown rivals at the Rob with a lot at stake.

Win and they not only gained revenge for last year's 52-45 loss to Rice and reclaim the Bayou Bucket, they clinch a share of the C-USA West title with a 6-2 record and play in next week's C-USA title game.

Tyron Carrier got the game off to a rousing start by taking the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown as the Cougars raced to a 59-0 halftime lead enroute to a 73-14 victory over the Owls.

Case Keenum was 25 of 31 for 323 yards and two touchdowns. He added a first half rushing touchdown as the dark horse Heisman candidate led the 10-2 Cougars to their first 10 win season since 2006.

The Coogs will travel to Greenville, NC to play for their first C-USA championship since 2006 when they take on the East Carolina Pirates at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.