I don’t know about that. She never struck me as a greedy gold digger. She has her own career and money. She struck me as a foolish, immature, party girl who was very naive to get swept up in a relationship with a much older family man who was going through a midlife crisis and has had drug/alcohol problems for…

If it makes you feel better, great. But Johnny Depp is not the only person who worked hard on those movies nor is he the only person who profits from them and there is no reason why you can’t enjoy them if you choose to. ETA: Like if a cashier at your local Starbucks turned out to be a wife-beater, you wouldn’t stop…

I’m not sure if you are reading this correctly or not; perhaps I have misunderstood. But as far as I know, what happened is she will get a settlement (I can’t remember what it is or where I read it) that of course is in the millions. Also I think it is fair since surely they have shared property / expenses /…

This was a huge issue during the Katrina crisis. Eventually, when they were busing people out after the storm had destroyed some neighborhoods, people were forced to get on the bus and leave their dogs on the streets. Can you imagine? They interviewed people talking about just having to leave their dogs and their dogs…

Oh. Jeez, that’s so dark. I didn’t even think of it.

Really? I thought that made her sound sort of silly. Like, how would he end up around her dog if he can’t come anywhere near her? It’s not like it’s a custody issue.

Yes, now THAT’S a gorgeous man. Johnny Depp has pretty facial features. That’s it.

He’s gross. He’s been gross for a LONG time. Alright, so a boozer and a wife beater, I’ll add that to the list. But the thing that always turned me off about him is how accessorized he is. Like, look at any public appearance, and he’s always wearing layers of clothing and perfectly sculpted to appear unsculpted facial…

These women are awesome. And the restaurant handled that perfectly. How awesome that they were able to verify via camera. But I’m just so stunned that it would be the gal’s good friend. What a jerk. What are guys thinking this way? Who wants to have sex with sleeping girls? I just never understood rape drugs. Makes no…

Agreed. But not beards like that- so long. And also not long mountain man beards on the faces of dudes who have clearly styled their hair and practiced looking angsty. Mountain man beards on mountain men, OK. But if you are going to be urban and hip otherwise, trim your damn beard.

Thanks so much for your thoughtful comments and for the book recommendation. I really appreciate it, and I’m really sorry that you had to go through all of that. It seems like you have come through it with a calm understanding of what happened. I’m not sure I could be so mature. All sorts of things would hurt me and…

I’m not sure if you are seeking to misunderstand or what. Obviously the situation is not black or white. My point is that miscarriages of justices happen, and I see no reason to make it easier for them to happen, especially when the laws only benefit people who do not need protecting and risk removing protection from…

Well I’m sorry to hear that. Any advice for long-time married people who are entering middle age?

And yet, for decades, cops (a small minority of them) get away with murder. Also I do not think it is about deliberate corruption but rather a more systemic and bureaucratic problem that includes already unequal access to justice. My guess, based on your response, is that you/yours have never had an entanglement with…

I don’t think anyone said it is a crushing blow. I’ve even said over and over again that I personally don’t mind if people get heftier sentences for targeting the police. But that doesn’t mean that I’m OK with this law either. For three real tangible reasons that I have outlined here. First, as Helga points out, the…

Exactly my point. They do not need additional protection. They already have it in such hefty portions that if you struggle against them while they are literally beating you to death, it is not considered self-defense. This is at least currently limited to when they are in uniform.

Right, but in the issue with cops- in both of the scenarios that we discussed above- there is plenty of opportunity for the courts to abuse the hate crime designation against the perpetrator. The reason is that cops are already a protected group. Their murders already receive national attention and are taken very…

Teachers, psychiatrists, social workers, bartenders/waitresses, corner shop cashiers, cab drivers, prostitutes, politicians, abortion doctors- you can find plenty of examples of all of them being attacked because of their profession - either because of retribution or because their profession puts them in situations…

I don’t think it’s more common with powerful men. I just think we hear about them more because they are famous or public figures. Also I think rich and powerful men tend to get younger or more beautiful or famous women. But this sort of thing happens all the time with regular folks too. I agree about how absurd it is…

He says occupations change. Also, you are not your occupation all the time. What about when a cop is killed off duty? What about when a former cop is targeted and killed? And with your Roof analogy, you missed where he was arguing that the category protects/serves the police- not the perpetrator. So what about when…