When It All Clicks and Comes Together

Well for all of you out there wondering how the weekend went, it went wonderful. In the morning I cleaned and I ran around all afternoon Saturday shopping. I went to Linen & Thing for curtains for my guest room, Borders Books & Music for a gift for my Nephew’s daughter ( A book and a stuff animal set ), Target for a new robe and Stop & Shop for the food for dinner. When I got home I laid down on the couch and the next thing I knew the doorbell was ringing. The dinner went off without a hitch, the only reaction I got when I answered the door was an “Oh” and a smile and the only negative of the night was that they called me Don and “he”, but I’ll work on that.
Today we went up to my nephew’s condo for the birthday party, but I went as Don, I still have to tell the extended family.
So without future ado, here some photos I took on a walk of Litchfield (They are all within a half a mile of my nephews condo at the school)............















The above house is the house is the birthplace of Harriet Beecher Stowe. Litchfield located in the northwest hills of Connecticut, has many other historic sites. The town itself is an old farming town and county seat dating back to the colony days. It is where Sarah Piece opened to first academy for girls in America in 1792 and in 1738 Revolutionary War leader Ethan Allen was born here. Now many movie stars and New Yorker’s have weekend homes in the area such as Susan Saint James.



And this is the private school where my nephew teaches.

FOUR FOR FRIDAY + 1

From belicove.com

Q1 - Possessions: Do you think that the more stuff you own enhances your life or adds to your burden?

No, the more stuff you accumulate the more you have to find a place to store it.

Q2 - Oil: If OPEC decided to turn off the oil spigot, do you think that the United States would have the right to wage war to protect its interests?

I don’t think we would have the right, but that won’t stop us.

Q3 - Movie: Have you seen the movie Ellie Parker with Naomi Watts? If so, would you recommend it to a friend?

Nope, never seen it or for that matter never heard of it either.

Q4 - Birthday: What are the maximum number of days someone should spend celebrating his/her birthday?

1 hour or maybe 2 hours at most.

Bonus Question...
Q5 - Dancing: How often do you dance... and I don't mean just boogying to your favorite tunes inside your car or in the shower. We're talking real dancing here, with a partner on a dance floor (weddings count).

About three or four times a year. Last time was at our COS Banquet in March

Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa..............

I am guilt of slacking off writing an update for my Blog, I have been busy cleaning the house for my brother and sister-in-law who are coming down Saturday night to stay over. They are coming down to stay over for my nephew’s daughter’s birthday party on Sunday, my grand niece will be three. So I have been putting away the clutter that has been building up around my house and running errands to get some stuff that I have been putting off. I am planning on cooking Shrimp Creole for them Saturday night when they get here and they don’t know yet but they are going to be having dinner with Diana. We’ll see how that goes over when I answer the door for them. I don’t think they will problem with it and my brother has eaten dinner with me, however my sister-in-law hasn’t.
I just got back from the Connecticut TransAdvocacy Coalition’ Board meeting where I offered to help out with writing a request for a grant. I have never written one before and I think that this would be good training for me. Here is a little secret of mine, I am thinking about going back to college to get my Master’s in Social Work. Now there’s a 180 turn from a Bachelors in Electronics to a Masters in Social Work. But as I get more and more involved in the GLBT community the more I want to help and the degree would help out immensely. However, I am scared of all the what if’s, what it I don’t do well, what if I can’t handle the class load, what if......... It has been over thirty years since I sat in a classroom and had to take tests, what if I freeze up on the tests. Well anyhow writing a grant would be a positive step towards that goal.

SOS......SOS........... We have to Stop this Amendment

"AN ACT CONCERNING DISCRIMINATION. "

After the last section, add the following and renumber sections and
internal references accordingly:

"Sec. 501. Section 46a-81p of the general statutes is repealed and
the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1,
2006):

(a) The provisions of sections 4a-60a and 46a-81a to 46a-81o, inclusive, shall not apply to a religious corporation, entity, association, educational institution or society with respect to the employment of individuals to perform work connected with the carrying on by such corporation, entity, association, educational institution or society of its activities, or with respect to matters of discipline, faith, internal organization or ecclesiastical rule, custom or law which are established by such corporation, entity, association, educational institution or society.

(b) The provisions of sections 4a-60, 46a-59, 46a-60, 46a-64, 46a-64c and 46a-66, as amended by this act, that prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression shall not apply to a religious corporation, entity, association, educational institution or society with respect to the employment of individuals to perform work connected with the carrying on by such corporation, entity, association, educational institution or society of its activities, or with respect to matters of discipline, faith, internal organization or ecclesiastical rule, custom or law which are established by such corporation, entity, association, educational institution or society.”

They are already exempt from the law (a), why do we need this (b) amendment, it is only to rub salt in our faces.

Sec.46a-59. (Formerly Sec. 53-35a). Discrimination in associations of licensed persons prohibited. Penalty. (a) It shall be a discriminatory practice in violation of this section for any association, board or other organization the principal purpose of which is the furtherance of the professional or occupational interests of its members, whose profession, trade or occupation requires a state license, to refuse to accept a person as a member of such association, board or organization because of his race, national origin, creed, sex or color.

Sec.46a-60. (Formerly Sec. 31-126). Discriminatory employment practices prohibited. (a) It shall be a discriminatory practice in violation of this section:

Sec.46a-64. (Formerly Sec. 53-35). Discriminatory public accommodations practices prohibited. Penalty. (a) It shall be a discriminatory practice in violation of this section: (1) To deny any person within the jurisdiction of this state full and equal accommodations in any place of public accommodation, resort or amusement because of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, marital status, age, lawful source of income, mental retardation, mental disability or physical disability, including, but not limited to, blindness or deafness of the applicant, subject only to the conditions and limitations established by law and applicable alike to all persons;

Sec.46a-64c. Discriminatory housing practices prohibited. Disposition of complaints. Penalty. (a) It shall be a discriminatory practice in violation of this section:

Sec. 46a-66. (Formerly Sec. 36-437). Discriminatory credit practices prohibited. (a) It shall be a discriminatory practice in violation of this section for any creditor to discriminate on the basis of sex, age, race, color, religious creed, national origin, ancestry, marital status, mental retardation, learning disability, blindness or physical disability against any person eighteen years of age or over in any credit transaction.

As I understand this we can be discriminate against......

If we are want to join the a union, trade group....... etc etc

We can be denied admission to amusement parks, ballparks, hotels..... etc.

We can be denied rent, mortgages, loans, credit..... etc.

All they have to say is that it is against my religion and it would be all right to discriminate against us.
So if you were going to a ballgame and the person selling tickets says they do not want you there and they would have to say is that it is against my religion to sell tickets to your kind. And they are home free.
If you go to the DMV for a license, the person behind the counter could refuse to wait on you by saying those magic get out of jail words......... that it is against my religion
So if you are reading this and you are from Connecticut call or write or e-mail your Representative NOW. To find out how to contact your Representative, go to this web-site. http://www.cga.ct.gov/maps/Townlist.asp

III.) Less We Forget

Tomorrow is Holocaust Remembrance Day, April 25, it the day that Jews mark to remember the Holocaust. It is to remember, “......The Nazis, who came to power in Germany in January 1933, believed that Germans were "racially superior" and that the Jews, deemed "inferior," were "life unworthy of life." During the era of the Holocaust, the Nazis also targeted other groups because of their perceived "racial inferiority": Roma (Gypsies), the handicapped, and some of the Slavic peoples (Poles, Russians, and others). Other groups were persecuted on political and behavioral grounds, among them Communists, Socialists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and homosexuals”

When we think of the Holocaust we only think of Germany from 1939 to 1945, but that wasn’t the first genocide in recent times. In 1915 the Armenians were virtually wiped out by the Turks. In the 1970’s there was killing fields of Cambodia . More recently Sudan, Uganda, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Chechnya, Bosnia, Brazil, Paraguay and on and on. It is a never ending list.

So tomorrow, stop and pause and think and remember.

Four For Friday

From Belicove.com:

Q1 - Sleepover: A friend calls you up and says, "Hey, me and some of my buddies are headed your way for a [insert reason here... concert, bike race, conference/trade show, etc.]. Can we crash at your place Saturday night?" What do you say... yes; no; depends on how many people they're bringing? Despite what you'd tell this friend of yours, if you made the effort, how many people could you accommodate for a one-night sleep over?

Yeah, I would let them crash. It wouldn’t be the first time nor would it be the last time. The most on a one night sleep over was ten, friends stayed over night to go to a Grateful Dead concert the next day.

Q2 - Learning: When did you last learn something entirely new, and what was it that you learned?

Four years ago I got my Web-Masters Certificate.

Q3 - Natural Disasters: A major earthquake (estimated to be about 7.7 magnitude) rocked a sparsely populated region of eastern Russia earlier today. Considering that certain regions of the planet are more prone to earthquakes than others, would you go out of your way to avoid those regions, even when traveling for leisure? For example, would not visit San Francisco, California, because of its earthquake-related reputation?

The threat of an earthquake would not stop me, you are more likely to get hit by lighting than be in an earthquake.

Q4 - Reading: Quick, I need to suggest a book for my guys & gals book club. What title should I assign to everyone to read (for the month of June)?

No, the books I have been reading lately would not make a good book club read. Although it was on Oprah’s book list, Jennifer Boylan’s "She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders"

Working on the Cottage

Over the weekend I went up to the family cottage to work on the addition to the cottage. It rained most of the time and also we worked all day, so no pictures except the one I took from the cottage deck. As you can see the sky is overcast and it was raining lightly at the time.
I was hard for me because I went as Don, my brother’s brother-in-law doesn’t know about me and that made it hard on me. It was a “Men’s Weekend” a lot of male bonding and talk of sports, of which I don’t care about either one.

Thursday

I have a lot of catching up to do top bring my blog up to date.

Thursday was one of those days when everything came together. I took the day off from work, that was the first plus ( any day off from work is always a plus. ) and then I was on a panel discussion at Central Connecticut State University with three other transgender person, two FtM’s and one other MtF. That went excellently, there were about 150 -200 people in the audience and they asked a lot of good questions. Afterwards I went out to lunch at Rudy’s Tuesday with the panel organizer; she is the Director of True Colors and the other MtF.
Then I went grocery shopping, you say big deal! Well it was for me, it was the first time I ever went grocery shopping other than run in like a scared rabbit and run out. After I put away the groceries I went out to dinner with two friends and then over to Real Art Ways to see a new exhibit and hear a talk by the artist.
Then three friends and I went over to University of Hartford to listen to another lecture entitled “Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Rights as a Freedom of Expression Issue". Once again we were the small "t" in GLBT, at least the professor admitted at the beginning of the lecture, when he saw us, that there was no “T”. It was interesting in spite of the fact it was all Gay and Lesbian based court cases.
Afterwards we raced back to Real Art Ways for the end of the cocktail party.
It was a very long day.

II.) Less We Forget

A friend sent me this link to A.E.Brain Blog...........
http://aebrain.blogspot.com/2006/04/homosexuality-transsexuality-and.html

I.) Less We Forget

Transexual Found Slain In Suburban Motel
Police Looking For Killer

POSTED: 2:40 pm CDT April 19, 2006
UPDATED: 5:31 pm CDT April 19, 2006

CHICAGO -- Autopsy results confirmed that a 31-year-old Michigan
transsexual found Tuesday in a Motel 6 in Elk Grove Village was a
homicide victim.

Krystal Heskin, 31, of 6819 Meadow Ave. in Warren, Mich., died as a
result of craniocerebral injuries and blunt force trauma to the
head, the Cook County Medical Examiner's office said after an
autopsy on Wednesday. Heskin was pronounced dead at 12:40 a.m.
Tuesday at the Stein Institute, according to a an office spokeswoman.

No one was in custody for the murder as of early Wednesday
afternoon, Elk Grove Village police said.

Heskin was found dead at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Motel 6 at 1601
Oakton St., Elk Grove Village police Chief Stephen Schmidt said.
Hotel workers called police after finding Heskin dead on the bed,
fully clothed, Schmidt said, and added that the body was not badly
decomposed.


While the medical examiner's report noted the victim as a white
male, police are referring to the victim as a woman.

The deceased "has male anatomy, but also has female anatomy, and has
been referred to as a she, Krystal," Schmidt said.

No weapon has been recovered and it did not seem that Heskin's room
had been broken into, Schmidt said. It was not immediately clear if
anything had been stolen from the room, he added.

The victim had been living at the Motel 6 for about six months,
Schmidt said, though he did not know what Heskin did for a living.

"We are following up with a couple of different friends of
Heskin's," Schmidt said.

Tests were being conducted to determine if Heskin had been sexually
attacked, Schmidt said.

Copyright 2006, Chicago Sun-Times Inc.

Up in New Hampshire

I will be away until Sunday working on our cottage.

See you then.................

The Right Wing Agenda

I came across a couple of blog entries that caught my attention. The first was Peterson Toscano blog.

“........And Jim Maynard, a Memphis gay blogger at the very pink Queer Notes who often considers political issues, writes about GOP Election Plan: Flag-Burning, Gay Marriage Amendments.

Here they go again! USA Today reports that Senate Republicans are laying out their election plan and, surprise!, it will be to push for the anti-gay Federal Marriage Amendment and resurrect their old chestnut "anti-flag burning" amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and of course more restrictions on abortion rights.

Let's see...we are in a "war on terror", a quagmired military occupation in Iraq, a criminal scandalridden Republican Congress and White House, American workers are falling behind in the "class war," and these are the issues the Republican Reich think matter the most to American voters!”

The second was on Helen and Betty Boyd forum, (en)Gender was discussion on the article.

Fletcher removes language protecting gays from bias
By Joe Biesk
Associated Press

FRANKFORT - Gov. Ernie Fletcher signed an executive order Tuesday removing language from the state's affirmative action plan specifically protecting gay people from discrimination.
Fletcher administration officials touted the change as a way of improving Kentucky's record when it comes to hiring blacks and women in high-ranking state jobs. But gay rights advocates warned that Fletcher - who signed the order at an event celebrating diversity - may have made gays more vulnerable to unfair treatment.
"This is such a callous act," Sen. Ernesto Scorsone, the state's only openly gay lawmaker, told reporters. "There was no need for it. He's singling out a minority of Kentuckians for foul treatment, and that is totally unacceptable."
Fletcher's order removed language from Kentucky's previous state government affirmative action plan that prohibited discrimination against people because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. Former Gov. Paul Patton signed an executive order in May 2003 that protected state employees from discrimination based on a number of reasons including their sexual orientations or gender identities.
Administration officials on Tuesday spun the move as a way to further boost the number of blacks and women in state government. Brett Hall, Fletcher's spokesman, said state government has about 44 percent women and about 7.5 percent blacks. Last summer, Fletcher set a new hiring goal to raise minority employment within state government from about 7 percent up to 10 percent.
Fletcher said in a statement that his order "equalizes the playing field" for people seeking state jobs. Managers and other personnel employees would have mandatory training on the state's new affirmative action code, Fletcher said in the statement.
"My administration has set diversity as a priority," Fletcher said in the statement.
Hall said the change did not mean state government would allow discrimination against gays or lesbians. Rather, Fletcher's move guaranteed "greater representation for woman and minorities."
"At no time has any gay or lesbian employee - and will no gay and lesbian employee of this state - be discriminated against," Hall said.
Nevertheless, the move should be viewed as a step backward for gay people, said Christina Gilgor, executive director of the Kentucky Fairness Alliance. It was also a political move intended to boost the governor's popularity among his political base, Gilgor said.
"Governor Fletcher's unbridled spirit has just hit reverse," she said. "Reversing protections that are in place is going backward."
Beth Wilson, executive director of the ACLU of Kentucky, said the General Assembly needed to intervene and pass legislation to protect gays and transsexuals.
"I'm stunned that the governor would be taking us back in time, and this certainly points to the need for broader protection at both the state and federal level," Wilson said.
But Hall said the state's previous affirmative action plan left the state open to potential lawsuits. It also could force state government to provide separate restrooms and other facilities for transsexuals, Hall said.
"This is in no way to discriminate against anyone or deny anyone or make them vulnerable to discrimination," Hall said. "It's merely to relieve us from certain burdens that we otherwise shouldn't be incurring."
There have not been any lawsuits or formal complaints filed against the state, Hall said.
However, the issue arose last year with an Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet employee, Hall said. Mark York, a spokesman for the cabinet, said the issue was over which bathroom the employee would use and how that would affect other employees. Cabinet officials located a nearby unisex restroom for the employee to use, York said.
Scorsone, a Lexington Democrat, said Fletcher had "reached a new low" with the plan. State employees should be judged on their job performance, not their sexual orientation, Scorsone said.
"If the governor had a shred of decency left, it's gone now," Scorsone said. "Governor Fletcher has declared open season on gay state employees."

It seems to me that the Republicans are using these fear tactics to avoid debating the real issues. They are using the Radical Right Wing of the party to mobilize the voters, it get them out to vote with one voice. They can avoid talking about the budget, the war, loss of jobs; instead they can just talk to the single issue voter gay rights, abortions and all the other hot button issues that bring them out to vote.
While the Democrats on the other hand have no decisive hot button issues to rally behind and have a hard time mobilizing voters. They can talk about the war, the budget, corruption and all the other pressing issues until they are blue in the face but the voter will not turn on and vote. The “Silent Majority” as Nixon called them, just don’t vote anymore. Until they wake up and start voting, then the Republicans will just walk all over them.

Photos...........

1. Are you the photographer in the family, or is it someone else?
I was always stuck with the chore. I hate taking staged family pictures, candids yes.

2. What kind of camera do you have? Digital or film?
Nikon D70 and process them on Photoshop. In the old days Minolta SRT101 and developed in my darkroom

3. Are you photogenic? Or do you run whenever someone breaks out the camera?
Somewhat, a friend always seems to catch me with a drink in my hand though.

4. If you could take a moment in your life, the best one you've ever had, and photograph it so that you could remember it forever, which moment would it be?
The only thing that stands out is our trip out west driving down Rt 101 and Rt 1 along the Pacific ocean in ‘99. I did a good documenting the trip by combining the stills ( Shot on the ol’ trusty SRT101 ) and the video on to a video CD

Ah........ Spring

Spring has sprung! The cherry tree in my front yard is in blossom, the maple trees are getting their red blossoms and my nose is stuffed up.

Easter Sunday

Yesterday I drove down to New Jersey for Easter to be with my brother and family. While down there we went on a walk in a near by nature preserve, well my 62 year old brother had to show off to his grandson. My nephew walked across a log on the trail so my brother though he could do it. WRONG! He nearly broke his ankle and instead of walking back to the car that was only a 100 yards down the trail he came with us. The more we said to go back and rest it the car, the more he was determined to come. Men! Too much testosterone! I'm glad I not afflicted with that stuff anymore. Anyhow, by the time we got back to the car his ankle was already inflated to about twice it’s normal size and when I left there to come home, he was laying on the couch with his foot wrap with a bag of frozen peas on one side of the ankle.
On the way back home I got stuck in a twenty mile traffic jam going over the Hudson River at Tappan Zee. I listened to the sound track from “Rent” as I crawled along.
Here a couple of photos from trail side as we walked.

My Backyard

Yesterday was such a beautiful day that I had to get out and do something so I took a hike in my back yard, well not really there is a forest preserve a block away from me. As usual I over did it, too much in too short of time. The preserve is about a mile square on the top of a local mountain. Now we are talking about a Connecticut mountain, the base of it is about 250 ft Above Sea Level and it rises to about 750 ft ASL. The east side of the mountain slopes up to the west and than drops of in a cliff, which has some of the best rock climbing areas in the east. The mountain has basalt ridges that run up its back toward the cliffs. At the base of these ridges and at the base of the cliff is usually a steep talus slope.




There are fire roads up the mountain that follow the ridges lines, but there is also a hiking trail that cuts across the ridges. So if you take the trail you are constantly going up and down the ridges while the fire road is relatively easy. Well anyhow I walked up the fire road and I thought I would walk back down along the trail. BIG mistake, I was worn in a very short time going up each ridge was hard but going down trying to walk on the talus slope was even harder. I eventually cut across through the woods and came back down the fire trail.
Here is a view looking south toward New Haven which is just beyond the last mountains that you came see.




This is looking north towards Hartford which is just out of the picture to the left and my house is also just out of the picture to left also just about a quarter mile from the pond.



Some of the other photos while hiking, a lichen covered tree ( Using the macro setting on the lens ) and a small brook coming down from the mountain.






One of the hardest things to do on a computer is to show photographs because everyone’s monitor is adjusted slightly different. The color balance, the color saturation, the brightness and the contrast are all set to their own individuals taste. I tried to set mine so that when I work with a photo or scanner that what I see is what I print. But it is still hard to adjust, so I hope these photos come out good.

Gender and Gender Expression

Why having the phrase “Gender Expression” is so important to the Anti-Discrimination bill, it is because without that phrase the bill would be meaningless. Without it, if a transsexual showed up dressed as the opposite gender and got fired. All the employer has to say is that they didn’t fire the employee because they were a transsexual but because they expressed themselves by coming to work. Or fired because a woman didn't look womanly enough or a man didn't look manly enough. The bill is for anyone who crosses the gender norms.
I have a friend who the mother of two daughters but she doesn’t look womanly enough, she is tall, heavy set, has somewhat of a deep voice and she is always getting “Sired” or is asked to use the men’s room. That is a form of discrimination based on gender expression; she does not fit the gender norms of what a woman should look like.
So we need the phrase “Gender Expression” included in the legislation in order to be inclusive of everyone who crosses the gender norms.

Four For Friday

Every week belicove.com post questions of the week, here are my answers.......

Q2 - Websites: The U.S. Postal Service allows anyone to see the authenticated physical address of a commercial PO Box owner, while at the same protecting vigorously the address of a non-commercial owner. Phone companies protect the privacy of unpublished phone numbers' owners. Should website owners be allowed to register site names anonymously?

Yes, they should be allowed to be to register a site anonymously. I have a web-site and I am constantly get mail and e-mail addressed to me care of the web-site. The only way they could of got that information is off the web site registry.

Q4 - Gasoline: Economists are predicting that gasoline prices in the U.S. will reach $3.00 per gallon within the next three months. How will this summer's gas prices impact your travel plans?

I bought a Toyota Prius. My mileage varies from about 45 – 55 mpg.

Q5 - Health Insurance: Do you think all employers should be required by law to pay some or all of the costs associated with their employees’ health insurance?

I think there should be a national health insurance. Massachusetts just pasted a law that everyone has to have insurance, but I think it has to be done nationally. Otherwise it will be a hodgepodge of insurance plans pitting one state against another.

Q7 - Taxes: Did you file your 2005 taxes yourself or did you enlist the services of a professional tax preparer? In either event, did you file online or by hand?

Mine were just finished today and had it done by a professional. It was filed on-line and now I have to send the check.

Documentary on Gays in the Media

Tonight I went to a lecture at the University of Hartford entitled,

DOCUMENTARY ON GAYS IN THE MEDIA

The Humanities Center features the debut of the documentary, “Further Off the Straight and Narrow: A Decade of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Visibility, 1995-2005” on Thursday, April 13 at 7 p.m. The documentary will be shown in Wilde Auditorium which is in the Harry Jack Gray building at the University of Hartford. Katherine Sender, the producer and director, will be present for a discussion about the documentary after the screening.

The documentary is an entertaining, provocative and thoughtful examination of the portrayal of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people on television over the past ten years. Popular shows like “Ellen”, “Will and Grace”, “Queer as Folk” and “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” are examined, as well as the representation of gay people in television news and sports. Sender asks how are we to make sense of the great increase in gay representation--from virtual invisibility before 1970 to the "gay chic" of today? “Further Off the Straight and Narrow” is one of the first in-depth documentaries to cast a critical eye over the growth of gay images on TV. Leading media scholars provide the historical and cultural context for exploring the social implications of these new representations. The documentary also includes many clips from television shows representing gay people from 1995 to 2005.

Katherine Sender is an assistant professor at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of the book “Business, not Politics: The Making of the Gay Market”, and a new article, “Queens for a Day: Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and the Neoliberal Project”, as well as many other articles on gay media and marketing. She is also the producer, director, and editor of a number of documentaries, including the original version of “Off the Straight and Narrow” which examined gay representation on television from the 1950s to 1990s.

The documentary was a rough cut, not the final version and she asked for our input to it, what we thought was good and what we thought could stand improving. I thought that over all it was a good documentary, however I thought that the part on transgender was a little weak and could be improved. We recommended a couple of TV shows that she could include; like “The Education of Max Bickford”.

Public Funding to Church Supported Institutions

Hmmm............ “Church program won't care for woman who once was a man” Does this sound familiar? Substitute “Plan B” for the soup kitchen, now does it sound familiar?
In Massachusetts the fight is over adoption by same sex couples, the church will not allow them to adopt so the state has cut off funding to the Catholic charities.
Public moneys should not be going to religious organization. There was a purpose to the First Amendment.

Easter Thoughts

I am debating whether to go down to my niece’s in New Jersey for Easter. My brother and most of his family are heading down there for Easter, but it is a long drive for me almost three hours and then three hours back. So I am trying to decide, I would like to be there with them but on the other hand it is six hours of traveling just to see them and have dinner. So I will probably decide some time Saturday at the last minute.
But am one of the lucky one, I have a family that cares and I know that many friends in the GLBT will be sitting home alone this holiday weekend. They don’t have a family to go to, they have been disinherited for being themselves, their family has cut off all contact with them because they are Trans or Gay or Lesbian or Bisexual. If you know someone like that give them a call this Easter, talk to them or better yet, invite them over for Easter dinner.

“This Divided State”

I just got back from seeing the Michael Moore movie “This Divided State” at Real Art Ways. It is about his being invited to talk at Utah Valley State College and how it divided the college, town and state. I liked it very much, but of course I am a Liberal, so some might say I am biased. What stuck me most was the fallout after the speech; a lawsuit was filed by the town mayor for use of student funds to have Moore talk, the Student Body Vice President resigned and the college lost $200,000 in donations that year.
The whole movie reminded me of the Ann Coulter's Speech at Uconn, only that time it was the liberals that behaved badly. Her speech divided the Uconn campus and her speech was disrupted by protesters outside and by hecklers inside.
For me the idea of a college education is to exposes the students to all ideologies, to allow a free intercourse of ideas to take place so that the students can develop their own beliefs. Maybe I am old fashions, but I feel that a college or university should be a place where liberals, conservatives, Christians, Jews, Muslims and Atheists can come an express their views openly. Am I a radical now for thinking that or is that just an old outdated notion?