Mom's will to allow her considerably younger sister to kick her out of her own bed isn't something I have a lot of respect for, but hey, she's a grown woman. But when mom crosses over into lying to conceal the truth about what's going on, it's clear she's no longer behaving like a rational person. The daughter needs to intervene to get her out of this abusive relationship.

About that apartment - I have to disagree with those who suggest getting mom kicked out of her own apartment, forcing her to get the letter writer to co-sign for a new one, thus making her dependent on the letter writer and forced to obey her. Surely destroying the mother's autonomy permanently should be an absolute last resort. And trying to obtain power of attorney over her affairs is bound to be seen as a declaration of war against mom, not Goneril. The whole objective here is to protect mom, not to become her worst nightmare. There's no indication that she's senile, she's simply enmeshed with an abusive psychopath, which can happen to people of any age.

My first resource would be the other family members. Right now mom's in a small world where she can continue to pretend that her daughter is just "mean" and her sister's behavior is reasonable. Get help to confront mom. If she's as afraid of confrontation as the letter writer suggests, it shouldn't be hard to sway her when her sister isn't there to argue. Then let someone else handle the actual kicking out, theft prevention, or whatever else is necessary.

If this approach fails, you may have no choice but to usurp your mother's autonomy, but that shouldn't be the first choice.

Remember, the objective is to get Goneril out AND remain on speaking terms with your mother. If she shuts you out of her life, saving her fortune from her evil sister will be a Pyrrhic victory at best.

Since it doesn't appear that these multiple women are actually having sex with a single man, it's just a case of them adopting stupid fictional language. Like Salon's writers using "grok."

Devdasis have a choice in the matter. They choose to do what they do, and can always leave the temple. They also can be relatively selective in partners. Sex slaves are bought and sold. They have no rights, they have no way of getting out, they are just a commodity.

Thanks for the perspective of someone from India. Unfortunately, as is the case with many things in our own country, it seems that living there doesn't give you an advantage when it comes to the facts.

The woman interviewed in the article did not have a choice in the matter. Her parents made her a devidasi against her will. She cannot leave the temple because she is no longer considered suitable for marriage and has no other way to support herself. She does not select her own partners; her parents sell her to the highest bidder. She is, in fact, bought and sold on a daily basis. She has limited rights, no way of getting out, and is a commodity.

She is, in other words, a sex slave.

I'm tired of people who want to be offended pretending they don't understand idioms. Rather didn't call Couric a tart, he said that the news show was "tarting up," in other words dressing sexy to make itself more appealing. Since news broadcasts are not people, this is clearly metaphorical.

The irony is that anyone thinks Katie Couric would attract a younger audience. Yeah, I'm feeling that. All my college friends want to plug Katie. Geeeeezus.

Someone answer this question for me - I've never had small children, and none of my friends with small kids seem to be able to answer it.

What happened to all the old ladies who used to babysit for us? When I was a kid, my mom worked, my best friend's mom worked, and the two of us spent the days together with a succession of nice old retired ladies. They came from this country, from the same social standing as my parents. Everyone I grew up with was at least partly raised by a nice old lady babysitter. What the heck happened to these people? For that matter, what happened to teen babysitters? Why do moms today have to hire "nannies" from Barbados to do the same job? I thought a nanny was someone who lived with you - if she only comes in two days a week, why is she called a nanny, not a babysitter? Just to be pretentious?

Wasn't really aware of the Maxim list before reading this article, for the simple reason that um... I don't really care that much. But having looked at it... Lindsay Lohan is what guys supposedly find number one hot? Y'all, she's not old enough to drink yet, and she already has the face of a 50 year old alcoholic who lives in a trailer. She has, I'll grant, nice boobs and a willingness to wear clothes that allow them to be seen, but hottest woman in the world? Who thinks this?