Politics

Transgender Service Members Getting Fired Is WRONG

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It’s wrong in so many ways.

Transgender service members have served in our military just as well as anyone else, and in some cases better. They are just as excellent in protecting us as anyone, and they are getting fired from the military because of ignorance and fear. We are shooting ourselves by firing them.

Example: COL Bree Fram

COL Bree Fram

Her story is publicly published on her website: https://www.breefram.com/about-me

Clip from her public FB Post: “The colonel next to me asked where I was going. I let him know that I didn’t meet the current standard for “Military Excellence and Readiness” and would be departing on administrative leave.”

Who is she? Why is she now all of a sudden “not meeting the standards?”

Clip from her website: “Bree Fram (she/her) is an astronautical engineer, author, podcaster, speaker, and active duty colonel in the United States Space Force. She is currently stationed at the Pentagon where she develops the requirements for future Space Force capabilities.

​Prior to recommissioning into the Space Force in 2021, Bree served 18 years in a wide variety of Air Force positions including a Research and Development command position and an oversight role for all Air Force security cooperation activity with Iraq. In earlier assignments, Bree served in the Air Force Directorate of Strategic Plans, as a Legislative Fellow at the US Capitol on the staff of Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo, several tours as a program manager for satellite and technology programs, and deployed to Qatar and Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

​Bree came out publicly as transgender on the day the transgender ban in the military was dropped in 2016. She transitioned while in a command position and served through the re-imposition of a transgender ban from 2019-2021. She is currently one of the highest ranking out transgender officers in the United States military.”

Recruiting new people, training them, and trusting them to replace these already trained and tested workers is costly as well as immoral.

They are NOT getting treated like any other service member starting retirement. It’s disgusting how we are treating these veterans. I am embarrassed. 

Want to do something about it?

1) Use the 5 Calls app to contact your elected officials and state your support of keeping transgender service members in the military with the same support all service members get. https://5calls.org/ 

2) Read Bree’s website https://www.breefram.com

3) Listen to Bree’s podcast on leadership and LGBTQ+ issues: https://www.forgedinfire.org/ 

Family

Memorial Service for Dr. John Mark Dean

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SAVE THE DATE!

The Memorial Service for my Father-In-Law, Dr. John Mark Dean, will be held in the city of West Columbia, SC at the retirement home where he lived on Sunday, July 20, 2025 in the afternoon.

All family and friends are encouraged to attend, especially his former students.

See his obituary on the local Columbia newspaper, Post and Courier, at this link: https://obits.postandcourier.com/us/obituaries/columbia/name/john-dean-obituary?id=58052615

See my previous blog post here: https://sophia.scottandlara.com/2025/03/28/dr-john-mark-dean-has-passed-away/

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a contribution to the South Carolina Environmental Law Project (https://www.scelp.org/ways-to-give), the Alzheimer’s Association (https://www.alz.org), or the Laurel Crest retirement community via Presbyterian Communities of South Carolina ATTN: Laurel Crest (https://giving.prescommunities.org).

Announcements

Private Fundraiser for Women and Gender Minorities in EK Crown by Rapier

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Mountains of thanks to the generous folks who contributed to the private fundraiser I ran for supporting women and gender minorities fighting in the East Kingdom’s first ever Crown Tournament by Rapier!  See the completed website here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-women-and-gender-minorities-in-rapier-crown-tourney 

I wanted to demonstrate with quantifiable action how much the people of the SCA support new formats of Crown Tournament and especially support opportunities for women and gender minorities to serve the SCA as royalty. We did just that!

We raised $1500 with people donating from throughout the SCA! The donors who allowed their names to be published include the following:

  • Shawn MacIntyre
  • Jenn Eiland
  • Robert Tupper
  • Rachael Scialabba
  • Wendy Marques
  • Frederick Hollander
  • Lisa Losito
  • Karen Field
  • David McWhorter
  • Kathi (Lucia) Coutinho
  • Heather Hupp
  • Christopher Ernenwein
  • Olivier André
  • Stacy Morang
  • Danielle Fecteau
  • Margret Campbell
  • Christopher Hourcle
  • Shannon Dillon
  • Frank Hetherington
  • Sara Collins
  • Alicia Fansmith
  • Nataliia Hurd
  • Michelle Gore
  • Mittie Lees
  • Mike Bannon

 

The money was spent on gas gift cards, $130 each, for 11 rapier fighters who competed in the Crown Tournament. A small amount of the money raised was spent on the admin fees from Go Fund Me.

Sincere thanks to the folks who donated money, to the East Kingdom leaders who managed to get a Crown Tournament by Rapier to happen, and the courageous women and gender minority fighters who stepped up into the limelight to fight in this historic Crown Tournament!

 

Sincerely,

Dame Sophia the Orange, OL

 

Politics

Removing Transgender People from Military is Inefficient and Wasteful

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It’s very difficult to quantify exactly how many transgender people are currently serving in the US Military.  Especially in the current environment, it’s not safe to come out. I’ve seen estimates ranging from 2,000 – 8,000 people.

One argument for removing them from service is that gender dysphoria costs too much to treat. Read this paragraph from the Associated Press article of March 12, 2025 at this link https://apnews.com/article/trump-transgender-troops-ban-lawsuit-87921968ba20606efc25584c8bb70a31 

“The judge said the Defense Department has spent roughly $5.2 million annually over the past decade to provide medical care to treat gender dysphoria — a miniscule percentage of the military’s multi-billion dollar budget. As a point of comparison, Reyes noted that the military spends around $42 million per year on medication treating erectile dysfunction.”

There is nothing true about transgender service members being less than their colleagues in terms of ability, morals, honor, or military readiness.  Replacing 2,000-8,000 already trained and long serving people in our military will cost a great deal and take a great deal of time. Recruiting for the military is not in such a comfortable state that we can easily replace these trained and experienced service members.  I consider it wasteful to remove these people from military service. It’s also immoral and disgusting to suggest that they are less than their colleagues in any way.

If a trained and experienced transgender person is defending me, I don’t give a crap what their experience is with gender as long as they do their job. They have, they will,  and there is no good reason to remove them from service.

 

Imagine what it would feel like if we had a president – of any gender –  who decided to keep the transgender service members and stop paying for erectile dysfunction meds in the military to save money.  Just imagine what that would feel like.

Uncategorized

Highlights from 4 articles in the Associated Press

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Highlights from 4 articles in the Associated Press today:

Article “Here’s where jobs and programs are being cut at the nation’s top health agencies”

https://apnews.com/article/trump-hhs-cdc-fda-nih-cms-layoffs-5aba829b829d9e1a0167c4a0d968aadb 

  1. Thousands of people responsible for tracking health trends and disease outbreaks, conducting and funding medical research, monitoring the safety of food and medicine, and administering health insurance programs for nearly half of the country were laid off Tuesday at the nation’s top health agencies.
    1. The moves will shrink the Department of Health and Human Services to 62,000 positions, lopping off nearly a quarter of its staff.
    2. The cuts include researchers, scientists, doctors, support staff and senior leaders, leaving the federal government without many of the key experts who have long guided U.S. decisions on medical research, drug approvals and other issues.
    3. FDA is losing workers “who review new drug and medical implants, set policy for electronic cigarettes and tobacco products as well as the entire press office staff. The agency’s top tobacco regulator was removed from his post, along with several of his deputies.”
    4. The National Institute of Health (NIH) is the world’s leading medical research agency — funding research into cancer, Alzheimer’s, HIV and other devastating diseases… has lost 1,200 jobs on Tuesday plus 1,000 NIH employees recently fired, both scientists and staff who administer billions in research funding. The administration also has canceled hundreds of NIH grants to scientists around the country.
    5. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) which oversees Medicare, Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act marketplace, is cutting 300 jobs. Reported cuts so far have focused on the agency’s Office of Minority Health, Office of Equal Rights and Opportunity as well as the Office of Program Operations & Local Engagement.

  2. Article “FACT FOCUS: Warren Buffett did not praise Trump’s recent economic policies”

    1. https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-warren-buffett-trump-tariffs-video-52e6b63bd770e73ca54eae7a0c7bbcc3

  3. Article  “Senate up late voting on GOP tax breaks and spending cuts plan that’s central to Trump agenda”

    1. https://apnews.com/article/senate-budget-tax-cuts-trump-485845a9c0b7dfc5d2194d4c1e4723ae
    2. …opposition from Democrats, who are unified against what they decry as tax breaks for the wealthy at the expense of federal programs Americans rely on.
    3. And Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, the lone GOP opponent to the plan so far, questioned the math being used by his colleagues that he said would pile on the debt load. “Something’s fishy,” he said.

  4. Article  “Trump administration issues demands on Harvard as conditions for billions in federal money”

    1. https://apnews.com/article/harvard-antisemitism-demands-columbia-84d6265d2fbfcd5534006edff638160e
    2. The government’s letter is a “dominance test,” not an effort to fight antisemitism, said Kirsten Weld, a Harvard history professor and president of the campus chapter of the American Association of University Professors.
Politics

Your Rights When You Protest

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Be prepared.

When you go out to protest, read up ahead of time and have a clear understanding of the challenges ahead of you, especially when you may face a challenge to your first amendment rights.

 

Protesters’ Rights

https://www.acluofnorthcarolina.org/en/know-your-rights/demonstrations-and-protests

These are great simple tips for going out to protest. The key one for me I hadn’t thought about was ensuring someone else NOT at the protest knows where I am going.

https://www.hrc.org/resources/tips-for-preparedness-peaceful-protesting-and-safety

 

Here’s a great infographic from Amnesty International (hat tip to my friend Dr. Jeffrey Huo)

Here’s where I am going on April 5th  https://www.mobilize.us/handsoff/event/765702/ 

Who’s with me?

Announcements

Private Fundraiser for Women and Gender Minorities in EK Crown

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Announcing a private fundraiser I’m running with some help from my friend Countess Meggie of the East Kingdom. See the announcement text below:

Announcement

With support from the Order of Defense in the East Kingdom, Dame Sophia The Orange of Atlantia is running a private fundraiser to help make it easier for women and gender minorities who wish to compete in the East Kingdom’s Spring Crown Tournament.
Support from this fundraiser will take the form of hand delivered gas gift cards.

For Combatants

If you have submitted your letter of intent for EK Spring Crown Tournament, been accepted into the tournament, and you would like to receive support, please send an email to Countess Meggie (East Kingdom) at marguerite.lachlainn AT gmail.com giving the SCA name under which you have submitted your letter of intent. Combatants are encouraged to accept support.

How we’re doing it:

All monies raised will be distributed. The total amount of funds collected will be divided by the number of requests for support received by Countess Meggie. That number, minus any required processing fees, will determine the value of the gas cards.
This is a private fundraiser and is not an official SCA activity. If you would like to support this effort, please donate at the GoFundMe link above. Participation is more important than the amount of donation, so please donate a small amount to demonstrate your support of women and gender minorities fighting in Crown Tournament. The total number of people donating, number of combatants receiving support, and total funds raised will be publicly reported after the tournament.
If you have a cadet or a provost who meets the criteria and has submitted their letter of intent, please encourage them to drop Countess Meggie an email.
—
Countess Marguerite inghean Lachlainn, OR, OP, OL, OD
She/Her

Please share!

(I’d like to ask for some help from my friends promoting this private fundraiser. We can’t post this in official SCA venues. It must be shared via personal contacts. – Sophia)
Family

Dr. John Mark Dean has passed away

1 Comment
With both sadness and joy, I share the news that my father-in-law, Dr. John Mark Dean, passed away yesterday. He was in hospice care at home surrounded by loved ones. Sadness for having to say goodbye to a deeply loving father. Joy comes from knowing that he was ready to move on and was surrounded by love.
Scott and I were able to visit two weekends ago. John was in a positive state of mind and said repeatedly, “I am so fortunate.”
We are planning a memorial event for some weeks in the future. It will take place in the Dean’s retirement home of Laurel Crest in Columbia, SC.
John, a professor and marine biologist with the Baruch Institute, was a popular teacher at University of South Carolina where he influenced and inspired many students to combine the science of our coast with whatever major one had – English lit, Political Science, Law, or other majors, as well as inspiring generations of graduate students in the sciences.  He has an extraordinary list of former students who combined coastal and ocean sciences with their careers in national and state policy, academic and business positions.  Their home hosted numerous graduate students, international students, visiting musicians, and other visitors from every corner of the globe and as well as from this country.  He left a wonderful legacy in his wake.
 In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a contribution to the South Carolina Environmental Law Project (scelp.org), the Alzheimer’s Association (donorservices.alz.org), or the Laurel Crest community (https://www.laurel-crest.c/donate).
If you would like to send a card, please email me for the mailing address: orangesophie AT gmail DOT com.
Politics

Gender In Government Work

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Federal Government work is hindered by the unhealthy obsession some officials have with other people’s gender. WHY DO THEY CARE SO MUCH??? Why can’t they prioritize the work they need to do instead of spending time in the fight over other people’s gender and how they present themselves? Why is it so important to them that they chose to shut down meetings?

I wish getting business done for the American people was more important than arguing about a colleague’s gender. See this Associated Press video.

https://apnews.com/video/house-hearing-abruptly-ends-after-dispute-involving-republican-transgender-lawmaker-3c5b8d8699f143e18a5d7f668e250764 

“A House subcommittee hearing abruptly ended on Tuesday when Texas Republican Rep. Keith Self introduced the first openly transgender lawmaker in Congress as “Mr. McBride.” Rep. Sarah McBride responded by referring to Self as “Madam Chair.” The hearing was adjourned after Democrat William Keating asked Self if he had “no decency.”

How does one person’s gender affect another person? It does not!! It sure as heck does not negatively affect another person enough to get in the way of holding a meeting. To let it get in the way is childish.

Why are our elected officials spending ANY TIME on this bizarre obsession with other people’s genders?? They might as well be ending meetings based on comparing each other’s shoe sizes.

Politics

Town Halls and Fear

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My Senator, Mr. Tillis, a Republican and T supporter, has not responded to my many voicemails and Facebook messages. His office has my name and street address. They know I’m a constituent that’s vocal and against what Mr. Tillis is doing on many topics. I have no way of knowing if my actual Senator understands what I’m saying. I have doubts about whether my messages are getting to him at all.

My Congresswoman, Deborah Ross, a Democrat, has very polite staff who answer my calls and clearly listen, take notes about what my opinions are, and let me know I have been heard.

An in-person town hall is one of the few ways elected officials can really let their constituents know they’ve been heard, they are understood, and their needs, opinions, etc, have been taken into account.  The Republican members of the US House of Representatives have been directed to NOT hold town halls. Below is a quote from the NY Times article on this topic from March 4, 2025: Read the whole article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/us/politics/gop-town-hall.html 

“Representative Richard Hudson of North Carolina, the chairman of House Republicans’ campaign arm, issued a stark message to the G.O.P. rank and file on Tuesday: Stop having in-person town halls with your constituents.”

 

Here’s why according to him: “Democrat activists who don’t live in the district, very often, will show up for these town hall events and they’ll go in an hour early and they’ll fill all the seats,” Mr. Johnson said. “Now I’m not saying everyone in these town halls that you’ve seen on television were not from the local area, but look, there are people who do this as a profession. They’re professional protesters. So why would we give them a forum to do that right now?”

 

I’ll tell you why. Because elected officials are required by law to listen to their constituents and represent them. The number of protesters who are not constituents in any given town hall compared to those who are constituents is an UNKNOWN number. Using that argument to hide from constituents is using fear to avoid doing the job of an elected official. In short terms, it means the elected official is caving in to fear like a coward.

 

This paragraph is from the AP News article linked below on a NC town hall recently: “After a rowdy town hall in Asheville, NC, the Republican Congressman, Chuck Edwards, who listened to his constituents boo and yell at him during the meeting said “I take away from what I heard today that we’re doing exactly what the American people sent us to Washington D.C. to do,” Edwards said, as several protesters pounded on the doors nearby.”

 

That says to me that Congressman Edwards doesn’t care that so many of his constituents are angry. That says to me that he’s given up on working to serve all his constituents. He’s only going to care about the ones who voted for him and the rest get blown off. That’s DIVIDING our communities, not working together.

 

https://apnews.com/article/republicans-town-hall-north-carolina-trump-ba90438a9265bc868cf1e3ade150a943

 

This is my interpretation of information published by the Associated Press and NY Times. I use this to inform my calls and voicemails left for my elected officials. 

 

I suggest my readers use the 5 Calls app to help them make calls to their elected officials. Read my blog post here about the 5 Calls app:  https://sophia.scottandlara.com/2025/02/14/using-5-calls-app-to-support-democracy/ 

 

Lara Coutinho-Dean can be found on LinkedIn for insight into to world of Knowledge Management. KM is the intersection of technology, people, and processes. THIS BLOG, however, is for: Social Activism, Emotional Growth Support, Community Theater, Commedia dell' Arte, Shakespeare, and SCA hobby stuff. I play a character in the SCA named Dame Sophia the Orange in the Kingdom of Atlantia. I'm currently serving as the Kingdom Minister of Arts and Sciences. Please subscribe for announcements!

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