Another long-overdue linkfest
Categorized for your pleasure/sanity!
LGBT Issues
The St. Petersburg Times has a great article, Introducing Susan Stanton, about the ex-city manager who was painfully fired from her post for coming out before living full-time as herself. This article does a good job showing the awkwardness and pain of living in an in-between state, which I hope is short for Ms. Stanton.
Newsweek has an article up from their current issue called (Rethinking) Gender. It focuses a bit too much on the becoming a woman" side of transition for my taste, only briefly profiling three young (25, 18, and 9) transmen. The article does a decent job of describing the various factors that may affect gender development, but leaves the door conspicuously open that transgender feelings may be the parents' fault (I can see parents asking themselves, "Did I talk to my infant the right way at 6 months to make her brain female to match her female body?"). There is a good focus on the increasing early intervention, including hormone blockers to delay puberty until a young person is older and hir parents feel assured sie won't change hir mind (or sie has legal self-determination). There are also side-bar articles that I haven't read yet.
Two Fresno United Schools students were the first pair of transgendered students to be nominated for Prom King and Queen (as their preferred genders!) Stories on the crowning of Johny Vera as prom queen are here and here (which also includes more background about the difficulties the students faced since their nominations).
Ken in MS has a great post on Pam's House Blend about why being out and visible matters every day
Marriage equality & Civil rights
Presidential hopeful Mike Gravel endorses full marriage equality!
Massachusetts Superior court declares that MA same-sex marriage licenses issued to New York couples are valid because NY has not explicitly banned same-sex unions its state. One state with full marriage equality is making a huge difference regionally. New York and several neighboring states have chosen to roll along rather than start explicitly enacting marriage equality laws.
Oregonians: There is an attempt to send the recently-passed domestic partnership and anti-discrimination mesures for popular referendum.
Colorado legislature passes law making discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity illegal.
At the national level, Congressman Nadler and Senator Leahy have introduced the Uniting American Families Act last week, which would provide same-sex couples the same privileges in immigration proceedings granted to married couples. Presently, an American person cannot sponsor his/her non-citizen same-sex partner for legal entry or naturalization, though married male-female couples can do so.
Pam at the House Blend (have you guessed this is a key blog for me yet?) has an interview with Jason Knight, the gay sailor discharged under "Don't ask, don't tell", reinstated, and re-discharged all under the same policy. Seriously this insanity has got to stop.
On the Death of Jerry Falwell
The BBC's article on his death had me except for this line: "His statements on feminism and race issues often outraged liberals." I think this is their way of saying "often outraged women, minorities, and supporters of their equal rights" while trying to adhere to that idea that we oughtn't speak ill of the dead.
This has got to be my favorite of the political cartoons I've seen. "You're in luck, Rev. Falwell - our policy is more forgiving than you ever were!"
That sentiment is echoed in the commentaries collected on the Pam's House Blend blog. Most of the comments are from progressive groups, but one from John McCain is also listed (the only one without caveats about the terrible things Falwell did).
Religion
The Christian Science Monitor (via Yahoo!) reports on a conference between religious people and atheists aimed at promoting understanding between the two, particularly of atheism by religious leaders.
Navy Vet makes complaint about religious discrimination public. He alleges the chaplains at the VA hospital where he was being treated tried to force him to convert from Orthodox Judaism to Christianity, and that staff deprived him of access to his rabbi and to kosher food in the hospital.
Pope tells Native Brazilians the Catholic Church bears no responsibility for e destruction of their culture, and their dirty indigenous religious traditions should stay buried
Human Rights
The International Campaign to stop Honor Killings has been reporting diligently on the public stoning of 17-year-old Du'a Khalil. Her murder was organized by her brothers and uncles, but opposed by her father, on the suspicion that she had converted to Islam for a young man she was friendly with. Lest you think "honor killings" are solely a middle eastern or fundamentalist Islamic tradition, take a look at the world map of reports, which includes the United States.
The Telegraph asks "How many more women have to die before this society wakes up?" (hat tip: lefinq)
Middle East
BBC: Over one third of US troops condone torture. The numbers come from an army mental health survey, in which 10% of deployed troops admitted to having abused Iraqi civilians or their property without cause.
Iraqi government halts issue of medical diplomas to keep new doctors in the country (Washington Post). Outside Iraq, they can't get medical work without the diploma. Inside Iraq, they need a medical team to get to work at the hospital. Tell me again how we've made Iraq safer?
BBC journalist becomes the first woman to swim in "public" in Saudi Arabia. Slow progress, but it's coming.
Bots on the Ground (Washington Post) discusses the role of robots in US military operations, with particular focus on the current deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan (remember them?).
US National
NY TImes Op Ed: Hunger and Food Stamps details the deficiencies of the current food stamp program (which is part of the farm bill, currently under consideration in Congress).
Texas governor lets legislature kill measure that would mandate HPV vaccine for public school students. I ha mixed feeling son this bill, since it was not clear in reports whether there was state money for the mandated vaccine, which is quite pricey at $360 for Merck + administration fees.
The New Yorker has an extensive article on the way we age now, which I haven't finished reading but is insightful in what i've sen so far. It includes concerns about the changing meaning of aging and changing care through the aging process.
Misc. Heartwarming Coda
Terrance DC (whose blog is also at Republic of T.) posted to Pam's House Blend about creating a culture of empathy, to raise a generation of people who are not so broken that they need to see the full terror of discrimination and violence to feel they must stand up for another human being's rights. I link to the Blend because there are several worthwhile comments there.
Just Hungry is a food blog of deliciousness with a heavy Japanese bent. The author also posts recipes about food and cooking related to the US, the UK, and her current country Switzerland.
LGBT Issues
The St. Petersburg Times has a great article, Introducing Susan Stanton, about the ex-city manager who was painfully fired from her post for coming out before living full-time as herself. This article does a good job showing the awkwardness and pain of living in an in-between state, which I hope is short for Ms. Stanton.
Newsweek has an article up from their current issue called (Rethinking) Gender. It focuses a bit too much on the becoming a woman" side of transition for my taste, only briefly profiling three young (25, 18, and 9) transmen. The article does a decent job of describing the various factors that may affect gender development, but leaves the door conspicuously open that transgender feelings may be the parents' fault (I can see parents asking themselves, "Did I talk to my infant the right way at 6 months to make her brain female to match her female body?"). There is a good focus on the increasing early intervention, including hormone blockers to delay puberty until a young person is older and hir parents feel assured sie won't change hir mind (or sie has legal self-determination). There are also side-bar articles that I haven't read yet.
Two Fresno United Schools students were the first pair of transgendered students to be nominated for Prom King and Queen (as their preferred genders!) Stories on the crowning of Johny Vera as prom queen are here and here (which also includes more background about the difficulties the students faced since their nominations).
Ken in MS has a great post on Pam's House Blend about why being out and visible matters every day
Marriage equality & Civil rights
Presidential hopeful Mike Gravel endorses full marriage equality!
Massachusetts Superior court declares that MA same-sex marriage licenses issued to New York couples are valid because NY has not explicitly banned same-sex unions its state. One state with full marriage equality is making a huge difference regionally. New York and several neighboring states have chosen to roll along rather than start explicitly enacting marriage equality laws.
Oregonians: There is an attempt to send the recently-passed domestic partnership and anti-discrimination mesures for popular referendum.
Colorado legislature passes law making discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity illegal.
At the national level, Congressman Nadler and Senator Leahy have introduced the Uniting American Families Act last week, which would provide same-sex couples the same privileges in immigration proceedings granted to married couples. Presently, an American person cannot sponsor his/her non-citizen same-sex partner for legal entry or naturalization, though married male-female couples can do so.
Pam at the House Blend (have you guessed this is a key blog for me yet?) has an interview with Jason Knight, the gay sailor discharged under "Don't ask, don't tell", reinstated, and re-discharged all under the same policy. Seriously this insanity has got to stop.
On the Death of Jerry Falwell
The BBC's article on his death had me except for this line: "His statements on feminism and race issues often outraged liberals." I think this is their way of saying "often outraged women, minorities, and supporters of their equal rights" while trying to adhere to that idea that we oughtn't speak ill of the dead.
This has got to be my favorite of the political cartoons I've seen. "You're in luck, Rev. Falwell - our policy is more forgiving than you ever were!"
That sentiment is echoed in the commentaries collected on the Pam's House Blend blog. Most of the comments are from progressive groups, but one from John McCain is also listed (the only one without caveats about the terrible things Falwell did).
Religion
The Christian Science Monitor (via Yahoo!) reports on a conference between religious people and atheists aimed at promoting understanding between the two, particularly of atheism by religious leaders.
Navy Vet makes complaint about religious discrimination public. He alleges the chaplains at the VA hospital where he was being treated tried to force him to convert from Orthodox Judaism to Christianity, and that staff deprived him of access to his rabbi and to kosher food in the hospital.
Pope tells Native Brazilians the Catholic Church bears no responsibility for e destruction of their culture, and their dirty indigenous religious traditions should stay buried
Human Rights
The International Campaign to stop Honor Killings has been reporting diligently on the public stoning of 17-year-old Du'a Khalil. Her murder was organized by her brothers and uncles, but opposed by her father, on the suspicion that she had converted to Islam for a young man she was friendly with. Lest you think "honor killings" are solely a middle eastern or fundamentalist Islamic tradition, take a look at the world map of reports, which includes the United States.
The Telegraph asks "How many more women have to die before this society wakes up?" (hat tip: lefinq)
Middle East
BBC: Over one third of US troops condone torture. The numbers come from an army mental health survey, in which 10% of deployed troops admitted to having abused Iraqi civilians or their property without cause.
Iraqi government halts issue of medical diplomas to keep new doctors in the country (Washington Post). Outside Iraq, they can't get medical work without the diploma. Inside Iraq, they need a medical team to get to work at the hospital. Tell me again how we've made Iraq safer?
BBC journalist becomes the first woman to swim in "public" in Saudi Arabia. Slow progress, but it's coming.
Bots on the Ground (Washington Post) discusses the role of robots in US military operations, with particular focus on the current deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan (remember them?).
US National
NY TImes Op Ed: Hunger and Food Stamps details the deficiencies of the current food stamp program (which is part of the farm bill, currently under consideration in Congress).
Texas governor lets legislature kill measure that would mandate HPV vaccine for public school students. I ha mixed feeling son this bill, since it was not clear in reports whether there was state money for the mandated vaccine, which is quite pricey at $360 for Merck + administration fees.
The New Yorker has an extensive article on the way we age now, which I haven't finished reading but is insightful in what i've sen so far. It includes concerns about the changing meaning of aging and changing care through the aging process.
Misc. Heartwarming Coda
Terrance DC (whose blog is also at Republic of T.) posted to Pam's House Blend about creating a culture of empathy, to raise a generation of people who are not so broken that they need to see the full terror of discrimination and violence to feel they must stand up for another human being's rights. I link to the Blend because there are several worthwhile comments there.
Just Hungry is a food blog of deliciousness with a heavy Japanese bent. The author also posts recipes about food and cooking related to the US, the UK, and her current country Switzerland.