In relationships today, all that "sugar and spice and everything nice" crap seems to have been flung over broads' shoulders, out the nearest window, flushed down the drain. Women seem to be all about taking an aggressive stance. "Getting their man" so to speak. Men on the other hand seem more laid back. Men are taking the role of the court-ed while women are stepping up and willingly taking on the role of the court-er. Society is changing. Gender roles are changing. Stars are re-aligning with newly discovered moons.

The result of such a change is confusion. Confusion because there are some of us who aren't re-aligning, and others who are leading the re-aligning campaign. But at the end of the day, we still have the same wiring. Believe it or not ladies, we are not men. This in no way means I believe that we shouldn't vote or work or any of that stuff. We are not supposed to be the pursuers. Not to say we sit by and wait. Nope, not that either. We should be more coy. We should take greater efforts to not be classless in our pursuits of a certain man. We should be setting the pace of the man's pursuit.

What about gay couples? Are they meant to define gender roles so they (I mean WE) can then figure out who does the pursuing? From what I'm understanding, two women who are interested in each other will never hook up because neither of them is supposed to call the other! If we can refrain from engaging in a homophobic debate about gays and lesbians and look at gender roles in relationships, how do gay couples deal with:

1. phone calls
2. who pays for dinner
3. who opens the car door

those sorts of things. It seems the author's main argument is anchored on defining gender roles, so I'm curious.

A 9-year-old boy and his 3-year-old sister were found stabbed to death in their home, and authorities were questioning the parents Thursday after finding several knives they believe were the murder weapons, police said.

. . . female violence is much more hidden from view. This makes it terribly easier for us to pretend it doesn't exist -- the FBI profile of serial killers is distinctly male even though female serial killers each rack up more corpses because no one suspects them -- and also pretend that female violence is a bizarre, incomprehensible aberration when it does happen (which is why it's often easier to blame a nearby man).

After a 10-month investigation, the commission found the club required multiple forms of identification from some black customers, used discriminatory hiring practices, applied a dress code only to black patrons and denied entry using other policies rarely applied to whites.

Parker, who is a member of the Article 8 Alliance, which supports the ouster of four judges on the state's Supreme Judicial Court who ruled in favor of same-sex marriage, demanded that the book be removed from the school library and that his son be pulled from discussions about homosexuality whether they are in planned lessons or arise spontaneously.

I watched this video, and this is obviously a troubled little girl. But I'm even more troubled by adults who can't find a way to deal with a five-year-old, and feel the need to call the police. I'm not one to throw race into every situation, but it disturbs me at my core to see three white police officers handcuffing and arresting a five year-old Black girl for acting up. I'm getting disturbing 1960s flashbacks -- "bed waves of fear and paranoia."

Judging only by the anecdotal evidence of the stories and the video, as well as my experience with children, it's hard for me not to suspect that this child is being abused emotionally and physically, or she has some undiagnosed hyperactive or emotional disorder.

WASHINGTON, April 25, 2005 — Every year, hundreds of thousands of children are abused and neglected in the United States. Child welfare specialists say it's an epidemic caused by mental illness, drug addiction and poverty.

A new report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found an estimated 1,500 children in the United States died from abuse or neglect in 2003. The majority of them were under the age of 4.

[. . . ]

Many social workers say they are stunned by an increase in abuse in the middle class, putting additional strain on a system already under pressure.

"It covers across the socioeconomic spectrum," Bilchik said. "So this isn't about just impoverished families."

Over the coming days and weeks, we’ll be fueling a national conversation about the affect the irresponsible corporate behemoth has on our economy. Our goal is to spread the truth about Wal-Mart’s countless abuses on their employees, suppliers, and the communities they do business in.

This week, we’re kicking off by shedding light on Wal-Mart’s voracious appetite for public subsidies. Last Friday, Americans everywhere filed their federal tax returns and paid their fair share.

But it's hard to argue that America is becoming more colorblind when we're still missing one benchmark: When will Hollywood dare release a major movie in which Denzel Washington and Reese Witherspoon fall passionately in love?

For all the gains in race relations, romance on the big screen between a black man and a white woman remains largely a taboo. Americans themselves may be falling in love with each other without regard to color, but the movie industry is still too craven to imitate life.

The latest "Guess Who" is about a white man in love with a black woman, and that's a comfortable old archetype from days when slave owners inflicted themselves on slave women. Hollywood has portrayed romances between white men and (usually light-complexioned) black women, probably calculating that any good ol' boy seeing Billy Bob Thornton embracing Halle Berry in "Monster's Ball" is filled not with disgust but with envy.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consensual sodomy between members of the U.S. military no longer would be a criminal act under a proposal sent to Congress by the Pentagon's legal office and made public on Thursday.

Gays could still be drummed out of the military for openly discussing or acting on their sexual preferences. But the separate criminal rule against consensual sodomy would be changed to bring the military legal code closer to that governing civilians, according to the April 7 memorandum.

Tragically, this tendency toward compassion by our community was cynically and opportunistically exploited in 1991 by then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. Although his career history had even then betrayed his racial self-hatred, he was not at all reluctant to describe allegations against him of sexual harassment by an accomplished, distinguished Black woman as a “high-tech lynching” of a Black man. True to form, much of the village came to his defense. As everyone knows, Thomas rewarded the African community’s love and support with a series of legal opinions that, in some cases, are so anti-Black (maybe even anti-human) that even his most reactionary Supreme Court colleagues have distanced themselves from his analyses.

For example, without the benefit of a group discussion, the general analysis of O.J. Simpson’s plight was that although he purposely distanced himself from our community, his lack of malice toward us, and the fact that he had been the target of an indisputably sloppy, if not racist police investigation, made him worthy of support by the African community.

Rice’s crime is that she is so eager to please her boss that she not only carries out his plans, but she also initiates and orchestrates projects that further his objectives, even if Africans are unnecessarily harmed in the process. The relationship between Bush and Rice may not be as between master and slave, as Mugabe suggests. Rather, it may be more akin to the relationship between master and pet. Bush says “fetch” and Rice runs as fast as she can. Bush says “sic ‘em” and Rice doesn’t pause, even if the identified victim is from her community. Should our village protect such a person? In the same way that the world assumes a pet’s master will care for his animal, perhaps we are best served by allowing Bush to take care of his pet Negro while we Africans focus on the more important task of struggling for our liberation.

We know that he has had the reputation of being rigid in his position as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, silencing and expelling theologians, priests and nuns whom he perceived as not being orthodox.

[. . . ]

We do believe in the spirit of 'prayer and work' that is the motto of the Benedictines.

We do believe in miracles.

We share a deep sadness that one of the world's most homophobic religious leaders has been elevated to the papacy, and regret that his policies will continue to devalue the rich spiritual gifts of LGBT people and women of faith.

My faith teaches that all people can change, so my prayers today are that the eyes of Cardinal Ratzinger -- now Pope Benedict XVI -- will be opened to the unique giftedness and blessing that LGBT people can be to the Church. And my prayers today are with my brothers and sisters in the Roman Catholic Church, and those whose lives will be harmed by church policies that treat LGBT people with less than unconditional acceptance and dignity.

“Based on his history and his demagoguery it is nearly impossible to imagine that this new Pope will usher in an era of reconciliation and welcome. Ratzinger has been the author and voice of oppression and attack on GLBT people.

“In anticipation of the announcement of who would be the next Catholic Pontiff, Sam Sinnett, President of the national gay Catholic organization Dignity USA, said, ‘We do hope there will be a little more listening, and an end to the virulence of the anti-gay language.’

"One therapist hurt our marriage and actually caused our separation," said the husband, Jim, who did not want his last name used out of concerns for his privacy.

"She told my wife, 'You don't have to put up with that,' " referring to his battle with alcoholism, he said.