Yesterday, the local Marshalltown paper decided to report on Marshalltown High School sophomore Tim Counts’ Facebook ‘Gay Shame Week‘ entry (article here) and noted that 35 people had decided to ‘attend’ the event. Counts has since taken the event off his facebook page because of his claims that he and his family have received numerous threats. I’m not sure why the paper had to give space to this topic. If they had looked at the child’s facebook profile and saw one of his interests was ‘getting wasted’, the story would never have made it to newsprint. I'm happy it did since the article pointed out some interesting things I never knew.
“Lisa Koester, director of human resources with the Marshalltown Community School District, said the district has looked into what it can legally do about the situation…Koester said the student has freedom of speech without disciplinary action unless it causes a disruption at school. "If it ends up causing a disruption then that trumps (freedom of speech)," Koester said. Koester also said the act can't be defined as bullying since the posts weren't directed at any one person.
Unless this was written on school grounds, why is the Marshalltown Community School District looking into legal options and disciplinary action? Why are they seeing if the act can be defined as bullying? Does the student’s freedom of speech not exist off of school grounds? What does a director of human resources at Marshalltown Community School District do anyway?
Cheryl LaVille, MHS staff advisor for the student gay and lesbian support group, Sexual Orientation Alliance Representatives, said the students in her group are frustrated by the website, but are handling it peacefully."We as a SOAR group are disappointed about it," LaVille said. "People are entitled to their own opinions but we don't like the harassment."
I don’t understand why any group would be frustrated or feel they were being harassed by this. I understand there have been a large number of suicidal gay teenagers in the news lately, but I don’t think this abuse is any less than I remember giving and getting in high school over any number of issues ranging from prowess at sports, what somebody’s sister was up to, your parents occupation (or lack thereof), success with girls, ethnic background, sexual orientation, etc... And nobody killed themselves. Not even the kid that always got caught having sex with his 3-legged dog. I think if somebody is so upset about not being accepted or approved that they would kill themselves, they should work harder at being like everybody else if it is that important. Maybe instead of a slogan like ‘It gets better’, ‘Fit in if you don’t want to stand out’ would be more to the point. I’ve never killed myself, so maybe I’m just out of touch but if you need approval of your choices from other people, you are destined to either have a narrow social circle or a lot of frustration.
I also never knew there was a High School sanctioned group like this. I’ll date myself by mentioning that when I was president of the Student Government at Union College one of the groups we funded out of the student dues was the Bible Study Club. I don’t think that could happen anymore unless it was the Bible Study Club for Sexually Oriented Alliances or something like that. If Counts was really serious about his protest, he should learn from his ‘adversaries’ and take on a stance celebrating his views instead of denigrating opposing viewpoints. A quick glance at the internet reveals plenty of wristbands, apparel, and bumper sticker proclaiming a heterosexual lifestyle, telling me it’s not a new idea. Wouldn’t there be at least one high school teacher willing to advise the Heterosexual Allied Youth support group. I think I should copyright that name since it has a great midwestern acronym (HAY) and I can see T-shirt sales (HAY, You?) being quite lucrative.
If this is where our paid school administrators are directing their efforts and attention, it is easy to see why Marshalltown schools have over a third of their students failing basic skills tests. Maybe the town will sue to have a tolerance section added to the standard tests.
In case anyone thinks I’m being too insensitive, I want to share how I also was discriminated against and harassed and abused last week on Facebook. I met Glenn Panner from Chicago on the Iowa channel of Chess Live many years ago and have played in some chess tournaments he directed. He wanted to be my friend on Facebook a few weeks ago and I was OK with that. Then he posted a ‘Go Rangers’ note after the Rangers went up 2-1 against the Yankees (Not a word about this Ranger fetish when they won the division or beat the Devil Rays in the playoffs). I noted that I was a Yankee fan (it’s on all my profiles) and asked if he was a Ranger fan (most Chicagoans like the Cubs or White Sox) or a Yankee hater and he said he was both. No big deal to me and not the first one I ever met. Last week Glenn posted a question asking what he should be for Halloween and I suggested the Lone Ranger, which I thought was more amusing than the other suggestions of famous bald people which I feel are highly insensitive to the hair-challenged like Glenn and me. Here is the thread:
Glenn Panner is still looking for a good Halloween costume. Suggestions, anyone??
Hank Anzis The Lone Ranger
Glenn Panner @Hank, don't think I forgot about you, I can put a big Massengill label on and go as a Yankee fan!
I didn’t feel too good reading that, but I’m not looking for the nearest bridge to jump off. However, I am very concerned when men not only know the brand names of feminine hygiene products, but seem to have big labels of them on hand for use as Halloween costumes. What is this world coming to?
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Teams from Texas...
The Yankee baseball season ended last night with their loss to the Texas Rangers in Texas. The Yankees didn’t hit or pitch well enough to even have a chance to win this series. The starting pitchers habit of giving up runs in the first inning was a big problem. It was a lot easier for the Ranger pitchers to pitch with a lead all the time instead of feeling the pressure of a close game. In last night’s game, Phil Hughes gave up a run in the first inning and as soon as the Yankees managed to get a run to tie the game up, Hughes immediately gave up 2 runs and his relief pitcher gave up 2 more runs to seal the game and series. All in all, it was a bad year for the Yankees. The center fielder, Curtis Granderson was big in the playoffs, but the 2 young pitchers, Chamberlain and Hughes have not proven they can be counted on. A new pitching staff is likely in order.
Except for the filthy Red Sox, I don’t really care who the Yankees lose to when they lose, but it bothers me when the fans of these teams that rarely have any success when their team manages to beat the Yanks start crawling out of the woodwork. The Indian fans in 2007 were especially annoying, but I can take solace a few years later knowing that they’ve been awful since and to boot, their ace pitcher Sabathia helped the Yankees win the World Series last year.
I won’t be watching much more baseball now that the Yankees are out of it. I am much more of a Yankee fan than a baseball fan. It was very comforting to see the Iowa State Cyclones, losers of their last 2 games by the combined score of 120 to 27, beat the Texas Longhorns for the first time ever today. I’m also going to be rooting for the New York Giants to beat the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night. I’m not one to hold too much of a grudge, but for now teams from Texas can’t lose enough for me.
Except for the filthy Red Sox, I don’t really care who the Yankees lose to when they lose, but it bothers me when the fans of these teams that rarely have any success when their team manages to beat the Yanks start crawling out of the woodwork. The Indian fans in 2007 were especially annoying, but I can take solace a few years later knowing that they’ve been awful since and to boot, their ace pitcher Sabathia helped the Yankees win the World Series last year.
I won’t be watching much more baseball now that the Yankees are out of it. I am much more of a Yankee fan than a baseball fan. It was very comforting to see the Iowa State Cyclones, losers of their last 2 games by the combined score of 120 to 27, beat the Texas Longhorns for the first time ever today. I’m also going to be rooting for the New York Giants to beat the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night. I’m not one to hold too much of a grudge, but for now teams from Texas can’t lose enough for me.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Bending and Breaking Wills
The Yankees are looking like toast after losing 2 games against the Rangers by a combined score of 18 to 3. They finally had a lead going into the 6th inning, but Burnett gave up a huge 3 run homer and the rout was on. There were a lot of chances for the Yankees to score some runs early, but the big hit never came and they had to settle for one run at a time. After the Red Sox disaster of 2004 I know anything is possible, but the beatdown the Rangers are putting on the pitching staff is not leaving me optimistic that the Yankees will to win is not broken. But at least they are still playing, which they wouldn't be if they hadn't made a miracle comeback in Game 1 of the series.
There have been a huge battle of wills in Iowa this election season. Last year the 3 Iowa Supreme Court judges unanimously ruled that same-sex marriages are legal in Iowa. The majority of Iowans are perceived to be against allowing same-sex marriages and the state legislature could have allowed this issue to be decided on a referendum vote, but by not voting to have a referendum, they are attempting to have their cake and eat it too. They can pick up votes proclaiming their ‘personal disapproval’ or same-sex marriage but how they have to ‘uphold the law’ then getting campaign contributions from the ‘same-sex marriage lobby’ for not allowing the referendum.
Iowa has a system in place where the Supreme Court justices must stand accountable to the voters in a ‘YES’ or ‘NO’ vote. I’ve never given these ‘judge’ votes a lot thought, but this year opponents of same-sex marriages from all around the country have thrown a lot of money into voting these judges out. There are plenty of politicians of both parties bemoaning the precedent voting the judges out would cause.
I don’t really care one way or the other about same-sex marriage, but I’m glad my kids are almost grown up so I wouldn’t have to explain to my child why their teacher Mr. G, has a husband. What all the politicians are missing is that people are upset because they don’t feel they have a say in this matter. 3 people on a court say something that is unpopular with the majority of the population and has not been allowed for 150 years is now allowed immediately and the politicians make excuses to not allow the people they govern to vote on the matter (Here is Governor Chet Culver’s explanation - it is the ‘party-line’ of the politicians who feel this way when forced to clarify their positions). This up or down vote on the judges seems to be the only way left for the people to make their opinions on this matter felt.
In a speech last week, Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Marsha Ternus said that the will of the people is expressed in the state constitution and claims her critics “wants our judges to be servants of this group’s ideology, rather than servants of the law.” She also said that “The people always have the last say about the content of meaning of the constitution…As you know, however, amending the constitution is a difficult and slow process. It is much easier for some people to simply complain about lawless courts running amok and exceeding their authority.”
Ternus is comfortable in claiming she is merely upholding the laws of the State, but then complains the campaign to unseat the judges is an attempt to intimidate judges. But the retention vote is also a law of the state. It is a check on the power of judiciary. If judges make unpopular rulings, they can be voted out. I kind of like the idea. There would be a lot less fighting over the Supreme Court nominees if they weren’t appointed for life.
There have been a huge battle of wills in Iowa this election season. Last year the 3 Iowa Supreme Court judges unanimously ruled that same-sex marriages are legal in Iowa. The majority of Iowans are perceived to be against allowing same-sex marriages and the state legislature could have allowed this issue to be decided on a referendum vote, but by not voting to have a referendum, they are attempting to have their cake and eat it too. They can pick up votes proclaiming their ‘personal disapproval’ or same-sex marriage but how they have to ‘uphold the law’ then getting campaign contributions from the ‘same-sex marriage lobby’ for not allowing the referendum.
Iowa has a system in place where the Supreme Court justices must stand accountable to the voters in a ‘YES’ or ‘NO’ vote. I’ve never given these ‘judge’ votes a lot thought, but this year opponents of same-sex marriages from all around the country have thrown a lot of money into voting these judges out. There are plenty of politicians of both parties bemoaning the precedent voting the judges out would cause.
I don’t really care one way or the other about same-sex marriage, but I’m glad my kids are almost grown up so I wouldn’t have to explain to my child why their teacher Mr. G, has a husband. What all the politicians are missing is that people are upset because they don’t feel they have a say in this matter. 3 people on a court say something that is unpopular with the majority of the population and has not been allowed for 150 years is now allowed immediately and the politicians make excuses to not allow the people they govern to vote on the matter (Here is Governor Chet Culver’s explanation - it is the ‘party-line’ of the politicians who feel this way when forced to clarify their positions). This up or down vote on the judges seems to be the only way left for the people to make their opinions on this matter felt.
In a speech last week, Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Marsha Ternus said that the will of the people is expressed in the state constitution and claims her critics “wants our judges to be servants of this group’s ideology, rather than servants of the law.” She also said that “The people always have the last say about the content of meaning of the constitution…As you know, however, amending the constitution is a difficult and slow process. It is much easier for some people to simply complain about lawless courts running amok and exceeding their authority.”
Ternus is comfortable in claiming she is merely upholding the laws of the State, but then complains the campaign to unseat the judges is an attempt to intimidate judges. But the retention vote is also a law of the state. It is a check on the power of judiciary. If judges make unpopular rulings, they can be voted out. I kind of like the idea. There would be a lot less fighting over the Supreme Court nominees if they weren’t appointed for life.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Waiting at the Wal-Mart
The Yankee starting pitching was awful against the Texas Rangers and they were extremely lucky to get the win in game one over a melted down Ranger bullpen. I was so disgusted watching Sabathia, I turned the TV off and missed the excitement, only finding out the next morning. Sabathia was even worse than he was against the Twins and Hughes was worse than Sabathia. I’m hoping Pettite can stem the tide, but I keep flashing back to the 2001 World Series when he pitched against Randy Johnson and lost 16 to 1.
I had ordered a new computer from HP over the internet and am slowly loading all my programs onto it. The upgrade has been fairly painless, although there are a number of programs that worked on Windows XP that need to be configured for Windows 7. I’m sure I’ll like Windows 7 as I get used to it, but for now it is just uncomfortable not knowing how to perform basic functions. I don’t think I felt the same way about Windows XP, which was very similar to Windows 95/98. At my old job where I wrote software that users would install on their computer, a new version of Windows often meant a lot of rushed changes as features that used to work would stop functioning with only a cryptic error message to go by.
The highlight of the weekend was when I went to the Wal-Mart on Sunday morning to look for a piece of software for my computer. The Wal-Mart has always been good in allowing our chess club to meet there during the summer, but I don’t think it’s good for a town when one store has a better selection of software, books, video games, etc… for sale than any other store in town. There is one cashier that is covered with large warts. I can’t imagine having this affliction, but I always try to go into her line. Not only is she an efficient cashier, people peel off her line to go to a different cashier as they get closer to her. Unfortunately, she wasn’t working and even though I was in the express lane, I got stuck behind a person in a motorized wheelchair with a basket attached. The cashier had to walk around the counter to take each item out of the basket, take it back to scan it, put it in a bag, and walk back around the counter to put it in the basket. Luckily it was the express lane. When all the items were scanned, the customer swiped in their credit card, signed on the machine, but then STOOD UP, pulled out their checkbook, and then meticulously entered the purchase in the checkbook register, only sitting back down and motoring off when satisfied that the correct day was entered and 7 minus 8 was indeed 9. To pass the time, I composed a series of Wal-Mart haikus based on this and other visits to America's favorite store:
Bursting at the seams
Wal-Mart men all notice me
Clothes too tight to breathe
Shopping with food stamps
Children hanging on the cart
I’m pregnant again
In line at Wal-Mart
Behind the wheelchair person
Out comes the checkbook
I’d like to publish these, but I don’t think the biggest book store in town would be interested in selling them.
I had ordered a new computer from HP over the internet and am slowly loading all my programs onto it. The upgrade has been fairly painless, although there are a number of programs that worked on Windows XP that need to be configured for Windows 7. I’m sure I’ll like Windows 7 as I get used to it, but for now it is just uncomfortable not knowing how to perform basic functions. I don’t think I felt the same way about Windows XP, which was very similar to Windows 95/98. At my old job where I wrote software that users would install on their computer, a new version of Windows often meant a lot of rushed changes as features that used to work would stop functioning with only a cryptic error message to go by.
The highlight of the weekend was when I went to the Wal-Mart on Sunday morning to look for a piece of software for my computer. The Wal-Mart has always been good in allowing our chess club to meet there during the summer, but I don’t think it’s good for a town when one store has a better selection of software, books, video games, etc… for sale than any other store in town. There is one cashier that is covered with large warts. I can’t imagine having this affliction, but I always try to go into her line. Not only is she an efficient cashier, people peel off her line to go to a different cashier as they get closer to her. Unfortunately, she wasn’t working and even though I was in the express lane, I got stuck behind a person in a motorized wheelchair with a basket attached. The cashier had to walk around the counter to take each item out of the basket, take it back to scan it, put it in a bag, and walk back around the counter to put it in the basket. Luckily it was the express lane. When all the items were scanned, the customer swiped in their credit card, signed on the machine, but then STOOD UP, pulled out their checkbook, and then meticulously entered the purchase in the checkbook register, only sitting back down and motoring off when satisfied that the correct day was entered and 7 minus 8 was indeed 9. To pass the time, I composed a series of Wal-Mart haikus based on this and other visits to America's favorite store:
Bursting at the seams
Wal-Mart men all notice me
Clothes too tight to breathe
Shopping with food stamps
Children hanging on the cart
I’m pregnant again
In line at Wal-Mart
Behind the wheelchair person
Out comes the checkbook
I’d like to publish these, but I don’t think the biggest book store in town would be interested in selling them.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
On to Texas!
Last night the Texas Rangers defeated the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to win the series and will host the Yankees in a 7 game series for the right to go to the World Series. While I’m not happy to see the Yankees face the same Cliff Lee who beat them twice in last year’s World Series against the Phillies, I think the fact that most of the Rangers have never been to a World Series will be an advantage they wouldn’t exist against the Devil Rays squad that went to the World Series in 2008. Since the Rangers had to play 5 games as opposed to the Yankees 3, Lee will probably not start until Game 3 and then not pitch again until a Game 7. This is a double edged sword. Last year, while Lee won both his games, the rest of the Phillies pitchers didn’t win any. If the Yankees are even or down 2-0 and have to face Lee in Game 3, it will be very hard to win the series.
I was encouraged by the way the Yankees played in sweeping the Twins. Last year the Twins were a playoff joke, getting runners thrown out on the bases and making a lot of fielding errors. This year’s edition was very fundamentally sound and would have won Game 1 if Francisco Liriano didn’t melt down with a 3 run lead. The Yankees had to play well to win, but I think this series was won by the Yankees deep pockets. The Yankees cleanup hitter is Alex Rodriguez, who makes $25 million a year and hit 30 homers and drove in 125 runs even while missing a sixth of the season with injuries. In the last game of the playoff series, the Twins cleanup hitter was ...Jason Kubel. Kubel is a serviceable player and did hit 28 home runs last year, but he is the kind of bargain basement cleanup hitter you get when you are the Twins and your cleanup hitter suffers a season ending injury in August. They just can’t afford to go out and get another player, even with a new stadium.
It appears the Devil Rays won’t be able to keep some of their most talented players for next year. Even though they have had a winning team the last 3 years, their attendance is 22nd out of the 30 teams. They drew 1.8 million fans, while the Yankees drew twice that much for more expensive tickets and get more money for their TV and radio rights to boot. In baseball, the rich get richer and the poor grow food for the rich so I’m hoping the Yankees can pick up the Ray’s closer Soriano. I’m not sure if he can really pitch in the New York pressure cooker, but it is getting to be time to replace the great Mariano Rivera. Joba Chamberlain should have taken the job this year, but he has regressed so far that he wasn’t allowed to pitch against the Twins.
I was encouraged by the way the Yankees played in sweeping the Twins. Last year the Twins were a playoff joke, getting runners thrown out on the bases and making a lot of fielding errors. This year’s edition was very fundamentally sound and would have won Game 1 if Francisco Liriano didn’t melt down with a 3 run lead. The Yankees had to play well to win, but I think this series was won by the Yankees deep pockets. The Yankees cleanup hitter is Alex Rodriguez, who makes $25 million a year and hit 30 homers and drove in 125 runs even while missing a sixth of the season with injuries. In the last game of the playoff series, the Twins cleanup hitter was ...Jason Kubel. Kubel is a serviceable player and did hit 28 home runs last year, but he is the kind of bargain basement cleanup hitter you get when you are the Twins and your cleanup hitter suffers a season ending injury in August. They just can’t afford to go out and get another player, even with a new stadium.
It appears the Devil Rays won’t be able to keep some of their most talented players for next year. Even though they have had a winning team the last 3 years, their attendance is 22nd out of the 30 teams. They drew 1.8 million fans, while the Yankees drew twice that much for more expensive tickets and get more money for their TV and radio rights to boot. In baseball, the rich get richer and the poor grow food for the rich so I’m hoping the Yankees can pick up the Ray’s closer Soriano. I’m not sure if he can really pitch in the New York pressure cooker, but it is getting to be time to replace the great Mariano Rivera. Joba Chamberlain should have taken the job this year, but he has regressed so far that he wasn’t allowed to pitch against the Twins.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
