Speaking only about the SF Bay Area (where I live), among an admittedly increased incidence of street crime, robberies, break-ins, carjackings, etc., violent crime is noticeably down (as it is nationwide), particularly compared with 2020-21. Additionally, almost a dozen arrests have been made in the last month or so of perpetrators of retail “smash & grab” group robberies and carjackings. Too bad the arrests never get the attention that the crimes do. 🤔😉😊
I’m happy to be leaving the Bay Area for Sonoma county in April. You can’t keep anything even in north San Jose Berryessa area, unless it’s in a reenforced steel vault. Even the thickest bike chain, even my new registration sticker, even several people woke up one morning to find their cars on cement blocks all in one night and some cars were stolen outright. These had to be cased in the day light by people that don’t stand out but who report back. The thieves don’t care if they’re seen on camera, all you see is someone in a hoodie.
It is both depressing and shocking to me at how easily the Russians have completely taken over one of our political parties. I'll bet that the ghosts of Stalin through Brezhnev are shaking their heads and thinking, "We spent all of this money on arms when we could have just started a news network (hypothetically, let's call it Fox News) and won the war that way!"
Russia blaming Ukraine for ISIS terrorism is much like the US blaming Iraq for 9/11. Wrong on all fronts. But its interesting to see pro-Russia propaganda taking deep roots in American political discourse, especially among third party protest voters. As for Bill Maher, I am with him on this 100%. The trans community, of which I am a member, isn't some homogenized group, but I feel we need to stop standing there as a lightning rod for Conservative outwardly expressed fear and inwardly shamed sexual arousal. Bathrooms -- we need to align our bathroom use to how we present to the world, not how we feel or identify. If someone "declares" to be trans, they should not start barging right into the other bathroom. And even if they do begin the long journey of counseling, hormone treatment, and surgery to align body to soul, they should weigh where they are in the process when making a bathroom choice. The big fear is a trans woman is just a perv looking for sexual kicks, and let me tell you, libido is something I lost 100% of within weeks of hormonal treatment. While I have cleavage now and softer skin, I still use the men's room because most people will still view my face as masculine (with man boobs perkier and smaller than the average Peter Griffin). My 12 year old daughter declared she was a boy a few weeks ago, but kept using the girl's room at school. A few weeks later, she was back to her OG gender identity. As for trans athletes in sports, we need to let this one go. Such a microscopic fraction of the community wants to participate in sports, that it's not worth dragging down the entire community to make a point. Instead of blanket allowances or bans, each trans athlete should be judged on where they fit into the physical spectrum of other athletes in the sport. If they are FAR outside this spectrum, then either don't compete or compete against your birth gender -- and only after beginning hormonal treatment. It's absolutely ridiculous for some trans athletes to put other women at risk of injury just to steamroll to a worthless medal. Chess team? Sure, why not. But wrestling, weightlifting, baseball, or basketball -- no way.
I’m so happy you brought up the bathroom issue. I’m sorry guys but ever since you’ve been sharing our restrooms the standard of what’s considered clean has fallen several rungs almost to the bottom.
I tell everyone that I would much rather share with trans who identified as a woman than to share with men. It’s God awful. Even Starbucks that once had the cleanest restrooms cause me to feel like I need a nasa approved space suit on to use it. I know. I know. Can’t use the toilet with a space suit on ha ha
Thank you! It’s not trans people who are a problem. It’s a certain population of men (and they know who they are) who cannot seem to aim. Seriously, it’s not a fire hose!
It’s really bad. I don’t even share a bathroom with my husband but at least he sits like his mother trained him. We had my grandsons sit to pee until my daughter remarried and their step father said it wasn’t manly. What in hell is manly? She wishes now she had kept them sitting because they both over 6 feet tall and you can aim all you want but it’s gonna splash all over.
I mean no disrespect, Kels, but just in case I missed, I apologize. However, my comments are sincere.
You (apparently a genetic male) have breasts, and presumably, you wear women’s clothing. This would seem to me to be presenting as a woman. Yet you still hesitate to use women’s bathrooms, which have stalls that would provide some privacy. Because of your facial structure? Your “man hands”, like in that Seinfeld episode? (A solution would be unisex bathrooms, as in many clubs, and, as I recall, in the office where Ally McBeal worked.) I think the fact that women use stalls, and not urinals, obviates the entire bathroom issue.
And then there’s this. The only complaints I ever hear (and I’m a cis male, just incidentally) are about trans *women*, almost never about trans men. Nobody seems freaked out by Elliot Page, for example. Hell, it’s common for women to “crash” the men’s room at large concert events, because the lines at the women’s rooms are just too long. Nobody cares.
Regarding the issue of sports, however, I’m of two minds. I believe I understand the concern, and I’m sympathetic to it. But when I was 11, I was in a Little League baseball team with a boy that was just about the same age, but he had already hit puberty, and was bigger, and had actual muscles. He dominated the rest of the league. Ought he have been kept from playing? Or somehow siphoned off to some alternate league just for boys like him, reserving “normal” Little League for pre-pubescent boys? Something about that idea makes me uncomfortable. 🤔😉😊
Ah, my good friend Bill Maher. He's not afraid to say some things, right? Big audience, too. He took a lot of flack for supposedly ”fat-shaming” people during the pandemic for suggesting healthy habits to combat disease. This is absolutely a fact baked into our COVID statistics and rising obesity levels. Maher actually said (something to the effect of) ”It shouldn't be me saying this, it should be Tony Fauci.” And he was right - it was the perfect time to tell people to get out and walk (and perhaps eat more vegetables).
But ya know, somebody's gonna find a disabled vet and complain that he can't walk, and shame on the government. Or mention that fresh veggies are expensive and unaffordable for many. Of course, it blows up on Twitter and Biden apologizes to the nation for suggesting getting healthy.
People can't tune this stuff out, and I don't know how we stop it. Most of it is make-believe in people's perceptions. I place some blame on the Bud Lights and Targets trying to market Pride. But now this is all just 24/7, in your face, one reason I'm no longer on social media. Not because I'm offended personally, but because it's just too much.
Speaking only about the SF Bay Area (where I live), among an admittedly increased incidence of street crime, robberies, break-ins, carjackings, etc., violent crime is noticeably down (as it is nationwide), particularly compared with 2020-21. Additionally, almost a dozen arrests have been made in the last month or so of perpetrators of retail “smash & grab” group robberies and carjackings. Too bad the arrests never get the attention that the crimes do. 🤔😉😊
I’m happy to be leaving the Bay Area for Sonoma county in April. You can’t keep anything even in north San Jose Berryessa area, unless it’s in a reenforced steel vault. Even the thickest bike chain, even my new registration sticker, even several people woke up one morning to find their cars on cement blocks all in one night and some cars were stolen outright. These had to be cased in the day light by people that don’t stand out but who report back. The thieves don’t care if they’re seen on camera, all you see is someone in a hoodie.
So glad to say goodbye to it.
So glad to be leaving
It is both depressing and shocking to me at how easily the Russians have completely taken over one of our political parties. I'll bet that the ghosts of Stalin through Brezhnev are shaking their heads and thinking, "We spent all of this money on arms when we could have just started a news network (hypothetically, let's call it Fox News) and won the war that way!"
David Sacks is full of $h1t
Russia blaming Ukraine for ISIS terrorism is much like the US blaming Iraq for 9/11. Wrong on all fronts. But its interesting to see pro-Russia propaganda taking deep roots in American political discourse, especially among third party protest voters. As for Bill Maher, I am with him on this 100%. The trans community, of which I am a member, isn't some homogenized group, but I feel we need to stop standing there as a lightning rod for Conservative outwardly expressed fear and inwardly shamed sexual arousal. Bathrooms -- we need to align our bathroom use to how we present to the world, not how we feel or identify. If someone "declares" to be trans, they should not start barging right into the other bathroom. And even if they do begin the long journey of counseling, hormone treatment, and surgery to align body to soul, they should weigh where they are in the process when making a bathroom choice. The big fear is a trans woman is just a perv looking for sexual kicks, and let me tell you, libido is something I lost 100% of within weeks of hormonal treatment. While I have cleavage now and softer skin, I still use the men's room because most people will still view my face as masculine (with man boobs perkier and smaller than the average Peter Griffin). My 12 year old daughter declared she was a boy a few weeks ago, but kept using the girl's room at school. A few weeks later, she was back to her OG gender identity. As for trans athletes in sports, we need to let this one go. Such a microscopic fraction of the community wants to participate in sports, that it's not worth dragging down the entire community to make a point. Instead of blanket allowances or bans, each trans athlete should be judged on where they fit into the physical spectrum of other athletes in the sport. If they are FAR outside this spectrum, then either don't compete or compete against your birth gender -- and only after beginning hormonal treatment. It's absolutely ridiculous for some trans athletes to put other women at risk of injury just to steamroll to a worthless medal. Chess team? Sure, why not. But wrestling, weightlifting, baseball, or basketball -- no way.
I’m so happy you brought up the bathroom issue. I’m sorry guys but ever since you’ve been sharing our restrooms the standard of what’s considered clean has fallen several rungs almost to the bottom.
I tell everyone that I would much rather share with trans who identified as a woman than to share with men. It’s God awful. Even Starbucks that once had the cleanest restrooms cause me to feel like I need a nasa approved space suit on to use it. I know. I know. Can’t use the toilet with a space suit on ha ha
It is a real problem though.
Did I mention the smell? Oh the smell….
Two restrooms as before but with
Women/Trans women and Men/other. Problem solved.
Thank you! It’s not trans people who are a problem. It’s a certain population of men (and they know who they are) who cannot seem to aim. Seriously, it’s not a fire hose!
It’s really bad. I don’t even share a bathroom with my husband but at least he sits like his mother trained him. We had my grandsons sit to pee until my daughter remarried and their step father said it wasn’t manly. What in hell is manly? She wishes now she had kept them sitting because they both over 6 feet tall and you can aim all you want but it’s gonna splash all over.
It starts to smell bad even if you can’t see it.
I mean no disrespect, Kels, but just in case I missed, I apologize. However, my comments are sincere.
You (apparently a genetic male) have breasts, and presumably, you wear women’s clothing. This would seem to me to be presenting as a woman. Yet you still hesitate to use women’s bathrooms, which have stalls that would provide some privacy. Because of your facial structure? Your “man hands”, like in that Seinfeld episode? (A solution would be unisex bathrooms, as in many clubs, and, as I recall, in the office where Ally McBeal worked.) I think the fact that women use stalls, and not urinals, obviates the entire bathroom issue.
And then there’s this. The only complaints I ever hear (and I’m a cis male, just incidentally) are about trans *women*, almost never about trans men. Nobody seems freaked out by Elliot Page, for example. Hell, it’s common for women to “crash” the men’s room at large concert events, because the lines at the women’s rooms are just too long. Nobody cares.
Regarding the issue of sports, however, I’m of two minds. I believe I understand the concern, and I’m sympathetic to it. But when I was 11, I was in a Little League baseball team with a boy that was just about the same age, but he had already hit puberty, and was bigger, and had actual muscles. He dominated the rest of the league. Ought he have been kept from playing? Or somehow siphoned off to some alternate league just for boys like him, reserving “normal” Little League for pre-pubescent boys? Something about that idea makes me uncomfortable. 🤔😉😊
Ah, my good friend Bill Maher. He's not afraid to say some things, right? Big audience, too. He took a lot of flack for supposedly ”fat-shaming” people during the pandemic for suggesting healthy habits to combat disease. This is absolutely a fact baked into our COVID statistics and rising obesity levels. Maher actually said (something to the effect of) ”It shouldn't be me saying this, it should be Tony Fauci.” And he was right - it was the perfect time to tell people to get out and walk (and perhaps eat more vegetables).
But ya know, somebody's gonna find a disabled vet and complain that he can't walk, and shame on the government. Or mention that fresh veggies are expensive and unaffordable for many. Of course, it blows up on Twitter and Biden apologizes to the nation for suggesting getting healthy.
People can't tune this stuff out, and I don't know how we stop it. Most of it is make-believe in people's perceptions. I place some blame on the Bud Lights and Targets trying to market Pride. But now this is all just 24/7, in your face, one reason I'm no longer on social media. Not because I'm offended personally, but because it's just too much.
Bill Maher, like Jon Stewart are two real dangers to Democrats running for office.
Number 7 is likely