I think people think it's blasphemy because of what books have been through historically, what with banning and burning. But it just doesn't make sense to hold them as sacred in this day and age. There are far more books out there than can possibly be donated, and a lot of them are just total trash that people…

If it was just the haircut, I would be inclined to agree. But the haircut plus the extreme weight loss plus the weird clothing is striking me as concerning. But then again, it is totally none of my business and I hope she is just being 19 and having fun. Now if she gets drunk and throws up no one will have to hold her…

Why do we treat books as sacred things that must never be smudged? And I say this as a former editor. When books do not sell out their print run, do you know what happens to them? First they are remaindered, which allows the authors of the books to buy back copies at an extremely low price. Often the authors cannot…

I think the CDC is most likely concerned because studies have shown that people are far less likely to use protection during oral sex - for instance, I think dental dam use is at a ridiculously low percentage - than they are during penetrative sex. If people are having oral sex at a high rate, that means it's likely…

Obviously you are allowed to act however you want on the internet, and that includes being a dick. But then don't get so upset when people call you out for it.

You can read that I wasn't replying to you, can't you?

A lot of HGB's views were REALLY problematic - the main one that I can think of was that sexual harassment should be taken as a compliment.

I'm so sorry for what you went through, and I completely agree with you about children. I already said this in some other comments, but I was actually thinking of a pretty specific phenomenon I have observed happening often, which is younger people who have children of their own with terminal cancer. It's rare that I…

I work closely with an oncologist because I'm trying to get into medical school, and I can tell you that for parents with young children those extra three months make a major difference. That was the main example I was thinking of when I made my response.

Sorry, I guess I should have been more clear. I don't believe death panels exist, I was speaking to what I think people believe death panels to be.

Well, I think it's a more complicated issue than this. In some cases, yes, it's cut and dry. A person is going to die no matter what pain you put them through, and prolonging that pain isn't going to change that. In other cases, doctors and hospital administrators are considering things other than just the patients…

You misunderstood her comment. She's talking about parents who refuse treatment that actually COULD help their children, because they believe their children are sick due to God's plan, and that their health will decline or get better according to that plan.

What a beautiful response to a truly ugly comment.

Everyone should read this fascinating article, entitled "How Doctors Die." In case you don't have time - when it comes right down to it, the vast majority of doctors would never choose to undergo the stuff we put our loved ones through at the end of their lives. Most doctors choose to have DNRs, because they've seen…

To me it's just a bizarre way to react to this problem. I understand that the pressure and judgement has gotten out of control, but reacting to it by rejecting science strikes me as bizarre. And the anecdotal stuff drives me crazy - there are at least 50 comments in here along the lines of "I was formula fed and I'm…

Ah, I see what you're saying. I think the stuff about bonding is mostly breast feeding propaganda. There has been some evidence that has shown that it releases a hormone in the mother's brain that aids in bonding, but I am guessing that there are other ways to get that. You're right, the actual health benefits are…

"And, as for all the dire warnings about the calamities that would befall my babies if we headed down the hedonistic bottle-feeding path? It was all bunk."

Er, OK. That is kind of nitpicking semantics and ignoring my point, which is that giving your child breast milk for even a day has been shown to benefit them in ways that formula does not. As my comment clearly said, it is fine if that benefit is not worth what you / your family has to go through. To me, it is similar…

This article is distressing to me because I wish we could be reasonable about things. Scientific studies show that breastfeeding IS better. It also shows that nothing terrible is going to happen to your child if you decide to formula feed them.

Sorry, I guess my first paragraph was not a complete train of thought. I was trying to reply to the argument that if blondness is rare in the general population, then it should be rare in people wanting blonde babies, by showing that you don't have to be blonde to have recessive genes for it and want to express that…