To be clear, your argument about cultural norms, social equality, etc. makes some sense, whereas the "hinders communication" argument does not. That is one distinction.

I started by commenting about how people on this thread (not you particularly, but people on the thread in general) have been arguing that the niqab inhibits communication. So when I am talking about that argument, I am not saying that you have made that argument; rather, I said that you made NO argument in your…

Um, "It hampers communication" is not a valid argument against people in niqab getting citizenship. Being a police officer and being a citizen are not coterminous, so your example fails. And, with the speech, please see my comparison with Deaf people.

Saying, "you can't do that" is not an actual argument. I CAN do it; I just DID it. If you think I'm wrong, you have to explain why, not dismiss me out-of-hand.

If we give it a fancy name, that makes it important. Right? RIGHT?

She slays me.

The whole "how can you communicate with or identify someone if you can't see their face" is ridiculous and here is why: BLIND PEOPLE. If you are claiming that it is necessary to see someone's face in order to be able to communicate, then you are saying that blind people cannot communicate, and therefore shouldn't be…

My cat does this, and then raise the bar EVEN HIGHER by jumping in my backpack so I can carry her around (purring the whole time) while I do housework.

My dad, bless him, greeted my youthful complaints about having to walk to school in a blizzard with, "When I was your age I...rode the bus." Best Dad Ever.

I ALREADY wrap my cats up like papooses :(

I hope bats come to your bat house. We don't have many bats where I live, because (I imagine) we don't actually have very many bugs. I am going to make a house for native bees in the springtime.

Yeah, the jezebel list struck me more as "stuff to buy for people who aren't really crafters but want to pretend to participate in DIY culture as marketed by Urban Outfitters." Which I guess may be what "crafty type" is code for. While this reaction may make me an asshole, I would still argue that your list is so much…

As a lady (or dame, or broad) you can read a map better than most people, I can only say that I am thankful for my parents, who—recognizing my already-solid map-reading ability—would pass the map to the backseat and have me navigate starting when I was about 10 years old. Thanks for helping me rock with the maps.

I am the only person under the age of 70 with a land line, I think. I only got a cellphone about a year ago, and I rarely use it. I like to do most things by myself, and I do not understand the appeal of walking around yakking to someone who is not there. Especially on a bluetooth thingie. I'm not all hippie "be here…

Most people seem to wearing headphones on every flight these days. Kids are relatively few and far between; if they allow cellphone use in-flight, then airline travel will become indeed an unending hell, because no earplugs known to man appear able to out the sound of people shouting about their sex lives and…

A lot of people aren't 1%ers, but would rather defend the rights of that 1% than anything. Which is weird, but I think that assuming that the police force tends to draw from a group that is more into the perceived rights of government and power than the perceived rights of the non-governmental powerless isn't really…

I have no children, nor will I ever. But people who act all sensitive but cannot figure out the function of earplugs or noise-canceling headphones should not leave their perfectly-quiet insulated noise-deadening bunkers, or wherever the hell it is they live where they are never ever bothered by anything not of their…

I am so sorry your niece had to feel so bad, and that your sister had this crap happen to her.

Well-earned.

Okay. Your dad is officially excellent. The End.