Jock itch, barbers, cleaning game, and the ECONOMY!

OK, so there's this big issue on lj that apparently proves that I do, indeed, live under a rock (::snicker:: thanks, sugakane_59) because I had heard not a whisper of it until today even though it's been brewing for days. It's about lj user icons. Some women had breastfeeding icons, like the one I'm currently using, that showed a nipple or areola, and had them defined as their default icon (ie, the icon that shows up if they don't specify any other icon). This is against livejournal policy, and they were told not to do it again. (Clarification: you can have and use the icon; just don't declare it your default icon). Big blow-up, people talking about it all over the place, about a topic near and dear to my heart, and I had no clue.

It's a serious topic and I've read some good arguments on both sides of the issue, and I'll probably post about them tomorrow and I'm not trying to minimize any of them here. But. But.

I was browsing through and somehow happened upon what I believe was one of these "free essay" thingies that plagiarizing students so dearly love to use. And... wow, do you ever get what you pay for. Go take a look - don't worry, it's short - because OMG so cuuuute!!

Public Nudity Should Not be Allowed: Argumentative Persuasive Essays.

Highlights for me:

• We all are aware of the sayings "Preppy","Jockish","Skater","Sluty" etc.
  Sluty. Doesn't that sound elegant? "I'll have that Sluty Cabernet Sauvignon, please."
  
  I'm not sure why this kid brings up Jock Itch, though. Seems a bit off-topic, don't you think?
  
  
• This final saying, “Sluty” is interpreted by 90 percent of North Americans as a tight skirt and tight tank top which happens to be the usual ensemble of a prostitute.
  90 per cent? Wow! The study I read said 88%!
  
  
• My third point begins thousands of years ago...
  Um... you started working on this essay when?
  
  
• ...when man first walked on the earth.
  ... give or take a couple zeros, OK...
  
  
• When man first walked he hunted and his wife(clothless) cleaned the game and took care of the young. As centuries have progressed women have stepped forth into a new era of equal rights.
  Now, would these be clothless women or clothful women?
  
  
• Following the changes to this law allowing women to go topless our cities will slowly begin to diverge into places that encourage nudity and places that do not encourage nudity. Our economy will begin to collapse,
  Holy CRAP, kid!! Not the ECONOMY!!!

... somewhere in there, Sally Ride and lingerie-clad female barbers in Quebec were discussed, and I so wish I was making that up. Hey, at least they didn't bring up the lingerie clad male barbers of Quebec, 'cause that would just make everyone uncomfortable.

Brokeback Mounties & other wedding news

(From an EGALE newsletter)
In a historic first for Canada, the RCMP will celebrate the first-ever same-sex wedding on June 30 when Const. Jason Tree and Const. David Connors get married. The two young officers, based in Nova Scotia, began dating eight years ago when both were students at the University of New Brunswick. They're planning to wed in their scarlet dress uniforms, and many of their colleagues will be on hand to witness the occasion.

"This is a first for us," said Sgt. Frank Skidmore, the RCMP's spokesperson in Nova Scotia. "Certainly, the RCMP welcomes a workforce that is representative of Canadian society, and that is the case here."

Unfortunately, not everyone is openly applauding the ceremony. Shortly after the wedding was announced, Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a gag order to his Conservative caucus, forbidding them from commenting on the nuptuals. Click here to see the full story.

***
The newsletter also points out that June 10 will be the third anniversary of Ontario Court of Appeal's ruling on equal marriage, which made gay marriage legal in Ontario (and got the ball rolling to make it legal country-wide). The anniversary will be marked on Friday, June 9 at noon, at Toronto City Hall's main floor rotunda.

***
Aaand Stephen "Eats Babies" Harper (sorry, I know it's childish, but that story still cracks me up) has announced that he will hold a vote in the fall on whether to re-open the debate on equal marriage. This despite the fact that many Tory MPs have stated they don't want it re-opened. Among them, my own Tory MP (yes, I checked!). Gotta love some of the quotes from them:

• Trade Minister David Emerson observed: "If it ain't broke..."
  
  
• Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said of his constituents: "I haven't had a single person come up to me to talk about it."
  
  "It certainly isn't in line with the five priorities that we've set out," he added.
  
  
• Perhaps one cabinet minister, speaking on condition of anonymity, summed it up best: "I wish it would just go away."
  
  
• During the last Commons vote on the issue a year ago, only three Conservative MPs voted in favour of same-sex marriage: Jim Prentice (now Indian Affairs minister), James Moore and Gerald Keddy.
  
  Mr. Keddy said his caucus colleagues should take him as example of what happens when you support gay rights: absolutely nothing.
  
  His Nova Scotia riding is predominantly rural and socially conservative, but he was re-elected with a bigger majority.

Link to the article.