ChrisR

As much as I like and respect Joe Biden, I think his time has passed. Whether people liked or disliked Obama, his reign brought a level of youthful vitality that hadn't been on the scene in quite a while. And Biden will be 75 this November, three years before he could be elected President. Even George Washington was only 56 when he took office. And if you think age isn't a factor in elected office, just look at Nancy Pelosi and John McCain for evidence. So where are the 50-somethings, perhaps even 40-somethings ala JFK, who will be wiling to run the next time it's possible? Or are the Democrats going to stay so busy re-re-rebattling over this past election that they forget there's another one just a few years away? And heaven - or maybe hell - knows what the opposition will be.

As a bit of a postscript to the story, and an additional school, BBC included this note: " The mother of 14-year-old Michael Parker, who was one of the group, said three of the boys were initially told to remove the skirts, but all four of them kept them on." http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-sussex-36868781 Somehow that just seems wrong!!!!!

Better? I can't say. But definitely hotter than all the skirt-wearin' atheist boys in public schools, right? ;)

What makes it more fun is that a lot of the opposition is going to miss that the existing legislation was signed into law by President Bill Clinton! So they'll promote Trump's heartlessness (true) with their headlines --- forgetting which side put the questionable rule in place to start with. On the other hand, I think right now there are a lot of monkeys feeling insulted.

Oddly enough, my high school (same diocese as DLS and then all-boys) didn't need the "no cords" ruling. Black&white cords ("Salt & Pepper pants") were required for boys at all the elementary schools in the diocese. We wouldn't be caught dead in them after eighth grade! The only "weird" rule we dealt with in HS was no levis/jeans... because the metal studs would damage the gym bleachers! And no shorts. Except for gym class.

My first question would be... where did all those boys suddenly find skirts to wear?! From their sisters in some cases, sure, but were the rest of them just holding back their secrets? The second question would, of course, take us back to 1975 and author John R. Powers!

Somewhere out there is a secret government laboratory with a dragon's tail just waiting to be tickled!

So let's see here... according to the dress-wearing Padre... Putin has no beard, nor does the average 12-year-old. Ergo...? I sure hope the gulags are warmer than they once were.

I swear... if Father's next words are not "No shit, Shylock!" I'm going to begin thinking this might be fiction!

Funny how things happen. This evening I stumbled upon a short video about the Rainbow Flag origins and creator. I definitely prefer this tale to what some people seem intent on turning it into. https://www.greatbigstory.com/stories/a-gift-from-the-sky/?xrs=CNNHP

On the other hand, it looks like the folks at Skittles - you know - "Taste the Rainbow" - have gone 180 degrees in the opposite direction and have issued packages of all white Skittles. It's a world gone mad. http://time.com/4818777/white-skittles-lgbt-pride-month/

Thank you indeed for the suggestion of The Americanization of Alex S. Despite moments of drama (trauma?), it is one of the simply sweetest stories it has been my pleasure to read here. (And thanks to the author, Merkin, too!)

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/13/health/new-pride-flag-colors-trnd/index.html Really?

Some stories exist simply to bring a smile to their readers. This is one of those gems.

At the same time, the City of New York Mayor's Office seems to have deleted its official list of 31 gender identities (which, by the way, omitted boy/girl and male/female, for some reason). You can find the former link at http://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/961-15/nyc-commission-human-rights-strong-protections-city-s-transgender-gender and search for the link at Read the full guidance here. It was there a week or so back. Gone today. I'm not all that concerned, actually. In a sense I prefer the quiet acceptance of reality to the street battles of the past. For the most part the level of intolerance (at least regarding gender identity) seems way down in this country, and there's a couple of generations' worth of acceptance. By way of comparison, I don't get nearly so upset as my Irish immigrant grandfathers at calling a police van a "Paddy wagon". Active or passive, it's progress.

I always love a movie when it hits a climax. Your breath is shallow, blood pressure is high, sweat is pouring out all over, and - most of all - you know it will all be better in just a few minutes. But when the same thing happens in a written periodical spaced out over a series of days between scenes... AARRGGHH!! This is great stuff!

I guess we finally beat that topic to death.

One of my favorites in this genre is Boyan Slat, the Dutch boy who came up with a way to clean the ocean of its garbage. He was 15 or 16 when he noticed the problem and decided to solve it. Of course that rather required things like scientists and corporations... so he got them together! He's now in his 20s, and two weeks ago demonstrated the proposed solution which will be deployed to the Pacific this year. So he managed to identify a problem, conceive an idea, develop a solution, gather like-minded folk around him, form a corporation and, just maybe, rid - or at least reduce - a planetary nightmare. Will he be successful? "Experts" aren't sure, and there are plenty of nay-sayers. On the other hand, I don't see many of them getting their hands dirty in the process. So to h-e-double-hockey-stick for them. Not bad for a teen-plus! Go Boyan! http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2017/05/30/ocean-cleaning-plastic

And here I thought it went from Wankuary 1st thru the 31st!

I was wondering the same thing as I watched the date marker showing the passage of months! But even if a book can be bound at the rate of a few per day, methinks Tom Clancy and company would be a bit put out. Sadly, as books vaporize into e-books, this magical skill will likely fade even more into a quaint hobby.

As so well phrased in Blazing Saddles, "We don't want the Irish!"

Thanks for sharing the video! It really puts into perspective the whole process of one artist generating a heartwarming story and a second artist preserving it for generations to come.

This is a truly mesmerizing tale, with a story wrapped inside a story. Wonderfully crafted, it leaves me wanting only a video of the whole process Mr. Timpson guides Rick through! Thank you.

Okay, so Nevada has now banned conversion therapy. That's the good side. But it's only the eighth state to do so? Good grief! http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/19/us/nevada-conversion-therapy-ban/index.html

Just to bring this full circle, one problem with waffles (or pancakes) with Maple Syrup is that, if enjoyed TOO much, overindulgence can lead a person to : 9. Diabetes And from that, we tumble into the following: "To paediatric surgeons, the most obvious medical reasons for circumcision are balanitis (inflammation of the glans) and posthitis (inflammation of the foreskin). Both are very painful conditions. Posthitis is limited to uncircumcised males. [for obvious reasons!] Balanitis is seen in 11-13% of uncircumcised men, but in only 2% of those who are circumcised [Fakjian et al., 1990; Kohn et al., 1999]. In uncircumcised diabetic men it is 35% [Kohn et al., 1999]. http://www.circinfo.net/inflammatory_derma Thus we return to: 10. Foreskins