One thing I found powerful about the recent Gaugin exhibit at the Arts Institute of Chicago was that they didn’t separate the art from the artist. They showcased all of his work alongside accounts of his child marriages, abuse, racism, and the deleterious effect of tourists like him on Tahitian culture. It was a…

The difficulty is walking the very fine line between resenting her (she honestly seems far less toxic than many celebs) and resenting what she represented (vapid, narcissistic wealth). Far too easy to go low and target the individual while continuing to patronize the cult of vapid, narcissistic wealth.

If you look at her life as a young adult it’s amazing that she didn’t end up addicted and dead. From the abuse she suffered as a teen to having her sex tape leaked it was a lot to get though and she did it while pretending to be the worst version of herself on national TV.

These sort of places are all over, and they get to run without any sort of oversight by claiming religious exemptions, which is incredibly fucked-up. In any other place (say a state-run facility for people with mental illness or developmental disabilities) you can’t restrain people physically unless it’s written up…

That you got through this article and still came to this conclusion says way more about how insufferable you are. 

Learning about this part of Paris Hilton’s life is just blowing my mind.

It was a slimy move, but think of what Clinton would’ve done to Monica if she hadn’t kept it.

I agree that JLS most likely was abused in some manner by her parents [more Jamie than Lynn]. At the same time she has been doing everything possible to claim Britney’s accomplishments as her own. “I Must Confess” as the original book title wasn’t by accident and Britney’s family using her art to promote their own is…

You seem to have very strong feelings about perjury. Can’t say I share them in a perjury trap situation where a person is asked about an affair. Yeah they shouldn’t lie, but it’s easy to see why ppl do on that subject, and thus why it makes for an ideal perjury trap.

• a divorced man saddled with gambling debt who is struggling to pay back his loan sharks ailing mother.

Don’t forget the Supreme Court’s role in ruining Al Gore’s chance to be president. I think about the “what if” a LOT! We could have a president who actually cared about the environment and a 20-year head start on fighting climate change. He also wouldn’t have ignored the warnings about 9/11.

it’s true. The way the article makes it sound like Dorland was upset that everyone wasn’t falling all over themselves to praise her kidney donation does make her seem insufferable but then Larson clearly went well past the point of simply being “inspired” by the whole story to being clearly vindictive. And it would…

Have you seen Michael Hobbes’ (he of You’re Wrong About fame) take on this? It’s truly fantastic and he did all the research you want to know but don’t have the time to do.

Yes, the entire time I read the story, up until the mean-girl group thread was revealed, I kept saying to myself “Dorland is claiming this is about plagiarism because this is her only legal recourse, but this is in large part about the sting of having a group of mean girls (and guys) snickering behind your back after…

Yeah this article doesn’t provide much context. I was actually sympathetic to Sonya at first (emailing someone to ask why they didn’t “like” your kidney post is extremely fucking insane and I would say anything - including “I value our relationship” when it clearly isn’t true - to get out of an exchange with such a…

Dorland inspired a different reaction, and I have never known why. Here was someone who was driven and passionate about many of the same things as me (writing, social justice, reproductive rights) but whose approach to those subjects made me feel insecure in ways I still find hard to pinpoint. We were friendly at…

To me that’s always been the crazytown topping on this whole story.  Nevermind walking into a white house internship planning to hit on the goddamn president of the united states, once she succeeds in hooking up she keeps a dress in her closet with his goop on it?  That’s just unhinged.

Even after all these years, the stained dress, kept by her like a trophy, will never not be gross. But it’s also a little funny, fascinating, and salacious. Goldberg on learning about it: “I can die now, I’ve finally heard everything. I’m finished.”

Ah, yes. Fruit of the poisoned tree. The initial investigation was a fishing trip looking not to investigate a known crime but to encourage the creation of one. Having nothing to go on, the usual “Resisting Arrest” charge from the cops doing the beating.

Also hilarious, Drudge firing up his modem, and then making tea while it connects.