www.harlotssauce.com                      
This Month's Contents

Podcast Interview................................. "My Illness Was a Blessing"

News and Politics.........  Tony Hoffart
Current Issues..............  Lindsey Kay
Technology...................  Natasha Stillman
Humor...........................  Vicola England, Kirk Starr
Science.........................  Paxton Daryl Branson
World Events................  Ilias Kountoupis, Peter McCarthy
Sports...........................  Patricia Volonakis Davis
Religion.........................  Mr. Snowy
Women's Issues............  Charlotte Steggs
Leading a Good Life......  Tom Hames,  Miranda Krebbs
On Growing Older.......... Cyd Madsen, Michelle Solange
Motherhood...................  Grace Bon, Amy Flanigan

This Month's Guest Writer................  Amber Burke

About the Writers at Harlots' Sauce Radio
email this writer at:
iliaskountoupis@harlotssauce.com
email this writer at: lindseykay@harlotssauce.com

              




  Press-gr. is one of the most visited Greek blogs, whose
purpose is to critique the Greek government and society and to
provide news that goes under the radar of the mainstream
media. I visit it daily to get information about government
scandals and corruption. Some posts are bogus, but most are
accurate.
 The Greek government is considering the enactment of a new
set of regulations regarding blogging activities like those at
Press-gr. A few weeks ago, the police entered the home of one
of the writers at Press-gr and searched for evidence in relation
to a blackmailing incident. Press -gr stands accused of
blackmailing a journalist at a major newspaper and threatening
to release information about his political connections. In
addition, many politicians feel that they are being personally
attacked by the fierce, critical language of  Press-gr’s posted
texts.
 Recently, some points from the draft of the government’s new
blog law were leaked. As expected, reaction from the Greek
blog world was immediate. The most important issue is the
battle against the anonymity of bloggers. Through this new law,
anonymous postings could become illegal. Bloggers would be
required to provide their true identities, if they want to continue
their online activities.
 Do I have to remind our government that bloggers are not
journalists? Do I have to remind them that the internet is a free
medium which even the U.S. cannot regulate and control? Do I
have to remind them that this our space where we write our
opinions? Is it possible to regulate someone's opinion? I am
appalled by my country behaving like one from the  third-world,
where YouTube is prohibited.
 I want to believe that this legal action against freedom of
speech will go no further. On the chance that it does,
Digitalrights.gr is a site that lobbies against these regulations.
I recommend it to those who want to keep the internet a free
speech zone.
                    ----May 2008
Greek Blogging Laws

Ilias Kountoupis

                 





 I had a close friend, once, who was a lesbian. She confessed to
me that she really liked me, she hinted at the fact that I’d never
had a lasting relationship with a guy, and reminded me that she
and I had once shared a very platonic kiss on a dare.
There was this unasked question hanging between us, and for
one split second I wanted to say, “yes, I could, at least I think I
could, I could try.”
  It was insanity, plain and simple, because I’m not gay. Yet in
that moment I pictured what my life would be like if I had been.
At first it would have been wonderful. I would’ve been able to
enjoy the love of a good friend. I would’ve been in a relationship
with someone with whom I’d shared my innermost thoughts.
Someone with whom I had a myriad of unspoken punch lines,
where a hand gesture served as well as a sentence.
I would’ve been able to say, “this is like that one movie, with the
thing,” and had my partner laugh instead of saying, “I don’t get it.
You’re insane.”
  I would’ve had those things, those beautiful things, those things
that never seem to exist in even the best of marriages…
But my parents were both raised Mennonite and I have Amish
relatives. I would have been trading that single relationship for a
possible loss of both my close and extended family. I would have
no longer been welcome at church meals. Many good friends
would have been afraid to have us around their children. I would
be embarrassed to talk about my home life at work, referring
always to my “partner” instead of my spouse, hedging around the
fact that my “partner” was female, ashamed to say her name.   
People would look at me at first in confusion and then in
understanding, possibly followed by revulsion. Instead of a casual
acceptance of my life, I’d be followed by awkward questions.
Home would be wonderful, the rest of the world more sketchy.
  And I’ve always wanted children. If I’d chosen to get pregnant, I
would have to daily look at my children and realize that although
they were mine, they weren’t my partner’s. If we adopted, one of
us would be the legal parent, but not both. We’d live in fear of not
being able to both be present with our kids if they had an
emergency. We’d both feel awkward. Our kids would probably be
asked a lot of personal questions about their “two mommies,” and
I’d always wonder if not having a father was somehow affecting
them. I don’t know that I’d feel guilty… I’d just wonder.
 I have to say- I can’t believe anyone would just choose that. I
can’t believe that my close friend simply woke up one day and
said, “you know, I think I’ll be a lesbian now.”  I’m not saying that
somewhere in her brain there wasn’t a switch that got turned at
some point. She had some bad experiences, she didn’t want to
go through what her mom went through.. I don’t think any sane
person would look at a life of acceptance versus a life of awkward
conversations and say, “My life is too easy. Let’s mix this up.”
 My friend, at least, had to have really believed that was who she
was meant to be. She still believes in God, the last I heard. She
just has a lot of questions. It’s just too bad that there aren’t very
many churches where they’d let her in long enough to ask them.

                                           ----May 2008
        

What if I Were Gay?

Lindsey Kay