The question seems to be "Should teenage boys and teenage girls be treated equally when it comes to the definition of sexual abuse?" And I have to give a resounding "Yes." The reason stautory rape laws exist is that there is a power differential between a teenager and an adult. While a teenage boy's ultimate fantasy might be to get with his teacher, he doesn't have the experience level to even know what form a relationship with her might take in real life or what the emotional and psychological implications of acting on the urges are. His adult teacher does, and she has a responsibility to protect her students from harm.

Does it matter if someone lied if the results of their actions are positive? Of course!

The reason it matters is because of false advertising. If someone is representing themselves as a doctor and they haven't earned the degree, that's fraudulent. People began seeing her under false assumptions and she got paid as a doctor by the health insurance companies. She benefitted from her lies, and she benefitted more than her patients did (since she got a full thriving practice and payment she didn't deserve.) Being a stripper doesn't have anything to do with her fraudulent behavior, except that it's all the more embarressing for her when her lies comes to light. If she'd presented herself as the counselor that she really is, prosecutors wouldn't be able to touch her!

This is just like the Frey scandal... Just because your fraudulent actions helped someone, it doesn't make them correct!

My body developed very young, and it developed, should we say, dramatically. I had a difficult time dealing with the sudden onslaught of male attention. Being a young feminist, I resented being seen primarily as a sexual being, and I dressed in baggy clothers and thriftstore tee-shirts to protect myself. When I think back on that, I don't feel like I was dowdy, I feel like I was showing those around me that there was more to me than my budding figure. If it weren't for feminism, I think I would have felt a lot more pressure to embrace the sexual attention as the only relevant kind for a young lady to recieve. Feminism, and the choice to dress as I chose for me, gave me the opportunity to figure out who I was without the world telling me first. Once I figured out, I gave up the baggy garb.

I am surprised to read all the letters from writers who say that the mother in the story doesn't sound too bad at all. Dani's mother sounds very cold and self absorbed to me (taking 3 hours to come to the hospital so as to get completely coiffed for the event, for example); she was more concerned with appearing to be a good mother than the acutal well being of her daughter.

There is a difference between saying the right things, "I was so worried" "He's perfect", etc. and actually meaning them. It seems to me that that is at the center of Dani's disconnect from her mom. The mom said all the right things, but it always came across as if she was saying them so that she could appear to be a good mother, rather than because she was truly concerned.

If you've ever been around someone who behaves like this, it's very disconcerning because what you hear a person saying does not fit with what it feels like they are saying-- it doesn't ring true as supportive or 'connected'. I think that disconnect is exactly what Dani is struggling with.

...The results were "surprising and discouraging" because of the "breadth of impairment" they observed in the 140 girls who had ADHD compared with the 88 who did not.

28 girls in the study both have ADHD and don't have it?

In all likelihood she was: shouldn't she get a stay for having suffered at the hands of the guards? I guess it depends on if the Vietnamese condone the torture of prisoners. If the don't, shouldn't the government do something to 'pay her back'?

She has taken the same tack suggested by Merrit. She donates money, uses her fame to highlight good causes (like poverty in South Africa)-- and is a foster mom to 6 (I think) South African girls. She provides funding for their support, but she wants them to become leaders in her own community, rather than be taken out of their homes. I remember seeing her say that she considered adopting them and moving them to the US, and she decided against it-- not only because she didn't htink she'd make a great mom with all her other responsiblities, but because it wasn't in their best interests.

You have been my main source for new about women since your inception. Keep doing what you're doing!

It's superstantial.

That George and Laura number far surpassed the Creepiness factor of last week's Carrie-Underwood-hugging-starving-African-children montage.

We had to pause the DVR and rant about who at Fox thought that it would be a good idea to have that stiff warmonger who is responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of Iraqis on a pop show. Why the heck would he go along with it? He's not a fan of the show (as we discovered last year when the idols visited and he told them he was 'aware' of the show). It was clearly a pathetic attepmt to garner support from the young crowd.

I'm not a conspiracy type by any means but right wing Fox giving that type of press to that president on the issue of povery in Africa (given his record of cutting off support for sex-ed programs in developing countries that provide condome, which obviously makes the AIDS epidemic far worse) is just sooo. Icky.