A Dissertation on Sorrow for the Day of the Dead

sor·row

noun

1. 1.

   a feeling of deep distress caused by loss, disappointment, or other misfortune suffered by oneself or others.

“I want to weep, she thought. I want to be comforted. I’m so tired of being strong. I want to be foolish and frightened for once. Just for a small while, that’s all …a day … an hour ...

...One day, she promised herself as she lay abed, one day she would allow herself to be less than strong.
But not today. It could not be today.” 
― George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings

Every heart has its secret sorrows which the world knows not, and oftentimes we call a man cold, when he is only sad.

HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW, Hyperion

“It's so curious: one can resist tears and 'behave' very well in the hardest hours of grief. But then someone makes you a friendly sign behind a window, or one notices that a flower that was in bud only yesterday has suddenly blossomed, or a letter slips from a drawer... and everything collapses. ” 

― Colette

“So it’s true, when all is said and done, grief is the price we pay for love.” 
― E.A. Bucchianeri, Brushstrokes of a Gadfly

IN MEMORY OF ALL THOSE WHO HAVE PASSED AND ESPECIALLY TO THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS COPING WITH LOSS FROM SENSELESS VIOLENCE.

The Supermoon in Taurus November 3rd

The Supermoon in Taurus on November 3^rd at 10:23 pm (PDT), follows Halloween, the Day of the Dead, and Samhain (the mid-point between autumn and winter). This earthy moon at perigee is uniquely balanced being in Scorpio. For without the fluidity of Scorpio, Taurus, a fixed sign, could become rigidly attached to sensuous pleasures culminating in repetitive stagnation of the senses. This Supermoon asks us to move past the rote, the habitual, and the deadening to embrace that what enables us to take a leap of faith.

Should I stay or should I go will be themes during this lunation. Now that the planet of good fortune is dancing in Scorpio, luck will favor those who choose chance over securty-backed numbness. Expect to be pulled in both directions but the wise person will gravitate toward risk. Staying inert will paralyze the momentum of transformation which commenced during the last New Moon, October 19th. Feel the fear and do it anyway. 

It's not all struggle: this could end up being the most romantic Supermoon of the year. Set in sexy Scorpio, backed by sensuous Taurus, moonbeams from this uninhibited duo could have stardust clouding even the most jaded of eyes. Of course, that's if dreamy detente works well enough to charm the armor off the the illusion of protection. Don't underestimate the power of Jupiter in Scorpio to harvest the potency of the romantic fervor generated by the perigee full moon super-orb. 

Time to listen to the 'Clair du Lune' by Claude DeBussy while gazing at the lovely full frost moon.

Bully for Melania

"I think it’s important that we choose kindness and compassion." -Mrs.Trump

“Ariana Huffington is unattractive, both inside and out. I fully understand why her former husband left her for a man – he made a good decision.” -Donald Trump


"Just like (the media doesn't) want to report that I spoke out forcefully against hatred, bigotry and violence and strongly condemned the neo-Nazis, the White Supremacists, and the KKK." - Donald Trump

"You know, it doesn't really matter what [they] write as long as you've got a young and beautiful piece of ass." -Donald Trump

"Wonderful looking while on the ice but up close and personal, she could only be described as attractive if you like a woman with a bad complexion who is built like a linebacker"-Donald Trump

“If Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.”-Donald Trump

On John McCain: “He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured, OK?”

“I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I’ll build them very inexpensively, I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall.” -Donald Trump

“I don’t have a racist bone in my body.”-Donald Trump

“Jeb Bush has to like the Mexican Illegals because of his wife.” -Donald Trump

“Heidi Klum. Sadly, she’s no longer a 10.”-Donald Trump

“Marco Rubio, I’ve never seen anybody sweat like that.” -Donald Trump

 “If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of ’em, would you? Seriously. OK? Just knock the hell—I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees. I promise. I promise.” -Donald Trump

“Part of the problem and part of the reason it takes so long [to kick out protesters] is nobody wants to hurt each other anymore.” -Donald Trump

Dear Melania,
         Why take your anti-bullying crusade on the road when there's so much to work with at home?

Why is God Punishing Bill O'Reilly with Sexual Harassment Claims?

"You know, am I mad at God? Yeah, I'm mad at him," O'Reilly said on the latest episode of his web series, "No Spin News." "I wish I had more protection. I wish this stuff didn't happen. I can't explain it to you. Yeah, I'm mad at him." -CNN

As a woman who was raised a Catholic, I find Bill O'Reilly's anger at God perplexing. Really? He can't pinpoint his powerful need to act out lasciviously as the primary reason why the woman he sexually harassed who won millions in court settlements? Get off the cross, Bill, we need the wood. 

One does not lose multiple sexual harassment claims because God is punishing you. The courts have found there is more than a preponderance of evidence that you inflicted unwanted sexual advances on women in your workplace. Millions of dollars worth, to be precise-that's a lot of harassment. The church doctrine I was raised with does not implicate God directing anyone to sexually harass. Is there some secret 11th Commandment stating, "Thou shalt be given sexual authority over women to do whatever thou pleases"? The Baltimore catechism we were raised with does not contain this amendment.

Face it, Bill, it's time to go to confession. Maybe losing millions in sexual harassment lawsuits is a wake up call for you to do a fearless moral inventory of your behavior and do an act of contrition. Here it is in case you've forgotten:
"O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you, and I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell, But most of all because they have offended you, my God who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen"

And, the act of contrition is not simply saying, "I am sorry." It also directs the penitent to do atonement and amend one's life so one does not continue to commit the same offense. Are you listening Bill?

Can people with HIV be 'legally' quarantined?

Unbelievably, this was a question raised this week by Dr. Betty Price, an anesthesiologist representative from Georgia and wife of ousted ex-HHSA Cabinet Secretary Tom Price. "It just seems to me it's almost frightening the number of people who are living that are potentially carriers -- well, they are carriers -- but, potential to spread," Betty Price said. "Whereas, in the past, they died more readily, and then at that point, they are not posing a risk. So, we've got a huge population posing a risk if they're not in treatment."

Too bad we cannot quarantine stupidity, especially in so-called educated physicians. Once again we see the stigma of what is still considered a 'gay' disease being treated as rationale for internment camps. What's next, hiring a Dr. Mengele-like medical director to oversee their care?  Why not just put them in ovens and gas them-wouldn't that be cheaper?

I am surprised Trump didn't nominate her instead of her husband to oversee Health and Human Services. They seem to be on the same wavelength with their Nazi-like solutions for all of the ills the 1% would rather not have to fund. It is ironic that Dr. Price should bring up fears of the spread of HIV/AIDS. Trump is well-known for his long-time association with Roy Cohn, the McCarthy-era attorney who ended up denying he was gay and died of AIDS.

It is estimated that 1.1 million people in the US have HIV. They got it from having sex. You know, the basic human activity we all are biologically wired to engage in. As long as people have sex, they will pass bacteria and viruses to one another through their bodily fluids. Bacteria and viruses are not selective about targeting their vessel-they infect every race, creed, and gender. If you have sex you are at risk for contracting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) like HPV, chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, etc. It sounds as if Price may have flunked out of her infectious disease rotation to not know the extent of STDs plaguing the US. Why should we just stop at incarcerating HIV patients when gonorrhea is quickly becoming untreatable with antibiotics?

Sexually transmitted diseases do not care if you are white, rich, privileged, heterosexual, or famous, Dr. Price. Thinking these factors will protect you and the rest of your cronies from infection is sincerely deluded. Thinking a concentration camp quarantine will protect the population from HIV defies sound Public Health practices. How do I know? I work in Public Health. What is the best way to protect oneself from the scourge of any infectious disease? Get educated, vaccinated, seek treatment if infected, and follow the treatment plan.

Your homophobic slip is showing, Dr. Price. Best you stay out of this fray and stick to what you know best: wasting our time legislating archaic ideas that have no basis in reality.

The New Moon in Libra: Surprise, Time to Change

On October 19th, a New Moon in Libra brings unexpected happenings, surprising developments, and/or a jolt of news causing a change in direction. Usually Libra New Moons are balanced like the scales which represent this most judicious sign. But this New Moon is being opposed by Uranus, the planet of the unforeseen. Whatever unanticipated occurrences pop up, they will ignite a fast and furious pace to keep up with the changes. Resign yourself to putting on your blinkers because you will most likely be taking a hard right.

This isn't all bad or all good but all Uranus. The job of Uranus is to wake us up by breaking down our deadening habits through unpredictable circumstances. Surfing uncertainty is never comfortable but is frequently necessary to jettison us out of our confining rut. 

Knowing and acting are two different energies. This New Moon will marry insight and action to transcend the sluggish inertia holding us down. With Jupiter, the planet of good fortune cruising in Scorpio, we will find a deeper understanding of our paralyzing behaviors in order to develop more fulfilling opportunities to attract the beneficence we deserve. Time for all of us lab rats to abandon running down the same old tunnel with no cheese in sight.

Weighing your options will not bring satisfaction. The Scales are being tipped in this lunation to spur us into movement. If you find yourself out of sorts, confused, or overwrought, then you are being mesmerized by habituation strangling your vision. The more invested you are in your story line, the more confounding this New Moon will be. However, if you can loosen up and go with the flow, you might find whatever disruptions this New Moon delivers, you can use it as a springboard.

Hollywood's Schizophrenia When it Comes to Supporting Abusers

Now that many women (and some men) in Hollywood have acknowledged being sexually harassed or assaulted by producers, their seems to be emerging a double standard about working with predators. Kate Winslet recently said she purposely did not thank Harvey Weinsten when she received her Oscar, yet she went on to tout her role in the new Woody Allen movie. Did she forget Mr. Allen's history of sexual abuse? Or is the story of his former lover seeking revenge by accusing him of sexual abuse just another story to overlook?

Hollywood seems to conveniently forget about the furor Mr. Allen ignited when it was discovered he had taken naked photos of his then non-married spouse's teenage daughter or Roman Polanski's admission of having sex with a 13 year old girl. Actors and actresses work with them without batting an eyelash. But for anyone who has been a victim of sexual predation, we know these men are just as guilty.

At one point in my career, I worked with victims of sexual assault. One gets a different perspective of predatory behavior when you hear how difficult it is to recover from child sexual 'molestation'. Most victims never fully recover-they don't just 'get over it' and usually struggle with its aftermath for the rest of their lives. It is not unusual that they spend years in and out of therapy (if it is afforded to them), suffer bouts of anxiety and depression, get easily addicted to alcohol and drugs to block out the victimization, and tend to have more trauma-bonded abusive relationships. Corey Haim and Corey Feldman are examples of this. To this day, their offenders have not been named due to the power their abusers still have in Hollywood. When one looks at the history of child stars dying at a young age, one suspects many of them who didn't make it to adulthood carried a heavy secret to their graves.

Mr. Allen and Mr. Polanski remain in denial that their abuse did any lasting damage. After all, Mr. Polanski's victim has said she has forgiven him and Mr. Allen married his child victim to legitimize that what he did was not abuse but love. My question to the Hollywood community is: would you let either of these men spend any time alone with your young teenage daughter? It is a myth that time reduces the urge to prey on young girls. These two are just better at appearing they are leading 'normal' lives.

When the allegations of sexual abuse surfaced with these two prominent directors, I have made a conscious choice to avoid seeing any of their films. They may be talented but I choose not to support offenders-no matter how much time has elapsed. Maybe it is because I still carry the memories of the many victims who have suffered at the hands of predators. As these two move forward with awarded movies, the victims I worked with continue to struggle psychologically and emotionally. I cannot so easily forget.

One of the best books I have read about the life long aftermath of sexual abuse is, "The Conspiracy of Silence'. This is an older book but powerful in its ability to describe in horrific detail what victims of incest experience. This book skillfully lays out not just the victims point of view but how the victim's constellation prevents the abuse from being reported through denial and silence. After reading this book, one cannot so easily brush off abuse as, "that happened long ago".

A person in Hollywood that has given the most honest statement on abuse has been Jane Fonda. She admitted she knew of Harvey Weinstein's abuse and said nothing. It takes courage to publicly admit one supported abuse by silence. By her public apology, Ms. Fonda has started an important dialogue of how to break the cycle of abuse by speaking out. Will Hollywood learn from this? 

More importantly, what can we learn from this? 

Mike Pence's Joke about 'Hanging All Gays'

Here are some people who didn't find getting murdered for being gay or transsexual so funny:

Just since '2010–present

• January 18, 2010 – The half-naked corpse of Myra Chanel Ical, a 51-year-old trans woman, was found in a vacant lot in Houston, Texas.^[135]
• March 30, 2010 – Amanda Gonzalez-Andujar, a 29-year-old Latina trans woman, was found dead in her Queens, New York, apartment. The autopsy found that her attacker, Rasheen Everett, had strangled her then doused her body with bleach.^[136] In December 2013 Everett was sentenced to 29 years to life. At sentencing Everett's lawyer, John Scarpa, disputed the sentence with the statement: "Shouldn’t that [sentence] be reserved for people who are guilty of killing certain classes of individuals?" The judge, Queens Supreme Court Justice Richard Buchter responded, "This court believes every human life in sacred... It’s not easy living as a transgender, and I commend the family for supporting her."^[137]
• April 3, 2010 – Toni Alston, a black 44-year-old transgender woman, was shot in the front door of her home in western Charlotte, North Carolina.^[138]
• May 7, 2010 – Dana A. "Chanel" Larkin, a 26-year-old black trans woman who worked as a prostitute, was shot three times in the head by her client, Andrew Olacirequi, after she asked him if he was okay with them having sex despite her male genitalia. She was found dead on the pavement of a Milwaukee street.^[139]
• June 21, 2010 – Sandy Woulard, a 28-year-old trans woman, was shot in the chest in South Side, Chicago. A passing motorist found her lying in the street, and she was pronounced dead at the hospital.^[140]
• October 3, 2010 – A 30-year-old male known as "la Reina" (the Queen), Bryan Almonte, 17, and Brian Cepeda, 17, were kidnapped in the Bronx by a homophobic group of youths calling themselves the Latin King Goonies, sodomized by foreign objects including a plunger and baseball bat, burned with cigarettes, and tortured for hours. One of the teenage victims had wanted to join the gang the attackers were part of, but when members saw him with the 30-year-old, they later picked him up and took him to an abandoned apartment and asked him if the two had had sex. When the teenager responded positively, he was beaten and sodomized. The gang later picked up the second teenager whom they had also seen with the 30-year-old and repeated the process. They then lured the 30-year-old to the building with the promise of a party. When he arrived with alcohol, the gang tied him up and tortured him and made the 17-year-old burn him with cigarettes. They then robbed the man's 40-year-old brother, coercing him by putting a cellphone to his ear so he could hear his brother beg to pay them.^{[141][142][143]}
• September 11, 2010 – Victoria Carmen White, a 28-year-old black transgender woman, died of bullet wounds in her New Jersey apartment. It is unknown whether she was targeted by her killer, Alrashim Chambers, for her gender identity.^[144]
• October 14, 2010 – Stacey Blahnik Lee, a 31-year-old black trans woman, was found murdered in her Philadelphia home by her boyfriend.^[145]
• November 17, 2010 – 18-year-old Joshua Wilkerson was found dead in a field in Pearland, Texas, after being beaten to death and set on fire by a friend of 5 years, Hermilio Moralez. This was supposedly a retaliation to unwanted sexual advances.^[146]
• January 11, 2011 – Chrissie Bates, a 45-year-old transgender woman, was stabbed to death in her downtown Minneapolis apartment. Arnold Darwin Waukazo was sentenced to 367 months in prison for the murder.^[147]
• February 19, 2011 – Tyra Trent, a black 25-year-old trans woman, was found strangled to death in a vacant house.^[148]
• April 2011 – Kevin Pennington, a gay 28-year-old male, was kidnapped and severely beaten in a Kentucky park by two men shouting anti gay epithets. David Jason Jenkins and Anthony Ray Jenkins face possible life sentences for anti gay hate crime.^[149] On March 15, 2012, the Kentucky State Police assisted the FBI in arresting David Jenkins, Anthony Jenkins, Mable Jenkins, and Alexis Jenkins of Partridge, KY for the beating of Kevin Pennington during a late-night attack in April 2011 at Kingdom Come State Park,^[150][151] near Cumberland. The push came from the gay-rights group Kentucky Equality Federation, whose president, Jordan Palmer, began lobbying the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky in August 2011^[152] to prosecute after stating he had no confidence in the Harlan County Commonwealth's Attorney to act.^[153] "I think the case's notoriety may have derived in large part from the Kentucky Equality Federation efforts," said Harvey, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky.^[154] Mable Jenkins, and Alexis Jenkins plead guilty.^[154]
• April 22, 2011 – Chrissy Lee Polis,^[155] a 22-year-old trans woman, was beaten in a violent struggle by two African-American women for entering the women's bathroom in Baltimore County, Maryland, which triggered her to have a seizure. A McDonald's employee, who was later fired, filmed the encounter and released the film on the internet; it since went viral. Teonna Monae Brown, 19, pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and a hate crime in the beating, and was sentenced to 5 years in prison, plus three years of supervised probation. The other woman was charged as a juvenile and committed to a juvenile detention facility.^[156]
• June 2011 – Rosita Hernandez, a Cuban trans woman, was stabbed to death in Miami.^[157] In November 2011, Miguel Pavon was charged with first degree murder after his DNA was matched with samples found in the victim's residence.^[158]
• June 5, 2011 – CeCe McDonald, a young African American trans woman, was attacked outside a tavern shortly after midnight in Minneapolis, Minnesota.^[159] CeCe fatally stabbed her attacker with a pair of scissors.^[160] She was subsequently convicted of manslaughter and jailed for 19 months in a men's prison.^[161]
• July 20, 2011 – Lashai Mclean, a 23-year-old African American trans woman, was shot to death in Northeast, Washington, D.C.^[162]
• August 11, 2011 – Camila Guzman, a Latina transgender woman, was found murdered in her apartment in East Harlem, Manhattan.^[163]
• September 8, 2011 – Cameron Nelson, a 32-year-old gay man, was attacked at his place of employment in Utah.^[164]
• October 11, 2011 – Shelley Hilliard, a black transgender teen who had been reported missing, had her burnt torso identified by police in Detroit.^[165] Her killer, 30-year-old Qasim Raqib, was sentenced on March 6, 2012 to 25–40 years in jail.^[166]
• November 15, 2011 – Danny Vega, a 58-year-old Asian-American gay man who worked as a hairdresser in Rainier Valley, Seattle, was beaten and robbed as he was taking a walk. The beating left Vega in a coma from which he later died.^[167]
• November 17, 2011 – Cassidy Nathan Vickers, a 32-year-old black transgender woman, died from a fatal gunshot wound to the chest in Hollywood. Her killer, who is still unidentified, is suspected of also attempting to rob and non-fatally shoot another black transgender woman on the same day.^[168]
• December 17, 2011 – Charlie Hernandez, a 26-year-old who was openly gay, was stabbed to death following a brawl that included anti-gay slurs that occurred with two men after he accidentally stepped on some sunglasses.^[169]
• December 24, 2011 – Dee Dee Pearson, a 31-year-old transgender woman, died from bullet wounds in Kansas City, Missouri. Kenyan L. Jones was charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action. Jones told police he paid to have sexual relations with Pearson, believing her to be a cisgender woman, but hours after having sex with her, discovered she was not.^[170] Angered by what he considered to be a deception, he got a 9 mm caliber handgun, found Ms Pearson, and killed her.^[171] Jones was arrested on suspicion of her murder.^[172]
• December 29, 2011 – The body of Githe Goines, a black 23-year-old trans woman^[173] who had been reported missing 2 weeks beforehand, was found in a scrapheap in New Orleans. An autopsy set that the time of her death as much as 2 days before her body was discovered, and that she had been strangled.^[174]
• January 21, 2012 – Crain Conaway, a black 47-year-old trans woman, was found dead in her home in Oceanside, California.^[175] Tyree Paschall Monday was arrested in connection with her murder.^[176]
• February 2, 2012 – JaParker "Deoni" Jones, a 23-year-old black trans woman, was stabbed in the head while waiting at a Metrobus stop in Washington, D.C..^[177]
• February 2012 – Cody Rogers, an 18-year-old teenager, was brutally assaulted and targeted with homophobic slurs at a party in Oklahoma after defending a female friend who was also attacked.^[178]
• March 24, 2012 – Several transgender and crossdressing people were shot at and robbed in Florida by a man, suspected to be De Los Santos. 23-year-old Tyrell Jackson was fatally wounded in the shooting, which also injured 20-year-old Michael Hunter.^[179]
• April 3, 2012 – Coko Williams, a black trans woman, was found murdered in East Detroit, Michigan. The homicide may have been related to Coko's involvement in sex work.^[180]
• April 16, 2012 – Paige Clay, 23, a black trans woman, was found dead, with a bullet wound to her face in West Garfield Park, Chicago. The death was ruled as a homicide.^[181]
• April 21, 2012 – Eric Unger, a 23-year-old gay man living in Illinois, was attacked by a group of men on the way home from a party, while they shouted anti-gay epithets at him. The investigation is ongoing.^[182]
• May 2012 – Max Pelofske, a 21-year-old gay man, was beaten by a group of youths at a party in Minnesota. Pelofske claims it was a hate crime, but police disagree.^[183]
• June 5, 2012 – Kardin Ulysse, a black 14-year-old boy, was attacked in the cafeteria of Roy Mann Junior High School in Brooklyn, New York, by another group of boys. He was called anti-gay slurs and sustained damage to the cornea of one of his eyes, leaving him blinded. Ulysse's parents planned on suing New York City for failing to supervise its students properly.^[184]
• June 23, 2012 – Mollie Olgin, 19 years old, and her girlfriend, Kristene Chapa, 18 years old, were found shot in the head near Violet Andrews Park in Portland, Texas. Olgin died at the scene and Chapa survived. Law enforcement has said there is no evidence to suggest that the incident is a hate crime.^[185] The Human Rights Campaign and Equality Texas urged a thorough investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI and Portland police to find the shooter.^[186]
• July 5, 2012 – Tracy Johnson, a 40-year-old black trans woman, was found dead from gunshot wounds in Baltimore, Maryland.^[187]
• August 14, 2012 – Tiffany Gooden, a 19-year-old black trans woman, was found murdered on the second floor of an abandoned building in Chicago. An autopsy verified that she had been stabbed to death. Notably, the body of Paige Clay, another young black trans woman, was discovered in April 3 blocks away from where Tiffany was found. The pair were known as friends.^[188]
• August 18, 2012 – Kendall Hampton, a 26-year-old black trans woman, died of gunshot wounds. Eugene Carlos Dukes was arrested in early September for her murder, and indicted later that month.^[189]
• August 26, 2012 – Deja Jones, a 33-year-old black trans woman, was shot to death in Miami. No arrest had been made.^[190]
• September 3, 2012 – The body of Kyra Cordova, a 27-year-old trans woman, was found in a wooded area in Frankford, Philadelphia.^[191]
• October 15, 2012 – Janette Tovar, a 43-year-old trans woman was murdered by her partner, Jonathan Kenney, according to police, who beat her and slammed her head into concrete. He was later arrested for her murder.^[192]
• March 1, 2013 – Sondra Scarber addressed a parent about her girlfriend's son being bullied at Seabourn Elementary School in Mesquite, Texas, and was beaten by him when he realized that she was a lesbian.^[193]
• May 17, 2013 – Mark Carson, a 32-year old black gay man,^[194] was shot to death by another man who trailed and taunted him and a friend as they walked down the street in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. When the two friends ignored the assailant's questions, the man began yelling anti-gay slurs and asked one of them, "You want to die tonight?" Elliot Morales, 33, was arrested briefly after the shooting and charged with murder and weapons charges on May 19.^[195] According to police, Morales said he shot Carson because he was "acting tough".^[196] Morales pleaded not guilty, but on March 9, 2016 he was convicted by a Manhattan jury of murder as a hate crime.^[197] Morales was sentenced on June 14, 2016 to 40 years to life in prison.
• November 4, 2013 – Sasha Fleischman, an 18-year-old, had her skirt set on fire while they were sleeping on an AC Transit bus in Oakland, California. Police arrested 16-year-old Richard Thomas and charged him with felony assault, with an enhancement of inflicting great bodily injury. Thomas admitted to police that he had started the fire and that he did it because he was "homophobic."^[198] On November 14, 2014, Thomas was sentenced to seven years in juvenile detention for his crime.^[199]
• December 31, 2013 – A fire was started in the stairway of a gay nightclub in Seattle, which was quickly extinguished. After suspect Musab Mohammaed Masmari had told a friend that "homosexuals should be exterminated", an informer from the Muslim community told the FBI Masamari may have also been planning terrorist attacks. The native of Benghazi, Libya was arrested on his way to Turkey. On July 13, 2014, Masmari was sentenced to 10 years on federal arson charges.^[200]
• June 1, 2014 – Ahmed Said, 27, and Dwone Anderson-Young, 23, were killed execution-style shortly after midnight in the Leschi neighborhood of Seattle shortly after they left a gay nightclub. Both victims were gay, and Ahmed was apparently lured by being contacting on Grindr, a social app popular with gay men. Anderson-Young was receiving a ride home from Ahmed Said. The case was soon investigated as a possible hate crime. Both Said and Anderson-Young were shot multiple times; Anderson-Young died inside Said's car, while Said died immediately outside.^[201] Suspect Ali Muhammad Brown has confessed to killing Said, Anderson-Young, and two men in Seattle and New Jersey, both of whom weren't gay. Brown had previously been convicted of bank fraud and is believed to be in support of Muslim terrorists in Somalia. He told investigators that he was guided strictly by his faith, and that the killings were "just" because they were in retaliation for actions by the U.S. government in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan.^[202]
• February 1, 2015 – Taja DeJesus, 36, a trans woman, was found stabbed to death in the Bayview neighborhood of San Francisco, California.^[203]
• April 13, 2015 – Ron Lane was shot dead by a former student of Wayne Community College, identified as Kenneth M. Stancil III, who he had supervised at the campus print shop. His mother made unconfirmed allegations that Lane, who was gay, made unwanted sexual advances towards Stancil. The shooting was investigated as a hate crime.^[204]
• 2015 - In 2016, for the first time the Justice Department used the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act to bring criminal charges against a person for selecting a victim because of their gender identity.^[205][206] In that case Joshua Brandon Vallum pled guilty to murdering Mercedes Williamson in 2015 because she was transgender, in violation of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.^[205][206]
• June 12, 2016 – The attack on an Orlando nightclub left 49 dead and 53 wounded at the gay nightclub Pulse. The gunman, 29-year-old Omar Mateen, was an American citizen of Afghan descent who pledged allegiance to terrorist organization ISIS in a 911 call he made about the attack.^[207] ISIS also claimed responsibility for the attack.^[208] The incident was the second deadliest mass shooting in United States history.
• September 7, 2016 - Michael Phillips was attacked after leaving his job at a gay bar. He and his husband say they have been targeted for their orientation multiple times.^[209]
• September, 2017 - Ally Steinfeld, a transgender teenager, was stabbed and mutilated by three young people in southern Missouri.' -Wikipedia
• And finally from this week's headlines: "Trial Begins For Man Who Allegedly Tortured, Killed 8-Year-Old Boy For Being Gay".

Thank you, Mike Pence, for making murder sound so comical.