Rachel Ali (she/her)

Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, recently used my second-place finish in the 1,600-meter run, and that of my teammate in the 800-meter run, to malign Soren Stark-Chessa, the trans-identified athlete who finished first. One of the reasons I chose to run cross-country and track is the community: Teammates cheering each other on, athletes from different schools coming together, and the fact that personal improvement is valued as much as, if not more than, the place we finish. Last Friday, I ran the fastest 1,600-meter race I have ever run in middle school or high school track and earned varsity status by my school’s standards. I am extremely proud of the effort I put into the race and the time that I achieved. The fact that someone else finished in front of me didn’t diminish the happiness I felt after finishing that race. I don’t feel like first place was taken from me. Instead, I feel like a happy day was turned ugly by a bully who is using children to make political points. We are all just kids trying to make our way through high school. Participating in sports is the highlight of high school for some kids. No one was harmed by Soren’s participation in the girls’ track meet, but we are all harmed by the hateful rhetoric of bullies, like Rep. Libby, who want to take sports away from some kids just because of who they are. Anelise Feldman Freshman, Yarmouth High School Yarmouth

this is a letter to the editor from a high school track runner who came in second to a trans girl in a race. her state house rep in maine started talking about it. so she wrote this: www.pressherald.com/2025/05/14/r...

When my friend was at my house yesterday... (I’m most definitely not a curator of swans 😂)

a woman in a black dress says it - it - the f - it - flam - flames Alt: a woman in a black dress says "it - it - the f - it - flam - flames on the side of my face", while gesturing at her face.

Just got warned that the new "Voice Isolation" feature in Teams, if turned on and trained on a male voice, will filter out all the women in the room, while still allowing the men in the room to be heard online.

*clears throat*

IF YOU USE A BIASED TRAINING SET, YOUR TECHNOLOGY WILL BE BIASED.

If this was intended as a supportive move, thinking that ND trans kids might need different support models, I’d probably be on side. But it’s blatantly a way of denying the existence of trans kids and the autonomy of ND kids. Despicable.

I’ve been reading this vile document: www.equalityhumanrights.com/media-centre...
I have a plan.
Can we all, to support our trans sisters and brothers, refuse to use the single sex facilities in public places and insist on having access to other facilities? We shouldn’t have to say why. Thoughts?

They’re wrong.
It’s disgusting and cruel and hideous.
But most importantly, it’s wrong.
Women with GRCs are WOMEN.
Nothing they say can change the truth.
And the truth is that womanhood isn’t defined by a judge.
My trans sisters are still sisters.
#transwomenarewomen

I’m so fucking upset for our whole garbage society. How can we treat vulnerable trans women and trans men this way? What about non-binary people? Where are they left now? And who can celebrate cruelty and division and hate like this??

Kilmar Abrego Garcia lived in Maryland with his wife and their three children, and has never been charged with any crime.

The Department of Homeland Security issued him a work permit, and he joined a union, working full time as a sheet metal apprentice.

Very well expressed.

Anyone else absolutely BUZZING about the impending chance to watch #themurderbotdiaries next month? I can’t wait. Although Murderbot’s gender is a surprise - my brain thought it was a she.

I go to a pottery class one evening a week, most of the year. I get my hands dirty, I play in the clay, I try new things, I laugh and chat with my cackling clay cronies. It is seriously, phenomenally, unrestrainedly good for the soul. We all call it our therapy session.

Correct.

“McDonalds workers in Denmark make more than Honda workers in Alabama” is such a key point. It’s the institutions, stupid.

Our biggest problem as a society is we've decided wealth is a proxy for intelligence -- when in reality, an overabundance of money causes your brain to cease functioning

My brain has just reminded me that I joined Bluesky months ago.
Oops.
#catchingup #whathaveImissed

And now for the parody that makes a mockery of the real NHS England pathway

I can’t even always keep my own hair mat free. (I’m also a water beastie). Why would a pet be any less tricky? People need to judge less, particularly when they know not of what they speak.