She's Beautiful

In the past, my thoughts about transgendered persons have been really all about me. First of all, there is the awkwardness of having to ask how they want to be addressed and not having a clue about proper etiquette for the situation. Then there is the gratitude  that I would never have to have the experience of making the difficult choices about how to proceed with life simply because I am what I was born to be.

 Caitlyn, though tempts me to say "I'll have what she's having"
 

Brunch With The Unholy Trinity Was Last Sunday

I don't get it, there are so many decent people that support them.
Why?  Millions of Montanans want to know.

Easter Feast

Enjoy this interesting read about the links between Passover and Good Friday, particularly notable because they fell on the same day this year.

Is Easter Christian or Pagan?

Oregon man purposely donates 33 bitcoin cents to the Snowden Fund in defiance of Obama's executive order.
to
Church attendance as an indicator of political preference.

Have you considered nutrient density rather than strict calorie counting to lose weight?

God rest your soul, Sarah Brady, you were quite brave to fight for common sense gun laws. Is the second amendment (as well as racism) a byproduct of the slave trade? Are the Moors to blame?

Enjoy your Easter today for tomorrow we will look at Mithras, Dionysus, Attis, and Horusas. Also, we can take a look at policies that affect families and poverty.

Restorative Justice

to focus on healing the harm caused by crime;

to require/expect the offenders, to whatever extent possible, to take responsibility for making amends and healing the harm they've caused;

to recognize that crime is a community problem that can be addressed successfully only with active community participation -- not by delegation to law enforcement agencies, courts and corrections systems.

Although restorative justice might not be appropriate for someone that bites the head off of a hamster, it is certainly appropriate for a young man that terrorizes a physicians assistant by trashing her office.

Reposted For Carl Glimm and the Mean Gods

 Jocelyn "Howard, from Edinboro, Pennsylvania, uses the human figure in her work as a vehicle for narratives involving themes of sexuality, gender identity, religion, adulthood and play. She conjures fairy tale whimsy to reveal deeper, sometimes darker struggles, seeking to expose hidden complexities and struggles. The use of childhood objects reveals a more primal nature, she said, helping strip away the veneer acquired by adults."

 Howard, is one of the eight Red Lodge Clay Center artists with an Exhibit opening at the Northwest Gallery in Powell, Wyoming on Tuesday Feb. 24th.

 A red herring named Pedophilia crashed through the  planned civility of a Wyoming House  committee meeting, nosed around for sore spots, gathering all the sexual ambivalence it could muster before being sucked out of the room in the wake of  Go now Harlan 'when hell freezes over' Edmonds, just GO NOW!

Senate File 115,which adds “sexual orientation or gender identity” to existing laws that protect people from discrimination based on race, religion, age and other protected classes. passed the Senate and a House committee   Although it is not a full blown law yet, The first state to grant women the right to vote is already looking to put places like Billings to shame for it's fearful foot dragging. Again.

Rep. Harlan Edmonds, R-Cheyenne, was kicked out of the House Labor, Health and Social Services meeting Friday, after proposing an amendment to the bill that would make it effective when “hell freezes over,” instead of the date of July 1.

Committee Chairwoman Rep. Elaine Harvey, R-Lovell, had started the Friday afternoon meeting insisting that people would remain civil. She told Edmonds to leave after his comment, which followed a more than two-hour discussion in which he also asked the bill’s supporters why pedophilia wasn’t in the bill.

“We said civility would prevail,” Harvey said.

Senate File 115 passed with six representatives in favor and two in opposition.

As he was leaving the committee room, Edmonds tried to register a vote, but Harvey interjected and said his vote wouldn’t count.

Edmonds’ ejection was the talk of the Legislature for the rest of Friday. Many longtime observers said that while some members of the public have been tossed from committees, this was the first time they’d seen a lawmaker removed from a meeting.

Billings Mayor Tom Hanel is one of those unfortunate souls that lacks the ability to believe in anything more than the crumbs left under the table by lowest  common denominator  of society, tell him that we can have more good jobs with less pollution if we learn to keep our minds out of other peoples bedrooms. If Wyoming can do it...  why on Earth can't Billings?

Mowing Down Prejudice is a sweet video of Mr and Mr Johnson, 'naturists' in South Africa doing a little yard work with a really long extension cord. Warning-they don't compost their yard waste!

March Is Brain Injury Awareness Month

Operator, Could You Help Me Place This Call?

Walking through the Senate Gallery last Friday, I had the opportunity to hear Bobby Keenan give the same sad spiel about being fair to Centurylink's that Keith Regier gave the House. Yes, those wealthy men really did choose to nick the pockets of 11,000 of Montana's poorest citizens by stacking another $3.50 monthly charge on their phone bill.

What that means here, is that people like  Lena (the sweet young lady in the big wheelchair) and her Grandma could have had more of their $770.00 monthly income disappear because Centurylink has more lobbyists than little girls with big disabilities.

The Legislature just passed on the opportunity to create something efficient and necessary for the citizens of Montna

I don't know if Lena and her Grandma, Jeannie Brown were amongst those of us that Art Wittich dismissed as being bussed in and organized, but I do know that Jeannie Brown is not eligible for Health care coverage although she no longer holds a job to care for Lena. I abhor the mechanisms of power that have chosen to waste your taxes just to exclude people like Jeannie Brown, do you feel the same way, too?

The good news is that Jeannie is planning to challenge Art Wittich for his seat in 2016.

The other good news is that you still have the opportunity to help fund a reliable van to get Lena to her medical appointments .