@SydneyJim Regulations about trans women swimmers are honestly awful and are getting worse. Solidarity with my sisters in the UK

LawDork - Breaking: Federal judge blocks Rubio's anti-trans, anti-nonbinary passport policy for all

https://www.lawdork.com/p/breaking-federal-judge-blocks-rubios

#trans #transgender #USPassport

@chrisgeidner

competitive recognition programs that include event rankings, Top 10, All-American status, and records
More closely aligns USMS with the applicable parts of the policy of World Aquatics, swimming’s international governing body that USMS a member of
Why Now?
We moved swiftly to thoughtfully develop this policy in response to our members’ concerns, as well as a recent inquiry from the Texas Attorney General’s Office. Please know that this decision was made with care, respect, and recognition of our members’ range of perspectives.

Creating a policy that balances our organizational values of inclusion and fairness of competition, the diverse range of our members’ perspectives, applicable World Aquatics policies, and various state and local regulations is challenging. We know this update will be welcomed by some and disappointing to others, but we feel this is the best decision to balance our organizational values and an evolving legal framework.

What's Next?
There are still numerous @usmastersswimming

operational issues to address as we work to finalize the interim policy in the coming months. This may include adjustments to member and event registration forms, updates to procedures, and providing guidance to administrators and officials.

As USMS transitions from this interim policy to a permanent one, we’re committed to continuing to hear your feedback. Please refer to our FAQs page and email eligibility@usmastersswimming.org to share your perspective, suggestions, and any other questions you may have.

Thank you for being a member of USMS.

Sincerely,

Dawson Hughes, CEO, U.S. Masters Swimming
Ed Coates, President, U.S. Masters Swimming

Full text of the email

On June 9, U.S. Masters Swimming's Board of Directors approved the adoption of an Interim Policy on Participation in the Male and Female Competition Category and Eligibility for Recognition Programs to replace the current Policy on Transgender Swimmer Inclusion. This interim policy was modeled after applicable portions of the World Aquatics Policy on the Eligibility for the Men's and Women's Competition Categories and will go into effect July 1.

The board and Rules Committee developed the interim policy while weighing the feedback of USMS members. It reflects USMS’s commitment to inclusion, fairness, and the integrity of competition, values that have defined our organization throughout its 55-year history.

You can learn more about the interim policy on our FAQs page.

What the Interim Policy Does
Continues to allow all members to participate in the competition category that aligns with their gender identity
Establishes updated eligibility criteria for @usmastersswimming

US Masters Swimming just banned #trans women from participating in "Recognition Programs", caving in response to pressure from Texas AG Ken Paxton.

It's unclear on first reading if tracking individual times is considered a Recognition Program

https://www.usms.org/volunteer-central/policy-and-governance/usms-policies/interim-eligibility-policy

“I’m Trying, But I Keep Getting It Wrong”: A Guide for Loved Ones Supporting a Trans Person

https://medium.com/@karlacross0/im-trying-but-i-keep-getting-it-wrong-a-guide-for-loved-ones-supporting-a-trans-person-234a64d0714e

#transgender #trans #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA

@Moriel
I adore this

This reporting feels like a step forward for grounding the discourse on #AI energy usage. I think the first step needs to be the fight for transparency

https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/20/1116327/ai-energy-usage-climate-footprint-big-tech/

🚨 ACTION ITEMS to stop the FDA from limiting Covid vaccine access:

1. Submit a public comment to the FDA https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/FDA-2025-N-1146-0001

2. Contact your elected officials
https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials

I got more engagement posting this on LinkedIn. Disappointed in Mastodon

https://sfba.social/@kaipeacock/114487356282688251

If you aren't out here relentlessly optimizing your life around the number of people you can unabashedly tell you love them, then you're getting left behind, brother. There are guys out here with 10, 20 close loving friendships, and you're out here wasting your prime years on your 9-5 when you should be getting your vulnerability up. The #grind is worth it

@slyborg @cwebber I'm not sure - the amount that the universities actually spend on educator salaries are pretty small in the grand scheme of things. See the classic comic

https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/college-level-mathematics

“We’ve crushed fascism before and we’ll crush it again.” A 98-year-old WWII veteran demolishes a Tesla with a Sherman tank. (Love the replays from several camera angles.) https://kottke.org/25/05/wwii-vet-crushes-a-tesla-with-a-sherman-tank

@cwebber Honestly the best response to this in my own education was the tutorial system at Oxford. The format (for my philosophy coursework) was to go off and spend a week researching and writing a paper, and then to spend an hour with the tutor (professor equivalent) reading it, asking questions, and having a discussion.

Getting asked "why did you conclude x" and then having a conversation about it in person is nearly impossible to bluff your way through. It's more labor intensive of course, but I think lecture-style presentations of gatekept knowledge will never be the ideal form of education.

The single most impactful lesson I had was spending a week trying to answer "what was Heidegger's political philosophy" and showing up a week later sheepishly admitting that I hadn't figured it out. We spent the whole time talking about the gaps in where I'd been searching, him giving me pointers in where to look in secondary sources, and so on

@ben
damn this is so well explained

"My family is fleeing the country.

We are not doing this in a panic; this is an orderly retreat from an unwinnable situation."

https://www.damemagazine.com/2025/04/29/why-i-am-leaving-the-usa/

@Starcross yes

@AbandonedAmerica
this is so real