I actually kind of wish that they would stop bringing up the fact that the kid is autistic. It just makes me feel a little like that's all that matters about him (at least as far as headlines are concerned). I get that it's particularly terrible to do something like this to someone who may not be able to read social…

MmmHmm. And one more thing: it doesn't matter to me the victim is autistic ..to do this to another human being autistic or not, is cruel and awful. Straight Up.

How much you want to bet there will be a huge contingent of people who will say all the "we're raising a generation of weak babies, nobody can take a joke, helicopter parents, everybody gets a trophy, etc" bullshit?

i don't think community service will help their understanding of what they did

They're probably horrified that their children have been arrested AND that the neighbors now know exactly how awful their spawn is. I'd guess that they're less horrified that the people they raised have turned out this way.

I said it on Gawker, I'll say it here: $10 says the parents of the five charged will release one of the following statements: "Boys will be Boys" or "When we were kids we played pranks" or "These boys were just having a little fun that got out of hand" or "Kids have been playing pranks on each other for years" or some…

Mark, I want you to know that I tucked into bed with my computer this afternoon due to feeling a bit..."under the weather". You posts ranging from horrifying to hilarious to heartbreaking have gotten me through the day. I really appreciate you.

For years, everyone in the world has misunderstood Kristen Stewart's compressed emotional range. They thought it meant she was a limited actress; it means nothing of the kind. She is John Wayne being forced to play the Maureen O'Hara character. Give her a rail to lean against during a sunset, a military jacket, a…

I no longer wish to live in Montana.

BAM. All the stars to you today Tracy, all the stars!!

Yeah, yeah. But can't he ... like, dance while he's being all fabulous?

That was Strawberry Shortcake's second cousin right?

How about a robot that just cleans and organizes the whole house, you know, like Rosie.

Ask and you shall receive:

Woman Republicans are almost as strange to me as gay Republicans these days. Show me a black lesbian Republican and my head might actually explode.

I had to get my then 7-year old (now 10 year old) daughter a phone by court order, as her visitations with her father had a tendency to go south, requiring a call from her to me to come get her to end the visit. Generally speaking, don't judge a kid with a phone by it's cover.

Cthulhu is clearly trying to send us a message.

I'm quite happy with it the way it is, myself. Not calling attention to the attitude will just allow it to continue to spread unchecked and unopposed. If we don't call them out on it, then we just make it that much easier for them to spread their vileness.

I think this is a much better approach. Instead of doing the dive-into-the-deep end shit we got growing up, sex ed should be gradual.

My parents did age appropriate sex ed stuff when I was young. Enough so when my mom was pregnant when I was five I asked them if my father put his penis in my mother's vagina to make that happen. The thought was that if I were ever to be sexually abused that I would have the appropriate knowledge and understanding…