@Flats about the only think i could think of is looking into dropping male/female sports, have some other category for separating them out

assuming of cause we even need to

@forest True, especially in sports that require dexterity or precision (gymnastics, and archery are the two that come to mind, maybe badminton) as well as things like ultramarathons or extremely long bike races (even then its mostly men near the top of the scale). Very long distance swimming as well, due to higher body-fat percentages on women leading to greater buoyancy.

hoseback riding or racing, due to lighter body weights, diving due to flexibility. Theres plenty of sports where women are better than or equal to men, but to say sports like American football or soccer/football are going to offer the same opportunities for elite men and women is not realistic. Most sports where men and women are of equal ability aren't separated by sex, so I guess that's a good start? maybe?

@Unionhawk Phelps has a wildly long wingspan, yeah, but its at least feasible that a man could be born with an equal armspan and have the knack to copete against him, much less so that a woman would be able to match him. And even worse if someone were born as male sex but is trans had that type of advantage due to her biology. His wingspan and shoulder width is a disadvantage for long distance races though, as it increases drag, so his advantages are probably limited to certain races

@Memor-X It would be ideal I guess, socially. but It would be tough to find a metric to use. perhaps something like an elo system like chess, only compete with people that have similar times to you, and once you break the barrier of a certain band you would move up to the next. Weight classes wouldn't be enough for many sports, and wouldn't even matter in others. Problem with elo I guess would be smurfing, just like in gaming. Place artificially low initially in order to crush the competition

not sure that would be a huge issue, since there are already different levels of competition, it wouldn't be difficult to do this same thing with the current system. the problem I would see is that there would be the issue of literally the entirety of the "best" band filled with almost, or actually exclusively males. Think the NFL, women are allowed to be on the teams, but they aren't (with very very few exceptions)

And I don't think once could say that it's due to sexism

@Unionhawk Sorry...I'm just passionate. I think that having women's sports was a fantastic step to allowing women to be able to have publicity in athletic competition that was so limited to just men for so long, that it's a real shame if the top female performers are getting out qualified due to impossible hurdles, even just sometimes.

Supreme Court rules Maine's tuition assistance program must cover religious schools

Let's be absolutely clear; this ruling by the supreme court means the separation of church and state is no more; obliterated.

(at least for those of the favored religion, Christianity)

@BradC This by itself is basically an indictment of how the US education system is funded in the first place.

@BradC That's... not true.

Separation of church and state is still intact.

With that said, there's still far too much mixing of church and state that goes under the radar (or is ignored), but on the books at least, separation is still there and groups like the ACLU will still be able to use it.

They're literally forcing the state to use public funds for religious schools.

There is no other way to view that except as an obliteration of the establishment clause

WaPo: The Supreme Court Has Just Eroded First Amendment Law

Disallowing public funding of religious institutions is and always has been the most essential consequence of the establishment clause.

SCOTUS out there just making absolute scrap of the constitution

@BradC It's an erosion of rights. It hasn't been "obliterated".

Try to get a law passed that schools are required to make children pray and you'll see it shot down instantly as a result of separation of church and state.

@forest ok, granted. You still can't require prayer in schools

Not yet, anyway

> The U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide the case of a football coach at a public high school who was told he wasn’t allowed to pray on the field in front of players. The expected result is a win for the coach—and the further erosion of the separation between church and state.

Well, hopefully the Satanic Temple will get funding to start a school then. :P

Yeah, the way I read the verdict, I don't actually disagree with it. If a Muslim or Jewish school would want to get government funding, they're allowed to get that, just like a Christian school

Though it'll be unlikely a Muslim or Jewish school would get the necessary licenses in the US

@Nzall ah, there's the rub, right?

This is actually part of a long and dedicated effort by the Christian Right to destroy public education in the US.

Don't forget, the surge of private Christian schools several decades ago (in Maine, and in other states) was a result of (can you guess?) desegregation.