Another thread, another day falling deeper in love with Penabler. It is, as Uoggaloth says, The Way of Things.

Yes, exactly! Is there science behind that? If I take Advil every time I have a headache, does that make it "less effective" over time?

Kinda tangential, but is there anything in your experience as a biologist to back up the idea of only taking medication (especially antibiotics, but anything) as a very last resort to avoid "tolerance?"

Great. Now I have to buy a Katy Perry-affiliated trinket. THANKS OBAMA/JEZEBEL!

...so glad you went first. I love her too.

Before I saw the video, I was hoping it'd be something cute and playful like Miley Cyrus in the unicorn costume. Yeah, no.

Can we add privileged people using "cut a bitch" to this list, please?

I really appreciate the points you make in your second paragraph; in my understanding I was definitely glossing over the way that other authorities police and problematize the parents' behavior and lack of involvement. And thus, the difficulty broad public policy faces in adequately serving all parties involved...

I'm willing to grant parental oversight in many of the ways that you describe, but I simply cannot agree that a parent has the authority to compel their child to carry a pregnancy to term and birth a child simply because that child is under 15. And this handling of the law creates that possibility.

That is literally the only explanation — like Michael points out, the movie didn't even break even.

Unfortunately, parental involvement can in itself become access prevention; the parents may impose religious beliefs upon the child and require her to carry the pregnancy even at her own immediate physical risk. And the situation becomes especially fraught if disclosing the pregnancy may result in abuse (or if,…

A Letters to Cleo reference! Madeleine, you glorious mid-90's darling, you! This is as good a place as any to let people know that Kay Hanley is on Twitter and that you ALL should be following her.

Absolutely, at what point does the cause-and-effect become so freaking obvious that we can safely say "MTV is paying a woman to shoot heroin for the amusement of viewers" if not now? Would she be on TV if she wasn't? They call this "Teen Mom" but how much of the show actually focuses on her being a teen mom vs.…

Totally agreed, I never want to see the day that big noses are verboten!

We are a melting pot, so where are women of color on magazine covers? I think Dodai's point stands. In the US we have a greater range of appearance than ethnically homogenous Korea and therefore comparatively we have a broader range of "acceptable" beauty, but I think we're disenfranchising the same percentage of…

Hahaha, totally — whenever I go home and visit my grandmother we go to Red Lobster. My whole family acts like we're putting up with it to satisfy my gram but secretly we're all quivering with Cheddar Bay Anticipation.

LaComtesse with clutch Alfie ref #1!

Hi! I don't understand why you're getting such vicious replies. Oh well.

Yes! I definitely agree. The arc of the moral universe is long, and all that.

If there's any silver lining, that's it — we're developing systems to call this behavior out and hold institutions responsible for their inaction. I'm... just gonna hold onto that so I don't feel compelled to drown myself in a bathtub of scotch.