Provincetown and Fantasia Fair

I made it up here in time to go the seminar on Social Constructs, it was an excellent discussion and it was well worth getting up at five AM. The noon Keynote Address was also very good but not quit what I thought the topic was going to be about. Today I went to the Keynote address given by Helen Boyd to a packed room; her topic was the middle path. The middle path for those of us who are not transitioning for various reasons, health, financial or as in her partner’s case not wanting to break up their marriage.
I didn’t take any photos because yesterday because it was very foggy all day and today it rained most of the day and the light was flat, so instead I did my homework. I probability will not be going to the Follies tonight nor the Banquet tomorrow night because of homework on the paper I have to write for Wednesday.
We went out to dinner last night at Enzo’s and I had lobster over fettuccini with a curry sauce; it was delicious!

House committee decides to advance non-gender version of ENDA

Join the Boycott

God Hates Shrimp
Shrimp, crab, lobster, clams, mussels, all these are an abomination before the Lord, just as gays are an abomination. Why stop at protesting gay marriage? Bring all of God's law unto the heathens and the sodomites. We call upon all Christians to join the crusade against Long John Silver's and Red Lobster. Yea, even Popeye's shall be cleansed. The name of Bubba shall be anathema. We must stop the unbelievers from destroying the sanctity of our restaurants.

Leviticus 11:9-12 says:
9 These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.
10 And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:
11 They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.
12 Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.

Deuteronomy 14:9-10 says:
9 These ye shall eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales shall ye eat:
10 And whatsoever hath not fins and scales ye may not eat; it is unclean unto you.

Copyright © 2004-2007 by Joe Decker and Ryland Sanders.
Please don't hotlink images on this site; you are free to copy them to your own server.


All kidding aside why do the people who persecute homosexuals and transgenders always quote the Bible but there are so many other things in the Bible that they totally ignore? Like shellfish or wearing fabric made up of two types of fibers or selling their daughter into slavery or divorce or marrying you brother’s wife if he should die (My favorite) or… I could go on and on but you get my point.
When you pick out just one part of the Bible to justify the persecution of homosexuals and transgenders individuals that makes you a bigot. The religious right wing conservatives are flooding Congress with email, letters and phone calls to stop the passage of ENDA. So contact your Congressperson let the know that you support ENDA and that you support a gender inclusive ENDA (HR2015)

P’Town

I am going on my annual pilgrimage to the town where the Pilgrims first landed, Provincetown MA. for Fantasia Fair. Usually I go for the whole week but because of classes I will be going up on Thursday and coming home on Sunday.

There are so many things going on during the conference that it is hard to pick what seminars to attend. So theses are some of the seminars that I want to attend are: “Body Talk: Are Transpeople’s Bodies Real or Social Constructions” by author Jamison Green; “Trans-ing the World, Making the closet an artifact” by Hawk Stone; “The Middle Path, Finding Your Way In Genderland” by author Helen Boyd; a panel discussion, “Looking Forward: The future world of trans” with Jamison Green and Moonhawk River Stone; Trans Around The World: Being trans in different cultures and different ways” by Hawk Stone. The first seminar is onThursday morning so that means I have to leave my house at 5:30am in order to get there on time.

Manic Monday

Manic Monday for October 15, 2007


If you could have a romance with any fictional character, who would it be?
Hmm… I had a hard time with this question since I do not watch that many movies and I would have to guess it would be Honor Harrington in the Sifi series by David Weber. She is suave, brave and takes no talk back from anyone.


If you could be invisible for one hour, where would you go and what would you do?
I do not know, I don’t see any reason to be invisible. I think only something bad would come of it, to sneak in and listen in on a conversation would be a breach of trust.
Maybe on second thought on Halloween to have some fun with the Trick or Treaters.

If you could ask God any single question, what would it be?
Why? Why do people hate me for being myself?

Saturday Six - Episode 182

Patrick’s Place: Saturday Six - Episode 182

1. If you’re all alone on a dark and stormy night when a particularly scary movie comes on, will you watch it or change the channel?
I am not a big fan of scary movies. I rather watch a Sifi movie like the “Lord of the Rings”.

2. If you could remake any old horror movie, which one would you choose and why?
One from the fifties, before they had the blood and guts special effects.

3. If you had the chance to spend the night in a room that you really believed was haunted by a malevolent ghost, would you?
Yes, since I really do not believe in ghosts.

4. Take the quiz: What is your Halloween personality?

What Your Halloween Habits Say About You

You are an outgoing person who's a bit of a showoff. It's likely that you dress up for Halloween every year. You definitely think of yourself as someone who has a dark side. And part of having that dark side means not showing it. Your inner child is stubborn and a bit bossy. Your fears are irrational and varied. It's hard to predict what you may be afraid of on any given day. You're logical, rational, and not easily effected. Not a lot scares you... especially when it comes to the paranormal. You are picky and high maintenance. If you wear a Halloween costume, it's only when you really feel like it. And it has to be perfect.

What's Your Halloween Personality?

5. Who is your favorite horror writer/novelist?
I usually do not read horror stories; once again I would rather read a book by Marion Zimmer Bradley.

6. How many years has it been since you last went trick-or-treating?
About forty years ago.

By the Way Sunday

~Cash Please~

By the way...

What do you have the most of right now? ones, fives, or tens?
Two Twenties.

Do you give yourself a weekly cash allowance?
No, I have monthly budget since that is the way I get paid.

When you're out shopping, which do you use most...cash, credit, or debit?
Food – debit
Items under about $20 with cash and all others with a credit card.

Do you use coins in your transactions or stick strictly to bills?
Strictly bills and when I get a gallon jar fill I cash them in.

Do you keep track of what cash you spend?
No, I don’t keep track of cash, but I do for credit card purchases.

Have you ever lost a lot of cash?
Would losing a check for $50,000 count? I misplaced my father life insurance check after he died. The check came the day I was going on vacation, I put it in the proverbial safe place and I could not find it when I came back from vacation. They did issue a new check, but I found the old check about six months later.

What is the largest amount of cash you have seen?
Would you believe a Million dollars? When I was probably ten or twelve we went to Washington DC and visited the Bureau of Engraving where they had a pile of newly print $100 bills that was worth $1,000,000. It is something you do not forget.

Class Photo Shoot – Part 2

I went on another photo shoot (You can find the photos from the first photo shoot here.) with some friends yesterday up to the northwest corner of Connecticut where it meets New York and Massachusetts. One of the stops that we made was at Bash Bish Falls, it was a ¾ mile walk in and the trail climbs up along the gorge until you reach the falls.




I passed up a photo shoot with the class this morning of the sunrise with the Hartford Skyline. It was just a little too early for me, being retired has spoiled me in to sleeping late.

Oprah Show Today

On the Oprah Show Today
Meet transgender individuals who had the courage to say, "This is who I am." Find out what happens in a family when Dad becomes a woman. A discussion with the new American family Oprah wanted to meet

Microsoft's sex change

I came across this news article on Helen Boyd’s forum (en)gender

More and more high profile persons are transitioning and they are showing that the world does not come to an end when an employee transitions. When a company takes a positive attitude with the transition of their employee, everyone benefits as when sports writer Christine Daniels transitioned. The latest company to do so is Microsoft.

Microsoft's sex change

Michael Wallent, a general manager at Microsoft, will return to work in January as Megan Wallent. He came out to colleagues as transgender last month, first in person and then by email. Wallent says he encountered nothing but support -- mixed, of course, with some awkward curiosity. That's unremarkable. Microsoft is located in the progressive Pacific Northwest, where one's less likely to raise an eyebrow at Wallent's self-discovery and more likely to worry about the politically correct term to describe it. (For the record, "sex change" is considered derogatory by many; the preferred word is "transitioning.") He's unlikely to encounter blatant transphobia on the job. He should worry instead about plain old-fashioned sexism. How will Wallent's developers react when they come to work on January 2 and it hits them: They're working for a girl?

How will Microsoft handle her transition? Only time will tell, but as the article points out only 100 of the 900 top executives at Microsoft are woman. That means that Megan will have more of a problem as a woman at Microsoft than being trans.

Create A Connection

Getting to Know You Day: Aromatherapy

1) Throughout childhood and even adulthood certain people always smelled different to us, what scents remind you of a loved one?
I remember my grandmother always smelled of lilac.

2) Are there any scents that remind you of a special place or time in your life?
Well some of the obvious smells; pumpkin pie, Thanksgiving; evergreen, Christmas; the smell of fireworks on the Forth of July and the smell of wood smoke of a warm and cozy home.

3) What are some comforting smells for you?
The smell of apple pie.

4) Do you use any form of aromatherapy in your home or throughout the day?
No, not really. Maybe when I am having a party I might use some potpourri.

5) What scents evoke the most powerful memories for you?
I think the smell of freshly made bread, it reminds my of my grandmother’s house.

6) What are some of your favorite scents/smells?
See my answers to question #2. All of them bring back fond memories.

7) If you had to describe yourself as a scent (or combination), what scents would you be?
I have no idea; I hope that it is something sweet or flowery.

National Coming Out Day

Today October 11th is the National Coming Out Day.

When we come out it affects not only us, but all of those who love and know us. When we are in the closet we are living a lie and many of us are in denial, that this is a passing phase or that I can change, all I really need is love and I can be straight. We cannot face the fact that we are trans, gay or lesbian. We are under a lot of pressure to conform; society exerts a huge amount of force to be “Normal”. The stigma attached to being different is unbearable for some people and they would do anything just to be “Normal”.

Last night, I was waiting with the other students from my class for the class before us to get out. The janitors were going around collecting the waste paper and were standing in front of me laughing and talking in a foreign language while looking at me. After they left one of the students said innocently, “I wonder what they found so funny?” She didn’t have a clue why they were laugh and I felt like saying, “Three guesses and the first two don’t count.”

That is an example when I say that the social pressure to conform is so great, society lets you know in not so subtle ways that you are different and don’t belong. For those who do come out, it take a tremendous amount of courage and bravery to stand up to that type of pressure because it will change your life forever. You cannot say afterward, “I was only kidding.” If you are thinking of coming out today, keep this in mind and ask yourself is it really necessary to come out, is there a really a need to come out?

For me it was literally a matter of life or death. I was slowly killing myself by hiding from the truth. I had medical problems that were being cause by stress and the only way I could see to relieve that stress was by being true to myself. A friend once commented when coming out to her, I showed her pictures of me as Diana and her comment was “You are smiling!” Isn't it hard? Yes, it is very hard and probably that hardest thing I have ever done. Isn’t it still stressful? Yes, but that picture of me smiling says it all.

'Dear Abby' Says She's for Gay Marriage

'Dear Abby' Says She's for Gay Marriage

By LISA LEFF

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — For years, rumblings have surfaced on the Internet, conjecture about her casual references to "sexual orientation" and "respect."

Now, Dear Abby is ready to say it flatly: She supports same-sex marriage.

"I believe if two people want to commit to each other, God bless 'em," the syndicated advice columnist told The Associated Press. "That is the highest form of commitment, for heaven's sake."

What Jeanne Phillips, aka Abigail Van Buren, finds offensive and misguided are homophobic jokes, phrases like "That's so gay," and parents who reject or try to reform their children when they come out of the closet.

Her views are the reason she's being honored this week by Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, a national advocacy group that provides support for gay people and their families. The original Abby, Phillips' 89-year-old mother, Pauline, helped put PFLAG on the map in 1984 when she first referred a distraught parent to the organization….

….Her outspokenness on gay rights issues has never caused a strong backlash, said Kathie Kerr, a spokeswoman for Universal Press Syndicate, which distributes the column. It's possible some editors choose not to run the segments dealing with homosexuality, but if so they have not complained to the syndicate, Kerr said….

….Right now, Abby, as Phillips prefers to be called, is working on a reply to a woman who wanted to know whether she should include childhood photographs of her transgender brother-in-law in a family album. The woman is worried what she will tell her children when they see pictures of their uncle as a little girl.

Phillips' guidance to Worried Reader will be simple, she said: Include the photos, of course. Silence is the enemy. Answer any questions the kids have honestly — Uncle John was born with a body of the wrong sex, so even when he was called Jane he was really John inside….

For those who thought it did not exist!

I found it...

And you thought there was no such place, huh????



I just got this email from my brother.

Manic Monday

Manic Monday for October 8, 2007


Which month of the year do you think best describes your personality?
I think I would pick May because we have shaking off the cold winds of winter and a brand new season is coming into full bloom. Full of promise and hope.

If you could have had the starring role in an existing movie, which movie would you pick?
I don’t watch many movies so I don't know which one to pick, but I would want to star maybe in a movie set in the Victorian era with all those lovely gowns.

Are you attracted to people whose personalities are very similar to your personality or very different?
No I don’t I want to be with a person with a similar personality, we would just be sitting around worrying all the time. I would want someone with drive.

By the Way Sunday

~This-n-That~

By the way...

Do you watch daytime soap operas? If so, which one is your favorite?
No, I just have no interest in Soaps. They story lines just seem to drag on and on.

Have you ever heard of Bobby Sherman? If so, name something he did.
Yes, but I had to Google him to remember who he was. I remember one or two times watching “Here Comes the Brides”

What old TV show would you like to see brought back to TV, remade for today?
“All in the Family”, but remakes are never the same. I was watching “Bionic Woman” this week and it is nothing like the original.

Can you name the members of the Jackson 5?
Michael and he is the only one I can name, but then again I couldn’t name them back in the seventies.

If you had to, which would you give up, your TV or your computer?
TV! I don’t watch much TV but I am on the computer four or times five (Well maybe ten or fifteen times) a day.

Class Photo Shoot

I went on my first class photo shoot and we went to Gay City State Park. The fall foliage was not that spectacular and none of the pictures that I took of the pond was inspiring so for the class I chose these photos…

Saturday Six - Episode 181

Patrick's Place Saturday Six - Episode 181

1. If you were to count to three on your fingers, would you hold up your thumb, index and middle finger, or your index, middle and ring finger?
My thumb, index and middle finger

2. What was the last thing you remember counting in your home?
I think the operative work here is “remember”. I guess it most likely was money.

3. When you are listening to someone who uses repetitious phrases when speaking, such as, “you know,” how many of them do you generally need to hear before you begin subconsciously counting the occurrences?
I do not think that I have any set number, but when it is used two or three times in a single sentence, I might notice it.

4. Take the quiz: What is your expression number?

Your Expression Number is 11

You tend to be associated with idealistic concepts and spiritual issues. You have high potentials that are somewhat difficult to live up to. You have very strong intuition and you can be a bit psychic at times. Highly inspirational, you can lead merely by your own example. You have an inborn inner strength and awareness that helps you advise others. Although you have what it takes for a successful career, you belong outside the business world. Overly sensitive and temperamental, you tend to have a lot of nervous tension. You dream a lot, so much so that you may be more of a dreamer than a doer. Fantasy and reality tend to get intermingled for you, and that leads to impracticality.

What's Your Expression Number?

5. You’re calling a friend on the telephone and he’s not home: assuming he didn’t have voicemail, do you actually count how many rings go by or do you just hang up after a time you feel is sufficient for him to answer?
I hang up after I feel is a sufficient amount of time or maybe give it another two or three rings.

6. You go out to eat and you order a plate of twelve chicken wings. Do you actually count them before eating?
No. But if a ordered a plate of chicken wings and it only have six or seven wing, I might count them to see how many I got for the price and divide the price per wing. (i.e. if I am paying six or seven dollars for six or seven wing, they better be the size of turkey wings.)

More on ENDA (I know, you are thinking; “Oh no, not that again.”)

I am starting to think that maybe that what has happen in the last two weeks has been one of the best things to happen to ENDA. It has stirred up a backlash that has united our community. There is a huge coalition that formed of GLBT organization and business that have stepped forward saying that they would only support a gender identity inclusive bill.
Take a look on UnitedENDA web-siteat all the organizations that have signed up and the numbers keep on growing. Some of the organizations are:

ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal
Al-Fatiha Foundation for LGBTIQ Muslims
COLAGE (Children of Lesbians And Gays Everywhere)
DignityUSA
Equality Federation
Faith In America
Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders
GLSEN – the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network
Matthew Shepard Foundation
Metropolitan Community Churches
Mautner Project: the National Lesbian Health Organization
New Ways Ministry
Out & Equal Workplace Advocates
Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays
Pride At Work, AFL-CIO
Queer Muslim Revolution
Reconciling Ministries Network (United Methodists)
Sigma Phi Beta Fraternity
Transgender American Veterans Association
Transgender Law and Policy Institute
Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund
TransYouth Family Advocates
Unid@s, the National Latin@ LGBT Human Rights Organization

That is only a small portion of the national organizations on the list, and then there are all the state organizations that have signed up. The list is growing each day; I know CTAC has signed up today and I hope that other trans-organizations in Connecticut well also sign-up.

Grrr… !

I made chili this morning before I had to go out. Red peppers were on sale this week for $.99 a lbs. so I thought it was a good time for a fresh pot of chili to freeze for winter (I use old margarine tubs to freeze it in. I can usually get six or seven of the cups full from a pot of chili.)
When I got home I expected to be welcomed to that wonderful smell of freshly made chili. I walked in the door and nothing, where’s that great smell? I look at the crock pot and I saw that I forgot to plug it in!
Well I guess supper is going to be a couple of hours late.

~~ Diana's Chili ~~

* 1 LB. Lean chopmeat or Beef Cubes
* 1/2 LB. Salt Pork
* 1 Green Pepper
* 1 Onion
* 16 oz Can Red kidney beans
* 16 oz Can Pinto beans
* 16 oz Can Tomato sauce
* 2 TBS Cumin
* 2 TBS Chili power
* 1 TBS Minced garlic
* 2 Cups Water ( Option - Beer )
* 1/4 Cup Corn Flour
* Tobasco sauce

Brown the chopmeat and salt pork in a skillet. Chop the onion and pepper. Except for the flour, add all the ingredients into a 4-quart pot and simmer for 1 hour (Crock pot for 4 - 6 hours). Before serving stir in the flour to thicken. Season to taste.

Yesterday.

The outreach went a lot better than I expected, we really got some good questions from both of the class and they kept the pace of the questions up for the whole class. There were no dead times when there were no questions asked. So the outreach got two thumbs up from me.
The banquet also went well, I kind of feel sorry for the Director because with over four hundred attendees she was running around saying “Hi” to everyone and the staff was asking her a hundred last minute questions, I bet today she is just sitting back and relaxing. They handed out the Maria Miller Stewart Award to four fabulous ladies. All of them were involved in civil rights through out their lives.
Now I have to make up for the day off from doing homework.

Create a Connection

Getting to Know You Day: Creating

1) Do you do something creative every day? If not, do you wish you could?
No I do not, my creative inspiration comes in spurts. I wish I could control it but it controls me.

2) Where do your ideas come from? Are you inspired by others art, music, your children?
In photography I am inspired by the world around me and in poetry by the stresses in my life.

3) What is your favorite art form? Why does it call to you?
Photography. Because I can see the image in my mind, I can visualize the shot. While poems on the hand pop into my mind usually at two or three AM when I can't sleep.

4) What is one art form you long to try? What holds you back from trying it?
Painting, I just do not have the patience’s to sit and paint.

5) Are you the type of person that concentrates on one thing at a time or do you have many projects started that you are trying to finish?
Do you mean like now? I should be doing homework and cleaning the house. Instead I do a little homework, and then do a little cleaning, while in between I surf the web and answer memes; with nothing really getting done.

6) Do you belong to any creative communities, swap groups, yahoo groups that encourage creativity/art?
No. Unless you want to count the class I am taking in photography

7) Is there a group of friends in your community that you get together with to help each other out with your art?
No.

8) What is the most important reason you create?
For my own enjoyment and relaxation, but it is also nice to share with others.

An Interesting Email

The other day I got an email from a student in a class called Visual Statements - The Art of Social Commentary and she asked if she could use one of my poems for her class project. I was both honored and intrigued about the project and I gave her permission to use the poem “The Box” which was a poem that I wrote when I was struggling to cope with my gender identity. In the poem I switched the image of a closet with that of a box, instead of fighting to get out of the closet; I fought to get out of the box which I felt made a much more powerful image than a closet.
Here is the poem…

The Box

It would plea and beg to be let out of the box.
Other times it would bang its fist and try to claw out of the box.
I would take it out and let it play when nobody was around, but I would always put it back in the box.
I would be able to go to work or play because I had it in the box.
At night I would open the box, but by morning it would be back in the box.
I could hear it praying to be let out of the box but I always ignored it and only when I wanted to I’ll let it out of the box.
As I went about I could hear it make comments “Oh, that’s a pretty
dress.” or “I wish I could look that pretty.” but, I always forced it back in the box.
But, once in awhile a painted nail or a hairless arm would be seen out of the box.
It’s walking around in public and eating in restaurant and it is now getting harder to put it back in the box.
When it’s out of the box it knows freedom and when I try to put it back in the box, it turns and smiles and says, “I have the key and when ever I want, I can get out of box.”

As an aside, last year when some friends were playing their guitars, I was looking over the lyrics to the Eagle’s “Already Gone” when I read the lyrics "So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains. And we never even know we have the key" that is kind of the same thing I was saying about the key in my poem; that we control our own destiny.

Barney Frank’s Little Secret

The trans-community was not the only one to get the short stick.
Read the report from Lambda Legal....

Lambda Legal’s Analysis of Stripped Down Version of ENDA: Gender Identity Protections Gone and Inadequate Protections for Lesbians and Gay Men
‘You can’t be fired for being a lesbian or a gay man, but you can be fired if your boss thinks you fit their stereotype of one.’

(New York, October 1, 2007) — Lambda Legal's preliminary assessment of the revised version of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act shows the bill to be riddled with loopholes in addition to failing altogether to protect transgender people against discrimination.

"Leaving out protections for transgender people is unacceptable, and passing a bill riddled with loopholes will make it harder to achieve equality on the job," said Kevin Cathcart, Executive Director at Lambda Legal. "You can't be fired for being a lesbian or a gay man, but you can be fired if your boss thinks you fit their stereotype of one."

"After working together for so many years on a bill to provide protections for the LGBT community on the job — we can do better than this," Cathcart added.

Preliminary Analysis Summary:

* As a point of clarity for the community: The recent version is not simply the old version with the transgender protections stripped out — but rather has modified the old version in several additional and troubling ways.

* In addition to the missing vital protections for transgender people on the job, this new bill also leaves out a key element to protect any employee, including lesbians and gay men who may not conform to their employer's idea of how a man or woman should look and act.[Emphasis added] This is a huge loophole through which employers sued for sexual orientation discrimination can claim that their conduct was actually based on gender expression, a type of discrimination that the new bill does not prohibit.

* This version of ENDA states without qualification that refusal by employers to extend health insurance benefits to the domestic partners of their employees that are provided only to married couples cannot be considered sexual orientation discrimination.[Emphasis added] The old version at least provided that states and local governments could require that employees be provided domestic partner health insurance when such benefits are provided to spouses.

* In the previous version of ENDA the religious exemptions had some limitations. The new version has a blanket exemption under which, for example, hospitals or universities run by faith-based groups can fire or refuse to hire people they think might be gay or lesbian.

Lambda Legal has long worked on employment discrimination issues and has represented clients who have faced discrimination or harassment at work based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

As Gomer Pyle use to say… Surprise! Surprise!

One Mid-term Exam Down, One to Go

I just got back from taking my mid-term exam in Research I and now just one more mid-term on Wednesday the 10th for Human Behavior in a Micro Environment.

Last night I had my first Photography class and we have a photo shoot on Saturday. Out of the dozen or so classmates only about a third of us would I rate as advanced. I am a little disappointed in that there isn’t more advanced photographers in the class. I was hoping that I would get some good critiques from the other students, so it will be interested in what I will learn form the class.

This week I have an Outreach speaking engagement at college down in New Haven on Thursday. Now get this… the class is the “History and Principles of Phy. Ed”. I can just it now, a whole class of jocks just sitting there, arms crossed and an expression on their face that looks like there are eating a lemon. Yup, it should be a fun class.
Also on Thursday I am going to a fundraiser banquet for CWEALF

How Good is Your ISP Connection?

Manic Monday

Manic Monday for October 1, 2007


If technology was sufficiently advanced, would you be willing to clone yourself?
Egad! Two of me? I don’t think the world can handle two of me, come to think of it, I don’t think I could stand two of me. So the answer is no.

At the local grocery store you see an elderly woman shoplift a chicken. Do you tell the management?
That is a very hard question to answer. I do not believe in stealing but the social worker side of me would think that maybe she trying to living on Social Security and can not afford to by food.
So I would like to think that I would step up and offer to help her to buy the food.

If you could be 8 years old again for an entire day, knowing what you know now, how would you spend it?
I would to go back and play with the girls in the neighborhood.

Does Any One Have a Paddle?

The reason I am so wound up over this is because I have seen it all before. Once a sexual orientation anti-discrimination law is passed all pressure to pass a trans-inclusive bill is dropped. The following state have passed anti-discrimination laws without including gender identity or expression since 2000: Maryland in 2001, New York in 2002, New Mexico in 2003 and Illinois in 2005. NONE of them have gone back and passed a bill to include gender even though we were promised that the Gay and Lesbian organization would push for a gender identity and expression bill.

I will tell you what will happen if this bill in Congress gets passed without being gender inclusive; the Gay and Lesbian organization will start the push for marriage equality and any bill for gender identity will be put aside for the next 15 or 20 years.

By the Way Sunday

~Fashion by You~

By the way.....

Jeans or Slacks?
It depends on the occasion. For school and casual occasions, jeans but if I am going out to eat with friends or to a meeting than I will wear slacks

Sweater or Jacket?
Sweaters, but sometimes I wear both. It really depends on where I am going, if it is warm inside than I will wear a jacket. There is nothing worst than going to an overheated mall will a sweater and roasting.

Skirt & Top or Dress?
Skirt and a top, you can make more combinations by mixing and matching.

Buttons or Zippers?
Hmm? I don’t really have a preference, but definitely not buttons up the back.

Does your purse always match your outfit?
Naw, I have a big old brown bag that I throw everything in. If it is formal then I have a small black purse.

Heels or Pumps or Flats?
Pumps, except if it dinner or fundraiser type of event then I will wear high heels.

Crewneck or Turtleneck?
Turtleneck.

Do you own a little black dress?
Yes, see my fashion show.

Accessorize or Not?
Some, I don’t go over board.

Describe your absolute favorite outfit.
Denim skirt, turtleneck, a denim jacket and low heel boots.

More on ENDA

Sorry for keep harping on the ENDA, but you see we saw this before. In 2002, in New York state we were sold down the river with the removal of gender identity form their Anti-Discrimination law with the promise that it would be passed the next year. Well here it is five years later and still no law in New York state.
Added 2:20pm

A Statement released on Friday by Representative Barry Frank…

“The question facing us – the LGBT community and the tens of millions of others who are active supporters of our fight against prejudice – is whether we should pass up the chance to adopt a very good bill because it has one major gap. I believe that it would be a grave error to let this opportunity to pass a sexual orientation nondiscrimination bill go forward, not simply because it is one of the most important advances we’ll have made in securing civil rights for Americans in decades, but because moving forward on this bill now will also better serve the ultimate goal of including people who are transgender than simply accepting total defeat today.”

So basically what he is saying is: we can get our cake and we don’t care if you get your piece of the cake. But the only other "Out" legislator does not feel that way

“Significantly, Democrat Tammy Baldwin, a lesbian who represents Madison, Wisconsin, and is the only other out LGBT member of Congress, did not put her name on the new bill.” (Gay City News)

And the HRC finally spoke up…

“Since 2004, the Human Rights Campaign’s policy has been to only support civil rights legislation that is inclusive of gender identity. That's why we fought tirelessly for and won Congressional approval for a fully inclusive hate crimes bill. We’ve been fighting to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act for more than a decade. The breaking news that the House has decided to move forward on a non-discrimination bill that is not inclusive of gender identity is devastating. The Human Rights Campaign remains dedicated to the fight for full equality for our entire community and, in light of this new reality, continues to consult with members of Congress and our lobbyists to determine how we can achieve that goal.” (HRC Backstory)

ENDA

Where is the HRC?

Last May when I was down in Washington DC for the Transgender Lobbying Days and I sat in the HRC conference room and heard them say that the HRC stands behind the gender identity inclusive ENDA.

Why have you not spoken up?

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." Rev. Martin Luther King Jr

Create A Connection

Roadway Beauties

This photo I took on the way up to my brother’s in Maine. Anyone who has traveled up I-95 to Maine will recognize this photo. It was taken in New Hampshire, during the summer you usually drive about 15 mph across the whole state of New Hampshire. The traffic backs up at the New Hampshire tollbooth at the Maine boarder all the way to Massachusetts on weekends.



On a normal drive it will only take about a half a hour to drive to drive across New Hampshire, but from Thursday to Sunday in the summer it can take up to a hour and a half to drive. I got bored sitting traffic so I snapped a couple of pictures of the traffic. The normal driving time is three hour drive from my house to my brothers condo but this time it took close to five hours, UGH! The were a number of accidents on I-495 plus the tie up for the tollbooth.

Create A Connection

Inspiring Words

I am not big on quotes but I do have some favorites:

"Small is the number of people who see with their eyes and think with their minds."
Albert Einstein

"The only person you are destine to become, is the person you decide to be."
Pam Finger

"You rarely have time for everything you want in this life, so you need to make choices. And hopefully your choices come from a deep sense of who you are."
Fred Rogers

"The point is that there are always obstacles, whether they seem insurmountable or merely bothersome. The question is not how difficult the path, but whether in your heart, you wish to undertake the journey."
Zandru's Forge - Marion Zimmer Bradley

And the quote I have on the top of my blog…

"So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains
And we never even know we have the key"
Already Gone - Eagles

These are some of the quotes that have resonated with me and made me think about over coming prejudice and bigotry. How we have to live our own life and not worry what others may think. That my sound selfish but sometimes there is no other choice.
For many transgendered individuals they live their life in fear of what others may think of them as life passes them by.

Let me amend my list by adding this quote that I got via email one day from a person who was reading my old web-site and commented about my photographs


The great teachings unanimously emphasize that all the peace, wisdom, and joy in the universe are already within us; we don't have to gain, develop, or attain them. We're like a child standing in a beautiful park with his eyes shut tight. We don't need to imagine trees, flowers, deer, birds, and sky; we merely need to open our eyes and realize what is already here, who we really are--as soon as we quit pretending we're small or unholy.

Unknown source

Will We Be Sold Out?

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) bill is coming up for a vote in Congress. After all these months of tell us that yes three will be Gender Identity included in the bill, now we hear; “Well maybe.”
This article was in the Washington Blade

ENDA hits snag over transgender inclusion
House Democrats likely to drop gender identity provision
By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | Sep 26, 4:57 PM

House Democratic leaders are strongly considering dropping anti-discrimination protections for transgender persons from the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, after an internal Democratic head count on Wednesday found that the bill would likely be defeated if it included the trans provision, multiple sources familiar with the bill said.
The current version of the bill calls for banning employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, terms that are defined in the measure to include gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender persons.
As of late Wednesday, it appeared likely that the trans provision would be removed, setting up a potentially divisive fight within gay activist circles over whether or not to support an ENDA bill that excludes trans people.

But sources familiar with House Democratic leaders, including Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), said problems arose suddenly during the past week when a number of Democratic House members expressed objections to the transgender provision.
The transgender objections surfaced shortly after Pelosi and House Democratic leaders agreed to a request by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops to broaden the bill’s exemption for certain religious institutions that act as employers, the sources said.

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who is gay, said Pelosi called for an official “whip” count of all Democratic House members at the request of Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), a lesbian. Frank and Baldwin are the only openly gay members of Congress….
… Frank said that if the whip count found that ENDA could not pass with a transgender provision, he would strongly urge Pelosi and his Democratic colleagues to move the bill to the House floor without a trans provision, with the intent of introducing a separate transgender bill at a later date.

Will we be sold out?

I urge everyone to email their congresspersons and ask them to support this bill with gender inclusion. He is the email that I intend to send my legislators.

Dear Representative

I urge you to continue your support of support of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) that includes gender identity.
There has been growing talk of dropping gender identity from the bill. Thirteen states now have legislation that covers gender identity and there have been no problems with businesses with following the law in those states; including the New England states of Maine, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Businesses have been including gender identity in their non-discrimination policies at an increasing rate; 104 of the Fortune 500 now cover gender identity and the HRC has a growing list of company the include gender identity.
Please continue your support of a gender identity inclusive bill and resist the pressures to remove that provision of the bill.

Thank you,
Diana


To find out how to contact your Congressperson, go here and on the upper right is a box for your zip code. That will take you to their contact page. Select create you own message and follow the instructions, but make sure you op-out of the boxes after your phone number if you want to do so. Do NOT use the Advocacy Xpress, it will cost you $9.00.

By the Way Sunday

By the Way Sunday

~Your Fave Five~

What are your top 5...

Things to Do
Get in to the Graduate program to get my Masters

Places to Be
At our cottage in New Hampshire as the leaves change colors

Words to Hear
“I love you”

Things to Keep
The photograph of my mother and father, my photos, diary and poems

Moments to Treasure
The love on my mother and father faces as I took their picture that is on my mantel.

Manic Monday

Manic Monday for September 24, 2007

You’ve won $100,000 – but have to give it all away. To which charity or institution would you donate it?
Oh, this is an easy question…
CWEALF - $40,000
True Colors - $40,000
CTAC - $20,000

What do you think is the most soothing sound?
Waves on a beach. I use to think it was sound of a waterfall until I camped out next to one and by 3:00am the sound of falling water was no longer soothing, it was down right annoying.

Does time heal all wounds?
Yes, time does heal all wounds, it is just that some take longer to heal.

Patrick’s Weekender

Saturday Six - Episode 179

1. What is your favorite carnival ride?
Something easy and slow. I do not to be whipped around or dropped from heights

2. What is the biggest prize you ever won at a carnival or fair?
I do not think I ever won anything at a carnival because I do not think I ever played any game. My folks always thought bad of carnival games and that they were rigged.

3. What is the most you ever spent at a single carnival game?
Probability a buck, see the above answer

4. Take the quiz: What carnival ride are you?

You Are a Haunted House

You are a deeply complicated and sometimes deeply disturbed person. You can't help but be attracted to the dark side of life - even when it's pretty gruesome. In relationships, you are honest and real. So real that it's definitely a little scary. You don't fake it or play along just to get along. And people either respect this... or deeply resent it Your life is thoughtful, deep, and even philosophical at times. You see the world as it is. You don't sugar coat anything. Facing and fighting your fears is important to you. You believe that too much of life is whitewashed. You're not too morbid... you just believe that you can't enjoy life without exorcising a few demons first! At your best, you are brave, intense, and fearless. Not only do you face the abyss head on - you challenge your friends to do the same. At your worst, you are depressed and morose. If you're not careful, your thoughts take over your mind... and they aren't pretty!

What Carnival Ride Are You?

Boy, it this so far off, the only thing that is even close is…

Your life is thoughtful, deep, and even philosophical at times.
You see the world as it is. You don't sugar coat anything.
Facing and fighting your fears is important to you. You believe that too much of life is whitewashed.

The rest of it is Bull.

5. If you went to a typical carnival and realized you weren’t in the mood to ride the rides, what would you be more likely to want to do to amuse yourself?
The local town agricultural fair is coming up in a couple of weeks and I always like to visit the crafts exhibits and the only time I entered a photograph I won First Prize.

6. What job would you least like to have at a carnival or fair?
A ride operator.

Insurance Discrimination

The big talk on the campaign circuit is about some form of a national insurance plan but I want to talk about insurance polices that affects me.

Most insurance companies do not cover anything that has to with transgenderism; they do not cover any mental health visits (even though it is required by the Standard of Care.), any office visits neither for hormone treatments nor for the hormones and they do not cover any surgery.

The treatment for Gender Identity Disorder (GID) is recognized a mental disease (Whether we in the community like to admit it or not.) that is listed in the DSM IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) with the code 302.85 and has a recognized treatment (The Standard of Care). The AMA policy on transsexualsim states: ‘The AMA opposes the denial of health insurance on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.” Also in the state of Connecticut it is against the law to discriminate against anyone with a mental illness as defined by the DSM and also against anyone with a disability, GID has been ruled so by the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities(CHRO).

All of this I talked about before, so what is new? Well there is a report that was released from San Francisco Human Rights Commission that defines what the cost/patient were since 2001 when San Francisco initialed coverage for transsexuals.

Bay Area Reporter
Community pushes for TG health coverage
Published 06/21/2007
by Zak Szymanski

According to San Francisco Human Rights Commission investigator Marcus Arana, in the first four years after the city's transgender benefits passed, the city's own health plan (managed by United Healthcare) collected an extra $1.70 per month per insurance member for a total of $5.6 million, and paid out just $183,000 for 11 transition-related surgeries. Data from the private insurers' HMO plans is more sparse; HealthNet reported paying $3,300 for hormones and psychological care during a one-year period between 2004 and 2005, for 14 of its transgender members….
… I told them, that's not what this [health coverage for transsexuals] is about: if you were a non-trans employee of San Francisco and needed hormonal treatment, a mastectomy, or a hysterectomy, you would get that coverage, and yet a transgender employee in need of that identical medical care was being denied."…

Now is the time for change! Employers have been using the excuse that it is way too expensive to include health care coverage for transsexuals. This discrimination has got to stop because it is an out in out violation of the anti-discrimination statues.

But you say the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) list 195 companies with a perfect score of 100% but less that a handful offer full coverage for transsexuals. How can that be if so many companies have a perfect score? Well lets look at how the scores are figured, this is the HRC policy on scoring gender identity…

# Non-discrimination policy, diversity training & benefits – gender identity

3. Insurance includes access for transitioning individuals for at least one category* (5 points)
At least one: Counseling by a mental health professional; pharmacy benefits covering hormone therapy; medical visits to monitor the effects of hormone therapy and other associated lab procedures; medically necessary surgical procedures such as hysterectomy; or short-term disability leave for surgical procedures

That is right; they only have to offer only one category to get the 5 points and a perfect score. Most companies offer mental health coverage for any reason; Bingo you get 5 points.
Why does the HRC score this way? I can think of three reasons: first because the HRC likes to boast about the number of companies that have a perfect score; two, a lot of the big companies donate to the HRC and three the HRC itself would not get a perfect score. Hun? Yup, the HRC does not offer full coverage to its employees; they would only score a 95. A little embarrassing don’t you think. So as not just to single out the HRC the other national Gay and Lesbian organizations do not offer it either.

I do not think the HRC is a bad organization, they have done much good. But I think that they have to be watched closely to make sure the honor their promises and mission statement.

Create a Connection

I finally found some time to sit down and catching up on my blogging. I have been busy with homework and volunteer work (I think I have attended more meeting now that I am retired than I did while working.).

What Color Are You?

What color best expresses who you let other people see you to be?
I would have to say that my outward colors this time of year is brown, yellow, orange and red; the colors of fall. They are the warm colors of the change of seasons.

What color best suits the real you, you know is deep inside of you?
Green and I don’t mean the green with envy type of green, but I mean the earth green.

Do the colors match, or do you need to learn to be more comfortable being yourself too?
I think so, I then they tend to complement each other.

Why do you think that color expresses you well? Would your better half agree?
They are the earth colors and the fall colors are warm like my personality.

Mystery illness strikes after meteorite hits Peruvian village

Is this anywhere near Grover’s Mills?

Mystery illness strikes after meteorite hits Peruvian village

Mon Sep 17, 11:23 PM ET

LIMA (AFP) - Villagers in southern Peru were struck by a mysterious illness after a meteorite made a fiery crash to Earth in their area, regional authorities said Monday.

Around midday Saturday, villagers were startled by an explosion and a fireball that many were convinced was an airplane crashing near their remote village, located in the high Andes department of Puno in the Desaguadero region, near the border with Bolivia.

Residents complained of headaches and vomiting brought on by a "strange odor," local health department official Jorge Lopez told Peruvian radio RPP.

Seven policemen who went to check on the reports also became ill and had to be given oxygen before being hospitalized, Lopez said.

Rescue teams and experts were dispatched to the scene, where the meteorite left a 100-foot-wide (30-meter-wide) and 20-foot-deep (six-meter-deep) crater, said local official Marco Limache.

"Boiling water started coming out of the crater and particles of rock and cinders were found nearby. Residents are very concerned," he said.

Do you think this might be psychosomatic? Or is it an invasion from Mars.

The Phone Call I Didn’t Want to Hear on Sunday Morning

I was lying on the couch reading my homework assignment when the phone rang. I answered and a man said; “I am from the New Hampshire Marine Patrol, your boat sank and you have to get it out immediately. Otherwise it may cause environmental damage. You can be fined and charged for the clean up.” Yikes! By that time I was sitting up and he had my undivided attention, he went on to say that we should contact a marine salvage operation to get float it again. I told we will get right on it.”
After running around in circles for a couple of seconds, I called my brother, packed and was headed up to New Hampshire.
This is what I found…

We did raises it up off the bottom and re-float it. We did it by my brother pulling the bow down and with me pulling the stern up so that we managed to get the gunnels above water and we could bail it out.
But I did get to take these sunrise pictures this morning with the fog rising up of the lake.

Just for Fun

what if this is as good as it gets? Just for fun

RANDOM SURVEY:
1. To whom did you last give the finger?
I do not think that I ever gave anyone “The Finger”

2. If you had 1,000 dollars, what would you buy?
A DLP projector

3. What was the last beverage you spilled on yourself?
Orange juice

4. Are you different now than you were 6 months ago?
Oh, yes.

5. Have you kissed a girl in the last three days?
No

6. What was the last photograph you took?
Wednesday at Mystic Aquarium

7. Where were you last night around 9:30?
Home reading my homework assignment.

8. What do you think of guys that wear eyeliner?
It depend on whether it matches his dress

9. How many hours did you last sleep?
5 hours

10. Who was the last person to whom you spoke on the phone for over an hour and a half?
No-one, the longest I think I talked on the phone was an hour

11. 50 Cent shows up at your door, what do you do?
Give him a dollar.

12. How was the last egg you ate prepared?
French Toast

13. Where did you last wear sunglasses?
Driving to Mystic Aquarium

14. Ever worn your underwear backwards?
No

15. Who was the last person to smoke a cigarette in your presence?
Friday night

16. Does it bother you when people put && before every sentence and ;; after?:
No, I believe in “People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones”

17. What animal did you last pet or hold?
A dog

18. What was the last law you broke?
Speeding

19. What are you wearing?
Nightgown and rob (Well it is Sunday morning.)

20. What did you last drink?
Decaf coffee

21. What was the last newspaper you read or skimmed?
The Hartford Courant

22. What was the last word written on your hand?
Probably a part number when I was working

23. What was the last hair product you used?
Shampoo

24. What was the last text message you received?
I do not do text messaging

25. What was the last medication (Rx or OTC) you took?
A whole fist full, I rattle when I walk.

26. Who was the last person to make you really laugh?
I can’t remember

27. To what song did you last sing along?
You really don’t want to hear me sign.

28. What was the last musical instrument played in your presence?
Guitar

29. What was the last superstitious thing you did?
None, I am not superstitious.

30. How is your love life going?
What love life?

More Fashion Show Photos

On the Hartford Independent Media Center's Undercurrents blog has an article about the fashion show.
The only problem is that you can only read the blog with IE. Firefox will not work properly (Boo!)

Fashion Show Photos

Here are a couple of photos from last night that some friends (See the link on the comment from the "Fashion Show".) sent me.





This is my basic little black dress...



and the crowd went wild as I took off the Bolero jacket...

The Fashion Show

We all had a blast! You know me, I was worrying that none of the models would show up or nobody would come to it. Well, as usual I was wrong. We packed the place, I would guest that there were over 150 people there, including two professional photographers. Once someone sends me some photos of me, I will post them.
I had a great time; I wore a back sleeveless cocktail dress with a bolero jacket. We were all lined up in a hallway and when my turn came the crowd was already wound up. When I step out of the hallway all I saw was camera flashes, I walked down the isle between the tables and when I got down the end I took off my jacket. The crowd went wild. It was so cool.
I heard someone say that the owner of the bar said it was the most people he had come to any GLBT event there.

Another Busy Week

In between classes, reading and writing reports, I have been running around. Wednesday I went down to Mystic Aquarium with a couple of friends. One of my friends suggested going and that we could get library passes for 30% off, I never knew until recently that they had passes like. So I went to the town library and changed my name on my library card and got the pass.
The Beluga whales were real hams, when I was at the glass side of the tank one came up and winked at me and stopped so that I could take its picture (Or at least it looked that way.)



Next we headed over to see the seals. Boy, talk about having a lazy life, the bull seal just sunned himself on the rocks while his harem swam around.


The next exhibit was the Penguins and trying to photograph them through the glass was hard because I could not use the flash without getting a reflection from the flash and because they were zipping around underwater.





From there we went into the Sun Lit Seas exhibit which was all types and sizes of aquariums. I had the same problem there as I did take photos through the glass but even more so because of the dim lighting inside the building.





Finally we went to the Underwater Exploration building.

Yesterday I help one of the CTAC members buy an outfit for tonight’s Fashion Show and then in the afternoon I helped out at True Colors. I will be one of the models at the show besides organizing the models and making that they will have everything that they will need. Tomorrow I go to a speakers training session for the Stonewall Speakers in the morning.

Today's Class

It was funny in class today; the professor was trying to remember everyone’s name today from the class last week. She would look around the room for Sara and then ask the person she thought was Sara if she was. She had correct person about a fifty percent of the time, but she had look at everyone first before she guessed the name and there still was a question in her voice. Then when she got to my name she just looked right at me and said Diana with no hesitation.
Oh well, when you are the only six foot tranny in the class you do tend to stand out and get remembered.

I guess I better go back to reading, I procrastinated too much already.

Family

I was reading a blog that I follow, she is a cardiologist and a trans-woman, in her blog she wrote about a funeral that she attended for a friend’s father. The family never acknowledged her nor mentioned that fact that she was there, the only conversation that they had with her was to ask her to move so they could set up the tables up for covered dish after the service.

All too often when a person comes out to their family that they are either gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender they are disinherited they are forced out onto the streets to fend for themselves. Many of them are still teenagers with no skills and end up working the streets, but the woman’s whose father died is one of the luckily ones and is working herself through medical school.

Connecticut’s New Voting System

I do not like the new electronic voting machines. Having an engineering background I know how easy it is to write bad software that will not work properly and I am not talk about purposely hacking the program just errors in writing the software.
I do not know how many times I have seen a program bomb out when a certain conditions are met. Maybe they made a round off error or did not allow a wide enough field and the number gets truncated or variables get swapped, and these problems only shows up randomly. I am awful apprehensive of any software based voting systems and I feel that there should be third party independent auditing of the software and the code should be public domain for all to view. That they should also increase the percentage of manually recounted the ballots to verify the machine and software.

Manic Monday

Manic Monday for September 10, 2007

If you could "un-invent" one thing in the world so that it would no longer exist, what would you choose?
Weapons of Mass Destruction – It would be a different world. Would it be more peaceful, I doubt it. But it would be safer without out worrying about one madman wiping out the world.
For a laugh visit here.

Monday morning you usually waking up thinking:
What homework assignments are due this week?

Do you find it easy to ask for help? Why or why not?
I find it easy asking for help maybe because I am always willing to give help.

Minister Transitions and Becomes a Man

A United Methodist council's decision on whether to accept him could have political implications too.
By Stephanie Simon, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 9, 2007
BALTIMORE — The Rev. Ann Gordon stood in front of her United Methodist congregation last fall and announced that she was now he…..

…. But when Phoenix, 48, was reappointed to another year of ministry this spring by his bishop, it sparked a protest in the United Methodist Church.

The denomination's highest authority, the Judicial Council, will take up the case next month, deciding whether the church should accept transgender pastors. The decision will determine Phoenix's future; it could also have political implications.

Presiding over the Judicial Council is Dr. James W. Holsinger Jr., President Bush's nominee for surgeon general and a longtime lay leader of the United Methodist church. Democrats have objected to Holsinger in large part because of work he has done for his church over the years……

Read the whole story here

But you will need a email address and password:
Email: joe@bugmenot.com
Password: 123456
If that does not work you can get other passwords here Bug Me Not and use; www.latimes.com


Read about Dr. James W. Holsinger Jr., President Bush's nominee for Surgeon General.

'Homosexuality Isn't Natural or Healthy'
Bush's Choice for Top Doc Compared Human Genitalia to Pipe Fittings and Said Homosexual Practices Can Cause Injury or Death
By JAKE TAPPER
June 7, 2007

President Bush's nominee for surgeon general, Dr. James W. Holsinger Jr., wrote a paper in 1991 that purported to make the medical argument that homosexuality is unnatural and unhealthy. Doctors who reviewed the paper derided it as prioritizing political ideology over science, and Democratic aides on Capitol Hill say the paper will make his confirmation hearings problematic, if not downright bruising….

Among the highly scientific arguments against homosexuals the good doctor wrote was…

Holsinger's paper argued that male and female genitalia are complementary -- so much so "that it has entered our vocabulary in the form of naming pipe fittings either the male fitting or the female fitting depending upon which one interlocks within the other." Body parts used for gay sex are not complementary….

You can read the whole story here

Growing Up

Today I had a planning meeting for Connecticut TransAdvocacy Coalition in Hartford. As I was walking back to my car from the courtyard of a large national insurance company where we had the meeting; I was thinking how far I have come in the last seven years, and I am not talking about trans-issues.
All my life I was probably in only four or five places in Hartford and my circle of friends was maybe only numbered a dozen or so. Now I know my way around the Capital, the Legislative Office Building, the theaters and maybe a half a dozen restaurants in Hartford. I know the heads of non-profits organizations, legislators, a member of the GLBT Commission in Hartford and lobbyist. I lead a support group for three very successful years and I am a part of the coalition that is working to pass anti-discrimination legislation whose members include ACLU, NOW, GLAD and a dozen of other organizations. I went to Washington to lobby my Congressional delegation. I have helped out in a senatorial campaign. And lastly I am working toward a Master degree in Social Work.
As I was standing on the steps of the office building waiting for the walk light, I looked out over the Capital and Hartford and it just kind of seemed surreal this “Long Strange Trip”. If in 2000 you said I would be doing all this I would never have believed you.
I guess I have matured after long last.

Let Me Clarify What I Meant

They had the book at to university's co-op for the $80, but if I wanted to get it at Amazon or Border's for $60 they would have to order the book and there was a two week wait.
Everything at the university is done on-line, so last Wednesday I got the email telling me what book to get and what chapters to read for the first class. Because I was busy Thursday and Friday I bought the book at the co-op after class yesterday. Hence being two weeks behind in the reading assignment.
My other class also sent out an email last week with the reading assignment for today’s class, but there is no book for the class. All the reading assignments are on-line at the university’s library web-site, the reading assignment might say read chapter 3 for this book, chapter 2 from another book and this article in a journal. They would all be on-line listed under my class and they would be in pdf file (The university has a licensing agreements for the copyright royalties.).

Back to School Madness

Blogging is going to have to take second stage to my studying. I do not think I will be able to post every day; hopefully I will be able to do a couple of memes a week.
Well back to the books, I have about 120 pages to read and a two page paper on the classroom discussion by next week.

Unbelievable !!!

I had to buy a textbook for a class and it was $80.70! That is nuts for a paperback book.