Birthrates are indeed down.

The kinds of justification used for the nerd rage by anti-feminist Whovians are particularly precious, since they tend to fall along the following lines:

Get this poor pup a hug and a harmonica...

I try to frame it by saying that it upsets me exactly because we need a group like PETA, but one that's a hell of a lot more sane. Most of their core issues with how domesticated animals are treated I think are perfectly legitimate, and this is coming from an unapologetic carnivore here.

Exactly this, and I wish it was brought up more in articles that discuss this: PETA is opposed to the very existence of domesticated animals. Their ideal world would be one where all domestic cats, dogs, cattle, goats, sheep, rabbits, ducks, etc. would be quietly made extinct.

True fact: You can put cheap vodka through a Brita filter a few times to make mid-to-high range vodka. As in, that's how they make mid-to-high range vodka.

Like I said, I get your frustration with this - your point about heteronormativity is entirely justified and correct, and it was thinking about issues like that that led me to end my argument by pointing out that it's very, VERY difficult to address these things without the kinds of associations that you're talking…

While I sympathize with the anger you feel at having your sexual orientation lumped in with pedophilia time and again by politicians, religious leaders, and all-too-many everyday people, that's not what's being said here.

No question about it!

Hah! I know anecdotes do not equal evidence, but in my house, growing up the only boy between an older and younger sister meant that even joking that they should go do "women's work" usually led to me doing all the dishes by myself while sporting any number of bruises.

I figured it was a "keep fucking that chicken" reference.

<perks up> Dipped cones you say??

For a party so obsessed with "wasteful" government, Republicans really do seem to be big on passing legislation that they know perfectly well the courts are going to call shenanigans on, eh?

Goddamn you. I clicked on this about half an hour ago, thought it was funny, then went on to other things.

Good god, was "crack whore" really necessary?

I'll say this: One of the things I always resented my parents for the most (to this very day, in fact) is that they never tried to explain why they were doing what it was they were doing with me. Ever. My parents came from a tradition that was very big on the idea of Parental Authority with a capital, underlined,…

Ah, I do love that clip. I'll admit, putting the whole "do YOU choose who you love" question forward is a very effective way to make homophobic bigots take pause, so I understand why it gets used a lot. But I also think that for people who have long moved past such nonsense, it's important to go back to that question…

You know, the whole "is it a choice or isn't it" thing has always infuriated me, mainly because it implies that being gay is still an undesirable thing.