Judy steps up next to Joanne and Hadley Freeman tells us about it. Power trio!

You can try to explain Judy Blume in numbers: her books for children have sold 90 million copies worldwide, most famously Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Over a 54- year career she has won more than 90 literary awards and been translated into 32 languages.

But this doesn’t explain her impact on generations of children, particularly girls. Blume, more than any other author before or since, taught kids about masturbation (in Deenie), menstruation (. . . It’s Me, Margaret) and sex (Forever). She reassured them that hating your younger sibling sometimes is normal (Tales of a

The only way to defend “the right to bear arms” is to make sure everyone has more and more and more guns. Literally everyone: toddlers included.

South Dakota’s governor told an audience of people that her two-year-old grandchild has several guns.

While speaking on Friday at a National Rifle Association (NRA) lobbying leadership forum in Indiana, the Republican governor Kristi Noem told audience members her toddler grandchild has multiple guns, reported Mediaite.

The toddler granchild is not yet two, and she has a rifle and a shotgun. (It’s not clear what “having” means. I don’t suppose they’re in her toy box. It could just mean that they’re officially her guns, but she can’t just grab one and … Read the rest

Like this kind of thing for instance. Why aren’t the BBC and Labour and the Independent constantly lamenting the fact that abused women can’t escape their abuse because they have nowhere to go? Why isn’t that as tragic and desperate as the plight of men who enjoy pretending to be women?

More than 10,000 women escaping domestic abuse across England were refused safe housing last year, amid warnings that many could be left homeless or driven back to dangerous partners as a result of a “woeful” lack of safe accommodation.

Official figures seen by the Observer found that almost 8,000 households referred to a safe accommodation service did not receive support because there was no capacity. A further 3,000

Ahhhhhh just in case you wanted a little cheerer-upper…

You’re never too busy to show kindness to a child. Watch how this construction crew takes time to honor & involve a toddler who brought his toy dump truck along to see their own big machine in action. https://t.co/f5H5GwohEI

— Dan Wuori (@DanWuori) April 15, 2023

… Read the rest

Originally a comment by Artymorty on Oppression for the Bugatti set.

I think collective guilt and shame about the past’s homophobia casts a long shadow in the minds of progressive Euroamericans. And as for gay people ourselves, we can add personal trauma to the mix. We seem as a society, gay and straight alike, to be transferring all of our unresolved feelings about gay rights over to the trans phenomenon.

I was having dinner with someone the other night, who is sympathetic to my position. But he was very gravely concerned about the plight of “vulnerable feminine gay boys” and their anguish in the hands of cruel Republicans passing so many “anti-trans hate bills.”

I tried to take apart … Read the rest

I keep wondering about this “most vulnerable” thing – the endless repetition of the claim that trans people are “among the most vulnerable” or just plain “the most vulnerable.”

Why do people think that?

In a world where we have wars, genocides, torture, rape, poverty, earthquakes, floods, droughts, poverty, epidemics, secret police, criminal gangs, poverty, racism, enslavement, exploitation, poverty – how is it that people who claim to be the gender that doesn’t match their bodies are described as “the most vulnerable”?

That’s a genuine question, because I have no idea what the answer is. It’s like sitting in front of a person with multiple broken bones and severe burns, complaining about a scratch. It’s Luxury Oppression. It’s Pretend Oppression … Read the rest

University and College Union aka UCU issues a statement:

The Government’s plan to review the Equality Act 2010, with a mind to change existing provisions in relation to sex and gender, is an attack on the limited rights and protections to which trans people are currently entitled.

Changing the understanding of ‘sex’ to refer solely to ‘biological sex’ would effectively eradicate the ability of trans people to gain full legal recognition for their gender identity. This flies in the face of established UCU policy in favour of self-identification, and would enable acts of discrimination against trans and non-binary people to go unchallenged.

So UCU has a policy in favour of self-identification. Is that an inclusive policy? Does it include … Read the rest

Another victim of the crossfire:

AS Scotland emerged from lockdown restrictions in the summer of 2021 Mandy Rhodes began to feel deeply uncomfortable at her work. As the long-time editor of Holyrood magazine, Ms Rhodes is one of Scotland’s most influential political journalists. Her workplace is the Scottish Parliament where she has been reporting and commenting on the business of government for nearly 20 years.

Well we know how that’s going to go.

In recent years she’s become one of several prominent feminists who have found themselves targeted by transgender activists for espousing gender-critical views. Yet, nothing in her long career had prepared her for what she calls the malice beginning to filtrate Scotland’s corridors of power.

Infiltrate, I … Read the rest

Lucy Bannerman at The Times on Daniel Radcliffe’s confidence in the wisdom of children:

Daniel Radcliffe, the Harry Potter actor, has said that children should be trusted to transition from one gender to another if they wish.

The actor said that it was “condescending” for adults to question whether such a life-changing decision was in a child’s best interests.

Radcliffe appeared to support gender transition for young people of any age, while hosting a group discussion for an American LGBT charity, the Trevor Project.

Hosting it quite badly, I would add. I watched the brief clip where he says that fatuous thing, and discovered that he’s remarkably clumsy and inarticulate for a professional actor.

In the half-hour conversation, which

Julie Burchill is enjoyably unimpressed by Daniel Radcliffe.

Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe has opined – more in sorrow than in anger, no doubt, with a caring, sharing smile on those sensitive lips – that adults concerned about children changing gender are ‘condescending’. More specifically, he ‘affirmed’ the beliefs of six trans and nonbinary children at a discussion organised by LGBTQ charity The Trevor Project this week, saying: ‘There are people who also have a slightly condescending, but well-meaning attitude of “People are young… and it is a huge decision”.’ According to Radcliffe, ‘We can trust kids to tell us who they are’.

Can we? Then why can’t they vote or join the military or marry that nice rapist … Read the rest

Uh oh, Washington Post columnist Alexandra Petri seems to have missed the memo.

Oh, good. I was just thinking: I have too many rights. We’ve got to cull, cull, cull! Do I really need to be voting and controlling my own body? That feels like much too much. Also, it’s spring! What better time to go through all the rights and see which ones spark joy (access to assault weapons) and which ones don’t (uncensored proximity to books, bodily autonomy). Just like they’re doing in Florida! Constitution? Please! If we were all meant to be covered by it, we would have been explicitly included!

Isn’t all this rights nonsense getting in the way of more important

Headline:

Green MSP says rapist Isla Bryson has right to become a woman

Lede:

Rapists such as the convicted criminal Isla Bryson should be able to legally become women, a Green MSP has claimed.

Right or no right, men can’t “become women.” We can’t just “become” any old thing we fancy. We can’t “become” buildings or planets or tigers or the opposite sex. We can become lawyers or mountain climbers or citizens of various countries. There are things we can do and things we can’t do. There are things we can change and things we can’t change. There are realities and there are fantasies. It’s best to know the difference, and it’s not acceptable to try to force the entire … Read the rest

Disinformation rules.

Hundreds of Russian and Chinese state propaganda accounts are thriving on Twitter after Elon Musk wiped out the team that fought these networks, the BBC has found.

The unit worked to combat “information operations”, coordinated campaigns by countries such as Russia, China, and Iran, made to influence public opinion and disrupt democracy.

But experts and former employees say the majority of these specialists resigned or were laid off, leaving the platform vulnerable to foreign manipulation. 

But now they’re gone.

Oh well. I’m sure Russia, China and Iran want only what’s best for everyone.

We approached Twitter for comment but received no response other than a poo emoji – the standard auto-reply from the company to any press

Approximately 88 billion gallons:

A complex of slow-moving thunderstorms dropped tornadoes and extreme rainfall across Broward County in Florida this week, causing historic flooding that forced residents to abandon vehicles and scramble to higher ground.

…

The excessive rainfall, which fell at rates briefly topping six inches per hour, was a product of slow-moving thunderstorms anchored atop a stalled frontal boundary. The initially unanticipated deluge stemmed from the natural randomness of the atmosphere, but it fits into a pattern of a warmer, wetter world with higher rainfall rates.

Statistically, the episode easily qualifies as a thousand-year rain event — or one that would have a 0.1 percent chance or less of occurring in any given year.

Approximately a third

The rich get richer and the poor get…drought.

Swimming pools, flower gardens, indoor fountains — and the urbanites who can afford them — are big factors behind the increasingly dire water crises plaguing cities, an international research team says.

Published in the journal Nature Sustainability, a new study found socioeconomic disparity to be just as influential as climate change and population growth when it comes to explaining why the water supply in so many cities is shrinking.

Rich people can afford to waste water; poor people can’t.

Even 25 years after South Africa’s apartheid ended, Cape Town is still segregated in distinct geographic lines, making it easier to track water usage among income groups, Savelli said. The

A tale of two convicted criminals in Texas.

First, Larry Pearson.

A Texas man was sentenced to 70 years in prison Wednesday after he was found guilty of harassing a public servant for spitting at Lubbock police officers.

Larry Pearson, 36, was arrested in May 2022 for domestic violence after a victim flagged down an officer in northeast Lubbock, prosecutor Jessica Gorman said. The victim told police that Pearson had hit her several times and that he had a gun. Gorman said that firearm turned out to be an airsoft gun.

A police report at the time stated the victim had “multiple visible injuries” on her face. Gorman said after Pearson was taken into custody, he was upset the

Well that was a fun chat.

No we are not. Neither are we supposed to be tolerant of bigotry but you have chosen to not be tolerant of them, but to actually join them. You used to be decent human but now you are just a bigot, giving cover to other bigots. I mourn for the person you used to be.

— Kristjan Wager (@kriswager) April 13, 2023

Kristjan used to comment here, though not very often. I liked him, so I asked him a question in all seriousness.

You are a fucking TERF

— Kristjan Wager (@kriswager) April 13, 2023

Oh well then, there’s no more to be said.… Read the rest

Hey if you ever want to collect a sample of STOOOOPID replies to a gender critical tweet, just retort to a snotty tweet by justice correspondent at The Nation Elie Mystal. His admirers will arrive in their multitudes to tell you to shut the fuck up terf.

Ah yes, solidarity and "that awful woman" – how progressive. https://t.co/TmgYf0kABT

— Ophelia Benson (@OpheliaBenson) April 13, 2023

How very dare I?

Calling J. K. Rowling, an awful woman is not unabashed misogyny, you absolute pine cone https://t.co/RwcKk3aNQq

— Imani Gandy (Orca’s Version) ⚓️ (@AngryBlackLady) April 13, 2023

Am I suggesting that florp whozzle zissy? No, and no to your ridiculous question.

— Ophelia Benson (@OpheliaBenson) April 13, 2023

Many many replies saying … Read the rest

Who says they’re “one of the most persecuted minorities in society”? Are they really? Persecuted in what sense? Why do grown-up people with serious jobs keep repeating this childish claim?

Or as la scap puts it…

Stop repeating the "most persecuted" lie. A tiny minority of mostly white, able-bodied men who redesigned a LGB flag and got every government institution and business corporation to fly it, and who destroyed women's sex-based rights in <10 years are persecutors, NOT persecuted.

— la scapigliata (@lascapigliata8) April 13, 2023

Updating to add:

And don’t you dare question this claim of “most persecuted.” In fact don’t question anything; just shut up and get on with your knitting.

If you're replying to this with

Malcolm Clark on the horrific mess.

1./ A Gender Ghoul Comes Clean
Susie Green has admitted that, as Mermaids CEO, she advised parents to contact Gender GP, the dodgy outfit that's accused of breaking the law to supply kids with hormones. One of its owners was struck off.
1 of/10https://t.co/5BsL5vUp8g

— Malcolm Clark (@TwisterFilm) April 13, 2023

She’s not so much admitted it as boasted about it.

3./ In 2021 a journalist from the @Telegraph posing as a 15 year old girl was prescribed testosterone by the Webberleys' clinic after one skype session with a doctor who neither asked for her parents' permission nor probed her claim she was "male". https://t.co/u2OJASacMT

— Malcolm Clark (@TwisterFilm) April 13, 2023

https://twitter.com/TwisterFilm/status/1646489892711440388 … Read the rest