Does being genuinely too stupid mitigate at all? In the sense that killing someone on purpose is treated more harshly than being an unbelievable idiot and killing someone by accident, even if that accident involved spectacularly bad judgment rather than just bad luck?

Dudes, when they said "orange is the new black," you interpreted it wrong.

I want to see him in a real cape! With an ermine collar and gold chain holding it closed! Come on Kanye, understated is not your thing.

Well, I'm on Team Devious Strumpets.

Conversely, what does it say about you if Utah women aren't sufficiently submissive for you??

The overcoat-as-cape just looks affected. Trying too hard, you know?

First of all, the body snark would not be okay no matter what she looked like. But in this particular case ... WTF? I agree with you, she looks fine, she doesn't look as if she had a baby three months ago (NTTAWWT), she is conventionally attractive, and the only thing I don't really like about the look is the blonde -…

Thank you for telling me this, both because I appreciate your sharing, and because it makes me realize that there is probably no single "right" approach for counselling women in this situation. I don't regret having helped the women who came to the clinic where I worked, but I have wondered in retrospect if, in…

Actually my alternative is not to apply simplistic labels to something I find very complex. If that doesn't meet with your approval, oh anonymous internet person, well I just don't know how I'll ever be able to live with it!

It does seem really hard to picture him smoking up. You just know he'd be the type to get paranoid and ruin everyone's evening, not a giggly-and-munchies type.

Even Harper admitted it!

I agree with pretty much everything you wrote, but especially this:

Clark was just such decent guy. He'd probably be on the left of most Liberals, these days! Strange times.

Thank you, and I didn't feel the least bit disrespected, and quite enjoyed this exchange, in part because this is one of the few issues I never bring up in person because it's so polarizing. I am very glad to read in this thread that there is a large group of people who identify as pro-choice but aren't necessarily in…

I also object to forcing identity on people by informing them that they aren't describing themselves the way one thinks they should. If it's wrong to tell Chelsea Manning that she's not a she, if it's wrong to tell someone who's converted from Judaism or Islam that they are not able to reject their previous religion…

Actually a large part of my personal views on abortion, as compared to whether or not to legally restrict abortion, were formed during the four years I volunteered at a women's clinic. The clinic didn't provide abortions, in part so it could more easily raise funds, but it provided referrals, did the pre-procedure…

Are labels helpful, though? I suppose you could argue that labels serve the same function as parties: given that on a practical level, it doesn't work in most western systems for every politician to run on his/her own platform, and for every voter to investigate each possible choice on that basis, parties and labels…

It's pretty insane, yeah. The Red Tories pretty much vanished, at least in terms of representation; I know some as individuals, but they're entirely marginalized within the party.

Well, it carries a bit more baggage than that. Much of the pro-choice rhetoric involves things like arguing that abortion is morally analogous to a tonsillectory, or that it has no negative consequences. I don't consider either statement to be true, but I believe that notwithstanding, people have the right to make…

Oh, I know that's the part of the tent where I sit; just don't love the label, if that makes any sense.