I’m in the New York Times today
Read here.
In fact, it turns out, it was a Front Page article. The research referenced is here in draft form.
Related Posts:My Column Next Week: Sex Out Loud
Here’s a heads-up to what I’m writing on this week, the annual festival of debauchery, Sex Out Loud. Below is the email they sent out, read for yourself.
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Dear Organizational Representative,
Please forward this to your organization, coworkers,
friends, classes, staff or faculty:
The Fourth Annual Sex Out Loud! Sexual Health Awareness Fair
will be taking place on Wednesday, March 1, from 9a - 3p in
the Union rooms A, B, and C.
This exciting, free event provides an open and safe
environment for people to learn about, discuss, and explore
sexual health information and resources. This year’s event
will feature a live DJ, a teen dating violence skit
performed by the Teen Awareness Group, an excerpt
performance of the Vagina Monologues, interactive games and
activities, prizes, and information on topics including:
Abortion
Abstinence
BDSM
Birth Control
Body Image
Body Modification
Emergency Contraception
Healthy Relationships
HIV/AIDS
International Women’s Rights
Intersexed People and Sexuality
LGBT Issues
Men’s Health
People with Disabilities and Sexuality
Sex Toys
Sexual Myths and Facts
Sexually Transmissible Infections
Violence Against Women
Women’s Health
And Much More!
Sex Out Loud! is cosponsored by:
Annie Hopkins, Rehabilitation/Disability Studies Student
Champaign County Health Care Consumers
CIL-KY
Greater Community AIDS Project
Fantasy’s
Feminist Majority
Interfaith Religious Leaders
Kim Rice, Sexuality Educator at McKinley Health Center
Lamba Pi Upsilon
Men Against Sexual Violence
New Life Tattoos
NOW, UIUC Chapter
Office of Women’s Programs/CARE
Planned Parenthood of East Central Illinois
PRIDE
Pure Romance
Rape Crisis Services/A Woman’s Fund
Reverend Karen Bush, United Church of Christ
Sexual Health Peers
Sexual Orientation Diversity Ally Committee, Counseling
Center
TAG
Tim Shea, McKinley Church
Help support sexual health awareness and come to the Fourth
Annual Sex Out Loud! Sexual Health Awareness Fair on March 1
in the Union.
Thank You!
Megan Kough
President Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance at the
University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign
DI Article Up: Race-Baiting for Fun and Profit
Here it is. I think it kinda sucked. I was tired.
Related Posts:Universal Health Care and Euthanasia
There are two events that should give people pause when considering universal health care. First is Hurricane Katrina and several facilities euthanisizing patients not because of terminal illness, but because they didn?t think they could move them. Second is Charlotte Wyatt who doctors want to euthanize (or more accurately let die) because they don?t think she is worth saving. A court has rules that the doctors can make this decision even though it is contrary to the will of the parents. In the first case, it is people making mistaken practical judgments. In the second case, it?s little more than outright eugenics.
It is one thing to let some one commit suicide because they’ve lived a full life and have little hope of recovery. It is another to mandate death to people because they aren’t worth taking care of. The first case can be called “right to die”. The second case is more properly called the “right to kill”. Confusing the two makes it easier for the “right to die” crowd to be a “right to kill” crowd.
Right now it is particularly difficult for people to be put to death against their stated (or their family members) will in the United States; that is until universal health care is introduced (and hopefully it never will be). To summarize, the government can’t be trusted to know which phone calls belong to terrorists and which belong to moms planning on getting their kids to soccer practice. The government can’t be trusted to get industry advice and not sell out to the rich. The government can’t be trusted even to hold prisoners captured on the field of battle. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE TAKE ALL MY MEDICAL RECORDS AND HAVE COMPLETE CONTROL OVER MY HEALTH CARE!!!
The problem comes in that the government uses different priorities to make decisions than people do. For instance, the Irish Health Service had other priorities in mind when deciding on health care for the elderly. Or stateside, an Illinois pension fund seems to be operating under different priorities then actually keeping pensions around for teachers. Bureaucrats like wasting money, when they waste too much there isn?t enough to take care of business. Apply this to health care and it means people without money who have come to rely on public health care will get screwed.
What happens when people get screwed by the health care system? Well they’ll be euthanized more often than they are now. New Orleans medical professionals decided that it was too much effort to try to keep them alive so they killed them. Not because they were terminally ill. Not because they were in incredible pain. It was because they assessed the situation and didn?t think it worth trying to find a way to help them. The difference is when they aren’t the government, they’ll be prosecuted. When they are operating with a government imprimatur, they’ll get away with it more likely than not. The government will decide who is worth treating and who should die based on some dollar calculation.
If the NSA can’t be trusted to listen to some phone calls, what makes people think that this health care calculus will be honest?
Related Posts:Campus Parking Now Tried to Ruin My Day… Comes Up Short
They didn’t learn the lesson the first time.
They wrote me a ticket at 4:53 pm for not feeding the meter. One problem, you don’t have to feed the meter afte 4pm. Good game, guys.
Related Posts:For the Love of All That is America, Learn What The First Amendment Is…
Throughout the cartoon controversy people on both sides talk about free speech and a free press. While in general, these can be construed as the freedom to say what you want, people are conflating Constitutional protections with the idea that one shouldn’t face any consequences to their speech.
Free speech, but more specifically, the Constitutional protection of free speech has absolutely nothing to do with private individuals and what they can do. The First Amendment is not a protection from your fellow citizens (or foreigners). It is a protection against what the government can do, and the government alone.
When the Dixie Chicks protested that people were boycotting their music, they claimed Free Speech. No one said they didn’t have the right to say what they did; they were saying they weren’t going to continue giving them money if they wanted to engage in that behavior. This is perfectly legal and why our country is so great. We don’t need the government to create hate speech laws here; the free market system largely takes care of the problem. Yes, you have a right to say stupid things, but that doesn’t mean you have the right to continue to get subsidized by the public if you do. This is the lesson that the creators of “Book of Daniel” learned.
When Islamic radicals (who are the minority) burn down embassies and threaten violence, it is shameful behavior. You don’t protest the stereotype of being a fanatical murder by being a fanatical murder. However, Muslims hacking websites is not a Constitutional issue. There are laws to prevent it, sure. It’s bad behavior, sure. But it is not an attack on the First Amendment. It is high time people on both sides realize what the First Amendment is and what it is not.
Related Posts:DI Column Up: False Religion
Oh yeah, I have a column up,False Religion. Take a look.
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