Friday, March 30, 2007
Friday Weigh In, 3/30/07
Wahooo! I hit the 20-pound mark today! I actually hit it yesterday, but it held today for the official weigh-in. So, I'm at 192.5. Rock on.
I have lost the equivalent of 2.4 gallons of water. Or the equivalent of 9,080 dollar bills. Or the equivalent of 16 cantaloupes. Whatever that's worth. Do they use the cantaloupe as a unit of weight anywhere in the world? If not, they should. Except that not all cantaloupes weigh the same amount. So, scratch that.
Anyway, I'm 20 pounds lighter, and Chris is 23 pounds lighter. Our floors are happy, I'm sure.
Happy weekend, all!
I have lost the equivalent of 2.4 gallons of water. Or the equivalent of 9,080 dollar bills. Or the equivalent of 16 cantaloupes. Whatever that's worth. Do they use the cantaloupe as a unit of weight anywhere in the world? If not, they should. Except that not all cantaloupes weigh the same amount. So, scratch that.
Anyway, I'm 20 pounds lighter, and Chris is 23 pounds lighter. Our floors are happy, I'm sure.
Happy weekend, all!
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Progressive agenda in Iowa
The Iowa Senate voted 32-17 to include sexual orientation and gender identity among the classifications protected under Iowa's civil rights law from discrimination in housing, employment, lending, education, public accommodations and other areas.
Of course, the 17 opposed to the bill had to trot out their special brand of wingnuttery for the occasion. Sen. Nancy Boettger, R-Harlan, is afraid this will be opening the door for - gasp! - cross dressers teaching in public schools. Because with, oh, you know, budget cuts, childhood obesity, kids killing each other and themselves, poverty, and the widening gap between the haves and have-nots at all levels of education, a male teacher in a skirt (or a female teacher in pants?) teaching kids not to hate themselves and each other ranks right up there with the biggest threats to young people.
Sen. Paul McKinley, R-Chariton, opposed the bill not because he's a bigot - it's never because they're bigots - but because, he says, discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity simply isn't happening. "We're establishing a solution to a problem that simply does not exist," he says. He cites the fact that businesses are having a hard time recruiting quality workers to their open positions as support for the assertion that this discrimination is imaginary. Right, and the U.S. military isn't casting out gay people in the midst of their recruiting crisis, either. But, you know, those companies are just watching out for themselves. We gays do steal office supplies. And never refill the paper in the copy machine. Better to have no workers at all than the trouble-makin' pansies. Am I right?
And, as always happens when oppressed people are about to step out from under the thumb of the Patriarchy, the religious conservatives have weighed in with their usual "But if I can't hate him out in the open, now I'M being oppressed!" claptrap. Chuck Hurley, president of the Iowa Family Policy Center, says the bill "will trample on religious freedoms to show preference for homosexuality and trangenderism. It is absolutely about granting special rights." When will we gays stop tryin' to get special rights, already? Like the right to not be harassed or killed for being gay, or the right to not be fired from a job we're perfectly competent at simply for being a tranny, or the right to not be denied housing because we're good decorators, or the right to visit our partners in the hospital or any of the 1,138 other privileges conferred by marriage. You're right. That's just asking way too much. I get carried away sometimes and start thinking I'm a fully fledged human. I promise to remember my place in the future. We got Logo. That's enough.
But cheers to the Iowa Senate anyway for addressing this nonexistent problem that will lead to the demise of civilization as we know it. Let's see if the House votes for total world destruction, too. Governor Chet Culver will certainly sign this heathen bill into law if given the chance. That man is just evil enough to do it!
"Today, we have the opportunity to reaffirm that in Iowa, job performance is what counts, not what you look like, not what church you attend, not how old you are, or who you love," said Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, floor manager for Senate File 427. "This is a proud moment. It's time we did this in Iowa."
Of course, the 17 opposed to the bill had to trot out their special brand of wingnuttery for the occasion. Sen. Nancy Boettger, R-Harlan, is afraid this will be opening the door for - gasp! - cross dressers teaching in public schools. Because with, oh, you know, budget cuts, childhood obesity, kids killing each other and themselves, poverty, and the widening gap between the haves and have-nots at all levels of education, a male teacher in a skirt (or a female teacher in pants?) teaching kids not to hate themselves and each other ranks right up there with the biggest threats to young people.
Sen. Paul McKinley, R-Chariton, opposed the bill not because he's a bigot - it's never because they're bigots - but because, he says, discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity simply isn't happening. "We're establishing a solution to a problem that simply does not exist," he says. He cites the fact that businesses are having a hard time recruiting quality workers to their open positions as support for the assertion that this discrimination is imaginary. Right, and the U.S. military isn't casting out gay people in the midst of their recruiting crisis, either. But, you know, those companies are just watching out for themselves. We gays do steal office supplies. And never refill the paper in the copy machine. Better to have no workers at all than the trouble-makin' pansies. Am I right?
And, as always happens when oppressed people are about to step out from under the thumb of the Patriarchy, the religious conservatives have weighed in with their usual "But if I can't hate him out in the open, now I'M being oppressed!" claptrap. Chuck Hurley, president of the Iowa Family Policy Center, says the bill "will trample on religious freedoms to show preference for homosexuality and trangenderism. It is absolutely about granting special rights." When will we gays stop tryin' to get special rights, already? Like the right to not be harassed or killed for being gay, or the right to not be fired from a job we're perfectly competent at simply for being a tranny, or the right to not be denied housing because we're good decorators, or the right to visit our partners in the hospital or any of the 1,138 other privileges conferred by marriage. You're right. That's just asking way too much. I get carried away sometimes and start thinking I'm a fully fledged human. I promise to remember my place in the future. We got Logo. That's enough.
But cheers to the Iowa Senate anyway for addressing this nonexistent problem that will lead to the demise of civilization as we know it. Let's see if the House votes for total world destruction, too. Governor Chet Culver will certainly sign this heathen bill into law if given the chance. That man is just evil enough to do it!
Monday, March 26, 2007
A step in the right direction
Rene Portland, head coach of the Penn State women's basketball team, has resigned. Why is this good news? Well, because she's a discriminatory homophobe, that's why. She and Penn State recently settled a lawsuit filed by a former player who accused Portland of racial and sexual discrimination. The player, Jennifer Harris, alleged that Portland pressured her to look more feminine and to change her appearance. Penn State agreed that Portland created a "hostile, intimidating and offensive environment."
In addition to the treatment of this particular player, Portland has admitted to using homophobia as a recruiting tool. She told the Chicago Sun-Times in 1986 that she tells prospective players that she "will not have [homosexuality] in my program" and that the players and their parents are "so relieved."
I gotta tell ya, I totally love it when members of minority groups use the platforms they're able to gain to step all over members of other minority groups. As a high-profile woman in the male preserve of sport, you'd think she'd be a bit more sensitive to irrational ideologies and the devastating effects they can have when institutionalized. Alas, she wasn't, and now she's leaving.
Let's all wish her a gay farewell, shall we?
In addition to the treatment of this particular player, Portland has admitted to using homophobia as a recruiting tool. She told the Chicago Sun-Times in 1986 that she tells prospective players that she "will not have [homosexuality] in my program" and that the players and their parents are "so relieved."
I gotta tell ya, I totally love it when members of minority groups use the platforms they're able to gain to step all over members of other minority groups. As a high-profile woman in the male preserve of sport, you'd think she'd be a bit more sensitive to irrational ideologies and the devastating effects they can have when institutionalized. Alas, she wasn't, and now she's leaving.
Let's all wish her a gay farewell, shall we?
Friday, March 23, 2007
Friday Weigh In, 3/23/07
194.0 today. That's 1.5 pounds this week and 18.5 pounds overall. Chris says I've gone from looking "fat" to looking simply "overweight." I'm not entirely sure how much of a distinction there is, but I'll take it.
I was thinking the other day about how I'm starting to feel like I own my body again, instead of the other way around. It responds quicker to my demands than it had been, which is good if I am to keep thinking of myself in some small way as an athlete. There is really nothing so frustrating as thinking your body can do things only to have your body prove you wrong (e.g., jumping completely over a puddle versus landing still in the splatter zone, getting safely across the street ahead of the oncoming traffic versus making that traffic slow down on accounta you're not as fast as you thought, etc.). A delightful change, for sure.
And thank you, anonymous commenter, for the kind comments last week. Do I know you, or are you just nice to random people on the intertubes? Either way, thanks!
Have a great weekend, all!
I was thinking the other day about how I'm starting to feel like I own my body again, instead of the other way around. It responds quicker to my demands than it had been, which is good if I am to keep thinking of myself in some small way as an athlete. There is really nothing so frustrating as thinking your body can do things only to have your body prove you wrong (e.g., jumping completely over a puddle versus landing still in the splatter zone, getting safely across the street ahead of the oncoming traffic versus making that traffic slow down on accounta you're not as fast as you thought, etc.). A delightful change, for sure.
And thank you, anonymous commenter, for the kind comments last week. Do I know you, or are you just nice to random people on the intertubes? Either way, thanks!
Have a great weekend, all!
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