I understand that, but it doesn't seem like she was psychotic, a la Andrea Yates. It just seemed like without her mood stabilizers, she became severely depressed as well as some type of post-partum OCD. The house was filthy, but not as bad as the one in the MA case - it had lots of dust, undone laundry/dishes piled…

Ugh, it is so hard out there. I think neglect and psychological abuse are some of the worst because they are hard to prove. My mom worked in a very wealthy school and there were two parents going through an incredibly nasty divorce. Their kid was so stressed out, that he would start shaking, crying, and losing control…

They couldn't have made her take the medicine, but at least she would be able to afford it so she could take it if she wanted to.

Well that's the slight problem is that in certain parts of the country, namely the South, there are often two options: arrest or ignore. There's no in-between; no solid social services.

My friend works with DCF in MA...a big problem is that there are too few social workers, and the DCF budget is constantly getting slashed. As she told me, the unwritten rule is that any abuse that won't lead to immediate hospitalization (such as untreated infections, broken bones, etc.) is not worth opening a case on.…

Yeah, that's where I am torn. A woman in GA was arrested the other day after her baby died of what they are presuming is SIDS because her house was filthy. They charged her with reckless child endangerment resulting in the death of a child. On one hand, yeah that's not okay to let your baby live in a filthy house. On…

I'm not sure if someone said this already, but it was probably an early law against abortion in the pre Roe v. Wade days.

Exactly. With two kids and a husband in grad school, I don't even think I have enemies anymore, let alone time to construct a revenge ploy.

It's like a blind auction for cheap trinkets. Usually it's done as a fundraiser.

Funny thing: on Long Island, they call penny socials 'Chinese Auctions'. My brother had to explain in excessive detail why that was racist to his now-wife's entire family.

Ignore Bowb. They're on practically every post on racism and/or rape playing 'devil's advocate'.

School's don't necessarily expel for convictions; it's really dependent on the policy of the university.

Nope. He's still playing. Had to turn in his multiple guns, by law, but never saw a day of NFL suspension.

I'm putting $5 ('cause that's all the disposable income I have left until next week) on it being a pretty even tie.

I know. I've had to sit in some crazy-ass employee meetings, but I don't think I could keep a straight face explaining to someone that human waste needs special care.

Ugh, my husband is that way.

You won't believe how common that is.

Haha - yeah our friend was trying to convince us that he was no longer easily squicked out, and after a few pints I thought it would be a great idea to tell this story (I was twenty and a bit of an ass, what can I say?). His reaction went in three stages: mild discomfort, throwing back an entire pint in under 60…

That made me laugh way too hard.

It's normal. I poop like 2-3 times a week, eat plenty of fiber, and drink water.