//How many times have we heard in the last few days, including right here in Salon, "The poor guy is only human;" "I must say I have sympathy for the poor guy;" "This is a tragedy, a TRAGEDY [at least until the Michael Jackson TRAGEDY hit]." And always from another member of the club: a man. Gotta stick together.//

Um, so I just gotta ask, you do know that broadsheet is written by women, right? And that most of the commenters on broadsheet posts are also women? Is this the piece you're complaining about: http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/2009/06/25/mark_sanford/index.html

That was written by a woman.

Most men I know hate Mark Sanford and have zero sympathy. He's a two-timing ass, not to mention he's been having hot, international sex and we aren't.

When a guy cheats, it's because he's a selfish asshole who can't control his urges and can't keep it in his pants. When women cheat, it's because they're emotionally unfulfilled and their needs aren't being met, they need to explore, to find/rediscover their true selves, yada yada.

The former is seen as society as invalid, while the latter is considered reasonable. I have no idea how accurate those characterizations are, but those are certainly the stereotypes.

It's obviously been a while since you saw The Breakfast Club, the gun in question was flare gun, not a handgun. Still dangerous, but not exactly a lethal weapon.

I'm surprised at the people here who are hating on Ferris Bueler, which I consider Hughes' funniest and most completely realized film.

First off, the eponymous Ferris may be slightly smug, but he is not spoiled or entitled. Materially, he's notably less well off than other characters in the movie ("I don't even have a piece of shit car, I have to envy yours,"). Ferris gets what he wants by being clever, and very, very lucky. Your reaction to the character probably depends partly on how lucky you've been.

But everyone who says they don't like Ferris Bueler because they don't like Ferris Bueler is completely missing the point.

The film is not really Ferris' story, it belongs to his best friend Cameron. Ferris is exactly the same person at the end of the film as he was in the first scene. Cameron is the character with a moral arc: the one who grows and changes as the movie progresses. Everyone here should watch the movie over. The key scene to watch for is the one right before the parade sequence, where Cameron and Sloane are walking and talking in Daily Plaza together after Ferris has disappeared.

Cameron expresses the same frustration with Ferris as many of the commenters here: "As long as I've known him, everything works for him. There's nothing he can't handle. I can't handle anything. School, parents, the future. Ferris can do anything." and there's a clear moment of shared intimacy between Sloane and Cameron.

Ferris Bueler is an impossible, larger-than-life character, seen through the eyes of his very fallible, and very human, friend Cameron

How many other relatively serious medical procedures can you get on demand on a same-day walk in? I had to wait over a month for dental surgery, recently.

Is probably not the leisurely, hobby-filled picnic some of the commenters here seem to think it is. Taking care of kids is a major hassle, and household chores are dull and monotonous.

That said, at least you would be autonomous, set your own schedule, and (in the case of parenting) have a fulfilling emotional reward for your troubles. Lots of women choose to stay at home, and seem to find it a valid choice for their lives, I don't see why men shouldn't have the same option.

But everyone here who has pointed out that no successful woman would ever want a potential stay-at-home dad as their partner is right on the money. High-achieving women want to be with (ideally, even more) high-achieving men. Staying at home is not remotely a socially acceptable choice for fathers.

"And although [it] signs some U.N. treaties and conventions, it refuses to be held accountable."

"But in many areas, the [it] uses its special privileges to obstruct more modern consensus on the usual issues"

Damn straight! They need to kick the United States out of the UN immediately! And slap some sanctions on there while they're at it.

Wait, the article's about the Vatican? What?

Considering how much you western liberals like to worship at the altar of "Diversity" you seem to have a shockingly poor time getting your heads around the fact that that Muslims, who number roughly a billion, are *gasp* a DIVERSE group!

This kind of fetishistic obsession with female virginity has nothing to do with Islam, and everything to do with the culture of certain Middle Eastern countries. This kind of thing doesn't happen in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, nor is it common in Turkey, a large, predominantly Muslim nation, but one with its own unique cultural history and traditions.

Repeat after me: This is about culture, not religion. This is about culture, not religion.

Good!

Next week's lesson: not all cultures are absolutely equally "good".