Melyssa-with-a-Y

Last week, a gunman entered a LGBT Center in Tel Aviv and killed two people, and wounded a dozen more. Unfortunately, violence in Israel isn't exactly unusual, and while I frequently get choked up about it, this one was different. Because of Aubrey, I know a lot about the LGBT community in Austin (and have spent plenty of time in gay bars!), including the existence of Out Youth , which is an outreach center for young people, exactly like the one that was attacked in Tel Aviv. I went to their prom! --> Tonight, Out Youth, together with other LGBT community organizations and the Jewish Community Association of Austin, co-sponsored a vigil at City Hall to honor the victims in Tel Aviv. I had to go. When I started thinking about the whole situation earlier in the day, I started to cry. There is certainly no question that what happened in Tel Aviv was horrible. Any shooting, and particularly the shooting of children, is tragic. But even moreso because, of all of the places in ...

He's at it again -- already! Just one week after reinstating a Holocaust-denying Bishop (and then releasing a statement about how we must all work together to make sure the Shoah doesn't happen again) , the Pope has now elevated to Bishop an Austrian priest who says that the Harry Potter books are spreading Satanism, and that Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans to wipe out the hedonism (and the abortion clinics) there. If there's one thing that was drummed into me as a child, it was "Question Authority." Please tell me there are Catholics in the world who don't agree with this man? ... Who have more sense than this? ... Who, even though it might be sacrilegious, are willing to question the authority of the Pope to do these things? Yikes.

On the anniversary of the day that the Soviet army liberated Auschwitz in 1945 (see video below), I was treated to a story on NPR this morning about the Bishop that was "un-excommunicated" by the Pope this week. Bishop Richard Williamson has been -- recently, not just in the past -- quoted as saying there's no historical evidence that 6 million Jews died in WWII. Bishop Williamson, who has said that the Vatican is controlled by Satan and that the Jews are bent on world domination, reiterated in a broadcast last week on Swedish television that the historical evidence was “hugely against six million having been deliberately gassed in gas chambers as a deliberate policy of Adolf Hitler. I believe there were no gas chambers”. I'm sorry, WHAT?!? and he gets to be a Bishop in the Catholic Church? The way the current pope is reversing Vatican II, I'd say the "heretics" in Europe had better watch out - the Spanish Inquisition may be poised for a comeback! But...

The Pope today told senior Vatican staff that saving the world from homosexuals and transsexuals is as important as saving the rainforest . Oy. So he's equating human industrialization encroaching on the rainforest with homosexuals "encroaching" on straight people's lives? Riiight, because every time we hang out with Aubrey, he's trying to make us gay. [Ok, so I've been to more gay bars than "straight" bars in the last month. That's definitely Aubrey's fault.] This, in addition to the furor over Pastor Rick Warren being chosen to give the invocation at President-Elect Obama's Inauguration -- a man who has said that homosexuality is akin to pedophilia. Having just seen ' Milk ' [Go see it! right away!] , I'm keenly aware that just being out was (and still is) a challenge. The last thing we need is to add fuel to the fire of the people who actually *believe* these things. I am against discrimination of any kind, for a...

And if *you* live in California, please vote NO on Prop 8. Here's an eloquent and humorous post from Beth (pasted below). ( here I go on my soapbox*... ) The government (federal or state) should not be able to legislate what a marriage is -- if two people love each other, they should be able to get married. Period. And visit each other in the hospital. And get health care benefits. And all of the other things that "traditional" married couples do. And while I don't necessarily believe that this "slippery slope" will lead to anything like the Holocaust, I do believe that ANY kind of discrimination against ANYONE, because of their race, religion, gender, sexual preference, or ANYTHING, is absolutely wrong. (ok, soapbox over) read on: I am asking every American who has a gay child, parent, sibling, cousin or friend to read this through to the end. It is my plea. When Merideth and I exchanged vows seven years ago (on October 20), we asked Merideth’s si...

(I will post more about the trip to Mexico shortly. I'm waiting for the underwater cameras to be developed. When was the last time you had to wait for film developing?!?) Anyway, on to the topic of my post. George Coyne, an ordained Catholic priest and renowned astronomer, discussed intelligent design and evolution at a lecture Sept. 4 at the College of New Jersey (not to be confused with Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, my alma mater) He said although he believes in G-d, and believes G-d created the universe, he cannot believe in intelligent design as a scientist . He personally encourages evolution to be taught in school, not intelligent design. "You shouldn't talk about God in a science classroom," he said. According to Coyne, it is the parents' duty to teach their child about G-d if they want, not the science teacher's responsibility. He also said as a scientist, he cannot truly believe in the biblical explanation for the creation of the world....

I missed the APIC National Convention in Las Vegas two weeks ago, but my friend Adam is expert at the PR thing (it's his job, natch), so he corralled a good number of media outlets to come and report on the event. He got everyone from the New York Times to UPI photographers to the Las Vegas Review Journal to come and interview folks and record the event for posterity. A reporter from the Las Vegas Sun spent some time talking to Dad -- I could recite the stories he tells about small buttons on lapel pins, and people's habits changing because of air-conditioning... in my sleep! ;) (love ya, Dad!) It's nice to see that the hobby is getting good press. Now if only we could find somebody other than old white guys to join! We're forming an Obama collectors chapter, so maybe we'll drum up some more members in the next few months. Election years are good for that.

... and I'm not talking about our elected officials! Apparently a member of the GOP platform committee was offended on his trip(s) to Washington that there are statues and paintings of nudes everywhere. (Of course, he's from Texas.) The platform committee did not adopt Hurt's recommendation on Washington nudity (nor his proposal to extend the 22nd Amendment -- presidential term limits -- to spouses). But Hurt said he'll pursue the issue, possibly with another trip here to videotape the evidence. "I'm not going to stop until I succeed. I'm prepared for a long fight." Leaving aside the 22nd Amendment thing, having lived in DC until 2 years ago, I don't think it ever once occurred to me that the fountain at Dupont Circle was made up of naked ladies, or that "20% of the art in the National Gallery" contains nudes. (Really? Where did he get that statistic?) Please, people. Get over yourselves. Or go to Europe. Although, come to think of i...

I love living in Austin. I probably say that on this blog about once a month, if not more. :) But then there are days when I'm reminded that portions of the state of Texas are a little bit.... out there , shall we say. On Friday, an advisory committee to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board recommended that the state allow the Institute for Creation Research to start offering online master’s degrees in science education. The institute, which has been based in California, where it operates a museum and many programs for people who don’t believe in evolution, is relocating to Dallas, where it hopes to expand its online education offerings. This is a school, my friends, where TEACHERS will be getting their degrees. IN SCIENCE. Only, oops, Creation isn't science! Intelligent design isn't science! But by all means, y'all should come to Texas, instead of that liberal bastion, California! More from insidehighered.com: The statement of faith for everyone at the i...

Oh, to have been in DC on Monday when the author of Abraham's Children: Race, Identity, and the DNA of the Chosen People spoke at the American Enterprise Institute. The discussion centered around the supposed genetic predisposition of Jewish people to be smarty-pants. (That's a very technical term, you know!) :) The average IQ of Ashkenazi Jews is 107 to 115, well above the human average of 100. But what if the genes that make us smart also make us sick? I never thought about it this way, but the Jewish population of the world is one of the most in-bred groups in existence. Makes sense, though, with all of our mothers urging us to find a "nice Jewish boy," or avoid the "shiksas." ;) The question is, are we all smart because our genetics have made that happen? Or are we smart because the Jewish culture & religion place a heavy value on study and learning? Or is it a combination of both? And are we smarter at the expense of being less coordinated? or...

A study in Switzerland (commissioned by Nestle, natch) has just found that the desire for chocolate -- or indifference to it -- is in our metabolism. And it turns out that eating some chocolate is good for you. "This is the first demonstration that a dietary preference has an imprinted effect on your metabolism and that might link to all sorts of long term health implications- interestingly the chocolate preferring people had a better gut microbial metabolite profile than the people that don't like chocs," said Prof Nicholson. ... "It is known that by eating chocolate, catechin and epicatechin can reach the bloodstream where they can be transported around the body, helping to prevent oxidation so the body can stay healthier," said Kochhar. Of course, the study only included men, and a small number of them at that. I will wait to see the results of the study when they ask a bunch of women. In the meantime, I will do my best to add catechin and epicatechin to my...

In addition to a great article about Al Gore (and his pic on the cover), last month's issue of FastCompany had a huge article on the massive quantities of bottled water we drink in this country: the amount of money wasted in the process; the damage we're doing to the environment by trucking it around everywhere; and the irony of buying those neat square bottles of Fiji water when half of the nation of Fiji doesn't have potable water. Here's the quote that got me: If the water we use at home cost what even cheap bottled water costs, our monthly water bills would run $9,000. The article came out just as Coke and Pepsi 'revealed' that their own bottled waters, Dasani and Aquafina, are just filtered tap water . I have to say, the FC article really made an impact on me. When I do buy bottles of water, I re-use them for a week or more before I recycle them. I look for recycling bins everywhere I go now, and am always surprised when I go to an event (or a house)...

Two interesting news tidbits today: First, the heroes. An interesting interview in Wired with the author of the forthcoming book, Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics and the Creation of the Superhero . In case you didn't know, Jewish comics creators and co-creators include Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel(Superman); Bob Kane and Bill Finger (Batman); Will Eisner (The Spirit); Jack Kirby (Fantastic Four, Incredible Hulk, the X-Men); Jack Kirby and Joe Simon (Captain America); and of course Stan Lee (who helped create Spider-Man and a whole bunch of others). It's an interesting look into why so many of these guys got into comic-book-making, and how their background influenced them. Now, the villain. Glenn Beck seems to think that Al Gore and Adolf Hitler have a lot in common : "Al Gore's not going to be rounding up Jews and exterminating them. It is the same tactic, however. The goal is different. The goal is globalization. The goal is global carbon tax. The goal is the Un...

Rumor has it that Tom Ford is trying to get Anderson Cooper to lend his name to a new fragrance. Wonder what that will smell like? What will they call it? p.s. With all of the rumors that continue to fly about whether the man is gay or straight, when you publish a story with a pic like this one... what are people supposed to think?

As I've said many times before, the current "ruling party" in the United States has not been particularly friendly towards science. Today, the former Surgeon General of the United States testified that he was basically "muzzled" by the administration on a host of topics that they didn't want the American public to learn more about, from the very controversial (stem cell research) to the very well-documented (effects of secondhand smoke). Here's a bit from the NYT article : (you might need to login) "Anything that doesn't fit into the political appointees' ideological, theological or political agenda is ignored, marginalized or simply buried," Dr. Richard Carmona, who served as the nation's top doctor from 2002 until 2006, told a House of Representatives committee. "The problem with this approach is that in public health, as in a democracy, there is nothing worse than ignoring science, or marginalizing the voice of science for ...

"I didn't vote for him but he's my president, and I hope he does a good job." So much for that idea. Again, Keith Olbermann says what so many of us are thinking. (The text, if you want to read it, is at http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/070407Y.shtml along with the video.)

There was a great piece in the Sunday WaPo on our illustrious President and his lack of concern for how badly things are going in his administration. He lives in his own little dream world, defined by good vs. evil , America vs. the rest of the world, and his mandate from G-d... nothing gets through! My favorite quote, from a Republican lawmaker: Beyond Gonzales, the discontent with the Bush presidency is broader and deeper among Republican lawmakers, some of whom seethe with anger. "Our members just wish this thing would be over," said a senior House Republican who met with Bush recently. "People are tired of him." Bush's circle remains sealed tight, the lawmaker said. "There's nobody there who can stand up to him and tell him, 'Mr. President, you've got to do this. You're wrong on this.' There's no adult supervision. It's like he's oblivious. Maybe that's a defense mechanism." So between a VP who thinks he's G...

*Sigh* The Supreme Court deals another blow to free speech today, ruling in favor of the school principal who suspended a student who held up a banner that said " Bong Hits 4 Jesus " as the Olympic torch passed through Juneau, Alaska. Free speech, if you're in school, is apparently only partially free. Oh well. (Ok, so the phrase *could* be construed as pro-drug-use... it wasn't what I would call disruptive or lewd. Lighten up, people!) What makes this case more interesting is that Republican conservative groups allied themselves with the kid, because they didn't want to see the court take away their right to protest things like homosexuality and abortion. So there you have it: Republicans admitting that Free Speech is actually useful! But, in a case that redeems my faith in the justice system, the DC Superior Court ruled against a judge (A JUDGE!) who was suing a dry cleaner for $54M over a pair of lost pants. Yes, you read that correctly, he sued the dry cleane...

Ok, I admit it, I didn't fare too well in my American Government class in high school. What's that, you say? a child who was born and raised in the nation's capital?! In a house full of American Political memorabilia?! Yes. (Can you say "rebellion"?) Actually, it had less to do with rebellion, and more to do with the fact that our AmGov teacher was visiting from England, and wasn't the best teacher. And then she got sick, and we were left with the parent of a former NCS student, who, to the best of my knowledge, knew even less about how the US Government runs than we did. But, I digress. At least we knew more about the government than our current Vice President, who feels that the Vice President's Office is not part of the Executive Branch! He seems to think his office is exempt from having to follow the rules governing how classified national security documents are handled. Darth Vader strikes again! Here's the document from the House Government O...

Yes, it's been a while since I posted anything. Like a lot of my yarn-obsessed friends, I got sucked into Ravelry for a few days... and that was after four relatively relaxed days in DC, during which I walked at least 5 miles before 11am on Saturday ( Racing for the Cure!); ate Tex-Mex at Austin Grill , dim sum at Fortune, crab cakes (and the most amazing biscuits) at Acadiana and mezze at Lebanese Taverna ; wondered how I could ever have withstood the dust in the family basement for so many years; and finally got to see Tai Shan, the baby panda at the National Zoo (who is nearly 2, and will be shipped back to China soon!). Phew! Good thing I got all of that out of the way, because I don't know when I'll be getting back to town for a while. [I was going to post a panda picture, but I can't figure out where I uploaded them. Maybe later.] In today's news, another case of "I wish I were making this up": The WaPo and BBCNews are reporting that a watchdog...