Hurlshort

Hurlie two points: 1) If you have to ask the government for it's permission to enjoy a right is it really a right? 2) Despite that I'd still be in favor of universal background checks if, AND ONLY IF, no government state, local, or federal. would be involved in the process. You would not be dealing with an honest partner. I'd be in favor of background checks if it were really about keeping guns out of the hands of criminals. But, it's just not about that at all. See my previous comment. Would you be ok with it was state or local instead of federal? I'm asking because it makes me think of the DMV. While they have their bureaucratic BS like everything else, I don't really see them as some evil entity under the control of the white house. I'd be worried about a private company running those background checks for a lot reasons too. It's not really a situation with an easy answer. But I will tell you this, I had little interest in gun control until Sandy Hook, so events really do have a bearing on this discussion.

Whelp, thanks for letting me know that. The largest school district in California already has this policy, by the way. This was their official statement about it: Here is another comment: Look, you've clearly fallen prey to some media hysteria here. I am giving you legitimate information from people involved in education, and you are ignoring it. That's not healthy. Do your news sources even talk to anyone involved in the California education system?

If the athletes are staying silent, that is a pretty solid indicator. It would be super easy to just say it was congratulatory.

Being married doesnt really exclude you from making gestures that support gay rights. But in this case the best bet would be to simply ask the athletes about their intentions. It does sound a bit overblown by the western media

WoD I am not giving you my interpretation, I am telling you how schools are implementing it. You are correct that it was already possible before the law, that is why I keep saying most schools have already implemented it. What it does is force any teachers or administrators who were not willing to accomodate transgender students into doing so.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say universal background checks for guns is a much smaller step than the Patriot Act.

The idea that a pre-teen who is dealing with puberty would claim to be a different gender for "social advantages or fulfilling sexual fetishes" seems pretty far-fetched. I've already mentioned that there are a lot of steps taken to ensure this isn't just a stage a child is going through. Unless we are now talking about adults who decide to change genders. In that case I'd simply say it doesn't affect me in any way so I don't see any reason to have an issue with it. All of these identity issues, whether it is gender or sexuality, are pretty simple for me. It requires no effort on my part to be a male, or to be attracted to women. These things are effortless. So when I hear that someone is struggling with their identity, I know that I have no way of understanding what they are going through. So the best thing I can do for them is to be tolerant and not judge.

Fine, since you're such an expert, are you denying that the new law allows any boy who claims he feels like a girl to use the girl's locker room? I wonder whose clever idea was to turn this into an issue in school for christ's sake. Why don't they just let the person him/her self sort his own issues post-schooling? With free counseling, surgery, drugs, whatever just not in school among other kids. As I mentioned, the attempted suicide rate among transgender individuals was terribly high before they started addressing this at a younger age. Post-schooling is simply too late. Also I'm not sure why we need to shelter other kids from people that are different, that sounds like a bad way to develop a tolerant society.

Exactly, they have the right to use the facilities. That does not mean they have the right to use the facilities as they are occupied. There is a big difference. As I said, many schools open up a third location, such as a visiting team girls locker room. Or they can simply wait until the girls are finished getting dressed and have left the facility before the transgender individual uses them. Teachers make accommodations for individuals every day. There is no good reason not to do so for transgender students. Edit: Under the accommodations I am listing, the girls are not impacted at all. And this is what many schools are already doing.

Fine, since you're such an expert, are you denying that the new law allows any boy who claims he feels like a girl to use the girl's locker room? Most of my knowledge comes from the education side, since that is my background. I am no expert on the medical side. But to answer your question directly: no, it allows a transgender student to use the locker room of the gender they identify with. It reads as follows: Now that sounds rather vague, and it is easy to understand why some people might think that means boys will be jumping in the showers with girls on a regular basis. But there are a couple of reasons that will not happen. 1. Becoming a legitimate transgender student is a difficult process. This isn't Bosom Buddies, these kids go through years of counselling and, as I said, my wife who has been teaching for a decade has only had 3 students who actually meet this definition. 2. It doesn't say anywhere that the student needs to share showers or changing rooms with others. There are simply a ton of ways to accommodate everyone in these situations. As I already mentioned, my wife opens up a third locker room. I fail to see how it is a better solution to stick a transgender boy who identifies as a girl in a locker room full of teenage boys. That seems like the worst idea ever.

Most schools have already implemented what the law legally requires. In terms of bathrooms, that means legally you are required to provide a transgender student with a place to change. My wife has had two transgender boys over the years, and she provided them with a third bathroom where they would be more comfortable getting ready. As you can imagine, a boy who feels like a girl and is taking hormones to physically change their body is not going to do very well in a crowded boys locker room. The way it's been reported they're required to be allowed to use the same facilities, not separate facilities (which I don't think anyone would object to). http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/08/13/california-gov-brown-signs-transgender-student-bill/ Also I didn't realize they do sex changes on children now. I would be careful with how certain news outlets report anything that has to do with education. My wife has taught PE for the last decade and sits on the board of the California Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance. It is pretty much a non-issue for most schools, as they already accommodate students dealing with gender identity issues. It is legally compelling any schools that still allow an atmosphere of gender discrimination to fall in line.

The video is very important, as it is pretty hard to deny that child is anything other than a girl when you watch her interview. The parents are also very clearly not forcing this decision on her.

Transgender boys and girls face their most difficult time when they hit puberty. The attempted suicide rates for transgender teens was estimated between 33%-50% in the past, in recent years with the aid of hormone blockers and hormone therapy that has dropped tremendously. If you guys have questions or concerns about this whole thing, your best bet is to listen to an actual transgender individual discuss what they go through. This isn't a stage they are going through, most of them know from a very early age that their physical gender does not match their mental identity. When they hit puberty it creates a huge crisis for them. Now it is possible for people to go through stages of gender identity issues, and that is why it is strongly recommended that transgender individuals start with years of therapy, then move to hormone treatment, and use surgery as a last step in a long process. Here's a helpful guide that is not political: http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/talk/transgender.html

Yeah I just read about Tejada. What an odd story that guy has. I didn't even realize he was still playing until a few weeks ago.

Most schools have already implemented what the law legally requires. In terms of bathrooms, that means legally you are required to provide a transgender student with a place to change. My wife has had two transgender boys over the years, and she provided them with a third bathroom where they would be more comfortable getting ready. As you can imagine, a boy who feels like a girl and is taking hormones to physically change their body is not going to do very well in a crowded boys locker room.

I'm not sure if I'd call the Patriot Act a small step. If it makes you feel any better, I rail about the suspension of Habeus Corpus and it's importance to human rights every year with my 7th graders when we cover the Magna Carta.

What she said was: when in rome do as romans do. 95% of Russian support what she said because they share the same opinion. She knows this, which is why she was comfortable saying it. They don't want rainbow flags, parading of various sexual fetishes etc. If engaging in positive propaganda for homosexuality (the sort that equates it with heterosexuality) is forbidden in Russia the shut the **** up and get on with the program. The athletes are there to engage in sports and win medals not to draw attention to their sexual preferences or political leanings. Or is this the first gay olympics? Seriously people, you need to get a grip on the concept that other countries with democratically chosen leaders can make up their own rules on what's okay, and what isn't okay. Tommie Smith would disagree with you. The Olympics are about a heck of a lot more than sports. Boo I'm a bit surprised how defensive you are in this thread. We have a plethora of posters here that criticize the US, but nobody goes after them as racists.

I'm sad to hear this, as it casts some doubt on their Kickstarter project, Jagged Alliance Flashback. Still at least it isn't unplayable or anything.

Sounds more like baking.

Women murder at a much lower rate than men. Although if they do decide to murder, it's like a 60% chance it will be a family member or husband, so there might be a point there. Actually reading up on it, Volo has a really good point: "Of children under age 5 killed by a parent, the rate for biological fathers was only slightly higher than for biological mothers" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_differences_in_crime

This is different: http://news.yahoo.com/cops-dealing-doritos-post-legalization-hempfest-070354736.html

What kind of potatoes? Russets are typically the easiest to cook for me, they cook fast and are better at absorbing the flavor of whatever I cook them with. I have to be a lot more patient with Gold, Yellow, or Yukon ones. I guess potatoes are divided up into three categories, starchy, all purpose, and waxy. http://www.thekitchn.com/potato-varieties-64061

I'd hazard to guess that the short development cycle (only a year) has more to do with the short game and some of the limitations than the funds raised. It will be interesting to see how Berlin turns out, I'm expecting the length to be at least the same, whereas most expansions are shorter than the base game. On the other hand it does not surprise me that $1.8 million does not go very far. That is a drop in the bucket compared to what most games cost to make. Harebrained was also not a big developer before the kickstarter, and they ended up using some of that money to grow, which adds a lot of problems. With Project Eternity, we have a developer with more experience and they have other projects running while they have a small team work on PE, so I'm less worried about them.

I'd probably fit the disappointed category. Oh wait, that's not what we are doing here? I'm really not interested in killing anybody, don't worry!

Prince is on Twitter, which almost made me feel like I should join just so I can follow him. He also still sounds awesome. http://youtu.be/PpgpxJ7qodA