Sex:
Well, it looks like the world has become a deeply silly and sometimes sad place. Consider that the "Defense of Marriage Amendment" has been introduced into Congress, defining marriage as between a man and a woman. This comes on heels of Texas passing a legislative version of the same bill last week. Texas is a bad place to be gay, and the latest example of this came when a San Antonio high school principal violated any number of students' rights and arguably assaulted one student to prevent any expression of solidarity with civil rights organizations.
Virginia, which may have once been "for lovers," wants you to know that you're welcome in the state so long as you don't wear a thong, use profanity, play your radio "too loud," get drunk, or fornicate in public.
Denver, Colorado, on the other hand, shut down The Labyrinth, a local private S&M club. The city council said it would take any action necessary to shut down the club because "it did not fit the morals of our community."
On the other hand, Bravo is making Boy Meets Boy, a gay dating "reality show," which as a twist tosses two straight men into the mix of six "dates" the main character will go out with during the series, without telling us which is which. The Traditional Values Coalition called it "a new low," asking "What's next? Boy meets sheep?"
India has been a nation of some of the sadder stories in the past year. Last year came the story about the couple that was publicly lynched by their village because they chose to elope but came from different castes. Now we learn of a similar case in which a young man was castrated by his bride's father for similar reasons.
Back in the U.S., though, dangerous 12 year old miscreants are being hauled off for such criminal behavior as splashing in a puddle (apparently classified as "misdemeaner interference with an educational institution") or sticking out a tongue at a member of the opposite sex (apparently, sexual harassment).
Politics:
Well, if you want the skinny on what happened in Iraq, bless Spinsanity for bringing us one of the best articles yet about "what really happened." The rescue of PfC. Jessica Lynch, it turns out, wasn't nearly as dramatic as some hawks have made it out to be. However, the accusations of fraud and theatre coming from left turn out to be completely manufactured and grossly misrepresentative. I'm not surprised.
Public Citizen screams the sky is falling because the FDA has approved the use of irradiated food in school kitchens. But their "fact sheet" is a morass of vagueries that do not point to a single real reason as to why IF should be declined. Their concerns about "globalization of food" seem hard-hearted to me. The fact that food will last on shelves much longer means it has a better chance of reaching people who really need it intact, and while I may mourn the loss of the small family farm, the fact is farming benefits from an economy of scale. Small family farms are brutally inefficient to the "small families" that run them. The only thing that catches my eye is the suggestion that IF creates "new chemicals" in food-- but PC never specifies what those chemicals are.
New York has been gathering a surcharge on cell phone bills to pay for their E911 service since 1991. The problem is, the E991 service has never been put into place, and state police have been using the funds for departmental dry cleaning bills, ballpoint pens, travel, car leases, grounds maintenance for precincts, and winter boots.
Well, it looks like the world has become a deeply silly and sometimes sad place. Consider that the "Defense of Marriage Amendment" has been introduced into Congress, defining marriage as between a man and a woman. This comes on heels of Texas passing a legislative version of the same bill last week. Texas is a bad place to be gay, and the latest example of this came when a San Antonio high school principal violated any number of students' rights and arguably assaulted one student to prevent any expression of solidarity with civil rights organizations.
Virginia, which may have once been "for lovers," wants you to know that you're welcome in the state so long as you don't wear a thong, use profanity, play your radio "too loud," get drunk, or fornicate in public.
Denver, Colorado, on the other hand, shut down The Labyrinth, a local private S&M club. The city council said it would take any action necessary to shut down the club because "it did not fit the morals of our community."
On the other hand, Bravo is making Boy Meets Boy, a gay dating "reality show," which as a twist tosses two straight men into the mix of six "dates" the main character will go out with during the series, without telling us which is which. The Traditional Values Coalition called it "a new low," asking "What's next? Boy meets sheep?"
India has been a nation of some of the sadder stories in the past year. Last year came the story about the couple that was publicly lynched by their village because they chose to elope but came from different castes. Now we learn of a similar case in which a young man was castrated by his bride's father for similar reasons.
Back in the U.S., though, dangerous 12 year old miscreants are being hauled off for such criminal behavior as splashing in a puddle (apparently classified as "misdemeaner interference with an educational institution") or sticking out a tongue at a member of the opposite sex (apparently, sexual harassment).
Politics:
Well, if you want the skinny on what happened in Iraq, bless Spinsanity for bringing us one of the best articles yet about "what really happened." The rescue of PfC. Jessica Lynch, it turns out, wasn't nearly as dramatic as some hawks have made it out to be. However, the accusations of fraud and theatre coming from left turn out to be completely manufactured and grossly misrepresentative. I'm not surprised.
Public Citizen screams the sky is falling because the FDA has approved the use of irradiated food in school kitchens. But their "fact sheet" is a morass of vagueries that do not point to a single real reason as to why IF should be declined. Their concerns about "globalization of food" seem hard-hearted to me. The fact that food will last on shelves much longer means it has a better chance of reaching people who really need it intact, and while I may mourn the loss of the small family farm, the fact is farming benefits from an economy of scale. Small family farms are brutally inefficient to the "small families" that run them. The only thing that catches my eye is the suggestion that IF creates "new chemicals" in food-- but PC never specifies what those chemicals are.
New York has been gathering a surcharge on cell phone bills to pay for their E911 service since 1991. The problem is, the E991 service has never been put into place, and state police have been using the funds for departmental dry cleaning bills, ballpoint pens, travel, car leases, grounds maintenance for precincts, and winter boots.
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