Linkfest
I've been caching up links for awhile, saving the best for when I could set them down to share. Here goes:
Civil Rights and Gender Equality
New Drive Afoot to Pass Equal Rights Amendment (WaPo)
Federal Legislation to Provide Fair Tax Treatment for Same-Sex Couples Introduced The short version: this legislation will remove the penalty that treats health insurance benefits for same-sex domestic partners and non-nuclear-family designees as federal taxable income. Benefits are not treated as income for married hetero couples.) This is H.R.1820, and the text is still waiting to be uploaded into the Thomas congressional database. It is to have a sister bill in the Senate cosponsored by Chuck Schumer and Gordon Smith, which has yet to be introduced.
2 Months After New Jersey’s Civil Union Law, Problems Finding True Equality from today's NY Times: more concrete evidence that civil unions are a step in the right direction but far from a solution to the problem of legislators being afraid to enact real marriage equality.
A series of poignant anecdotes I found which also illustrate the need for marriage to guarantee legal status
NY Supreme Court judge rules in recognition of foreign same-sex marriages. Boston marriages still not recognized, though.
Presidential candidates' positions on marriage equality as compiled by the Pew Forum on Religion in Public Life.
When she graduates as he, an in depth Boston Globe article on the status of transmen in women's colleges.
"They tried to cure me of being gay", a Glamour interview with Christine Bakke about her experiences with ex-gay ministries and subsequent recovery.
How the web became a sexist's paradise deals with the lack of personal accountability online and the attitude that "it's just the internet". There's a relevant Penny Arcade strip here.
Religion
What I learned about Christianity from the Druids, an interesting essay by an evangelical Christian on his theological dialogues with various practitioners and leaders of Pagan faiths.
The Book of Bart details Bart Ehrman's endeavors to understand the gospels as close to their original versions as possible, and how he became a non-believer in the process. Ehrman is a professor of religious studies at UNC Chapel Hill.
Economy
The Boston Globe has a series called Debtor's Hell, on debt in America from the causes of debt (often emergencies) to the courts and the collections agents.
Youth
Child Hookers and the Law: Tale of a 13-year-old prostitute is wrenching. Abused by and estranged from her biological family, pimped out from the age of 12, sent to jail for a year and then unsafe primarily-male group homes when picked up by the police. This is a perfect case study for why we need national victims' rights policies and programs to protect and advocate for youth who are exploited in such terrible ways.
Re-education describes a new revolution in Chinese education, combining the emphasis on traditional knowledge and family support of the Chinese system with the creativity permitted in the American system. I think it looks promising.
Civil Rights and Gender Equality
New Drive Afoot to Pass Equal Rights Amendment (WaPo)
Federal Legislation to Provide Fair Tax Treatment for Same-Sex Couples Introduced The short version: this legislation will remove the penalty that treats health insurance benefits for same-sex domestic partners and non-nuclear-family designees as federal taxable income. Benefits are not treated as income for married hetero couples.) This is H.R.1820, and the text is still waiting to be uploaded into the Thomas congressional database. It is to have a sister bill in the Senate cosponsored by Chuck Schumer and Gordon Smith, which has yet to be introduced.
2 Months After New Jersey’s Civil Union Law, Problems Finding True Equality from today's NY Times: more concrete evidence that civil unions are a step in the right direction but far from a solution to the problem of legislators being afraid to enact real marriage equality.
A series of poignant anecdotes I found which also illustrate the need for marriage to guarantee legal status
NY Supreme Court judge rules in recognition of foreign same-sex marriages. Boston marriages still not recognized, though.
Presidential candidates' positions on marriage equality as compiled by the Pew Forum on Religion in Public Life.
When she graduates as he, an in depth Boston Globe article on the status of transmen in women's colleges.
"They tried to cure me of being gay", a Glamour interview with Christine Bakke about her experiences with ex-gay ministries and subsequent recovery.
How the web became a sexist's paradise deals with the lack of personal accountability online and the attitude that "it's just the internet". There's a relevant Penny Arcade strip here.
Religion
What I learned about Christianity from the Druids, an interesting essay by an evangelical Christian on his theological dialogues with various practitioners and leaders of Pagan faiths.
The Book of Bart details Bart Ehrman's endeavors to understand the gospels as close to their original versions as possible, and how he became a non-believer in the process. Ehrman is a professor of religious studies at UNC Chapel Hill.
Economy
The Boston Globe has a series called Debtor's Hell, on debt in America from the causes of debt (often emergencies) to the courts and the collections agents.
Youth
Child Hookers and the Law: Tale of a 13-year-old prostitute is wrenching. Abused by and estranged from her biological family, pimped out from the age of 12, sent to jail for a year and then unsafe primarily-male group homes when picked up by the police. This is a perfect case study for why we need national victims' rights policies and programs to protect and advocate for youth who are exploited in such terrible ways.
Re-education describes a new revolution in Chinese education, combining the emphasis on traditional knowledge and family support of the Chinese system with the creativity permitted in the American system. I think it looks promising.