Tag: youth

Riley Matthew Moscatel came out as transgender in 11th grade English class at Bucks County Technical High School this past spring.  From all reports, his transition had gone well at school.

Everyone supported him.  Everyone loved Riley.  He was everyone’s best friend.

–Kate Cimino, a friend

Other friends noted that Riley suffered from depression in the past but appeared to have improved.  But, they say, he had become increasingly uncomfortable with his body.

Riley uploaded a message to his Instagram account on Monday.

My mirror reflects Jessica, my heart and mind say Riley … You see me as the happiest person in school, I’m a prisoner of my own body …

Police have recovered surveillance video that shows Riley stepping in front of an Amtrak train early Monday afternoon near his home in Bristol.

Ace Nelson already published some of this story.

Several people have recently tried to make sure that I noticed the Boston Globe article about Nicole Maines and her family, entitled Led by the child who simply knew.  Jonas and Wyatt Maines were born twin boys but, as Jonas is reported to have said early in their childhood:

Dad, you might as well face it.  You have a son and a daughter.

The twins are now 14 and Nicole is being treated by the relatively new Gender Management Service Clinic at Children’s Hospital Boston.  The GeMS Clinic was founded in 2007 by endocrinologist Norman Spack and urologist David Diamond.  It is the first pediatric academic program in the Western Hemisphere to evaluate and treat pubescent transkids.

Not everyone agrees with what GeMS does, of course.

Not everyone agrees that they should, of course, and Spack has heard the arguments: Man should not interfere with what God has wrought. Early adolescents are too young for such huge decisions, much less life-altering treatment.

Originally posted at Citizen Orange.

The fate of almost a million lives could be decided in the next six hours.  As a voter, as a millenial, as a migrant, as a Guatemalan, I’m writing to say that I will be watching along with the vast majority of those who will determine the future of the United States of America. 

If you already haven’t heard already, Harry Reid is going to offer the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act up as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.  The Senate is scheduled to vote on taking up the Act tomorrow at 2:15 p.m.  If you haven’t called you’re Senator yet in the support of the DREAM Act please do so now by calling:

888-254-5087

It is imperative that you focus on these Senators.  If you’ve called already, call again.  If you’ve called again, ask five friends to do the same.  If you’ve done all that, here are some more actions you can take.

     I found this on the Coffee Party Facebook page and thought it would be great to share the power of love with all of you today.

   I hope you enjoy watching the power of Love overcoming the force of Hate, as embodied in the adult leaders and the young future leaders of America of the Gunn High School of California, who came out to support Love and Tolerance in defiance of the Hate promoted by the Westboro Baptist Church, a group that routinely protests the funerals of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as others, with signs that say “God Hates Fags” and “God loves dead soliders”.

   Look at the signs of Hope and Love. It is inspirational.

    Look at the pathetic dozen or so hate filled patrons of the Westboro Baptist Church, who, lead by Fred Phelps, preach a message of Hate and exclusion. Now compare that to the massive outpouring of Love, Acceptance and Tolerance that you can see among the hundreds and hundreds of students and faculty at Gunn High School of California. It is truly inspiring.

More to hope for below the fold

NPR brings another musical treat Exclusive to it’s audience, this one about the group known as The Fireman.

NPR.org, November 18, 2008 –  When The Fireman released its debut album in 1993 – the instrumental dance and electronica mix Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest – the band’s identity was a mystery. U.K. music magazine Melody Maker eventually exposed The Fireman as a duo featuring the bassist and producer known as Youth and, to everyone’s surprise, Paul McCartney. Reviewers praised the collaboration as “staggeringly brilliant,” but it was a strange and entirely unexpected direction for the former Beatle.

I hate malls.  And I especially hate what’s known in my area as ‘the mall’, although i live pretty much equidistant from two.  We only go when there’s a need.  And by ‘need’, I mean that we ‘need’ the right jewelry to go with our fancy party dress, or our ipod needs something specific that we can only get from the source.  These are relative needs, but if you’ve recently parented a 14-year-old girl, you’ll agree that ‘need’ is apt.  

So ‘the mall’ has decided to spiff up its image, courting some higher-end anchor stores to fill some pretty costly vacancies.  I understand that their need, also relative, is real.  The mall has been there for nearly 30 years, and those empty stores probably do cost us all in the long run.  I don’t pretend to understand such high-falutin’ economic principles….or the high-falutin’ anchor stores, for that matter…but I’m sure there is some truth to ‘the mall’ management’s need to fill those stores.