What's up with Egypt?

A primer.

Naval Academy Treats Surviving Gay Spouse With Dignity

Maybe that headline shouldn't be that impressive, but it is. Here is a touching story of a man whose husband -- a graduate of the Naval Academy -- died of a heart attack. They had been legally married in Iowa two years prior. When he approached the Naval Academy with his husband's request to be buried at the Naval Academy's Columbarium, he was treated like any other surviving spouse, and was offered the flag at the funeral. It's worth a read. Here's a snippet referring to the obituary published in the US Naval Academy Alumni magazine:

It noted his two Purple Hearts for “having been shot down from the sky twice in military missions.” It noted “for the rest of his life he would joke about his ‘government issued ankle.’ ” It noted “his burly but warmly gentle manner.” It noted he was “survived by his husband, Mark Thomas Ketterson.”

Play with the solar system

Here.

The Interwebs? What is the interwebs?

Nano Stuff

Obama Responds to David Kato's Murder

Obama responded to the murder of David Kato, the Ugandan gay rights advocate who was outed in a Ugandan newspaper last year. (The newspaper released the photos of several people they claimed were gay with the headline "Hang Them")

I am deeply saddened to learn of the murder of David Kato. In Uganda, David showed tremendous courage in speaking out against hate. He was a powerful advocate for fairness and freedom. The United States mourns his murder, and we recommit ourselves to David’s work.

At home and around the world, LGBT persons continue to be subjected to unconscionable bullying, discrimination, and hate. In the weeks preceding David Kato’s murder in Uganda, five members of the LGBT community in Honduras were also murdered. It is essential that the Governments of Uganda and Honduras investigate these killings and hold the perpetrators accountable.

LGBT rights are not special rights; they are human rights. My Administration will continue to strongly support human rights and assistance work on behalf of LGBT persons abroad. We do this because we recognize the threat faced by leaders like David Kato, and we share their commitment to advancing freedom, fairness, and equality for all.

King George VI Speech

Not the speech the movie is based on, but here is a video of a speech he gave.

Ted Haggard!

You know how I love Ted. Well, GQ has a new piece on him, and he remains just as fascinating as ever. (Although there are way more details on his masturbatory habits than I care to know about.) A member of his previous church, New Life, sums up my view on the Reverend:

"I think Ted genuinely loves God, and I think he has a sincere interest in helping people, but I don't believe a word that comes out of his mouth."

Some other intriguing nuggets:

"Here's where I really am on this issue," he half whispers. "I think that probably, if I were 21 in this society, I would identify myself as a bisexual." After a weekend of Ted trying to convince me of his unambiguous devotion to his wife and kids, I'm at first too surprised to say anything.

"So why not now?" I ask finally.

"Because, Kevin, I'm 54, with children, with a belief system, and I can have enforced boundaries in my life. Just like you're a heterosexual but you don't have sex with every woman that you're attracted to, so I can be who I am and exclusively have sex with my wife and be perfectly satisfied."

After the final amen, I strike up a conversation with Wing, Guy, and Art, three parishioners who come every week to stock up on Ted's encouragement. Wing was evicted from his house after falling behind on payments, and he's been living out of his car for the past two weeks. Guy's wife left him last week, taking their daughters with her. Art, a burly Hispanic man in a sleeveless shirt, was addicted to meth when his brother told him about a new church with an unconventional pastor.

"At first I thought, Man, I don't wanna go to no faggot's church," Art says. "But the first day I was here, Pastor Ted looked at me and said, 'You've been struggling with drugs, haven't you? Today you walk free.' I haven't touched it since."

Part of what these guys love about St. James is that it helps struggling people in real, tangible ways. During the offering, when most churches pass the plate, Ted instead has his saints give money to one another. Today the gifts included a $500 donation to fix one man's car and money for another man to pay his electricity bill.

Dugway Lockdown

A Utah military facility that tests chemical and biological weapons was locked down "to resolve a serious concern,"

This does not sound good.

Julian Assange

I recommend this fascinating article by the New York Times executive editor that details the saga of dealing with Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. The professionalism between newspaper organizations is impressive, and Julian Assange is a bizarre guy. The article also makes a case for this type of journalism and discusses what WikiLeaks does and does not mean for journalism, culture, and government. It's long, but worth it.

Dumb Shit or Satirist?

We Need a Christian Dictator
Uploaded by OnKneesforJesus. - News videos hot off the press.
I couldn't be bothered to look up whether this idiot is for reals or not. But, man, is he a hoot and a half, or what?

Suicide in the Armed Forces

For the past two years, more servicemen and women have died at their own hand than in combat in Iraq or Afghanistan. That is shameful.

Arkansas Being Arkansas

Elton John is not for young Arkansas shoppers.

Moms gets jail time for sending kids to better school

Kelley Williams-Bolar has been sentenced to 5 years in jail, with all but 10 days suspended, for sending her children to a suburban school rather than a school in the Akron City School district in which they lived. Williams-Bolar falsely used her father's address as their address.

Copley-Fairlawn City School District hired private detectives to follow her when they suspected her daughters did not live in their district. Copley-Fairlawn claims that they were defrauded of $30,000.

Williams-Bolar is a few credits shy of getting her teaching certification from the University of Akron. A felony conviction jeopardizes her ability to teach in Ohio.

Copley-Fairlawn City Schools have a 1% dropout rate. Akron City schools have a 6% dropout rate, which is a pretty significant difference.

Her punishment clearly outweighs her crime. This case also gives me a new perspective on arguments about parent choice in schooling.

Joel Osteen, His Giant Teeth, & The Gays

Good satire that's not funny

Judge Rules White Girl Will Be Tried As Black Adult
I didn't find this "news story" from the Onion News Network to be funny. It's too depressing and nauseating and too much of an accurate reflection to be funny. I wonder what the criminal justice system would be like if juries never saw what defendants looked like. What do you think?

Indiana, you are kind of gross

A bill just passed the Indiana House that requires that state documents be published only in English. Because English is the official language of Indiana, and that "should mean something." I think it means something like Indiana congresspeople have too much damn time on their hands.

Cee-Lo for the Deaf

DADT by the numbers

I didn't know that enlisted men and women were more likely to be discriminated against compared to officers. (Enlisted make up 82% of the armed forces, and as you can see above, make up 98% of those discharged under DADT.) I'm fascinated by this fact, and I want to know more. Were people turning a blind eye when it came to officers? Did officers try harder to keep themselves closeted? Are there fewer officers who are gay?

I would also like to know -- by class, gender, etc. -- what percentage outed themselves (Dan Choi, for example) versus being outed by someone else.

Yay to the end of DADT!

The Brits Amuse Me

Man, I hate it when my musical clothing interrupt my serious speeches.

Socialized Health Care in 1798?

Tea partiers and what have you are always yelling about what the framers of the constitution did and did not want. A major criticism of the health care law is the unconstitutionality of the mandate, and that the Founders would be rolling over in their graves.

Well maybe and, then again, maybe not. They were not, it turns out, totally opposed to the idea of government healthcare:

In July of 1798, Congress passed – and President John Adams signed - “An Act for the Relief of Sick and Disabled Seamen.” The law authorized the creation of a government operated marine hospital service and mandated that privately employed sailors be required to purchase health care insurance.

Keep in mind that the 5th Congress did not really need to struggle over the intentions of the drafters of the Constitutions in creating this Act as many of its members were the drafters of the Constitution.

Now, that doesn't seem exactly the same to me, but I bet it would surprise some Tea Partiers. There has, not surprisingly, been some controversy stirred by this article. Here is someone else's article who went and talked to knowledgeable university folk, who said things like:

There's no proof from the historical record that Adams would have backed the idea behind the individual mandate in particular. But it is fair to conclude, the professor says, that the founding generation supported the basic idea of government run health care, and the use of mandatory taxation to pay for it.

Study Habits

I am constantly flabbergasted by the number of college students who think that reading their notes three times, or even five times, is a good way to study. No flashcards, no self-testing. Just rereading. This is a terrible way to study. My sense is that I came to this conclusion on my own. However, I had an excellent preparatory education, so it's entirely possible that someone along the way told me this. In fact, it's probable.

Students are really surprised when I tell them that they have to test themselves in some way before the test. I have only once had a student who was struggling come to me and say that she had self-tested. (And I've had lots of students come to me and say they are struggling.) If I were a betting person, I'd say that self-testing as a study strategy is probably what separates the successful students from the unsuccessful ones.

Anyway, this is all to say that there is a new study out that I can now point to and say, "See? Re-reading? It's no good."

Heather says "Yes Ma'am" to her two mommies

Census data suggest that gay parenting is more common in the South than in other geographical regions.

In addition, the data show, child rearing among same-sex couples is more common in the South than in any other region of the country, according to Gary Gates, a demographer at the University of California, Los Angeles. Gay couples in Southern states like Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas are more likely to be raising children than their counterparts on the West Coast, in New York and in New England.

That information surprises me and makes sense at the same time. My first thought, which is also mentioned in the article, is that Southerners may be more likely to come out at a later age, more likely to get married, and more likely to have kids in heterosexual relationships before entering homosexual relationships. Maybe in other regions, people are more likely to have their first long-term, committed relationships be with someone of the same-sex. Having children then becomes a much more complicated, and often expensive, prospect.

This, however, was not surprising:

The pattern, identified by Mr. Gates, is also notable because the families in this region defy the stereotype of a mainstream gay America that is white, affluent, urban and living in the Northeast or on the West Coast.

And this makes this guy sound like an ass:

“We’re starting to see that the gay community is very diverse,” said Bob Witeck, chief executive of Witeck-Combs Communications, which helped market the census to gay people. “We’re not all rich white guys.”

Lots of people believe that homosexuality is biological and not a choice -- was this guy under the impression that it was a genetic difference unique to rich, white people? Dumb.

Time Wasting Fun!

The scale of the universe.

That Is Cold

Word Cloud

A Dish reader created word clouds from the Arizona speeches by Palin & Obama.

It's the difference between a political speech and a eulogy.

Water Art

Art by Shinichi Maruayama. More here.

Ted Haggard

Oh my god, y'all! Ted Haggard is coming to TLC! He is my very favorite disgraced closet case. I hope it's on Hulu!