Day: March 13, 2010

What Utter Bullsh*t!

Daily Agitator

Normally, I do not post on the gay thing because I believe that it is a personal choice that is made by consenting people and in that it is NONE of my business and definitely NONE of the government’s business….but from time to time there are stories that need to be exposed for the ludicrous crap that it is……

This one comes from the state that I live in…Mississippi…a cultural wasteland to begin with….but all kidding aside….a state that is still living,  for the most part,  in the 1950’s……

The AP is reporting:

A lesbian student who wanted to take her girlfriend to her senior prom is asking a federal judge to force her Mississippi school district to reinstate the dance it canceled.

The district’s decision Wednesday came after the ACLU demanded that officials change a policy banning same-sex prom dates because it said it violated students’ rights. The ACLU said the district violated McMillen’s free expression rights by not letting her wear a tux.

Same-sex prom dates and cross-dressing are new issues for many high schools around the country, said Daryl Presgraves, a spokesman for GLSEN: Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, a Washington-based advocacy group.

Southside Baptist Church Pastor Bobby Crenshaw said he’s seen the South portrayed as “backwards” on Web sites discussing the issue, “but a lot more people here have biblically based values.”

Itawamba County is a rural area of about 23,000 people in north Mississippi near the Alabama state line. It’s near Pontotoc County, Miss., where more than a decade ago school officials were sued in federal court over their practice of student-led intercom prayer and Bible classes.

Interesting?  Being gay in Mississippi is a damnable sin, at least in the minds, the little minds, of the people in control.  the reality is that the kids could care less about another’s sexual orientation….it is the old farts that control the schools and local government that are dictating their values to the kids……homosexuality is NOT as big a deal to 15 year olds as it is for 50 year olds that are still living in the past…..

Maybe a suggestion for those in control….”try minding you own business and let others lived their own lives without your interference”…..just a suggestion….I am sure it will fall on deaf ears….especially in the state of Mississippi…

Back To Nature

NO this is NOT a promotional piece for nudism……

We have seen story after story of how the recent economic crisis has effected people, banks, cities, etc.  The states are ALL fighting to find ways to survive this crisis….and the promises of “green jobs” is a daily injection into the news……but with all that rhetoric how do citiies survive?  Declining tax base, tax revenue and population has made it virtually impossible to run a city efficiently….

If you remember your history, then you will recall from the beginning of this country, it was an agrarian society that was the lead and then the industrial revolution came about and the US moved to more manufacturing and the agriculture began to suffer….so that today most farmland is owned by corporations.

Detroit has been struggling to keeps its head above the water line….loss of population, loss of industrial base and super high unemployment, about 16% officially, but unofficially it is probably closer to 20%.  But Detroit may have an idea to try and resurrect the city…..I found this article while surfing on simplysustainable.com:

With so much cheap land now available in the city, and countless numbers of abandoned industrial sites too far gone to resurrect, a wealthy investor named John Hantz of Hantz Financial Services thinks now is the right time to get Detroit back on its feet by taking it back to its roots; literally. Hantz has already contributed $30 million of his own money to get Hantz Farms underway; the world’s largest urban farming project.

The idea is not a new one. Talk of repurposing much of Detroit back to agriculture has been talked about for decades; only now has the idea had real backing and the economic environment to make it a reality. From Hantz Farms; press release:

“Detroit could be the nation’s leading example of urban farming and become a destination for fresh, local and natural foods and become a major part of the green movement,” said Hantz, a Detroit resident. “Hantz Farms will transform this area into a viable, beautiful and sustainable area that will serve the community, increase the tax base, create jobs and greatly improve the quality of life in an area that has experienced a severe decline in population.”

Phase 1 plans utilize more than 70 acres of underutilized vacant lands and abandoned properties on Detroit’s lower east side.

Hantz Farms plans to grow natural, local, fresh and safe fruits and vegetables to help meet Michigan’s increasing demand for locally grown produce. In addition to food and trees, Hantz Farms will harvest wind energy and utilize geothermal heat and biomass fuel from recycling compost.

I think this is a good idea, however I do not like the fact that it is just another corporate farm to compete with the “real” farmers that remain…..on the other side, I say if it will produce food and work and help save the city, then why not give it a try?