Linkdump: the “way past my bedtime” edition

This is what I get for drinking ALL THE COFFEE EVER during a marathon writing session.

The up-shot: that I got to spend the afternoon and evening at a friend’s dining room table, racing him to word count goals. The problem: there will be a point sometime around 7 AM when I will need to be conscious. Oh dear.

If you know me, you probably know that I do not count myself as a member of any of the Abrahamic religions. I ceased practicing Christianity around age 12, and aside from an attempt to get through Catechism (my 16-year-old self’s failed effort at finding a Christian context in which a functional polytheism and belief in a divine feminine would allow me to be a practicing Pagan sub rosa in order to please my mother), I am not much for the whole Jesus thing. I’m not saying it’s bad as such. Just that in general, it is bad for me, and frequently badly executed by people who like to use it to justify their bad behavior, including denying me and mine our civil rights.

Reading Slacktivist’s incredibly thoughtful, well-considered, and scholarly three-part series entitled Sex & Money (Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3) was one of those refreshing, balm to my frequently agitated spirit experiences. These posts are long, but worth it. It’s beautiful seeing someone who self-identifies as an evangelical Christian engaging the question of how to use scripture as a guide, and the social ramifications of denying reality, and mistaking the letter of what may or may not be the law for the actual lesson given. I don’t know that I’d have stayed if someone like Slacktivist had attended my childhood church, and I certainly don’t believe that this view is in any way a dominant one — more’s the pity — but I’d be remiss if I didn’t recommend it.

Another thing that gave me warm fuzzies: Betty White, Jedi Master. I remember watching The Golden Girls with my grandmother when I was young. It’s quite a fond memory, and I was sad to hear of Rue McClanahan’s passing. As a geek, I found this certainly helped transmute that sadness back into fondness.

I have not been talking about the oil spill because there are tons of people doing a better job than I ever could. However, here’s a list of things you can do to help.

I probably don’t have to explain why the State Department’s decision to make it easier for transfolk to have passports that accurately reflect their lived-in gender is exciting for me, or that I’m likely to be in touch with my doctor sometime in the next week or so to see if I can acquire the right kind of letter. This is fantastic news, and means I’ll be able to travel more freely with fewer risks to my person (with the exception that body scans, if I encounter them, might be exceptionally humiliating/awkward).

One fear I expressed to a friend about this, though, is that even with a male passport I’ll still have mixed documentation. Both the Social Security Administration and the state in which I live stipulate that I have to meet surgical criteria that I can’t afford to meet in order to update my driver’s license, Social Security card, and birth certificate. The net result for many people like me is not just increased difficulty finding work, but difficulties within the unemployment system. If you don’t know what ENDA is and why you should support it, this is a really good place to start.

And now, to try and sleep. Well, provided the dogs give me my comforter back…

This post has been mirrored from Christian A. Young's Dimlight Archive. To see it in its original format, visit dimlightarchive.com

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