Hanging out at kindergarten as I do, yeah, not many kids could paint like that. They could paint abstract compositions, yes, but kids' art generally follows 'rules' about what is and isn't in a canvas-- composition is a big part of it, as little kids generally don't have any, and then, as they get older, get a very simple composition going-- ground and sky, for example.

If this kids' talent is real, I fear mom and dad will ruin it by wanting her to continue to produce 'marketable' pieces and not follow her own artistic muse (and natural development).

Women are supposed to dress like pretty princesses and have sex with men. Men are supposed to dress like construction workers and have sex with women. Break these rules, and you're violating 'the rules.' It's just that simple.

It's easy to say you have nothing in common with transgendered people, but it's not true. You break the rules by your desires, and they break the rules by their identity, but the same rulebreaking makes you a target for discrimination, anger, and violence. And, as many have pointed out, a good portion of the transgender community is also gay or lesbian and even-- gasp!-- bisexual.

I have to admit, I'm glad you got eviscerated for asking this question on your blog. Your 'these people have nothing to do with my comfortable life' attitude is alienating and incredibly insulting, especially to transgender people who've been fighting this fight for a very long time.

And I also think it's absurd to imply that this bill would pass with flying colors if it weren't for that pesky "T"-- or further, to imply that the bill might have passed ten years ago without it. The movement-- whatever letters you choose to put on it-- has made real progress very quickly, and I'm delighted it has. But don't pretend a simple "T" is all that's in opposition or holding you back.

Thanks for this review, Stephanie. I was afraid this movie would be too depressing for me to ever want to watch, but now I think I'll give it a shot. And what better testament to the power of a movie than that woman who came up to you, worried about the boys and wanting to know how the rest of the story ended! Wow.

Well, one of the reasons is that it doesn't work. Kids who've taken chastity vows generally lose their virginity at just about the same time as kids who haven't-- and they're more likely to have non-safe sex. From a social perspective, knocked-up, diseased kids are a Bad Thing.

The second issue is that many of the people throwing Knights to Remember and Purity Balls want to push their values on the rest of us, in case, you know, you've been living under a rock and have missed the budget money going to abstinence education programs and public service announcements.

Thank you Susan Stryker, for articulating so well what I and others were trying to say in response to the previous article. This was a smart, savvy, and elegant takedown. Thank you.

However, I'm sorry, but "If I can't have my cake, then no one else can either!" is not a very sympathetic or compelling argument for me.

Then I don't understand why Aravosis' original argument held any water for you either, as that was pretty much exactly what he was saying. And if you don't think gay men, lesbians, and bisexuals will get run out of jobs on the basis of "gender expression" once firing people simply for being LGB is illegal, I have a nice bridge in Manhattan I'd like to interest you in. (Dana Runs covers that topic far better than I do, though.)

It seems as if it's already been decided. That we're collectively sprinting to the abiss of some other form of government. The new normal, the constitutional hardball that we're witnessing is occurring without discussion except on what would be perceived as the fringes.

I worry that the conservatives know something we don't, sometimes. I hate that my own country makes me so paranoid. And angry.

Does anyone know enough about our other Crusades Against Brown People-- the Vietnam War, the Pacific theater in Japan, the Native American wars-- to know if people argued to this extent against an 'unknown evil' before? I know we treated Japanese-Americans differently than German-Americans...be curious to know if there were other parallels, or if this explosion of paranoia is really unprecedented.

That driving, walking down the sidewalk, etc. are activities with other people involved, and perhaps we should be considerate of them. Finding out what your wife wants for dinner is, shockingly, not more important than not getting into a traffic accident-- look up the statistics, cell phone users get into more accidents, whether the phone is hands-free or not. So yeah...we'll hate you still, as you bump into us on the sidewalk, get into a frenzied conversation with your broker, or bump the car ahead of you at the red light. Because you're still being an asshole, no matter how cool your headset is.