I'm glad someone else gets it. I was cheering when the Kurds took Kirkuk today. Have at it Kurds. This is your moment.

Until the Iraqi government can demonstrate that it's actually willing to address the underlying causes that are fueling this, there's nothing good that will come from us intervening. We actually left them in pretty good shape, and as soon as we left Maliki went full-on Shia sectarian and started going after the Sunnis…

I just cancelled my digital and weekend home delivery of WaPo and told them exactly why. It's been sliding for a while anyway. I love my NYTimes digital subscription though and am more than happy to support quality journalism.

I'd hit that. Fiance and I kind of want to invite him to our wedding here in DC, but on the off chance he actually showed up I might leave fiance at the altar.

Meh. I wouldn't be too charmed by my husband using our wedding a promotional opportunity for himself, hoping to create a viral video to increase his own exposure, personal brand, whatever. Then again, I'm silly and old fashioned and think weddings should largely between the two people involved, and their…

You clearly know nothing about Burma. The government almost certainly allowed them to be at the pagoda. They would have to have gotten permission from the government for all of this. The government is all about enriching themselves and fuck-all to the people, including illegally selling off the teak forests and other…

They're not living their lives. They're dragging monks in to pose for these shoots. They had to stay in houses provided by the corrupt government, and then told the government what they needed. Do you really think the government was paying the nuns/monks to do this? And posing on the Shwedagon pagoda - INCREDIBLY…

And who the hell did they ask? The government? So they're basically paying the corrupt-as-hell government to go procure them some nuns and monks. Monks have other things to do - they're not allowed to cook their own food so they have to go collect alms and study and meditate.

Seriously. I just came back from Burma a few weeks ago and these images are horrifying. The Shwedagon Pagoda is so sacred, and monks are the most revered members of society. They're not props for a photo shoot. This is so unbelievably insulting. I can't even imagine what the locals thought of this scene. Western…

I actually just came back from Burma and this is appalling. Burmese people are some of the friendliest, warmest people on the planet - I don't think I've ever felt more welcome anywhere. But it's also still an extremely poor country with terrible governance, limited services, etc that's just starting to open up to the…

I've had a standing invitation to host the kids (in high school now) to come visit me here in DC - I'd take them sightseeing and whatnot. Aunt and Uncle won't allow it because I might infect them with liberal ideas (their words).

My dad has always been a handkerchief guy and I love them for that reason alone.

She's old enough to start thinking for herself, and I hope she starts to...maybe at college. Then maybe again she'll put on blackface for a watermelon-and-fried chicken party. I like to think that the public shaming of these morons is a good punishment though - at least when a future employer googles them they'll know…

It sounds lovely. If you're not going to go deep into debt, and it's what you want, then screw the haters. Well, don't ACTUALLY screw them. Just forget to send their invitations. Have a lovely day that you want to have - don't get too stressed about details. It'll all be fine :)

Ah thank you - I missed that!

I think some states offer different prices on marriage licenses if you've taken some kind of pre-marital counseling. That seems a little more reasonable. If you're already asking the government to officially endorse your union by providing you a marriage license, it's not unreasonable for it to say "we prefer you do…

I hear ya. I had this image of just immediate family and a few friends, and next thing you know the people we HAVE to invite is already 70 people. OK. We can deal with that. But food that people actually want to eat and alcohol is EXPENSIVE. Not to mention the taxes and fees and all the shit they tack onto that. I'll…

That $26,000 figure is skewed - it's based on self-selecting respondents who are already buying into the wedding industry - those who are reading bridal magazines, etc. It's not an accurate figure because it doesn't take into account those couples who go to the courthouse to get married, or brides like me who have…

Why wouldn't you insure it? I'm planning a wedding in the DC area for under $10k (no small feat, mind you) and I insured it. I insure international trips that cost under $3k - same idea. Things happen - parents have heart attacks, freak storms delay everyone, someone spills coffee on your wedding dress. Why would…

Holy hell, he has a section on his webpage about volunteering to help on 9/11. No. Just no.