The BBC has been letting the children loose on their website again. The result is An Article About Bespoke Pronouns.

How to be an ally to friends who’ve changed their pronouns

Walk away. Don’t linger, don’t express regrets, don’t wave, just walk away.

There is no such thing as “their pronouns.” Pronouns aren’t a thing you can possess. Personal names, yes; pronouns, no. That’s pretty much the point of them. Personal names are, as the title suggests, personal to the people whose names they are. Pronouns are the short items that substitute for the personal names because it gets weird saying the name over and over. They are necessarily generic.

We all like to be referred to in a

Trump wants to punish cities that don’t vote for Trump by starving them of funds.

The White House is considering slashing millions of dollars for coronavirus relief, HIV treatment, screenings for newborns and other programs in Democratic-led cities that President Donald Trump has deemed “anarchist jurisdictions,” according to documents obtained by POLITICO.

In other words anything to the left of Trump is basically criminal.

New York, Portland, Ore., Washington, D.C., and Seattle could lose funding for a wide swath of programs that serve their poorest, sickest residents after the president moved last month to restrict funding, escalating his political battle against liberal cities he’s sought to use as a campaign foil.

“Kill the poor!”

“But sir, who then will … Read the rest

Trump has done what he said he was going to do, and had the raw interview posted on Zoshal Meeja. It’s 37 minutes of stupid. I haven’t watched all of it yet; none of what I have watched is anything remotely unfamiliar. He brings out the same stock phrases and then repeats them 900 times. He translates everything Stahl asks into his own stock phrases which he answers with his own stock phrases – it becomes Trump interviewing Trump. At the end he indignantly repeats Stahl’s question, “Are you ready for tough questions?” over and over and each time he puts on a special “this is you” voice and face, which looks and sounds nothing like Leslie Stahl but conveys … Read the rest

This. This is what I keep saying. This is why I keep recording Trump’s outrages with fury and loathing. This is why I say I would despise and detest him even if he had outstanding policies. (He couldn’t, really, because the evil that wants to take health insurance away from people is the evil of everything else about him – but the point remains.)

Obama: "There are consequences to [Trump's] actions. They embolden other people to be cruel & divisive & racist & it frays the fabric of our society. And it affects how our children seen things…it affects how the world looks at America. That behavior matters. Character matters" pic.twitter.com/zBs37th9q5

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 21, 2020

… Read the rest

“Sophie LaBelle” of Assigned Male Comics has a new one out:

That Genitalia Board in the first panel is enough to give you nightmares, but aside from that…

No it isn’t. Nobody is required to “date” (i.e. fuck) trans people. Nobody is required to do it and nobody is required to be silent about refusing to do it. “Sophie” is way too narcissistic and entitled to be an appealing “date” object.… Read the rest

Sorry about the image this conjures up…

The reputation of Rudy Giuliani could be set for a further blow with the release of highly embarrassing footage in Sacha Baron Cohen’s follow-up to Borat.

If you care about spoilers now is the time to exit.

In the film, released on Friday, the former New York mayor and current personal attorney to Donald Trump is seen reaching into his trousers and apparently touching his genitals while reclining on a bed in the presence of the actor playing Borat’s daughter, who is posing as a TV journalist.

Following an obsequious interview for a fake conservative news programme, the pair retreat at her suggestion for a drink to the bedroom of a hotel

Oh lord he’s done it again – tried to impress us with blank sheets of paper. Remember those action shots at Walter Reed of Trump signing the middle of a blank sheet of paper? And those boxes stacked on a table at the beginning of his “administration” that were supposed to convey how open he was being with his financial records? Except that the boxes were just boxes? He hasn’t learned.

Kayleigh McEnany presenting Lesley Stahl (@60Minutes) with some of the many things we’ve done for Healthcare. Lesley had no idea! pic.twitter.com/8bfIxkFiXt

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 21, 2020

Oopsie, they shouldn’t have let her open it.

Computer, enhance pic.twitter.com/k593RPda4D

— Sahil Kapur (@sahilkapur) October 21, 2020

Juliet Jacques at Newsweek assures us that no male person would ever pretend to be trans just to win at his chosen sport:

As a transsexual woman and fervent soccer player (and fan), the idea that someone would transition just to succeed in women’s sports because they couldn’t do so in men’s sports is absurd.

Not as any kind of writer though. Writers understand that you have to keep your subjects and verbs straight throughout the whole sentence. There should have been an “I find” before “the idea,” and the “is” before the last word should be gone. Then the whole thing should be re-worked because that second clause is too clumsy.

ANYway – like hell it’s absurd. Is it … Read the rest

From the voter intimidation file:

Voters in Alaska and Florida reported receiving emails on Tuesday that threatened “vote for Trump or else!” — messages that have prompted investigations in both states. “You are currently registered as a Democrat and we know this because we have gained access into the entire voting infrastructure,” said one of the emails obtained by Alaska Public Media. “You will vote for Trump on Election Day or we will come after you. Change your party affiliation to Republican to let us know you received our message and will comply.”

It sounds so…Mississippi 1964.

The sender claimed to have the voter’s email, phone number and home address. Some of the emails were purportedly sent by

It’s International Pronouns Day. We’re encouraging everyone to use pronouns and ask about pronouns as a simple way to show you’re inclusive of trans and non-binary people #PronounsDay #hellomynameis #LGBTHealth pic.twitter.com/zGFM9VAGcD

— Michael Brady (@drmbrady) October 21, 2020

It may be “simple,” in a sense, but as for showing you’re “inclusive” of trans and non-binary people…even if it’s true that “using pronouns” and “asking about pronouns” is a way of doing that, what about the fact that it’s also a way of showing you’re not “inclusive” of everyone else? What about the fact that it’s alienating to most people to force them to pretend that they chose their own sex? What about the fact that most people just do not … Read the rest

But who cares that Woman’s Hour bigged up the claim that Fair Play For Women, Woman’s Place UK, and Filia are “transphobic”? Why does it matter? Fair Play For Women explains:

Fair Play For Women are others are often called transphobic. It is a political smear tactic designed to silence us and make others fearful of engaging with us. This is why is it vital that other do not repeat these claims out of context. /1

— FairPlayForWomen (@fairplaywomen) October 21, 2020

'Transphobic' is a serious allegation. The general public understands this word to mean hate, dislike, fear and prejudice towards trans people simply because they are trans. What is lost is that 'some people' who started the smear believe

Trump is having a meltdown about an interview.

Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes not wearing a mask in the White House after her interview with me. Much more to come. pic.twitter.com/0plZG6a4fH

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 20, 2020

…Everyone should compare this terrible Electoral Intrusion with the recent interviews of Sleepy Joe Biden!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 20, 2020

https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1318692477893836808

Oooh he looks very sulky.

In 2016, Lesley Stahl asked Donald Trump why he constantly attacked her and other members of the free press. He said: "I do it to discredit you all and demean you all so when you write negative stories about me, no one will believe you." https://t.co/3CsmWd11hY

— Swing Left (@swingleft) October 20,

A joint statement by Women’s Place UK, Filia, and Fair Play for Women:

Today, 20th Oct, BBC Woman’s Hour hosted an excellent discussion on the politicization of Mumsnet with feminist scholar Sarah Pedersen (at approx 25mins). The discussion looked at the growth of the popular Mumsnet feminist discussion boards and their role in promoting a nascent women’s movement advocating women’s rights, in particular informing discussion on GRA reform.

Woman’s Place UK (WPUK), Fair Play for Women (FPFW) and FiLiA were highlighted as groups popular with and representative of women’s rights issues. At this point Jane Garvey, the BBC presenter felt it necessary to interject “We have to be clear, which are groups that some people have described, in some

The Guardian collects the ways Trump has trashed the environment.

“I want crystal clean water and air.”

That’s what Donald Trump said in the first chaotic presidential debate with Joe Biden.

It drives me crazy that he keeps putting it that way, because it shows how completely he doesn’t even get it. He hears “the environment” and he pictures a god damn glass of water. Water can be muddy and murky and be exactly right for its local environment. Environmental issues are not solely about what Donald Trump can safely put in his mouth; he can’t drink ocean water but humans sure as hell depend on that undrinkable water, as does much of the rest of life on the … Read the rest

I saw this

So I looked it up. What is ACAS? Google says:

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service is a Crown non-departmental public body of the Government of the United Kingdom. Its purpose is to improve organisations and working life through the promotion and facilitation of strong industrial relations practice.

Under Workplace Problems they have Discrimination, bullying and harassment, and under that they have Sexual harassment, and sure enough under that they have the anyones.

What sexual harassment is

Sexual harassment is unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature.

It can happen to men, women and people of any gender or sexual orientation. It can be carried out by anyone of the same sex, opposite sex or anyone

The marketing of “surrogacy”…

The essence of a surrogate is to provide the gift of family to those who need help in having a baby. #becomeasurrogate #omegafamilyglobal pic.twitter.com/hw1mOjojrs

— Omega Family Global (@OFGSurrogacy) October 19, 2020

No, the “essence” of “a surrogate” is not providing a family or helping have a baby. The essence of surrogacy is using a woman’s body to gestate a baby for other people, as if women are factories for the manufacture of babies.

Women are not spare parts!https://t.co/NskECc34NI

— Angry She Bird (@AngrySheBird) October 20, 2020

This is incredibly dehumanising "the essence of a surrogate" "destroy a surrogate's purpose"?! Women are entire human beings, not vessels. This could not be more Gilead if it

Well, no………………

It’s true enough that nothing about a girl’s body makes her more or less of a girl…but the point here is to claim that nothing about a boy’s body makes him less of a girl [if he identifies as a girl]. That’s just dumb. Why do people fall over like ninepins at all this dumb? Girls have lots of different types of body, true, but they don’t have boys’ bodies, because if they have those then they’re boys, not girls. Freckles, cheekbones, tall, short – none of those determine what sex you are, but that doesn’t mean that nothing about your body determines what sex you are.

Enough with the dumb already!… Read the rest

I was saying how energized and high Trump gets from his rallies. This one from today is a good example.

The content is grotesque but leaving that aside for the moment – look at how juiced he is. Look at how much more fluent and confident and actory he is. It’s all disgusting but it’s skilled, in its way – which his non-rally performances just are not. Press conferences, speeches, announcements – he’s more like a gas station inflatable doll, luring in the crowds by lurching back and forth in the breeze and gesticulating.

It’s creepy. It’s creepy that he’s so tuned in to crowd-love. It’s creepy that crowd-love can change his speech patterns and energy levels and timing … Read the rest

Really?

I could see it if Alison Phipps were a novelist…although I would still disagree, because extended criticism of a bad novel can be both entertaining and enlightening. But Alison Phipps isn’t a novelist, she’s a “Professor of Gender Studies” – i.e. an academic. Academics don’t usually think, or at least don’t usually say, that if you can’t say something nice you should be brief and then change the subject. Academics do a lot of extensive analysis of each other’s work, and they don’t observe any rule that I’ve ever heard of mandating brevity in disagreement.

Why spend so much time and energy? Because bad ideas can have bad consequences, and they can also be interesting routes to … Read the rest

Sometimes when you hire your Medical Experts on the basis of their Fox News commentary as opposed to their medical expertise you get…well you get Scott Atlas.

As summer faded into autumn and the novel coronavirus continued to ravage the nation unabated, Scott Atlas, a neuroradiologist whose commentary on Fox News led President Trump to recruit him to the White House, consolidated his power over the government’s pandemic response.

Atlas shot down attempts to expand testing. He openly feuded with other doctors on the coronavirus task force and succeeded in largely sidelining them. He advanced fringe theories, such as that social distancing and mask-wearing were meaningless and would not have changed the course of the virus in several hard-hit