The Off Topic Topic

[Josquius]

I'm too excited about moving to Tokyo, can't help but browse for flats despite it being a month too early.

[CountDeMoney]

Didn't know derfetus was a member of the school board down there.

12-Year-Old Girl Banned From School Football Team for 'Inciting Lust'
Dan Carson, Bleacher Report

Twelve-year-old Maddy Paige has been kicked off her football team. The reason? Lust.

Paige has been asked by the heads of Strong Rock Christian, a K-12 private school in Locust Grove, Ga., to leave her football team as a preemptive measure against inciting lecherous and debauched temptations in other 12-year-olds.

This article from Maureen Downy of the Atlanta Journal Constitution was spotted by Rick Chandler of SportsGrid, and it only gets more interesting as the reasoning behind the decision unfurls.

Paige was an active player on Strong Rock's sixth grade football team. As far as sixth-graders go, she was a productive member of her team. Her stats weren't exactly gaudy (a handful of sacks in a season), but hey, she held down her role at defensive end. That is, until the school stepped in after the end of last season.

Different school figures have explained their decision to ban Paige from the team in different ways. The school's athletic director, Phil Roberts, said the decision was based on official middle school policy, according to Devin Fehely of WXIA-TV Atlanta.

"Our official policy is that middle school girls play girl sports and middle school boys play boy sports," Roberts wrote in an email to the news station.

Paige's mother, Cassy Blythe, told the station that Roberts' explanation rings hollow compared to other reasons she was given in private conversation with school administrators.

"In the meeting with the CEO of the school, I was told that the reasons behind it were... that the boys were going to start lusting after her, and have impure thoughts about her," she said. "And that locker room talk was not appropriate for a female to hear, even though she had a separate locker room from the boys."

"It's like taking my dream and throwing it in the trash," Maddy said about the school's decision.

So, they're not getting dressed together or showering together, but it's still inappropriate?

I'm no philosopher, but when you ban preteen girls from being around boys while wearing shoulder pads, "inciting lust" sounds like a flimsy reason. After all, the rest of the girls on school grounds are wearing skirts and polos and aren't covered in reeking hand-me-down padding.

If you think that's messed up, you're not alone. Paige's family started "Let Her Play"—a Facebook community aimed at getting her reinstated on the team and raising awareness of her situation. As of this writing, the page has well over 20,000 likes.

In summary, the school administrators asked for this. They let Paige play the first season and then banned her the next. You shouldn't do that to a little girl. Heck, you shouldn't do that to anyone.

On top of it all, they opened a whole can of tuna with their separate-but-equal middle school policy, and it's beginning to look like they won't be able to screw a lid on it.

[PDH]

BART workers are on strike.  That's San Francisco/Oakland public transport for you ferenghi.

Average salary now is 71K.  They took a pay cut during Teh Great Recession (NPR didn't say how much).  Now they want it back: 5% a year for the next three years.  Management is offering 4% total over 3 years.

My basic calculus is that the Bay Area costs are about twice as much as where I live.  71k is a nice chunk in Wyoming, it might not be nearly so great if I were trying to live there.

[garbon]

BART workers are on strike.  That's San Francisco/Oakland public transport for you ferenghi.

Average salary now is 71K.  They took a pay cut during Teh Great Recession (NPR didn't say how much).  Now they want it back: 5% a year for the next three years.  Management is offering 4% total over 3 years.

My basic calculus is that the Bay Area costs are about twice as much as where I live.  71k is a nice chunk in Wyoming, it might not be nearly so great if I were trying to live there.

I don't know, I mean perhaps if you were trying to use 71k in the bay to raise a family. But picture a household with two BART workers and seems like one would be okay.

Of course that's for the average worker and not all.

[CountDeMoney]

When I visited SF the locals we met told us that it was so expensive living in SF itself that lots of public workers (they mostly focused on policemen) just couldn't afford to live in the city anymore, when it was a requiriment in the past for them to live on it to be able to work in the SF force. When that requiriment was lifted hundreds of them moved out as soon as they could.

Heh, years ago they required all BPD officers to be city residents at the time of application.  They're still recovering as a force.

[Syt]

Didn't know derfetus was a member of the school board down there.

12-Year-Old Girl Banned From School Football Team for 'Inciting Lust'
Dan Carson, Bleacher Report

Twelve-year-old Maddy Paige has been kicked off her football team. The reason? Lust.

Paige has been asked by the heads of Strong Rock Christian, a K-12 private school in Locust Grove, Ga., to leave her football team as a preemptive measure against inciting lecherous and debauched temptations in other 12-year-olds.

This article from Maureen Downy of the Atlanta Journal Constitution was spotted by Rick Chandler of SportsGrid, and it only gets more interesting as the reasoning behind the decision unfurls.

Paige was an active player on Strong Rock's sixth grade football team. As far as sixth-graders go, she was a productive member of her team. Her stats weren't exactly gaudy (a handful of sacks in a season), but hey, she held down her role at defensive end. That is, until the school stepped in after the end of last season.

Different school figures have explained their decision to ban Paige from the team in different ways. The school's athletic director, Phil Roberts, said the decision was based on official middle school policy, according to Devin Fehely of WXIA-TV Atlanta.

"Our official policy is that middle school girls play girl sports and middle school boys play boy sports," Roberts wrote in an email to the news station.

Paige's mother, Cassy Blythe, told the station that Roberts' explanation rings hollow compared to other reasons she was given in private conversation with school administrators.

"In the meeting with the CEO of the school, I was told that the reasons behind it were... that the boys were going to start lusting after her, and have impure thoughts about her," she said. "And that locker room talk was not appropriate for a female to hear, even though she had a separate locker room from the boys."

"It's like taking my dream and throwing it in the trash," Maddy said about the school's decision.

So, they're not getting dressed together or showering together, but it's still inappropriate?

I'm no philosopher, but when you ban preteen girls from being around boys while wearing shoulder pads, "inciting lust" sounds like a flimsy reason. After all, the rest of the girls on school grounds are wearing skirts and polos and aren't covered in reeking hand-me-down padding.

If you think that's messed up, you're not alone. Paige's family started "Let Her Play"—a Facebook community aimed at getting her reinstated on the team and raising awareness of her situation. As of this writing, the page has well over 20,000 likes.

In summary, the school administrators asked for this. They let Paige play the first season and then banned her the next. You shouldn't do that to a little girl. Heck, you shouldn't do that to anyone.

On top of it all, they opened a whole can of tuna with their separate-but-equal middle school policy, and it's beginning to look like they won't be able to screw a lid on it.

Girl sports? Boy sports? Inciting lust? Improper language for a young lady's ears? What is this, Victorian Britain?

[garbon]

What is this, Victorian Britain?

I think the article says Georgia.

[Eddie Teach]

It's a private Christian school. Big whoop.

[CountDeMoney]

Tonight I'm picking up my sister's dog for the yearly 10 day babysitting gig.

Sleepytime/downtime crate is all set up in the kitchen.  Assorted chews, bones and assorted stuff she can gnaw on stockpiled.

Cat senses that doom and stupidity approaches.

[DGuller]

Is the turf war with the Gangsta Kitty looming? 

[Eddie Teach]

Doggy's got the muscle, Gangstah's got the ref.

[The Larch]

So, garbs, is this accurate? 

[CountDeMoney]

Is the turf war with the Gangsta Kitty looming? 

I put up a solid partition at the hallway to give Gangsta the back rooms so she can do her thing unmolested, and at a slight angle so she can peek out and watch the dummy, giving her the finger occasionally.
Also to keep an eye on the dog at all times;  she's one of those dogs that if you give her 30 seconds unattended, she'll find a pen and paint the carpet and walls with ink.

When she's in her cage, the cat'll come out, peer around the corner, tuck those paws under her, and give the dog the stink eye and all you hear is the tail banging on the cage.  She wants to herd the cat so damned bad she can't see straight.

[fhdz]

  I love dogs.

[Ed Anger]

I like those episodes of My Cat from Hell where the cat unloads holy terror on the dogs in the household.