Kids

I think its high time for another addition of "Kids Say the Darndest Things!"

She was in the bathroom, putting on her makeup, under the watchful eyes of her young granddaughter as she'd done many times before. After she applied her lipstick and started to leave, the little one said, "But Gramma, you forgot to kiss the toilet paper good-bye!"

My young grandson called the other day to wish me Happy Birthday. He asked me how old I was, a nd I told him, "62." He was quiet for a moment, and then he asked, "Did you start at 1?"

After putting her grandchildren to bed, a grandmother changed into old slacks and a droopy blouse and proceeded to wash her hair. As she heard the children getting more and more rambunctious, her patience grew thin. Finally, she threw a towel around her head and stormed into their room, putting them back to bed with stern warnings. As she left the room, she heard the three-year-old say with a trembling voice, "Who was THAT?"

A grandmother was telling her little granddaughter what her own childhood was like: "We used to skate outside on a pond. I had a swing made from a tire; it hung from a tree in our front yard. We rode our pony. We picked wild raspberries in the woods." The little girl was wide-eyed, taking this all in. At last she said, "I sure wish I'd gotten to know you sooner!"

My grandson was visiting one day when he asked, "Grandma, do you know how you and God are alike?" I mentally polished my halo while I asked, "No, how are we alike?" "You're both old," he replied.

A llittle girl was diligently pounding away on her grandfather's word processor. She told him she was writing a story. "What's it about?" he asked. "I don't know," she replied. "I can't read."

I didn't know if my granddaughter had learned her colors yet, so I decided to test her. I would point out something and ask what color it was. She would tell me and was always correct. It was fun for me, so I continued. At last she headed for the door, saying sagely, "Grandma, I think you should try to figure out some of these yourself!"

When my grandson Billy and I entered our vacation cabin, we kept the lights off until we were inside to keep from attracting pesky insects. Still, a few fireflies followed us in. Noticing them before I did, Billy whispered, "It's no use, Grandpa. The mosquitoes are coming after us with flashlights."

When my grandson asked me how old I was, I teasingly replied, "I'm not sure." "Look in your underwear, Grandpa," he advised. "mine says I'm four to six."

A second grader came home from school and said to her grandmother, "Grandma, guess what? We learned how to make babies today." The grandmother, more than a little surprised, tried to keep her cool. "That's interesting," she said, "how do you make babies?" "It's simple," replied the girl. "You just change 'y' to 'i' and add 'es'."

Children's Logic: "Give me a sentence about a public servant," said a teacher. The small boy wrote: "The fireman came down the ladder pregnant." The teacher took the lad aside to correct him. "Don't you know what pregnant means?" she asked. "Sure," said the young boy confidently. "It means carrying a child."

A nursery school teacher was delivering a station wagon full of kids home one day when a fire truck zoomed past. Sitting in the front seat of the truck was a Dalmatian dog. The children started discussing the dog's duties. "They use him to keep crowds back," said one child. "No," said another, "he's just for good luck." A third child brought the argument to a close. "They use the dogs," she said firmly, "to find the fire hydrants."

Crush du Jour: Juan Diego Flores

Chicago mulls high school for gays

My thoughts follow this article.

Chicago mulls gay high school
By 365gay Newscenter Staff

(Chicago, Illinois) Chicago school officials are considering a plan to create a separate high school for LGBT students, but the proposal is not without its detractors - both outside and within the gay community.

LGBT advocates hail the idea, but others warn the school would isolate gay students. Conservatives call the proposal a waste of taxpayer money.

A 2005 study commissioned by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network found that gay-bashing remains a major problem in the nation’s schools.

Three-quarters of students surveyed across America said that over the past year they heard derogatory remarks such as “faggot” or “dyke” frequently or often at school, and nearly nine out of 10 reported hearing “that’s so gay” or “you’re so gay” - meaning stupid or worthless - frequently or often.

Over a third of students said they experienced physical harassment at school on the basis of sexual orientation and more than a quarter on the basis of their gender expression.

Nearly one-in-five students reported they had been physically assaulted because of their sexual orientation and over a tenth because of their gender expression.

The study also showed that bullying has a negative impact on learning.

LGBT students were five times more likely to report having skipped school in the last month because of safety concerns than did the general population of students.

Nevertheless, some LGBT community leaders say a separate school for gay students could give them a false sense of security and make them unprepared for life outside schoolhouse walls.

“If we’re going to set up a separate school, let’s put the bullies in the school and not our gays kids,” Rick Garcia, public policy director of Equality Illinois told the Chicago Tribune. “Kids should be able to go to school in a safe environment wherever they are.”

Conservatives call the proposal for the school a misuse of public funds and charge it would require administrators to take a moral stance on homosexuality.

The plan must still undergo a series of public hearings - the first is set for Sept. 18. It then would require approval by a Chicago Public Schools evaluation team with the final decision up to the head of the school system, Arne Duncan.

The earliest it could be up and running would be 2012.

The first all-gay high school in the U.S. opened in New York City in 2003, and is named for slain San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk.

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While I think it would be totally fun for gay kids to be in school only with other gay kids, I don't think it is a good idea to separate them from the general student population because they are the victims of bullying.

Rather than separating gay students to ensure a safe environment for them, the schools need to take seriously the idea of school bullying and implement measure to reduce it.

Too often school officials scoff and snicker at bullying, suggesting "kids will be kids", as if bullying (for any reason) is expected, and therefore understandable or acceptable. They chalk it up to 'hormones' and 'typical teenage behaviors', but I believe this is just an excuse for inaction. They would likely feel differently if their own child was the victim of bullying.

Rather than spending millions on a new school for gay students, why not use that money to install video cameras in the existing schools which will help administrators monitor bullying and take action against it. Students who know they are "on camera" may decided against inappropriate behavior.

I believe schools need to adopt a 'zero tolerance' policy for bullying.

First offenders should be suspended for a day. Second offenders should be suspended and sent to mandatory counseling. Repeat offenders should be expelled for the rest of the term.

I believe that if these penalties for bullying are communicated first and then implemented, students will think twice about beating up an effeminate boy while calling him a faggot.

Crush du Jour: Jason Shane Scott

Ricky Martin is a dad

You've probably heard or read by now that Ricky Martin is a dad.

According to a statement released by his press rep, twin boys were delivered via a surrogate mother about a month ago.
"Ricky Martin's a dad!


The Latin superstar, 36, welcomed twin boys via a surrogate mother a few weeks ago, his rep tells Usmagazine.com in a statement.


"The children, delivered via gestational surrogacy, are healthy and already under Ricky's full-time care," the statement read.


"Ricky is elated to begin this new chapter in his life as a parent and will be spending the remainder of the year out of the public spotlight in order to spend time with his children."

No further details were released. The Associated Press first reported the news.

Over the years, Martin has refused to confirm or deny rumors that he's gay.


"I think that sexuality is something that each individual should deal with in their own way," he told Barbara Walters in 2005. "And that's all I have to say about that."


Now, I'm not saying he's gay, but if someone asked ME if I were straight, I wouldn't say that 'I think that sexuality is something that each individual should deal with in their own way'. I'd say 'No, not that there's anything wrong with it'.

My point is, no straight guy answers the 'are you gay' question by NOT answering the question definitively. I'm just sayin'. This photo has undoubtedly fueled some of the gay rumors, but others claim the guy on the right is Ricky's half-brother, not a boyfriend.

Honestly, I don't care. I just find it interesting when a hot-looking, healthy man won't confirm or deny his sexuality and then fathers children via surrogacy. I just find that... interesting.

Crush du Jour: Ricky Martin

Bad parent

You might be a bad parent if...

...you believe children should begin expressing themselves at an early age.

...you encourage your child to explore his curiosities, and your thong.

...you buy AND allow your daughter to wear this t-shirt.

...you believe its never too early in the day or in life to enjoy a cold brewsky!

...your idea of a cheap babysitter involves duct tape.

...you've ever said or thought "I love children... especially on a whole wheat roll!"

Crush du Jour: Rene Fris

Billboard campaign highlights gay families

I think this concept is cool. GLBT citizens of WI were not content to rest defeated by the 2006 state constitutional amendment defining marriage as 'between a man and a woman', so they created a billboard campaign to educate their straight neighbors that gay families exist, whether or not their parents are legally married.

Major kudos to the Joseph R. Pabst LGBT Infrastructure Fund for a grant, and Clear Channel for donating a large number of billboards!

Billboard campaign highlights gay families
By Jennifer Vanasco

(Milwaukee, Wis.) A Milwaukee group aims to show that gay and lesbian families are everywhere with an aggressive billboard and bus shelter ad campaign.

"The “Gay Neighbor” campaign will feature LGBT families drawn from the Milwaukee area and was unveiled this week at a news conference. It begins Monday.
The ads, from the Cream City Foundation, all bear the slogan "Family. It’s all about LOVE!" and direct people to a Web site that offers more information on the issues facing same-sex couples and their children.

In 2006, Wisconsin voters approved a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples. Since then LGBT activist groups have been focusing on efforts to get bills granting recognition of domestic partnerships passed in the legislature.

Marketing expert Denise Crawley said the photos used in the campaign were selected following intensive focus groups.

“We tried single people, we tried couples by themselves. None of those sorts of images worked as well as presenting people in the sense of family,” Crawley told Milwaukee Public Radio.

The ads feature with young children and teens pictured with their gay and lesbian parents, and LGBT kids with their mothers and fathers.

“We also heard from people that they thought that gay people don’t have families, certainly thought they don’t have children. Don’t even think to ask about a significant other, about their mother, about their sister,” Crawley said.

Several of the families represented in the campaign were present at the news conference, but were identified only by their first names.

One of the couples, Kristie and Karen, said that it was difficult to decide whether to expose their children in the ads.

“The last thing a parent wants to do is to put their child in harms way and, while I don’t feel like we’re necessarily doing that, it’s a little nerve-wracking. And there were days I did feel sick to my stomach about it and we talked about that a lot. But, we felt like the cause was worthwhile and we need to do it,” Karen said. “My true feeling was, I came back to the code, you have to be a part of the change you want to see in the world and there was no other way to do it. And I think our families and our kids know, that it’s a worthwhile cause.”
Crawley said that in addition to educating the straight population, she hopes the ads encourage more gay people to come out.

“The fact that there are still hate crimes and there are still unfair laws, there are so many people who are still closeted,” she said.

“There are plenty of people who still have people come into their homes and have dinner parties and people don’t know that they’re gay. And we’re not going to be able to make inroads into more fair laws and opportunities if more people don’t realize how many gay neighbors they have.”

The foundation did not say how much it cost to produce the ads, but noted that it received funding from the Joseph R. Pabst LGBT Infrastructure Fund and that Clear Channel had donated a large number of billboards.

Crush du Jour: Antoine Vaillant