Now we're number 7

The Transgender and Allies group has moved up to seventh on ActBlue's ranking of donors to the Obama campaign! We're up to 259 donors when I write this.

In two and a half days we've added over 150 donors (who gave about $8,000).

So please join in, if you haven't already. Help make the trans community visible politically. Read Kate Bornstein's latest post if you're unconvinced.

Just go to http://www.actblue.com/page/trans. Even if you can only afford a buck or two, it counts. And it all goes to the Obama campaign--neither ActBlue nor the Stonewall Democrats (who helped set up this effort) get anything. ActBlue does ask for a "tip" to help finance their operation, but it's completely optional.

Trans for Obama--keep up the momentum

The Trans for Obama Day is over, but our effort goes on. Contributions made today will count toward the Obama campaign's third quarter statistics, the last major reporting period before the election.

We also have a new goal: 261 donors. This should move us into 7th place on the list of groups donating to the Obama campaign through ActBlue.

So, if you haven't done so already, please make a donation. It's not too late. Large donations are appreciated, but any amount is welcome--the number of donors is of higher importance. The goal (aside from helping elect Barack Obama, of course), is to increase the political visibility of the transgender community and our allies.

Go to the Trans Community and Allies Page on ActBlue:
http://www.actblue.com/page/trans

It only takes a couple minutes. Even if you can only afford a buck or two--every penny goes to the Obama campaign.

It's also not too late to blog about our campaign. Joann Prinzivalli has joined the bloggers for the trans page group.

2:30PM UPDATE: We're up to 234 donors! and add some more bloggers to our list: Debra Porta, and Véronique. And then there's my friend Betty, who not only posted on the Daily Kos, but came out as trans there as well!

3:00PM UPDATE: The ActBlue site is having technical difficulties at the moment. Grrr!

5:30PM UPDATE: The site is back up. So you can donate NOW. Please.

We did it!

200 donors!

Only 6 more!

We need just 6 more donors to the Trans and Allies for Obama page to reach 200. We've got 9 minutes left until midnight. We can do it. Go to

http://www.actblue.com/page/trans

Right now!

UPDATE: I'm now told we're going by Pacific Daylight Time. And we only need 4 more now.

Mukasey: three steps forward, a big one back

On the same day I praised Attorney General Michael Mukasey for the latest of three positive developments, I got an action alert from the ACLU. It asked me to sign a petition to the Department of Justice's Inspector General, requesting him to determine whether the FBI has been violating its current internal guidelines on investigations. The action alert said:

Bush and Mukasey are at it again. They’ve announced dangerous new FBI guidelines that will severely jeopardize the personal privacy of innocent Americans. These regulations need no congressional approval and are terrifying...

If implemented, new guidelines will allow the FBI to interview you, your friends and your family under a false pretext.

The FBI could recruit secret informants and have them infiltrate peaceful protest groups.

Investigations based on little more than race, ethnicity or religion would be allowed.

The ACLU believes the proposal is unconstitutional.

But it's even worse than that. There are indications that the FBI is already acting as if the proposed new guidelines were in force.

So I signed the petition, and am asking you to sign, too (and unlike Trans for Obama Day, this won't cost you a cent). Just go to http://action.aclu.org/fbiguidelines. Here's what the ACLU suggested I send out:

Subject: We're all suspects?!

Under new FBI guidelines proposed by Attorney General Michael Mukasey, all the FBI has to do to put anybody they want under prolonged physical surveillance is assert an “authorized purpose” such as detecting or preventing crime or protecting “national security."

These kinds of Bush/Cheney/Gonzales/Mukasey “just trust us” policies have been eroding our rights for the past eight years. After illegal spying and top-level torture policies coming from the White House, this is absurd. Enough is enough!

These new guidelines would allow the FBI to interview you, your friends and family under a false pretext. The FBI could recruit secret informants, and have them infiltrate peaceful protest groups. And the FBI to could initiate investigations based on little more than race, ethnicity or religion.

The FBI could also search commercial databases for personal details about your life with no real reason.

And all of this would be allowed without an ounce of evidence that you or anyone else has done anything wrong.

These guidelines represent one step closer to a police state. And the worst part is that there is good reason to believe the FBI has been violating its internal guidelines all along.

Fortunately, there is something we can do about this before the new regulations are implemented.

I just demanded that the Inspector General at the Department of Justice launch an investigation to determine if the FBI has been violating its own guidelines. The Inspector General’s office at the Department of Justice has proven to be an unbiased, internal watchdog that has consistently exposed wrongdoing. We need to urge the IG to do it again. Take action now at:

http://action.aclu.org/fbiguidelines

We're number 8! We're number 8!

The Transgender and Allies group has moved up to eighth on ActBlue's ranking of donors to the Obama campaign! We've gotten 143 donors as of this writing.

So please join in, if you haven't already. Help make the trans community visible politically. If you still need some convincing, read my earlier post, and my original one from June. Or check out these bloggers' posts: Kate Bornstein, Helen Boyd (also her guest post on feministing), Angie Buhl, Laura Calvo, Lena Dahlstrom, Monica Helms, Andrea James, Dr. Morbius, Veronica Pejril, Riftgirl, Annie Rushden, Autumn Sandeen, Dr. Jillian Weiss. Also, Riftgirl's Sarah Palin video is hilarious.

Just go to http://www.actblue.com/page/trans. Even if you can only give $5, it counts. And it all goes to the campaign--neither ActBlue nor the Stonewall Democrats get anything. (But somebody's been sending in some big bucks: the group's total has increased about $3,600 today!)

6:00 PM (EDT) UPDATE: over 60 donors today, giving over $4,600--pushing us over the $10K mark!

Mukasey does another good thing

U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey continues to impress me. After this, and this, he has now appointed a prosecutor to go after Republicans who may have broken the law by orchestrating the firing of U.S. attorneys for political reasons--particularly for investigating possible crimes by other prominent Republicans.

This is somewhat of a reversal of his previous stance. In an address to the American Bar Association in August, Mukasey stated, "[N]ot every wrong, or even every violation of the law, is a crime." Technically, that is correct. But now he has been convinced that there may have been criminal acts here, as well as violations of the civil service law.

Bravo, Mr. Attorney General!

UPDATE: Already senators are warning Bush not to pardon any law-breakers found.

Trans for Obama Day--a good start

So far today we've added about 30 donors and $1000 for the Obama campaign through the trans page on ActBlue. If just 4 more people make donations we'll move up to the eighth largest group! If you make a donation NOW, you could be the one who moves us up the list!


Just click on:
http://www.actblue.com/page/trans

Here are some other people blogging about the Trans for Obama Day: Kate Bornstein, Helen Boyd, Lena Dahlstrom, Andrea James, Riftgirl, Annie Rushden, Dr. Jillian Weiss.

Assume nothing

From Overheard in New York

Man in elevator on cell: Yeah. That's what I'm paying for, right? Next time just make sure it's a male to female.

Trans-blog day for Obama

Today a number of trans and allied bloggers are renewing our plea to help the campaign of Barack Obama for president. Back in June a group of us sent out a request for donations to the Obama campaign through a specific page on Act Blue, the online clearinghouse for Democratic action, which was set up with the help of the Stonewall Democrats. The purpose of this effort was to demonstrate to the Obama campaign that we trans people and our allies are a significant group supporting him.

As you can see by the donor thermometer above we've had some success. As of this writing we are ninth on the list of groups donating to the Obama campaign through Act Blue. With a little effort we could be eighth. With a bit more, we could be seventh. Click here for my update.

I think (hope) that I'm preaching to the choir when I say that a McCain-Palin administration would be disastrous for the country, and for LGBT people in particular. While Barack Obama is not our perfect candidate, he is head and shoulders above his opponent.

He needs our financial support. The Republicans, the party of money, can always count on large donations from a small number of wealthy people, who want to use our government to increase their wealth, regardless of how that affects anyone else. Democrats like Barack Obama need the support of a large number of non-wealthy people, each giving a little, to counter this.

And as a group, trans people certainly are non-wealthy. If such a survey were possible, I'm sure we would find that the median wealth of trans people is far below that of the non-trans population. Many of us are the victims of employment discrimination. Many of us have to find new jobs, if not whole new careers, after transitioning--and transitioning itself can be very expensive.

So we don't expect large donations (though that would be nice, of course). We're looking to get as many people as possible to donate through the trans page. The number of donors is more important than the amount of money raised.

Everyone's help is needed. Your contribution, even if it's only $5, is needed. Please help. Please demonstrate to the Obama campaign that trans people are significant supporters. We need to be visible.

So go to http://www.actblue.com/page/trans and make a contribution. Every penny goes to the Obama campaign--no fees are deducted. Do it now, before you forget.

Thanks.

Weekly free associations

1. Hearing :: loss


2. Aggression :: Georgia


3. Charged :: particles


4. Traveler :: insurance


5. Hydrate :: water


6. Detox :: shampoo


7. Qualify :: Olympics


8. Prison :: cell


9. Frontal :: lobotomy


10. Pep talk :: halftime

Thanks to Unconscious Mutterings.