Oct 292023
 

Experts in autocracies have pointed out that it is, unfortunately, easy to slip into normalizing the tyrant, hence it is important to hang on to outrage. These incidents which seem to call for the efforts of the Greek Furies (Erinyes) to come and deal with them will, I hope, help with that. As a reminder, though no one really knows how many there were supposed to be, the three names we have are Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. These roughly translate as “unceasing,” “grudging,” and “vengeful destruction.”

If anyone feels that today’s article coupled with my remarks constitute more of a personal rant than a political statement, I won’t disagree. However, if politics is to be regarded as a means of improving (and then maintaining and building upon those improvements – a proposition which seems to be losing suppport, but which should not be, then the personal Is political – is, indeed, the foundation of all politics. And it distresses me  personally  me that we seem to be going backwards, not only on this political point, but also on our cultural understanding of reality. I am not old enough to have see Christine Jorgenson in a movie, but I am old enough to have heard about her, and heard that she was a female soul (or person, or personality – I’m sure not everyone used the word soul – born into a male body. That made sense to me thenm and it still makes sense as an explanation, and still makes it quite clear that Christine had no choice in the matter. Yet, we were told then, and many of our worse, this youth are still being told today, that “gay” is a choice. Because “God doesn’t make mistakes.” No one appears to grasp the implication here -that, “No, God doesn’t make mistakes. You just think, in your arrogance, that you know what constitutes a mistake better than God does.” Dorothy L. Sayers knew better than that – in a novel published in the 1930’s, she has the character of a poorly educated farmer say of an elderly lesbian, “The Lord makes some on ’em that way to suit his own purposes.” These days, our “poorly educated” think they know better then their own all-knowing God.
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Biological sex is far from binary − this college course examines the science of sex diversity in people, fungi and across the animal kingdom

Biological sex comes in many more forms than just male or female.
Yifei Fang/Moment via Getty Images

Ari Berkowitz, University of Oklahoma

Text saying: Uncommon Courses, from The Conversation

Uncommon Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.

Title of course:

Diversity of Biological Sex Characteristics

What prompted the idea for the course?

Most people view biological sex, or the physical features related to reproduction, as simple and binary – either male or female. Even those who recognize that gender – referring to cultural norms around biological sex, or a person’s internal feeling of being masculine, feminine or both – can be complex and nuanced don’t see biological sex in the same way. Many also regard variability in sex and gender as exclusive to people – not found in nonhuman animals.

I am a behavioral neurobiologist who has been teaching human physiology since 1998. Over the past several years, I have focused my reading and writing on the biology of sex. It struck me that many of my students had misguided assumptions about sex characteristics, including that all people are physically either 100% male or 100% female.

A course on biological sexual diversity in both nonhuman animals and people could challenge these assumptions.

What does the course explore?

First, we examine why sexual reproduction evolved in any species. This question is still hotly debated among biologists because sex is inefficient. It requires time and energy to find a suitable mate and unite your sex cells, plus it allows you to pass on only half your genes to your offspring.

In comparison, asexual reproduction – essentially cloning yourself – is much more efficient. You don’t have to find a mate, and everyone can produce offspring themselves because there are no males. In biology, “male” refers to an individual that makes small sex cells like sperm, and “female” refers to an individual that makes large sex cells like eggs.

Next, we explore nonhuman sexual diversity, including fungi that have thousands of sexes and aphids that reproduce asexually most of the year but sexually once each fall. Among many others, we also learn about fish that are male or female at different times of their lives; intersex crayfish; and female spotted hyenas that have a penis.

Sex characteristics manifest in different ways across the animal kingdom.

We then transition from nonhuman animals to people, via the brain. We learn about a few small brain structures in vertebrates that likely have reproductive functions and are differently sized in females versus males on average. We also learn that most people have some brain structures that are more typically male, others that are more typically female and still others that are intermediate – in other words, most people are mosaics of female-typical and male-typical brain sex characteristics.

Finally, we focus on the biological sex characteristics of intersex people. The chromosomes and reproductive organs of intersex people have some typically female and some typically male characteristics or are intermediate between them.

Students then build on their knowledge of the diversity of biological sex characteristics to discuss whether intersex infants should have surgery to “correct” their genitals, as well as who should be allowed to compete in girls and women’s athletics.

Why is this course relevant now?

Perhaps more than ever, there is a debate about how to treat people who do not fit neatly into a female or a male box. Many assume that biological sex is binary and regard transgender and nonbinary people as mistaken or confused. In addition, for many decades, intersex infants have undergone surgical procedures to make them appear more typically male or female. Even those who support transgender, nonbinary and intersex people often assume that biological sex is binary. But this assumption is not anchored in evidence.

What will the course prepare students to do?

Students often say that before they took this course, they had no idea biological sex characteristics could be so diverse, despite having taken several biology courses.

An improved awareness of the complexity of biological sex may help shape the research and teaching of future biologists. This will help them design experiments that take account of the diversity of their subjects and be more inclusive in their teaching. It may also help all students ask better questions and make better judgments about social and political issues related to sex and gender.The Conversation

Ari Berkowitz, Presidential Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Biology; Director, Cellular & Behavioral Neurobiology Graduate Program, University of Oklahoma

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone, that’s really all I have to say – and no doubt  it’s more than enough.

The Furies and I will be back.

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Oct 262023
 

Yesterday, Mike Johnson was elected Speaker, ending 22 days of one kind of chaos (and probably beginning a slightly different kind.) I figured that out a couple of seconds before I saw the actual email announcing it – because a slightly later email (and I read down) announced that Colorado’s GOP delegation of three all supported him, and, as you know from yesterday (if you didn’t know it already,) our delegation contains 3 reps, none of whom plays well with others, including each other. I figured if they could all get it together, the whole GOP would be a cinch. Apparently that was a good bet. That doesn’t mean he will be a good Speaker, or even a minimally competent one. Andy Borowitz suggests that “Johnson Promises to Be Greatest Speaker of the Seventeenth Century.” (I note that that century includes the year 1609.) Also, I got an email from Pat, who is down in the dumps because her physical included a diagnosis of short term memory loss. She authorized me to share that, so I am. (She didn’t mention how severe they said it was. I certainly would nbnever have guessed.)

On the plus side, a late night email from Margaret Atwood came with a video – she promised all her subscribers a post-op tap dance.  I wish I had ber energy!

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Daily Beast – Trump Says Only Jesus Christ Could Be Elected House Speaker
Quote – Twenty days after Kevin McCarthy was ousted as speaker of the House—and with House Republicans once again starting from scratch to find a new leader—former President Donald Trump declared on Monday that there was just one candidate who could win enough support. “There’s only one person that can do it all the way,” Trump said before a New Hampshire rally. “You know who that is? Jesus Christ. If Jesus came down and said, ‘I want to be Speaker,’ he would do it. Other than that, I haven’t seen anybody that can guarantee it.”
Click through for details. Jesus Christ would not get a single vote. Democrats would not vote for him because we believe in church-state separation. Republicans would not vote for him because he is brown, he is woke, he does not speak English, and he was not born in America. Not. one. single. vote.

The 19th – U.S. Mint announces final 5 women as it finishes its quarters program in 2025
Quote – The program began in 2022 as a result of legislation introduced by Rep. Barbara Lee, a California Democrat. “I wanted to make sure that women would be honored, and their images and names be lifted up on our coins. I mean, it’s outrageous that we haven’t,” Lee said when the program was first unveiled in 2021. “Hopefully the public really delves into who these women were, because these women have made such a contribution to our country in so many ways.” Lee began drafting legislation on the coin program with help from Rosa Rios, the Treasury official who oversaw the United States Mint under former President Barack Obama. She introduced her bill, the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act, with two Republicans, Reps. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio and Deb Fischer of Nebraska. It was signed into law in 2020.
Click through for story. I don’t think I have handled cash since the start of the pandemic … so this went over my head. Which is a pity – because these are all remarkab;e and truly diverse women, and while I knew of some, I don’t think I knew as many as half.

Food For Thought

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Sep 102023
 

Glenn Kirschner – Georgia grand jury recommends indicting Lindsey Graham, Mike Flynn, others. What now?

MSNBC – A siege mentality’: Former Evangelical church leader on why his flock votes for Trump

Joe Biden – War Zone | Biden-Harris 2024

The Soggy Bottom Boy [Patrick Fitzgerald] – In the Jailhouse Now

Husky waits 733 days to meet her familly [Don’t miss the organization’s name at the end LOL]

Beau – Let’s talk about the 14th amendment, Trump, and a GOP candidate….

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Jul 192023
 

Yesterday, TFG announced that he has received a target letter from Jack Smith regarding the January 6 insurrection. Let’s see, how long was it in the documents case between the target letter and the indictment dropping? Does anyone recall? Also yesterday, Michigan dropped indictments on 16 fake Trump** electors. Lots of people entering the “find out” phase.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

The Daily Beast – Closing Guantanamo Bay Prison Won’t Erase the Crimes Committed Against Muslims
Quote – Guantanamo was not created as a place for justice—especially not for the Muslim men detained behind its bars. Just as soon as these men were captured, they were labeled as suspected terrorists—thus precluding any ability for them to be seen as innocent until proven guilty. From the long years spent behind bars awaiting charges and convictions that never came, to torture, and even murder, the U.S. government has, at every conceivable step of the way, sought to entrench the perception of their inherent guilt. This perception has been shaped by the deployment of strategic narratives that have been carefully constructed and maintained to paint the men as irredeemable terrorists.
Click through for article. The headlne is true. But it still needs to be closed. Just not forgotten. And, yes, there needs to be justice.

Letters from an American – July 17, 2023
Quote – “What we’re trying to do is identify the pockets of independence and seize them,” said Russell T. Vought, who ran Trump’s Office of Management and Budget and who now advises the right-wing House Freedom Caucus. They envision a “president” who cannot be checked by the Congress or the courts. Trump’s desire to grab the mechanics of our government and become a dictator is not new; both scholars and journalists have called it out since the early years of his administration. What is new here is the willingness of so-called establishment Republicans to support this authoritarian power grab. Behind this initiative is “Project 2025,” a coalition of more than 65 right-wing organizations putting in place personnel and policies to recommend not just to Trump, but to any Republican who may win in 2024. Project 2025 is led by the Heritage Foundation, once considered a conservative think tank, that helped to lead the Reagan revolution.
Click through for details. I have read about all of this – stuff – piecemeal. This is the first time I have seen it all in one place, discussed by a person who is both competent and unafraid to put it all together and call it out – as well as the people behind it.

Food For Thought

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Jun 072023
 

Yesterday, the Southern Poverty Law Center released its 2022 Report on Hate and Extremism. It doesn’t look pretty – not that we all didn’t already know that via gut feelings, but here are the numbers to demonstrate it. Also yesterday, I spent over two hours trying to report a package whuch was supposed to have beenbe delivered Mionday and wasn’t though it showed up in my Informed Delivery as having been delivered, with a delivery time time and everything – only to discover (fortunately before I found an actual person) that it had been delivered last week. The tracking number had not gotten into the system when I actually received it, and they were apparently belatedly trying to account for it. Weird.

Cartoon – 07 0607Cartoon.jpg

Short Takes –

The New Yorker – How a Fringe Legal Theory Became a Threat to Democracy
Quote – “If you’re used to the powers that be either passively ignoring you or actively screwing you over, for generations, it’s natural to hear about some new nefarious thing they’re up to and think, Same shit, different day,” [Sailor Jones, a democracy activist] said. “The challenge for us, messaging-wise, is to find a way to tell folks, You’re not wrong, but, also, this one really is different.” “This one” was Moore v. Harper, a Supreme Court case that was set to be argued in December and resolved by the end of June…. Even if the apparatus of democracy is not dismantled this year, or next year, it’s worth reckoning with how easily it could be.
Click through for details. I wish this were not important … but it is. Statistically, we actually have, or have the potential for, a majority in enough states that are considered solidly red that if we could only get people registered, turn out the vote, and generally turn up the enthusiasm, we could deal with this. But that is something we are as a group too rational to be really good at. If you are paywalled out, shoot me an email and I will send you the article.

HuffPost [Fringe] – Oklahoma School Board Approves 1st Taxpayer-Funded Religious School In U.S.
Quote – The Archdiocese of Oklahoma said in the “vision and purpose of the organization” section of its application that: “The Catholic school participates in the evangelizing mission of the Church and is the privileged environment in which Christian education is carried out.” Brett Farley, the executive director of the Catholic Conference of Oklahoma, said: “We are elated that the board agreed with our argument and application for the nation’s first religious charter school.”
Click through for story. I don’t know how far this would get if it were taken to court – and there are asome groups and people who will be taking it there. For one thng, the state’s AG says it is unconstitutional under Oklahoma;s constitution … and Americans United foor Separation of Church and State also appears to be on it.

Food For Thought

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Feb 282023
 

Glenn Kirschner – EVEN MORE classified documents found in Trump’s office, & these docs had been uploaded to the cloud!

Thom Hartmann – Did Far Right Turn Religion Into Authoritarian Cult?

Politics Girl – Wanna Save Democracy? (Yes, the primary is over now – Janet Protasiewicz won the open primary, and that’s good. But she won with a plurality, not a majority, and now we need to win the general. As far as I can gather from what I have found about the candidates, Wisconsin could really use its own Stacey Abrams right now.)

Parody Project – Parody of Mac the Knife about Jack Smith Special Prosecutor

My deer are getting high on Nitrous Oxide (NOS–laughing gas). Watch them lose their minds!

Beau – Let’s talk about Larry Hogan and the GOP….

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Feb 182023
 

Yesterday, the sun was shining and the temperature got up to the mid-40’s, so I was able to get to the mailbax and get my package and a letter from Virgil with some paperwork. He wanted me to see it because he didn’t understand it, and he wasn’t able to explain it to me on the phone. In all honesty, i don’t know how much of his failure to understand it was because he didn’t want to. It was the results of his parole board hearing from fall of 2022. That was either his second or third hearing, and he was turned dow (again) for exactly the reasons I keep telling him about – and which, when we discuss them, he admits I’m right. The bottom line is that, between his old head injuries, his years as an active alcoholic, now the incipient dementia, and I think there must be at least a little bit of not wanting to, he does not have the discipline to create a parole plan which would satisfy the board. (And if he did, he would not have the discipline to carry it out.) That’s the bottom line. On acount of his age they also looked at types of special release programs, so it isn’t like they are not trying. However, before he can qualify for consideration for that he must have served 20 years or more, and he doesn’t have quite 12 years yet. Also, they note that what his physical and mental issues are do not fall into a category such that they cannot adequately care for him. He doesn’t need heavy pain meds, or MRIs,or any kind of treatment which requires special equipment or special knowledge. They are actuall better positioned to care for him than I would be – their staff doesn’t have mobility or energy issues (it’s a full time job for me to take care of myself). There is actually nothing in these documents which I haven’t gone over with him before, multiple times. And I expect to be going over it multiple times again. He might be able to remember it if he wanted to – or he might not – but he doesn’t, so he won’t.

Cartoon –

Short Takes –

Mother Jones – Meet the Religious Crusaders Fighting for Abortion Rights
Quote – If state courts don’t grant the plaintiffs relief, their decisions may indicate a judicial bias in which the freedom to exercise one’s chosen religion only applies if it is congruent with the court’s religious preference. On the flip side, if courts judge these religious freedom cases in a manner consistent with how the US Supreme Court has been interpreting other religious freedom cases in recent years, the lawsuits could roll back some of the nation’s harshest abortion restrictions in the states where they are being argued, and serve as an instructive guide for religious groups in other states to follow. “If the recent understanding of free exercise holds,” Micah Schwartzman, a constitutional law professor at the University of Virginia, tells Mother Jones, “I think there are really powerful claims in these abortion cases.”
Click through for full story. Frankly, it bothers me that decent people need to cite their – our – religious beliefs in order to bring decency to government. GFovernment should have no truck with any religious beliefs – those are personal. But if we must fight fire with fire, then we must.

The Nib – The Black Radical You’ve Never Heard Of
Quote – In his 1884 book “Black and White,” [T. Thomas] Fortune railed against the concentration of wealth as the enemy to black and white laborers alike. “I am opposed to aristocracies and so-called privileged classes, because they are opposed to the masses. they make inequalities, out of which grow all the miseries of society, because there is no limit to their avarice, parsimony, and cruelty.”
Click through for full graphic. I certainly had never heard of him. Has anyone? Maybe it’s time we did.

Food For Thought

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Oct 112022
 

Yesterday, I overslept. That was certainly no surpise to me, and some of you may even have been able to read between the lines of yesterday’s Open Thread introduction that I expected to. But I didn’t expect how well it would work for me. I hope I can get a lot done even though the day may be a bit short. Also yesterday, I discovered that Faithful America is co-sponsoring a petition with Daily Kos. You mey remember last week I shared a new web page they have on “False {Prophets” and which they are co-sponsoring with a number of other liberal religious groups. Daily Kos is not one – it’s absolutely a secular group. Of course, I knew that Faithful America was willing to work with secular groups for common goals. But it encourages me that Daily Kos is willing to work with a faith group on common goals too. I can assure you that there are a few indvidual members of Daily Kos who aren’t.  And – yes, I am aware that Russia bombed  Kyiv (with non-nukes, which are plenty bad enough) but I haven’t had time to dig into the details.

Cartoon – (How TC knew in 2014 that David would die first and Charles would stand alone by 2022 is beyond me.)

Short Takes –

Wonkette – In 1886, When The Rent In New York City Was Too Damn High!
Quote – Henry George made one of the most important forays in solving the problem of industrial capitalism. George started his political life as a Lincoln-supporting Republican in the Civil War but soon came to criticize the growing system of industrial capitalism, especially the dominance of railroads over American life, as well as the influence of Chinese labor on white wages. In 1879, George published Progress and Poverty, arguing for the Single Tax as the surest way to bring corporations under control. The single tax was a basic property tax. At its core was the idea that people earned the value of own their own labor, but that land was a common resource for all and should essentially be quasi-socialized with very high taxes on large landowners. George’s ideas quickly spread beyond the US and were especially popular with the English and Scottish working classes, as well as the Irish resisting British domination.
Click through for article – a little lesson in history. We are in a new Gilded Age, and there is still no “one way” to fix it – which should surprise no one. But it’s still true that, to fix it, we have to want to fix it.

[Business] Insider – There’s no such thing as an alpha male
Quote – As the writer Saladin Ahmed pointed out, the concept of “alpha male” wolves that assert dominance over their pack through aggression comes from a debunked model of lupine social groups…. David Mech introduced the idea of the alpha to describe behavior observed in captive animals. Alphas, he wrote in his 1970 book “The Wolf: Ecology and Behavior of an Endangered Species,” win control of their packs in violent fights with other males. But, as he outlined in a 1999 paper, he’s since rejected that idea in light of research into the behavior of wolves in the wild.
Click through for article. This is not new iformation, nor was it new in 2016, when this was first published. But it just won’t go away. You have to feel sorry for David Mach – and for everyone still deluded by this fake idea. Captivity is not the same thing as civilization.

Food For Thought

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