Good lord.

Makes me think of a UTI.

during the shutdown, federal employees are prohibited from volunteering to do their jobs.

And I'm appalled that while they're working on exceptions for military, security, parks and DC governance, nobody is on this. Wow.

It's really tempting to try to criminalize being an asshole. Doesn't usually work out, though. That's what manners and taboos are for (rules about gentlemen not kissing and telling, for instance, so a guy who exposed an ex would be the one who was mocked, not the ex) but since, as a society, we're thrown the very…

I was wondering about that too.

After all, we don't see Rieslings being compared to the guy in the club with a fedora who shoots finger guns while dancing.

I know die-hard libertarians - as in, they think fire departments should be funded by individuals and if you don't opt in, and your house catches fire, too bad - who are anti-abortion because they see it as protecting a (unborn) person from murder. To them, it is therefore no more an intrusive act of government than…

I think part of it is that I'm not a big jewelry person in general. Always my band, usually studs or tiny hoops in my ears, but other jewelry, or fancy/coordinated with my outfit earrings, only for dress up. So I guess this is an extension of that, for me.

Do most people wear their engagement rings every day?

I'm so sorry. My self-pity was tongue in cheek; having my tourism (and research plans, grrr, the archives are closed too) buggered up by this is nothing compared to not getting paid because of it. Hope you are back at work soon!

Holy shit. I have a friend who got credit cards for her teenage sons to use in emergencies, and she opened up a separate card for the purpose for them to link to, with a $250 limit. She figured that's enough to get a cab to a hospital, an airport, or a police station, wherever they are, and low enough that they can't…

No shit. Our twelve year old doesn't have the password.

Oh, gotcha.

This social disintegration and decline in civic engagement coincide with the decline of traditional journalism

Oh trust me, Canada has its own nonsense. For instance, we still have an active secessionist faction there!

That would make a hell of a lot of sense. Replacing the President mid-term would be extraordinarily destabilizing, and would mean potentially a new cabinet, too, but replacing representatives and senators would be great. (In Canada a vote of no confidence also jeopardizes the PM, but only because the PM's authority…

I'm with Churchill. Democracy sucks ... it's just that everything else we've tried so far sucks way harder :)

Yup, I heard other people complaining about that too. So they won't pay you during the furlough (or won't pay lots, even if uniformed military are paid, thank goodness) but are still real efficient at TAKING the money, right?

The thing is, though, even if the majority of Americans DO oppose the ACA, this is not how it works. If you want to make or dramatically alter legislation, the way to go about it is to win an election or two. This is just nuts, and I would feel the same way if the parties involved were reversed.