Click pic for registration link.

I like to help students out- especially when it involves greater understanding of our community.  Please pass along to others who may qualify.

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Image via Wikipedia

How did Jon Tester and Congressman Dennis Rehberg spend the month of January?  The difference couldn’t be more obvious.

Jon Tester traveled thousands of miles across the Treasure State, holding dozens of meetings and public events attended by more than 1,000 Montanans from across the political spectrum—discussing everything from online safety to consumer protection to job creation in Montana.

As for Dennis Rehberg?  Not counting plenty of interviews with newspapers, TV and radio stations, Rehberg’s only public event was a political news conference announcing his Senate bid—surrounded Republican legislators known for comparing women to cattle and birther bills.

“Unlike Jon Tester, Congressman Dennis Rehberg thought January was vacation time,” said Ted Dick, Executive Director of the Montana Democratic Party.  “After 35 years in politics, Congressman Rehberg has he’s lost touch with Montana, and his decisions are so irresponsible he apparently doesn’t want to face the music at home.”

Not including press interviews, political events, or “work” in Washington, here’s what Congressman Dennis Rehberg did in January:

January 12

• Addressed Sentinel Kiwanis Club (Missoula)
• (Rehberg also held political press conference in Helena during which he filed for U.S. Senate surrounded by Montana lawmakers)

January 19

• Addressed Montana Chamber of Commerce (Helena)

Not including press interviews, political events, or work in Washington, here’s what Jon Tester did in January:

January 2:

• Visited U.S. Government class at Harlem High School (Harlem)
• Hosted Economic Development Roundtable (Harlem)
• Met with Fort Belknap Tribal Council (Fort Belknap)
• Visited U.S. Government class at Rocky Boy High School (Box Elder)
• Held Veterans Roundtable (Box Elder)

January 4:

• Visited Black Coffee Roasters (Missoula)
• Met with local realtors (Missoula)
• Met with Ravalli and Missoula Counties Suicide Task Force (Missoula)
• Held roundtable with Missoula Head Start (Missoula)
• Visited U.S. Government class at Sentinel High School (Missoula)
• Met with Lance Corporal Tomy Parker, U.S. Marine Corps (Ronan)

January 5:

• Addressed Daybreak Rotary (Kalispell)
• Met with Mayor John Muhlfeld and City Council (Whitefish)
• Toured Whitefish Care and Rehabilitation Center (Whitefish)
• Met with Sheriff Chuck Curry (Kalispell)
• Hosted online safety forum with Facebook (Kalispell)
• Hosted online safety forum with Facebook (Billings)

January 6:

• Visited Social Studies class at Skyview High School (Billings)
• Met with Rocky Mountain College President Michael Mace and Greg Kohn (Billings)
• Met with regional tribal leaders to discuss Indian health care (Billings)
• Hosted roundtable discussion with Billings Chamber of Commerce on energy (Billings)
• Met with Central Labor Council (Billings)

January 9

• Met with the School Administrators of Montana (Helena)
• Met with the Montana Rural Education Association (Helena)
• Met with the Montana School Board Association (Helena)
• Met with the Independent Insurance Agents of Montana (Helena)

January 10

• Met with the National Federation of Independent Businesses (Helena)
• Met with the Montana Bankers Association (Helena)
• Met with the Montana Realtors Association (Helena)

January 11

• Hosted roundtable discussion with Holly Petraeus Helena community leaders (Helena)
• Visited Montana Department of Labor training session (Helena)
• Hosted roundtable discussion with Holly Petraeus and National Guard members (Helena)
• Hosted Roundtable discussion with Holly Petraeus and Great Falls community leaders (Great Falls)
• Hosted roundtable discussion with Holly Petraeus and officers at Malmstrom Air Force Base (Great Falls)
• Hosted town hall meeting with Holly Petraeus and airmen at Malmstrom Air Force Base (Great Falls)

January 12

• Addressed the Montana Contractors’ Association (Big Sky)
• Visited Bozeman Head Start (Bozeman)

January 13

• Visited seniors at Lame Deer High School (Lame Deer)
• Hosted veterans listening session (Lame Deer)
• Toured Little Big Horn College (Crow Agency)
• Hosted veterans listening session (Crow Agency)

January 20

• Addressed Montana Chamber of Commerce (Helena)
• Visited Helena Middle School (Helena)
• Met with SeaCast Montana (Butte)
• Met with Montana State Sheet Metal Workers (Butte)

Hmmm. Looks like Tester wins this round. If you count being industrious, that is.

Related articles

• A Rehberg Tax Reminder (dgsma.wordpress.com)
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Christy Diane Farr writes an excellent article about the rhetoric used by the ignorant to allow- and justify- the death of our children. Excerpt:

Image by Rickydavid via Flickr

The next morning, she received a response from Tennessee State Representative John Ragan that sounded as if it had been taken straight from Hitler’s playbook. I am not exaggerating, even a little, and invite you to go here and read for yourself.

I cried as she read me the message. I thought I would throw up. His final point literally took my breath away:

“Examining another statistic, it has been well known for a decade that suicide is attempted much more frequently in the homosexual community than in the heterosexual community (Mathy, Cochran, Olsen, & Mays, 2009). This same source pointed out that, on average, suicide is approximately three times more likely among homosexuals than heterosexuals.

“As a fitting critical thought question, it could be asked if other identifiable groups that engage in behavior of which ‘others may disapprove’ commit suicide at similar rates? In other words, do prostitutes, pedophiles, polygamists, murders, etc., commit suicide at the same, or similar, rates to homosexual behavior practitioners? If similar rates were hypothetically so (not proven to be the case), do these behavior practitioners commit suicide at a higher rate because someone may have disapproved of their behavior or for other reasons? Should society avoid disapproving of pedophilia, prostitution, murder, etc., because practitioners of those behaviors may commit suicide at higher rates?”

The author makes a lot of amazing points- chief among them is that for a lot of of kids, the “It gets better” message isn’t coming through- because teachers and legislators and parents are stifling the message- and countermanding it. But there is a need to stay vigilant, there is a need to speak up- and it’s because of one simple philosophy:

The list of the others–the “they” who are allowing their fear and hatred to erode our National integrity–goes on and on, but the truth is that this radical lesbian-headed household doesn’t even believe in “they.” We teach our children about how everyone is equal, even those who think we are not. We believe that human difference is real, that it’s important, and that diversity, inclusivity, and integrity are what make us strong–as individuals, families, communities, states, counties, and as a planet.

We live by one guiding principle: Be nice or leave.

That means we don’t make life harder for other people (rinse your dishes before they go in the dishwasher and dispose of your waste responsibly). It means do your best so the collective “we” can be at our best. We tread lightly on the planet. We disagree respectfully because we certainly won’t always agree, but we can always do it respectfully and intelligently.

Oh, and we ask for what we need because we understand that it’s codependent and manipulative (prime examples of the “not nice” that can result in being invited to leave) to expect others to know what you need and desire.

Read the rest of this excellent essay here.

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Phyllis and Bandit

I’m a dog lover. I’ve had many important dogs in my life- from the dog I got for my sixth birthday, Ruff- to Bandit and Phyllis, our dogs today. Animals can provide a lot of joy, comfort and support- and for a lot of persons with HIV, they often provide an excellent reason to take better care of themselves.

Science Daily reports today on a study showing that HIV+ women with pets cope much better than their petless counterparts. Excerpt:

(Allison) Webel set out to better understand how women manage their HIV/AIDS and stay on track to take their medications, follow doctors’ orders and live healthy lifestyles. She conducted 12 focus groups with 48 women to find out what they did to stay healthy. The women had an average age of 42, about 90 percent had children, and more than half were single.

During the focus groups, six predominant social roles emerged that helped and hindered these women in managing their illness: pet owner, mother/grandmother, faith believer, advocate, stigmatized patient, and employee. All roles had a positive impact except stigmatized patient, which prevented women from revealing their illness and seeking out appropriate supports.

“Much information is available about the impact of work and family roles, but little is known about other social roles that women assume,” Webel said.

Being a pet owner was an important surprise, added Webel, who collaborated with co-author Patricia Higgins, a professor of nursing at Case Western Reserve University.

“Pets — primarily dogs — gave these women a sense of support and pleasure,” Webel said.

When discussing the effect their pets have on their lives, the women weighed in. “She’s going to be right there when I’m hurting,” a cat owner said. Another said: “Dogs know when you’re in a bad mood…she knows that I’m sick, and everywhere I go, she goes. She wants to protect me.”

The human and animal bond in healing and therapy is being recognized, Webel said, as more animals are visiting nursing homes to connect to people with dementia or hospitals to visit children with long hospital stays.

I’m sure that this translates across genders, as well. I’ve known plenty of chronically ill men who have strong bonds with their pets.

Psychologically, it’s much more difficult to be depressed when there’s a pet in your life- taking care of someone/something other than yourself can be very beneficial and provide relief from feelings of isolation, sadness and fear. Organizations like PAWS (Pets Are Wonderful Support) have known this for years- that for animal lovers, nothing helps speed healing like the love of a pet- now science may make this an even more integral component of treating chronic illness….

Related articles

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• http://www.aidsbeacon.com/news/2009/06/15/pet-ownership-for-people-with-hivaids/ 
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Image by neil1877 via Flickr

I’m not talking about the caricatured, stereotyped and ridiculous portrayals by movies, television and popular culture (Dead Man Walking and a few others excepted). You’ve probably seen pictures of nuns marching for civil rights in the sixties. You may heard of the selfless sacrifices made by sisters in the missionary field. And you may know a sister (or two) who have changed your life for the better.

I do. Several, in fact.

Sisters have been on the cutting edge of social issues (it can be argued) for over a thousand years- much of the hierarchy cannot claim even a fraction of the social justice work these women have accomplished. They have been working (often very quietly) to keep the fundamental message of Jesus alive- the message that compassion, dignity and respect is the only response to every human person.

What you may not know is this: they are also some of the fiercest advocates of social justice for LGBT persons.

New Ways Ministry, a Catholic organization dedicated to promoting understanding and dignity for LGBT persons, has an excellent blog post about the work of religious sisters for LGBT equality. Excerpt:

It’s no secret–though it’s not well-known, either–that high on the list of Catholic supporters of LGBT equality are nuns.  Communities of women religious have consistently been supportive of education, dialogue, and justice activities for LGBT people since the late 1970s.

After Vatican II, when nuns’ communities re-evaluated their charisms and ministries, they quickly realized that the church had long neglected lesbian/gay rights and that this was an issue that cried for justice.  They responded positively and actively.

Johnson’s article  highlights the reason that nuns can be so steadfast:

“American nuns don’t want to fight the official church, but neither are they likely to sacrifice the integrity of their consciences for the sake of peace.”

At New Ways Ministry,  we are indebted to our Sisters for financial, spiritual, and practical support over our 35 year history.  More New Ways Ministry programs have been held in convents and motherhouses than in any other type of Catholic facility by far.

Read the full post here- and follow their blog on Twitter- it’s a heartening voice in a religious climate that is often far from charitable.

So if you have a negative view about nuns, consider changing your mind. And if you know a sister who’s braving the forefront of equality- thank them. Send them this post, in fact.

We owe them more than we think.

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Washington state has the votes to legalize same-sex marriage after State Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen says she’ll support the marriage equality bill, KIRO reports:

In a statement, Haugen said, “I know this announcement makes me the so-called 25th vote, the vote that ensures passage. That’s neither here nor there. If I were the first or the seventh or the 28th vote, my position would not be any different. I happen to be the 25th because I insisted on taking this much time to hear from my constituents and to sort it out for myself, to reconcile my religious beliefs with my beliefs as an American, as a legislator, and as a wife and mother who cannot deny to others the joys and benefits I enjoy.”

Haugen’s announcement comes as the first hearings on the measure are being held in Washington’s capitol. Twenty-five votes are required for passage of the bill in the state Senate, and Haugen’s would be the 25th committed vote.

Haugen’s full statement is powerful and realistic and human. She obviously took this seriously, went past the rhetoric and used that most amazing tool of humanity- the conscience. And everyone who wrestles with the issue of marriage equality- or is affected by it should read it.

It’s with the full story here.

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To play the (Aryan) race card.

Little Green Footballs is reporting that Fox Nation has posted a video that has resulted in hundreds of racist, offensive comments:

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As we’ve noted at LGF many times, Fox Nation, official discussion forum of Fox News, has become utterly indistinguishable from a neo-Nazi hate site like Stormfront. And here’s another graphic, disgusting demonstration.

Yesterday, whatever race-baiting goon runs that site posted a video of Sheila Jackson Lee, criticizing Newt Gingrich’s racist code words:

Sheila Jackson Lee: Newt Using ‘Codewords’ to be Racist – Newt Gingrich – Fox Nation

Of course, they knew exactly what would happen; that’s why they posted the video. Fox Nation commenters responded with a torrent of outraged whining and denials: “Democrats are the real racists,” “Sheila Jackson Lee is the real racist,” “There’s no racism in America,” “I’m sick of being accused of racism,” etc. etc. etc.

And there were real, disgustingly racist and hateful comments posted throughout the site- which they’ve taken down. Comments are now closed. But if you want to see what they said, you can go to Little Green Footballs site, linked above. I won’t reprint them here.

This is nothing new- it started the second Obama started to gain traction in the primaries. You remember the jokes, the pictures, the sneers. But there are arguments, like Lee’s, that the Republican challenger’s rhetoric is inflammatorily “coded” to incite fear and disgust in his audience without actually sounding the alarm- especially as a white Southerner familiar with the race-baiting fear tactics so popular (and effective) in the 60′s.

Do I believe the President can handle this rhetoric? I do. He will do it with his characteristic intelligence and grace.

What bothers me is this: A significant part of the American Public too easily fall into this unenlightened position of racial ridiculousness. And Fox News just seems to be fanning those flames- “out of concern for America,” mind you.

Watch closely, America. It’s out there.

Related articles

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A much anticipated birth is expected by many Chinese families after the New Moon on Monday, 23rd January ushers in the auspicious Year of the Dragon. The only mythological beast in the Chinese Zodiac, the Dragon as a symbol in China dates back to 3000 BC and stands for happiness, immortality, procreation, fertility and activity. This year’s babies will be Black Water Dragons, considered to be calmer, more flexible and even more charismatic than other elements. In previous dragon years, countries such as China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore have all experienced baby booms, and preparations are in place for this year’s influx of baby dragons.

Now, who wouldn’t want a baby like that? Especially when there’ll be two…. Make sure and check out the links in the post- they lead to a lot of interesting ephemera.

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The New York Times is reporting that despite being unenforceable, irrelevant and ridiculously out of date, Kansas sodomy laws are being kept on the books by Governor Sam Brownback. Excerpt:

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