I had a general topic I had planned to write about but something else caught my attention last night and is still bothering me this morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Apparently the body of a missing teenager from the Portland, OR area was recently found and it is believed they committed suicide<\/a> based on their last social media (Twitter) post. One would think that a dead 17-year-old would unite people in sympathy for the family – but that is not the case here…<\/p>\n\n\n\n See, this teenager is a male to female transgender individual, and many people are piling on vitriol and hatred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What really gets me is that the “save our kids” side seems to even be celebrating and mocking this death. Many of them claim to not be “anti-trans” but that they just want to protect children from predators and “groomers.” I understand the sentiment, but that isn’t how things appear when one is piling on after the death of a teen. Even a fairly popular webcomic responded with one of their strips that touched on suicide statistics. No matter the political views, piling on to what is essentially a person’s suicide note is disgusting – it’s just as bad, if not worse, as “the other side” piling on about guns after a school shooting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I won’t go into a full on discussion of the topic of trans kids, but I do believe that a lot of the “trans feelings” they are having are just the effects and confusion of puberty being interpreted as a sexual identity. It doesn’t help matters that this period in life is particularly confusing for kids – even straight ones – and social circles seem to promote the ideology because “being trans” labels the individual for social classification and gives that individual a group they can feel they belong to. I also believe that many of the adults who promote the transgender ideology and “support trans youth” have selfish goals in mind. I personally don’t think that minors should medically (that is either surgically or chemically) transition, but have mixed feelings about giving the government the authority to say what one can or cannot allow with their own child. It is a complex issue and I have many thoughts on the matter that would take an entire post to even cover the surface, so I’ll save that for another day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whatever your political ideology and beliefs, I hope we all can agree that ALL of our children are important and should be protected. Celebrating and cheering on the death of a teenager because they lived a different lifestyle, believed different things, or supported different causes doesn’t make you a hero for “your side.” Take a closer look and you might see that you actually are the bad guy in this story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Perfect Circle at 25: Maynard James Keenan and Billy Howerdel look back and ahead<\/a> – “The secrets behind a quarter century of alt-metal experimentation \u2014 and why the future is about to get even wilder”<\/p>\n\n\n\n On this day in 1949, Marilyn Monroe poses for \u201cred velvet\u201d nude photo session<\/a> – “Playboy<\/em> founder Hugh Hefner remembered the photo and purchased it from the calendar publisher for $500<\/a>\u2014but without Monroe\u2019s permission. It ran in the debut issue of his magazine, which appeared on newsstands in December 1953, with a more fully dressed Monroe on the cover.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Logistics of Road War in the Wasteland<\/a> – Quite an interesting article! “This week, we\u2019re doing another \u2018silly\u2019 topic, but this being me, it is a silly logistics<\/em> topic, because \u2013 as the saying goes \u2013 amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics. So we\u2019re going to be professionally <\/em>silly this week and talk about the logistics of vehicle warfare in a post-apocalyptic sci-fi setting<\/strong>, in part because this is a good way to also think about why militaries (of various description) use the vehicles they use, from a logistics standpoint.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n New dinosaur discovered? Ferocious-looking B.C. marine reptile fossil confirmed as new genus<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Unraveling of the King of Davos<\/a> – “A stunning fall from grace for World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab came amid threats against board members and allegations of financial impropriety”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why are more shoppers struggling to repay \u2018buy now, pay later\u2019 loans?<\/a> Maybe because if you need to finance a $40 meal or concert tickets, you should cook at home or not go to the concert…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trump throws America’s $44billion education business into chaos by halting ALL student visas<\/a> – “The Trump Administration has ordered US embassies to halt all student visa applications as the president cracks down on America’s higher education business.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Without government, who would arrest you for drawing a chalk crosswalk? Charlottesville activist facing vandalism charges for makeshift crosswalk<\/a>…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Milei’s government confirmed the exit from the WHO at the World Health Assembly<\/a> – If Argentina can do it, why can’t we?<\/p>\n\n\n\nInteresting Tidbits<\/h3>\n\n\n\n