It’s an open thread! Pleeeeease feel free to chat, blogwhore, and link-share in the comment thread…

So, this is what my cartoon sockpuppet Bookworm Bob have been looking at since our last This & That post.

• Twin City’s Daily Planet‘s CeCe McDonald inspires Dyke March and Trans March merger to create TransDykeQueer March 2012:

This year, CeCe McDonald’s story is helping to unite different aspects of the LGBT/Queer community. Two separate marches — the Dyke March and the Trans March — are uniting as one march, taking place on Saturday, June 23, beginning at 7 p.m. at the Walker Art Center. The two marches will join under the theme “Keep Fighting, Keep Loving, Free CeCe,” in reference to the galvanizing effect that CeCe McDonald’s court case has had on the community. The march aims to inspire the need for solidarity, according to organizers.

The first Dyke March—organized by the New York activist organization Lesbian Avengers and the National ACT UP Women’s Committee—was held in Washington DC in 1992. The event drew 20,000 people, according to the TC Avengers Web site. Since then, Dyke Marches have become an annual tradition in cities all around the country. The TC Avengers are an offshoot of the original Lesbian Avengers, but changed their name to be more inclusive of all of the GLBTQ community. According to their Web site, the group aims to resist “systems of domination in ways that relate to the needs of constantly changing local and national queer and transgender communities.”

…“The violence that this march is responding to is all power-based personal violence that takes a toll on the trans, dyke, and queer communities every single day,” [Leah Entenmann] said. “Hate violence, sexual violence, family violence, state and police violence, and intimate partner violence are all related: these systemic forms of violence reinforce existing systems of power, they silence oppressed individuals, and they cannot be overcome with alone. The hateful, violent attack on CeCe and the punishment inflicted upon her for surviving was a very public example that brought together people who had experienced or observed such violence and dared to work with each other to challenge it.”

• Bay Area Reporter‘s Trans March aims to span generations:

Thousands of attendees are expected to fill Dolores Park with the color of purple to show the transgender community’s unity as it mourns its losses and celebrates its victories at the ninth annual Trans March Friday, June 22 from noon to 6:30 p.m.

The theme for this year’s celebration and march is “Trans Generations: Define your Moment.”

People will enjoy a variety of events for the whole community.

In its quest to continue building community Trans March organizers are introducing its first youth and elder brunch. The free intergenerational brunch to bring elders and youth together to share the community’s history and visions for the future will start the festivities at noon in the park.

The goal of the brunch is to bring the elders, youth, and their families together “so we can increase dialogue between the generations and hopefully youth can learn the history of the trans movement and also become inspired to make a difference,” said Danielle Castro, a steering committee member of the Trans March and who is in charge of the event’s media relations.

• National Public Radio‘s (NPR’s) 4th Grader Lets School Know She’s Got Rights:

I’m Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Coming up, let’s go right there. Shall we? Have you ever noticed that some men seem to have a thing for Asian women? Documentary filmmaker Debbie Lum did too, so she made a film about it. Yes, she did. It’s called “Seeking Asian Female” and she’s going to tell us more about it in just a few minutes.

But first, if you heard yesterday’s program, then you know we talked about the anniversary of Title IX this weekend. That’s the landmark civil rights law that prohibited public institutions from discriminating on the basis of gender. The law opened up many opportunities in sports and other places to girls and women, but as we also talked about yesterday, the playing field still isn’t level.

Eleven-year-old Charlotte Murphy found that out for herself last year when her girls’ basketball team at Linden Elementary School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was cut. Miss Murphy felt that wasn’t fair because the boys’ team wasn’t cut, but the then fourth grader refused to take the decision lying down, or on the bench.

She wrote a letter to the superintendant of Pittsburgh public schools. Here’s what she said. She said: Our season was cancelled because of funding. Boys’ basketball is going fine. This is a violation of federal law, Title IX. I would like to request a meeting to discuss this matter. Please call to set it up.

And you know what? The superintendant of schools did. You know we had to hear more about this, so we’ve called Charlotte Murphy…

Transcript and audio of the interview on the NPR website.

• Los Angeles Times‘ Summer solstice 2012: Did you miss the longest day of year?:

Summer solstice — where’d it go?

Perhaps you were among the many who missed this year’s summer solstice. It traditionally takes place June 21, which is today. But this year — sneaky, sneaky — the summer solstice arrived June 20.

This means that many people (including yours truly) did not get the opportunity to stand outdoors, look to the skies and relish the few extra rays of sunlight delivered courtesy of the summer solstice, which marks the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

More important, the summer solstice marks the start of the best season of all: summer. (Why is summer better than all the rest? Because it’s the only season dedicated to flip flops and umbrella drinks.)

• Our Wiener Story Of The Day: Orange County Register‘s Police investigate pills stuffed into hot dogs that sickened pet:

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA – Police are investigating pills found in hot dogs thrown into a yard that sent a dog to the veterinarian, sheriff’s Sgt. Frank Nin said.

The incident was reported to Orange County sheriff’s deputies after a homeowner found her dog had vomited after eating a hot dog laced with two white pills on Santa Nella at 7:28 a.m. Sunday.

The resident also found three more hot dogs, each stuffed with two pills.

Deputies collected the pills, which have been sent to a crime lab, Nin said…

As always, “The weenie tempts you!” — or maybe not.

So anywho…It’s an open thread! What are you thinking about today, or what books or articles have you been reading the past few days? Wanna share?

And again, please feel free to chat, blogwhore, and link-share in the comment thread because…it’s an open thread! Woo-hoo!