Hi David, thanks for the reply, I don't mean that the absence of pain would immediately abolish joy and happiness in an acute sense (though the word "simultaneously" might seem to imply that), but that the effect would be generational and species wide. You mention patients with chronic pain or depression, but those…

Suffering is an absolutely essential characteristic of existence: eliminate all suffering and you would simultaneously eliminate all pleasure, enjoyment, and satisfaction. I think Nietzsche was right when he said that those who seek to eliminate suffering are motivated not out of compassion for life, but out of a…

Holy F—k, even the Victorians didn't suffer from as much confusion around the issues of sex and consent as the current generation seems to.

You're point? If they're going to try to debunk evolution they should probably demonstrate they have some knowledge beyond the most common facts.

If that ends up being the result of this decision then count me in the camp that disagrees with it. Any real health need should obviously be covered regardless of what medicine is required (contraceptives or otherwise), my only disagreement is with forcing the coverage of birth control for recreational needs. If we…

It's not really that slippery: is your employer obligated to cover your "preferred" choice of protective ski gear to help you prevent breaking your leg? Or your preferred winter clothing to prevent you from getting sick?

Yes, I agree that it sucks, but I don't believe that an employer should be forced to cover you for the consequences of things that are your choice (whether their reasons are religious or not is irrelevant). You don't choose to get sick or need dental surgery, but you do choose to have sex. Sex is a perk, not a right…

It's not hard to get proof from a doctor if one needs contraceptives for health reasons as opposed to just recreation. And if getting pregnant is dangerous for an individual then this would qualify under health reasons.

If it's for a health issue then, yes, it should be covered, no argument here, but the above rant doesn't mention using birth control for health issues, only the impact the court decision could have on women's sexual freedoms.

But the (very good) reasons you list aren't what this rant is about, which is clearly about funding the use of contraceptives to prevent pregnancy (and how not having it provided for you means you're being treated as sub-human somehow.)

Getting pregnant isn't an illness or injury. The easiest way to not get pregnant is to abstain, or if you choose to have sex then do so, but the costs of avoiding pregnancy should be on the couple themselves not their employer(s). Unless of course a company chooses to offer such compensation.

It's pretty legible from my view point, but I guess it depends on how you process information. Personally this tells me a lot more than a data list on the same topic would. For example, I thought that here in Canada we were a lot more "globalized" with our trading and I honestly thought that we had a lot more going on…

The whole idea of personal identity being elevated to the prime concern of one's life is a modern cultural luxury.

"lets just ignore the rich cultural and religious representation of third gender babes throughout history? like the fa'afafine, hijra, third spirits, travesti and kathooey?"

Don't you mean: "It certainly didn't seem like xey were interested in learning..."?

That fact that something is a cultural invention doesn't make it a mere fashion (which is an idea usually associated with the shallower social expressions of a society.) The concepts of masculinity and femininity are rooted in cultural institutions that go far deeper than blue vs pink, unless you consider entire world…

As commendable as it is to be inclusive, our current obsession with gender identity is more likely to just confuse students on the issue and/or reduce gender to one more fashion statement.

Doesn't matter, Jung coined the term and often stressed that it is "extravert" not "extrovert".

I'm going to go ahead and be that annoying nitpicker, but technically it's extravert not extrovert. But no one gets it right, not even spell check...

The problem with red dwarf stars is that they give off largely the same amount of radiation (solar wind) as a sun like star, but the planets have to be at Mercury like distances to be in the "habitable" zone. Whatever life may be there would have had to be much more radiation tolerant than Earth-life (well other than…