...To a lot of people, so it makes sense for young women to sense how sluttiness would fit in with the general subversions of Halloween. It's a joke, it's a sense of fun, and it's a scary statement all at the same time. Besides, the teenager may be making fun of women who dress that way: "Hey you, you carry yourself that way? That's worthy of derision, that's a Halloween costume." It's like someone mockingly dressing as George W. Bush or Paris Hilton.

I agree with Cary in that there is an inherent subversiveness to it that's very Halloween-y, but it's also intentionally scary.

But it should not be indulged at the expense of women who are slaves of the international sex trafficking problem.

Brightstar, conflating your personal dating problems with the problems of sex slaves show me that you're really not in synch with the whole human rights angle of this story. And as a feminist, I support legalization of prostitution as well. It would be the only way to properly regulate the trade and protect its workers. But those traditional institutions that are against feminism are also against legalization because that would mean that all sex workers, male or female, would be empowered. And that simply couldn't happen. Hey, see how that works? How reality is the complete opposite of what you just imagined?

Actually, I have negative equity on a car I no longer need. I couldn't sell it before because I couldn't make up the difference between its poor market value and its high loan. This, with my tax returns, will be enough to sell my car AND lower my debt.

Later on, with the car payments and credit card payments gone, I will probably move to an apartment that'll eat up half my month's salary and put away a good deal of money into my savings account. I am not projecting any big purchases any time soon.

Manjoo is just being fair in his comments so far, Patrick Morgan. In fact, I was going to reply to some of the comments in the same manner but Manjoo beat me to it. I'm no fan of Starbucks, and I buy coffee from local shops, but some could afford to be a little more nuanced in their attitude towards the chain. Its presence DOES have a tendency to drive up business for mom and pop shops, and it does treat its employees better than most other corporations--even those that make ridiculous profits. Manjoo wanted to point these things out, and it makes the conversation more balanced.

So yeah, we all know corporations are bad, etc., etc. But some of the vitriol here makes me feel like some are just trying too hard.

The "dumb women" op-ed wasn't written well enough to merit even a chuckle. Usually, a brilliant piece of satire really pushes for humor through extreme absurdity or exaggeration, but the author didn't go for either. She was for real, but now she's claiming "satire" to save herself. Oh, please.

I'm glad this article was published because McCain's temperament has always been a concern to me. Well, that and his highly socially conservative voting record. (Do we really need our gov't dollars to go to more abstinence-only programs?)

Anyway, although the media has captured McCain's hot temper at times, I still feel like a lot of people are not aware of this side of him. He's still known as a "moderate" to some friends of mine, and they seem completely unaware about his frequently inappropriate outbursts (and his characteristic mewling afterwards).

He'll probably win the Republican nomination, but in many ways he will be George W. Bush part 2.

Eduard.bertrand had a good point about going out to a place where there's a gay community. You should make the trek to wherever and meet people who are of the same sexual orientation. Why? Because, chances are, they are in similar environments as you (not big city folk), but they are potential friends and mates who will not reject you because of one part of your identity. That's really important.

As for the job thing, I think it's completely normal. Being in debt and possibly living with folks, perhaps not as nice. I was the complete opposite of you, a heterosexual female who was itching to move to a big city and pursue ambitious career goals. But I had to get out of debt first. I worked odd jobs in the evenings and during the weekends on top of my full-time job. I think you should do this too. That way, you don't have to worry about committing to any new career shifts, and you could even pick up new skill sets along the way and might find something you like.

One last thing. I noticed that people who live out in the boonies have one great advantage: a lower standard of living. No high rents, no $10 lunches and whatnot. You don't NEED that much money, except for a retirement plan after you get out of debt. Seriously, though, to the best of luck to you. You're only 26, which is so young, and it's OK to drift...