Letters to the Editor
Malusinka
Published Letters: 350 Editor's Choice: 49
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I'm really glad
[Read the article: Virginity: The new feminism?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]That the three big steps in my relationship with my husband:
1) sleeping with each other
2) moving in together
3) marrying
were separated. It made each element easier to manage. My first night with him stunk. I'm sure glad it wasn't at the beginning of a honeymoon.
Moving in with him required getting through all the stupid, squeeze the toothpaste from the bottom of the tube, not the middle and do you need lessons in washing dishes? crap.
Getting all that out of the way meant that our marriage was a celebration of the relationship we'd achieved and not a commitment to forge that relationship under the pressure of 'until death do us part'.
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Seeing as waiting until marriage encourages early marriage
[Read the article: Virginity: The new feminism?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]And early marriages are more likely to end in divorce, I doubt that abstinence works to forge strong marriages.
Further, the rate of divorce and cheating in the religious crowd mirrors the rate in the rest of society.
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Has anyone calculated the cost of getting the particles OUT of the sky?
[Read the article: The sun blotted out from the sky]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Because there's something about this that reminds me of the nuclear energy business as it was being developed: Really cheap, safe, and great for the environment because it was non-polluting.
Our advanced knowledge of science saves the earth!
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The first step is to smile and say 'hi'
[Read the article: I'm a college student with no natural social skills]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]To people in your classes, to friends of your friends. Concentrate on remembering names. A simple 'Hi, Judy' is generally perceived as friendly even if you don't stop to talk.
The next step is to get people to talk about themselves. Ask questions. And keep a watch on yourself if you tend to go off on boring monologues (about say, German class).
Remember what people said and follow up. 'Judy, you feeling better?' 'Joe, pass the test you were worried about?'
Relax. I tend to forget names and go off on boring monologues when I am nervous or depressed. Don't tell yourself that you should be someone you aren't. Just figure out how to have friends being yourself.
Social skills can be learned. You just need practice. Don't beat yourself up for each failure. Some people are naturals, but there are a lot of us who had to work to get out of our shy awkward shells.
Job interviews: practice. Talk about why you are right for the job. Buy a book with interview questions and work up 3 sentence answers to most questions. You probably won't shine compared to your more extroverted classmates, but many interviews are to make sure you can do the job -- in short, all you need to do is pass the interview, not ace it.
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So Hillary's going to cut the price of gas
[Read the article: Hillary's bridge back to the 20th century]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]How? When Clinton was in office, the price of a barrel of crude was around $30 now it has hit $100. Lowering gas taxes isn't going to make a big difference.
This is an example of Hillary's campaigning. She has a solution for every problem, but a lot of them don't make sense or are false promises. People who believe she will lower the price of gas don't want to pay a penny less each time they fill up. They want to pay 20$ less.
Given that the economy is tanking, I think the next president has to have a better grasp of economics than she's shown.
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Most ultrasounds don't show much
[Read the article: This week in repro-rights rhetoric]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Those cute thumb-sucking fetuses are third trimester fetuses. In the first trimester, when most abortions are performed, the fetus doesn't look human. I'd suspect that an ultrasound of a first trimester fetus would help the pregnant woman decide that she's not killing a baby.
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Parental consent isn't enforceable unless ignoring it is punishable.
[Read the article: This week in repro-rights rhetoric]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If my underage daughter got pregnant, I'd want to help her make the right decision.
There are (or should be) alternatives for girls who have abusive families.
Most girls who get pregnant are scared of telling their parents. That doesn't mean the parent isn't the best councillor. It just means the girl's horrified at what's happened.
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The BNP is a fringe group
[Read the article: Rape is like force-fed chocolate cake?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]that disgusts most of Britain. The only way they maintain visibility is by being outrageous to get press attention. Guess what! You've fallen for their ploy.
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Chimpygro
[Read the article: E. O. Wilson gives soccer moms a bum rap]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Those suburban yards you hate are where most kids experience nature. There are bugs and weeds, and trees and flowers. If you live in a city, you have to go to the park -- chaperoned unless you're old enough to walk there by yourself.
In the park, you're not supposed to take sticks, leaves, flowers to study.
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The solution to the problem of abused girls
[Read the article: This week in repro-rights rhetoric]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]is not to treat every parent of a pregnant minor as a scum who tolerates the abuse of her daughter.
And it does not help the majority of girls who need parental support.
I think if the pro-choice movement stopped trying to support every perceived encroachment on "choice" (as if 13 year olds are capable of making adult choices) and worked on the core issue of abortion before viability, they'd have more support.
A first trimester, drug induced, abortion is remarkably similar to a late and heavy period. And third trimester abortion has uncomfortable echoes of infanticide. No amount of rhetoric is going to change the fact that a pregnancy starts out as an imperceptible bunch of cells and ends as a full-term baby.
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Old ways are better? What drugs are you on?
[Read the article: The 2010 census scraps handhelds for pen and paper]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]A failed project doesn't mean the idea fails. Computer input is done by barely trained, low skilled workers all the time. Look at McDonald's or almost any other restaurant. Please don't tell me that any of the people inputting orders to the cash register have resumes full of computer skills and plenty of On-the-job training.
I spent 3 months working for the Federal Gov't. That was enough to make me fully believe that whoever was in charge of this project might have come in late, left early, taken long lunches and in between not bothered to figure out what was going on and that the failure of the project did not damage his career at all.
That's the problem, not technology.
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My problem with the T shirt
[Read the article: T-shirt: "I was raped"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]is that I'm not sure I'd think it meant what it said. I'd probably wonder if it was a joke. Kind of like the I'VE BEEN MUGGED by reality (with reality in really small print so that you have to squint at the wearer's chest, something that is generally rude to do when the wearer is a woman.)