Letters to the Editor
KitchenGirl
Published Letters: 642 Editor's Choice: 39
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Did you even read the "primary source" that you referenced?
[Read the article: Canadian healthcare: Not "universal" for single women]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The primary source is refuting the claims that RH Reality Check made on her behalf! Jesus!
Here are the relevant paragraphs from her blog post:
"I'm having an interesting internet experience at the moment. In my essay that I read at the Ottawa celebrations, I mentioned that two of my friends in New Brunswick were refused pap tests by their doctors. It was an anecdotal example that was part of a larger point I was making about limits on access to reproductive health care in the province. Anyway, last week I received an email from Pamela Pizarro, who writes for RH Reality Check. She wanted to know more about my friends' experiences. Well, I couldn't really tell her much, since it was secondhand information to begin with, and it really wasn't a big focus in my essay. Anyway, I told her what I could. Well, she ran with it, and this is the result.
[...]
Well imagine my surprise when yesterday I saw this posted at Feministing (internet love of my life). I left a comment to say I didn't think it was as big a deal as the author of the piece was implying, but I don't think anyone paid attention. I'm a little worried that this concern over "NB doctors refusing to give pap tests" is completely unfounded, or at least founded on an offhand remark I made in my essay. I guess when people pick up something shocking like this, they run with it, and it's easy to get outraged over something that doesn't really exist."
This Broadsheet post is *exactly* the sort of thing she feared would happen.
Stop rumor-mongering and PAY ATTENTION!
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Maybe the refusal is financial?
[Read the article: Canadian healthcare: Not "universal" for single women]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Please feel free to bash me as another American ignorant of Canadian healthcare policy, this seems more like a stunt my HMO would try to pull:
Paps test for cervical dysplasia. By far the most common cause of dysplasia is HPV, which is sexually transmitted. If a woman is determined to be at very low risk, i.e. she is not sexually active, then the root cause of cervical dysplasia is virtually non-existent, and thus the exam and the lab -- and subsequent associated costs -- would be unnecessary.
I suppose one could try and extrapolate a "conscience clause" rationale by saying that unmarried women shouldn't be having sex at all, therefore they don't need Paps, but then again married women should be in monogamous relationships with monogamous men so *they* wouldn't need Paps either.
I don't know. It all seems a little weird to me.
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Needing to be told you're a victim?
[Read the article: The myth of "rape hype"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Is the problem that women don't know they've been victimized?
Find out what those surveys define as "rape". My college trotted out that stat themselves, but they also said that 1 in 2 women were victims of "violence" in relationships, and then proceeded to characterize being yelled at or having someone stomp out of a room during an argument "violence" so that should give a little insight into their mentality.
At the risk of tipping my hand too much, I can recall a few instances which met the (extremely questionable) definition of rape propagated by the Women's Studies center at my college.
I would never in a million years make that same claim about myself, however if the WS center asked me to describe those interactions in a survey I guarantee they would categorize me as a victim, and thus inflate their stats to make me the "1 in 4" girl.
I don't need to be made a victim. I totally own my stupid decisions, no matter how much I regretted them the next morning (or even while it was happening). I don't need someone to assuage my shame or embarrassment over questionable encounters by telling me that I was "victimized" by these bad, bad men. I was in it just as much as they were, and I don't think I should get a "get out of regret free" card just because I'm female.
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Kittehs who love
[Read the article: Good news for cat ladies!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Or at least who like warm laps
A few months ago a friend of mine showed up at my door in the middle of the night (invited, of course) because he had just gotten his heart badly broken. When he sat down, my fat little marmalade kitteh immediately lay down across his knees and started to purr. I went to take her out of his lap because he is allergic, but he said it was OK for her to stay and he sat there and petted her little head for a while (until she spotted her toy on the floor, and jumped down again!)
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Goulet!
[Read the article: "Semi-Pro"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Am I the only person who likes Will Ferrell?
You are not the only person who likes Will Ferrell. I think he's freaking hilarious.
I did think Talladega nights was a little dull, although he did a good job of allowing Sascha Baron Cohen to showcase his non-Borat talents: "Yu haf speel my macchiatoooo!"
I *loved* Ferrell's smaller characters on SNL, in particular his cracked-out version of Robert Goulet sitting in a top-down Caddy in the woods with a fake deer in the back seat singing lounge versions of rap tunes, a la "Papaaaaa! I love it when you call me Biiiiig Paaaapaaaa!" as well as the totally insane Neil Diamond on "VH1's Storytellers" telling tales about killing people in Vegas and then singing duets with Bigfoot and speculating that he's probably just incredibly high and really sitting in his basement talking to his water heater.
And of course his home-movie featuring his two year old daughter as his alcoholic landlady demanding the rent and "three beers!"
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I like a good beer buzz early in the morning!
[Read the article: My name is Jane, and I'm a drunkorexic]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Cool, I *am* a victim! I blame society!
I distinctly remembering eating grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner if I was feeling broke and wanted to get a serious buzz on the cheap. Did that make me a pitiable drunkorexic, used and manipulated by oppressive social mores, or just a broke-ass college student?