President Barack Obama Appoints Transgendered Woman, Amanda Simpson, to Technical Advisor Position

President Barack Obama will certainly raise ruffles with his latest appointee. He recently named Amanda Simpson to be a Senior Technical Advisor to the Commerce Department. What will likely tick many off is the fact that she is transgendered. Ms. Simpson, who sits on the National Center for Transgender Equality's board of directors, said being reported by ABC News, that "as one of the first transgender presidential appointees to the federal government, I hope that I will soon be one of hundreds, and that this appointment opens future opportunities for many others."

Of course, the White House is laying low on this one. They have issued no comments. Usually they would come out swinging in favor of their appointees. This leads to wonder what the their true motivations are. You know, if this appointment is being made to satisfy throwing gays, lesbians and transgenders.

A 2004 YWCA "Woman on the Move," Simpson recently served as Deputy Director in Advanced Technology Development at Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson, Arizona.

At Raytheon, Simpson -- a former test pilot who had worked for the company for more than a generation -- transitioned from male to female and was instrumental in convincing the military contractor to add gender identity and expression to its equal employment opportunity policy.

She later ran unsuccessfully for Congress and was a delegate for then-Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, to the Democratic National Convention in 2008. Source: ABC News

As far as I am concerned, if she is the best person for the job, then who cares if she was a man in a former life. Of course, the ultra conservatives will cry foul and have a big problem with this appointment. Hey, as far as I am concerned, at least it's not another Bush or Cheney.