Edie Wyatt at Spectator Australia makes a valuable point:

The right frequently refers to the “cultural Marxism” that dominates gender ideology, while the gender-critical left sees it more as cultural capitalism.  Genuine socialists are materialists after all, and don’t believe in the ethereal concept of a gender soul. They object to the unrestrained capitalist greed of the medical-industrial complex and the commodification of the human body.

Yes. Both of those. Well said.… Read the rest

Originally a comment by Your Name’s not Bruce? at Miscellany Room 6.

Retweeted by Dr. Jane Clare Jones:

I've been removed from my position on the editorial board of Feminist Criminology for my alleged transphobia and 'anti-LGBTQ' sentiment.

If those labeling thought I would meekly accept their slanderous characterizations of my work & character, they were wrong.

— Callie Burt (@callie_h_burt) April 22, 2021

Apparently, her Thoughtcrime was to write this paper for the journal from whose editorial board she was removed: Scrutinizing the U.S. Equality Act 2019: A Feminist Examination of Definitional Changes and Sociolegal Ramifications.

Abstract:

The U.S. Equality Act, which amends civil rights statutes to explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and

Cynical or stupid?

Lindsey Graham says systemic racism isn't an issue in America because Barack Obama and Kamala Harris were elected pic.twitter.com/PqRdoeWmHW

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 25, 2021

Lindsey Graham isn’t that stupid, so…cynical.

CW: Senator, is there systemic racism in this country, in policing and in other institutions?

LG: Uh, no, not in my opinion. We just elected a two-term African-American president, the vice-president is of African-American Indian descent, so our systems are not racist. America is not a racist country. Within every society you have bad actors; the Chauvin trial was a just result.

Talk about a non-sequitur. Obama was elected therefore our systems are not racist. You what? Can you show us your reasoning for that?… Read the rest

The thing about language is that often the need for precision and accuracy outweighs the need for “inclusivity.”

since I’m seeing some confusion around this, of course if you are a pregnant cis woman you can call yourself a pregnant woman, or a mom, etc—you are one!

I’m only talking about cases where you’re speaking about large groups of people, i.e: anyone who can get pregnant.

— Gabe (he/him) (@thegabecole) April 23, 2021

This Gabe is a trans man, so, a woman, and here she is busily trying to remove the word “women” from the language in the name of a bogus “inclusivity.”

Nothing new, but still irritating.… Read the rest

John McWhorter has views on Critical Race Theory and how it’s being deployed in education.

The organization 1776Unites, founded by my mentor and model Bob Woodson, has tweeted out a video where various black people decry a now fashionable idea that “whiteness” includes being smart. As in, precise, objective, fond of the written word, oriented towards dispassion, on time.

Those things are all manifestations of intelligence, vigilance, discipline. But according to our Elect folk, we black people are best off channeling our Crazy Badass Mothafucka. Because that’s more “authentic.” And, I get the feeling, fun to watch.

Well, that last is debatable. Personally I find McWhorter very fun to watch when he’s doing the tv talking head thing.

Because so

No deviation allowed.

An author of Islamic books in Algeria has been sentenced to three years in prison for offending the religion.

You can’t offend a religion – it doesn’t have a mind.

Said Djabelkhir said he was surprised by the severity of the sentence he had been given and would appeal.

He was tried after seven lawyers and a fellow academic lodged complaints against him for disrespecting Islam.

Mr Djabelkhir had said the animal sacrifice during the Muslim festival of Eid was based on a pre-Islamic pagan ritual.

He also suggested that parts of the Quran, such as the story of Noah’s Ark, might not be literally true and criticised practices including the marriage of young girls in

Oh ffs people. Epidemiology is not like the Holocaust! Not even within a billion miles of like the Holocaust.

Meanwhile in England, people are donning yellow stars with “no covid certificates” on them. Photos from @chloe_adlestone. pic.twitter.com/OCTtFdMFQy

— David M. Perry (@Lollardfish) April 24, 2021

Epidemiology:

not

like

the

Holocaust.… Read the rest

Punish the traitor:

A Michigan Republican who spoke out against former President Donald Trump and was hospitalized with COVID-19 after a GOP committee meeting has lost his position as the group’s treasurer.

The 6th Congressional District’s executive committee voted 26-0 on Saturday to remove Jason Watts, 44, of Allegan, as its treasurer. The vote occurred less than a month after Watts attended a district committee meeting at a Portage restaurant where he believes he contracted the coronavirus.

Maybe because the people at the meeting weren’t wearing masks.

Republican officials have linked at least four COVID-19 cases to the March 25 gathering. Watts, one of the four, was hospitalized for five days. He told his story publicly, drawing criticism

Originally a comment by Sastra on Just a bomb party, officer.

why on earth is the “gender reveal” such a big deal?

I had my two kids in the early 80’s, which was just before learning your child’s sex before birth became easier and more popular. Moms my age “wanted to be surprised.” When it started to change, the most common reason we gave to each other was “I want to know what color to paint the nursery” or a similar variation. In other words, decorating.

Many years ago I read a book on the sudden uptake in “labor-saving devices” for housewives back in the early 1900s. The people (men) who created and promoted them saw their major selling … Read the rest

Tell you what, we can say that was genocide and you can say that was and is systemic racism.

Joe Biden has become the first US president to issue a statement formally describing the 1915 massacre of Armenians as a genocide.

The killings took place in the waning days of the Ottoman Empire, the forerunner of modern-day Turkey.

But the issue is highly sensitive, with Turkey acknowledging atrocities but rejecting the term “genocide”.

Just as many people in the US reject the term “systemic racism.” But the racism wasn’t and isn’t random or accidental, and the Turkish atrocities happened to a particular set of people, a geno.

Armenia says 1.5 million people were killed in 1915-16 in an effort to

There’s just no fixing stupid.

Trump has defended his close personal relationship with the leaders of Russia and North Korea, telling Fox News that his ties with them as president were “a good thing and not a bad thing.”

Last week the Biden administration released intelligence suggesting that Russia obtained Trump campaign data in 2016, raising further questions about ties between Trump, his associates, and Moscow.

The White House this week also threatened sanctions against Russia if opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was poisoned with Novichok last year, dies in prison.

However, the former president used an hour-long interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News to dismiss all criticisms of his closeness to Russia and its leader.

Because that’s … Read the rest

A couple of months ago:

A retired teacher said it was “ridiculous” that a smoothie company had unfollowed her on Twitter amid accusations of transphobia. Innocent Drinks unfollowed Margaret Nelson, 76, from Hadleigh, Suffolk, after another Twitter user suggested it should not be “endorsing her”.

The firm acknowledged the move had made “some people on Twitter quite cross”. But it said Ms Nelson’s Twitter content was not in line with its “values of inclusivity and respect”.

It’s not the unfollowing that’s ridiculous, it’s the making a public display of it. I suspect that’s what Maggie said or meant, and the BBC muddled it in a pretty typical way – the same way it always ascribes “offense” to people whether … Read the rest

Won’t someone please think of the man who wants to get a job around abused women?

A trans-woman I know applied for a position at @Wight_DASH without knowing they are transphobic, Just look at this rejection email. The policy referenced not only says they'll fire anyone who doesn't disclose being trans but will fire anyone who chooses to transition. Please RT pic.twitter.com/OEVmO8qYUw

— Eve (@eveiswurzig) April 22, 2021

Wight is Isle of Wight and DASH is domestic abuse support hub. Women are more vulnerable to domestic abuse than men are, so abused women are not invariably going to want to be around stranger men who identify as women when they (the abused women) are seeking help.

Ordinary people with ordinary … Read the rest

Why do people insist on being so stupid? (And destructive and reckless and neighbor-teasing?)

A New Hampshire family’s gender reveal party was such a blast that it set off reports of an earthquake, and could be heard from across the state line, police said.

Police in Kingston, a town not far from the Massachusetts border, received reports of a loud explosion Tuesday evening. They responded to Torromeo quarry where they found people who acknowledged holding a gender reveal party with explosives.

Stop with the farking “gender reveal” parties. Or have friends over for dinner if you like, but leave it at that.

One “gender reveal party” set off a wildfire during wildfire season near LA last summer. Smart move.… Read the rest

That’s not good.

While an average of nearly 1.9 million people a day came in to get their first dose of the vaccine during the week of April 11, the average for the week of April 16 was around 1.47 million. The total doses the U.S. has administered nationwide since vaccines were first authorized has also flattened out over the past few days, CDC data show, interrupting the exponential growth of the last few months.

And on Wednesday, a daily update from the Department of Health and Human Services showed numbers were down this week to an average of just over 3 million shots administered a day, when on Friday, the country was averaging about 3.35 million a day.

Caitlyn Jenner says he is running for governor of California.

Why? Based on what? What relevant experience or education does he have? He appears to be woefully ignorant, plus he’s part of that whole nightmare Kardashian famous-for-nothing circus, plus he killed a woman with his car. What on earth makes him think he would be even a minimally competent governor of a state that’s bigger than many countries?

Olympic hero, reality TV personality and transgender rights activist Caitlyn Jenner announced Friday that she has filed paperwork to enter the race to become California’s next governor.

He’s not a hero. He’s a good swimmer athlete. That doesn’t make you a hero. Being a reality tv “personality” is a reason not… Read the rest

India is in trouble.

India’s healthcare system is buckling as a record surge in Covid-19 cases puts pressure on hospital beds and drains oxygen supplies.

Families are left pleading for their relatives who are desperately ill, with some patients left untreated for hours.

Crematoriums are organising mass funeral pyres.

On Friday India reported 332,730 new cases of coronavirus, setting a world record for a second day running. Deaths were numbered at 2,263 in 24 hours.

Not a per capita record though, I think.

This wave is worse than the first one.

On 10 February, at the start of the second wave, India confirmed 11,000 cases – and in the next 50 days, the daily average was around 22,000

The shock, the outrage, the scandal – a gymnast actually wore clothing at a competition.

She did not break any rules, but Sarah Voss’s full-body suit at the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Switzerland defied convention.

What convention is that exactly? Is there a convention that gymnasts compete naked?

Until now women and girls have only covered their legs in international competition for religious reasons.

Ohhhhh that convention – the one where men wear clothes and women wear bathing suits. Let’s not just rush ahead, let’s talk about that. Why is that a convention? Why does the same convention apply in figure skating competitions? Why do men wear clothes while women wear bathing suits? What the hell is that? … Read the rest

Mark Joseph Stern at Slate on the horrible ruling in Jones v Mississippi:

In an appalling 6–3 decision on Thursday, the Supreme Court effectively reinstated juvenile life without parole by shredding precedents that had sharply limited the sentence in every state. Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s majority opinion in Jones v. Mississippi is one of the most dishonest and cynical decisions in recent memory: While pretending to follow precedent, Kavanaugh tore down judicial restrictions on JLWOP, ensuring that fully rehabilitated individuals who committed their crimes as children will die behind bars. Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissent, joined by Justices Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan, pulls no punches in its biting rebuke of Kavanaugh’s duplicity and inhumanity. It doubles as an ominous warning

"Things would be different if men had miscarriages because men would not be silent about them in the way women have been. Without the weight of shame and stigma, men would speak up and demand adjustments to societal structures to accommodate their losses." https://t.co/NVUMcYHCZb

— Labor Project (@LaborProject) April 18, 2021

And not only without the shame and stigma, but also with the confidence and sense of entitlement. Men are not raised (by the culture as well as parents) to be apologetic or assume their rights are secondary. Women are.

But, of course that couldn’t be allowed.

Men have had miscarriages. https://t.co/g1sHMCDR8Z

— Jude Ellison S. Doyle (@sadydoyle) April 19, 2021

No, men have not had miscarriages. You need a … Read the rest