Warning - Soap Box Tirade Ahead

Did you know that gay men cannot donate blood? I wasn't aware of this until the other day when a friend pointed it out to me. And I was furious. 

So I did some research and apparently in the 80's, the FDA put a lifetime ban on gay men donating blood. This came about after something like 10,000 hemophiliacs contracted HIV from blood transfusions. While that is unbelievably tragic, I think it is equally as tragic to consider the number of people who have died because there wasn't a blood type match found quickly enough. The World Health Organization (WHO) says directly on their website:

"Blood transfusion saves lives and improves health, but many patients requiring transfusion do not have timely access to safe blood. The need for blood transfusion may arise at any time in both urban and rural areas. The unavailability of blood has led to deaths and many patients suffering from ill-health."

To add insult to injury, sluts, whores, slutty whores, and generally promiscuous women can donate with minimal restrictions. Because the blood is tested for a plethora of diseases - including HIV. Let me repeat that - the blood is tested for HIV. So why in the hell can't gay men donate? Even if they are considered (by some) to be at a higher risk, their blood would still be tested. 

In 2013, we have technologies that allow cars to park themselves, vacuums to run on their own, lasers to correct our vision, and an International Space Station orbiting the earth for Christ's sake. Can it really be that difficult to design a comprehensive blood test which would allow any willing person to donate? 

We live in a scary world where bad things happen every day. I just wish we also lived in a world where any human being who wanted to make a difference would be given that opportunity. 

Laugh it Out

Sometimes I'm just crabby. And when I feel like my day is spiraling into permanent Negative Nancy territory, sometimes it's hard to cheer me up. 

Until now. 

Damn You Auto Correct (damnyouautocorrect.com) makes me laugh so hard I come dangerously close to falling out of my chair. This morning, I was laughing so hard I went into the 'ugly cry'. If you need some serious laugh therapy, go to the website and just read through it for 5 minutes. I guarantee it will cure you. 

My other go-to is Someecards.com.  Some are genuinely raunchy and disturbing, but most of them are so brutally honest I can't help but laugh. Like this one my friend sent to me yesterday:

(you're laughing because this is exactly how you feel when you stop for someone to cross the street!)

Fred Rogers - A National Treasure

The older I get, the more I appreciate how awesome Mister Rogers was. Here's a little reminder in case you forgot. 

Well That's a New One

Adding to the list of things I never thought I'd have to say: 

Don't wash your dishes in the bathroom sink.*

I'm still trying to figure out why, in an office building, you would EVER need to take your dirty dishes into the public bathroom. I'm 1,000,000% sure your office has, at the very least, a kitchenette with running water. 



*there is only one situation I can think of where it would be acceptable to wash your dishes in the bathroom - after a natural disaster, when most of your kitchen has been destroyed and you're basically living amidst the rubble of what was your house. 

Or maybe after a zombie apocalypse.