Joelle and I spent the day at some ritzy hotel pool- the kind of thing where you sit in chairs you rent and swim and there is a dj. The weather was nice and I had some lovely corn ribs and some sort of stuff pepper thing and watched the zoom bookclub poolside until my wifi went out. Joelle got herself a little bit sloshed and I just sat there unable to hear things for a few hours, but I survived and I’m going to say I had a great time in case she reads this.
Neither of us felt like cooking dinner so I stopped at a local sub shop called Cheba Hut which was started in Tempe but is now a small regional chain and picked up a KGB (Roast beef, horseradish, green bell pepper, shrooms, swiss, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, Shake & House dressing) for myself, and a G-13 for Joelle. Going to settle in and watch a movie and call it a day.
I am fucking begging the people of NYC to not do this:
Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced on Saturday that he would run for mayor of New York City, upending the race to unseat Eric Adams and setting up an audacious comeback attempt three years after he resigned in disgrace.
With near-universal name recognition, deep-pocketed supporters and a decade as governor, Mr. Cuomo is expected to quickly assume front-runner status for the June Democratic primary, albeit with hefty baggage.
In a 17-minute video announcing his run, Mr. Cuomo, 67, attempted to reintroduce himself to New Yorkers on his preferred terms: as a tested manager, law-and-order moderate and forceful leader capable of rescuing a city that he said “feels threatening, out of control, and in crisis.”
He blamed “failed Democratic leadership” but did not explicitly mention Mr. Adams, and said he would try to work with President Trump where he could.
Because this is America in 2025 and no one has ever learned anything ever, I fully expect two to three very good progressive to liberal candidates to all run, cancel each other out, and hand the city to pervert.
Speaking of other odious shitbags, this fucking guy can go eat a bag of dicks:
Unlike rahm emmanuel, I have never had a desire to watch teenagers pee
— Cake or Death (@johngcole.bsky.social) March 1, 2025 at 12:57 PM
In other news, the Swasticar protests are beginning to become pretty regular and much larger:
Demonstrators gathered outside Tesla stores across the U.S. Saturday to protest the automaker’s billionaire CEO, Elon Musk, and his push to slash government spending on behalf of President Donald Trump.
The demonstrations are part of a growing backlash in North America and Europe to Musk’s disruptive role in Washington.
Critics of Trump and Musk hope to discourage and stigmatize purchases of Tesla, the electric car company that is the world’s most valuable automaker. Liberal groups for weeks have organized anti-Tesla protests in hopes of galvanizing opposition to Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and energizing Democrats still demoralized by Trump’s November victory.
“We can get back at Elon,” said Nathan Phillips, a 58-year-old ecologist from Newton, Massachusetts, who was protesting in Boston on Saturday. “We can impose direct economic damage on Tesla by showing up at showrooms everywhere and boycotting Tesla and telling everyone else to get out, sell your stocks, sell your Teslas.”
There is a Tesla dealership down the street from me and I am keeping an eye out for local protests to join.
This just made me smile
— Charlie to the Rescue! (@charlietotherescue.bsky.social) February 28, 2025 at 4:56 PM
That’s it from me. Big thanks to Elle Reeve for her book club, thanks to everyone who showed up, and of course a big thanks to Watergirl for making the technical side of it happen. Is there anyone you would like to have for the next zoom? I’d kill to have Heather Cox Richardson, but she is probably SWAMPED. We’ll see.
PS I did not check while I was writing this but if Adam has posted his update I will reschedule this for a little later (or if he reads this to do it himself).
WTFGhost
This is looking to be a pretty good link if others haven’t seen it: profiles of workers terminated by Trump’s callousness:
https://www.nbcnews.com/specials/federal-workers-fired-emotional-toll-doge-trump-elon-musk/index.html
I feel if I had a Trump supporter in my family, I’d send that link with “What was that T2016 motto, fuck your feelings? Well, this is what that looks like.”
Librarian
The Youngbloods reference FTW! It’s great to see somebody remember that song.
matt
he would have cross dressed to use the ladies’?
pacem appellant
My partner has been to two Tesla protests already. She has a clown outfit and face paint and a sign that says “Elon is a clown.” Anecdotally the protests are affecting Tesla sales. I hope the trend continues.
WTFGhost
You know, it’s crazy: you don’t get into the girl’s bathroom by using “they”. You get into the girls bathroom by telling all your male friends you’re a *girl*, okay? You don’t want a big pair of testes and a long penis, or whatever these substitutes for manliness think is hot. You want some *big* ass TITS, and you want to go down on MEN, and eff men silly. Then, they might let you into the girl’s bathroom, and they sure won’t let you in the boy’s.
Saying “my pronouns are ‘they/them'” isn’t enough – you have to *transition* and live as a *girl*. Now, if you say you would have done that, to watch girls pee and learn their poop stinks just as bad as men’s, and, accept that girls are going to walk past you – remember, those toilet stalls often don’t have doors – while you sit down to pee – no, you can’t stand, *girls* don’t *stand* – and then to find none of the girls will let you look at them naked in the locker room, because they don’t trust you, and won’t for a long time… you really think you’d have done that? Told your football coach “sorry, coach, I want to not-look-at-girls in the locker room, instead of playing in the big game!” Seriously? If so – no wonder “american manhood” is in crisis because the kind of fucking morons who say shit like that aren’t looked at like something you’d scrape off your shoe, even if you didn’t *like* that shoe.
lowtechcyclist
Rahm just keeps on confirming my long-held impression of him. What a fuckhead.
And I see Zakaria saying “Democrat party” and throwing bullshit out there. And how is the high cost of housing evidence of a poorly-run city? Housing costs are crazy there because far more people want to live in NYC than there’s housing for. Sounds to me like one of the problems of success
ETA: And Rahm’s saying we’ve gotten too ‘permissive’ in the past five years. Permissive! Man, the 1960s want their word back.
satby
Been rewatching Leverage during these trying times because nothing cheers me up quite like seeing the rich and powerful get what’s coming to them. Glad John Rogers is going to be involved in the next season of the reboot.
Came home to ok weather, 52° yesterday, 27° high today, but warming through the week. I think today counts as “March coming in like a lion”. Waiting for the lamb part of that old saying.
Must be raccoons outside. Bitchleen is at the window growling. She sounds fierce if you can’t see she’s a little 5 lb fluffball.
Hob
@WTFGhost: On a similar note but in a slightly more in-depth format… the online commentator who goes by GOLIKEHELLMACHINE (often quoted by front-pagers here) has been doing a “tell me about your job” series for a while called Work Is Four Letters; recently they’ve started a spinoff called DOGE Is Four Letters, focusing on federal employees who are in Musk’s crosshairs or have already been laid off. The first four pieces are at the bottom of this page and if you want to keep following the series, you can either sign up for their email newsletter or just follow their posts in general on Bluesky.
lowtechcyclist
@Hob:
It really stands for the Department of Government Evisceration.
kwAwk
When my daughter was in high school she asked me and I think my wife to be put on testosterone treatment. He logic was she didn’t want boobs and wanted to be bigger. I told her no, even though I am not apposed to gender righting as it may be. I didn’t do it because I really thought it was just a fad in her way of thinking, just like a wanting a skateboard. Surely it is right for some people to change their gender, but it also has to be said that kids need to be told that when they go through puberty it is natural and normal for their new body to feel uncomfortable and foreign.
I know I”ll get jumped, but I do believe that transgender people really do exist and need help. We just need to make sure we’re zeroed in squarely on the ones that really need help and not just giving in to fads and trends.
Jay
Only the National Review has Brandon Johnson at 6.6%.
Tells you who Maher is reading and getting his opinions from.
Other polls have him at 14% to 20%.
Pika
Any Rochester NY jackals out there (there are more of you than I knew): I will be out by my lonesome this Saturday at the Tesla dealership on West Henrietta Road at 130 p.m. Just flexing a muscle to see…
Suzanne
If the opportunity arose, I would load Rahm Emanuel into a catapult and launch him into a volcano.
WTFGhost
@lowtechcyclist: A mayor has limited ability to handle housing costs, and even a governor is going to have problems.
*Good* mass transit, especially dedicated mass transit (subways, elevated trains, dedicated bus lanes) can help reduce pressure on housing prices, and that isn’t something you get with lower taxes and deregulation.
I remember a friend once said that it’s best to have some form of income tax, some form of wealth tax (e.g., property taxes – we’ve had wealth taxes in the US for a long time!), and some form of sales tax, with the idea that balancing those correctly allows the wealthy to pay for the benefits that come from living in a big city (enough mass transit that your cab/uber isn’t delayed, cultural events (yes, even dull-assed right wing ones, plus, for example, sports), art, etc..
But there have been people who, for fifty some years, have been trying to make “paying taxes” into “being tortured”. (I’d like to show them the difference, personally, sometimes, with fully informed consent, just so they know.)
Suzanne
@lowtechcyclist:
I will say that cities can make their zoning, design review, and permitting processes much more streamlined. But that takes the City Council, not just the Mayor.
Sure Lurkalot
@Librarian: Good karma, that Youngbloods tune just played on my walk yesterday.
“Fear’s the way we die.”
WTFGhost
@Suzanne: Technically, you should tell him he’s dying of a brain cloud, and the best thing he can do is throw himself into a volcano…. it wouldn’t happen to a nicer guy.
Betty Cracker
@kwAwk: To me, it’s like the abortion debate, i.e., medical care that is nobody’s goddamn business aside from the people directly involved. I don’t think doctors hand out puberty blockers like lollipops. If a kid sees a doctor for possible gender dysphoria, hopefully they’ll be evaluated and treated by a professional who follows the current medical consensus to achieve the best outcome for the patient.
Hoodie
A propos just got back from a dinner party with some local dem political types. Super nice, earnest and intelligent folks absolutely flummoxed by what’s going on. Everyone kept talking about what we needed to do to attract voters, trotted out all the same old stuff about making voters understand that democrats did more for their interests, blah blah blah. Rahm is full of shit as usual. It’s not about left vs right, selling out trans, don’t be woke, etc. It’s about channeling anger, resentment and fear, limbic stuff. You could be the wokest motherfucker out there and they’d vote for you if they think you can dunk on the other guy. LeBron would win in a landslide because he can posterize dudes. That’s why they vote for fuckers like Cuomo. People want assholes because they think assholes get shit done. If you don’t make them think you can be an asshole they’ll think you’re disingenuous and/or weak.
Sure Lurkalot
Obama made some questionable man choices: Geithner, Duncan, Gates, Comey.
Fired Flynn to his credit. I was gobsmacked by his Biden pick and huh, turned out to be the best president in my lifetime.
WTFGhost
@kwAwk: Gender dysphoria *does* have a reasonably good spontaneous recovery rate, so, the best thing you can say is “that’s a humongous change, there are people who can talk to you about what that actually means, so you understand.”
What you don’t want is to shut down conversation, so that your child is going to be afraid to bring up the subject in the future. And, for me – I’m *very* badly off – it wouldn’t take much to scare me off from saying anything in the future. So, e.g., if you’re worried, set a time in a month, and ask “have you thought about testosterone? If you’re still thinking about it? If so (again, here’s where you can offer counseling).
“Counseling” isn’t a magic button, press it and problems go away. But, gender dysphoria counseling means having someone who is confused, talked to people who resolved their confusion, and know what it means, and can discuss it in real time. So, in this case, it’s not a question “can the therapist help me deal with stress/depression/anxiety” but, “can I talk to real people who’ve made the choice, and, those who’ve backed off?”
So it’s not amorphous *support*. It’s like, me, I’m cis; I’m a guy. If I woke up with tits and a vulva, I’d still say I’m a guy, and want to be restored. That makes *sense* to me. Obviously, if I grew up with tits and a vulva, I don’t know if my brain would be different, but I get the idea that “no, this isn’t right, I’m going to transition, and maybe seek surgical changes.”
So: I’m big down with “let them talk, many will talk themselves out of it.” But you got to make sure you leave the lines open, because that’s a super-deep, super-vulnerable, conversation to have, so you don’t want to eff it up… or, not too much.
Melancholy Jaques
@Librarian:
I saw the Youngbloods when I was a kid. Thinking of that song reminds me how many songs from those times had the phrase “get together” in the lyrics.
Melancholy Jaques
@lowtechcyclist:
Bill Maher is an asshole & hating on Democrats is his stock in trade & he features guests who are pretty much the same.
NotMax
@satby
Leverage pales in comparison to the British show Hustle, IMHO,
Producers/directors even managed to squeeze acting acumen out of Robert Vaughn, no mean trick that.
All 8 seasons currently available on Prime. Also, for the nonce, on YouTube.
Geminid
@lowtechcyclist: I’m just glad they made Rahm Emanuel ambassador to Japan snd not Turkiye. I don’t think he and R.T. Erdogan would have had very good chemistry.
Jeff Flake was sent to Ankara instead, and the first Turkish American war was averted.
John Cole
@Betty Cracker:
This times a billion. There is a reason for years I have said if I ever ran for president my slogan would be “Cole For President- Mind Your Own Business”
Pennsylvanian
@Melancholy Jaques: Was a fan for so long, but times change. Thanks for the laughs Bill.
kwAwk
@Betty Cracker: I agree with you that it should be a personal medical condition, but unfortunately it doesn’t play out privately like an abortion, it plays out publicly. I think if we talked about it like a medical condition it would be an easier sell to the general public.
I think if we focused on having gender neutral bathrooms instead of placing trans people in gendered bathrooms it would be an easier sell. Requiring a doctor’s note before a trans-girl was allowed in the girl’s bathroom would stop all of the non-sense of boys saying they would claim to be trans if it meant they could go into the girl’s bathroom. A smart ass 12 year old probably wouldn’t ask their parents to go to the doctor just for the hell of it and good parents would address the stupidity.
And if we treat it as a medical condition, it also allows us to say no to trans-girls in girls sports. There are a lot of medical conditions that preclude you from playing sports. And there are plenty of non-gendered sports out there people could play.
WTFGhost
@Hoodie: One of the things that probably helped the Republicans is microtargeting. Let’s say you watch TV shows on Amazon Prime. Amazon can use your purchasing profile, your watching profile, and a whole bunch of other information they bought from facebook, and spent *ten minutes* de-anonymizing, and they know *precisely* what kind of ad could make you think “it’s true, why didn’t Biden *do* something!”
What you need to do is use the same *tool*, but do it with different *purpose*. And part of it is to be like Republicans: get dark money for “issue ads” where Democrats are show supporting inexpensive health care and better working conditions, and, and, and. Ads about the *patriotism* of those who braved the unfriendly military, while Trans. *All* that.
Then, from responses to the microtargeting, they can use more precise microtargeting as the election comes up.
It doesn’t just have to be hate and negativity.
SuzieC
300 at Tesla dealership in Columbus OH. today.
HopefullyNotcassandra
@Jay: Do you think any of that is real? I cannot find any rationale for it. Chicagoans recently humiliated ICE too.
just asking
Chicago has been a regular target of the GOP since before I existed.
ewrunning
I made it to two demonstrations today, Tesla takedown in Bellevue (across Lake Washington from Seattle) and then a support for Ukraine event down on the Seattle waterfront. The latter was thrown together quickly after yesterday’s Oval Office atrocity. Hundreds of people at each event and lots of great signs and supportive honks from passing drivers, including some truckers. I’m tired now, but at least I didn’t sit around stewing all day.
kwAwk
@WTFGhost: I am close with my daughter and though I told her no, I told her that if I really thought this was a case of her feeling like a boy in a girl’s body, I would help her, but it didn’t come across that way to me. I believe I did on more than one occasion say to her that if she spoke to a professional and they recommended it, then I would do what I could, but I don’t believe that she was willing to take me up on that.
Jay
@HopefullyNotcassandra:
6%, no,
20% maybe,
Mayor’s get a lot of blame from the “normies” for stuff they do not control or influence.
WTFGhost
Friend, I don’t want to scold – but, some notice I remind myself they’re a “friend” when I’m a bit upset :-).
Lots of that is already happened. There should probably be a maximum testosterone limit in women’s sports, but, I’m sure the *sports* figure that stuff out. You don’t get into the girl’s bathroom until you’re living *as a girl*. Gender neutral bathrooms are a *fine* solution to ambiguous situations.
People then say “well, but I’m just asking questions!” or JAQing, on the national stage. Okay, but, *on the national stage*, you shouldn’t be JAQing off – you should have done your research, and known what sports have what limits on ambiguous gender situations; you should know from multiple school districts in multiple states what the rules are on bathrooms. And so forth.
So, I was a bit miffed by what you said, but, you’re a friend, I let it go. I mostly wanted to call out that, damn it, these questions *do* have answers, and therefore asking them again, as if the answers weren’t there, is a lie of omission – a lie that pretends the questions must be asked, because the answers aren’t available. But they *are*, in most cases.
WTFGhost
@kwAwk: Nod. Which sounds like some temporary confusion, and pondering, and, again, the spontaneous recovery we usually see. I wasn’t criticizing – I speak out and share information as a kind of “love language” and I have an especially soft spot for transfolk.
RandyG
Well over 1,000 at the Tucson protest rally today outside the Tesla dealership (and down all the blocks and around all the corners!) Every Saturday morning at 9:30am, River&Oracle.
https://tucson.com/news/local/article_ca4033a4-f612-11ef-9761-4f75b6a5e623.html#tracking-source=mp-homepage
TBone
@WTFGhost: I still love that movie all these years later.
“I have no response to that.”
seefleur
Bangor Maine had a rally at the Federal Building to support Janet Mill’s “see you in court” response, and to also show disgust over yesterday’s event with the assholes in the White House and their treatment of Pres. Zelensky. A very decent turnout in spite of damp, chilly weather conditions. Augusta and Portland also had rallies/protests. So far there’s very little in the main stream media about any of these protests. In talking with people at the Bangor event, many were there protesting against Susan Collins and her “concerns” as well as wanting to show Jared Golden that we aren’t fooled by his bullshit – he’s a dino and we know it. I’m so disgusted with the media refusing to show what’s happening in their own backyards. And when things explode, I don’t want to hear any moaning about “who couldaknowed” that we, the people, were upset…
NotMax
Sumthin’ going on in the Father Duffy area of Times Square. At least $100,000 worth of speakers, amps and related equipment set up.
(Link is to a live webcam so if you read the comments hours from now may not give the same view.)
kwAwk
@WTFGhost: I would say that lowering someone’s testosterone level doesn’t reduce them in height or change their bone structure. Biological males are on average 5.5 inches taller than biological females. A 5.5 inch height advantage probably translates into an 8 to 10 inch reach advantage. In stick sports, this reach advantage translates to a physics centrifugal force advantage. A faster tennis serve. A longer golf drive. A harder lacrosse shot.
A man who is 6’4″ is a really good basketball center.. He’s too short to play center in the NBA. In the WNBA however he could be a star. Does he give up on basketball or take the pill?
Martin
@Suzanne: Yep, this.
ewrunning
Btw, I’ve come up with something those of us with Democratic Senators can ask them to do to respond to rapid (un)scheduled disassembly of our NATO alliances and burgeoning axis partnership with Putin. Demand that they deny unanimous consent to proceed with any State Department and DOD nominations, as well as approval of any general officer and Senior Foreign Service promotions. Make it clear they’ll only release the hold when Trump makes a binding commitment to uphold our treaty obligations and support Ukraine (i.e., never). We could call this a “Tuberville” on steroids, though I think we’d agree that any of the people put forward are going to be much more deserving of being held up than those he was targeting. Those familiar with Senate rules will know that it’s still possible to move nominations without unanimous consent, but it eats up an enormous amount of floor time that would otherwise be spent confirming atrocious unqualified ideologues as judges
Kayla Rudbek
@kwAwk: I thought that a lot of the height difference develops during puberty, so going on hormone blockers would change height. I am not a biologist or a doctor though, so I may be recalling incorrect information.
Kristine
@satby:
I’ve been rewatching “Knives Out: Glass Onion” every so often for the same reason.
kwAwk
@Kayla Rudbek: I tried researching it, I’m not a biologist either, but from what I’m seeing puberty blockers have either a small effect or no effect on adult height.
And if you used puberty blockers as a rationale, you’d be creating a whole new debate about those who transitioned before puberty and those who transitioned afterwards.
Wilson Heath
Detailed explainer on the gutting of USDS and 18F for what Fugelsang referred to mockingly but still accurately referred to as the Department of Underaged Children Harming Everything: https://donmoynihan.substack.com/p/skilled-technologists-are-being-forced?utm_medium=web
Jinchi
Did Fareed really say “Democrat party problem”?
NotMax
@Jinchi
Switched off Zakaria way back when he referred to Obama for all intents and purposes as “an uppity Negro.” Paraphrasing, not going to go looking for the original wording of the slur, but slur it was. No other way to interpret it.
Bupalos
Another thanks to Adam for slogging this out. I still believe Russia (and I guess now their new ally the Trump-USA) cannot win. They can cause Ukraine to lose, while also losing themselves, but they can’t actually win.
everyone can lose.
But I was in a public space today, at a college, where I guess the student running the audio decided to play “rainbow connection” (really?!!) and I fixed on the lines
“somebody thought of that… “
“and someone believed it.. “
“look where it’s got us so far”
and literally started crying. Because I think those lines really fit the USA, that’s the spirit of US democracy… it only works because of a kind of aspirational belief no one really understands, that isn’t really explicable. today (yesterday) was a Pearl Harbor kind of moment for us. I guess we have these moments.
prostratedragon
@Suzanne: Not having SCOTUS in his pocket, Biden settled for Japan.
Professor Longhair and the Meters, live:
Joey Maloney
If you’re asking for an author Zoom wishlist, I nominate Mary Robinette Kowal, the author of the Lady Astronaut series. The 4th novel in the series is coming out later this month.
WTFGhost
@kwAwk: I’m a guy – I know that. I wouldn’t give that up to play any sport, no matter how intense my dream, because my identity as a man is stronger.
Again: basketball might decide “only XX women can play,” because they know *basketball*, and it might not be fair to some, but, at least, it’s NBA/WNBA making the choices for themselves. Me, I’m an activist, and I’d make sure schools and other organizations were using good, reasonable standards, but then, well… you’re right. A man who is much taller than a woman, who transitions, might be forbidden to play WNBA. That might be the best thing for the sport, as a whole, which is why they’d make the decision.
There was a boxing nontroversy, where a woman who’s boxed as a woman, and did *okay* came back and was able to devastate some opponents. Her opponents felt awful, afterward, because *they* knew it was a nontroversy.
I don’t know what the rules are for boxing – I figure they have their rules, to make the sport *good*, to make it *work*. You don’t want a Mike Tyson to transition if it means million dollar purses for beating up women, right? No one wants that.
So maybe it’s XX, maybe it’s T-level, maybe it’s “lived as a girl/woman, with appropriate hormones at every stage of life” – but, boxing has thought about it, made a choice, and there’s no need to ask questions about “why doesn’t boxing make a choice?”
You could decide if boxing made the wrong choice, and argue for a different one, but that’s not the same as asking why they didn’t, as if it’s an open controversy, that no one else has dared speak about.
Joey Maloney
Why on earth would we want to do that?
First of all, the number of trans girls in sports is a vanishingly small percentage, a rounding error. Secondly, there’s no evidence that being a trans girl gives you any special advantage over born girls. Pre-puberty children are barely sexually dimorphous at all; post-puberty the hormone treatments bring muscle developement etc. in line with their declared gender. And even if it did grant some marginal advantage, so what? It’s elementary and high school sports, it’s not a competition for masters of the universe. Thirdly, at the elite levels the results of competition confirm, being trans doesn’t grant an advantage. Fourthly the fact that all this Susan Collins-style “concern” is focused on trans girls and none on trans boys says to me that this is more about sexism and sexual anxiety than any real worry.
Fifthly, it’s a horrifying thing to do to a young person who is obviously already having a hard time fitting in, to single them out for exclusion. It’s just disgusting bigotry and the worst kind of punching down I can imagine, targeting vulnerable children.
Jinchi
@WTFGhost:
Beyond the stupidity of the comment that they would have gone into the girl’s bathroom if only they’d had the chance, what exactly do they think they’d see in there?
kwAwk
@Joey Maloney: There isn’t a concern about Trans-men in sport because they are stepping up in class and not down.
If it really is such a small number then why are we losing so much over it? I get it that we want to have empathy for people but there is such a thing as empathy overdose. If it is such a small number, then why is it worth having Donald Trump as President? Shouldn’t we be focused on getting the most good accomplished?
It’s not simply matter of elementary school gym class sports. Once you get the competitive level it is about pushing people out of the sport. Between scholarships and NIL contracts there is a lot of money involved.
prostratedragon
This afternoon at Hofstra:
Joey Maloney
I’m sorry, I don’t understand what this means? If you mean why are people losing their shit so much, I think the answer is simple. Bigotry+all kinds of weird psychosexual anxieties+proto-and-not-so-proto-fascists picking an easy target to rile the rubes.
I’ll point out again that the results of competition at the elite levels doesn’t show this supposed advantage for trans women. They don’t dominate the sports where they’re allowed to compete.
One sport that doesn’t GAS in particular and where I have personal knowledge is roller derby, which is a very physical sport where bursts of speed and strength – the things than men supposedly excel at over women – can make a huge difference, and yet trans people do not dominate.
If you meant something besides that, please can you clarify?
Jay
https://www.patreon.com/posts/how-how-educated-122319785?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link
How? How Educated People Commit Genocide UNCENSORED
Bostondreams
@kwAwk:
This idea that a kid can just claim to be trans and use the bathroom is just stupid. They WILL need support from a therapist at the least. They can’t just go in one day and say ‘I’m trans and I want to use the bathroom of the gender I identify with.’ That’s not how it works.
Bostondreams
@kwAwk:
“Does he give up on basketball or take the pill and give up on sex?”
NotMax
@prostratedragon
The Hofstra campus used to be described as somewhere to the left of, say, Upton Sinclair. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Dunno about present day.
Trivia:
No longer in business AFAIK, a favorite bar a hop and a skip from Hofstra in which students hung out had the unfortunate name of McHebe’s.
kwAwk
@Joey Maloney: I mean why is this issue of trans-girls in sports worth losing elections in the way we’ve been losing elections? Why is it worth getting Donald Trump elected? Don’t we have bigger fish to fry? Other things that in the grand scheme of things are a lot bigger than whether Kaylynne can play AYSO socccer?
kwAwk
@Bostondreams: I’m not convinced that is how it works. Especially with laws that say the child doesn’t need parental approval or even parental notification to transition at school.
Jay
@kwAwk:
It’s the new Satanic Panic.
Bostondreams
@kwAwk:
Sorry. Believe what you like, but I doubt it seriously. Have you ever been in a public school? I have, and I have had trans students. A boy or a girl going through the early stages of social transitioning at school is using either a gender neutral bathroom or a faculty bathroom. They aren’t using the student bathroom or locker room, UNLESS they are completely out and socially transitioned, including therapy and clothing. They aren’t walking into the girls room dressed as a boy or the boys room dressed as a girl. California, ground zero for this, specifically has a law that ensures every public school has gender neutral facilities, specifically so that all students in this situtation can feel safe.
NotMax
In memory of the late Mr. Hackman, just started 1973’s Scarecrow on TCM On Demand.
kwAwk
@Bostondreams: I’m not finding that is the law in California. California law requires that students may use the restroom and locker room that they feel matches their gender identity. It says nothing about clothing or therapy that I can find.
Transgender students can not be forced to use separate restrooms, but new law requires that non-gendered restrooms be provided for students.
TBone
@NotMax: I wish I had my TCM On Demand in the bedroom but alas, not paying extra for the upgraded cable box where I’m supposed to be asleep. I just had a weird nightmare and wish I could choose a soothing, happy movie to fall back asleep to…
I posted about my nightmare in the Ukraine thread, because I think it is related.
Insomnia again. Ugh.
Leaving Las Vegas is on TCM now, not conducive to sweet dreams!
Bostondreams
@kwAwk: I will concede the point on the law. But ‘wise ass 12 year olds’ are generally NOT going to claim to be trans to go into the girls room. It just is not common, and if they did, they would get their ass beat by said girls BECAUSE it will be obvious.
Claiming to be trans is not done on a whim or to peek at the opposite sex. It is massively difficult, socially painful and awkward, and not done in jest. I have seen the effort and the impact. And Los Angeles has had the bathroom access policy for about 20 years. Curious that its suddently an issue now.
The same people that think boys will happily claim to be trans to go in the bathroom are often the same idiots that think schools offer litter boxes to students. I’m all for gender neutral facilities, of course, but people that think kids will claim to be trans to risk peeking at something there are far easier ways to see are reaching, in my experience and opinion.
Joey Maloney
I have a number of answers: One, you’re basically asking are human rights important? I’d hope that answer is self-evident.
Two, what’s the evidence that this particular issue is costing us elections? As opposed to, say, garden-variety racism, or a fragmented and disordered media landscape and discourse.
Three, it won’t and hasn’t stopped with the issue of sports. Now they’re trying to eliminate trans people from public life entirely, moving on to eliminating them, full stop. There’s a word for that, starts with a “g”. So yeah, it’s worth fighting for.
TBone
@TBone: Key Largo starting in a few minutes, that’ll be okay to watch while I try to get back to sleep. Bogey is reassuring and Betty! gives the gangster Edward G. Robinson treatment I can cheer on. Sweet dreams!
Bostondreams
@Joey Maloney: I think at least one deep red state has introduced legislation to ban trans care entirely. So you are right.
NotMax
@TBone
And Lionel Barrymore with the waistband of his trousers not far south of his armpits.
;)
TBone
@NotMax: hahahaha! I’m just past the part where The Osceola brothers got an undeserved end and Bogey is pissed. I needed some hot cocoa. Noah and Katrina started a wrassling match on my bed this time. Sigh.
Matt McIrvin
@kwAwk: If what you’re asking is “can’t we just give them this one, neutralize the issue and stop losing?” That’s not how this kind of wedge issue works. We give them that, now we’ve conceded their point that there’s something scary or deceptive about trans people, and it’s that much easier to do the next thing. That’s clear from what Trump is doing– leapfrog immediately to total elimination.
Ebony
How are Tesla owners going to sale their Teslas? Who in their right mind going to my a Tesla, especially a used Tesla? The best they could manage is to sell them for scrap.
Matt McIrvin
@Ebony: I saw Cassandra “Elvira” Peterson donating her Tesla to NPR with “ELON SU𝕏” written on the side. Maybe they’ll scrap it.