A story in three tweets.

Prof Jo Phoenix, The Open University, will give a talk on "#Trans rights and justice: complicated contours in contemporary sex, gender and sexualities politics when thinking about issues of justice and punishment".

Join us at @Uni_of_Essex on Dec 5! pic.twitter.com/E0CEcUQpPN

— Criminology @ Essex (@UoECrim) December 2, 2019

Happening tomorrow!#transrights #genderpolitics https://t.co/ysE4f95qDv

— Criminology @ Essex (@UoECrim) December 4, 2019

This afternoon’s seminar was cancelled as we were concerned open debate and discussion might be obstructed

— Criminology @ Essex (@UoECrim) December 5, 2019

Well, that takes care of that.… Read the rest

Really this Wollaston confusion is central to the whole mess. It’s the conflation of “men will take advantage of the new rules to prey on women” and “trans women will take advantage of the new rules to prey on women.” The second is not what gender critical feminists are saying! What we are saying is that we have no way of knowing who is which and that it’s neither fair nor safe to put the burden of figuring it out on women.… Read the rest

The US has always had a massive anti-intellectual streak, but as with everything else, Republicans have been energetically making it worse since McCarthy, or the New Deal, or Coolidge.

Some argue that this worldview has become even more prevalent in the era of Trump, who while campaigning for the presidency appeared to dismiss the expertise often found at institutions of higher education.

“I’m speaking with myself, number one, because I have a very good brain, and I’ve said a lot of things,” Trump said in March 2016 on MSNBC, when asked who he consults on foreign policy issues. “My primary consultant is myself, and I have a good instinct for this stuff.”

He doesn’t though.

That certainly seemed to be

“The idea these people are a threat to other women is an assumption we should challenge”.

Dr Sarah Wollaston comments on the Lib Dems’ plans to reform the Gender Recognition Act#Newsnight | @sarahwollaston pic.twitter.com/ou6ZYgcD1D

— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) December 4, 2019

“The point is of course that there will be a very tiny number of individuals who will seek to exploit this”

But that isn’t what the point is, because she can’t possibly know that the number will be “very tiny,” and the reality is that it almost certainly won’t be tiny, because once it becomes possible and legal and respectable for men to be in women’s spaces then more than a “tiny number” of men will rush to … Read the rest

This is every bit as weird as it seems, and weirder.

"We have a situation where we're looking very strongly at sinks and showers, and other elements of bathrooms," Trump says.

"People are flushing toilets 10 times, 15 times, as opposed to once." pic.twitter.com/asDjGxuFts

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 6, 2019

… Read the rest

Oh here we go.

This is happening next February 1:

So of course yells of rage are rolling in. The chief librarian writes:

Dear patrons, I wanted to share some information about a private event scheduled at the Central Library this February 1, 2020 that is already generating a lot of attention, questions and concern.

A nonprofit group called the Women’s Liberation Front made a booking last month for space at the Central Library to hold a private event labeled as a women’s rights talk and presentation. It appeared to be a very simple booking request that was processed like any other. Our Event Services staff followed Library protocol, as always. Per our Intellectual Freedom and Meeting Room Booking

Oy, another “someone said it therefore it’s true and you’re wrong to question it” from a philosopher. Yes, that one, of course.

It’s McKinnon by the way, he’s moved to a new account blah blah who cares.

The fact that the International Olympic Committee said it doesn’t make it true. The NRA says it’s a sacred right to have an unlimited number of guns of unlimited fire power, but that doesn’t make it true. People say things, organizations say things; the saying doesn’t magically make the said things true.

McKinnon himself would be the first to agree when it’s feminist women who don’t believe men can become women saying something. When women say we have a right to … Read the rest

Originally a comment by Bjarte Foshaug on Misogyny forever for the union makes us feeble.

When gender apologists speak of “inclusion” and fighting for the liberation of “all women” (as opposed to “only ‘cis’ women”), clearly what we are meant to envision is taking the circle that already includes the ‘cis’ women and expanding it to also include the ‘trans’ women. As always when it comes to alt-left slogans (Not arguments. As we all know, the alt-left isn’t in the argumentation business), we’re supposed to hear it, let it resonate just long enough to have some warm fuzzy gut reaction and then think about it no more.

If you do think about it (and are therefore guilty of … Read the rest

Originally a comment by Bruce Gorton on Fiery, what fiery?

That, I think is the real problem with the Democrats, its as Machiavelli put it:

A prince is also much respected but he is either a true friend or a downright enemy. In other words, when he declares himself without any reservation in favour of one party against the other. This will always be more favourable than remaining neutral.

Or to put it another way – the Democratic Party has pushed so hard towards this sort of centrist “we can appeal to the other side” thing that they’ve lost a lot of what appeal they once had. It is often better to pick a side.

The line I thought that … Read the rest

Why would anyone need regulations on dangerous chemicals? We all have sense enough to stay away from dangerous chemicals without any damn government bureaucrat telling us to, don’t we?

A few days ago in Texas:

Early Wednesday morning, inside a chemical manufacturing complex just southeast of Beaumont, a building erupted in a ball of flames, injuring eight people and sending acrid smoke wafting over southeast Texas. The explosion and subsequent fires at the Texas Petroleum Chemicals (TPC) Group plant, located near a residential area in Port Neches, knocked out the windows and damaged roofs of surrounding homes. The day before Thanksgiving, residents within the four-mile radius of the plant were ordered to evacuate.

Ok…well…so don’t live four miles from … Read the rest

The Guardian reports:

Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer who has become a key figure in the impeachment inquiry, is now proposing a joint US-Ukrainian probe to investigate potential corruption by officials from both countries.

In reviewing my notes, it seems to me that a large scale joint investigation into Ukraine and the US would uncover and recover billions stolen by crooks, from both countries, at the highest levels.

This would be the most effective way to bring our two countries together.

— Rudy W. Giuliani (@RudyGiuliani) December 6, 2019

He says that as if we were eagerly awaiting his thoughts on how to bring the US and Ukraine together, when in fact he’s almost the very last person … Read the rest

Trump’s first pick as ambassador to the UN (January 2017-January 2018), Nikki Haley, thinks Dylann Roof “hijacked” the Confederate flag.

Nikki Haley says the Confederate flag was about "service, and sacrifice, and heritage" until Dylan Roof "hijacked" it pic.twitter.com/pqdhKIezRl

— Jason S. Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) December 6, 2019

Here is this guy that comes out with this manifesto, holding the Confederate flag [look of sorrow and anguish]. And had just hijacked everything that people thought of in – we don’t have hateful people in South Carolina, there’s always the small minority that’s always gonna be there, but you know people saw it as service, and sacrifice, and heritage, and – but once he did that there was no way to overcome

Why indeed.

Why is everyone pretending not to know that sports are sex-segregated so as to provide fair competition? I lost a few male friends in this debate and I'd really like to know how they can justify it to the women in their lives. https://t.co/6YoVrHDXVF

— Graham Linehan (@Glinner) December 6, 2019

I would really like to know that too. The obvious surface-level reason is years of yammering and bullying and shunning (as in Graham’s lost friends), but that reason is better at explaining silence and looking in the other direction, it doesn’t so much explain active support, not to mention joining in the yammering and bullying and shunning.… Read the rest

You have your instructions.

If you disagree with any of this, then I'm not the kind of Twitter account you're going to enjoy following, so the quickest way is to save me the trouble and just block me now, k?

These aren't radical statements. These aren't "controversial" statements. These are simple facts. https://t.co/AIHUuBYcvA

— Robbie Johansen (@Thatsnotcoolman) December 6, 2019

… Read the rest

The NY Times gave “Rachel” McKinnon an op ed slot to instruct the world on why it’s fine for him to compete against women despite the physical advantages that a male body gives him.

People love to claim that I cheated. I didn’t. Cycling’s governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale, has no doubts that I followed all of the rules. I completed an antidoping test to ratify my world record. I didn’t use any suspicious or dangerous tactics in any of my races.

This from a philosopher. “Look, this official body has no doubts, therefore it is absolute truth that I didn’t cheat! There’s no other way to look at it! It can’t be that the official body is wrong … Read the rest

Women don’t get to have women’s history. Sorry laydeez!

Harper’s Bazaar has refused to print a retraction for an article in which Eileen Miles calls lesbian icon, Stormé DeLarverie, “they,” “he,” and “him,” and claims ” ‘He’ was Stormé’s chosen pronoun.”

If “he” was “Stormé’s chosen pronoun,” as Miles claims, the people she was closest to would’ve known. And her circle certainly wouldn’t be running around giving interviews that didn’t reflect her wishes. In fact, the people in her circle are the type of people who would acknowledge that sort of thing—no problem—had it been the case.

Eileen Miles—who identifies as trans, and as “they/them,” and as a lesbian—made a decision to change Stormé’s identity, and the ripple effect

Biden is covering himself with glory.

Joe Biden lashed out at an Iowa town hall Thursday after a man suggested the former vice president helped his son get a sweetheart deal in Ukraine and was “selling access” like President Donald Trump does.
The fiery exchange with the man, who only identified himself as a non-Republican Iowa farmer, ended with Biden challenging him to a contest of push-ups, running or an IQ test before he yelled at him.

Brilliant. The age issue isn’t about doing push-ups, it’s about the likelihood of dying on the job. Ok it’s also about stamina and cognitive faculties and so on but it’s especially about that whole sell-by date thing. Biden is 77. He would … Read the rest

The brave new world.

BAM – that little girl who doesn’t want a dress for a birthday present is a BOY. Case closed.… Read the rest

Onward.

Trump abused the power of his office to solicit foreign interference in our election and help his campaign.

He withheld millions in military assistance from an ally to pressure them to do so.

We must hold this president accountable. No one is above the law. https://t.co/AkGy29Qrny

— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) December 5, 2019

… Read the rest