August 29, 2005

My Birthday's Coming Up--Buy Me This Stuff!
by Jeff Langstraat

In about two and a half weeks I'll turn mumblemumblemumble37mumblemumble. I just sent out the invites for my party today (I think I'll also send out a link to this). It's become a yearly opportunity for me to share a little bit of home--I get to grill bratwurst that my parents ship to me from Minnesota.

I've joked about creating a gift registry for myself for some time. It doesn't look like I'll be marrying anytime soon, so the wedding registry is out. My cat (and maybe subsequent pets) is the only grandchild my parents are getting from me, so there's another opportunity gone. If nothing changes in the next few years, I'm definitely going to have a "I'm turning 40 and still single, but not in the least bit bitter" registry. Unless anyone's willing to pay off my student loans, though, I can't really think of anything I need or want from people right now. So, for my birthday this year, indeed any gift giving opportunity, toss some money over to these folks....or somebody else you think I might like.

The visit of our highly esteemed Ph.D. in Creation Science Apologetics (the retarded cousin of intellectual inquiry), along with recent stupidity in the media (via Atrios), has highlighted the importance of the National Center for Science Education.

My aunts will have been married a lttle over one month on my birthday. I made a donation to the Lambda Legal Defense and Education fund as a wedding gift. As the largest gay legal group in the country, they do important work. Often, the ACLU is one of their partners. While these two groups do vital work in the fight for marriage equality, that isn't the only thing they focus on. Indeed, as we move toward a point where dissent is defined as terristic (also via Atrios), the ACLU's work is even more vital.

Here in Massachusetts, we've got our own fights over marriage equality. While the amendment currently before the legislature appears to be in trouble, there's another amendment out there that the homohaters really want to get passed in 2008. If they get it on the ballot, we're going to see a hell of a fight. Stopping marriage in Massachusetts will become as important as overturning Roe. The leading organization here in the Bay State is MassEquality. They can really use the money, and Ambassador James Hormel is matching half of the donations (so, if you donate $2, he'll give $1).

There's also one of my favorite organizations, OutFront Minnesota. I have a personal history with the organization that goes back over a decade (to when it was still the Gay and Lesbian Community Action Council). They're a great group, and they're always in need of more resources--they're underfunded, so send 'em some love.

The fight over SCOTUS nominee John Roberts is ramping up. I don't know if there's any empirical evidence for this, but it seems like attacks on reproductive rights have been ramping up recently (Update: Apparently my gut feeling was fairly accurate.). Both of these point to the importance of NARAL's work. I don't care about the Roberts ad right now, NARAL is a strong and consistent voice in support of women's reproductive health and freedom. Also, Planned Parenthood is not only a strong voice, but also provides much needed medical services.

Anyone who's read my ramblings knows that I write a lot about sex. Sex education is a major concern of mine (I did my Masters thesis on the Minnesota Family Council's framing of sex ed). SIECUS has been doing quality work in this area for a long time. Accurate comprehensive sexuality education is an absolute necessity if we want to stem both unwanted pregnancies and the transmission of STIs.

When it comes to this disastrous war, I can think of no one more deserving of support than Veterans for Peace. They also have a listing of organizations providing relief in Afghanistan and Central Asia. A group I donated to in my sister's name for Christmas is Women for Women International who work with women in areas affected by war or disaster.

Finally, support the development of a netroots infrastructure and donate to our CultureKitchen BlogDiva, Liza. If you like my profanity-laced inanity, toss Liza some money--she is, after all, the one who provides this platform. She's the one working to materialize the networks we create in our blogrolls, links and trackbacks (which I still can't manage to make work), and who sees the moblizing potential in those networks (Girl, we should write a paper some time). Without her, you wouldn't be reading this.

So, that's what I want for my birthday. Or, you can donate to someone else you think I'd like. Or, you can donate in someone else's name. Or, you can just donate.

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