All play and no work make Lindsay...something, something

Some days it's hard to draw the line between work and play. It is always satisfying to enjoy your day of work or to have worked really hard to have fun on your day off.

(I am working in one of these pics-can you guess which one?)

Fitness Tip of the Week

Drink water, and lots of it. Always bring more than you think you'll need when working or playing outdoors. Temperatures shot up here last week and I got seriously dehydrated while working outdoors. During the winter I had been bringing a 1-liter bottle to get me through the day, but in the heat it was not enough. Dehydration makes us stupid and lazy, so even if you are just sitting on your couch, drink fluids (besides beer) to give yourself a fighting chance of ever getting up.
The Mayo Clinic recommends drinking 2 liters a day to replace lost fluids, but of course you may need more if perspiring.
Also, ditch the throw-away bottles. Even if you recycle, they are incredibly wasteful. If you hate the taste of your tap water, sink-mounted filters work well and are cheaper than buying bottled water long-term. Nearly all reusable bottles now sold are Bisphenol A (BPA)-free, so there are no excuses not to use one. Get one for your coffee while you're at it.

-Stay active and play hard-

Ms. Hasselbeck, kindly shut up

Okay, it’s time Elizabeth Hasselbeck got her comeuppance. I assure you that I do not watch The View, but I saw a video clip of an interview in which she claims to be “peeved” at the fact that liberals were “giddy” over Bristol Palin’s pregnancy. Sarah Palin’s daughter is actually going on tour promoting abstinence as a viable option. Really?! That’s like...like an unwed mother giving a lecture on abstinence! -I couldn't think of anything more ridiculous as an analogy.

Yes, it does please us to see hypocrites called out, but I don’t think it is schadenfreude as much as taking satisfaction in justice being done. When a conservative U.S. Senator with a history of voting against gay (civil) rights gets busted for soliciting gay sex in a public bathroom or from one of his paiges, that is karmic. When an ultra-conservative radio personality turns out to be a drug addict, it is a poignant reminder that he does not have the right to pass moral judgment on others (although he continues to do so). These people hide under the guise of protecting morality but they are themselves repressed, and taking it out on people who just want tolerance and equality.

Ms. Hasselbeck went on to say that the pageant contestant (Miss CA, I think) was being unfairly criticized for voicing her opinion against gay marriage.
I’m sorry Elizabeth, but believing some people should be denied the same civil liberties as you is not an opinion, it is amoral. This country is strengthened by people of faith, but America’s true resilience comes from our tradition of separating church and state. Many religions do not place women on equal ground with men, but because of that separation from our government, women have equal rights in all things. Churches may discriminate however they wish, but when it comes to legal secular rights, no one can be excluded.

I won’t stoop to using the names that pop into my head whenever I hear one of Elizabeth’s uneducated rants, but it’s really a shame that the sweet girl we were all rooting for in season 2 of Survivor turned into a raving hateful zealot.

I've said this before, but the true irony is that moral conservatives have been on the wrong side of human rights issues many times throughout American history. Looking back forty or fifty years from now, the defenders of civil rights will be vindated over the gay marriage issue, just as they were when they stood against the moral majority and made them understand that differences such as skin color and gender do not make people inferior.
I am encouraged by the fact that each generation is more tolerant and accepting. We just have to wait out the haters and hope that their death bed will allow us to wake up to Dr. King’s dream.