You badly need to see more than the first episode to make the kind of sweeping character judgments you're making here. A lot of what you're assuming is far off the mark.

I do think it's interesting that all the characters who are younger—and who therefore are the voices of new media and changing political attitudes—are all women. Coincidence, or some larger point about a future of a far more female-empowered Washington?

See, I never have this problem, and I'm not sure why. Sopranos? Mad Men? The Wire? Borgias? I always like the characters in these scheme-y melodramas, and I'm not sure if that signifies ethical failings or vulnerability to awesome writing.

Great point that it doesn't cause long-term problems or damage, etc. I guess I'm just thinking that if you want to spend a few years having an uninhibited sexually free experience, college can be a good time to have it.

I think getting into long-distance with no real end in sight—four YEARS?—is pretty insane, especially since it sounds like you guys aren't super established as a couple. If you're really that nuts about him, stay—grad school can wait. If the idea of that makes you cringe and you're super intent on going to grad school…

See, this is my fear. I live in a super cost-effective city with a lot of good dating options and career opportunities, in addition to some great coworkers/acquaintances, but all my family and close friends are in the city.

The "You read my texts?!" upon being caught cheating is so fucked up. Dated a guy who took that route—a fight ended with me apologizing for how my lack of trust drove him to cheat in the first place. Ugh. I cringe in retrospect.

This might vary by city, but where I'm from, putting "want to make friends" on your profile is a sign that someone is either not wanting to seem desperate or is firmly looking for hook-up buddies.

Good beer, good chocolate, good waffles—God, I love Belgium. Spent two days in Brussels and have been longing to go back ever since.

Unless you guys are not exclusive, I think you're overthinking it. "Send me updates and pictures!" isn't a clingy thing to say to someone you're exclusively sexing, and neither is talking about how you'll miss him and will be excited to see him when he gets back.

"You don't need to be friends"? Sounds to me like the guy has a problem with you that goes beyond just being an asshole in general; the fact that the boyfriend didn't even put forward the idea that maybe you guys just need to know each other better/you know how my friend can be reserved/etc. sounds like the guy has…

I'm going to push back against what some people are saying and say that college will be a lot more enjoyable if you do rush out and get laid immediately. I'm not saying that because you're a virgin, but because you clearly have some anxieties and fears about it that might be alleviated by just getting rid of that part…

Was thinking of this after a particularly heinous week: does anyone know if stress burns calories? I know most articles about stress talk about stress-eating and snacking, but does the actual physical experience of stress—elevated heart rate, fast-paced breathing, nervous tics, irrepressible physical actions like…

Dude. This exists for literally every dimension of physical appearance. Hurtful stereotypes are associated with blonde women, thin women, fat women, short women, tall women, women with big boobs, women with curly hair, women with thin hair, tan women, pale women—the list goes on, and of course we're not even touching…

Totally! No one on her show is anything but superficial and self-absorbed, so I'm pretty sure that we're all adding "...who is a superficial asshole" at the end of every piece of advice.

See, I always think her redhead-bashing is hilarious on Millionaire Matchmaker, just because of how irrational it is. Everyone knows there are zillions of hot redheads. I always interpreted it as a weird quirk that everyone knows is weird, and so is therefore inoffensive.

To me, this speaks to something that I imagine is the most difficult part of the male experience: that while men feel similar pressures to be seen as physically attractive, all effort in pursuit of that goal should be invisible. "Manly men" don't talk about counting calories or having a personal trainer or the…

I always have the same response. People act like they aced high school while acting on the side, when in reality, they were actors who decided to go to college.

...Is it that unhinged to feel something when you know that other people are getting to play important roles in the life of someone you love? There's a whole spectrum of feeling and behavior that can be summed up by "jealousy"; I don't think it's necessarily bad to express that you sometimes feel envious of the role…

Dear Lord. One of my only won't-budge dealbreakers now is divorced with kids. Even though I know there are couples that manage to date new people, drama-free, the possibility of going through the insanity that is a psycho ex-wife—that he just can't cut out of the picture because of shared children—is too much to…