BILERICO: Sending Soap Overseas & Other Stories Of Queers In And Out Of Uniform

To show my support of a pointe of true compassion and queer concern, over @ BILERICO they are having a soap drive for our boys and girls in uniform serving in Afghanistan. You can read more on their site about a lesbian civilian contractor who is working along side them and advocating for the men she serves along side. Here are some of the cooler highlights:

The water here is unbelievably drying (it's loaded with chlorine) so anything super moisturizing would be fantastic. The guys here (it's almost only guys here) are pretty macho (but love having a lesbian around) so I know they wouldn't use "pretty" soaps. Unscented is not a requirement.

What's it like here? Well, first off, I'm a civilian. I volunteered to come here.... I'm the project engineer for projects such as Border Police stations, hospitals, roads, etc. I don't usually get to see the projects because it's too dangerous to travel there. We work 12 hrs/day, 6.5 days/week (Friday is our day off so we only have to work 4 hours).

... They love having a lesbian around but I'm quite sure they would not feel the same about a gay man. Which is a concept I've never understood. For the most part, I'm just one of the guys. In fact, there was one occasion where I heard laughter and said something like, "that sounds like a woman's voice," and someone responded, "fat chance of finding one of those anywhere near here."

As much as people want to bitch about civilian contractors getting paid so much, they work twice as much than most would even imagine being able to do in normal jobs hear in the States in extreme weather and hostile terrain. It is worth every bit of the 80 up to 120 thousand dollars they get per year, and that still doesn't compensate them enough for the support they provide to our troops.

Nor are OUR TROOPS being compensated enough for the work and sacrifice they and their families and their significant others and children are being put through for promoting freedom and assuring our liberty. Whether or not you disagree or agree with the war in Iraq and Afghanistan our young men and women deserve our honor and full support!

No one is making any money off this promotion just the satisfaction that a bunch of fags can help our men in uniform maintain their softer sides too! Here is a breakdown of the details as to how you can help and show them that we fags do care about them:

From today until Sept 25th, if you visit the Just Bubbly website and make a purchase, Mariann will double your order. You won't be charged any shipping and she'll keep all of the soap and other luxury items ordered to ship directly to Jessica in Afghanistan. Just Bubbly will also donate a sizable gift to Jessica's unit when they ship out our order. Just use the coupon code BILERICO when you make your purchase. Check out these reasonably priced items: Goats' Milk, Honey and Oatmeal Lotions $3 - $12, Spa In A Can or Travel Pack $10, Body Butter $4 - $8, Loofa Soap $5

In other news from the military, a 25 year veteran
wins discrimination case against the Library of Congress:

Diane (fka, David) Schroer, a 25 year veteran, male-to-female transgendered, retired Colonel wins her discrimination case against the Library of Congress, based on the current text of Title Seven (commonly referred to as "Being In Compliance With Title Nine"), of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, on sex (aka, gender) "prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin."



The Honorable James Robertson of the U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the Library of Congress discriminated against Diane Schroer when it rescinded a job offer to her after Schroer disclosed that she was transitioning from male to female." He also stated the following during his ruling:

1. compelling evidence that the Library's hiring decision was infected by sex stereotypes
2. ENDA not passed: Congress believes that Title VII, properly interpreted, solves the problem
3. based on gender transition should be considered a form of discrimination based on sex.

The court further stipulated that "just as discrimination against converts from one to faith to another is still discrimination based on religion, so too discrimination against transgendered persons is still sex discrimination."

SOURCES & FURTHER READING:
BILERICO: Nan Hunter|Dr. Jill Weiss|
The Courts Decision (35 pg.) (pdf)
HUNTER OF JUSTICE:
22nd of August|27th of August|
LINKS: TRANSGENDERED:
Local NEITSG|State INTRAA|
National NCTE|Veterans TAVA|
F6 RESOURCES: GAYS IN THE MILITARY:
ARTICLES / POSTS|LINKS PAGE|

Well we're at least halfway there. This case will probably still get appealed. One can only hope the Bush Administration decides not to pursue the case any further, but the likely hood is, well you know, like putting lipstick on a non kosher farm animal. To close out this post I figured a really cool video that I just found from Harvey Katz of Athens Boys Choir (You Tube) (MySpace) would do the trick. Enjoy!