Interesting. So, responding to a post referencing socialist programs with a list of failed communist countries...I believe that's what we call a non sequitur? Socialism, hmm, countries that have socialist systems to varying degrees. USA, Canada, UK, Germany, Norway, Sweden, The Netherlands, Australia, ..., well,…

Amen. They really should give it a go, maybe then after they've walked in those shoes for a while, they'd realize people don't wear them because they're so cush and comfy.

Some day, people will learn that, right-wing rhetoric to the contrary, socialism is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT than communism. But keep going, it's good to get it out of your system.

I'm so very sorry that you've been so misled by the propaganda you've been listening to. Thanks for your service, and with any luck, there will be quality socialist programs to help you and your brothers in arms get educations and jobs when you're done serving, instead of a nice laissez-faire job that's been…

Well, I can sympathize with that. My mom is virulently conservative, listens to Limbaugh and Beck all the time. I pretty studiously avoid politics with her, and after determining that I was pretty dedicated to being a liberal and supporting the gay agenda (she told me once she was disappointed and surprised when she…

I think the Republican party is going to have to literally tear itself in two. You'll have the right-wing/tea-party; and then you'll have the Nixon/Reagan republicans. I suspect the far-right will keep the GOP name, and the moderates will break off to form a new party. And it will pick up some of the Democrats as…

This. I'm all for letting the states choose what vendor they buy machines from, or what color the voting booths are, but there needs to be some concrete national standards which spell out what is acceptable, not just from a "prevents voter fraud" standpoint, but making it clear that voting must be made available and…

* nit-picking.

Can't stop laughing. Ah, thanks!

He said all the things he was supposed to say, so it was a fine speech, I guess. But I thought his delivery seemed very odd. The constant grin seemed out of place, considering. I mean, I get that he probably put on a face and was just sticking with it, that he wasn't letting his true feelings out, which is fine, I…

Seriously. If Michael only has domestic swill on tap, we will have words!

Thank you for sharing her story, and yours. It's courageous, even in anonymity. I understand holding a tragedy inside. I know that telling the narrative is one thing, but that words don't really begin to explain the complexity of the emotions, and, at least for me, what I'd really like to be able to share with…

What part of the hero's journey is that? :)

Well, it *is* a post asking for stories. It's like the posts asking for roommate stories. An unsurprisingly high number of the comments are from people who have or have had roommates.

No, that's just foolish. Any president who assumes that they can unilaterally keep any ally on a tight leash is being a fool. Especially an ally with a democratically elected government which could easily change to include a head of state which is less friendly towards American interests per se. Is it probable that…

I have SeekDroid on both my spouse's and my phones. I really have zero interest in tracking as a matter of course, but it's been reassuring on a couple of occasions when I couldn't get in touch to see that the phone, at least, was in a location I expected and not headed out of town on the freeway (spouse sometimes…

To what end would his name be revealed? So that people can not harass him? The only reason for tying his name publicly to these actions is to publicly shame and harass him. Which, if he didn't do it, is a pretty damn horrible thing to do.

The PC Police: Taking the fun out of racist entertainment since 1865.

I disagree that it's moralization. It can be that, but it can also be a recognition of human psychology. Encouraging people to think through various important decisions in life is helping to teach kids lessons about how being human works. Teaching kids to wait until they really believe they've met the right person…

You can recommend kids not rush into having sex for a whole bunch of empiric reasons which have nothing to do with religion whatsoever. Especially for very young kids (i.e., the 9 year olds mentioned in the article). On a personal level, I would advise any kid I spoke to to wait until they are certain they are…