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The Future of Battlefield Robots
Alien54 writes "The Pentagon is drafting the Segway two-wheeled scooter as part of a plan to develop battlefield robots that think on their own and communicate with troops. Dean Kamen, the Segway's inventor, says he had no qualms about enlisting his brainchild into the military."
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My only hope is to reload Jerkcity religiously until I sober up.
By Joseph Nicolosi, Ph.D., and Linda Ames Nicolosi
At the very heart of the homosexual condition is conflict about gender. In the boy, we usually see a gender wound tracing back to childhood. He comes to see himself as different from other boys.
Gender woundedness usually exists as a silent, secret fear -- one that the boy's parents and loved ones only vaguely suspect. The boy has felt this way for as long as he is able to remember. That differentness creates a feeling of inferiority and isolates him from other males.
For some little boys, the gender confusion is obvious. Let me begin with one little boy whose case is unusually dramatic.
Stevie's Story
As a clinical psychologist who has treated hundreds of dissatisfied adult homosexual men, I get phone calls from all over the world. But with increasing frequency, the request concerns a child. Most of the people who call me are dedicated parents who want the best for their child, and I strive to guide, educate and support them.
The particular caller one day, my secretary informed me, was from nearby Pasadena, California. I picked up the receiver and heard a woman's voice on the other end of the line.
"Doctor, my name is Margaret Johnson," she began. Her voice quavered.
For one long moment, I thought we might have been disconnected.
"Are you there? Can I help you?"
"Well, I ... I think I saw you a couple of weeks ago on
television. That was you, wasn't it? You were debating a
psychiatrist?"
"It's possible," I said. I had been on a national TV show two weeks before, jousting with a gay activist who had become a familiar figure on the talk show circuit. "You probably mean the debate with Dr. Isay."
"Yes," she said. "You were on a show that talked about little boys who want to be little girls."
"That's right," I said. "We were doing a show about gender confusion."
This time Mrs. Johnson spoke up with determination and urgency.
"Doctor, you were describing my son Stevie. He's a beautiful little boy, a special child. But..." She hesitated. "Stevie's fascinated with little-girl things. Even more so than my daughters. In fact, he just loves the colors pink and red. He even, well, plays with Barbie dolls and dances around the house on tiptoes like a ballerina."
As I listened, Mrs. Johnson gave me a few more specifics. Her son was five. "I've been noticing this kind of behavior for almost two years," she explained.
To me, that length of time was significant. It is okay if a little boy wonders what he would look like wearing long blonde curls and so he tries wearing a wig, simply to be silly. There is nothing particularly alarming about that. But if he keeps on doing it and has little interest in "boy" things, there likely is a problem.
"This has been going on for two years?" I asked.
I think Mrs. Johnson misinterpreted my question as a rebuke. She sounded a little defensive. "But his teacher said not to worry, it was just a passing phase. So did my mother-in-law. She even gives Stevie her scarves and jewelry to try on. 'Grandma,' she tells him, 'adores her little baby doll.' "
"And you've been hoping they were right, that this is just a childhood phase."
"Yes. But I really do think there's something wrong." By now, Mrs.Johnson's voice sounded sharp and determined.
"Last week," she said, "Stevie insisted on getting him a Pocahontas doll. And then I saw you on TV. You were describing my son, Dr. Nicolosi. And if you're right, then Stevie will grow up?"
She hesitated, as if afraid to say the word. "He'll be gay. That's what you said. And to be honest, that's why I cal
I know this is offtopic but there's nowhere else to put it so hopefully someone else reading at -1 will see this. Am I the only one who finds the trolls on Slashdot really funny? Whether they're insulting the editors, predicting the death of *BSD, or making fun of failed would-be first posters, they always manage to make me laugh out loud. I'm not a troll myself but I still find them funny. Keep up the good work ;)