The latest on Autumn at the Democratic National Convention, via Russ at Pam’s House Blend …

The event Autumn and I attended was the LGBT Caucus.

[...]

In between speakers, Autumn would grab me for quick interviews with the transgender activists. I’ll let her take care of the names and topics (feel free to edit here, Autumn) because I really didn’t catch them.

(I think that’s Vanessa Foster (middle) and Dana Beyer (right) pictured above.)

In the meantime, according to Russ, we’ll have to “stay tuned” for that “scoop” …

… until I can edit the video and scrub the audio we’re embargoing the story. Stay tuned - I get home Sunday and this will be the first video I edit and post. Let’s just say I captured a provocative conversation with someone on his controversial stance on a complicated civil rights issue. (And damn me for bringing a digital video tape camera with no way of capturing the digital video to my laptop!)

… I’m anticipating a “Barney.”

Some of the transgender news and views we came across on Tuesday …

#1 - Autumn spoke with Shannon Minter And Mara Keisling yesterday at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. You can hear that here. And, if it’s your cup of tea, there’s plenty more coverage of the DNC at Pam’s House Blend.

#2 - “Removing ’some’ of the inequalities” … “still a political problem” … “has enough lobbying been done?” … so, to whom do you think Barney Frank’s referring?

…

He added that the Employment Non Discrimination Act still presented “a political problem.”

It was originally designed to make it illegal to fire, refuse to hire or promote a person based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

The decision to remove trans people from the scope of the legislation caused anger among the LGBT community in the US, with many demanding an “all or nothing” stance.

“The question now is whether enough lobbying has been done to include people who are transgender,” Congressman Frank said.

“We need more lobbying on that. We had a very good hearing on that issue and it helped. Previously, we were running into problems getting it out of committee, and I think the hearing we had a major impact on that. It also depends on if we get more Democrats.”

…

Congressman attacks gays who support McCain

Kat Rose over at ENDAblog had something to say about “more Democrats” …

And wait for those 15 to be ‘educated’ by those who say that they have our best interests at heart.

And then wait for him to say 15 more are needed.

#3 - Joshua Lynsen of the Washington Blade spoke with Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley at the DNC in Denver on Monday. Lynsen asked O’Malley about Montgomery County’s (Md.) upcoming transgender rights referendum …

Blade: Last question. There is a transgender rights measure that is going to the ballot in Montgomery County in November. Do you expect to become involved in that battle at all to help protect the rights of transgender people?

O’Malley: You know, I think we passed a similar bill in the city of Baltimore when I was mayor, if my memory serves me correctly. So, you know, there are bills at the local level. There’s bills at the state level. I typically don’t get involved with local ordinances. I try to focus my attention on statewide bills. But we did it in the city of Baltimore and dogs and cats didn’t fall from the sky. You know? It was — I think these bills — I don’t know. I think it would probably be a good thing for Montgomery County to do. I don’t have the legislation in front of me, but if it’s like what we did in Baltimore, it caused no problems whatsoever.

Blade: So it’s got your thumbs up?

O’Malley: Yes.

O’Malley reiterates call for civil unions

#4 - We haven’t heard much about Susan Stanton since early April (”Wife Seeks Amicable Divorce From Ex-Largo Manager Susan“). As a follow-up to that news, the Tampa Tribune reported yesterday …

Susan Stanton, the former Largo city manager known as Steven Stanton before a sex change, has mediated his divorce from his wife of 18 years, according to court documents.

The agreement was signed off on by a Pinellas-Pasco judge on Aug. 6.

…

Transgendered Ex-Largo Manager Gets Divorce Terms

The St. Petersburg Times noted (”Stanton’s marriage comes to an end“) that Stanton “has a good relationship with her ex-wife, but she has lost most of her friends” and “has been unable to find work.”

#5 - In the UK, the late Lynne Braithwaite was honored last Friday …

A FLY-PAST of a lone Vulcan bomber across Morecambe on Friday was a
fitting tribute to a leading transgender activist, author and RAF veteran of 40 years.

The life of Lynne Janine Braithwaite BEM, who died on August 12, was celebrated at a packed Lancaster Cremator-ium where friends and family said their farewells to a remarkable person.

They included the Deputy Chief Constable of Lancashire police force, who gave a speech outlining Lynne’s involvement as a volunteer advisor on transgender issues, who toured the country speaking at various seminars and workshops – fighting for the rights of all transgender people.

The fly-past of the Vulcan bomber was in honour of the work carried out by Lynne as an engineer on the Vulcan to the Sky project – a campaign to get the Vulcan airborne again which was only achieved months before Lynne passed away.

Lynne, of Westfield Grove in Morecambe, certainly led an inspirational life.

She was born Lawrence James Braithwaite on July 1, 1934 in one of Beatrix Potter’s houses at Near Sawrey in the Lake District.

She left school to join the RAF in September 1949, retiring as a Flight Sergeant on July 1 1989.

Lynne was awarded the British Empire Medal in the Queen’s Honours List in 1976.

Her expertise was maintenance of Vulcan bombers. It was with this experience that she was called out of retirement as engineering consultant to the Vulcan to the Sky Trust.

In early 2008 the Vulcan bomber XH558 passed its airworthiness tests and flew once again. Lynne was very proud of this achievement and it was therfore entirely appropriate that the plane was present at her funeral.

After leaving the RAF Lynne ran her own business making silver model aircraft until 1992, when it went bust during the recession.

Not long after her transition to female in 1994 aged 60, she contacted Lancashire Constabulary asking what policies and procedures they had regarding transgender people.

Lynne had significant input advising on best practice for trans people as service users and employees in the police service.

Until July 2008 she remained an active member of Lancashire Northern Police Division’s Independent Advisors Group where, over the years, she was consulted on a number of policing issues and policies. At the time of her death she was also an active member of Trans Lancs group – an advisory team for the constabulary, keeping them up to date with the legal and social issues affecting trans people.

She wrote several books including ‘Diaries of a Transfemale’ and ‘From Brigands to V Bombers’.

The Press For Change website, which campaigns for respect and equality for all transgender people, paid tribute to her: “Lynne was a vibrant, indefatigable person who was always active and approach-ed life with the enthusiasm of someone decades younger. She will be greatly missed.”

Fly-past tribute to RAF veteran

Transgender news and views for Monday …

#1 - Autumn flew into Denver yesterday where she will be covering the Democratic National Convention for Pam’s House Blend. Among the other trans folks in Denver for the Convention (as delegates) are Marisa Richmond and Vanessa Foster.

#2 - Testimony concluded last Friday in Diane Schroer’s bias suit against the Library of Congress …

A federal judge yesterday concluded a four-day bench trial in a lawsuit brought by a former Special Forces commander who lost a job offer as a terrorism research analyst at the Library of Congress because he disclosed he was undergoing the medical process of becoming a woman.

U.S. District Judge James Robertson heard testimony from more than a dozen witnesses, including scientific experts, officials at the Library of Congress and Diane Schroer, the former Army colonel who brought the suit. Robertson said he would issue a ruling soon.

Schroer, who applied for the job in 2004 under the name of David and has since completed the medical transition to become a woman, testified that she was hurt when she lost the job offer after disclosing the transition to the person she thought would be her future boss. She filed the sex discrimination suit under the Civil Rights Act. The Library of Congress has argued that the Civil Rights Act does not prohibit discrimination against transsexuals or on the basis of gender identity.

Testimony Ends in Transsexual Bias Suit

#3 - JimK at Vigilance, who’s been closely following the fate of Montgomery County’s (Md.) recently-passed transgender rights law, expressed some exasperation yesterday with the wimpy, “croquet” tactics of the law’s supporters …

Look, this isn’t croquet we’re playing here, this is a fistfight. The other side has been throwing punches for months, and our side is waiting for funding so we can have a poll so we can decide what we want to tell people. “Making information available” is important and so obvious it shouldn’t need to be said. It is also not a persuasion strategy. People who want information need to be able to find it, I agree. But your average ignorant voter doesn’t care that much and isn’t going to look for it. If you want to give them information you’ve got to give it to them. In their face.

“Prohibit discrimination” is the wimpiest campaign slogan I can imagine. It’s got more syllables than impact. The people of our Blue county oppose discrimination, and would support this bill if they knew what it said. That’s why we elected the Council who passed it unanimously and the County Executive who was happy to sign it. But the anti-gay, anti-transgender bigots are making sure people don’t know what the law is about. They’re not conducting polls and adjusting their message for the “median voter,” they’re waving their arms and getting red in the face, telling lies and misrepresenting the law in any way that will get people’s attention. When one side is saying your daughter will be raped and dead girls will be turning up all over the county, “prohibit discrimination” is not an effective response.

…

Woman Fired For Wearing Pants

Over at the Maryland Politics Watch blog, Montgomery County trans woman Maryanne Arnow recounts the discrimination she has faced …

In the last year, I’ve had to face distinct increases in discrimination and denigration from the general public in the normal course of my daily life. This is occurring directly as a result of a local campaign from conservative groups that continually foster unwarranted fears, stereotypical misrepresentations, and highly negative references to transgender people, in the public eye of perception.

I have faced extreme social and workplace humiliations in the last several years since beginning my transition (change) of gender. I have applied at dozens of restaurants, retail stores, warehouses, and even major hotel chains such as Marriott, most located in Montgomery County.

…

As it now stands, it is both legal and apparently still socially acceptable to discriminate against anyone like myself in hiring, workplace, housing, public services, and public accommodations. I once again have no civil rights or legal protections at any level. Not federal, state, or county, and mainly as a direct result of the actions of these groups to force a referendum on this law.

We have been burned at the stake, in the use of guilt by association to other highly negative stereotypes such as pedophiles and sexual predators. This has nothing to do with transgender people whatsoever. This is an outright lie. It is a crass, cruel, and disgusting distortion. This is an utter fallacy to the fullest extent that it has been used by these groups.

As a fellow citizen, neighbor, wife, and daughter - as a warm and articulate person, and skilled professional Culinary Artist, I have found this intolerably painful. This is entirely unacceptable by any ethical standard that I know of. There have been direct, and deeply negative impacts on my life as a result of such discriminatory behaviors.

Enough is enough. Help restore my most basic civil rights, and overrule the falsehoods being spread by these groups, once and for all.

Living with Discrimination as a Transgender Woman

#4 - Over at Trans Universe, Angela Brightfeather would like a “simple question” answered …

That simple question is:

“Senator Obama, would you veto an exclusive version of the Employment Non Discrimination Act if it did not include employment protections for transgender people?”

It’s a tough question to ask a man who believes in not impeding any rights bill from passing, but it is an important question to ask. If the answer is anything but “Yes,” I will take my vote on November and either find someone else to vote for, or just sit this one out and encourage everyone to do the same until people come to realize that this makes common sense.

And, the big question for Senator Obama is . . . . ?

#5 - It’s raining a bit tonight in Asheville … it’s been so long I feel like streaking into the night. Night all.

Unabashedly plagiarizing Obama, John McCain announces “Let me introduce to you the next President — the next Vice President of the United States of America, Britney Spears … ”

But … they’re just the grubby, dirty (18%) pot calling the scorched, nuked kettle black.

I may be an ol’ yellow dog (from New York City), but I sure as heck don’t feel comfortable voting for them come this November.

(Though I probably will end up doing so. I’m no McCain fan … for starters, I remember this business.)

Forget single issues (trans rights, for instance, especially when folks don’t deliver) — I don’t see these ass clowns doing anything to address and fix my concerns about where my life, or likely where your life and those of most fellow citizens are going.

Obama, please, I expect we’ll see more improvement in his golf game like his buddy, Franklin Raines (shame, shame) …

He has shaved eight points off his golf handicap, taken a corner office in Steve Case’s D.C. conglomeration of finance, entertainment and health-care companies and more recently, taken calls from Barack Obama’s presidential campaign seeking his advice on mortgage and housing policy matters.

… than anything substantive. Steve Case? Dot-com bubble. Harold Raines? Housing-bubble. Barack Obama? Name that bubble.

This morning’s Raleigh News & Observer has a feature on blogger Pam Spaulding who will be covering (along with Autumn) the Democratic National Convention in Denver this August for Pam’s House Blend …

Spaulding, a Durham native, is a bit of a local celebrity these days, recognized in supermarkets and airports by her dirty-blond dreadlocks. And it’s all because of her blog, Pam’s House Blend, which turns four years old this month. The progressive, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issue-centered blog is also one of the first to acquire press credentials to this year’s Democratic National Convention, which is granting access to bloggers for the first time.

It’s a responsibility Spaulding takes seriously — even if some politicians and mainstream media don’t think a blogger deserves to have it.

“Sometimes, yes, it’s profane, sometimes it’s rude, sometimes it’s not grammatically correct, but the medium is different. It’s fast and loose,” she says. “But that does not mean that the ideas are bankrupt, that the criticism isn’t legitimate.”

Pam’s House Blend has won a number of awards, including the Distinguished Achievement Award from The Monette-Horwitz Trust, for making strides toward the eradication of homophobia; Best LGBT Blog in the 2005 and 2006 Weblog Awards; and accolades from the likes of gay activist Mandy Carter and former Democratic Senate candidate Jim Neal.

…

The rest of “Blogger gets respect” may be found here.

A portent perhaps foreshadowing what’s likely to befall Republicans come November?

Whatever it may or may not be, I completely and unremorsefully agree with the blogger who said “I am not sad.” At least (I don’t think), he did not have the additional misfortune to be represented by Sen. Helms for over 25 years, as I was.

From the New York Times …

Jesse Helms, the former North Carolina Senator whose courtly manner and mossy drawl barely masked a hard-edged conservatism that opposed civil rights, gay rights, foreign aid and modern art, died early Friday. He was 86.

…

David A. Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union, said recently that Mr. Helms’s contribution to the conservative movement was “incredibly important.”

For one thing, he said, Mr. Helms was alert to technological change, especially the importance of direct mail, and readily signed fund-raising letters that helped conservative organizations get started.

Mr. Helms was also instrumental in keeping Mr. Reagan’s presidential campaign alive in 1976 when it was broke and limping after a series of defeats in the Republican primaries.

…

In campaigns and in the Senate, Mr. Helms stood out in both his words and his tactics.

He fought bitterly against Federal aid for AIDS research and treatment, saying the disease resulted from “unnatural” and “disgusting” homosexual behavior.

“Nothing positive happened to Sodom and Gomorrah,” he said, “and nothing positive is likely to happen to America if our people succumb to the drumbeats of support for the homosexual lifestyle.”

In his last year in the Senate, he decided to support AIDS measures in Africa, where heterosexual transmission of the disease is most common.

Trailing in a tough re-election fight in 1990 against a black opponent, Harvey Gantt, the former mayor of Charlotte, Mr. Helms unveiled a nakedly racial campaign ad in which a pair of hands belonging to a white job-seeker crumpled a rejection slip as an announcer explained that the job had been given to an unqualified member of a minority. Mr. Helms went on to victory.

In 1994, angered at President Clinton, Mr. Helms suggested in print that if Mr. Clinton was to visit North Carolina, “He’d better bring a bodyguard.” He later said the remark had been “a mistake.”

His bruising style and right-wing politics won him many friends in his home state and across the nation, but he also created a legion of enemies. Millions of dollars were raised outside North Carolina both from those who flocked to his ideological banner and from those who ached to see him defeated. He never won more than 55 percent of the vote in five campaigns for the Senate.

The rest of “Jesse Helms, Conservative Force in the Senate, Dies at 86″ may be read here.

Since we tend to focus on transgender-related issues here a bit, I’ll end with this brief excerpt from a 1994 San Francisco Human Rights Commission report authored by Jamison Green that popped out of the “wayback machine” …

Gender dysphoria was once classified as a
medical condition, and Federal funds were available for diagnosed people who did not
have insurance coverage, who may have been on the verge of suicide because they
could not function in the social role prescribed by their external genitalia. But the Nixon
administration removed this safety net, and that cleared the way for insurance
companies to decide that they didn’t have to pay for any treatment deemed cosmetic,
elective, or experimental in nature. And in 1992, Senator Jesse Helms was successful in
removing protection for transgendered people from the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Gender dysphoria is now classified as a psycho-sexual disorder. Thus, Federal funding
is no longer available for gender confirmation surgery, but it is still readily available for
electroshock and other barbaric treatments, if deemed psychiatrically necessary.

Apparently, God didn’t bless James Hartline with a big win in San Diego’s Council District 3 — Hartline only garnered 595 votes, which equated to only 3.25% of the district’s popular vote.

My candidate for Council District 3, Stephen Whitburn, came in second place, which qualifies him for the run-off election in November. I know Todd Gloria — definitely the best two candidates of the six qualified for the run-off.

San Diego’s Republican Mayor, Jerry Sanders, won the office of Mayor outright — no run-off for him. If you don’t remember why San Diego’s LGBT community in large part embraced Mayor Sanders, this is Mayor Sanders from September of 2007:

~~~~~
Related:
* Who I’m Supporting In San Diego’s Third City Council District
* Republican San Diego mayor comes out in favor of marriage equality
* James Hartline’s Frothing At His Keyboard
* James Hartline Filled Out A Form All By Himself
* From The Man Who (Literally) Wants To Be My Councilman
* Six Years In Sodom: From The Journal Of James Hartline
* Jerry Sanders’ daughter on her father’s support of marriage equality
* James Hartline: San Diego is on fire because of the homos
* Pam’s House Blend: Jerry Sanders
* Pam’s House Blend: James Hartline

I’m, pardon the term, all fagged out (too bad some other folks aren’t), so this is going to be a quickie version of FTYNTKT …

#1 - Another original, WingNutDaily Exclusive …

‘Coed showers’ election urged
‘Citizens hurt when judges take away their votes’

#2 - Big news (yes, it’s worthy of an “orgasmic release” from the Empire State Pride Agenda) from New York on the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) …

By an overwhelming vote of 102-33, the New York State Assembly early in the evening of June 3 approved a bill affording civil rights protections to the transgender community.

…

“I’m numb, I’m pleased, I surprised, I’m impressed,” said Melissa Sklarz, the director of the New York Transgender Rights Organization, who also witnessed the vote. “I always heard that Albany was the place where good ideas go to die, and I figured even our LGBT elected officials would move the marriage bill, but that our bill would not happen. I’m thrilled that everyone who said they would help helped.”

New York State Assemby Approves Transgender Rights Law

#3 - Still no final results as I write this (Wednesday morning, a little after midnight here on the East Coast) on Victoria Kolakowski’s bid for a judgeship in Alameda County, California …

In Alameda County, four candidates - prosecutor Phil Daly of San Leandro, state Public Utilities Commission Administrative Law Judge Victoria Kolakowski of Oakland, public-interest lawyer Dennis Hayashi of Castro Valley, and criminal defense attorney Dennis Reid of San Leandro - vied for the seat vacated by Judge Kenneth Kingsbury, who retired.

In early returns, Hayashi and Daly had taken the lead in the hotly contested race, followed by Kolakowski and Reid. If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote, the two top vote-getters will face off in a runoff in November.

Kolakowski, who hears cases at the PUC, said she would be the first known transgender trial court judge in the nation if elected.

Incumbent Mellon leading in S.F. judge race

#4 - Some not so good news this evening from Florida regarding transgender civil rights …

A tie vote ended discussion of additional amendments to Pinellas County’s human rights ordinance to include protection for transgendered people.

County says no to more human rights protections

#5 - Wanna bet this story doesn’t get a play from the likes of WWD, FOTF, CRG or such?

A man dressed in woman’s clothing was arrested and charged in the Superior Court of Guam.

Court documents state Ruben Cabral Jr. walked into the restroom at the Tower of London Pub and kicked open a stall door while wearing a high heeled shoe.

The woman inside the stall asked Cabral to leave the restroom because it was the ladies’ room and he was a man.

Cross dresser charged after allegedly assaulting woman in public restroom

And it’s a deliciously satirical (but painful) reminder of our last Presidential “election” …

~~~

Related …

Legendary designer Yves Saint Laurent dies at 71

Yves Saint Laurent, Fashion Icon, Dies at 71

~~~

h/t SwiftKids For Truth

(Heck of a place, I wonder if Scotty McClellan passed through there … ?)

From the New York Times this evening …

ABERDEEN, S.D. — Senator Barack Obama has resigned his membership in Chicago’s Trinity United Church of Christ, which he attended for nearly two decades, following months of controversy about pastors and their political views.

Mr. Obama said he and his wife, Michelle, wrote a letter on Friday to the church’s pastor, the Rev. Otis Moss, explaining that their estrangement from Trinity took root in controversial remarks by the church’s former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., who once was Mr. Obama’s spiritual guide.

“Our relations with Trinity have been strained by the divisive statements of Reverend Wright, which sharply conflict with our own views,” they wrote. “These controversies have served as an unfortunate distraction for other Trinity members who seek to worship in peace, and have placed you in an untenable position.”

But at a news conference after a town-hall-style meeting here on Saturday, Mr. Obama sounded pained as he confirmed his decision to leave the place he had considered his spiritual home. A sermon by Mr. Wright, a longtime pastor at the church, even provided the phrase — “the audacity of hope” — that became Mr. Obama’s campaign theme and the title of his latest book.

“I make this decision with sadness,” Mr. Obama said, speaking in subdued tones as he stood before a bland background. “This is where I found Jesus Christ, where we were married, where our children were baptized. We are proud of the extraordinary works of that church.”

Mr. Obama rejected suggestions that he denounce the church, which is one of Chicago’s largest and most socially active black churches, with a wide array of respected social programs. Several of the most prominent black theologians in Chicago attend the church.

“I’m not denouncing the church and I’m not interested in people who want me to denounce the church,” he said in response to a question. “It’s not a church worthy of denouncing.”

He said that his resignation was not a matter of political convenience, but rather that he had reached the point where neither he nor Trinity’s pastors and congregants could worship in peace. He noted that reporters now pored over sermons and that some had called sick members at home to ask about the church.

The rest of “Obama Leaves Church That Drew Wide Criticism” may be read here.

And, here’s hoping that Aberdeen appears on Sen. McCain’s campaign itinerary too some time soon. Who knows, it might be contagious.

Some news and views, trans and otherwise, catching my attention today …

#1 - Sophia Siedlberg from the Organisation Intersex International commented on a Bay Area Reporter feature today (”DSM controversy could overshadow opportunities“) on Kenneth Zucker, Jack Drescher and DSM-V …

If the APA feel that some of the very real anger expressed about how certain people are appointed and the actions of those people, then the APA should consider the possibility that the Clarke Northwestern academics they have elected have, in the past been known to provoke an acrimonious response from those they “discuss” and then deliberately ignore any invitations for polite debate, while crying foul when people get angry out of sheer frustration. That is a well known and documented tactic on the part of the Clarke-Northwestern. And one that renders their objections to being called everything from “Quacks” to “Nazis” utterly meaningless, as they have deliberately taken an invidious approach to debate, in order to cry foul when the predictable response happens. We have to ask why do the Clarke-Northwestern do this? Most logical people would conclude that there may be some truth in the more slanderous accusations levelled at the Clark Northwestern as they persistently fail to engage in open debate, in a way that appears deliberate.

On the The Bay Area Reporter

#2 - Barack Obama supporter and Transadvocate blogger, Marti Abernathey, is the subject of a Bay Windows feature today (”Trans parent, gay son: pride across the generations“) …

Abernathey fights through her involvement with various national and state transgender and LGBT organizations. She runs the Transadvocate group blog (transadvocate.com) and is contributing editor for another, the Bilerico Project (bilerico.com). She also fights simply by being open about who she is. “A lot of the reasons why there are fewer obstacles now for gay and lesbian parents is because there are gay and lesbian parents,” she explains. “There’s exposure to the straight community, so it’s not an abstraction, it’s real. When trans people are open and honest about who they are, then people will start to see we’re just parents. We’re not trans parents, we’re parents. I think that’s what gays and lesbians want, and what trans people want.”

And, speaking of Obama, he has a fan in Rupert Murdoch (”Rupert Murdoch Says Obama Will Win“) …

“He is a rock star. It’s fantastic”

#3 - Actor and comedian Harvey Korman passed away today (”Comic powerhouse Harvey Korman dies at 81“) …

Harvey Korman, the tall, versatile comedian who won four Emmys for his outrageously funny contributions to “The Carol Burnett Show” and played a conniving politician to hilarious effect in “Blazing Saddles,” died Thursday. He was 81.

…

His most memorable film role was as the outlandish Hedley Lamarr (who was endlessly exasperated when people called him Hedy) in Mel Brooks‘ 1974 Western satire, “Blazing Saddles.”

…

After 10 successful seasons, Korman left Burnett’s show in 1977 for his own series. Dick Van Dyke took his place, but the chemistry was lacking and the Burnett show was canceled two years later. “The Harvey Korman Show” also failed, as did other series starring the actor.

“It takes a certain type of person to be a television star,” he said in that 2005 interview. “I didn’t have whatever that is. I come across as kind of snobbish and maybe a little too bright. … Give me something bizarre to play or put me in a dress and I’m fine.”

#4 - Where would some folks be without us … ? (”A better way to morality“) …

Cross-dressing to my mind is the single most important factor in spreading the homosexual lifestyle.

#5 - One way to get rid of some carbon footprints (”Environmentally Friendly Bombs Planned“) …

New explosives could be more powerful and safer to handle than TNT and other conventional explosives and would also be more environmentally friendly.

…

To make safer, more environmentally friendly explosives, scientists in Germany turned to a recently explored class of materials called tetrazoles. These derive most of their explosive energy from nitrogen instead of carbon as TNT and others do.

…

These compounds have great potential, “especially for large caliber naval and tank guns,” Klapötke added

On the Bushs and the Clintons … the tide’s outward rush from these fair shores (speaking broadly and metaphorically) will continue unchecked and unabated by the presumptive, next King Canute.

(Oops, this didn’t post last night … )

The road to somewhere is paved with good intentions … It doesn’t look, at the moment, like there’ll be a (certainly not a) timely posting of a last week’s “transgender news in review,” which I just started last week and hope to do regularly.

Primary voting day tomorrow in North Carolina … first time that I can recall a primary here having (any Presidential) significance. Am I happy with my choices? No. But, I’ll be voting for HC, for what it’s worth. I’m hoping to get my father, who’s in his ’90’s now, out to vote. He hasn’t missed getting to the polls ever that I remember, but … this time might be the first … he’s been a bit worse for the wear recently. Bummer.

Maybe it’s just me, but I thought there were some positives in the news story about the transgender youngster in the Philadelphia Inquirer today (about which Autumn commented earlier today) — parent Valerie Huff’s comment that “The kids don’t make any big deal about it at all” and that of Mary Beth Lauer, the school district’s director of community relations, that the “students seem to be accepting their classmate’s change” — for example. On the flip side, aside from the issues that Autumn addressed, using bete noire Paul McHugh for the oppositional viewpoint, was a mighty big turnoff to me.

I was much distressed by Eight Belles’ breakdown in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, but PETA doesn’t seem to me to have much of a clue about horse racing, frankly, and its criticisms (”euthanized in the dirt where she lay,” “Eight Belles’ jockey whipped her mercilessly,” etc.) of that day’s events are more than a bit out of touch and way over the top.

Good question: “If it’s so great to be smart, why have most animals remained dumb?”

Because it works: “Watching Bush speak you realize he’s a really dumb person who thinks everyone in the room is even dumber than he is.” (Don’t tell me it took anyone over seven years to realize that.)