You know, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas is actually based on real events in Russian history. Elizabeth Petrovna of Russia,  who was otherwise a humane and noble ruler, ordered her infant cousin Ivan VI imprisoned at the age of around 18 months old. She forbade anyone to teach him to read or write,  show him any…

Haha, so I am a mom, and I remember the first time I went in for one of those ultra-creepy 3-D ultrasounds. I took one look at the monitor and became horribly convinced my baby would look like a squashed grapefruit. I was so relieved to see she looked like a normal baby when she was born! Those things should so be…

I have a Master’s degree for pretty much this reason. I have tried so hard to talk all the kiddos I know in college into NOT going to grad school, and especially not doing a Ph.D. There are NO positions in my field at the college level, most so-called professors are adjuncts, and any other kind of job you can get with…

My husband actually broke one of his teeth (something about being drunk and one of his friends thinking it’d be funny to push him out of a moving car). The tooth had to be replaced, and he was a poor college student with no insurance. So like many a good Texas boy before him, he convinced one of his friends to drive…

Maybe it’s my background (classical music), but it’s surprising to me that so many people equate learning with formal education. Do you really think no one could learn beyond high school without college?

I just can’t believe the amount of stupid, misogynist anti-Hilary nonsense coming from Sanders supports. So, Wikileaks and Vladimir Putin conspire to make the DNC look bad, and the smoking gun is one email from a staffer suggesting they ask Bernie “tough questions” at a town hall meeting. All this is supposedly…

The truth is, in many states parents can even be arrested for child abuse if they prevent their children from getting life saving medical care. So in almost all other cases, parents don't have unlimited control over children's medical issues.

It’s true that getting married to childhood sweethearts is rare today, but consider the world that most fantasy is set in—Medieval. Back in Medieval times, tons of people got married to their cousins, which is still common throughout the world. Interestingly, when they asked people in countries like Iraq if they were…

They don't prevent cancer, but nicotine use is linked to reduced risk of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

This is exactly the point! Guns make everything in a family more dangerous—they dramatically increase this risk of domestic murders, suicide, family violence of all kinds. And quite honestly, I'm not sure I'd really want to shoot some kid who broke into my house to steal my TV. It's not worth it.

Also, that look on Cersei’s face? Remember her prophecy said “Queen you shall be?” Maybe Maggy wasn’t talking about being Robert’s queen. I wonder if that part about “the valonquar” and “after your tears have drowned you” is referring to poisons. We know there’s a poison called the tears of Lys, and one called “the…

One thing everyone seems to forget—Jon Snow is still a bastard. Rhaegar did not marry Lyanna. That means that despite his parentage, he still doesn't have a claim to the throne—only true born children inherit. I think that he'll bend the knee to Daenerys in exchange for her dragons to use against the Others, and…

I don’t know where people get the impression that Arya never learned to change her face. She did it when she killed Meryn Trant—remember when Jaquen got pissed that she stole a face from the wall?

White washing Miami. The city is at least 80% Hispanic, but to watch half the shows set there, you'd think it was mostly Anglos. Nope. I'm looking at you, Nip/Tuck! Dexter, too.

Loras is also a younger brother, I might note. As is the hound.

My generation had their wake up call with Bush vs. Gore. Oh, you thought there wasn't any difference between a moderate democrat and a phenomally stupid republican? Let me have eight years to demonstrate.

Interestingly enough, my sister is a lawyer. She did an internship with a local district attorney’s office, which happened to have mostly female lawyers on staff. It was apparently the worst place in the state to beat your wife or molest children, because those women went gang busters on those cases. It makes a…

Omg, I love John Cho! They should make him the leading bad ass of a movie! Come in Marvel!

Yes! I was thinking all along he probably terrorized or manipulated her.

Also, Drogon the dragon is clearly the Stallion that Mounts the World.