In pioneer society, and yes, even up until I was a young man in the seventies, the legal age at which young people could marry was 12 for women and 14 for men (in Quebec, but I think similarly in many places - Mrs. Jerry Lee Lewis, eg). I question the cited ages for 150 years ago of 17 (!?) - this just doesn't make sense in historical terms.

I suspect the data. Victorian squeamishness about matters sexual, IMHO, probably produced distortions in how date on age at menarche was gathered, and probably defined. I don;t doubt that the age of menarche is lower, just not from 17 to 10 - perhaps from 12 or 13 to 10 or 11?

I do abhor the overt media sexualization of younger and younger girls, sexuality portrayed in the most coarse and objectifying way. This pervades our sick society - I mean, Miss America was coerced into having breast implants by the pageant management. WHat a repulsive mutilation of her healthy body, all for vanity and GREED.

We objectify what we should respect, we lust after what we should worship, we abuse what we should protect.

Hail Gaia!

By snubbing the "left" (you know, that well-known socialist, nay, communist, Feingold), and garnering plaudits from the authoritarian right, he can have his cake and eat it too when the Supremes (probably, but with Alito and Roberts the authoritarian court may rule for the Star Chamber) correctly rule that "preventive detention" is unconstitutional.

Principles? Obama's got lots! And if you don't like the ones he's parroting today, he's got more that you may like better.

If this is an Ivy league Constitutional lawyer, the decay of the American oligarchy is almost complete. Mothers for sale, dime a dozen.

The parasitic, nay, predatory, federal corporation of Amerika continues to reveal itself.

Obama is a politician and apparently has no choice in this. Perhaps the commenters who suggest he fears CIA assassination are correct. But I think its simpler - he's on the payroll, and won't bite the hand that feeds him.

Once a Chicago pol, always a Chicago pol.

Perhaps he thinks he's averting civil war. Or so consoles himself.

Try looking for the sensible, righteous views put forth by Mr. Greenwald anywhere else in the public sphere. Or anywhere at all on TV.

The show of democracy presented to the lumpen by the controlled media is just that. Go there for your pablum.

They can't believe how docile and easily cowed the American population is.

I mean, when was the last time American universities simultaneously demonstrated? In France, this is a regular event - because they understand that action is necessary to protect hard-won rights.

And they know what a fascist is, and aren't afraid to confront the authoritarian bastards. Here we revere them and pay them the big bucks. Who's Limbaugh's biggest sponsor? Fucking General Motors. Incompetent mediocrities funding evil hate mongering assholes. With your money. Ain't Amerika grand?

What is it about University cops?

And certainly no Tasers. And their main job was to head off trouble so that real cops weren't called onto campus - you know, so the students were spared a run-in with the cops.

I don't blame the other students sitting on their hands too much - they were (justifiably) scared of dangerous bully boys and girls in uniforms too cowardly and lazy to do what any good bouncer knows how to do 95% of the time - gently ease down a situation.

Those fuckers CREATED a bad situation, let alone ease it down. And tasing a young man who was not threatening, when he was outnumbered and out weighed at least 5 to one? What;s wrong with this country? (Besides being policed by cowardly bullies at the U of FLA, I mean).

I blame abortion. And suppression of public prayer. And gay marriage. No wonder the police are confused and dangerous and violent. It's the queer abortionist prayer disrupters.....

Another poster mentioned that Klavan's screed (whatever its psychological underpinnings, well discussed above) was essentially war propaganda supported by an appeal to patriarchal values. Patriarchal values which insecure sons of the patriarchy feel are under attack.

How much of the support for Bush's corrupt corporate war was supported by similar appeals to threatened masculinity?

There is, IMHO, a real issue which needs discussion rather than manipulative propaganda use to enrich the powerful: how can men be men in a peaceful society, and how can men's aggressive, dominating masculine impulse be channeled positively?

And respectfully. Respect is an attitude sorely lacking in modern American society, which worships gain and excess and a God who saves without requiring redemptive acts.

Can you see the thung through her pants?

How can our greatest ally Israel (nation of the blessed name) be persecuting Christians? Nope - them terrorists are stinky icky dirty bombing muslims, for sure.

And wiggers? Why should we care about another bunch of camel-riding off-breeds?

The rules of the game are simple:

1) Jew trumps Christian trumps muslim

2) We don't care about wiggers because they're dirty.

3) USA! USA! USA!

4) Support the Troops!

5) Buy more gas and stuff and drive around frantically.

See how easy that is?

Let's say an innocent young Iraqi man, picked up through some treachery, inter-tribal feud settling or even to falsely claim a US dollar reward, and sent to Guantanamo, tortured continuously by the US military and now broken beyond recognition.

We send him home in this condition.

He's now on TV - an endless source of information about US illegal evil behavior.

You can see how Obama might not want this to happen.

So - let's just keep him locked up until he dies. Sooner or later, he will. Problem solved, right?

Empire of Evil, for sure.