Somalia

I am thinking about Somalia. I watched two old documentaries about Somalia from the 1960s: The Parching Winds of Somalia and another one that I can't locate right now...a nice one about a Somali nomad boy and his way of life. The documentaries were made available for viewing on Bartamaha.com, a Somali website that provides Somali news, videos, etc in English, so I am assuming if they were approved by the Somalis who created this website that a certain percentage of Somalis (at least, perhaps the ones living in the United States) would approve of them as true history as well. I think the regime changes and wars that they had endured changed some of their old time culture, and I am sure that the refugees who are here in the States who lived during the "good times" have some nostalgia for those older more peaceful times.

Even in the more peaceful times, most Somalis lived a life that would be very hard by Western standards, but according to these documentaries they seemed very happy to live this life. Even those living in the Somali cities had a much different lifestyle in more peaceful days than what they have now...in the 1960s, for example, they had an incredibly strong feminist movement--even supported by some men--which was fighting against forced cliterectomies for girls. I don't know if the Somali women are still fighting against it in their own communities; I know that women like Ayaan Hirsi Ali and films such as Wustenblume (Desert Flower) are educating the world about this issue...

In any case, the more I learn about Somalia, the more I want to learn, to better understand my neighbors here in St. Cloud.

LGBT Folks: Backbone of America

If my partner dies, because we could never file as a couple on federal taxes, my Social Security payment would be affected. I would not receive the extra payment that widows and widowers normally receive from the federal government. Watch this video and see what I mean.

This is not propaganda. This is the honest truth. We pay more tax than anyone, and then get nothing when we become too old to work and outlive our partners.

BTW--folks who lose their partners as war casualties will not get extra government payments either.

This is why straight folks should know every single LGBT person serving alongside them in the military. They should hear firsthand how we pay double to be citizens, and serve with honor, for no reward. They should know that we are the slaves of this system, and the economic backbone of America, and this should come to an end.

Pagans Now Welcome in the Air Force

"Earth religions" get worship area at Air Force Academy

Why not? Appeal to the special Wotan clan of white supremacists and pagan folks who normally aren't military joiners to make the military seem like a friendly place for pagans. Think long and hard before you sign those papers!