Keeping with my theme of today's idiots, I must nominate Randy Cohen - "The Ethicist" for the New York Times, a feature I usually like.

Today, he tackles WHEN to out a transgender date.  Not when that person should disclose, but what a shocked date must do in response to learning this information.  No handbills, but its okay to talk about it.

Not a word on the tremendously high rates of assault and murder of transgender men and women.  No, Cohen just goes for the laugh about TMI on a first date (don't talk about wanting kids), but the necessity to disclose before you disrobe (on the first date?).  He takes not an iota of responsibility for what one's friends and colleagues might do once they have this information.  Nor does he assume that it is an individual's right to make that disclosure.  He just assumes it must be discussed, perhaps to deal with the horror of having dinner with a man who was born female? 

Arrrrgggggg.  See The Bilerico Project for more.

LezGetReal.com has something up on the Pentagon pushing back on the LGBT community's outcry over the ridiculous survey the Pentagon has mailed to 400,000 members of the military. 

Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said about the stories that have resulted from the leak of the 103-question survey that many ?have been inflammatory in the worst case, and misleading in the best.?  The survey was suppose to remain confidential, but the distribution of the survey to the 400,000 active duty and reserve military personnel ended up without that being achieved.

Morrell stated that ?Outside influence is not helpful to the process.?  Of course, given that several groups outside the process have already tried to influence the process by pushing the statements of retired chaplains out in order to try and stop the repeal, and that there was no punishment for a general who decided to issue an op-ed trying to preserve the policy, it is hard to believe that the outside influence was not going to occur anyway.

?We thought it would be breaking the faith with them for us to be proactively sharing the survey because what we are trying to do is preserve the credibility and integrity of the answers that it elicits from the force.?

?The survey is designed to get the attitudes of the force on how to proceed if Congress repeals the so-called ?Don?t Ask, Don?t Tell? law, and is not a referendum on whether or not the law should be repealed.  The answers will inform the working group?s deliberations,? Morrell stated.  The LGBT Community has been very leery of the commitment to repealing DADT.  Right now, repeal rests on the shoulders of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullen, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, and President Barack Obama and not Congress since an interim repeal is in the Defense budget for this year.

Morrell misses much of the reason behind the uproar when he states ?Pentagon officials worked with a professional and reputable polling firm to produce the survey.  Roughly the first third of the 103 questions seeks demographic information.  The second third asks about professional and military experience.  The third asks how the law?s repeal might affect the individual being surveyed.?  Part of the problem is the wording.  The more clinical word ?homosexual? tends to elicit a more negative reaction than ?lesbian or gay? does.

Confidential? No outside influence? No torture took place?  Ooops.

Let us remember that no such survey took place when the armed forced were integrated or when women began assuming combat roles.  They figured it out without using inflammatory rhetoric to stir up bias, bigotry and fear.

The military really sucks. This is yet another farcical move in the long line of delays and pandering to homophobes who don't want the repeal. 

It is really hard to determine what is making my head spin more this morning, Pennsylvana politics or national politics.

Tom Corbett is a major ass.  If this is his view of Pennsylvania's labor force (the "working man"), just IMAGINE what he thinks about people relying on the safety net for survival. 

From Capitol Ideas:

According to our podcasting pal, Scott Detrow, of Pennsylvania Public Radio,the two-term attorney general told reporters that "the jobs are there," but that many people are purposely remaining unemployed to to collect benefits.

According to Detrow's report, Corbett said he's heard a similar message from business owners across the state.

?One of the issues, and I hear it repeatedly ? one of the individuals said, ?I can?t get workers. People don?t want to come back to work while they still have unemployment.? They?re literally telling him, ?I?ll come back to work when unemployment runs out.? That?s becoming a problem.?

Corbett added, ?The jobs are there. But if we keep extending unemployment, people are just going to sit there ...  I?ve literally had construction companies tell me, I can?t get people to come back to work until?they say, 'I?ll come back to work when unemployment runs out.'?

Capitol Ideas has links to soundbytes.

I don't know anyone who wants to be on unemployment. I interview probably 5-10 people per month and receive dozens more resumes from people who want to work. Unfortunately, most of them are not qualified for our jobs, but it is amazing to see the breadth of their backgrounds.  Ironically, a LOT of folks are  people who were laid off from a human services position and took up a laborer job to feed their families.  They want back into their field (and probably want health insurance). 

Would you make more from uninsurance than we can pay? In some cases, probably yes -- but I've yet to meet someone who sees it as a good tradeoff if for no other reason than they realize that the job might be gone when they are "ready".

Can you imagine what this man will do to human service funding if has this sort of contempt for Pennsylvania's workers? 

sdf

The evolution of mainstream Protestant churches continues to intrigue and bore me. I love that the dialogue continues, but I'm also of the opinion that its 2010 already ... let's get it resolved so we can fight poverty and war and all that biblically based stuff.

I'm a bit slothful. After the holiday, we bought a Wii Fit Plus to make exercise as easy as possible.  I used it sporadically, but in May it really caught my attention.  I began using it 3 or 4x per week. Then I stopped drinking pop (2 lapses in 8 weeks).  Then I filled our office cupboards with healthier snack options. 

Now there's swimming - I don't know strokes very well, so I tread water for 45-60 minutes and consider that fine -- and, yesterday, a bike ride.

Whoa. (BTW, the male Wii trainer is much "nicer" than the female).

I attribute my new found attitude to a work based initiative called Step It Up. My employer has dedicated some resources to promoting a healthier lifestyle among employees.  We set weekly and monthly goals, added in some fun prizes as part of a monthly drawing for all who  particpate and voila!  It has captured folks imaginations.  One of my coworkers gets off the bus a mile up the road and walks to work.  Another is also using the Wii more often.  Everyone enjoys the snacks.  I bought Gatorade for all my sites and keep seeing the empty bottles (especially this past week). 

One colleague won a voucher for a bike rental.  Another won a year's subscription to a healthy lifestyle magazine. 

The initiative really made me think about role modeling.  We talk at length about the need for our residents to lead more active lifestyles so here is an opportunity for us to put our money where our mouth is, so to speak.  I also felt compelled to get involved to set an example for my team, both about the healthier lifestyle AND about being part of an organizational wide project.  I didn't anticpate I would *like* it. 

Our organization also provides us with a $200 yearly health stipend. I bought tennis shoes, sports bras, ankle and wrist weights and something else I can't remember.  Other people use it for copays, gym memberships, yoga mats, etc.  Someone else uses it for safety boots.  We also have access to a weekly chair massage and yoga.  Lots of non-traditional benefits that make a big difference. 

One downside has been less time for things like blogging.  Well, to be fair, that's also due to increased work stuff going on.  But I realize that not exercising my mind and my advocacy muscles comes at a price. Sometimes I'm too tired, but finding a balance is important.  So I'm going to try to do better, especially during the work week.  There's a lot of stuff going on. I hope you are reading Pam's House Blend and Joe My God and Towleroad to stay informed, but I'll make a greater effort on the state, regional and local stuff. 

As soon as I finish my Gatorade.  Kidding, giving up my AM coffee would be a serious cry for help.