Today's Cultural Warfare Update

Item 11 ("Investigate Homosexual Influence in Public Schools") is particularly worth tracking, and quite frankly, disturbing, if it passes.

Washington Post article on FDA's handling of Plan B and their subservience to "evangelical conservative" sermons;

Nebraska's local DOMA struck down; Focus on the Family calls again for an anti-gay Federal amendment;

Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney to veto stem-cell research bill over "cloning" issues;

James Dobson judicial opinion column in the Boston Globe;

Today's Family News in Focus repeats an earlier story about Kraft sponsouring the Gay Games - apparently there's quite the fundamentalist call-in spew screaming at Kraft for promoting the "homosexual agenda" - part of the continued attempt to marginalise gayfolk out of economic existence;

Concerned Women for America action item, again, on judicial nominees - there are several others as well, I'm only pulling this one, but they're all over the place;

CWA attacks Dear Abby's "false information" about gayfolk, claims all studies that don't agree that homosexuality is an addictive perversion are politically motivated and "bad" studies;

ARIZONA readers: "Protect Marriage Arizona Coalition" and CWA are launching their anti-marriage amendment signature drive - please let anyone you know in Arizona know;

CWA's Robert Knight talks about how marriage rights would inevitably lead to the criminalisation of Christianity;

American Family Association links through to nogaymarriage.com, which is a Congressionally-targeted petition drive against marriage rights;

Southern Baptist Convention to consider resolution calling for all Southern Baptists to investigate local schools for gay-friendly or tolerant attitudes, organisations, programmes, or clubs, and demand that they be shut down - gay/straight alliance clubs appear to be a primary target;

Traditional Values Coalition demands, again, a federal anti-marriage amendment;

Traditional Values Coalition anti-marriage-rights amendment in California defeated along party lines (all Republicans for) - announce plans to form anti-marriage initiative, targeted for 2006.

( Articles, Excerpts, Transcriptions )

Today

Cottonwood is so weird. It's almost summer, but it looks like it's snowing outside - a total blizzard. seriously, it's just nuts. (Yeah, it comes an goes, but there's a lot of it right now and it's entirely made of disturbingly-like-snow white fuzz.) It's even accumulating kind of like snow does. It's so odd.

Tomorrow is the last Norwescon concom meeting, and election social after. I'll be going to those, but won't be staying all that late, since I want to come back and see Dr. Who. ^_^ But a stop by the social will definitely be in order.

The main house at murksouth is about ready to be showable - if you know anybody in the U. District looking for a nice three-bedroom house with nice kitchen, one bathroom, two fireplaces, wired for internet and satellite TV with off-street parking and a big shared yard (by in-city standards), lemmie know. ^_^ I'll probably take some pictures next week or something. It's not a complete restoration like the back four-bedroom apartment is, but it's pretty nice despite that. We used to live there and it's nicer than it was when we did. (Partial rewire, partial replumbing, new insulated wood-frame windows, wall repair (tho' not the complete reconditioning I want to do), paint, insulation in the attic, new shower tile. Plus all the stuff we did in general, like the new hot water system, the heater upgrade, stuff like that.) I'm about to head down and finish cleaning the kitchen and start on the bath. (It needs cleanup from the tile and paint work, still. Yuk.)

Also, here's today's flower picture - these are also neighbour flowers, on their big rhody, halfway down the walk to the postboxes:



( And a quiz. )

okay so this is funny

So I'm biking back from MurkSouth (trip there in 2,5/6 - about half in 2,6; trip back in 2,6/5, most of it in 2,6!) and I'm tearing down Ravenna and onto Burke-Gilman, and zum! up to 25th but don't make it before the light changes and have to wait. As soon as it does, I take off up the trail - I like to get a good head of steam going on that long uphill to Sand Point - and then slow down to something more normal.

And this guy I just tears by me on the left. I dunno how old he is, I think in his 40s, but I'm only guessing. Anyway he just piles by me, like I'm standing still - but what's odd about it is that he's got this weird look on his face. He kind of glares at me, and he doesn't signal before passing.

Then I notice that once he's a decent bit ahead of me, he slows down. A lot. And I think, "huh, that's odd, I wonder what's up with him?" I keep my pace... but notice that I seem to be catching up, very slowly. I'm not particularly trying to catch up, but... I am.

And predictably, after a few minutes, I pass him, only I do it the right way, with "on your left" and all that.

About a minute and a half later, he blows by me again, no signal, no words, not even a glare this time, and zips off ahead of me again... and once he's got a decent lead... slows... back... down.

At this point, I'm thinking, "...what is this guy's problem?" (And also, "does he drive like this?") But, as we're hitting the downhill 3/4 of the trip, I shift into 6th, crank up to my normal pedal pacing, and just wait to see what happens.

This time, when I pass him, I'm having too hard a time not giggling to signal. I just kind of wander by.

Five minutes later, he blows by me again. Wash, rinse, repeat.

After the fourth time I pass him back, he seems to be getting kind of winded. I haven't stepped up my pace or tried to race him at any point here. In fact, I've kind of been practicing root-avoidance jumps. (I've got a dual use bike, I should use the "mountain" part occasionally, or at least know how to, right?) We hit Lake Forest Park and I think, "Okay, I'm going to stay way over on the right to make sure he has plenty of room to blow by me again, 'cause he's gonna." The trail is kind of narrow in LFP, too, so I don't want to cause an accident.

Except he doesn't. Sort of.

He tries, mind you. At least four times that I noticed. (I got real familiar with the chain noise on his bike.) A couple of times he's stopped by oncoming riders or joggers. Twice, he makes his run and just...

...can't. Or, at least, doesn't.

Hee.

Again, and I'm being totally honest here: at no point did I race him. I'm not sure, but I think he lost a race against somebody who wasn't racing.

To be honest, I'm still not entirely sure what was happening, but when I stopped to wait for the crosswalk at the shops - that's where I go to head uphill towards my house...

...then, he manages to blow by me.

While I'm standing still.

Miles today: 16
Miles out of Hobbiton: 133.9. Saw small people with furry feet and ponies. V. cute - go them! Almost to Bree. Looking forward to it, I could use some cheese.
Miles to Rivendell: 324.1