found in my email box:

October 6, 2008 – By a vote of 263 to 171, the U.S. House of Representatives, on October 3, 2008, gave final approval to the Paul Wellstone-Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, as part of the Emergency Stabilization Act (H.R. 1424). President Bush has signed the legislation into law.

Enactment of the bill ends nearly a decade long effort to require group health plans to cover treatment for mental illness on the same terms and conditions as for all other illnesses.

Sponsors of the parity legislation included Sens. Pete Domenici (R-NM) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Reps. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN).

I'm happily reading email, and open an innocent seeming mailing list message. I learn that people 20 to 24 are 'spoiled' with this as evidence:

We were all pretty complacent, thinking we could handle the Millennials
when the time came, but we were wrong. Their elder statesmen are out of
college now and they are wreaking havoc in the workplace. Our phones
have been ringing off the hook the past few months as businesses of all
kinds call to book our Millennial-Think programs.

See, the Millennials believe that the rest of us should change to
accommodate them, not the other way around. And they are not budging.
You want them to work on a weekend when they have other plans? Good
luck. Friends and family come first. Think a training session,
classroom style, is a good idea? Not anymore. Video games and
interactive Web sites are a huge part of a Millennial's world; they
tend to learn better when things are interactive. Millennials prefer
instant messaging and text-messaging over e-mail. But don't get excited
about the prospect of advertising via text-messaging: texting is for
friends and family only. And forget about voice-mail. That's way too
old school for them.

The horror! Not wanting to work on weekends! Having a life outside of work! Not wanting some idiot spamming us by text!

Also, the idiots who wrote this shit are outrageously out of touch:


"We like to shop to music, but don't play boring music." We got into a
discussion about this comment - what did she mean? Well, they all
despise instrumental music; the direct quote was: "Play music with
words!" which made us all laugh. Then the panel called out names of
bands we might play in our stores; bands that most of the audience had
never heard of. If the Foo Fighters, Fall Out Boy, and Green Day ring a
bell, you're ahead of the game. Bottom line, pick uplifting music with
a good beat. Millennials like Disco too, and you know what we always
say: Disco is the sound of money.

If you haven't heard of Green Day, where have you been, the under a rock convention? I was happy that Spoon was playing in a movie theater, and I'm not exactly miss hip and up to date. Tip: get your heads out of your ass, stop insulting young people, and listen to some music made after 1969, for god's sake.

please forward all cops in sean bell case found not guilty on all
charges rally at queens da's office 125-01 queens blvd 5:30 pm today
take f/e to union


from nadia, taken from an email.

hehehe, an actual email:

After our win tonight, the UofM on-campus Bookstore will be open and will have National Champion t-shirts available from 12:00 midnight to 2:00 a.m. The Bookstore will also open at 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday with additional styles of t-shirts available. Remote locations will be open on Patterson and Central for your convenience starting at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday.



If you have any questions, please contact Sandy Barksdale at 678-4568.



GO TIGERS GO!

This afternoon’s heavy rains and winds have caused damage in several locations around campus. Trees are reported to have fallen on the South Campus; between Mitchell Hall and the Administration Building; and on Normal Street between Southern and Spottswood. If you are near these areas, please proceed with caution. High winds are forecast throughout the evening hours. Stay tuned to WUMR and other local television and radio stations for the latest weather information. To report any other damage, call 678-HELP.
--
Bob Eoff
Vice President of Communications,
Public Relations and Marketing
303 Administration Building
Memphis, TN 38152

I saw the tree near the administration building fall. I froze and then ran around. I regreted that I didn't have a camera on me. Class was disrupted with the high winds that had been knocking the trees down, causing leaf tornados,etc, and also there was a siren and the police for reasons unknown to me.

My brother just called, who is Memphis Police Officer. He said let everyone know that Memphis Police Department received an alert this morning from a reliable source that a Gang Initiation is starting today and will be going until the end of December. The gangs are instructed to ask someone for directions and then shoot them. He says they seem to be targeting women.



Everyone pass the word, and be <> careful.


an amusing bit of hysteria building. I enjoy the locality specific name changes in this email, and the fact that the current month is in fact in evidence. If it wasn't changed around, man, no one would believe this! Of course, snopes.

There are flashflood warnings today.

from my email box:

The following separate statements were issued this afternoon by Larry A. Godwin, director of the Memphis Police Department, and by Dr. Shirley C. Raines, president of the University of Memphis. Both pertain to the Sept. 30th shooting death of U of M student and athlete Taylor Bradford.



Memphis Police Department Media Release
October 8, 2007

ARREST IN MURDER OF TAYLOR BRADFORD



On Sunday, September 30, 2007 at 9:47pm University of Memphis Police responded to the scene of a traffic crash on Zach Curlin south of Central. When the officer approached the driver of the vehicle they determined that he had been shot. The victim, Taylor Bradford, 21 was transported to the MED where he was pronounced deceased. The investigation into the incident has lead to the arrest of three individuals.



»DaeShawn Tate, 21

»Victor Trezevant, 21

»Courtney Washington, 22



These three perpetrators have been charged with murder in perpetration of attempted aggravated robbery. The investigation revealed that the three suspects went to the Carpenter complex on Sunday with the specific intent to rob Taylor Bradford and during this attempted robbery shot him.



This murder/robbery is still under investigation and we expect to charge a least one more person in connection with this matter. None of the suspects charged thus far are students at the University of Memphis.



The investigation into this incident has been lead by the Memphis Police Homicide unit with cooperation of University of Memphis Campus Police, OCU/CAT, Project Safe Neighborhoods, Safe Streets Task Force and members of various units within the Memphis Police Department. Shelby County Sheriff’s personnel aided in the capture of one of the suspects. Crime Stoppers processed many tips during this investigation and tips from our citizens aided in the resolution of this case.





Dr. Raines’ statement:



Although this has been a tragic and trying week for the University of Memphis and the entire community, we are pleased that these arrests have been made swiftly. As we all know, the criminal justice system must still weigh in on the final judgment of this matter, but these arrests do confirm the original belief that this was a targeted attack, and not a random act of violence. We want to thank those of our students and members of the community who came forward to help with this investigation. The University will continue to work with the Memphis Police Department as this matter continues.



Shirley C. Raines

President

received in my email box:

As most of you are aware, our campus community is
mourning the loss of Taylor Bradford, a University of Memphis student and member of the Tiger football team, whose tragic death occurred last evening. The incident happened at approximately 9:45 PM Sunday night near the Carpenter Complex, a residence hall located on Central Avenue near the northeast corner of campus.

Police were called to investigate an automobile wreck at Zach Curlin Street and, upon arriving on the scene discovered Mr. Bradford had been shot. University Director of Police Services, Bruce Harber, working with Memphis Police Department officers, closed all campus residence halls as a precaution, but quickly determined that the campus was not in imminent danger as witnesses reported that the suspects had fled the scene. Residents were permitted to leave if they chose to do so, but no one was allowed to enter the residence halls unless they were listed as residents.


Classes were cancelled for the day, to assist the police in their investigation and to insure the well-being of our students. All advisors and counselors are on hand today to assist any student who is grieving. They may call (901) 678-2068.


While suspect information cannot be released at this time, the initial investigation indicates this was an act directed specifically toward the victim and was not a random act of violence. If anyone has information about this tragedy, please call 901-678-4357 immediately.


Our condolences go out to the family and friends of Taylor Bradford.


The Memphis Police Department has scheduled a press conference for 3:30 (CST) today. More information may be available at the time. Please check your local news stations or visit our Web site this afternoon as it will contain the statement from the MPD.


We urge all faculty, staff and students to sign up for our TigerText emergency alert system. You may do this at tigertext.memphis.edu

Alexis Gumb is good at blogging, and she sends us this press release.
Police Brutality Strikes Fifth Anniversary of Sylvia Rivera Law Project

NEW YORK - On the night of Wednesday, September 26, officers from the
9th Precinct of the New York Police Department attacked without
provocation members of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project and of its
community. Two of our community members were violently arrested, and
others were pepper sprayed in the face without warning or cause.

The Sylvia Rivera Law Project ( www.srlp.org ) is an organization that
works on behalf of low-income people of color who are transgender,
gender non-conforming, or intersex, providing free legal services and
advocacy among many other initiatives. On Wednesday night, the Sylvia
Rivera Law Project was celebrating its fifth anniversary with a
celebration and fundraising event at a bar in the East Village.

A group of our community members, consisting largely of queer and
transgender people of color, witnessed two officers attempting to
detain a young Black man outside of the bar. Several of our community
members asked the officers why they were making the arrest and using
excessive force. Despite the fact that our community was on the
sidewalk, gathered peacefully and not obstructing foot traffic, the
NYPD chose to forcefully grab two people and arrested them. Without
warning, an officer then sprayed pepper spray across the group in a
wide arc, temporarily blinding many and causing vomiting and intense
pain.

"This is the sort of all-too-common police violence and overreaction
towards people of color that happens all the time," said Dean Spade,
founder of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project. "It's ironic that we were
celebrating the work of an organization that specifically opposes
state violence against marginalized communities, and we experienced a
police attack at our celebration."

"We are outraged, and demand that our community members be released
and the police be held accountable for unnecessary use of excessive
force and falsely arresting people," Spade continued.

Damaris Reyes is executive director of GOLES, an organization working
to preserve the Lower East Side. She commented, "I'm extremely
concerned and disappointed by the 9th Precinct's response to the
situation and how it escalated into violence. This kind of aggressive
behavior doesn't do them any good in community-police relations."

Supporters will be gathering at 100 Centre Street tomorrow, where the
two community members will be arraigned. The community calls for
charges to be dropped and to demand the immediate release of those
arrested.

- END -



1) Call the District Attorney's Office
The District Attorney's office # is 212.335.9000, you ask for the early
*case* assessment bureau, and ask that all charges be dropped against
arrest #s 683706 (Reggie Gossett) and 683701 (Ileana Mendez-Peñate).

You can also call:
- Christine Quinn, President of the City Council: 212.564.7757
- Rosie Mendez, City Council person for the district where Reggie and
Ileana were taken: 212.677.1077
- Alvin Vann, City Council person for the district where Reggie & Ileana live: 718.919.0740

You can also go on the web to http://www.nyccouncil.info and send those
city council people emails with the same message.

MEDIA MISREPRESENTATIONS OF THE "NEW JERSEY SEVEN"

by Loren Krywanczyk, July 23, 2007

I have to wonder why social justice activists aren't rioting in the
streets after what has happened to the "New Jersey Seven."

Perhaps you've never heard of the New Jersey Seven because the case
has received shockingly little media attention outside of New York
City. Or maybe you read one of the grossly inadequate representations
of the incident in the New York media and decided, along with many
social justice organizations, that it seems too complicated or risky
for you to get involved.

Regardless of what you have or have not heard: On August 18, 2006,
Dwayne Buckle harassed seven young, Black lesbians (the "New Jersey
Seven") in downtown Manhattan. Buckle made an advance on one of the
women and when rejected began to spew homophobic and misogynistic
slurs at them. He allegedly shoved one of the women and threw his
cigarette at her. A scuffle ensued, which ended with Buckle in the
hospital for five days with bruises and stab wounds. The case was
pushed through courts with unprecedented speed, and four of the women
were recently sentenced to prison terms ranging from 3 1/2 to 11
years. Buckle has not been charged with anything.

A few media sources have spectacularized the incident, catering to an
American public that is generally terrified of female masculinity and
of young people of color. The New York Daily News called the women a
"wolf pack of lesbians" and "a gang of petite but ornery lesbians."
The New York Post's epithets of choice were "rampaging lesbians" and
"seething, Sapphic septet." The New York Times referred to the women
as a "pack of marauding lesbians." In many news articles, Buckle's
thoughts are front and center. The women are marginalized and brushed
off as bloodthirsty and hysterical. Headlines like "Brawl to Bawl,"
found in the Daily News, illustrate the eagerness of the media to
build upon the discomfort far too many Americans feel with
female-bodied individuals, and particularly women of color, who are
not properly "feminine."

Media coverage has not accounted for or analyzed the many pressures
prompting the women to respond violently to Buckle on August 18th.
This is not an incident without historical precedence. What has
happened when a young lesbian of color finds herself in a similar
situation, but alone and unarmed? Sakia Gunn, a New Jersey teenage
lesbian, was the victim of an assault in 2003 that ended with her
being stabbed to death. Each of the New Jersey Seven knew Gunn.

Courts and the mainstream media indicate that the seven women should
have sat back and blindly hoped that Buckle didn't have a more deadly
physical assault in store for them - but they refused to make that
unwarranted leap of faith in a man who felt comfortable violating
them. They challenged Buckle's self-authorization, which is all too
common among heterosexual males, to treat female-bodied people however
he wanted to without seeking their consent.

The American justice system responded harshly and swiftly. The
sentencing was a ringing admonishment from the powers-that-be, warning
female-bodied people, young people, people of color, and queers not to
overstep their bounds â€" not even for the sake of self-defense.
Whatever you do, the American justice system warns us with its
unyielding condemnation of these women, don't fight fire with fire or
you will be made out to be an inhuman monster.

The purpose of critically examining the media representations of this
case is not to suggest that the women handled the situation in the
most effective way possible, but to illuminate that their choices were
limited in a way that has gone utterly unaccounted for. Their actions
have been distorted and deeply misunderstood by the courts and by the
mainstream media, who have failed to factor in racial, sexual, class,
age, and gendered experience in the handling of this case.

If the women had not been young and Black, would they have been
charged with gang-related activity? I highly doubt it.

The severe sentencing of the women and the absence of any charges
against Buckle are manifestations of a prevailing idea of what
constitutes self-defense. This abstract image of "appropriate"
self-defense behavior hinges on perceptions of the women's genders,
races, class statuses, and ages. "Justice" in this nation rarely
appears for the countless minoritized, disempowered individuals who
are harassed on a daily basis. The justice system and law enforcement
rarely defend anybody who does not have the resources, finances,
education, or savvy to access it. Anyone who simply condemns the New
Jersey Seven needs to reassess the naïve notion that the justice
system and law enforcement in our nation protect all individuals equally.

These women defended themselves. Judging from the way the justice
system and the mainstream media have treated them, that seems like a
wise decision.

Nonpaid ad:

Dear Readers, Community Members and Lovers of the Word,

We are pleased to announce the upcoming release later this summer
of our second book The Marrow's Telling: Words in Motion,
by Eli Clare, author of Exile and Pride. A collection of poetry
and prose, it spans 15 years, organized not as memoir
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this work maps itself around embodied experiences of
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Have the book sent right to your home at a prepublication
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publisher@homofactuspress.com with your home country. We will send
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The book is already soliciting rave reviews:

"Eli Clare works a vital alchemy in these poems. Using the
language of the elemental world, he delineates a complex
human intersection and transmutes cruelty into its
opposite—a potent, lifegiving remedy."
--Alison Bechdel, creator of Dykes to Watch Out For and Fun Home

"The Marrow's Telling is tactile, tangible, penetrating; a soft
swirl of muted colors that sneaks in under your guard and leaves
a lingering taste in your mouth, rather like woodsmoke or blood."
--Raven Kaldera, author of Hermaphrodeities

"Eli's work detonates inside of you, right to the edges
where you balance."
--Amber Hollibaugh, author of My Dangerous Desires:
A Queer Girl Dreaming Her Way Home

"The Marrow's Telling trembles with CP and desire,
rendered in language both passionate and precise. It is an
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Come join Eli in these pages as he chases echoes down to the
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a bully's taunt, a wild blue sky.

Finally here's a little something to tease you:

"...and in its place we wake, grief
spun to smoke, to mist, to motes of sun,
my hands playing their unsteady beat,
tremor to skin, we wake
the warm hollow center..."
--from "Two Waters"

Yours in the work,
The folks at HfP

WASHINGTON – (June 6, 2007) – Socially-conscience people between the ages of 12 and 20-years-old are encouraged to apply for micro-grants of up to $1,000 from the YSA Youth Venture Program to create sustainable social ventures. An AmeriCorps VISTA program, the YSA Youth Venture Program's mission is to provide funding and resources to young people to lead socially-conscience campaigns that are a lasting asset to their communities. YSA Youth Venture teams are required to plan a Global Youth Service Day project on April 25-27, 2008, and will receive resources from Youth Service America and Youth Venture, the leading organizations in the youth service movement. The application deadline is August 13, 2007.

For more information about the YSA Youth Venture Program micro-grants, please go to: http://www.genv.net/en-us/region/ysa

Youth Service America is national resource center that partners with thousands of organizations committed to increasing the quality and quantity of volunteer opportunities for young people, ages 5-25, to serve locally, nationally, and globally. Founded in 1986, YSA's mission is to expand the impact of the youth service movement with communities, schools, corporations, and governments. In addition to Global Youth Service Day, which takes place every April in more than 115 countries, YSA also hosts servenet (www.servenet.org), providing the largest database of volunteer opportunities in America. For more information, visit: www.YSA.org

About Youth Venture: By inspiring and investing in teams of young people to start their own social ventures, Youth Venture is working to build a powerful network of young changemakers around the world. Youth Venture provides coaching, resources, and seed funding for young people ages 12-20 to create, launch, and lead sustainable community-benefitin g ventures. We believe this will catalyze a cultural sea change, transforming a generation of young people into capable leaders of social change - leading to a world of Everyone a Changemaker. Youth Venture was founded in 1996 by Ashoka. For more information: www.genv.net

# # #

MEDIA CONTACT:
Christina Wessell Batcheler
Youth Service America
202-296-2992 x 128
cwessell@ysa.org
http://www.YSA.org
http://www.servenet.org

Join Us:
*The 20th annual Global Youth Service Day events in the United States take place April 25-27, 2008 - www.YSA.org/NYSD

*Internationally, Global Youth Service Day events take place in more than 115 countries April 25-27, 2008 - www.GYSD.org

I got an email on the interwebs:

Thanks to everyone who joined National Advocates for Pregnant Women on
and/or inquired about our May 4th call with five fantastic Oklahoma
reproductive justice activists who had recently succeeded in
preventing SB 714 from being passed into law. SB 714 would have made
abortions illegal in state hospitals.

As many of you already learned late last month through Feministing,
http://feministing.com/archives/007077.html anti-choice activists
ultimately prevailed. Just weeks after our call, and less than 7 days
before the close of the OK state legislative session, OK Governor
Henry, a Democrat, allowed a similar bill--only with provisions for
rape and incest--to become law by taking no action on the legislation.

We here at NAPW are deeply concerned about this emerging trend (i.e.,
banning abortion is okay if you provide exceptions for rape and
incest), and will continue to actively support local grassroots
activists who are fighting these measures. Our organizational mission
remains the same: to ensure the rights of all pregnant women, whether
they are continuing their pregnancies to term or seek abortion.

LOL, myspace:

how are you doing mami? my name is Q. i am looking for a female who is willing to be my lover and my friend. someone i can talk to and spend time with and who will tlak to me and be straight-forward and open and honest with me. someone who is open-minded in all things, especially in the area of sex. someone who is interested in 3sums and/or swinging. if this sounds like you or something you are ok with or interested in, let me know. and if it not, i want you to let me know as well. hope to hear back from you. take care!!!

Hahaha, no!

*so excited*

Hello Shannon,

I can assure you we will be doing a podcast very soon. Thanks for your e-mail and I'm sorry your local station doesn't like us !

All the best

Mark.
Mark Sandell,
"World Have Your Say",
BBC World Service News Programmes,
http://www.bbcnews.com/worldhaveyoursay

Stupid bullshit in my email. I get spam on a group I use to sell fucking coca cola cards on and I'm supposed to be super happy about everything:

altcollect@yahoogroups.com
date 14 Apr 2007 09:00:39 -0700
subject [altcollect] Teen Site
mailed-by returns.groups.yahoo.com

Excellent teen site, 1, 000, 000 uncensored images, 250, 000 movies!
All images and video are extremly high quality. Favorites option for
both movies and videos and also free downloads of the material you
like. Free tour......Copy/Paste the link below for a look NO POP-UP's
on this site!!!

This site is a MUST SEE!!

http://www.teen.callmyp*ssy.com/

Once in the site, click on the "Free Tour" icon to get access!!!

The Department of Public Safety continues to receive information about individuals crawling under or crossing between railroad cars as trains are momentarily stopped on the Southern Avenue tracks adjacent to the campus. In addition to being extremely dangerous when the train moves suddenly and unexpectedly, these activities are violations of the law and can lead to arrest and fines.



The railroad tracks are private property. For pedestrians, walking on the tracks, or crossing other than at designated locations when the tracks are clear, constitutes trespassing.



According to Operation Lifesaver, in the United States in 2006, there were:



- 466 Railroad Trespassing Injuries

- 530 Railroad Trespassing Fatalities



In 2006, Tennessee ranked 11th in trespass fatalities by state with 13 fatalities.



The University of Memphis urges everyone to refrain from these very dangerous activities. We are concerned about your well-being and safety. Until long-term solutions are developed, we are asking for your assistance to help us keep everyone safe.

In strange emails:

Hi All!

Issue #4 of Not Just Stamping will be released on March 1st. The theme
is It's A Girl Thing and it celebrates all things female -
friendships, fashion, shopping and, of course, chocolate! It's full of
loads of stamping projects plus papercrafts, collage and ATC's from
our readers.

If you haven't already subscribed order your copy now at
http://www.notjuststamping.com/ !

Men have friendships and eat chocolate too. I wonder why women are associated with consumerism nowadays.