elainegrey

There's a federal rule in support of LGBT, women, and pregnant and parenting persons' access to federally funded education resources ("Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance." ) in its comment period right now. The comment period ends 09/12/2022, in 47 days. Anyone and all can comment, and i've been alerted (I think i read it in three different journals last night?) there's been mobilization by the same forces behind the horrific state laws to comment against.

I was in the past a member of a Quaker committee that, between business meetings, participated in providing comment on Amicus Curiae briefs around marriage for all and trans rights. The point of the briefs was to assert that religious freedom includes freedom for the religious communities that affirm LGBTQ concerns, that Friends have affirmed this community, the history of our and other communities' support for the issue. I think the last one was about trans youth in school? In Virginia?

In a few weeks - after the 12th -- i hope to dig out that brief to find effective words used then and comment myself. I've reached out to my niece, who is president of her school's gay straight alliance this year, and the Friends group FLGBTQC for collaborators. (I'm hoping FLGBTQC might make an organizational statement, but we are reorganizing and i'm not sure if that process has progressed to a point of being able to make such a decision.)

I'd be interested in collaborating with others here, in the comments on this post at first, and then maybe zoom? Perhaps a close read of the rule to make concrete comments? I do not know what makes effective rule comments, but thought maybe there's some guidance to be found.

I'm not going to be in the position to coordinate anything for a bit, but i thought i'd put this out there.

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/07/12/2022-13734/nondiscrimination-on-the-basis-of-sex-in-education-programs-or-activities-receiving-federal

A draft response from one org is at https://nwlc.org/resource/draft-public-sign-on-comment-responding-to-president-bidens-proposed-title-ix-rule/ , there's also some text at https://www.ncwge.org/activities.html February 12, 2021

I am surprised how distressed i am about the insurrection. ( Read more... )

I say joy, but there may be more release and relief. Joy: a woman vice president! ( you don't need my rain on your parade )

Christine is swimming in dread and distress this morning with the supreme court appointment. I wish i could say that there will be no roll backs to recognition of her identity and our relationship. But i can't. I think the culture is shifting, but it's clear that there are folks holding on to an exclusive view of their place in the world as tightly as they can. I'm horrified to find my age cohort is at the lead of that effort.

One of the many aspects of the elephants that trample through our life often is that of trust: Christine trusts me, our pets, most furry and feathered creatures, but humans not so much. I think she's developed some trust in our vet. We had a nurse practitioner she trusted but she moved on. I think she trusts our grocery store to some extent. But that's maybe it.

It is hard to move in the world without trust. The level of hyper vigilance is exhausting.

When i think about it, my blasé movement through the world quickly changes and the risk accounting starts to build up -- but i can choose to not pay with hyper vigilance and trust because the alternative is debilitating.

--== ∞ ==--

The NYTimes pointed to the Republican administrative agenda for the next four years, correcting a claim that there was no agenda (and noting that the list wasn't really an agenda that had clear execution paths). One of the things was, in education, teach American exceptionalism. I think there were lots of people who used to be willing to mouth the platitudes of the US being the best in the world and then move on to facts. My perception is many of those folks now see the danger of playing nice with little lie, and are moving to tell the truth.

I recognize I am very tense due to the continued escalation in the news. But did we need both the news Trump is halting COVID 19 relief talks until after the election AND that Hurricane Delta is now a cat-4 in the same afternoon? I did not.

Too much time spent this morning trying to decide whether to subscribe to the new IFTTT service as set my own price point, so i went ahead and subscribed at the lowest price, comparable to one or two books (depending on the book). It's not my favorite freemium service: that would be airtable. But paying for airtable is nontrivial.

--== ∞ ==--

Marlowe was intimidated by Luigi this morning -- not sure that was Luigi's intent, but tiny Marlowe's low growl sounded like a fog horn. Luigi was attacked by Edward before 6 am, Edward's daily choice for rousting humans. And Marlowe continues to chase Edward. I am impressed at the circle of domination. Edward and Luigi, at least, spend hours close to each other napping. In general they get along. I thought Marlowe and Luigi were getting comfortable with each other....

Carrie has taken to showing up at hissy-fits to break them up. It's adorable.

Meanwhile, we've gone some time (a week or so) without inappropriate messes. Edward's insulin dose is significantly larger than his starting point, close to a dose for starting a human 6 times more massive. Maybe in a week or so we can consider removing one litter box.

--== ∞ ==--

I got called for a push poll last night. It was laughably biased. I suppose as an independent voter they expect to find someone who is not to the left of the Democratic party. They all but asked, "Biden has promised to eat babies and kill kittens, how will this affect your vote?"

Christine is fighting deep fears over the soon to be packed court. I find myself clinching my jaw frequently. We voted. We support groups that advocate for our values. We're not on the streets but i've supported those who are.

https://choosedemocracy.us/

The week has slipped by. Work is intense, Christine and i are both depressed, the weather is (finally) cold. (Not cold to my Ohio colleagues, who expressed a gasp of delight at the thought of our highs in the upper 30s and low 40s.)

Just like with the Kavenaugh hearings, Christine can't look away from the impeachment, and she was more optimistic about this process than i. I'm ... thinking about Tuesday night when i went to a county open house for a "greenway" that may go by our home up at the street. I am generally positive, although after i wonder if any of the consultants have walked along the side of the street. The concerns people have were not surprising. It does underscore the fortressed lives of many. "Why there and don't tell me it was some damn study." It wasn't the questions as the tones of the questions: so much distrust, so much fear. On one hand the rural old guard can't understand why greenways are an amenity (and honestly, i'm not that excited by the distance this goes along roads and not the creek). On the other hand was mr "how are you going to keep it safe!" and i'm struggling to imagine what he's imagining. It sounded like he wanted police patrols or something (as well as lighting, which is something i would get up in arms about).

Later i was trying to find more details about plans for the road i live on. I periodically research the topic, but this time i wanted to take better notes. I continue to worry that it's going to be widened to a four lane monstrosity, excuse me, boulevard, about the time my beech tree might set nuts. I *think* the plan is to try and keep "rural character" in this general area, but plenty of property owners seem to be interested in rural character except for their parcel being subdivided into not rural-ness. I went ahead and planted the beech in the front (because the power company had cut down a dying pine and the gap didn't need to be filled with more sweetgums).

In my search google turned up near-raw survey results from the county general planning process (oops), and i skimmed some of the text responses. "What are the top 3 reasons you choose to live in the county" brought some responses in the "other" that revealed the pain of the farming families faced with all the flux. Farming is historically so tied to place, that questions and reasons that make sense to the home shopper just seem strange. For those respondents, it's not "rural character" that is meaningful. It's the piece of land that is home that is meaningful.

The NY Times has had two articles that also swirl in this space for me - one about a chef who has moved off to a cabin in the woods to forage and serve incredible land based meals to a small party of visitors and another about intentional communities primarily focused on the sustainable and rural living. The chef's wife spoke about being afraid of the white men -- the hunters who have cabins in the same forest as she and her wife. And Christine has that fear here, a fear that being different will trigger intolerance in persons with experience being violent against living things.

A post in the county mailing list alerted us all that two businesses raising funds for a cat sanctuary would now be boycotted because the poster resented that the "crazy cat lady" was why the county didn't have a gun range. (https://chapelboro.com/news/development/range-2a-shutting-permanently-chatham) I think of the sounds of shooting we hear off and on through the fall. Some of it is clearly hunting, but other rhythmic percussive blasts sound like target shooting. Complaints by folks in the pockets of subdivisions on NextDoor seem met with equal amounts of scorn and sympathy.

The tensions and fears and anger and distrust in the county echoes the nation. Add to that the warm warm weeks that keep one aware that the planet is changing.

And now it's time for work.

Apparently i need to engage in fantasy some more. Below the cut is a complete and utter political fantasy for an alternative but very parallel universe.

( very long rambling )

and i don't know what happens next in my fantasy. I've spent far far too long on it. Sheer sheer fantasy . In the end ... my fantasy candidate is elected and we have four years of normalizing good behavior?

What is it i am checking this tube outside for? Empty, empty, empty. (As CoCoRaHs says, "Be a hero, report your zero.) -OR- no rain here.

It seems churlish to complain of that with Hurricane Humberto out at sea, pulling dry, arctic air down. Glorious autumn weather! Windows open, fresh air with birdsong (and commuter sound from the road).

--== ∞ ==--

In flag news, it's now being discussed on the wider NextDoor network of neighborhoods. Currently "it's private property" and "its [sic] their right" are about as defensive as it gets, with "I’m so sorry to hear this," "my teenagers asked 'why did we move to this godforsaken place?' when they saw it. It made me so sad," and " "very disappointing" as the general sentiment. The latest comment is inflammatory, "If it gets taken down and burned?" so likely this thread is going to get out of hand.

--== ∞ ==--

Yesterday i watched the bird bath a little and saw a tufted titmouse splashing madly away. There were also two birds with bright yellow colors. One was probably a female American Redstart but the other is harder for me to describe. It had similar yellow "flashing" in the tail, a yellow breast with darker flecks, and no bars on the wing like the redstart. The other color -- blue grey, if i recall correctly.

I need to make sure i am filling that bath regularly during this dry stretch.

--== ∞ ==--

The foresters came by and said that the pines are "over mature," we have the "large IPS" beetle, and the beetle is unlikely to cause any widespread damage (particularly this time of year). A relief. I do wonder whether thinning the pines near the power line would offer any "income" that would balance the cost of having the tree(s) removed.

I picked one of the passionflower fruit: too early. Only small white seeds, the sweet arils as yet unformed.

--== ∞ ==--

I think i'm only going to take a few hours off on Friday. The more i think about it, the more it seems like taking a break is more procrastination. I'm depressed about work and my designs, but a vacation isn't going to help. Digging in will help.