Socialism has long been equated with communism in this country. Fifty years of the Cold War and people want nothing to do with socialism or communism—or so they think...

Given an omnipotent, omniscient, and ‘good’ God; the only way to explain ‘evil’ is free will. Also, punishment for transgressions, and asking God for forgiveness both presume free will. If people have free will, then elections are not directly under God’s control—God could indirectly attempt to manipulate the outcome…

My mistake. I forgot that ethics are so 20th century. Well, maybe 19th century. 18th? 1st century BC?

Yes, all of a sudden these conservative donors are champions for the virtuous treatment of women. In reality, they probably believe the same things as Trump—and they support candidates who want to defund Planned Parenthood, oppose paid parental leave, and oppose equal pay for equal work...

Ignorance, fear, anger, and hate—the building blocks of racism—boost ratings. High ratings attract advertising. More advertising means more money. So racism = money, and money is what really counts in our society. It’s no surprise that some media outlet would capitalize on such a lucrative market—corporations are in…

I didn’t deny some form of self-awareness—just the ability to project the results of actions into abstract future consequences such as “will hurt.” It’s clear that social insects can exchange information, but in itself that does not imply self-awareness on the part of individuals...

“As someone who has also lost friends and loved ones to AIDS...”

In the end, it’s not about whether the sexual act hurts or not—but whether the drive to perform the act is stronger than any perceived negative consequences of the act. For most species it is not even possible for members to contemplate the consequences of the sexual act, so it is irrelevant whether it hurts...

The correct statement: “If there were ever a species for whom sex was ineffective, it surely went extinct long ago—except for species which reproduce asexually.”

It’s a tricky situation, because Taliban/jihadist society is so male-dominant and misogynist. Attempts to educate women are rejected as Western interference—the exact issue that motivates them. Of course, we should do whatever we can to assist Muslim women and educate them, but in that society significant improvements…

I believe the celebrations of the protesters when the event was cancelled angered the Trump supporters. The protesters were ecstatic that they had ‘stopped’ Trump—and Trump’s supporters were irate that they had been deprived of his appearance. That was the trigger for the violence...

When your government can conspire with private industry to put lead in gasoline and keep it there for 50 years—knowing it is hazardous—anything is possible...

I’m not a big fan of “American Gods”, but it’s pretty clear that it’s *heavy* allegorical fantasy—not in any way trying to tell a true story or accurate history. Also, he made an effort to include many ‘gods’ from different belief systems, as well as making up a bunch of ‘New American Gods’ like ‘Internet’ and…

Fair enough—but the concept of souls does affect the thinking of those opposed to abortion and some types of contraception, so one can argue it is relevant...

I see your point regarding PP. It’s just such a shame that conservatives cannot support sex ed and contraceptives to reduce something they call ‘murder’...

Thank you for the clarification. In general, the U.S. numbers appear to be much higher than those of other countries like Canada, Sweden, and France. Is this due to better education or ‘free’ contraceptives because of their national health coverage?

“...but if you are seriously posting a comment with the sequence of words not all men in it, you maaaaaaaaaaay want to read a bit more.”

“Oh come on. Are you suggesting that ‘Called offensive names’ is comparable to being stalked or physically threatened?”

I enjoy reading the comments on Jezebel, and I’m a man. Just so you know that some guys respect the opinions/attitudes/comments of women. And I agree that misogyny exists, unfortunately—but not all men are misogynistic...

2001 data which shows how the U.S. compares to other countries for adolescent pregnancy/childbirth (no surprise, we are not doing well):