"My only point in making the distinction between agnostic and atheist is to point out that the blind belief that there is no god in the absence of incontrovertable "proof" is no better than a religious zealot extolling the virtues of faith in the belief of the existence of god."

Yeah! I met some high school students from rural Ohio who had straight-up southern accents. I pointed this out to them, saying something like, "I didn't realize that some people from Ohio had southern accents. Are you from near Kentucky?" They were deeply confused and insisted that they didn't have accents at all.

I left Chicago last year, and seasonal affective disorder played a large role in my decision. Summer and fall are great, but summer doesn't start until late May at the earliest, and fall turns into winter right after Halloween. For me, the wonderful warm months just couldn't make up for the terribly cloudy and gloomy…

Aww. Well, the Berkshires and the college towns (Amherst / Northampton area) are lovely. There is some beautiful hiking, especially in the fall. Or you could hit up the Norwottuck Bike Trail for some foliage and also visit the college towns. I would advise against visiting Springfield, though. :)

But over 40% of New York's population lives in NYC alone, not even including the metro area, and over 50% of Illinois residents live in Chicago. That would definitely affect survey results. Plus, NYC and Chicago are both massive cities with even more expansive suburbs. I can't speak for NYC, but I lived in Chicago for…

That makes a lot of sense: homesickness and economic necessity.

I grew up in Western Massachusetts - same story. I have to fight the urge to rant when people assume that I'm from Boston, or know their favorite restaurant in Boston, or whatever. I'm sure it's a lovely city, but my own annoyance has probably spoiled it for me.

Notice how most of the least desirable states either have high population density or are home to large metropolitan areas (NYC, Chicago, etc.) And the most desirable states are all very rural (with the exception of a few cities here and there, mostly in Texas). Is this because rural residents are happier? Perhaps even…

Then I guess I'm an atheist agnostic, because I believe that nothing can be known beyond material phenomena, and therefore I don't affirmatively believe in God.

OH! You don't understand what "atheist" means. Being an atheist means that you do not actively believe in god, not that you insist that there is definitely no god.

Unfortunately, in some states, anyone can just call themselves a "midwife" and start delivering babies. But it requires a ton of specialized training in nursing to become a CNM, so I trust them. CNMs can work in hospitals or have their own practices, often in freestanding birthing centers. Definitely not either/or!

So true. I was a dorky high schooler and I really disliked this one teacher who would always hang out with the popular kids during school hours. She would chat and laugh with them over inside jokes, but she couldn't give me or my friends the time of day. I always wondered whether my friends were the butt of any of…

I assume this article is referring to CNMs, or certified nurse-midwives. In the U.S., CNMs have nursing degrees (R.N.s), plus usually graduate school training in nurse-midwifery. So yes, many of the specialized nurses in the maternity ward at any hospital would be midwives.

If the story were about a shortage of heart surgeons, would you have included the same ending? ("Yo, unemployed people of England! I know someone who's hiring.")

They will still have ample chance to do this, since Ron has two step-daughters and Leslie has a daughter. An equally big challenge is teaching little boys that girls are their equals, which I think both parents would do beautifully.

Ron has two daughters and a son. Jerry has three daughters. Ann has a son. With Leslie's daughter (don't forget her!) and two sons, that makes a total of six daughters and four sons on the show.

Many traditional cultures practice "kiss feeding," and it does have several advantages, as well as a few disadvantages. Just saying! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premastic…

Hopefully the concern over breast pump costs will be changing soon, since insurance companies are required to cover the cost of a pump under Obamacare. :)

I was upset about that comment for a moment, and was thinking the same thing - "oh, so the past centuries of presidents have not represented women's interests?" But then I realized that my interests as a woman are usually not represented by men in power...

Thanks for the tip! Heading to the store now...