Of the many reasons you should consider joining a golf club, one is the opportunity to play in tournaments with people you know, carrying handicaps you can trust. These tournaments take many forms but at my course, one of the most loved formats, the tournament that best cements relationships between male and female members, is the Ryder Cup competition.

About 25 years ago our PGA Professional suggested a male/female tournament that pitted the women against the men. The format would be 16 of each gender playing four nine hole events with each of the first three (alternate shot, better ball of partners and two person scramble) worth one point per two person match, then 16 single matches on the fourth nine worth a point each.

There would be no prizes, no money in the Golf Shop just bragging rights.

From the get-go both genders realized the importance of the tournament. Each male strives to establish his place as the Silver Backed Alpha Male (SBAM), while the women are more team oriented. Thinking about it, there is a startling parallel in each teams attitude to the real Ryder Cup the men are the individualistic American squad while the European team attitude prevailed with the women, who start each tournament by huddling, arms over each others shoulders and giving a rah-rah cheer bone chilling if you are a guy competitor.

The first year the women thoughtfully provided snacks and shots of scotch before the competition began; the food out of the kindness of their hearts, the booze a transparent tactic to befuddle the guys. Thus began the tradition of giving tee prizes to each other every year before the first ball was airborne. What this evolved into might be considered by outsiders to be misogyny and misandry, even rampant sexism, but all involved knows it for what it is great fun.

Plans for the tee gift are made weeks in advance, as each team tries to out-humiliate the other. It started out fairly benign the second year with the guys presenting the gals with personalized certificates for each woman, proclaiming their second place finish before the games began and the eventually victorious women returning them to the men at the end of the tournament, their name scratched out and replaced with their opponents moniker. The stage was set.

The women took first place four of the first five years, rendering us SBAMs emasculated, especially the year we received two pink golf balls in a small jock strap as our tee prize. We countered with retroactive trophies the next year bowling trophies, the bowler figure on top cut off and replaced with a Ryder cup, except the cup was a glued-on measuring cup. Other prizes included aprons for the women proclaiming their second place finish and a white belt for the men, printed with pictures of all of the SBAMs and the statement 2019 BSCC Women Belt Men. Which they then proceeded to do.

Then there was the lunch box with a faux stuffed crow inside; a bottle of wine relabeled as Chateau de Feat out of the Love Canal Vineyard, sporting a picture of toxic waste; Cracker Jack boxes that had been opened from the bottom and resealed after removing the original prize and replacing it with a ball marker labeled LOSER; a six pack sampler of beer relabeled with brands such as Boars Butt Beer and 17th Hole Pond Scum Lager.

One year the SBAMs got a case of Wheaties from the local supermarket, unopened, still in the original case, strapping and all. We carefully removed the strapping, put a redone front panel over each of the original boxes, with pictures of all 16 male players and slogans such as 100% whole wheat replaced with 100% Testosterone. It looked exactly like the original front panel and as we broke the strapping and opened the case to distribute the Wheaties boxes to the women, one of them quipped, I hope it has our pictures on it. Priceless.

Next years Ryder Cup will be held the week after that other one in Europe. Thirty-two women and men will meet on a Fall Saturday morning in the gazebo and determine the pairings amid atrocious trash talking before going out to battle. I cant wait.

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Battle of the sexes - Golf - Albany Times Union

With the recent confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett to the United States Supreme Court on Monday night, many Americans will most likely lose their access to affordable health care in the near future. And this is particularly disturbing to North Carolinians because, for almost a decade, Republican leadership in the states legislature has refused to expand Medicaid, despite support from voters on both parties. The Center for American Progress, an independent, nonpartisan policy institute, and NORC at the University of Chicago conducted a survey with 1,528 LGBTQIA+ identifying individuals in June.

In states that have not expanded Medicaid, the rate of LGBTQIA+ adults who are uninsured is 20 percent, the results state, adding that LGBTQIA+ adults making less than $45,000 a year are the ones most prominently affected. According to this survey, transgender folks and people with disabilities bear the brunt of the high cost of health care, as 51% of transgender individuals and 40% of people with disabilities who needed medical care postponed it due to cost, and 40% of transgender individuals and 30% of people with disabilities postponed preventative screenings due to cost.

A Greensboro-based virtual clinic with a focus on LGBTQ health hopes to support those living in the margins of society by providing virtual health care services to anyone living in North Carolina. Founded by Chief Operating Officer Jamie Clarke and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Subrata John Guha, the LGBTQ Clinic was conceptualized specifically with the health care needs of LGBTQIA+ people in mind.

If you have a phone, iPad, or computer, you can come see us, Guha said. You dont have to go anywhere just be seen where you are comfortable, and take a proactive approach for your health.

According to Clark and Guhas research, there are approximately 420,000 people that identify as LGBTQIA+ in North Carolina, and of those, 30,000 identify specifically as transgender. Clarke is one of those 30,000. Unfortunately, Clarke knows all too well the barriers that other trans people face when seeking health care.

I had a lot of problems getting comfortable, comprehensive medical care, she said. Not just about [Hormone Replacement Therapy] or sexual health, but about Jamie as a whole person, which encompasses all of those things and my day-to-day medical needs.

She said that the LGBTQIA+ community, as a whole, are not very trusting of doctors. As a transgender woman, she has experienced first-hand what that is like to be treated differently because of her gender identity. At age 35, Clarke decided that she wanted to begin transitioning by starting HRT, so like any other patient, she asked her doctor for more information.

I was dealing with a local doctor and asked to have my hormone levels checked, as I was getting bloodwork done anyway, she said. And they were like, well, why would you want to do that? And I was like, so I can start HRT, and she said, Oh, I am not comfortable doing that.

This experience led Clarke to switch to Dr. Guha. During her interview with him, she felt comfortable enough to ask about starting HRT because he was honest, straightforward, and extremely easy to talk to.

Clarke said when she told him that she was interested in starting HRT, he told her that he wasnt too familiar with it, so he had to do some more research to make sure he was doing it properly.

As we got to know each other, I was explaining to him that sometimes, I was at the point where I wanted to go online and figure out how to do it myself. But he was like thats probably not safe, Clarke said. And there are a whole lot of people that are in that exact boat. So, we are trying to take the stigma out of LGBTQIA+ health.

With The LGBTQ Clinic, Clarke and Guha said they are trying to create a movement toward community-based, equalized health care by building relationships with clients in a convenient and accessible format.

In the telemedicine space, typically what you get is a five-minute visit, sometimes not even by video but as a phone call, Clarke said. Our visits are 15 minutes long, and we strongly encourage getting to know your doctor, and vice versa, because you always get the same care provider.

Clarke described the LGBTQ Clinic as everything one would expect at a visit to their regular health care provider, only virtually.

One of our marketing specialists was like, think about it as going to the doctors office, not getting deadnamed, and you dont have to sit on the crunchy paper in a germ pool, Clarke said.

Guha explained that the LGBTQ Clinic could basically replace ones primary care doctor because it is all-encompassing and that everyone, not just LGBTQIA+ people, could receive health care services.

I can write a virtual prescription to your pharmacist, any pharmacist we are basically like walking into your doctors office but all virtual, Guha said. We cant administer shots, but if it can be self-administered, then I can prescribe it, and you can pick it up.

However, Guha said he makes sure he is thorough with each patient he sees.

When someone comes in, I dont just write a prescription for testosterone, he said. I want that lab work, and I would want to see the patient again after the lab work [results came back] to go over it and then provide the prescription.

The LGBTQ Clinic isnt Guhas first foray into providing fast and accessible health care services to people. Guha said he helped start FastMed back in the ancient ages of 2010, but sold out of it in 2014-2015 after the business was acquired by a venture capitalist. As a heterosexual, cisgender man, Guha said he believes that everyone should have the same access to health care and be treated equally, which is why he was more than happy to help start this clinic.

Guha takes pride in his informed approach to LGBTQIA+ health, as he follows the guidelines put out by the University of California at San Francisco and its Department of Internal Medicines sub-department, which is specifically tailored for the LGBTQIA+ community.

In the last five years, this premier medical center started putting out clinical protocols that established guidelines and state of the art, the scope of practice protocols, he noted.

Launching the LGBTQ Clinic hasnt been easy but has been a labor of love for both Clarke and Guha.

We are really excited about it, she said. Being in Greensboro, and with it being such a large college town, the need is absolutely there. One of the hardest things we are having problems with is trying to have conversations with influencers or people that can get the message out for us. I dont want to be a sponsored ad; I want to be a trusted resource.

Clarke said North Carolinas 2016 controversial Bathroom Bill was a big part of their discussion, and it was a driving factor as to why we would create this clinic specifically.

We dont have time for the noise, Clarke said of the recent politicizing of health care. We just want to provide quality health care to as many people that need it as we can...Its also about bringing some respectability to a state like North Carolina, where there is a lot of uncertainty about this particular issue.

Whoever is elected president in November, we will still be here, she added.

Clarke said each 15-minute virtual session costs $78 per visit, which she said is cheaper than the $150 that is usually charged by the local larger medical centers.

We are looking to do a subscription plan, but because we are so new, we are still testing the market, Guha said, adding that The LGBTQ Clinic will soon accept insurance coverage from Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, Cigna, United Care, and others.

We are actively pursuing the credentialing process, and its just a waiting game, Clarke said.

I am guessing in the next 30-60 days, and the reason why it is taking so long, as you probably already know, is because of COVID, Guha added.

Presently, there are two doctors (including Guha) and one nurse practitioner on staff at The LGBTQ Clinic. Clarke said she is looking for support from local LBGTQIA+ community leaders but makes it clear that they are not trying to buy their way into the community. Clarke and Guha said they arent in the business of just making a quick buck; they want to establish the LGBTQ Clinic as a long-term resource.

Health care should not be any different or any less quality because you are in the LGBTQ community, she said. We are trying to provide and be a voice to the movement. With a 30-veteran of the health care industry to say that your health care is no different or more valuable than anyone elses, that is the real distinction here.

For more information, visit the website and follow The LGBTQ Clinic on social media (Instagram and Facebook, @lgbtq.clinic)

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New virtual clinic aims to provide accessible, inclusive health care to LGBTQIA+ North Carolinians - Yes! Weekly

The Trial of the Chicago 7 revisits a flashpoint in American history as written and directed by Aaron Sorkin and now available on Netflix.

Poster for The Trial of the Chicago 7

Sorkin is a master of the courtroom drama whose films often build to one climatic speech. Sorkins work includes the screenplays for A Few Good Men (You cant handle the truth), Malice (I am God!), The American President (I am the President), as well as The Social Network (Wheres your Facebook?) and his recent directorial debut Mollys Game (Because its my name!).Sorkin is also justly praised for The West Wing, where Walk and Talk shots became a signature Sorkin feature.

Sorkin does his best work when he finds a way to make the central issue personal when he finds a story with no obvious connection to him that nonetheless mirrors his own deepest beliefs or serves as the forum to relitigate his own private personal emotional dramas, arguments and wounds.

In 1968, The Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago. Following the murders that Spring of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy, the Convention was seen as a referendum on the Vietnam War. Or at least protesters wanted it to become that. Three different protest groups, the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the Youth International Party (Yippies), and the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam (MOBE), all called upon their supporters to come to Chicago to protest at the convention.

The Convention became the scene of violent riots, with Chicago Police beating protesters. Hubert Humphrey received the Democratic nomination but lost the election to Richard Nixon who campaigned on a Law and Order platform. Once Nixon was in office, his Attorney General John Mitchell ordered the prosecution of the protest leaders: Rennie Davis and Tom Hayden of the SDS, Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin of the Yippies, Dave Dellinger of the Mobilization Committee as well as two other protesters. Bobby Seale, chairman of the Black Panther Party was also indicted.

Judge Julius Hoffman was chosen to hear the case. William Kunstler and Leonard Weinglass were the defense attorneys for the defendants other than Bobby Seale whose lawyer could not make it to Court. Seale was unrepresented and Judge Hoffman would not allow Seale to represent himself. Eventually after Hoffman ordered Seale bound and gagged to end his outbursts, a mistrial was declared for Seale, who left the case.

Sacha Baron Cohen as Abbie Hoffman with Jeremy Strong as Jerry Rubin in Netflix's The Trial of the ... [+] Chicago 7

Sorkin sets up conflict among the characters as well as against the Judge and Nixons Justice Department. In Sorkins telling (which is based on the actual trial transcripts), Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne) and Rennie Davis (Alex Sharp) are political activists hoping to change the system in many ways more establishment and more respectful of the judicial system than Abbie Hoffman (Sascha Baron Cohen) and Jerry Rubin (Jeremy Strong), who are set up initially as attention hungry anarchists who care more about publicizing themselves than ending the war; and Dave Dellinger, who is the adult in the room, a pacificist believer in non-violence who wants to bring about the end of the war in Vietnam. There appears to be hostility between Hayden and Hoffman as to how best to win their case or, for that matter, how best to end the Vietnam War.

Judge Julius Hoffman (Frank Langella) comes off as biased, short-tempered, and perhaps senile. William Kunstler (Mark Rylance) appears as earnest, sincere, and mostly trying to keep the peace among his defendants and find a way to make their case in court.

Sorkins magic act is such that after setting up Hayden as the voice of reason for most of the movie, it is Hoffman who saves the day. Likewise, Sacha Baron Cohen who steals the movie in what is his best dramatic performance to date. Sorkins reveal is that Hoffman is the one who sees the clearest, who early on understands that this is a political trial, and that the case and its impact would be made both in court and outside among the protesters and the press. On the witness stand, it is Hoffman who gives the answers that best frame the movie. And true to Sorkins predilections, it is Hoffmans explanation of Haydens grammatical vagaries upon which the movie hangs (Its true, I swear!).

All in all, Sorkin makes a crackling drama out of what was a lengthy and laborious trial and does so in a way that has great resonance to today and the recent Black Lives Matter protestsand, more generally, concerning the Trump administration.

So my review, in short: Watch the Trial of the Chicago 7 youll learn lots and its worth watching for Sacha Baron Cohens performance.

Now, putting that all aside, when a narrative piece of entertainment is fashioned about real people there is always that question of how true the performances and characterizations are to the actual people. Certainly the actors can study film and tape, but most of them never had the opportunity to see these people, in person, in their prime. I did.

Over the course of time, I had the chance to hear speak many of the people portrayed in this movie including Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Dave Dellinger, Rennie Davis, Tom Hayden and William Kunstler. And although Sorkin is faithful to the trial transcript, the personalities of the characters were different than what we see onscreen. So, for example, Ryland plays Kunstler with a certain modesty, reticence and seriousness of purpose. Kunstler was more of a firebrand, more passionate, more full of himself. Hayden was like his screen character, aggressive and somewhat professorial, but more blue collar in affect than Redmayne. Rennie Davis was more commanding when he spoke. Dave Dellinger was about right, although he had more gravitas. Jerry Rubin was a bright light, high energy and fun (Sorkin diminishes him in this telling). And as for Abbie, Sacha Baron plays him as a stand-up comic, but a very intelligent one (Closer I would say to Cohen himself than Hoffman).I would say Abbie had more testosterone. He was more combative, more provocative. With Abbie there was always a level of engagement and aggression amid his brilliance that is not evident in the screen performance.

Some 40 years ago, youthful political organizers were put on trial by a US government set on curtailing their rights and punishing them for speaking out in what was more political spectacle than legal proceeding. If the passage of time has sought to blunt that memory, and to forget the names of Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, Dave Dellinger, Bobby Seale and Bill Kunstler, Aaron Sorkin has done them the tribute of giving them new life in his very watchable and superbly acted film, The Trial of the Chicago 7.

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Sorkin's Blast From The Past: The Trial Of the Chicago 7 - Forbes