Saturday 9: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?

Crazy Sam’s Saturday 9: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?




1. Have you ever been in a situation with a lover where you did not know what tomorrow would bring?
Nope, can’t that I have.

2. What worries you most today?
What the economy will if the Republicans do not pass the debit ceiling bill

3. Could I tell if you were lying to me?
No, I am very good at telling little white lies

4. What do you miss most about the 80s?
Being in my 30’s

5. What's going on that you can't understand?
Why we are in Libya

6. How would I know if you liked me?
I’ll tell you

7. If you ever won an award, what would you want it to be for?
I won a couple of awards for my community activism

8. What would we be surprised to know that you've done?
I’m not saying, you want to get me into trouble.

9. What’s the most exotic mixed drink you remember trying? Did you enjoy it?
Rum and coke or a Cape Coder… I not into fancy drinks

Friday Fill-ins

Janet’s Friday Fill-ins
http://fridayfillins.blogspot.com/



1. I love to _just day dream_.

2. _A hug_ and a smile.

3. It's how you _relax that makes all the difference_.

4. _How you did it_ don't tell me!

5. Well, would you _do it for a million dollars_.

6. _In my backyard, I can hear the_ spring peepers.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _going to the graduation prom_, tomorrow my plans include _helping out at the Trans Health & Law conference__ and Sunday, I want to _relax and savory the fact that there is no more homework_!

Now I am off the National Association of Social Workers conference, where I’ll be giving my first professional workshop. I’m not nervous about giving the presentation, just that everything goes according to plan, that the video projector works, that I can get an internet connection, that…

My Story Part 75 – Getting To Be Known

There is a down side to being an activist it is that Google sees all, Google knows all.

If I ever applied for a job and they did a quick search of Google there will be two facts that emerge from the search. One that I am trans and the other is that I am an activist. There is no hiding my past.

I attended a Campaign School a couple of weeks back and the woman who gave Friday’s presentation talked about having any internet baggage to worry about if you ran for office. My answer was yes, I have tons of it. I was at a meeting one day when a man came up to me and said to me, that he was so amazed with my story of my transition. It turned out he read my interview with the Gay and Lesbian chamber of commerce, the Connecticut Alliance for Business Opportunities.

I was at the deli counter at my local supermarket and the woman who waited on me said that she saw me on television. She saw the interview that I gave on WTNH news. A journalist student saw the interview and she was able to track down my email address and request an interview for a capstone paper that she was writing for class.

The moral to this story is, if you are going to be active in anything, guard you name and who you tell it to, because in this age of the internet you will lose your privacy. One of the things about this blog, you will never find my last name anywhere on it and if someone wants to contact me, I give them my cell number because it does not have my caller ID and my last name displayed.

Will Nevada Become The Fourteenth State To Pass A Gender Inclusive Anti-Discrimination Law

The gender inclusive Anti-Discrimination law passed the Senate in Nevada and moves on to the Assembly next.

Nevada Senate approves two LGBT protections bills, rejects a third
LGBTQ Nation
Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The Nevada Senate on Monday approved two bills that would prohibit discrimination against gays and transgender individuals in housing and public accommodations, but rejected a third bill that would have added gender identity and expression to Nevada’s hate crimes law.
[…]
The other two measures, however, were approved: SB331 prohibits discrimination against gays and transsexuals in places of public accommodation including hotels, motels and restaurants, and SB368 prohibits discrimination in housing and other real property transactions.

I am disappointed in that they didn’t pass the hate crime law, especially in light of the beating that the trans-woman received in the McDoanld’s outside of Baltimore.

Some people argue that there should be no special crime for hate, that an assault is an assault. But I’ll argue that it is based on motive and we take into account motive on other crimes. Murder, has different degrees based on motive. If you push someone during an argument and they fall over and die, that is one type of murder. In a fight, you grab a broken beer bottle and kill someone, that is a second type of murder. If in a fight you go out to your car and get a gun, come back inside and shot a person, that is the strongest type of murder. So it is based on your motive, the first case you had no intent on killing a person, the second case you should have known your actions could result in death and the last case was premeditated. The same is true of a hate crime, an assault is not just an assault if the motive is bias or hatred, then and only then does it becomes a hate crime. A person can beat up a trans-woman and it is not a hate crime, (i.e. a mugger beats up a trans-woman to rob her, which is not a hate crime). However, what happened down in Baltimore was a hate crime because in the video you can hear the woman use sexual slurs while she is beating up on the trans-woman.

We Sometimes Forget About Trans-People In Other Countries

I have been part of a team that has been working on a research project to survey the trans-population in the greater Hartford area, but some of my team members and friends travel around the world. They work on surveys that study AIDS/HIV in far off places like India, Kenya, South Africa, and China and sometimes they are working with the local transgender community.

One of them sent us this BBC article on the trans-people of Pakistan…

Pakistan transgenders pin hopes on new rights
BBC
April 25, 2011

There has been little opposition to the decision by Pakistan's Supreme Court to allow a third gender category, apart from male or female, on the national identity card. The BBC's Aleem Maqbool meets transgendered people in Karachi buoyed by the ruling, but sceptical about whether it can really end the isolation they face

In the back streets, in a squalid neighbourhood of Pakistan's largest city, is a tiny, shabby apartment.

It is where we find "Shehzadi" getting ready for work.

Wearing a bright yellow dress, and scrabbling around her make-up box, she is doing her best to cover up her decidedly masculine features.

Shehzadi is transgendered: physically male, but psychologically female.
[…]
The reasons for a relative lack of opposition are complex. Despite the discrimination they face, transgenders have long been accepted as part of the fabric of Pakistani society.

Throughout the Indian sub-continent they have occupied a unique position since the era of the Mughal empire in the 16th Century, when they were given special roles in the royal court.
[…]
But Pakistan's Supreme Court now says that transgenders should also be allocated a certain number of government jobs.

It specifically recommended they be appointed as tax collectors to utilise their "special skills".

So what are these “special skills”?

"We tell them to pay up, but there are some who don't, so we stand on their doorstep and give them trouble and make a spectacle. Then to stop us attracting attention, they pay. I love the job, life's going well!"

It is not a job that I would want, but… it is another culture and we cannot not impose our western bias on them. For them this is a job that brings in a regular pay check and having a pay check might be something that the majority of Pakistani might not have. Therefore, having a pay check might elevate them up in social standings. What are the alternatives for them? Would they be a street worker if they didn’t have this job?

"Getting jobs and ID cards is great, but when I die, I know the community will have a party, spend all my money, and then it will be as if Shehzadi never walked on this earth."

"That will always be the reality of our life."

Sometimes It Seems Like We Are Tilting Windmills

This has been a bad weekend for transgender issue. Sometimes it seems like hate is winning, that for every step forward we take three backwards.

Friday there was the brutal beating at McDonald’s where a trans-woman was beating until she went into a seizure.

Then on Sunday there was an Opinion piece in the Hartford Courant from the organization that is fighting against our bill. I was surprised that the Hartford Courant printed an opinion like that without any proof of what the author wrote. I would have expected something like that from the ultra-right wing New Hampshire Union Leader.

I leave you with this YouTube video of “In The Life” from PBS…

I’m With Family Today – Update

I got home around five and I finished my last paper for school just now. I was up at my brother and sister-in-law’s condo in southern Maine and I left to come home at 2. My original plans were to get up there around 5 on Friday and finish the paper then, while they, my niece and her son were down in Boston on Friday walking the Freedom Trail.… However, my 3 hour drive took 5 ½ hours. First there was a 2 mile backup to get over the Charter Oak Bridge, then there was an accident on the Mass turnpike at the rest area where you get on the Pike in Sturbridge, then there was another accident on I-495 in Lowell and then I-495 was shut down for 90 minutes just outside of Haverhill. So I got to the condo just had supper and collapsed until my brother and crew go home.

I managed to squeak in sometime to work on the paper, but most of the time it wasn’t conducive to doing homework. Too many distractions.

I Am With Family Today

Please remember all those who are not with their family for whatever reason.

Saturday Six 367

Patrick’s Place Saturday Six 367

1. Do you still have your tonsils? If not, how old were you when it was removed?
Yup

2. Do you still have your appendix? If not, how old were you when it was removed?
Yup

3. Do you still have your wisdom teeth? If not, how old were you when they were removed?
Nope, I was in my late teens, early twenties. However, my brother, who is older than me, just had his taken out

4. What’s the worst injury you remember receiving, and how old were you when it happened?
Breaking my arm when I was a toddler.

5. Have you ever had to have surgery for any reason? Was the recovery worse than you expected, better or just as you expected?
Nope.

6. If technology progressed to the point that you could literally change any one thing about yourself and money weren’t an object, what change would you make?
My voice, I would like to sound more feminine.

Saturday 9: Sex as a Weapon

Crazy Sam's Saturday 9: Sex as a Weapon



1. Have you or a significant other ever used sex as a weapon?
No.

2. Tell us about the worst date you ever went on.
You mean the date that told me that she had to babysit and cancelled our date and I saw her later at McDonald’s with a high school football player.

3. If you were a god/goddess who would you be?
Diana, the Greek goddess

4. What crime from history fascinates you the most?
None.

5. Give us one random, but candid fact about you.
I can wiggle my nose and ears at the same time.

6. Who or what makes you laugh until you're weak?
This comedian had a skit about when he thought it would be a good idea to wax his body. He had me rolling on the floor laughing, because I been there done that and it HURTS like crazy

7. What is the most exciting adventure you’ve ever been part of?
Life.

8. Among the people you know, who would you choose to be able to read all your thoughts?
No one that are my thoughts and I want to keep it that way.

9. How old were you when you realized that other people's families live totally differently from yours?
When I was 58, I realized that everyone was different. Now really Sam, how are we going to remember something like that.

This Is Sick… We Have To Stop The Hate

In Baltimore a trans-woman was beating at a McDonald’s as she left the bathroom. This is the third attack of a trans-woman at McDonald restaurants, the others were in New York and Memphis.

Baltimore County McDonald's beating video goes viral
One woman has been arrested in attack that's drawn hundreds of thousands of views
By Justin Fenton
The Baltimore Sun
April 22, 2011

A video of a vicious beating at a Baltimore County McDonald's restaurant went viral Friday, garnering hundreds of thousands of views on websites and prompting the fast-food giant to issue a statement condemning the incident.

The video shows two women — one of them a 14-year-old girl — repeatedly kicking and punching the 22-year-old victim in the head, as an employee of the Rosedale restaurant and a patron try to intervene. Others can be heard laughing, and men appear to be standing idly by.

Toward the end of the video, one of the suspects lands a punishing blow to the victim's head, and she appears to have a seizure. A man's voice tells the women to run because police are coming.
[…]
An employee repeatedly tries to separate them, but the attackers continue to stomp and kick the victim's head. People yell, "Stop! Stop!" to no avail, though others can be heard laughing. An older woman at one point also attempts to pull the attackers away and is shoved.

About halfway through the three-minute clip, the attackers rip a wig off the victim and drag her by her hair to the front door. That is where the victim is sitting before a blow to the head causes an apparent seizure.

I am not going to post the video, it is way too graphic If you want to watch it, this is the link.

Friday Day Fill-ins

Janet’s Friday Day Fill-ins



1. Pardon me, _your slip is showing_. Wasn't that I title of Reader's Digest humor section?

2. _Two for one is a_ good deal.

3. I was surprised to find that I really like_Flan_.

4. _Reading_ is one of my favorite forms of entertainment.

5. Hi, my name is _Diana_ and I'm _graduating in two weeks_.

6. _Sitting by the lake is the best way to enjoy_ summer afternoons.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _being up at my brother and sister-in-law’s condo for Easter with my niece and her son_, tomorrow my plans include _having a lobster dinner_ and Sunday, I want have to _drive home_!

My Story Part 74 – The End

Yesterday was my last day at my internship at True Colors, that I started in early September and it was a teary goodbye. Even though I will see then again, I was very emotional. I will be seeing the director of the agency at the lobby day for the anti-discrimination bill, at the Trans Health and Law conference and at the Safe Schools Coalition meeting on the 2nd, I still broke down crying. I imagine that I will also be seeing the staff from time to time, but when I was saying my throat tighten up.

I don’t even want to think about graduation, I got all chocked up fill out the graduation forms, and I just hope that they have enough tissues at the graduation.

Now back to writing my Capstone paper, I want to have it finished by tonight.

I leave you with a of video about the Compton Uprising…

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs…

Yesterday, a large multination corporation here in Connecticut announced a layoff of 200 employees. Did they just do away with the jobs… no, they moved them to Singapore and Poland. Half of all the jobs that US companies created last year were overseas.

Here is something to think about, with the export of middle income jobs overseas. What will be left here in the United States? Also how can we compete with countries that pays their workers pennies a day, have no health insurance or retirement benefits. No environmental or workers protections. As the World Trade Organization pushes to remove trade protections, what will happen to us?

McDonald's Hiring Thousands of New Employees

Connecticut McDonald's Hiring 1,300

Hundreds in R.I. apply for jobs at McDonald’s hiring day event

McDonald’s Hiring Day in Marietta

Large crowd attends McDonald's hiring day event in Reno

Minimum wage jobs will not help us get out of this recession. We need to protect the manufacturing jobs.

Meanwhile, we need to look at raising to start taxing those who make over a million dollars. During the Bush administration, the Republican cut the taxes on the millionaires saying that it would stimulate the economy. During Bush administration we went from a surplus to one of the worst recession ever. Look at this graph from zFacts.com The Republicans are driving us in to becoming a debtor nation. It is time to start taxing the millionaires and billionaires.

This morning’s Hartford Courant has an editorial about raising the taxes on the millionaires verses cutting government spending…

Tax Hikes Less Of A Drain Than Spending Cuts
By Jim Stodder
The Hartford Courant
April 20, 2011

"Don't raise taxes during a recession — that's the worst thing you could do."

That's the common wisdom given to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. But the common wisdom is wrong. There is something worse — spending cuts do more harm.
[…]
But not all cuts are created equal. Low- to moderate-income people have less to spend when programs are cut. The wealthy, however, can pay taxes out of reduced savings, and leave their spending relatively stable.

A conservative estimate from the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis puts the effect of Connecticut's multiplier at 1.4 for spending, and 0.4 for taxes. Now we can compare: a $1 billion cut in spending reduces total income in the state by $1.4 billion; a $1 billion rise in taxes reduces total income by just $400 million.

The comparison doesn't stop there. Both cuts and taxes lower state residents' income, and that depresses tax revenues even further. A penny saved (in program cuts) is not the same as a penny earned (in higher taxes). That penny saved winds up costing more in second-round tax losses, because it causes bigger drops in income.
[…]
Near the beginning of the current recession, Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz wrote a letter to then New York Gov. David Patterson. Referring to such analysis, Stiglitz noted, "Economic theory and historical experience give a clear and unambiguous answer: It is economically preferable to raise taxes on those with high incomes than to cut state expenditures." This letter was signed by more than 100 leading New York economists.
[…]
Conservatives see an opportunity, and are pushing for spending cuts on state and national levels. Curiously, they did not call for lower federal deficits in the previous (and much milder) recession of 2001. Congressional Republicans argued then that we needed deficit spending to boost the U.S. economy, and most Democrats agreed.

Here is my prediction, I hope I’m wrong, I see that if we continue with tax cuts for the millionaires and billionaires, cuts in government spending, and no curbs in the loss of jobs overseas, then we are going into a double dip recession and the deficit will continue to increase even with the deep budget cuts that the Republicans want.

How Would You Feel If Your Vote Didn’t Count Any More?

Well that is happening in Michigan, the governor is replacing elected office by people that he is appointing. Throwing out budgets approved by the voters, taking over the mayor office, the school system, and voiding the wishes of the voters.

Benton Harbor emergency manager strips power from all elected officials
Michigan Messenger
By Todd A. Heywood
04.15.11

The Emergency Financial Manager of the city of Benton Harbor has issued an order stripping all city boards and commissions of all their authority to take any action.

The order, signed Thursday, limits the actions available to such bodies to calling a meeting to order, approving the minutes of meetings and adjourning a meeting. The bodies are prohibited under the act from taking any other action without the express authority of the Emergency Financial Manager, Joseph Harris.

The voters no longer have a say in how their city is to be run. Instead the city will be run by an edict.

UPDATE: Tempers flare at Benton Harbor commissioners meeting
WNDU
Posted: Apr 19, 2011
Reporter: Kevin Lewis

The opinions and accusations were in full swing at Monday night’s Benton Harbor City Commissioner’s meeting.

They came following a new state law that allowed Emergency Financial Manager Joseph Harris to revoke all power from every city employee and leader.
[…]
"He’s not even an elected official and he's going to fire the mayor? How are you going to fire a mayor,” another resident questioned over Joe Harris’ newly established power.

“Adolf Hitler was a dictator. Now we have a dictator in Joseph Harris. We have allowed this man to be too comfortable in our home, in our city,” one man screamed out loud.

The Republicans and Tea Partiers rammed this state law through the legislature, they now have absolute control over all local governments. Because the way the law is written, if a local government has a deficit, the governor can appoint an Emergency Financial Manager with no oversight; he can pick anyone he chooses.

She Needs Therapy, Not To Be Charged With Murder.

A woman in Indianapolis was charged with murder when she attempted suicide. Why? Because she was pregnant and the fetus died.

Mom who ate rat poison seeks bond in baby's death
Indy Star
By Carrie Ritchie
Apr. 5, 2011

An Indianapolis woman accused of murdering her newborn baby through her own suicide attempt is asking a judge today to let her bond out of jail.
[…]
She [her attorney] said the charges are not only unwarranted, but they could prevent other troubled mothers from seeking the help they need.

"The charges are outrageous," Pence said last month. "This is an abusive prosecution."
[…]
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Medical Women's Association and the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, among others, filed a brief in support of Shuai. They say the charges could set a dangerous precedent.

Shuai’s charges could deter other pregnant women from seeking prenatal care if they felt they could be prosecuted for mistreating their fetus, said David Orentlicher, Samuel R. Rosen professor of law at the Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis and co-author of the brief.

I see this as a case of an overzealous prosecutor who has an agenda.

Are We A Third World Country When It Comes To Health Care

How many of you have heard of Doctors without Boarders?

But surely we don’t need to have anything like that here in America, the riches nation in the world!

No insurance required for many grateful smiles
Republican-American
BY Quannah Leonard
April 17, 2011

WATERBURY-- People arrived as early as 6 p.m. Friday to secure a spot on the first day of a massive, two-day free dental clinic at Wilby High School. They stayed overnight in cars, and by 5:30 a.m. Saturday, a line of 300 people deep extended from the entrance of the school, waiting for the doors to open at 6 a.m.

Evidently we do.

In the Hartford Courant…

Over 2,000 expected to attend free dental clinic
Associated Press
April 15, 2011

[…]
The Connecticut Mission of Mercy was started in 2008 by the Connecticut Foundation for Dental Outreach, the America's Dentists Care Foundation and Connecticut State Dental Association. Fourteen other states participate in similar programs.
[…]
Schreibman said about 95 percent of the patients are adults. Most have not visited a dentist in at least two years, and many have been without dental care for 10 years or more.

Here we are in Connecticut with the headquarters of many large multinational corporations like GE that didn’t pay any federal taxes. Many of people lining up for the dental care work over 40 hours a week at companies that do not offer health or dental insurance. The people here have to line up and wait overnight to get dental care like a third world country. Meanwhile the Republican and Tea Partiers look for ways to dismantle Medicare and Medicaid. Shame!

Saturday Six 366

Patrick’s Place Saturday Six 366

1. What was the last show whose cancellation really surprised you?
No, I don’t watch many television shows. So I don’t even know which shows are going to be canceled.

2. Many believe that the soap opera genre is quickly dying. Which genre do you wish would drop dead tomorrow?
Reality TV shows

3. What show do you watch most often or with the most enthusiasm each week?
The Mentalist, but I would say with enthusiasm. I also like Bones.

4. Which program that you watch regularly, if cancelled, would be the biggest blow to your weekly entertainment choices?
None, live will just move on.

5. Which show do you wish would go away, never to be seen (or remade) again?
All reality shows, including the one that Donald Trump hosts.

6. Which television personality would you most like to see banished to the world of cancellation?
What his name… Charlie Sheen

Saturday 9: Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out

Crazy Sam’s Saturday 9: Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out



1. What is the most “down and out” that you've ever been?
When I didn’t get the slinky that I wanted when I was 7 years old it left an indelible mark and I have still have to buy one whenever I see it on sale!
I don’t know, you expect us to remember when we were depressed, that we keep some type of list?

2. Do you believe there is only one "right" religion?
No. what is important is that you believe. However, I will say that I don’t believe in religion that preaches hate.

3. If you could get back in touch with one person you've lost touch with, who would it be and why?
An old girl friend.

4. Has anyone ever held the key to your heart, but did not know it?
Yes, see the above answers.

5. If your lover cheated on you and profusely apologized, might you accept them back into your life?
Nope. They broke their word once, how can you trust them ever again?

6. Have you ever gone to work/school drunk or stoned? If yes, do tell.
No, just afterward, yes.

7. Who is your favorite relative?
Boy! Do you really want to start a fight in my family?

8. What annoys you most?
Tailgaters at 70 mph.

9. Tell us of one thing you used to do that you are not proud of.
I counted my chickens before they hatched.

Friday Fill-ins

Janet’s Friday Fill-ins



1. For me, it was _a long journey to graduation_.

2. _Many items that I used to buy are not_ at my local supermarket.

3. Behind the sound of the wind in the trees, I heard _the babble of the brook_.

4. _Go on a windjammer cruise up the Maine_ is something I always wanted to do.

5. When it was over, _I will have a hoodie_.

6. _At my school, classmates all younger than me _ but I never felt alone.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _writing my Capstone paper_, tomorrow my plans include _going to the coffee shop_ and Sunday, I want to _go walking if the rain stops early enough_!

My Story Part 73 – Social Workers

When I say social worker what comes to mind?

Maybe a therapist, maybe a school social worker or someone who works with welfare clients or a person that works with children and families… well you are half right. They are what we call the Micro practice side; case and group work. Then there is the Macro practice side; policy, administrative and community organizing concentrations and that is what I am doing, community organizing.

What do we all have in common; we care for people and want to make the world a better place. We are the bridge builders.

Macro social workers write the agencies policies and run the organizations. We organize the senior centers and the neighborhood groups. In addition, we run political campaigns and run for office.

Last year, I was invited to a meeting with US Rep. Chris Murphy from the 5th Congressional District and it was like a class reunion. There were so many social worker interns or graduates there that we outnumbered the non-MSW people who were attending the meeting.

When I was at the hearing for the anti-discrimination bill last month, in the video you see a number of people sitting around me and they all have a MSW. Many of the interns to the legislators are also MSW students. In addition, there are four or five legislators who have their MSW in the Connecticut legislature including the Speaker of the House, the the mayor of Hartford has his MSW. And don’t forget the President of the United States has a MSW in community organizing.

When I thought of a social worker, I thought of only the Micro social worker So when I asked friends what I should do when I retired and they told me to get my MSW, I dismissed the idea. Once I found out about the Macro side, I liked the idea. I think that for me, it is a good match, I have too much empathy, I would believe any hard luck story that I hear and a good Micro social worker needs to be a good reader of people. But a Macro perspective is a better match; I want to change the world, starting with fighting for Human Rights for the trans-community.

The trans-community needs more social workers, both Micro and Macro; we need our own out there advocating on our behalf. We need Micro social workers to help us navigate the bureaucratic red tape and we need trans-therapist. We also need trans-Macro social workers to lobby to help us achieve our equal rights and we need trans-social workers to help change policies.

Think About The Children!

There was story in the news about a child whose parents allow him to paints his toenails. When you read this, think about how we adults create anxiety in them by trying to force children into someone they are not.

J. Crew Ad With Boy's Pink Toenails Creates Stir
Social Conservatives Call Ad 'Propaganda;' Transgender Groups Say Reaction is 'Ridiculous'
ABC News
By SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES
April 13, 2011

A mother paints her son's toenails hot pink because it's his favorite color. Does that mean he'll become gay or transgender? That is the controversy surrounding a J. Crew ad that is swirling around the Internet.

It began when a photo of J. Crew's president and creative director Jenna Lyons painting the toenails of her son Beckett in an ad was sent to customers last week in a feature, "Saturday with Jenna."
[…]
Social conservatives reacted with outrage. Fox News' Dr. Keith Ablow ran an opinion piece on the issue and Erin Brown of the right-leaning Media Research Center called the ad "blatant propaganda celebrating transgendered children."
[…]
One of Brown's online readers wrote, "A small child, with no secondary sexual characteristics, cannot be considered 'transgendered' or even a transvestite. On the other hand, a fully grown person such as yourself can definitely be considered a small-minded a**hole."

OH MY GWD! Panic, indignation, that is how conservatives act when they hear anything about a transgender person. Republicans and Tea Partiers mantra is to get government off our back, less government; however, when it comes to gender identity or expression and sexual orientation, it is lets deny them of their rights to live their lives and pass laws banning their freedom. Let’s treat them like societal piranhas.

The article goes on to say…

"I [Dr. Jack Drescher, a New York City psychiatrist, who wrote the 2010 paper, "Queer Diagnoses," which was published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, serves on the American Psychiatric Association's committee that is addressing sexual and gender identity disorder for the DSM-V] can say with 100 percent certainty that a mother painting her children's toe nails pink does not cause transgenderism or homosexuality or anything else that people who are social conservatives would worry about," he said.
[…]
Friction can result when someone outside the family -- a friend or perhaps a "horrified grandmother" -- tries to tell parents "what is right and wrong."
[…]
"The idea that a parent is indulging a child's interest in unconventional gender behavior does something to the child has no scientific basis," he said.

This whole brouhaha that the conservative are raising is creating anxiety in hundreds of parents and teaching the children to withdraw into a shell.

We have to stand up to the Republicans and Tea Partiers and stop them from passing these draconian laws like the amendments that they want to pass here in Connecticut to the anti-discrimination bill and in Maine from passing LD1046. Please standup and help us. We cannot do it by ourselves; we need our allies to speak up.

I Will Miss College

But I will not miss writing all the papers and the endless reading assignments.

I will miss all my friends and the faculty and staff. Even though there is a great difference between us, I have made so many friends there. On Facebook we joke about the number of pages that we have written, “I’m on page fifteen! Only five more to go!” or the all nighters that we did studying for an exam or the group projects that we worked on together. One time I had three classmates over on a Sunday, we had pizza and soda and we cranked out our project term paper in four hours. We each were at our laptops writing our sections and then we put them all together and blended our patch work into our group paper.

Only three weeks to go and one capstone paper.

Do Not Disturb!

I busy writing a paper, only one more paper after this one and I’ll be finished with school. I will not say “forever” because forever is a very long time. And yes, I did procrastinate and now I’m rushing.

Where I’ve Been For The Last Couple Of Days… To Campaign School

What!

Yes, I was at Campaign School, within the UConn School of Social Work there is the Nancy A. Humpreys Institute for Political Social Work and every year they have a two day seminar on how to run for office and run a campaign. This year I attended and I am very glad that I did, it was very informative and I can’t say enough about it.

First, let me say that I am not now and never will be a candidate for public office. (Doesn’t that sound like a sound bite for a person running for office?)

Okay, why did I go to the seminar?

As we fight for our human rights, we need to become more visible, as Harvey Milk said, “Come out, come out wherever you are.” Where would a trans-person be more visible to people who have the power to change the laws, then working for a candidate. If my memory is correct, there were five trans-candidates that ran for office and only one won, and the person who won, won in San Francisco. Therefore, I think the most viable option for us is to work on a campaign.

Another reason why I attended the seminar is because what I learned can be carried over to other passions in my life. Learning how to manage campaign can be helpful in trying to pass gender inclusive anti-discrimination laws. Organizing a lobbying campaign need the skills sets as running for office.

If we are going to be lobbying for our rights, we have to know how legislators think. What better way to learn that then learning how they run for office.

Lastly, I did it to be visible (see my first reason for attending). I knew a number of legislators would be coming in to talk to the group and I wanted to be seen by them. Unfortunately, there had only two public officials that came in to talk and one of them was a friend. The other was a legislator on the Judiciary Committee and we made eye contact, I think that in that split second I saw recognition… she connected me with the hearings and the vote for our bill last week.

Now, back to my homework so that I can graduate this May.

Saturday 9: Sweet Soul Music

Crazy Sam’s Saturday 9: Sweet Soul Music



1. Do you listen to music at work, and if so, do you use a mp3 player, play it through your office computer, or do you listen to it collectively via a separate radio you keep nearby?
No, I do not listen to the radio at work. Lots of the younger student interns do, and they are sometimes sing to the music.

2. Tell us something about people that you absolutely hate.
I don’t hate people; life is too short to go around carrying a grudge.

3. What is something someone has done that you'd like the world to know about?
The good work that my boss has done with LGBT youth in creating a safe place for them.

4. Where is your favorite place to sit when at home?
My recliner. However, my father for a house warming present bought it for me and he got the model made for tall people and my feet don’t touch the floor. I never had the heart to tell him it was too big, because it was special order and he wouldn’t have been able to return it.

5. How did you come up with the title of your blog?
Good question.
I chose the title because I wanted something the sound like a soap box where I could espouse my thoughts and also something the reflexed where I live.

6. Tell us about the one who got away.
No thanks.

7. Have you ever had a big birthday party?
I must have, I’m over sixty, so one time or other I must have a had a big party.

8. What was the biggest bash you've ever attended?
There were hundreds of people there, in high school one of my friends lived on a farm and once a year he would have a large beer party way out down by the farm pond.

9. With my kids and an always changing life, I find myself sometimes unable to focus! Do you have that problem, too?
Yeah, like right now. I have a lot of homework to do, but I can’t get focused. It is a bad case of senioritis.

Friday Fill-ins

Janet’s Friday Fill-ins



1. In the near darkness _a pair of glowing yellow eyes stared back at me. I could only make out a vague shape but the black and white stripes were instantly recognizable_.

2. _Writing my papers for my class is my most important job_ til further notice.

3. But this _is an acceptable diversion from writing_.

4. _I don’t know how a fish can swim against the current_ in the stream.

5. It's always nice _to be able to relax before our class presentation that is due in two weeks_.

6. _The best times are with good food, good wine _ and pleasant company.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _going to a reception after class_, tomorrow my plans include _going to Campaign School_ and Sunday, I want most definitely have to _finish writing a 5 page paper for home work_!

My Story Part 72 – The Vote

As you probably read, the gender inclusive anti-discrimination made out of committee Tuesday.

As I sat there listening to the debate, I was struck by the feeling that most of the legislators had no idea what they were voting on. Some of the comments made showed their lack of knowledge. I do not think that other than four or five legislators actually know that there are also trans-men. All they talked about was transgender women and surgery. I really don’t think that they would want a trans-man in the women’s bathroom. It also sounded like many of the legislators had no clue of the process that a person has to go through to transition, one amendment said that a teacher could be transferred out of the classroom while transition… please define the word transition. I know for me I transitioned in one day, I was in male dress at 11:00AM when I got laid off on June 30, 2007, by one o’clock I had gotten rid of all my male clothes and was living as Diana ever since. Do they mean when you started on hormones, well for me that was three years earlier or did they mean when you have surgery? For many, they cannot afford surgery, so would that mean that they could never teach again?

Then you had the amendment on sex segregated facilities, well where prey tell do they want us to go the bathroom? Are there going to be gender police at every door checking IDs? It seems to me that they never thought through what it would happened if they passed the amendment. I think that the amendment would have placed an even harder burden on public establishments, they would now be in business in trying to determine peoples gender when they otherwise they could be breaking the law by letting the wrong person in. It seemed to me that they were just throwing out amendments to block and delay the vote.

A number of legislators voted in favor of the bill because it was the right thing to do. Many voted against the bill because their leaders are against the bill, you could tell by the way they talked that they hadn’t a clue what transgender means.

Many of the legislators made comments that it was hard to vote against this bill because they believe that discrimination is wrong. I believe that is true one senator, I think he is making an effort to do the right thing… but he said that he had made promises to others that he must honor. Why senator did you make those commitments when you knew they were wrong? The other legislators who said it was hard to vote against this bill… did you reach out and try to understand and maybe talk to a trans-person or did you listen to the distortions that the opposition said. That brings me to the lobbyist against the bill; everything that he said was said about other minorities before. When blacks were fighting for their human rights and to end segregation, they used the same arguments against integration. When the gays and lesbians were demanding equal rights, Anita Bryant warned about bathroom and teachers. They weren’t true then and they are not true now.

I know this was only one victory that we still have the House and the Senate to get through, the trans-community and our allies still have a long way to go before the governor signs the bill.

HB6599 Passes The Judiciary Committee With No Amendments

After a lengthy debate with the introduction of three amendments, the bill passes the committee without any amendments.

As soon as the co-chair introduced the bill, Rep. Rowe introduced a bathroom amendment. The amendment used the same exemption that the anti-discrimination statute used for sex segregated facilities. Under questioning Rep. Rowe said that their birth gender would determine what bathroom or sleeping area would used by a person. He said that since the CT commission on Human Rights and Opportunities found in 2000 that discrimination against gender identity and expression was sex discrimination, therefore there should be the same exemption in this bill. The debate and vote pretty much followed party lines. The Republicans couldn’t understand why this amendment should be opposed, some said the idea of a “transdered” in a bathroom or locker made them feel uncomfortable. Rep. Rowe had the quote of the amendment; he said that this amendment only affected a “Super Dupper Small Minority”. Sen. Bye said this amendment is discriminatory and other Democrats said that the size of the population doesn’t matter, discrimination, is discrimination. While others asked how would a business know if a person had surgery or not. The amendment was defeated 16 Yea – 22 Nay.

The next amendment was introduced Sen. Kissel and the “Teacher” amendment. The amendment allowed a school board to transfer a teacher for grades kindergarten through sixth grade to be temporally while the teachers transition to another job. Once again the Republicans lined up behind the amendment while most of the Democrats were against it. Rep. Morris was an exception, he said he voted for the bill twice in the past, but he was in favor of this amendment. While Sen. Bye said that the same argument was used when sexual orientation was added to the anti-discrimination statutes back in the 90’s… we need to protect the children from gay teachers. It wasn’t true then and it won’t be true now. She also said that at her church they had a panel discussion on trans-people and someone asked the question, where would you be if you didn’t transition and 3 out of the 4 said they would have committed suicide. Sen. Bye also said that she also have pondered what LGB had in common with the T, why were they grouped together and she realized that they all had gender discrimination in common. That LG face a form of gender discrimination. Sen. Myer had the quote of the amendment, when he said that when a teacher transitioned had a “transgender event”. The amendment was defeated 17 Yea – 23 Nay. I have to add, that I believe that Sen. Kissel was looking for the middle ground with this amendment. He could have proposed an amendment that barred transgender teachers all together, but he proposed something that he thought both sides could agree on. However, I see it as the wrong lesson to teach the children, that it is Okay to discriminate and hide people who are not like us.

The last amendment was as I said a strange amendment and it was also proposed by Sen. Kissel. The amendment would increase the penalties for a person who committed a crime disguised as a woman. This amendment seemed like an end run around the first amendment that was proposed. The debated centered on how would you know that the person was only pretending to be transgender, or as they said, “transgendered” is gender identity and expression was self-labeled. They was a question about if a male bank robber dressed as a woman, would he be subjected to the increased sentence – the answer was no because he was not trying to gain access to a sex segregated facility. That answer lead to Rep. Morris question, if a group woman disguised themselves as men to gain entry to an all men’s club to protest, would their sentenced be increased? The sponsor of the bill said yes it would. The amendment was defeated 13 Yea – 26 Nay

The vote on the bill was anticlimactic; most of the objections to the bill were already stated earlier in the day. The legislators just wanted to go on record on their feelings toward the bill. A number of them said they were saddened to vote against the bill, but they had to without protection for sex segregated facility or without protection for school children. Rep. Hetherington said that one of his objections to the bill was that gender identity and expression was self-identified, that if he felt the he should have been born a native American and called “Little Wolf” would not make him a native American. That earned him the quote of the hearing… John “Little Wolf” Hetherington. The bill passed 27 Yay – 14 Nay.

You can read some news articles here…
CT News Junkie
Hartford Courant

Round 2

Here we go again, the Judiciary Committee will vote on HB6599 today. I will be there watching the debate and vote, it is going to be hard listening to the opposition. They are taking the low road and are using fear, name calling and innuendos against the bill. There is no debating with them; their opposition isn’t based on fact or reason but on ideology. The say that they represent family values, but they are not the values that most families have, they are values based on hate. When pressed for examples of assaults that they are trying to label our community with, they give examples on their web page from states that do not even have gender inclusive anti-discrimination laws and of men who are not, in their words, “men dress as women”, but men dressed as men.

It could be worse, look at the bill that that was just blocked out in Montana,

Montana Bill to Ban Local Transgender, Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Protections Abandoned by Senate
Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund

April 4, 2011 - Montana House Bill 516 - which would have made it unlawful for any city, town or county in the state to pass a law protecting transgender, lesbian, gay or bisexual Montanans from discrimination - is all but dead… …Last Friday, that committee concluded its work without reviving the bill. So while nothing is guaranteed until the full legislature's session ends on April 29th, as of last Friday, the time for virtually all of the maneuvers that could resuscitate the bill had expired. The bill had previously passed the Montana House of Representatives.

The Republicans campaigned on jobs and the economy, but they had a secret conservative religious agenda.

HB6599 – An Act Concerning Discrimination

Last week the vote was delayed because of the prospect of a lengthy debate, instead of passing with little debate the Republicans said that they were going to offer a number of amendments. Some of them quite hideous…

Gender ID Bill Waits in Committee, Kissel Plans Amendments
CT News Junkie
by Hugh McQuaid
Mar 30, 201

The amendments came from concerns raised during a public hearing on March 21, he said. Kissel’s first amendment would ratchet up penalties for individuals who posed as transgender for criminal reasons.

While noting the scenario was probably an unlikely one, Kissel said that under his amendment someone convicted of a Class A misdemeanor who was determined to have posed as transgender solely for criminal reasons would instead be convicted of a Class D felony.

Sen. Kissel admitted that it would probably not happen; however, he is still going to tie up the committee with this amendment. So let me get this straight, if a man commits a sexual assault with a mask on he gets one sentence, but if he dresses as a woman he gets a stiffer sentence. I don’t know about you, but this does not make any sense to me and it seems that it is very bigoted and discriminatory.

The article goes on to say that,

Kissel’s other amendment also addressed a concern raised by Wolfgang at the hearing, mainly the effect having a transgender teacher could have on young school children. Under the amendment municipal boards of education would be given the option to temporarily reassign transgender teachers as they undergo transition.

How many school systems do you think would not transfer a teacher out of the class. If they didn’t they would be worrying that there would be complaints to they would err on the conservative side. What with that teach the student? That it is OK to discriminate against someone who is different. Is that the right message to send the children?

The bill is going up for a vote tomorrow, this time the committee budgeted more time for the bill. I will be there and I let you know how it turned out, hopefully no amendments will be added.

Religious Persecution

A few weeks ago Representative King (R. NY) held hearings on the Muslim American radicalization were pure bigotry. By focusing on the Muslim community, he is using the hearings for political gains and to demonize the Muslim community. If Rep. King wanted to hold hearing on terrorism, I would not be writing this, but by excluding of sources of terrorism he has made his hearing a vendetta against Muslims.

The terrorist attempt you've never heard of
Salon
By Justin Elliott
Feb 19, 2011

One month ago, a bomb was found along a Martin Luther King Day parade route in Spokane, Wash., an area with a troubled history of violence by white supremacist groups. The FBI quickly announced that the backpack bomb, which was found by chance not long before marchers were scheduled to walk by, was sophisticated and could have caused "multiple casualties." Authorities even used the phrase "domestic terrorism" to describe the incident.

Or

Rally at Oregon State draws 150 to decry mosque burning in aftermath of Portland bomb plot
The Oregonian
By Candice Ruud,
December 02, 2010

Despite the closure of the Memorial Union Quad at Oregon State University because of ESPN Game Day's coverage of the Civil War, about 150 people showed up on the MU's steps to tie on white arm bands at the Rally for Peace, a response to Sunday morning's burning of a Corvallis mosque.

Then there was this…

Fire at Tenn. Mosque Building Site Ruled Arson
Construction Equipment at Site of Planned Islamic Center Torched; Vocal Protests Against Mosque Have Been Ongoing
CBS News
Aug. 28, 2010

Federal officials are investigating a fire that started overnight at the site of a new Islamic center in a Nashville suburb.

Ben Goodwin of the Rutherford County Sheriff's Department confirmed to CBS Affiliate WTVF that the fire, which burned construction equipment at the future site of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, is being ruled as arson.

Special Agent Andy Anderson of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told CBS News that the fire destroyed one piece of construction equipment and damaged three others. Gas was poured over the equipment to start the fire, Anderson said.

Do you remember this incident…
August 2008

Police: Killer targeted church for liberal views 2 people killed, seven hurt, after man opens fire in Tennessee church
MSNBC
Associated Press
7/28/2008

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — An out-of-work truck driver accused of opening fire at a Unitarian church, killing two people, left behind a note suggesting that he targeted the congregation out of hatred for its liberal policies, including its acceptance of gays, authorities said Monday.

Back in 2004 USA Today wrote this article on domestic terrorism,

>Domestic terrorism: New trouble at home
USA Today
By Larry Copeland
Posted 11/14/2004

[…]
But some of the alleged domestic terrorists who have been arrested had ambitious plans. The people and groups range from white supremacists, anti-government types and militia members to eco-terrorists and people who hate corporations. They include violent anti-abortionists and black and brown nationalists who envision a separate state for blacks and Latinos. And they have been busy.

"Not a lot of attention is being paid to this, because everybody is concerned about the guy in a turban. But there are still plenty of angry, Midwestern white guys out there," says U.S. Marshals Service chief inspector Geoff Shank.
[…]
Among the incidents since 9/11:

• Last month in Tennessee, the FBI arrested a man who agents say hated the federal government and was attempting to acquire chemical weapons and explosives to blow up a government building. Demetrius "Van" Crocker, 39, of McKenzie, Tenn., pleaded not guilty Nov. 5. His attorney, public defender Stephen Shankman, did not return calls.

• In May, Krar, 63, of Noonday, Texas, was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison after he stockpiled enough sodium cyanide to kill everyone inside a 30,000-square-foot building. Krar, described by federal prosecutors as a white supremacist, also had nine machine guns, 67 sticks of explosives and more than 100,000 rounds of ammunition. Investigators and the federal prosecutor said they didn't know what Krar intended to do with the potentially deadly chemicals. Krar's common-law wife, Judith Bruey, 55, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess illegal weapons and was sentenced to nearly five years.

• Last month in Utah, two men described by the U.S. attorney there as "domestic terrorists" pleaded guilty to setting separate arson fires related to eco-terrorism. Justus Ireland, 23, admitted starting a fire that caused $1.5 million damage at a West Jordan lumber company and spray-painting "ELF" at the site. The Earth Liberation Front has been connected to dozens of acts of vandalism and arson around the country since 1996. Joshua Demmitt, 18, of Provo, pleaded guilty to starting a fire at Brigham Young University's Ellsworth Farm, where animal experiments are conducted, in the name of the Animal Liberation Front. A third man, Harrison Burrows, 18, also of Provo, pleaded guilty earlier.

• In May, the FBI's domestic terrorism unit charged seven members of an animal rights group with terrorism after investigating what they said was a marked increase in crimes to stop the use of animals for product-testing. The activists, arrested in New York, New Jersey, California and Washington state, are members of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty. The group seeks to shut down Huntingdon Life Sciences, a New Jersey product-testing company.

Prosecutors allege that the activists set fire to Huntingdon employees' cars, vandalized shareholders' homes and threatened their families. They are charged with conspiring to commit terrorism against an enterprise that uses animals for research and could face up to three years in prison if convicted.

• In May, a Brookfield, Wis., man labeled a domestic terrorist by federal prosecutors received an eight-year prison sentence for interfering with Madison police radio frequencies. Rajib Mitra, 26, had blocked police radio signals and later broadcast sex sounds over police radios. His attorney argued that the transmissions were an accident.

Mitra was one of the first defendants sentenced under guidelines changed after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The changes, effective Nov. 5, 2003, impose stiffer penalties for domestic terrorism. Under the previous sentencing guidelines, Mitra probably would have been sentenced to 18 to 24 months.

There have been many other incidents around the country, the Southern Poverty Law Center reported that,

U.S. Hate Groups Top 1,000
SPLC
02/23/2011

The number of active hate groups in the United States topped 1,000 for the first time and the antigovernment “Patriot” movement expanded dramatically for the second straight year as the radical right showed continued explosive growth in 2010.

Several factors fueled the growth: resentment over the changing racial demographics of the country, frustration over the lagging economy, and the mainstreaming of conspiracy theories and other demonizing propaganda aimed at minorities and the government.

Rep. King’s hearing totally ignored the real threat to the country when he only focused on Muslims. He is grandstanding for his Tea Party constituents at the expense of the Muslim community. His committee hearings create an climate when people think that it is permissible to attach minorities.

In answer to Rep. Kings hearings, Sen. Dick Durbin (D Il) conducted his own hearings

SPLC Testifies About Rising Anti-Muslim Sentiment
by Booth Gunter
March 29, 2011

Anti-Muslim bigotry is once again on the march, thanks in large part to hate groups like Stop Islamization of America, which helped gin up nationwide hysteria last year over a planned Islamic cultural center near the site of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in Manhattan.

Since the controversy over the “ground zero mosque” erupted last May, we’ve seen a steady drumbeat of news accounts of hate crimes and bias incidents aimed at Muslims – too many to ignore. And U.S. Rep. Peter King’s Islamophobic hearings almost three weeks ago on the radicalization of Muslims in America didn’t help matters.

So the hearings that began today in the Senate, conducted by Sen. Dick Durbin, are a welcome development. Durbin, chair of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights, announced last week that he would hold hearings “in response to the spike in anti-Muslim bigotry in the last year including Quran burnings, restrictions on mosque construction, hate crimes, hate speech and other forms of discrimination.”

This week, religious bigoted pastor burned the Quran setting off demonstrations around the world against the US, killing dozens of people.

Obama decries Quran-burning, violent responses
By the CNN Wire Staff
April 2, 2011

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- The deadly protests in northern Afghanistan over a Quran burning spread to the country's war-torn southern region on Saturday, with provincial government officials reporting at least nine civilians dead and dozens injured.

The violence struck the city of Kandahar when demonstrators took to the streets to protest the torching of Islam's most sacred book by a U.S. church.

The unrest followed a demonstration on Friday in the northern town of Mazar-e Sharif, in which five demonstrators and seven U.N. employees were killed when an angry throng stormed the U.N. compound there.

Pastor Terry Jones remains defiant over the deaths that he has caused. According to the British Guardian, “Pastor Terry Jones insisted last night that his actions bore no responsibility for the murders in Mazar-e-Sharif.”

It is time to end this Islamophobia that is sweeping the country and denounce the hate groups that are fueling the fires.

Stop the Hate!

Saturday Six 364

Patrick’s Place Saturday Six 364

1. How many times have you forwarded an email only to discover the information in it was false?
Not many, when I’m in doubt I check urban legends web-sites.

2. Did you get any jokes played on you this April Fools’ Day?
No, I only knew one person who tried to post an April Fool’s joke

3. What’s the worst joke you recall being played on you?
I don’t remember , but I’m very gullible.

4. Take the quiz: Are You Easily Fooled?

You Are Not Easily Fooled

You may have been fooled in the past, but you won't get fooled again. You're wise to the ways of the world. If something seems fishy, you stay far away from it. And if you're not sure, you investigate. You know how to protect yourself. You know how to cut through the crap and see what someone's truly about. You may come off as skeptical and doubting, but you've found that your skepticism is often warranted.

5. At your workplace, are you more likely to be the victim of a prank or the instigator?
A victim. As I said, I’m very gullible.

6. On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the greatest, how would you rate your boss’s sense of humor?
Well, since I’m retired this question is N/A

Saturday 9: Hey Nineteen

Crazy Sam’s Saturday 9: Hey Nineteen




1. What was the best thing about being 19?
Being able to drink alcohol, because back then the legal limit was 18 yoa.

2. Where would you go if you wanted to spark your creativity?
Down in the laboratory… I was a nerd and a member of the science club.

3. Complete this sentence: I am embarrassed when...
I didn't recognized my girlfriend who was standing in line in front of me at the bank

4. Name 3 fads from your teenage years.
Far Out Man! Pet Rocks, bell bottoms and Disco

5. What's the best birthday present you've ever had?
A pair of earrings

6. What's your oldest possession?
A dime from Oak Ridge, TN

7. Do you have any phobias?
Nope, none.

8. This is pretty much the start of Spring (regardless of the snow in the east this week!); what's on your to-do list for the next few weeks to transition away from this long Winter we've been having?
Plant seeds in peat pots in the atrium to start them for the flower bed outside.

9. Which of the 50 states in the U.S. would you rather die than live in?
Now there’s a morbid question… Rhode Island. Just kidding Sam.
Alabama, a nice red neck state.

Friday Fill-ins

Janet’s Friday Fill-ins



1. I can't believe _its April already_.

2. _A chicken in every pot_ for everyone.

3. How can I _shake off Senioritis?_.

4. _Bacon and eggs_ was the last thing I cooked.

5. Six of one _half a dozen of another_. (OK, I’ll go for the classic)

6. _Don’t say “I you won’t, if you will”_; nonono!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to _doing some homework_, tomorrow my plans include _going out to the coffee shop_ and Sunday, I want to _do more homework_!