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There is a very interesting, if a few days old article here about a Methuen, MA school that is allowing a transgender 4th grader to be treated as a boy, although biologically female. What strikes me most about this story is how easily the children seemed to have accepted all of this. The right-wing movements to "protect" our children from such ideas seem so silly when you think about the fact that often it is the parents who can't accept rather than the kids. I think it is wonderful how supportive the school system is being, though I have to wonder will they be allowed to do things like this in a few years? Is this a sign that things are getting better? or is this just the step before the conservative backlash?

*warning* for those this may upset the following link goes to an article about a proposed bill that would regulate VA women to report miscarriages

Can anyone explain to me why bills like this one are even proposed. I think it highly unlikely that anything like this could pass and be made in to law, but still! The only thing I can think is that their intent might be to be able to charge people who abandon babies in dumpsters with more severe penalties, but how is arresting women who have a miscarriages and don't report it going to help?

The kicker to me beyond the invasion of privacy is the level of seriousness this is considered. I mean a Class 1 misdemeanor? How is not reporting a miscarriage within 12 hours even remotely equivalent to statutory rape, arson, or stalking? It seems as if more and more people have their priorities crossed.

I wrote a letter to my cousin who is stationed in Afghanistan. I am not entirely sure if I need postage or not. I know that family can send mail for free, but I am not immediate family and have a different last name. Writing this letter has made me think about all the talk that has been done about supporting the troops but not the war. It is a difficult issue, but I don't think that it brings out the extremes of opinion most of all. I definately hope the best for him, that he is safe and returns soon. He is scheduled to come home in the spring, unless that has been changed. I can't say that I think that he should be there in the sense that this should not have been started the way that it was. On the otherhand I think better of troops being stationed in Afghanistan than Iraq, although the numbers are definately extremely skewed in the opposite direction. Now that we are there, though, it seems there is little choice about our presence. This whole issue mildly depresses me.

On a lighter note, this story that has been passed from my aunt the last time she got to talk to him. I guess they were on the road and this goat farmer came along with his herd. Now all they are given are ready to eat meals. To suppliment their diet they are encouraged to have stuff sent by family (feel free to imagine all the ramen and canned ravioli he has requested) or to encourage the local economy by buying locally. So they asked the farmer how much he would want for one of his goats. He in return listed some amount that seemed ludicrous to him (the equivalent of saying a million dollars). All the soldiers there scrounged in there pockets and managed to come up with enough in crumpled US dollars. This goat was the highlight of the week. Come to think of it this story is actually fairly sad on a number of levels...

There was a great article from November 04, 2004 on the Times Online. It made me stop and actually be hopefully about the results of the past election for the first time. Would I have been glad if things had turned out differently? Of course, the future of the next four years admittedly terribies me, but they didn't. Hopefully this will indeed lead to greater change than we could otherwise have wished for.

Currently wearing: Kweku Anansi