A Wild Elegance , issue one, post four

included here:
editor's note,
Poetry Page,
News brief,
secret phrase
Specific langusge to Obtain Appointment of Councel.

Editors Note

A Wild Elegance is seeking contributing writers for this newsletter. If you have an article, story or personal experience to share and like to write, send it to us. We will probably publish it.
Don't worry too much about spelling and punctuation. We'll take care of that.

Any correspondence to A Wild Elegance should be addressed directly to : Donna Dawn Konitzer, PO Box 220, Winnebago Wl., 54985-0220. DO NOT include " A Wild Elegance " or anything else in the address or you will not receive a reply. Address envelope only as indicated.

SECRET PHRASE
CAN YOU FIGURE OUT WHAT IT MEANS?
"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?"


POETRY PAGE
BY DAWNS EARLY LIGHT
Poetry By Donna Dawn Konitzer

By dawns early light,
THEY fight the good fight.
all the while
exclaiming how
THEY are in the right.

By dawns early light,
the death toll knells-
eerily...
as the body count rises.
By dawns early light,
missiles of destruction,
scream across the horizon,
past the speed of sound
bullet nosed sheet steel
shielding the terror within.

By dawns early light
THEY wage the good fight,
doing what THEY feel THEY must,
what THEY claim is just.
Killing and maiming and destroying
innocent people
In their lust for world domination
and power.

The incubus of the new imperium.

By dawns early light,
the youthful fist of power,
strikes a mighty blow to the
nose of freedom
the struggle of others seeking the same
dream, as once we did,
they fight to be free of tyranny
in the only way they can.

Just as we once did,
by dawns early light.

How quickly history can be forgotten
in the dimness...

of dawns early light and
how ludicrous it is that the once terrorists
now claim to be
the virtuous.

NEWS BRIEFS

On January 31, 2006, Governor Gregoire of Washington State singed into a law a bill which prohibits acts of prejudice against gay, lesbian, bi, AND transgender people. Washington becomes only the eighth state to include gender identity in its non-discrimination law, and the seventeenth state to include sexual orientation. As one might expect, the right wing are already planning a ballot initiative in an attempt to repeal the law.

On April 19, 2006, Bloomington, Indiana, became the second city in Indiana to provide gender identity protections. Bloomington has decided that it will provide civil rights protections based on gender identity. This means that the Bloomington city code will treat gender identity as a category protected against discrimination, just like race, religion, disability, sex, and sexual orientation. The Bloomington City Council vote was preceded by two years of broad community advocacy. The April 19 vote provides for voluntary mediation to address complaints of gender identity discrimination. The ordinance also allows the Bloomington Human Rights Commission to pursue gender identity complaints selectively as sex discrimination complaints, with the power to enforce compliance.

On February 8, 2006, The New York City Department of homeless services issued a trans affirmative housing policy. Gender identity will determine shelter placement for transgender new yorkers. The new york city dept of homeless services ended discriminatory practices toward transgender clients at its homeless shelters with the release of a new policy. Advocates from the GLBT community center and others participated in the activism that lead to these changes, which guides intake, assessment, and shelter staff to ensure that gender identity is taken into consideration when making intake assignments.


Specific Language to obtain appointment of counsel

In Konitzer V. Bartow, the plaintiff ( Konitzer ) filed a motion for appointment of counsel to represent her in her lawsuit seeking proper care for her gender identity disorder. The court ruled in the following exact language.

" Although civil litigants do not have a constitutional right or a statutory right to counsel, this court has the discretion to request attorneys to represent indigents in appropriate cases pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1915 (e) (1). Lutrell v. Nickel, 129 F3d. 933, 936 (7th circuit 1997) ( citing Zarnes V. Rhodes, 64 F3d. 285, 288 ( 7th circuit 1995). As a threshold matter, litigants must make a reasonable attempt to secure private counsel on their own. Zarnes, 64 F3d @ 288. Once this threshold burden has been met, the court must address the following question: given the difficulty of the case, does this plaintiff appear to be competent to try the case and, if not, would the presence of counsel likely make a difference in the outcome of the case. Id. (citing Farmer v. Haas, 990 F2d 319, 322 (7th Circuit 1993)).

The plaintiff has provided evidence that attempts to obtain legal counsel have been unsuccessful. Although the plaintiff appears more than capable than the average prisoner litigating pro se, this case presents complicated and novel medical issues and appears to require expert medical testimony. See Zarnes, 64 F3d @ 289 ( " We often find counsel necessary when a case involves complex medical evidence."). Accordingly, the court finds that fundamental due process may be denied if an attorney is not asked to represent the plaintiff. Therefore, the plaintiffs motion for the appointment of counsel will be granted. "


It is the soul of the true warrior to struggle so that others may claim the prize.

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