women can’t marry older than 25? What kind of bass ackwards handmaid’s tale bullshit is that?
Japanese instructors in college would tell us how older unmarried women would be referred to as ‘Christmas Cakes’–no one wanted one after the 25th. Although they were happy that had been a changing attitude.
Book recommendation: Persepolis. It’s a graphic novel autobiography of a girl who lived through the Iranian revolution and eventually moved to Paris. It’s a very accessible read.
I have no argument in general for you, you made good points. But it’s also so, so at odds with all the messaging around teen pregnancy that I remember so clearly growing up. Wait until you can afford it, wait until you have a career, a home, wait until you’re married… From basically 8+, my view of pregnancy was that it fucked up someone’s life.
But now, governments want their people to go against all that programming for absolutely no reward and more emotional manipulation (worrying about everything that these tiny humans need, worrying about staying alive and productive enough as one of only two people responsible for the tiny humans, etc). Wtf, why?
Compared to the Texas one, I like the NM one better. ‘Salute’ is a little less cringe than ‘pledge allegiance to’, it cites a reference children/citizens can look up, and it encourages people to get along despite differences. That’s doing a lot more interesting stuff than ‘hey Texas, I’m loyal to you, there’s a god I guess, I agree you shouldn’t be further subdivided (as if there’s any states that have been divided smaller after statehood has been long established?), and yes, I promise to be really really loyal to you. You believe me yet?’
When I went to price it out at the store, the line for a dumb phone was going to cost $30/mo more than a smart phone. It was dumb.
And who have just relocated their best hostages to within Putin’s power. Yes, bring your nine children and wife along to Russia–now stay in rank on the front line, or maybe your oldest gets to come serve in your place (earlier than they would have anyway)!
So I think that you’re missing that this “controversy” started before this year’s Olympics began. In 2023, a boxing organization (IBA) based out of Russia flagged Khelif as not passing eligibility after she defeated a previously undefeated Russian boxer. Khelif’s disqualification meant the Russian woman kept her undefeated title. I’m lazy & going to copy from Wikipedia here:
The Washington Post stated, “It remains unclear what standards Khelif and Lin Yu Ting failed [in 2023] to lead to the disqualifications”, further writing, “There never has been evidence that […] Khelif […] had XY chromosomes or elevated levels of testosterone.” The IBA did not reveal the testing methodology, stating the “specifics remain confidential”. At the time, Khelif said the ruling meant having “characteristics that mean I can’t box with women”, but said she was the victim of a “big conspiracy” regarding the disqualification. She initially appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport but the appeal was terminated since Khelif couldn’t pay the procedural costs. After the appeal, Khelif organised her own independent tests in order to clear her name and return to boxing.
Alright back to my own words here. So the article goes on to say that in July of this year, the IBA said Khelif failed the test, but would not release the specifics about why exactly. The IOC said the ruling was “arbitrary” and “without due process”. That is the background that sets the stage for what happened when the Italian quit this year at the Olympics and everyone subsequently lost their shit.
Here’s the Wikipedia article, though feel free to check out other reputable sites for more detail: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imane_Khelif?wprov=sfla1
That social unrest though… It’s lumped in with crime, but it’s so real.
Not exactly fantasy, but Great Expectations by Dickens has a boy who grows up totally normal and then has his life transformed by a mysterious benefactor. It doesn’t go the way the kid expects.
Also, Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive & Tress and the Emerald Sea feature kinds of magic that can be accessible by anyone if they engage with it right. So perhaps give those a go. SA is a long series, but Tress is pretty approachable.
Reason.com is a publication that’s been around for years, decidedly libertarian lean. No idea what that means for it in current political context. I used to see people from Reason on Bill Maher’s show as non-Republican conservative-ish voices.