The water contains fluoride in most municipalities and it’s because of a public health initiative to improve oral health, akin to adding iodine to table salt. This does not negate using fluoride in your toothpaste. But let me know how your Tom’s toothpaste and oil pulling turned out in 20 years

I’ve never met your husband or you, but your husband already comes across as “the cool one.”

So...an atheist commenting on the internet who is a little more harsh than some people might feel comfortable with. Ok. *shrug* The minute an atheist says something someone doesn’t like, they morph into the dreaded “Internet Atheist.” Meanwhile, I should feel completely comfortable with people who tell me anyone like…

I’m using the word correctly. You are not. There is no reason for me to use a different word.

As is common, you are confused about what the word “atheist” means. There are different types of atheists—agnostic atheists, gnostic atheists (very rare), anti-theists, etc. Most atheists fall into the agnostic atheist category: Theists say there is a god, atheists say “I don’t believe it.” Most of us are talking…

I think the solution here is simple: raise them Norse. Valhalla sounds so much cooler than heaven does.

Depending on the circumstances, infidelity wouldn’t automatically end my marriage. Neither would sickness or any number of other problems. But if my wife became born again, it’d be over in about 15 minutes. We’re both atheists and have agreed that if one were to go crazy and become a bible-thumper, the other one gets…

But they are all fictional. So if people want to follow Harry Potter or Cthulhu, those options are no less legitimate than older offerings.

Or like appointing Betsy DeVos as education secretary.

This is an interesting point, actually, and one that is certainly rooted in the patriarchy and impossible standards on women. We are supposed to be some perfect formula for male desire. We can’t be too into our jobs, too smart, too athletic or boyish (or if we are boyish, we need to clean up and look hot in a dress),…

I guess it could be both a trope AND racism, but that was my thought too—the rejected potential love interests in romantic comedies are always played for laughs.

Yeah, it’s super easy to see it as a trope instead of a deeper issue when white women are depicted as a caricature and “the One” in the same movie. They get to be seen in multiple ways.

Sarah Vowell actually is part Cherokee and has said it drives her nuts, to the point where if she mentions her heritage she can tell people assume she’s making it up/exaggerating in order to boost herself.

Those are all perfect because when you’re done, you can go home, take a shower and relax. At 41 I need some TLC after a day in the sun.

I will probably never go to Sasquatch.

I imagine you’re joking but just in case, not pumping while away from a nursing baby can be incredibly painful and can lead to an infection called mastitis. It can also badly hurt your milk supply. Throwing it away before getting to the airport is also a poor option for many women who need the milk for when they are…

Fellow Oregonian here - all my friends in HS would go to Sasquatch and aside from being too poor to attend, i had absolutely NO desire whatsoever to subject myself to that. Underage kids with booze and drugs and shitting in the woods/gorge? HELL NO.

As someone turning 30 pretty damn soon, the idea of paying hundreds of dollars to go to a crowded festival that may involve sleeping in tents just... doesn’t cut it anymore. The only festivals I’ll go to are the ones that are in/around major urban areas, and there are more than enough of those that I can see major…

This is speculation on my part, but I wonder how much connection there is between sexual harassment at cons and the “disenfranchising” we also see at cons, the claims that some people are not “true fans,” because they’re not geeks, because they’re not knowledgeable enough, because they’re not male or white or…