All plea bargains are coercive. Some even use the threat of death. I am not sure how this one was any more coercive than the completely acceptable, "Plead guilty and the death penalty is off the table" that is used all the time.

"Hey kids, I know it sucks, but it turns out our dog (who we love very much) actually came from another family that loved him very much and they lost him and we need to give him back. We'll go look for a new puppy this weekend at the shelter, okay?"

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that these kids are spoiled and entitled as fuck, as are the parents. Yeah, last week, my toddler got SOOOPER attached to another kid's dump truck at the park. My kid was practically having an emotional affair with that damn truck. But he had to deal with the fact that he…

thanks for the insight grandpa.

Also it would be a good lesson to the children to return something to it's rightful owner if it was wrongfully taken from him/her/them

Have either of you guys ever had an abortion?

Completely agree. My graduate school loans sit at 6.55%, while my undergrad loans sit at 2.25%, which happens to be the same rate that my credit union would give me a car loan at. Can I refinance those loans? Nope, but they've been sold to two different banks since I graduated, so apparently the government can sell my…

Ah, I could have googled it. Of course the phrase has its own wiki page:

Why is this even news? "Student gets financial aid when poor; financial aid is revoked when student is no longer poor." That's how financial aid works - it's for people who can't otherwise afford to study. And there's nothing "ironic" about it - you need to consult a dictionary, not Alanis Morrisette.

My mother promised to pay for LASIK if I graduated in four years, so I got stubborn and majored in my strongest subject from high school by default — and got maybe 50% of what I should have gotten out of a college education. I wish I could go back and explain to my 17-year-old self that LASIK can be paid for with…

I had a great prof in university who believed in cutting costs for students (note: This was 20 years ago *weep* and in Canada). He'd do up the required list: these were books we had to have. Then, he'd do "recommended reading" list, where he'd have two copies of each put at the library in the special holds (you…

Yeah I agree. In the current system, the only winners are the schools. They are guaranteed their money and get a nice big check from the government every semester. The students are bogged down with debt forever. And the government faces a high chance that the loans will not be repaid. Of course the schools are…

It's not so much that government should stop funding loans entirely, but that the zero risk loan market, combined with low interest loans, makes it so that schools have no reason not to raise tuition and be more careful with spending, since borrowers can take out massive loans that would be nearly impossible without…

"...Duke student Miriam Weeks became porn's Belle Knox by necessity." Oh, come on, that's a huge overstatement. Lots of people get through university without becoming porn actors. You can't say it was "by necessity" unless it was her only way of getting an education.

Now, ironically, the money she's made doing porn has disqualified her for what little financial aid she'd been getting.

Pet Peeve .. that "for the room" (or the airplane) parent voice. wedontcarewedontcarewedontcare

What gave me away? Was it the marinading?

Also, some of replies you're getting...good gracious. I'm so glad to know now that if I'm drunk or obnoxious or acting patently ridiculous I can just remind everyone that we're on a plane and they shouldn't have any expection of quiet. Or tell them that it's not my fault my voice is annoying to them. Or…

I'm a parent and holy crap no not ok. I would have absolutely said something to the flight attendant. The woman should have either gotten someone to switch with her so she could sit next to her kids or just not done that. That is just incredibly rude and inconsiderate and in no way ok.