Originally a comment by Mike Haubrich on As white Americans embraced the moonlight and magnolias.

I had known my (now) ex-wife for a year before we got married, and I knew she liked the movie. She was born in Louisiana, and would sometimes say things that made no sense to me as her personal point of pride at being from one of the 4 states that are the “real South.” The Mason-Dixon line was BS, she said. Only Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana were the Real South. So, you can imagine what it felt like as we were driving through Mississippi on our way back from a honeymoon in New Orleans for her to say “Slavery wasn’t so bad. … Read the rest

Dershowitz.

“One such powerful individual that Epstein forced then-minor Jane Doe #3 to have sexual relations with was former Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz, a close friend of Epstein’s and well-known criminal defense attorney. Epstein required Jane Doe #3 to have sexual relations with Dershowitz on numerous occasions while she was a minor, not only in Florida but also on private planes, in New York, New Mexico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.” (Attachment 9)

“Dershowitz came “pretty often” to Epstein’s Florida mansion and got massages while he was there” (Attachment 18, sworn testimony from Epstein’s housekeeper Juan Alessi)

“Massages” was code for sex.… Read the rest

The Times in June 2020 on this business of making moral judgements about the past, in particular with regard to slavery and the ways of thinking that made it possible:

But the 1939 classic — still the highest-grossing film of all time, adjusted for inflation — has enduringly shaped popular understanding of the Civil War and Reconstruction perhaps more than any other cultural artifact.

Before that of course it was The Birth of a Nation, as we talked about the other day. Both are disasters as shapers of popular understanding of the Civil War and Reconstruction. You might as well let Hitler’s favorite niece tell the story of the Holocaust. [Hitler had no niece. Hold the phone calls.]

The … Read the rest

About this idea (or taunt) that discussion of slavery or colonial conquest and plunder or similar injustices in the past is mere “virtue signaling.” One, there is the fact that it is a taunt, and depending on the context can be a very snide one, but two there is the fact that there are other ways of looking at it, one of which is the “I could have been part of that” awareness.

That is to say, when we discuss the awful things that some people did to other people in the past, we’re not necessarily patting ourselves on the back; we can just as well be cringing at how easily we could have done the same depending on time … Read the rest

It’s what they want.

Trump has referred to his opponents as “vermin” who are trying to “destroy America and to destroy the American dream,” and claimed that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our nation.” The Hitlerian overtones have not gone unnoticed. And yet, the man who promises to be a dictator on “day one” leads the GOP primary by 50 points. How could this be? The horrifying conclusion is that there is plenty of appetite within the party for this sort of rhetoric and it doesn’t turn many people off.

Surveys back this up. A recent poll of likely Iowa caucusgoers found that 42 percent of them were more likely to vote for Trump

Another one of those “how exactly is that a right” issues.

Republican Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey said recently that “Israel is the only state in the world whose fundamental right to exist, within any borders at all, is openly denied by other states.” But Israel is the only nation with a “right to exist,” as the phrase is not commonly attached to any other country. And that’s the tell: This is not a legal concept, but a political one, available for broad interpretation and rhetorical weaponization.

I wonder if that’s true. Aren’t there claims that Cataluña is a nation? Weren’t there arguments about Pakistan’s right to exist as a nation during partition? What about Northern Ireland? Ukraine? … Read the rest

Warped reporting:

Transgender athletes face increased restrictions ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics compared to previous rules, as it was recently decided that they must have completed their transition before the age of 12 to avoid unfair advantages.

Transgender athletes face greater hurdles in qualifying for the upcoming Olympic Games, which will take place in Paris from 26 July to 11 August. It has been mandated that the transition must be completed before the age limit of 12, as doing so after that age could give an advantage over cisgender female competitors. 

That is, male athletes who cheat by claiming to be women will find it harder to cheat now that they are required to have completed “transition” before … Read the rest

Do not turn away. Must watch.

Homosexuals who have recently graduated from Cambridge, step aside.

MI6 are changing tack.

Good morning. pic.twitter.com/xZB4dckrop

— James Hogg (@JamesAHogg2) December 27, 2023

H/t PeterN… Read the rest

Please please please tell us again how trans ideology is not at all based on sexist stereotypes.

Oh I see. Women are required to wear makeup and heels because otherwise we look like a bag of crap.

What a delightful man he is.

Update: Sorry, that tweet got deleted. Here’s one from Fred that also shows Willoughby’s sexist stupidity.

The difference here is that @BevJacksonAuth is, and always has been, one helluva woman, whilst @IndiaWilloughby will always be a failure as a man and a woman. pic.twitter.com/KHBJmxOlAq

— Fred Sargeant (@FredSargeant) January 3, 2024

… Read the rest

Originally a comment by Southwest at As a person.

Was in a grocery store years ago and there was one man unloading his cart and another man bringing his cart into the checkout line. The second man’s cart BARELY touched the first man’s cart, it was an accident, second guy did not tap the first guy’s cart on purpose. Well, they looked at each other and then they kept looking at each other and then really started glaring at each other and starting to square up aggressively. I expected to hear Marlin Perkins doing narration about how exciting it was that we got footage of these two magnificent animals about to fight in this amazing wild kingdom.

I said … Read the rest

Insult to women number eleventy billion:

Seventeen women’s rights groups have signed a letter to the charity UN Women UK expressing concern about its choice of a transgender woman as its “UK champion”.

Organisations including Fair Play for Women, Sex Matters, Transgender Trend and the Women’s Rights Network wrote of their “dismay and disappointment” that Munroe Bergdorf had been picked.

One, a man; two, a man who dresses up as a parody of a Hot Babe. Insult piled upon insult.

Bergdorf, 36, a model and broadcaster, was given the post of the first UN Women UK Champion in November. UN Women UK supports the work of the UN Women entity to improve the lives of women and girls, as

A fatal shooting in Maryland:

A Bel Air woman was shot dead during an argument on Wednesday, according to court documents.

According to charging documents, the incident happened on Churchill Road Wednesday in Bel Air, where Brian Delen, 47, was delivering food. The documents said Delen asked Meghan Lewis, 52: “Are you waiting for a food delivery, sir”

As per Delen’s account described in the documents, Lewis was offended and believed Delen had misgendered her, and yelled at him.

In other words this is yet more dishonest reporting. A man was shot dead, not a woman.

The filing says Delen drove away, and Lewis followed on foot; Delen stopped driving and the two ‘engaged in a physical altercation.”

Presumably … Read the rest

That one little word…

Happy New Year, dear siblings all, from a cis woman who helped draft the Equality Act 2010. A gentle reminder that when EA2010 speaks of women it means ALL women. The word cis is absent from the act; there are NO cis-specific rights. Oh, and ‘sex based rights’ don’t exist.

— Teresa Clark (@teresamaryclark) December 31, 2023

What this driveling fool is trying to make us believe is that “ALL women” includes men who call themselves women, and that if the word “cis” isn’t used then the word “women” means men as well as women.

It’s such a spectacle, watching apparently fully-adult women with serious jobs eagerly giving away women’s rights while patting themselves on the … Read the rest

Just imagine if women had that kind of clout…

A London council has demanded that companies in its supply chain prove their commitment to approved LGBT inclusion values. Labour-run Camden Council has introduced a range of measures to ensure that its internal policies and processes are inclusive.

But of course by “inclusive” in “LGBT” terms they mean mostly non-inclusive of women. The tiny tiny barely visible minority made up of people who claim to be the opposite sex is being “empowered” to demolish women’s rights. Why is that tiny minority, made up of people suffering from a trendy delusion, so important that they get to take away the rights of half of all humans?

According to information from the

Nicaragua v the Church:

Pope Francis used his New Year’s Day address to highlight concern over the worsening situation of the Roman Catholic Church in Nicaragua as a result of a protracted crackdown by the government of President Daniel Ortega, which has detained clerics, expelled missionaries, closed Catholic radio stations and limited religious celebrations.

Of course the church itself has a long long history of doing all that to others. It has detained people, expelled people, closed libraries and burned books, and limited non-religious celebrations. It’s a very coercive organization.

Speaking to the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the traditional New Year’s Angelus prayer and blessing, Francis said he was “following with concern what is happening in

There are a lot of links worth following up in that piece by Natalia Mehlman Petrzela. One is University of Alberta fires Sexual Assault Centre director for signing letter questioning Hamas rape reports:

The University of Alberta fired its Sexual Assault Centre director for signing an open letter questioning sexual assault and rape claims against Hamas during the Oct. 7 attack in Israel.

Samantha Pearson’s use of the centre’s name was “improper and unauthorized” and “raised understandable concerns from members of our community and the public,” U of A president Bill Flanagan said in a statement Saturday.

Pretty much the last category of person who should endorse such an open letter, you’d think. “Bitches be lyin’,” said the … Read the rest

No solidarity for women:

So why, then, in a moment when statements of solidarity fly fast and furious, have feminists and their progressive allies not been more outspoken about the grotesque sexual violence visited upon Israeli women on Oct. 7?

Many feminist organizations rushed to express support for the Palestinian cause while eliding the plight of Israeli victims. The organization UN Women issued a four-page report last month exclusively addressing the impact of the war on women and girls in Gaza but made only a brief condemnation of the Oct. 7 attack that made no mention of the sexual violence that had been reported. A group of prominent scholars circulated a letter under the title “Feminists for a Free

Grrrrr. Now we’re “non-trans women” – a subset of ourselves.

1. The Equality Act allows “places where it is reasonable for” non-trans “women only to have access”. The designation of a non-TW space must be a “proportionate & legitimate response” to need, but the Courts have not held any private & separate spaces eg toilet stalls, or … https://t.co/Q4wimsyHOk

— Prof. Stephen Whittle OBE, PhD, DLaws, FAcSS, (@stephenwhittle) December 31, 2023

Sneak sneak sneak. Sneak in the “non-trans” bit as if it needs to be spelled out that women are not men who call themselves women. No thank you, that is surplus to requirements; we are women; men who pretend to be women are men.… Read the rest

Peter Tatchell tries to school women on who can be a woman and Rosie Duffield reminds him that we don’t need him to tell us who can be a woman. Go school yourself Peter.

Thanks Peter, but we (the majority of the population) don't need you to explain our own biology back to us, or tell us who may opt in if they feel like it. The use of spurious pseudo-science-speak to #mansplain and patronise makes your biological sex pretty clear… #NoThankYou.

— Rosie Duffield MP (@RosieDuffield1) December 30, 2023

… Read the rest

Tim Harris’s mention of Sathnam Sanghera’s Empireland has prompted me to summon the book from the library and to read the Guardian review by Fara Dabhoiwala.

In the endless catalogue of British imperial atrocities, the unprovoked invasion of Tibet in 1903 was a minor but fairly typical episode. Tibetans, explained the expedition’s cultural expert, were savages, “more like hideous gnomes than human beings”. Thousands of them were massacred defending their homeland, “knocked over like skittles” by the invaders’ state-of-the-art machine guns. “I got so sick of the slaughter that I ceased fire,” wrote a British lieutenant, “though the General’s order was to make as big a bag as possible.” As big a bag as possible – killing inferior people