Recloseted Homosexuals and the Heterosexuals Who Love Them

So, while CHFOT (Concerned Hetero Friends of Ted) work to mentally and emotionally flagellate Ted Haggard back into the closet, Focus on The Family sponsored a conference in Phoenix in which to heap shame upon a larger group of people at one time and pray away the gay. One young man was dragged there by his parents and commented: "Don't tell my parents but no; I know I'm gay, and like, their stories are really inspiring but I know this is me and I don't really want to change." He evidently resisted despite the compelling speeches by the main plenary speaker (pictured at left), and Robert Chambers, President of Exodus International.

The next conference is being held at as yet undisclosed location in Central Texas:

Ahhhhhhh...the Firmament

How gorgeous is this? The Helix Nebula was photographed by one of NASA's handy-dandy space telescopes. You can view a space-geek heavenly slide show here.

And the Oscar for Most Unrelenting Insipidity Goes To....

The E! Network. Ta-da!

Is it just me, or are the Academy Awards becoming more and more a spectacularly soporofic exercise in boring? Good God--where the hell is Cher? If you couldn't find self-tanner on the shelves this week--you know now where it all went. And Ellen DeGeneres completely disappointed. Miss Nicey-Nice held the Britney Spears jokes and just yapped on about diversity and global warming. Whatever. But don't you know the wingnuts were wailing and gnashing their teeth at the sight of Al Gore on stage more than the host and Melissa Ethridge thanking her wife? And who knew that Dirty Harry speaks I-talian?

Oh Gawd Our Help in Ages Past

If the previous post/link was too much a reminder of the swift nature with which life passes, then here I share something that truly made me laugh today. I do enjoy Eddie Izzard.

Life ......

Is Short

On the Brain

Just an FYI--the Alzheimer's Association has a nifty little online interactive tour about the human brain that is worth a looksee. It also presents how Alzheimer's Disease affects the brain--which is sobering. I'm doing a short internship stint with the Colorado chapter of the Alzheimer's Assocation. If anyone close to you has ever suffered from dementia, you are well acquainted with not only the accompanying stress and grief, but also with broader and deeper philosophical questions about the relationship, integration of, the mind and body. (By the by,there's an interesting piece in a recent New Yorker about a couple who teach philosophy at UC San Diego and focus specifically on mind/body conundrums.)

I had posted back in December about a man in Italy who fought for his own right to die. His story is illustrative of how a sick person who still has mental acuity may have to fight for rights against people with different agendas. How much more so difficulty is it then for a person suffering from dementia and is no longer considered "competent?" I say again to those I love: if you haven't already, execute an advanced directive outlining your wishes!! Do it! Five Wishes is legal in most states (but not in Texas!), but in any case it may be used as a resource. Does your partner or spouse have an advanced directive?Your parents? Your siblings? As someone who works with clients who have dementia--it can be heartbreaking to try to determine what someone may want or not want based upon recollections from family members (who may have contrary agendas of their own) because the person had not put anything in writing.

Stinky Weeds

I had read about this show "Weeds" (on Showtime, I think) about a newly widowed single mom who lives in the California 'burbs, and sells pot to maintain her standard of living. I'd heard it was edgy, hip, irreverant, envelope-pushing, and creative. It is all those things--as long as all of those things add up to a big pile of crap. I wasted two slots in my Netflix queue on this trash. I understand the whole concept of satire, willful suspension of disbelief, etc., but this is a perfect example of why "edgy" doesn't always equal "smart."

Overheard........

Because most everyone is now concerned about their health, the Catholic Church has developed a low-carb, low-fat communion wafer. It is called "I Can't Believe It's Not Jesus"

Jesus was speaking to a crowd and admonished them saying "He who is without sin can cast the first stone." When a rock flew past his ear, he turned his head and said, "Mother, really....."

Warm

Yesterday it was in the 50's and the high today is going to be maybe close to 60! And it isn't supposed to snow again until the weekend! Sophie has grass to pee on again and I can turn the heat off and open the windows. Life is currently on an upswing.

Texas Governor Kicks Cervical Cancer's Ass

Huh. I'm still a bit nonplussed by the news that the governor of Texas, Rick "GoodHair" Perry (the appellation assigned him by the previously eulogized Molly Ivins) has signed an executive order which makes mandatory the vaccination against HPV for all girls in Texas before they enter the 6th grade. I mean...really? Other than the idea of Rick Perry giving two figs about wimmen's health--what is causing the spot on my brain to itch is this:

What would motivate Ricker to go against a large portion of his political base--specifically conservatives who are concerned that a vaccination that might give girls and women one less thing to worry about (cervical cancer) in their patriarchy burdened lives might indeed cause them to get all freaky-deaky and start having sex and stuff. (Thankfully for these concerned folk--there still isn't a vaccine for syphilis, gonorrhea or HIV. God help the youth of America if we don't have the potential acquisition of particularly virulent diseases due to fornication to hold over their heads.)

Well, here's a possible motivation: according to the article linked above, Perry "Perry has ties to Merck and Women in Government. One of the drug company's three lobbyists in Texas is Mike Toomey, Perry's former chief of staff. His current chief of staff's mother-in-law, Texas Republican state Rep. Dianne White Delisi, is a state director for Women in Government.
The governor also received $6,000 from Merck's political action committee during his re-election campaign." The vaccine ain't cheap--the three shot series costs about $360. Hey--don't get me wrong--I'm grateful that a vaccine has been developed that truly may benefit women--but just think of the windfall to Merck (and others) if receiving it is made mandatory! How big of a coinkydink is it then that Texas is the first state to have this policy put in place? Am I the only one who smells somethin' funky?

I'm still working out in my own brain what I think about this as mandated policy--but the cynic and skeptic part of me is suspicious of the motivations of a person who is normally a champion of policies that limit womankind's autonomy. Call me crazy.

Adieu, Molly Ivins

Molly Ivins died yesterday. She referred to her love of our home state of Texas as a "harmless perversion," and I've always felt a kinship with her just for that. She was a reminder that people like Rick Perry and George W. Bush do not represent all of Texas, but as time went on Ms. Ivins become more and more the proverbial voice crying out in the desert.

This is a woman who suggested Bill Moyers be tagged to run for President, and in what I believe was her final column, she called for an end to the war and repeated one of her most common themes--that the American people are the true seat of power--and we're not exercising that power nearly enough.

Her columns projected the outrage felt by liberals and progressives in Texas and beyond--whether it be about George Bush, the plight of the poor in our militantly agressive capitalist society or the freak show that is Texas politics--and she did it without resorting to meanness. She didn't fit, nor did she ever attempt to conform to Texas big-hair beauty queen standards of beauty and was openly and flagrantly a woman with an intellectual life in a state that deplores intellectualism in general and finds it especially repugnant in women.

I will miss her voice.