Georgia Senate passes bill that limits how schools can teach about race.

House Bill 1084, the “Protect Students First Act”, was approved by the Georgia senate. The measure requires local school boards and administrators to ban discrimination on the “basis of race” by limiting how race can be discussed in classrooms.

Under the bill, discussion topics that would be banned include teaching that “one race is inherently superior to another race” or that the US is “fundamentally racist”, reported CNN.

“We can teach US history, the good, the bad and the ugly, without dividing children along racial lines,” said the Georgia senate president pro tem, Butch Miller, of the bill that passed 32-21.

Can we though? Maybe it’s not … Read the rest

The whistleblower is Dr David Bell. The clip is valuable…and in fact humanist, the real kind.

History will judge whether Dr David Bell was a hateful transphobe or trying to alert people to a medical scandal, but he's far from the only health professional raising these concerns (and I have the letters and emails to prove it.) https://t.co/siTOdD6CGC

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 1, 2022

… Read the rest

Peak humanism.

Me: shares video of experienced psychiatrist who turned whistleblower, expressing his deep concern at high numbers of autistic children and children with internalised homophobia presenting at gender clinics.

Them: pic.twitter.com/WsjyLJCOUB

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 2, 2022

“You’re a repulsive bigot,” says guy who calls himself The Humanist Report. “Go fuck yourself, transphobic trash.” Nine words total, for two coarse insults and a coarse command. I’m not seeing the humanism.… Read the rest

Has Biden ever talked this way about women or Black people or workers or immigrants? Biden who chaired the all-male committee that blew off Anita Hill’s testimony about Clarence Thomas? Biden who loves to go all “bipartisan” on unions and feminists and racial justice activists?… Read the rest

Emily (formerly Zack) Bridges has issued A Statement:

“I am an athlete, and I just want to race competitively,” he says, skipping lightly over the fact that he just wants to race competitively against people who are systematically smaller and less muscular than he is.

“No one should have to choose between who they are, and participating in the sport they love.”

But it isn’t who he is, it’s who he isn’t. Who he is is a man, with a massive physical advantage over the women he wants to race against. Yes he should have to choose, because it’s grossly unfair to the women if he doesn’t.

“I’ve been relentlessly harassed and demonised by those who have a specific … Read the rest

Perhaps the concerns are real concerns.

History will judge whether Dr David Bell was a hateful transphobe or trying to alert people to a medical scandal, but he's far from the only health professional raising these concerns (and I have the letters and emails to prove it.) https://t.co/siTOdD6CGC

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 1, 2022

A genuinely gender dysphoric person writes… pic.twitter.com/6nuVH625Pi

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) April 1, 2022

As ever, JK gets to heart of it. Those with views like hers, and mine, are constantly put on defensive: Explain yourself! How can you be so cruel? etc. The real question is: what the hell is wrong with you, that you're going along with this or even applauding it? Defend

… Read the rest

How the experts got Russian military prowess so wrong:

The resilience of Ukrainian resistance is embarrassing for a Western think-tank and military community that had confidently predicted that the Russians would conquer Ukraine in a matter of days. For years, Western “experts” prattled on about the Russian military’s expensive, high-tech “modernization.” The Russians, we were told, had the better tanks and aircraft, including cutting-edge SU-34 fighter bombers and T-90 tanks, with some of the finest technical specifications in the world. The Russians had also ostensibly reorganized their army into a more professional, mostly voluntary force. They had rethought their offensive doctrine and created battalion tactical groups, flexible, heavily armored formations that were meant to be key to overwhelming the

… Read the rest

The Guardian had a column called How to eat, which is now reaching an end. It sounds entertaining; I’ll have to browse the back catalogue. The idea originated in irritation at the pompous posh brand of food column.

Would there be mileage, we wondered, in sending up such high-handed advice in a clearly tongue-in-cheek, OTT way? But by flipping the subject matter and talking enthusiastically about everyday foods – beans on toast, lasagne, pesto, Magnums, pasties, hummus – in a way that would generate engaged, friendly debate below the line (BTL)? Note: the bottom half of the internet was less toxic then.

Sounds interesting but wait a second – pesto and hummus and lasagne and beans on toast? One … Read the rest

How about no?

Just no. Not “oh dear what shall we do,” not “maybe we need to tweak this a little,” not “we’re in the middle,” just no. No. You can’t. Of course not. Go away.

Not “tougher new rules,” either. Just no.

The president of cycling’s governing body has held emergency talks with other international sports federations about creating tougher new rules for the participation of trans women in elite women’s sport “within months”.

“Rules” for letting men participate in elite women’s sport, thus ruining it. Forget rules; just No.

In a notable intervention, the UCI president, David Lappartient, said cycling’s current rules, which allow trans women to compete against cis women if they reduce their testosterone

… Read the rest

He’s a guy.

https://twitter.com/HastingsUFCW/status/1509175209118638093… Read the rest