Transgender Candidate, Appointed To Commerce Post

I noticed that too. I got the pic from google, so not sure why it has that feel.

because it's the same exact pose?

::giggle::

Possibly never. HIV is still a fatal disease even though it is better controlled than it used to be.

Running a campaign for national office is an incredible strain on the mind and body that makes say running an iron man marathon look trivial. Check out the before and after photos of what four years in office did to Jimmy Carter some time.

A person old enough to be a good candidate with HIV could very likely be risking his/her life just by running.

To the contrary Bombastinator, HIV has been reclassified to chronic from the terminal list. It is now considered by the CDC to be a chronic condition. I know, because I have been living with HIV for over 30 years. So perhaps you should take the time to do a little more research into the latest information available. You seem to be stuck in the Early 90's as far as information goes.

There is no reason why an HIV positive person could not serve in government office.

No problem with your suggestion as to an HIV-positive person, Jubal...but I assume you mean someone who is willing to say in PUBLIC that they are HIV-positive and/or someone who KNOWS that they are HIV positive.

I could certainly be wrong, but I suspect we have already had one or more members of Congress who was either HIV-positive but chose not to go public or who was HIV-positive and had simply never been tested.

I don't doubt that Cztheday, you are probably right, but what I am talking about is someone who is out of the HIV closet and living in full view of the nation. Think of what that would do to the national dialogue.

I myself have been thinking of running for public office in my state of Oregon.

I feel that by practicing FULL DISCLOSURE, I can be ahead of the gossip and the slanderous insinuations because there wouldn't be any skeletons in my closet to dig up. I will publish an autobiographical book and release it when I launch my campaign, that way everything will all be out in the open and I can hold my head up high and not feel any shame or shy away from the media hyenas.

Jubal, this is just my opinion (can't speak for the electorate in your district, of course), but I have found you to possess a powerful, sophisticated and wonderfully flexible intellect. I would be greatly pleased to see you run and even more pleased to see you win. I am sure you would represent your district and our country with distinction. Your HIV status and sexual orientation are of no moment to me, but I fully understand and concur with your strategy for taking those issues off the table up front. CZ

"Now when are we going to get someone HIV positive as a congressman or a senator?"

Certainly there are more important things about a politician than whether he is HIV positive - or has dandruff, has athletes foot, psoriasis, pretty eyes, chronic diarrhea, throws a mean fastball, has met Gene Simmons, like's hockey, is vegan, is into BSDM, is agoraphobic, was raised by zebras, dresses like it's 1985, drives a Yugo, has ten kids, is allergic to peanuts - or any other personal attribute that is entirely irrelevant as long as the person can do the job well.

You fucking rock.

*blushes*

Good show Delia! I personally don't always agree with the current administrations politics, but this appointment I do approve of because of its social repercussions.

There is a crew of Current's finest that are on the job. :) The disgraceful comments never go unchallenged.

I agree, but we see the reality of the way people feel about these things and sometimes that's a disappointing thing, but its important to face adversity with compassion. Don't let them get you down sherp!

HAHAHA! It's always funny to see how people divide my screen name.

It's actually Asher P, not a Sherp. I don't know what a sherp is. Sounds like a tropical plant.

"The sickest collection of circus freaks, social misfits, Communists and incapable buffoons ever to inhabit Washington."

Wait what? Where have you been for the last 8 years?

Maybe he's been JJammer?

"It almost makes you wish the Russians or someone merciful would nuke us."

---Fucking unbelievable someone would joke that a disagreement of Obama's policies merits a nuclear attack to relieve us of his presidency.

Conservatives hate America.

Boy a transgendered story makes it to the top 10 and all the freaks come out of the wood work. They never posted on current about anything else but to bash transgendered people and hate on Obama.

@creditfigaro

Naw. JJammer was never this deliberately offensive.

Nice job.

Zing!

"She was recognized as a "YWCA Women on the Move" in 2004. Miss. Simpson obviously identifies as a woman."

I don't care if the YWCA recognizes Barack Obama as a "YWCA Woman on the Move"; that doesn't mean I'm going to.

Consider if Amanda Simpson were to identify as a Martian. Would that mean I have to consider Amanda Simpson to be a Martian?

Don't call people "it". That was exceedingly rude.

It just goes to show "All I Really Need To Know I Learned in Kindergarten" was right.

Agreed. It's rude to refer to him as "IT".

You people are assholes.

HER. She is a female.

That is deliberately offensive. Do try to be constructive instead of confrontational.

She is a female. Thank you for posting asherp and others. It would be as rude for us to call her a guy as some guys would perceive it rude being called a female. We are all decent people, lets address people accordingly and as they wish. Co-existence and support, love and respect?

Edited for noticing your name was sidewayssquare - no fair! names are too similar :P

To treat this question as if it were not a deliberate slur, the answer is that defense products and aircraft are two of the United State's largest exports, and some of the very few durable manufactured goods we still export in quantity. if she also has a farming background she hits the trifecta.

@ sidewaysclyde
I do not think I will have a problem distinguishing you from other sideways. ;)

As to your substantive question, sideways, (what do flying and defense have to do with commerce and trade?), the aerospace and defense industries are not only among the nation's largest...they are particularly among our largest exporting industries. I am not thrilled to say so, but we sell arms around the world -- especially high-end fighter planes which, if I am not mistaken, combine both "flying" and "defense"...just sayin'

"Way to gain peoples respsect, mojojuju & sidewayssquare."

I'm not here to gain respect by going along with everybody else in pretending that Amanda Simpson is a woman.

I don't think I have to consider somebody to be a woman just because they believe themselves to be, or that they've spent around $70,000 to have surgery to give them the appearance of a woman.

Similarly, if a person believed themselves to be a brown bear, I would not consider them to be a brown bear, even if that person spent $70,000 to have surgery done that would make them have the appearance of a brown bear.

mojojuju-- there's an upside... you don't have to pretend she's a woman. She IS a woman.

Does "she" have a prostate gland?

Do you have reasoning skills?

Isn't it obvious that I do?

Yeah, I hear you. I don't really care about what gender expression she has. I want to know if she's going to screw the people over for the Robber Baron class.

But the problem is, that a lot of people apparently DO care about her gender expression, and they don't think of transpeople as being real people who have real jobs and are real members of their real communities.

As far as the chess game of life goes, and as much as I usually revile people making these sorts of arguments, I'm glad that she's been appointed just for the fact of forcing the nation to talk about transgender issues.

Several of my friends are transmen (FTM), and I know a few transwomen (MTF), so the issue is one close to my heart.

I hope they all have aneurysms.

It's the swan song of a dying species.

Awesome. At least Obama doesn't appoint pizza delivery dudes as head of FEMA.

While you and I don't always see eye to eye, it's refreshing to see a thoughtful comment amongst the rest of this bigoted bullshit.

Refreshing, short to the point and completely correct.

What? Are you saying that transgendered people can't be highly qualified candidates?

For shame sidwayssquare!

Got it. sidewayssquare is an authoritarian conservative bigot who sees people only for their personal attributes not for their talent.

Hey sidewayssquare, Wanna bet my next paycheck you won't put your real name on that comment?

Wow, what a thoroughly thoughtless and uniformed comment to make. Aren't you the special little "Pulled this one out of my ass" award winner of the day?

Narrow-minded...heavy on the "narrow" and easy on the "minded"...