Aging and Gay

I feel like focus on LGBT rights today primarily focuses on youthful expression and challenging concepts of the ‘normative’ family. But the experience of aging and elderly queer people is rarely (if ever) brought to light. LGBT Aging Projects are emerging around the United States to address the prejudice many older people are suffering in nursing homes and assisted-living centers today. This article cites specific examples of the depression, mistreatment, and isolation many older LGBT people are facing. Some have even committed suicide rather than live in such an uninviting environment. The article quotes that there are an estimated 2.4 million LGB ‘out’ Americans over the age of 55. These issues have to be seriously dealt with now or the LGBT community will be in much more trouble when the youth of today reach senior status. I really, really encourage everyone to at least glance at this article here.

Sheriff Shoots Six

This is The Times’ (of London) coverage of the Crandon shooting. I chose to highlight this article because it shows how international some news becomes. I was particularly surprised to see this article featured in The Times. It wasn’t front-page news, but did have it’s own front-page link.

I enjoy The Times as well because many articles illicit a powerful response from readers who are free to post in the “Have Your Say” section beneath the text. This story has 19 current comments, most of which are much more than just a few sentences. The featured three come from very different points of view. The first is a North Yorkshire man criticizing American gun treatment. The second is a Wisconsin man blaming the British for their past violence in America and mentions the increasing crime rate in the UK. The third is a Parisian suggesting that the American democratic system lacks general control. This is just a sampling, but they are all fierce and interesting. I suggest you take a look here.

Man seeks shared custody of severed leg

I had to share this one in light of some of the more novelty-focused articles we’ve been discussing.

In short, a North Carolina man (Whisnant) found a leg in a barbecue smoker and, for whatever reason, wants to keep it. But it gets stranger. The leg belongs to a South Carolina man (Wood) who, after losing it in an airplane crash, stored it in the smoker. (Did you just say “what?” out loud to yourself? I did too.) Apparently Wood wanted to be buried with the leg when he died. After spending time in the freezer, the leg was dried out, wrapped and kept in the smoker—which consequently went into a storage facility when the Wood was evicted. When he couldn’t pay the rent, the facility began to sell off his items, and Whisnant happened to buy the smoker. There are more details if you’d like to read them here.

Osborne 'to cut inheritance tax'

As we prepare for our press conference, I think it is important that we note professional examples of how to cover public announcements and the like. Though the politics and importance of George Osbourne’s promises and claims are well over our heads as people uninvolved in the UKs domestic politics, the structure and technique of the article is promising. It begins with a multiple-element lead, immediately addressing what is at stake (and therefore why the reader should care) and identifies the subject as an important Tory leader. The lead is then followed by some important information about how the cut would be accounted for and how the Lib Dems responded. An interesting feature of this article is the two bold headings, “Death duties” and “Family fund.” In such a dense piece of reading, this division of subjects helps the reader to stay focused on the article as a whole, as well as the various topics discussed.

You probably won't want to, but you can view the full story here.