Things I have convinced children (my own and those I work with) are true:

I think you covered your bases quite well actually, and went out of your way to avoid any victim-blaming language, so just in case anyone does jump on you, I'm giving you my support now. You were clear that you were talking about pure physical evidence and no question of legitimacy of one type of rape over another, or…

I getcha, but this is a far cry from the legitimately brave and cool things she used to do, like go on national tv and have them show an enormous picture of her face without makeup and then with. For a while, she really seemed to want to spread the word that not even models look like models and I think that was…

God, how I wish they would. That was my very first thought when I saw the headline. That part of Texas is particularly in need too, so that would be great.

Central Austin, TX. They might take less if they wanted to sell quick, but if they held out, they could get it. A 950 square foot house with 2 bedrooms and one tiny bathroom can go for about 315,000, and that's on the northern fringes of the central neighborhood where I live. In the really desirable part of the…

That house, were it in my neighborhood, would go for 3.5 million. Maybe more.

Haha, I'm a Texas Liberal too. Born and raised. Maybe we have regional bias (no, we don't).

Seriously. I was just about to post that no, being a 33 year old grandmother is way more unusual. I know tons of people whose families had kids, then 15 years later had another kid or two and these kids could be aunts and uncles at very young ages. This is even more frequent if there was also a 2nd, younger wife, but…

How on earth is there not? I have always worked with kids, and I know for a fact that the one age group that would drive me to drink is the middle school set. I am in awe of good middle school teachers.

Yes, I first discovered this use of the term "working class" used in this way by watching Twiggy on America's Next Top Model. They determined that the American equivalent to the way the Brits say "working class" is "ghetto".

You should ask. I run a program where I hire a lot of seasonal workers, and the jobs aren't especially well paid. We do some automatic raises, but so many of our workers are wealthy (or at least "ish") students who do the job because they love it, and because it offers community, experience, and flexibility. HOWEVER,…

Not. Just. You.

Thank you for the clarification. Military culture/practices are unknown to so many of us that it is hard to navigate these stories.

I had some cole haan loafers back in the early 90s and they were worth every penny. However, I don't know if it's just my feet or what, but I have a pair of heels with this "air" technology, and they feel comfortable for about ten minutes and then are tortuous. At first I thought it was that I just generally don't…

For a sec I was all "well, he's trying to sell you Mitt Romney!" but then I looked up more details, and he's not really. He's just used some Romney campaign events in Ohio to talk about removing the stigma from manual labor, which doesn't go with Romney's whole deal at all. So, I guess Mike Rowe is still ok with me.

Not that birth control can't decrease libido, but the idea that we are only horny when we are fertile, or men are only attracted to us when we are fertile is ridiculous. This is more of the "sex is for procreation only" propaganda. First of all, if sex is only for procreation, explain why whenever I'm pregnant I…

I'm not even remotely angry about it, but (and here I may be in the minority) it does not make me want to eat cake.

I get what you're saying, but I think we should be allowed sometimes to discuss what authorities could have done to prevent a crime, to discuss rape culture, etc. without having to also reassert the wisdom about what women can do to protect themselves. We've all heard this, we all know it. I sure as hell wouldn't walk…

This seems related to the "broken window" theory. Part of that had to do with literal broken windows, and the idea that keeping a neighborhood looking like people cared about it tended to have an effect on crime. But it has also been applied in that focusing on "minor" and/or "petty" crime reduced the instances of…

That is horrible that someone would try to guilt 11-12 year old you in that way! If you're expecting someone to even informally keep an eye on your child, you have to communicate that. Seems like a case of someone feeling bad themselves, looking for someone to blame, and lashing out inappropriately. Some adult there…