I got caught in this, driving to get pizza. The dude in the car (a CONVERTIBLE) was going about two miles an hour. He was followed by more than TEN police cars, sirens ablazin’, and FOUR helicopters followed overhead. Before I knew what was really going on, I thought there was some terrorist attack up ahead.

Seriously,…

Sadly, from what I know about this family and these kinds of cults, the girls have ALREADY been blamed. That ship sailed years ago. I’m guessing getting CPS in Arkansas (that’s where they live, right?) involved is impossible, given the father’s political connections. Josh doesn’t live in that home, but those parents…

I have not yet read the other comments, but no, that is not a serious question. Yes, these women consent (and probably aggressively compete to obtain these positions). Presumably, they have negotiated a strong prenup so that when their spouse dumps them for a younger trophy, they still have a secure, luxurious…

I’m going to be the Old Mom who begs you not to do this because it is so unsafe for your daughter — see the comment from an airline worker. I know it’s really hard to keep a little one happy on a long flight. I have been there. I once read “Hippos Go Berzerk!” over and over again for about an hour and a half straight…

Wait, what?

One of the reasons I no longer have respect for “literary” fiction gatekeepers is Franzen — to be fair, I have never been able to get through a single page of his stuff. That “diffusely warm” bullshit — I mean, SRSLY? That’s not even a good clause on a primitive language craft level, before addressing the…

This is all of a piece with something I have previously mentioned here. The NFL, being only focused on brand management and the authoritarian idea that you punish those less powerful (which in the NFL, as in America, is often, conveniently, black men rather than white men) as a display of moral virtue, is doing…

Thanks for this. I just called ESPN to let them know that I am boycotting the company until such time as they stop promoting and supporting domestic abuse by airing the Smith coverage but not backing their own reporters who have objectively covered said abuse and are now banned from the fight.

Yeah, it won’t do…

Don’t be looking to Cory Booker for progressive action. He’s a fully financier owned neolib.

I have no idea what a pygmy goat is like. We only had actual farm animals. We had a couple of different breeds of goat, but I don’t remember any more what they were. But they were smart, tough-minded creatures I enjoyed and respected. You’ve just got to be careful about the “ah, cute” reaction to small animals. Our…

This was decades ago. Short version: my mother bought a purebred border collie (shipped from Scotland to NYC) for my brother when we moved to the country, because she thought that’s the dog breed his psychiatrist had. But nope — she was wrong. So we were stuck with an animal that had been genetically selected for…

My experience is that goats and pigs were way more fun to be around than sheep — both in the pasture and at the house. Sheep aren’t just stupid and smelly, they’re mean. I mean, they really are nothing like the fantasy version. Goats are ornery but smart, so they can be much more entertaining. You couldn’t keep them…

Sadly, you don’t really want a lamb. Sheep are very stupid. VERY stupid. Stupid, and smelly. We actually had an orphan lamb. We brought her to the house, because she’d have died at the pasture without her mother to protect her from the rest of the sheep and the goats. Once that first day of clean cuteness was over, it…

Team Turtle.

I am confused by this. I THINK you mean, he’s happy to exploit women, but draws the line at rape. The women are happy to be exploited, but draw the line at rape. Frankly, if that’s what you’re saying, I think you’re wrong. I think he knew that women were being raped on the premises and he didn’t care. My initial…

I think you misunderstood my point. I was also arguing that part of what drives this is being a rational economic actor.

I do think, however, that it’s ridiculous to pretend that sex work in the current economic environment and the decision to do it can be severed from patriarchal misogyny. You can make rational…

This conversation obviously isn’t going anywhere interesting, but perhaps you’d be willing to acknowledge that the women you’re describing aren’t seeking to be exploited. Even in your frame, they are not actually seeking to be used and discarded.

I didn’t say “only”. I also mentioned that cultural coercion is a thing that exists. Women have few fewer routes to economic success than men, and we’re socialized to perceive our bodies as commodities, and our primary value. That’s obviously a tldr version of that aspect of misogyny, but it’s worth bearing in mind if…

I don’t think it’s accurate or fair to say that they WANTED to be exploited. It’s more like in an incredibly injust system where they had few economic options, they mostly consented, although you could reasonably argue a certain amount of cultural, economic and/or personal coercion in most cases.

Still, no question,…

I didn’t compare her to Bush. She’s probably not worse than Bush. Sadly, she may not be much better, either.

Of the many things I hate about the Hillary Clinton phenomenon, the very WORST is how she’s corrupt, dishonest, incompetent and anti-feminist, and yet the misogynist backlash against her is so horrendous and undeserved that I feebly wish I could get excited about the bad-ass in the pantsuit. If only she wasn’t…