As of today (January 16th) most branches of the government are funded for the year. The Department of Homeland Security is NOT funded yet, because the Democrats are refusing to go along. They are demanding that ICE be reined in.
Discussions of trans women in sports often focus on elite/professional sports which honestly I find it hard to care about but the more common scenario of “we’re going to legally ban a high school girl from playing sports with her friends because she’s trans” is just profoundly evil
i remember when utah's (republican) governor ended up vetoing a law banning transgender students from playing high school sports when he looked at the numbers, and there were only four trans students in the state playing sports at all. he released a clumsily worded but surprisingly compassionate statement about the decision.
I must admit, I am not an expert on transgenderism. I struggle to understand so much of it, and the science is conflicting. When in doubt, however, I always try to err on the side of kindness, mercy, and compassion. I also try to get proximate, and I am learning so much from our transgender community. They are great kids who face enormous struggles. Here are the numbers that have most impacted my decision: 75,000, 4, 1, 86 and 56.
75,000 high school kids participating in high school sports in Utah.
4 transgender kids playing high school sports in Utah.
1 transgender student playing girls sports.
86% of trans youth reporting suicidality.
56% of trans youth having attempted suicide.
Four kids and only one of them playing girls sports. That’s what all of this is about. Four kids who aren’t dominating or winning trophies or taking scholarships. Four kids who are just trying to find some friends and feel like they are a part of something. Four kids trying to get through each day. Rarely has so much fear and anger been directed at so few. I don’t understand what they are going through or why they feel the way they do. But I want them to live.
of course, it didn't amount to much. they overrode his veto. it's just so cartoonishly evil. an entire state's political body so desperate to terrorize this one little trans girl.
i might have already talked about this before but it’s actually crazy that jogging gets treated as a default ‘getting into shape for the first time’ exercise ESPECIALLY if someone’s goal involves weight loss. people who are more than ~200lbs often need special gear and running techniques to avoid shin splints etc *even if all that weight is solid muscle*, and the likelihood of injury only goes up as strength to weight ratio decreases. someone who’s both heavy AND untrained is just going to be miserable for however long it takes their bones and connective tissue to adapt to the sudden increase in demand. usually this takes months, but it can take even longer under adverse conditions like, say, suddenly eating way less than normal. and all this for an activity that literally isn’t even fun unless you are a specific type of insane. there are so many low impact and actually enjoyable forms of cardio why are we slapshotting biomechanically disadvantaged novices into the david goggins torment dimension
could. could you maybe. list some of those 'low impact and enjoyable forms of cardio'? this is not sarcasm, this is a genuine request, every form of exercise I have tried recently has put me in the torment dimension. thank you and I love you
yeah sure! there’s a lot of good suggestions in the notes, i’m probably missing a few
if you have access to a gym/appropriate facilities:
- a LOT of people in the notes vouching for swimming, and it makes sense. not only is it basically zero impact on any of your joints, it engages just about every muscle in your body and it’s actually easier to stay afloat the higher your bodyfat%
- stationary bike/elliptical: works for some better than others, but definitely far lower impact than running, usually has adjustable difficulty, and you can watch youtube videos or play games on your phone to pass the time
- non stationary bike: the benefits of a stationary bike plus the ability to travel to a location
- weight lifting: if you’re a total beginner to exercise this genuinely might be a better place to start than any designated ‘cardio’ activity, it Will get your heart rate up and build strength to do higher impact stuff with less risk, but designing a routine can feel overwhelming without help from a trainer/more experienced lifter
- classes: yoga, pilates, dance, kickboxing, spin class, water aerobics, etc. as long as you can find one that accommodates your current fitness level and is a reasonably friendly environment
- rowing: i actually know relatively little about rowing, but this has come up in the notes several times and people seem to like it. def seems like a good overall workout with little to no jarring impact
- roller derby: definitely less of a Safe Beginner Activity and more ‘form of cardio you can do if you are on the fit side but still hate running’ but has come up in the notes multiple times specifically as a sport where a range of body types can do well
minimal equipment alternatives:
- walking: if you have the resources to jog you have the resources to walk, and it really is a good form of exercise that also puts less strain on your joints
- dance tutorials: seen a few people recommending these, there’s apparently a huge variety on youtube and you can take things at whatever pace works for you
- yoga: also beginner friendly classes on youtube, good way to build up mobility and bodyweight strength
- someone in the notes recommended hula hooping?? which actually sounds kind of genius especially if you don’t have a lot of gear or space. also iirc you can buy different weights of hula hoops for reasonably cheap so there’s a way to up the intensity over time
- this seems like a decent resource at first glance and i think i saw more than one rec for them
one important thing to remember for anyone out there who’s significantly out of shape and feels overwhelmed is that when it comes to fitness you have one enormous advantage: it is currently EXTREMELY EASY for you to get exercise
do you 🫵 get winded walking up a flight of stairs? is curling a 5lb dumbbell 10 times difficult for you? can you barely do a single knee push-up? well i have great news: doing all of those things twice still probably takes less you less than 10 minutes. which means you can do a genuinely worthwhile daily workout in less than ten minutes. and it’ll probably get easy fast, and then you can find a heavier dumbbell
My boyfriend, again blending together fanfiction tropes: So what if when you finally find your soulmate, that’s when you discover if you’re alpha or omega, right?
Me, hands shaking as I frantically search for pen & paper: KEEP TALKING
Me: Seems hellish
Boyfriend: So does being an ant person
Me: Again, baby, they’re not ants
Boyfriend: YES THEY ARE. They communicate via pheromones— LIKE ANTS.
Me: So back to the soulmate thing….
Boyfriend: You could trick them into following orders and thinking they’re dead by spraying them with a spritz bottle. I think they need a queen.
Me: So back to the soulmate thing…. Seems hellish!
Boyfriend: Not really. If being around the other person is what triggers the changes, if you want to go back to normal… all you need to do is leave.
Me, writing: (You found your soulmate. It’s changing you in scary ways. All you need to do is leave… how difficult would it be to leave? What pressures exist to stay?)
Boyfriend: So these ant-people—
Me: OMEGAVERSE IS NOT ANTS!!!!!!
Fun fact: if you, as an adult, tell miserable children that their youth is the best that life will ever be, and that it's all just downhill from there, there's a percentage of them who will hear this and think "well, I guess I better kill myself before that happens." And a certain percentage of those will proceed to do that and succeed.
Anyway what I'm saying is that any time you feel tempted to say that, you should instead consider shutting the fuck up. Just because you peaked at 16 doesn't mean anyone else did. Most peoples' lives get better than that.















