Hooray for Florida’s very own  Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen! On Wednesday, along with a bipartisan coalition of 100 House members led by Rep. Barney Frank, she introduced a revised (read: trans inclusive) version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). When passed, ENDA will extend existing Federal protections against employment discrimination to also protect gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

A version of ENDA that did not include protections for transgender people passed the house in 2007 but died in the Senate. In a recent interview with the Washington Blade, Frank was cautiously hopeful about the bill’s prospects in 2009: “Things have gotten better. The transgender community is lobbying hard.  I just need to remind people that when we have trouble doing something in New York, Maryland and Massachusetts, it doesn’t get easier when you have South Carolina, Utah and Nebraska.”

• Fuck McCain for dragging Britney Spears into this.
• Is the NY Times jumping off the “Low-Road Express?”
• Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert preps his exit.
• Rep. Barney Frank attempts to decriminalize Marijuana. I’m sure the congress will get to that right after they impeach Bush and cut off funding for the war.
• Chris Angel wows them in Clearwater.
• Don’t know when to stop clicking? You’re not alone.
• The sordid tale of the renaming of Sarasota’s Ringling Bridge.
• Welcome back: Cheech & Chong.