Tonight my husband and I will attend an open meeting of the local school board to discuss a recent proposal allowing teachers to keep information about their child's gender preferences from parents, even in elementary school. As you may have guessed we live in a very liberal town, which means most of the people here are obedient soldiers in the culture wars, following orders. Fortunately there are a few remaining independent thinkers who plan to make their displeasure known. 

One reason, we are told, for keeping this important information from the parents is that Maine has the highest rate of domestic child abuse in the country. The statistic being tossed around is that 2% of School-age children in the state are being abused at home.

Hey, here's an idea: Let's dig into that horrific situation and stop giving a hoot if 9-year-old Samantha now wants to be called Sam. If someone is abusing her at home, who cares if she pees in the boy's room or the girl's room?

Many Mainers are misguided mental midgets, and that's putting it mildly, although the sentiment is beautifully onomatopoeic. I'm sure the few dissenting voices at tonight's meeting won't make a dent in school policy, but still it's good to let them know we're out there -- watching.