About that custody battle over the kid whose mother wanted to trans him while his father did not –

The Younger case has gained much media attention, in the U.S. and beyond. The New York Times, the Washington Post, and the BBC all seem to cast the father as the villain, in particular for his refusal to agree that his child is transgender. Rolling Stone opines that the Younger story has become a “terrifying right-wing talking point.” Vox is worried about Republican state legislators’ trying to introduce bills prohibiting chemical and surgical interference with the sexual development of children who say they’re transgender, and “what [this] could mean for families nationwide” when “legislators want to have a say

A side note in Fiona Hill’s testimony at the impeachment hearing is of interest:

This is a bit of a sidebar to her testimony but Hill’s low estimation of the professional environment in the UK has not gone unnoticed.

“Years later, I can say with confidence that this country has offered for me opportunities I never would have had in England,” Hill testified. “I grew up poor with a very distinctive working-class accent.”

Julian Borger tweets:

Unfortunately, it’s worse than that. She’s saying even in 1980’s 1990’s, you couldn’t get recognition for your talent and expertise if you had a working-class accent.
It was an indictment of Britain. https://twitter.com/RobbieGramer/status/1197538764731629568 …

Robbie Gramer
✔
@RobbieGramer
In new testimony, Fiona Hill

The White House issues a statement:

Shifty Schiff thinks he hasn’t gotten enough camera time. So during a brief break, he’s doing a press conference.

New hoax. Same swamp.
8:12 AM · Nov 20, 2019· TheWhiteHouse

Not a hoax.

… Read the rest

Things from the past:

Many centuries ago, a cat walked over an Italian manuscript, leaving its paw prints on the document forever. 1445

You’re welcome.… Read the rest

Speaking of that Times article…

A feminist artist who was due to speak at Oxford Brookes University yesterday had her talk cancelled at the last minute after students accused her of holding transphobic views.
The event featuring Rachel Ara, hosted by the university’s fine art research unit, was called off after the LGBTQ+ society sent a letter to Anne-Marie Kilday, the pro-vice-chancellor, condemning her invitation.

That’s all it took. One letter, from stupid uninformed people complaining of the sharing of two tweets.

The letter to Professor Kilday was signed by a number of people, including the chairman of the university’s Labour Party Club and the president of the LGBTQ+ society.

They should have read it more carefully.

Ara, 53,

Also happening today – because there’s not enough going on?? – is that Fair Cop is in court tweeting the case of Harry Miller aka Harry the Owl, whose account was suspended for evilthought.

A selection of the tweets:

Opening by Harry’s counsel. Plainly a very important case involving freedom of speech in the internet era. Won’t go through all background facts but take the court to important documents. #FairCopJR

The involvement of the police in social media discussion about this. Judge interjects – want to lay down a marker. What is said against you is that recording a hate incident is not a sanction so not interference. And said your client is robust enough to comment.

Judge – suppose

This could be an apocryphal or exaggerated story, but if not…

A Hollywood executive wanted Julia Roberts to portray Harriet Tubman in the leading abolitionist’s biopic, the screenwriter of the new film “Harriet” said.

After studying Tubman’s life in college, about how she helped lead enslaved people to freedom on the Underground Railroad, screenwriter Gregory Allen Howard was determined to adapt her story into a feature film, he said in an interview with Focus Features, the distributor of “Harriet.”

When he met with a studio president about the idea in 1994, his script garnered praise, Howard wrote in an essay in the Los Angeles Times. It also received a casting suggestion.

“Let’s get Julia Roberts to play

A highlight reel of the statement:

… Read the rest

The Oxford Mail has the story on the abrupt last minute cancellation of Rachel Ara’s talk:

A FEMINIST artist who was due to speak at Oxford Brookes University tonight has had her talk cancelled at the last minute after accusations from students that she is transphobic.

Rachel Ara announced on Twitter this morning that her event had been cancelled after complaints from students and speculated that her art is ‘too challenging for today’s youth’.

It comes after Oxford Brookes LGBTQ+ society sent a letter to the university’s pro-vice chancellor, professor Anne-Marie Kilday, condemning the invitation to the artist to speak at the university because of her alleged transphobic views.

Ms Ara, who won the Aesthetica Art Prize 2016 for

Oh good, another smug stupid slogan from another group that should know better. Lambda Legal tweets:

Qualities that make someone “a real man”:

1. Identifying as a man.
2. See above.
3. See above.
4. See above.

#InternationalMensDay

Can anyone play?

Qualities that make someone a real pilot:

1. Identifying as a pilot.
2. See above.
3. See above.
4. See above.

Good? Compelling? Obviously true?

Qualities that make someone a real Beluga whale:

1. Identifying as a Beluga whale.
2. See above.
3. See above.
4. See above.

Qualities that make someone a real planet:

1. Identifying as a planet.
2. See above.
3. See above.
4. See above.

Qualities that make someone a real daffodil:

1. Identifying … Read the rest

The ACLU pronounces:

Trans men are men.

No they’re not, and we all have the civil liberty to say so.

It made an image to illustrate its four word pronouncement.

Of course there’s no one way to be a man; it doesn’t follow and it isn’t true that men who get “their” periods are women, nor does it follow nor is it true that “men” who get pregnant and give birth are men. There’s no one way to be a man, but there are ways not to be a man, such as being born with a female body.

And we all have the civil liberty to defend that truth, and to say that it is truth and that what … Read the rest

It doesn’t appear that the Royal Institute of Philosophy is looking to fold in the face of Social Tutting. Jesse Singal:

Update on this: The head of the Royal Institute of Philosophy, Julian Baggini, says the panel isn’t going to be changed. “I would rather wait until after the event before saying more. You ask about when a final decision will be made. We have no plans to change the panel.”

And, if I’m reading the subtext correctly, no plans to have plans to change the panel.

The subsubsubtext could be, though I’m only guessing, “Those who want us to change the panel are invited to take a long walk on a short pier.”… Read the rest

A pair of tweets:

Margaret Talev:

Vindman explains why a Soviet-born dad would worry about his testifying in way that could challenge/expose the president: “He deeply worried about it” bc in “his context” it was the “ultimate risk.”

Alayna Treene commenting on the above:

Each time Vindman reminds his dad — who is seated behind him — that he need not worry, his dad beams behind him

Meanwhile the White House and Trump are hard at work trying to be more like Putin.… Read the rest