The argument: If you let trans women use public restrooms that match their gender identity then men will claim to be trans women so they can ogle, harass and/or sexually assault women. The reality: Harassment, sexual assault and invasion of privacy is already illegal, and incidents of harassment didn’t increase in places that passed non-discrimination […]
The tip of the spear: bathroom bans Read More »
The argument: The arguments against trans women playing in women’s sports runs the gamut between “trans women have an unfair advantage because of natal testosterone when they were younger” to Trump’s position that “trans women are actually men who are either delusional or lying to get an unfair advantage”. There’s also a secondary argument that
The tip of the spear: trans women in women’s sports Read More »
The argument: The argument against treating minors boils down to “Kids are too young to know what’s best for them, so we should hold off making irreversible decisions until they’re adults. We should also wait until there’s more research showing gender-affirming care is safe and effective.” There’s also a fair amount of “They just think
The tip of the spear: gender-affirming care for minors Read More »
Happy International Transgender Day of Visibility! During his first two weeks President Trump issued four executive orders targeting transgender children and adults, in keeping with his campaign promises and his inaugural address. The through-line is that, “there are only two genders: male and female” and that a person’s gender is equivalent to their biological sex
The tip of the spear: debunking anti-trans rhetoric Read More »
On desktop Google Maps, if you add “&gl=CA” to the end of your URL then the Gulf of Mexico will be correctly labeled (albeit with the “freedom fries” version in parentheses). You can also get the old name back on both Google and Apple maps using a VPN set to Canada. (Unfortunately the hack doesn’t
A lot of ink has been spilled about how Trump told a crowd at Turning Point Action Believers’ Summit “In four years, you don’t have to vote again, we’ll have it fixed so good you’re not going to have to vote.” Given his history it’s understandable when people worry this was a not-so-subtle hint that
“You won’t have to vote again” Read More »
On Tuesday Trump threatened to imprison Zuckerberg personally if Meta doesn’t play ball, posting “All I can say is that if I’m elected President, we will pursue Election Fraudsters at levels never seen before, and they will be sent to prison for long periods of time. We already know who you are. DON’T DO IT!
Over the past three years we’ve seen a flood of disastrous 6-3 decisions come out of the Supreme Court, upending centuries of established law. While most of us have concentrated on the real-world impact, from women forced to bear non-viable fetuses to public schools engaging in religions indoctrination to Donald Trump being granted what amounts
A few years ago there was an article about a Western Union employee whose job was to talk people out of wiring their life savings to scammers. At one point they describe a woman clearly in panic. In one hand she held her own cell phone with the scammer still on the line and insisting
A tale of two universes Read More »
Wired has posted a nice interview with Kagen Sound, a mathematician by training and self-taught woodworker who has been designing wooden puzzle boxes for over two decades. His woodworking technique is fun to watch (and I would kill for a workshop even half as organized as his) but what I really liked was the little
Wired interview with puzzle-box maker Kagen Sound Read More »