Said by a prominent libertarian rebel-troll-smartass guy:

If you’re saying “I’m not allowed to” in regard to any normal thing you might do, like go to a restaurant, you should be furious with, first, yourself for pretending to accept this BS, and, second, whatever municipal or corporate clown pretended to have the authority of allowance.

Is that so.

What’s he assuming there?

That going to a restaurant is “normal.”

Of course in one way it is, that one way being the fact that it has been normal in some places for some people for several decades. But in another way it’s not the slightest bit normal; on the contrary it’s abnormal, and entirely dependent on a whole massive network of … Read the rest

Well…I guess Alice Dreger is more of a believer than I had any idea of. From 2006:

On Tuesday, the New York Times reported that New York City “is moving forward with a plan to let people alter the sex on their birth certificates even if they have not had sex-change surgery.” Under the new plan “being considered by the city’s Board of Health… people born in the city would be able to change the documented sex on their birth certificates by providing affidavits from a doctor and a mental health professional laying out why their patients should be considered members of the opposite sex, and asserting that their proposed change would be permanent.” No more need to get

… Read the rest

I’m having trouble believing what I’m seeing.

I feel so old because feminism has apparently become biological essentialism and it lost me there

— Alice Dreger, Ph.D. (@AliceDreger) January 17, 2022

Because they are not sexually dimorphic. Sheesh.

— Alice Dreger, Ph.D. (@AliceDreger) January 17, 2022

They’re…not? They’re so not that the question gets a “sheesh”?

I don’t understand. I expect it from your Frances Coppolas and Bethany Williamses, but not from your Alice Dregers.… Read the rest

After the dinosaurs were wiped out:

Reporting today in the journal Science, Miller’s team, led by vertebrate paleontologist Tyler Lyson, has uncovered an enormous cache of fossils from Colorado’s Denver Basin that include the first million years that followed the asteroid’s arrival. The site’s thousands of plant and animal remains chart out an extraordinarily detailed timeline of ecosystem recovery, pinpointing the rise and fall of species at a resolution of hundreds of thousands of years—mere seconds on the geologic clock.

In the millennia following the impact, five-foot crocodiles and keg-sized turtles re-entered the waters to stretch their leathery legs. Plants unfurled their roots into the once-scorched soil, sprouting nutrient-rich beans and small, fast-growing leaves. No longer threatened

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I suppose they think this makes them look up to date and aware, or down with the kids, or something, but you’d think they’d also be able to see that it makes them look like complete fools to most adults. Planned Parenthood, that is.

We’re in the midst of a sex-positivity boom that’s dispelling long-held beliefs about who can and should experience pleasure—which is, of course, all humans. But up until recently, that sexual-pleasure narrative centered almost entirely on people with penises, rooted first in the belief that non-procreative sex was taboo for people with vaginas, and later, in an evolved (but not any less sexist) understanding that, while folks with vaginas could find pleasure in sex, orgasm for

… Read the rest

Some women collapse into actual sexism when trying to bully other women into agreeing that trans women are women. Frances Coppola for one.

She cited one case which the prison service admitted it badly mishandled and has since changed its procedures. As I've already pointed out, anecdote does not equal evidence.

— Frances 'Cassandra' Coppola (@Frances_Coppola) January 16, 2022

Yes it is an anecdote. Anecdotes are real, of course.

MoJ figures show 7 sexual assaults by trans prisoners in female prisons between 2010 and 2020, two of them by the same person. In the same period there were 117 other sexual assaults in female prisons. I wonder who did them?

— Frances 'Cassandra' Coppola (@Frances_Coppola) January 17, 2022

I have

… Read the rest

The Times checks Trump’s lies at that “rally” in Arizona.

“The left is now rationing lifesaving therapeutics based on race, discriminating against and denigrating, just denigrating, white people to determine who lives and who dies. If you’re white, you don’t get the vaccine, or if you’re white, you don’t get therapeutics.”

False. There is no evidence that white Americans are being denied access to vaccines or treatments.

Mr. Trump referred to a Wall Street Journal opinion column criticizing New York State’s guidelines on two limited antiviral treatments that ask health providers to prioritize the therapies for immunocompromised patients and those with risk factors. The guidelines, which were released in late December, said, “Nonwhite race or Hispanic/Latino ethnicity should be

… Read the rest

Just outright abusive, like some drunk angry psycho on the street corner.

https://twitter.com/BethanyinCBR/status/1482816611849744384 https://twitter.com/BethanyinCBR/status/1482815217507594241

Just vulgar abuse.

https://twitter.com/BethanyinCBR/status/1482547259233693696

Where does she get the “white supremacists” bit? Nowhere. Just vulgar abuse.

https://twitter.com/BethanyinCBR/status/1482989546568822787

“Maggots.”

This person calls herself a “political commentator” and plans to run for office.… Read the rest

The Watford Observer scolds its readers for losing sight of “feelings.”

At the time of writing, the comment section underneath our online story ‘Petition as girls’ school trust will no longer admit transgender pupils’ had grown to more than 120 entries.

It is one of the most divisive subjects of our times, with accusations of ‘cancel culture’ and ideology even tainting formerly beloved figures like JK Rowling.

Is it Rowling who is “tainted” by the accusations, or is it the rabidly furious people who scream about her who are tainted?

The argument does not necessarily split along right/left political lines, with many feminists who might once have been considered left-wing aligning themselves with views on the right.

So the argument … Read the rest

A two hour workshop on how to be perfected:

Unlearning the Binary: Fostering a Truly Trans-Inclusive Campus

The campus is the University of Waterloo.

Workshop Description:

The purpose of the workshop is to help students, faculty and staff understand historical and present-day issues that impact trans and non-binary Black & racialized identities, debunk and de-mystify conversations around trans inclusion, and generate discussion on accountability frameworks and best practices to better affirm trans identities

It’s a two-fer. You can be helped to understand trans and race, all in just two hours.

Learning Outcomes:

• Describe the erasure, and impact of Black and racialized trans folks from history
• Unlearn the binary towards fully respecting/valuing someone’s lived identity
• Determine the

… Read the rest

People planning to make new Harry Potter film with frogs playing all the parts.

Film producers are planning a woke version of the Harry Potter movies in which the magical characters will be played by transgender and non-binary actors.

Or frogs. Whichever demands the least money.

In what will be seen by many as a challenge to J.K. Rowling, who was attacked for questioning the claim that trans women are identical to biological women, the filmmakers are seeking a more diverse line-up for the starring roles.

They are insisting that some of the characters for the new versions – to be aired as a ‘web series’ – cannot be played by white actors, including the starring role of James

… Read the rest

Dog friend/client and I walked around Green Lake this afternoon.… Read the rest

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The noise issue:

Last month, I spent a cold morning wandering around Hampstead Heath, one of London’s largest green spaces, with a sound designer named Nicholas Allan. For many, the Heath is an escape. There are almost 800 acres of it: meadows and woodland, hollows and springs, hills and ponds.

I once lived in a bedsitter just off the Heath, so I spent a lot of time exploring it. There are several similarly vast parks in Seattle, which I spend a lot of time exploring.

In July, Allan awarded the Heath “Urban Quiet Park” status. He was acting on behalf of Quiet Parks International, or QPI, a non-profit based in Los Angeles that is “committed to saving quiet

… Read the rest

Trump says white people can’t get the vaccination.

Trump says white people are being discriminated against on covid treatment: “If you’re white, you don’t get the vaccine or if you’re white you don’t get therapeutics .. In NY state, if you’re white, you go to the back of the line if you want help.” pic.twitter.com/QLgkC3VESk

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) January 16, 2022

Yeah let’s have that guy back.… Read the rest

Jo Grady, the very pro-trans and anti-feminist General Secretary of the University and College Union, agrees with the “auntie is an affectionate compliment” take.

Beyond all the other problems, aunties are very respected. likening an elder woman to an auntie is not a diss. It doesn’t even make sense.

— Jo Grady (@DrJoGrady) January 16, 2022

That’s an utterly stupid thing to say. If a student called Jo Grady “Granny” would she consider it a mark of respect?… Read the rest

Speaking of “aunties” who talk a lot of piffle that wise compassionate alert progressive young people know better than…

I have very vivid memories of how, whenever this happened, it would be narrated by men as "your mum/gran/aunt et. has gone off on one …" A bit of a joke, evidence of what a silly old bint the complainant was. >

— Victoria Smith (@glosswitch) January 15, 2022

It took me years to question this, and I think of it a lot now when I see the contempt many 'progressive' people have for mummies/aunts/older women in general. All silly women "off on one".

— Victoria Smith (@glosswitch) January 15, 2022

… Read the rest

School urges girls to wear “shapewear” to deal with body image issues. Mother not impressed.

So this is what my 8th grade daughter brought home from school today. I am beyond pissed, though I’m not sure if I’m more pissed at the fact that they had the “balls” to send this home or the VERY IGNORANCE of the “counselors” at the school.

So you begin this masterpiece detailing how damaging a negative body image is for girls, how the stress of conforming to an impossible perceived image can adversely affect their mental health, and then OFFER TO GIVE THEM SPANX SO THEY CAN BETTER FIT THE PERCEIVED IMAGE?!? What. The. Very. F@$&. How, in the hell, are you promoting

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Cunning plan: give convicted rapists the option of joining the army instead of going to prison.

Brandon Scott Price, a former Kentucky jail guard convicted of sexually assaulting a female inmate, was recently told his one-year sentence would be probated (meaning no jail time) if he joined the US military. “You’re getting a huge break,” the male judge said. Price may have a little trouble enrolling, however, as an army spokesperson has said you’re not eligible for enlistment if you’re convicted for a sex offense. Which seems sensible since the military already has a massive sexual assault problem: female service members are reportedly more likely to be sexually assaulted by a colleague than shot by an enemy combatant at

… Read the rest

She was out for an afternoon run by the canal.

Vigils are taking place across Ireland and the UK in memory of murdered 23-year-old teacher Ashling Murphy.

Irish police are continuing to hunt for the killer of Murphy, who was found dead on Wednesday after going for a run on the banks of the Grand Canal in Tullamore, County Offaly. The Garda Síochána said it had made “significant progress” in its investigation amid reports that detectives had identified a person of interest.

The canal. Canals are good places to walk and run. I seek them out, myself. There are canals here that link Lake Washington to Puget Sound; I like to walk along them. The first morning of my … Read the rest