Left Hander in London at the Printer

I uploaded the book to the printer and ordered a small run for review. After those check out, I'll make them available for purchase. Be sure to check lefthanderinlondon.com

Left-Hander in London - Available soon

Left-Hander in London: A Field Guide to Transgenders, Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals - In the Family, On the Job and In the Pew is finished and has been sent to the publisher. It should be released in early to mid October.

Stupid Candidate Pledges

Candidates sign pledges to try to get elected. If they stick with these pledges, it limits their ability to compromise, find new solutions, and react to a changing environment. Instead of all of these stupid (and sometimes hateful,) self serving pledges, perhaps they could say:

"I am not signing a pledge because I may need to change my mind or compromise for the good of the country." (I am a leader and can make decisions)

I promise to try to:

"Have good will towards everyone."

"Make things better."

Boycott the NFL

Where is the initiative from the NFL fans to boycott the NFL? Our taxes supplement their income and pays for their stadiums. Have you checked on ticket prices for a game? They make so much money that they refer to the pie as being so big that it doesn't make sense to not come to an agreement. Most people are suffering and have suffered through the Great Recession. I hear pronouncements about the welfare of the fans, but I sure don't think they feel our pain! Should we continue to support the arrogant rich owners and players? There are some great alternatives:

Build and maintain libraries with the money we spend on pro sports

Support youth sports

Watch a kids game or event that you aren't that familiar with - debate team, girls soccer, drum and bugle corp, dance competitions, drama club, etc.

Find another sport to enjoy that deserves the respect and support of the fans. I like boxing.

Watch women's sports - soccer, WNBA, etc. They aren't rich, there are some special athletes and they appear to be trying to win!

Buy books and teach kids to read every Sunday afternoon from 1-4 p.m.

Spend your money on businesses that treasure their customers

I gave up watching baseball after the strike in the 80's after being an Indian fan for all those terrible years. I lived. I don't waste any time watching pro baseball or wondering which of the stars have been juicing. It shouldn't be hard to give up the NFL.

I don't like pudding

I don't like pudding

Many people, religions, businesses and organizations try to embrace diversity, show tolerance, have inclusion and accept everyone. I think that while these are certainly good goals, especially given where we have come from, we should take it one step further. We should lovingly and selfishly appreciate other people and other ideas. Accepting and tolerating are negative sounding terms. Appreciating means that we listen to other people, hear their ideas, understand their history and culture, and enjoy what they bring to creation. I say selfishly because when we go beyond first impressions or accepting/rejecting based on categories - religion, race, sexuality, gender, location, politics, etc., we stand ready to ponder new ideas, eat new foods, play new games, relax with new forms of entertainment and many other free surprises. The other person benefits and we benefit as well.

This does not mean that we need to like everything or everyone, but if you don't like a person, idea or whatever, at least know that you tried it and gave the person a chance to enrich our lives, and hopefully we do the same for them. I like Jello. It's cool, it's tasty, it's low calorie and fun to eat. I like Jello. I don't like pudding. It makes be gag. I tried it, and nothing against people that like it, but it's not for me. I like bread pudding. I wasn't going to try it, because it sounded like pudding, but I did and it is a treat. How much fun, how many good ideas, how much can we gain and share if we treat ideas and people like Jello and pudding?

Marriage Discrimination Amendment

The IN House overwhelmingly passed the proposed amendment taking away rights from LGBT people. I am transgender and have been married for over 30 years. When I transitioned, should the State of Indiana try to hurt my marriage to "protect" other marriages? Why stifle growth to hurt a minority group? Check out indianaequality.org if you want to help. The fight for freedom is not over.

Tell your legislators that we want progress, not loss of freedom. How does exclusion and an unwelcoming environment help economic growth?

Perhaps our new state logo should be, The Land of the Free and Home of the Brave - Not anymore! Maybe that is too long to fit on a seal or flag, but it sure fits.

A great scam - The Catholic Church

Apparently I am one of the most "insidious and dangerous" threats to the world today. I am still married to my wife (female) and I am transgender (now female). Depending on how you look at it, I am in a same sex marriage, which the men of the Church have judged to be a threat to the world. They also don't like divorce, so would they tell me that that is better than staying in a same sex marriage? See http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/13/pope-benedict-xvi-gay-mar_n_575441.html

Regardless of my status and situation, the larger question is who makes the rules? In the Catholic Church (I barely still consider myself a Catholic) we have an interesting situation. They are an organization that was instituted by the son of God, so is guided and protected by the Holy Spirit. Thus, their work and actions are supposedly the work of God, the Almighty and to disagree with them is to fight God. It appears that one of the contributing causes of the many abuse scandals is the need to protect the Church at the expense of everyone and everything else. Thus, if there is abuse, while I think the focus that Christ, himself would have would be on the victims, on the sinful and pitiable perpetrator, and on eliminating the abuse, rape, sodomizing and psychological bruising of everyone affected by such heinous acts.

Consider this: Did Jesus Christ start a movement or an institution?

It seems that the Church barely even acknowledges this unfathomable (at least to me) evil and will only "apologize" when court ordered. Apology and genuine concern and feeling are two different things.

One day, on the way to work, I saw a sad sight: A male Mallard duck was standing over his female partner who apparently had been hit by a car. I am an emotional person and was struck with the love of the male and tragedy of the loss of his partner and friend. I don't know if it was instinct, concern or actual love, but I was blesssed to see it and still get tears in my eyes when I think about it. Why doesn't the Church instituted by the son of God feel anything close to the same emotions when they perpetrate or at least know of the rape of a child - by one of their own? I felt sadness for two ducks. Should we feel more for humans in pain?

A question for any remaining Catholics and for society in general is why does the Church think they have the authority to make moral pronouncements for mankind? Do they have more of a right to decide if an abortion is right or wrong, or does the pregnant woman and the father? If some people are gay, can a bunch of old men who cover the misdeeds of pedophiles take away the rights of someone to love whom they are attracted to and choose to love?

Lastly, what would Jesus, himself say if he came back to the earth in bodily form and met with the Church?