A correction to yesterday's note about Costa Rica. The accidental legislation wasn't about gay marriage, but gay civil unions. Which, according to many of the voices I've heard, is bad enough. One step at a time.
And some places in Latin America aren't as nice to gays as Costa Rica (never mind Argentina). A bill in Peru's Congress would have provided penalties for those convicted of assault of gay people. It was voted down.
Massachusetts is starting work on a public accommodations bill for transgender people. This allows me a chance to review what public accommodation includes. I've normally thought of it as access to hotels, restaurants, and stores without discrimination. But it also includes health care facilities, lodging (including campsites), places serving food, all forms of retail, places of public gathering (such as convention centers), places of public display (such as museums), places of recreation (such as zoos), public ways (such as streets), service establishments (such as funeral parlors), transport facilities (such as trains and train stations), professional services (doctors), places of government (polling places). Quite a list!
The ball-and-chain we attach to our graduating seniors (in the form of debt) makes some people wonder why we hate our kids. Alas, I don't remember who said that.
It appears Oregon is going to do something about that. The state legislature has approved a pilot project for a plan to allow students to attend public universities without tuition or loans. In exchange, students would pay the gov't 3% of their paychecks over the next 25 years. That's significantly less than what current graduates are paying. The money would go into a fund to pay the way for future students. Why should banks make a profit from education?
One small detail to be worked out. Startup costs will be about $9 billion to pay for students until the first ones start earning a paycheck.
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