Gender Roles...

One of the classes that I have this term is Sociology. This past week we were discussing the roles of gender in our society. Why is it that boys and girls are set into certain "gender roles" within 24 hours of their birth? It used to be that some hospitals would bring the baby to their mother and father wrapped in blue for boys and pink for girls. Why? Many researchers are coming to the conclusion that a lot of boys are “emotionally mideducated”. Emotionally miseducated means that “our culture emotionally cripples boys--a set of unique stresses is continuing to propel today's young males down a troubled path.” The article that we had to read was from James Henslin, who mentions that “parents gently and sometimes not so gently push (their child) onto a predetermined course”. This course seems to be becoming more destructive to the male gender as our society feeds us “images (of men that are) hyper-masculine--emotionless killing machines…Many boys learn to hide behind a ‘mask of bravado’”. Since we have a society that sees us (men) as the dominate of the species, we tend to be the ones that find ourselves in more trouble. Some feel that this can be attributed to the father figure since “fathers have been found to reinforce gender stereotypes more often than mothers”.

So if males are more predestined to head down that path, where does that put women when we dress them in cute frilly little dresses, tell them that they cannot do something because it's not "lady like", and hold them back from being the little person that they should be. People tend to ask Mark and I how old our son is. I even had Mikayla in blue jeans with flowers on them and a peach and pink top with flowers (not too gaudy) and I had people say (two at least) "hey little buddy" or "how is the little buddy today". But my point is that no matter what we do to our children with regard to their clothing, toys, or outside activities, we need to let our children grow up in a society that allows them to be who they are and not to hold them back. I want to give my daughter the a hammer so she has the capability of smashing the "glass" ceiling.

Now that I have a daughter, I want to change the way people think about her. Mark and I want our daughter to be able to grow up in a world where her gender does not come into play. She can do or be whoever she wants to be. The clothing that we have bought for her stays mainly on the “gender neutral” side and I toss her around and let her play in the dirt as I would any child. Now the problem that we are facing is my mother wants to see her in dresses so that she will be "pretty". She is always asking us why we do not “allow” her top wear dresses. It is not that we don't allow her to wear dresses; we just don't see dresses in her personality. She is a child that wants to play, get dirty, run, jump in the water, and however else she wants to play is fine by us. You see I see my daughter as one of the strongest personalities that I have ever meet and I will never extinguish that by telling her that she cannot do something or be something because of her gender.

When Cats Attack and Kids Laugh...

When trying to figure out the best way to wear down a child that has more energy than both parents, use the animals. They have almost as much energy as the child and both child and animal has fun. Mikayla found something that made Milo happy since he was able to chase this around the house. Mikayla likes to be chased and having either the dogs (Phoebe is Mikayla favorite chase buddy) or Milo takes the pressure off the older folks (i.e. us parents).

Now before anyone gets excited about seeing another dog in the video, no we have not gotten another dog (even though the thought is there). This is our neighbors dog, Sammy, who we were watching for the weekend. It seems that all the animals that Mikayla meets seems to like kids. This is very important to us since we want her to enjoy all species. We are teaching her the importance of being careful and not all animals are the same as hers at home. She doesn't quite get ti yet, but we are setting the foundation.

Marriage In California...

On the first day of legalized marriage in California, many couples were rushing to get married. What is different about this day? The difference is finally that the courts in California actually see gays and lesbians as equals - not something that should be swept under the carpet. One stroy in this clip is of a couple that has been together for 18 years and has three daughters. Eighteen years. This is longer than some straight couples, but there are people out there that want to change the freedom that we finally have.

In November gay marriage will be on the ballots. The upside to this is that the majority of Californians approve gay marriage and with a number of Democrats making their way to the polls this election season, equality should remain.

Check out the CBS report below:

Dress Up...

We have now moved on to the next fun stage (which grandma is going to enjoy). It is now "dress up" time. Mikayla walks to the rooms where she knows her cloths are and points to them. We grab one and she helps up put it on. Once that one is on she points again to have us get something else. And so on. We have not done this with all her cloths, but that will be coming soon.

This picture (you can't see them all) has her pajamas, her pants, a red sleeveless jacket, a green hooded coat, a flowery rain jacket and her winter hat. She was on her way to get her sandals on as well. She dresses up like this and walks through the house carrying anything she can. Mark gave her a canvass shopping bag that she carried with her for a while. This is going to be a fun stage and just seeing her smile makes my heart melt.

Olbermann, McCain, You Should Know Better...

Olbermann has some words for our veteran friend John McCain:

The Government Accountability Office just released a study Tuesday that concludes that one out of every ten soldiers sent to Iraq, takes with them medical problems "severe enough to significantly limit their ability to fight."

In five years, we have now sent 43-thousand of them to war even though, they were already wounded.

And when they come home, is not that important.

The Iraqi politicians say the treaty demands Iraq’s consent to the establishment of nearly double the number of U.S. military bases in Iraq, from about 30, to 58, and from temporary, to permanent.

Those will be American men and women who must, of necessity, staff these bases - staff them, in Mr. McCain’s MCEscher dream world in which our people can all come home while they stay there for a hundred years but they’ll be back by 2013.

And when they come home, is not that important.

And when we think about McCain's words, "That's not too important", we must remember that every day kids (men and women) are dying. And when McCain tells us that it not important, does he remember the feeling when he was let down by our government when he was a POW? We must remember that all the kids fighting over there are IMPORTANT even if McCain doesn't think so.

This tragedy is of Justin Mixon of Bogalusa, Louisiana. And it’s of Christopher McCarthy of Virginia Beach. It’s of Quincy Green of El Paso, and Joshua Waltenbaugh of Ford City, P.A. The tragedy is of Shane Duffy of Taunton Mass, and Jonathan Emard of Mesquite, Texas. It’s of Cody Legg of Escondido in California, and David Hurst of Fort Sill in Oklahoma. The tragedy is of Thomas Duncan the 3^rd of Rowlett, Texas, and Tyler Pickett of Saratoga, Wyoming.

And who are they, Senator?

They are ten Americans, who have died in Iraq since the first of this month. There are four more. The Defense Department has not yet identified the others.

And while you, Senator, may ask for all the context you can get, those ten men... will never know any of it.

Because the true context here, is that if you could ask those American war heroes, or the family and the friends that loved them, if they have a better estimate of when American forces can come home from Iraq…

They could rightly say, "No. But that’s… not… too… important."

See the full video below.

Not Alex - New McCain Ad...

John McCain is up on the air with TV ads in a bunch of key states and Obama isn't. There's a big vacuum to fill. Luckily, we've got a secret weapon. Our new Iraq ad is the most effective ad we've ever put together. This isn't your average political ad--it lays out the truth about McCain's Iraq policy in a personal and compelling way. We just got the results back and polling shows that voters found it to be more persuasive than any other ad we've tested before. Can you chip in?

Click here to make donation.

Why Gays Should Not Marry...

1) Homosexuality is not natural, much like eyeglasses, polyester, and birth control.

2) Heterosexual marriages are valid because they produce children. Infertile couples and old people can't legally get married because the world needs more children.

3) Obviously, gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.

4) Straight marriage will be less meaningful if Gay marriage is allowed, since Britney Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage was meaningful.

5) Heterosexual marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are property, blacks can't marry whites, and divorce is illegal.

6) Gay marriage should be decided by people, not the courts, because the majority-elected legislatures, not courts, have historically protected the rights of the minorities.

7) Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America.

8) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.

9) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.

10) Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why single parents are forbidden to raise children.

11) Gay marriage will change the foundation of society. Heterosexual marriage has been around for a long time, and we could never adapt to new social norms because we haven't adapted to things like cars or longer life-spans.

12) Civil unions, providing most of the same benefits as marriage with a different name are better, because a "separate but equal" institution is always constitutional. Separate schools for African-Americans worked just as well as separate marriages for gays and lesbians will.

America, Not So Equal...

Now don't get me wrong, I love America but what some people consider "equal" just infuriates me is the fact that out of 50 states Mark and I can only be "equal" in two - Massachusetts and California (which may be overturned in November). Now Norway has allowed gays to marry. There are more countries than states where Mark and I would have the same rights as everyone else. The countries are:

1. The Netherlands, 2001.
2. Belgium, 2003.
3. Massachusetts, USA, 2004.
4. Canada, 2005.
5. Spain, 2005.
6. Norway, 2008

OSLO (AFP) — Norway's parliament on Wednesday adopted a new marriage law that allows homosexuals to marry and adopt children and permits lesbians to be artificially inseminated.

After a heated debate, the members of parliament adopted the text by a vote of 84 to 41.

The three centre-left coalition parties in power and two opposition parties, the Conservatives and the Liberals, voted largely in favour of the law, while the Christian Democrats and the far-right Progress Party voted against it.

Norway thus became the sixth country in the world to grant homosexuals the right to marry on an equal footing with heterosexuals, according to Norwegian television TV2.

"This decision is of an importance comparable to universal suffrage and our law on parity," Labour Party rapporteur Gunn Karin Gjul said during the debate.

The most controversial part of the law is that which gives lesbians the right to be artificially inseminated. The sperm donor must be identified so that the child can seek out his or her biological father at the age of 18.

"We are now creating a system where the father is reduced to a sperm sample," lamented Ulf Erik Knudsen, a member of the far-right.

Outside the parliament, a handful of opponents protested with posters reading "Have fathers become superfluous?" and "Parliament has no mandate to change the laws of nature."

Among other things, the new legislation replaces a so-called "partnership law" adopted in 1993 which gave Norwegian homosexuals the right to civil unions.

Health care workers who do not want to perform artificial inseminations on lesbians because of their personal convictions will not be under any obligation to carry out the procedure.

The new law is expected to enter into force at the end of this year or early next year.

Homosexuality was illegal until 1972 in Norway, a country which has since become one of the most liberal in the world in the field.

Weird Animals...

While doing research, I once again came across some interesting things on the internet. Although everything you type into any search engine brings back some sort of porn sight, that is not what I found. I found a place that listed 25 of the most weird and wonderful animals. Some of them are very interesting looking and look as if they are out of a science fiction movie. While some seem to be part of a little girls stuffed animal collection - like:

Angora Rabbit

The Angora rabbit is a variety of domestic rabbit bred for its long, soft hair. The Angora is one of the oldest types of domestic rabbit, originating in Ankara, Turkey, along with the Angora cat and Angora goat. The rabbits were popular pets with French royalty in the mid 1700s, and spread to other parts of Europe by the end of the century. They first appeared in the United States in the early 1900s. They are bred largely for their long wool, which may be removed by shearing or plucking (gently pulling loose wool).

There are many individual breeds of Angora rabbits, four of which are ARBA recognized. Such breeds include, French, German, Giant, English, Satin, Chinese, Swiss, Finnish, to name a few.

Red Panda

The Red Panda, Ailurus fulgens ("shining cat," from a Latinized form of the Greek, ailouros, "cat," and the participial form of the Latin fulgere, "to shine") is a mostly herbivorous mammal, slightly larger than a domestic cat (55 cm long). The Red Panda has semi-retractile claws and, like the Giant Panda, has a "false thumb" which is really an extension of the wrist bone. Thick fur on the soles of the feet offers protection from cold and hides scent glands. The Red Panda is native to the Himalayas in Nepal and southern China. The word panda is derived from Nepalese word "ponya" which means bamboo and plants eating animals in Nepal.


Then there are some that look like they came from another planet - like:

Aye-aye

The Aye-aye

(Daubentonia madagascariensis) is a strepsirrhine native to Madagascar that combines rodent-like teeth with a long, thin middle finger to fill the same ecological niche as a woodpecker. It is the world's largest nocturnal primate, and is characterized by its unique method of finding food; it taps on trees to find grubs, then gnaws

holes in the wood and inserts its elongated middle finger to pull the grubs out.

Daubentonia is the only genus in the family Daubentoniidae and infraorder Chiromyiformes. The Aye-aye is the only extant member of the genus (although it is currently an endangered species); a second species (Daubentonia robusta) was exterminated over the last few centuries.

Leafy Seadragon

Named after the dragons of Chinese mythology, Leafy seadragons (Phycodurus eques) resemble a piece of drifting seaweed as they float in the seaweed-filled water. The Leafy seadragon, with green, orange and gold hues along its body, is covered with leaf-like appendages, making it remarkably camouflaged. Only the fluttering of tiny fins or the moving of an independently swiveling eye, reveals its presence.

Like the seahorse, the male seadragon carries as many as 150-200 eggs. After being deposited by the female, the eggs are carried in the honeycomb-shaped area (known as the brood patch) under the male's tail for approximately eight weeks. Seadragons have no teeth or stomach and feed exclusively on mysidopsis shrimp. Known as "Australian seahorses" in Australia, they are

found in calm, cold water that is approximately 50-54° F (10-12° C). Leafy seadragons have been protected by the South Australian government since 1982.

And for my FAVORITE one:

Blobfish

The blobfish (Psychrolutes marcidus) is a fish that inhabits the deep waters off the coasts of Australia and Tasmania. Due to the inaccessibility of its habitat, it is rarely seen by humans.

Blobfish are found at depths where the pressure is several dozens of times higher than at sea level, which would likely make gas bladders inefficient. To remain buoyant, the flesh of the blobfish is primarily a gelatinous mass with a density slightly less than water; this allows the fish to float above the sea floor without expending energy on swimming. The relative lack of muscle is not a disadvantage as it primarily swallows edible matter that floats by in front it.

Here is the site for the whole list of the 25 Worlds Weirdest Animals

Stop EBay From Selling Ivory...

Poachers, who kill elephants for their ivory tusks, have brought the animal to the brink of extinction. An international ban on ivory has diminished the illicit ivory trade and reduced the killing. Over 120 countries support the ban. So why is EBay still allowing people to sell ivory on their site?

An animal welfare group charges that eBay sales of ivory are brisker than ever a year after the online marketplace promised to restrict the sale of products made from animal teeth and tusks—many of which come from endangered species. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), based in Washington, D.C., is urging eBay to ban—not simply restrict—all such sales on its Web market.

(via Scientific America)

How Class Works...

While doing research on my sociology assignment, I came across an article that the New York Times did in 2005. The article (interactive test) is “How Class Works”. This is an interactive test that you can take to see what your position is in our society. They use the four common criteria for gauging class: Occupation, Education, Income, and Wealth. There are roll over menus that you chose from and it tells you how important you are.

They also put other section on there so you can see how Class Breaks Down, Income Mobility, and the Nationwide Poll. It is a very interesting to see that what made class three years ago. In the income area they have $60,000 as upper middle class. I think that has changed over the last couple of years. Here are the stats for 2006:

Here's the five 2006 income brackets according to the US Census bureau:

$97,032 & above - Upper income

$60,000 - $97,032 - Upper middle income

$37,774 - $60,000 - Middle income

$20,035 - $37,774 - Lower middle income

below $20,035 - Lower income

So when you see today’s news that unemployment has reached a new low (5.5% and 49,000 jobs lost), prices going up and people staying at the same rate of pay, I think upper middle class has become lower middle class.

Here is the link for the NYT Class Test:

Eye to Eye: Obama - What's Next...

Obama finally made it as the presumptive Nominee of the Democratic Party. Now he can finally start getting things rolling to fight against the RNC. In this video he talks about Hillary supporters, McCain and Bush, and what he plans for the future of the country. Now that Hillary has dropped out, I feel positive now that we have a chance of taking this country back (unless Bush decided to toss something into the mix as attacking Iran!)

Polar Bear Shot After Swiming 200 Miles...

While trying to find land, this polar bear had swam more than 200 miles. The Icelandic Police felt that it posed a threat to humans so they shot it dead and then proudly sat behind it to take a picture. The environment minister gave the OK to shot the polar bear because he said that "the correct tranquiliser would have taken 24 hours to be flown in". This was disputed by the cheif vet in town when he claimed that "he had the drugs necessary to immobilize the bear in the boot of his car".

The sad part of this is that this is an endangered animal that has not been seen in Iceland in 15 years. Thanks to global warming, the polar bear had no ice to land on while making the trip. It's sad that people take so much pride (as taking a picture with the dead bear) in killing.

Update: Youtube has taken the video of the killing off their sight. It should be there so people can see how horrific this senseless killing is and maybe we can stop it. The U.S. Geological Survey states that two thirds of the polar bears will be gone by 2050 (that is more than 16,000 animals).

Read the article here.

Rejected Books...

Here are a few Dr Seuss books that never made the light of day - and for good reason!

1. One Bitch, Two Bitch, Dead Bitch, You Bitch
2. Herbert the Pervert Likes Sherbert
3. Fox In Detox
4. Who Shat in the Hat?
5. Horton Hires a Ho
6. The Flesh-Eating Lorax
7. How the Grinch Stole Columbus Day
8. Your Colon Can Moo - Can You?
9. Zippy the Rabid Gerbil
10. The Cat in the Blender
11. Marvin K. Mooney, Get the Fuck Out!
12. Are You My Proctologist?
13. Yentl the Lentil
14. My Pocket Rocket Needs a Socket
15. Aunts in My Pants
    

Along with the wonderful titles above, here are some book covers that got tossed as well!

"LITTLE GOLDEN BOOKS THAT NEVER MADE IT"

1. You Are Different and That's Bad
2. Daddy Drinks Because You Cry
3. The Boy Who Died From Eating All His Vegetables
4. Dad's New Wife Robert
5. Fun four-letter Words to Know and Share
6. Hammers, Screwdrivers and Scissors: An I-Can-Do-It Book
7. The Kids' Guide to Hitchhiking
8. Kathy Was So Bad Her Mom Stopped Loving Her
9. Curious George and the High-Voltage Fence
10. All Cats Go to Hell
11. The Little Sissy Who Snitched
12. Some Kittens Can Fly
13. The Magic World Inside the Abandoned Refrigerator
14. Garfield Gets Feline Leukemia
15. The Pop-Up Book of Human Anatomy
16. Strangers Have the Best Candy
17. Whining, Kicking and Crying to Get Your Way
18. Things Rich Kids Have, But You Never Will
19. Pop! Goes The Hamster...And Other Great Microwave Games
20. The Man in the Moon Is Actually Satan
21. Your Nightmares Are Real
22. Where Would You Like to Be Buried?
23. Eggs, Toilet Paper, and Your School
24. Why Can't Mr. Fork and Ms. Electrical Outlet Be Friends?
25. Places Where Mommy and Daddy Hide Neat Things

Kittens Trapped In Wall...

Can You Tell Them Apart...