@kithkin: It wouldn't be Hitchens if it wasn't kind of annoying, but at least he was pretty respectful of Elizabeth Edwards, her intelligence, and her strength. Read more

@Adreamerdreaming: Seriously — why is it a "break in character" when she sets someone straight for asking an unnecessary question? She wasn't mean, she didn't curse him out, she didn't say anything insulting. What would Hillary have to do to please people, curtsy? Read more

@velvet.fistfull of love: I think Flanagan is offering HER reading of it, which is filtered through her own impressions of how women "compete" for men — as evinced later by her analysis of Hunter's "seduction" of Edwards. But yes, she is analyzing Scanlon in that section. Read more

@ytuhermanotambien: Cosmo's point was that women don't tell their boyfriends/husbands that they are hot often enough, so when another woman says it, the guy is putty in her hands. Complimenting your partner: good. Implying that by NOT complimenting him enough you are driving him to cheat: not good. Read more

@rednrowdy: Absolutely — I don't condone Hunter's actions at all, and I agree that they constitute girl-on-girl crime. But to act like she single-handedly "stole" John Edwards is treating Edwards like he has no agency. Which both lets him off the hook and is weirdly misandrist. Read more

@LaComtesse: While maybe the soft answer would have gone down better in the moment, I too like that Clinton was a little curt. Hopefully people will stop asking her the question now (although, according to Maureen Down, the questioner was actually trying to ask about Obama, but referred to him as "Mr. Clinton"). Read more

@morninggloria: The sad thing is that this distraction tactic totally works — lots of people prefer to read about Hillary's temper/hair than about largescale rape, and they reward coverage about it. When of course what we should be doing with our revulsion is pursuing concrete solutions, not looking away. Read more

A lot of wits in my life have speculated on the hilarity that will ensue should I ever marry someone with the surname West. Or the less-likely West-Airlines. If I ever get married, I am keeping my name. Read more

@Zombie Ms. Skittles: I prefer to think of that graph as having "hysteria" on the y-axis and "stupidity of topic" on the x. Read more

@laureltreedaphne: Although, back when this story first broke, Larbalestier said books with black people on the cover are promoted less, and that we don't even know what sales potential they have because they haven't received the same backing from publishers as "white" books. So it may actually be the fault of… Read more

@colormeroutine: One time I was talking to my mom about this, and she said I could've learned to read earlier if she and my dad had "pushed" me, but they didn't want to. I don't know about this (moms tend to overvalue their kids' precocity/intelligence), but I do think parenting decisions influence when kids hit… Read more

@lilbobbytables is a la-di-da feminist: I am sending my cat to law school. His opening argument will consist of eating a plastic bag for ten minutes and then barfing, but he will later win over the jury by curling up in their laps and making little kitty-sleep noises. Read more

@anastasia beaverhousen: Can you elaborate? For me the top link goes to a pic of a dude in khakis, and only when you start clicking thru the gallery does it get NSFW (as I mention in the post). Read more

@erika: I have to say, States talks about whether the photos are "exploitative," and it strikes me that Luke's may be calculated to humiliate. With the scotch, and the socks — I mean, come on. Read more

@funnyface: I felt this way when I bought wood glue and a clamp and repaired a chair. Then a (tiny) woman sat in the chair and it broke again. Then my friend told me that one of the worst feelings in the world is when you break a chair, because no matter how small you are it is humiliating. There went my feelings of… Read more

@NefariousNewt: Right — I also think the mistake Pilinksi and, to an extent, Love-Shy.com are making is to tell these guys that other dudes aren't shy because they know how to control women (ie. they never get turned down). No, most people still get rejected a lot — they just don't let it keep them from ever asking… Read more

@bluebears: I totally have sympathy for these guys — approaching people is hard, getting rejected is scary. Yeah, you learn to deal with it, but some people need extra help and that's okay with me. As long as they get it from a therapist or trusted friend, and not from a book teaching them to control people. The cure… Read more

@SarahMC: I'm doing this!: Right, the idea that health care reform will mean "someone else" dictating our health care is just ludicrous — as though Americans have so much power over their own health now. Read more

@dreamweave: I was kind of warming towards him after he did the climate change ad with Pelosi, but his rhetoric here is pretty irresponsible and I think he is smart enough to know it. I would really like to be inside his head to see if he really thinks we are in danger from "all sorts of panels," if he's operating… Read more

@EkaterinaBallerina: I think the cops are still trying to figure out the exact chronology of the morning. When she left the campground initially, people saw her and said she was fine. Four hours later, she was wasted. More will probably come out later about when she managed to drink all that vodka. Read more