Kate Winslet hardly needs my help, being the best actress living as well as maybe of all time, but she has been out there being better than everyone else since her teens. Her acknowledged role as most best while being least rewarded was the joke in the first episode of genius Ricky Gervais' show Extras.

my sympathies lie most with the miserable philosophy student turned "handyman" (and what's wrong with that?). Graduate students are miserable and doubting for a reason--it's a fairly miserable profession.

She's 29 years old and obviously has hit pay dirt with a man so wealthy and spoiled he has apparently outsourced the raising of his daughter. This is after she was abandoned in another country by her mentally ill mother, mind you. If that's not a mandate for actual parenting, I don't know what is. This father is a perfect match for the LW, sounds like--neither one wants a child, and both enjoy the good life.

Cary's advice is right on, of course--it just doesn't seem likely anyone's going to follow it.

Whining about how spoiled Americans are is a tired cliche, equal to the worst of the addiction/recovery language. Most drugs of abuse do not have long-term effects in the body--the brain is different--so when we talk about addiction for, say, heroin, it must encompass more than the short-term effects of withdrawal. Longer-term effects in the brain are not necessarily related to the drug per se, but to cravings and reward. Behaviors are also capable of causing these changes. So why can't a behavior be "addictive"? As we currently define addiction, even for substances, behaviors CAN be addictive. Say what you want about the concept of addiction in general, but there's no reason to exclude behaviors.

You've drawn a line that would exclude some illegal drugs.

or the line between legal and illegal is meaningful.

Since her religious beliefs are most likely behind this criminal act. I am somewhat heartened by the almost universal outrage I see here.

It's worse because one or two of them are in my family. They are truly bad people. They are *profoundly* un-Christian. I don't want to share a country with them anymore. But I want THEM to leave.

And most of the people in prison for non-violent drug crimes are men.

"It's very hard to find any virtuous attribute of the contemporary Republican Party, but one thing that can be said for them is that -- unlike Democrats, whose overarching desire in life is to please the needy harmony fetishists by adopting as many GOP views as possible -- Republicans are willing to incur criticisms by opposing what they oppose and supporting what they support."

god, exactly.

Or am I supposed to feel sorry for him?

Marilyn Monroe was a today size 10 like I'm a 1950s size 4--i.e. nowhere close. It's fine to embrace a wider range of sexy, but let's hold on to reality a little.

If Roland Burris is dirty, he's no more so than the average politician. I doubt he's blago-level dirty. I was over him before this, but whatever, stop giving him a microphone.

"World ending. Women and minorities hardest hit."

...before I knew much about her at all. But then again, I have two types of women, and one of them looks just like Maddow.

I don't understand why you can't talk about this with your friends. I could see why he'd be embarrassed (although he doesn't seem to be), but this has nothing to do with you! I hope you feel that you have a support system aside from this guy, because whether he treats you with affection or not, we all need more than one person.

Cheap or free, culturally celebrated, accepted as reality. Birth control. Condoms are cool. Even for johns. Birth control. Otherwise, it's all just "blah blah blah hypocrisy" out of TN.

conservatives only care about "values" when they oppress or otherwise inconvenience women and minorities.

and I'm tired of sharing a country with them.

seems to be the only sane Republican out there these days. He wrote an article in Newsweek several weeks ago describing how the Republican party should move forward, and in doing so painted a picture of a Republican that even a mother could love. Unfortunately for him, his party has been hijacked by theocrats. Must be most frustrating for him.

I have been wondering the same thing. He may have actual policy disagreements, but he's such a petulant child that he really just comes across as a sore loser.

We don't have enough information to determine whether the boyfriend is a jerk. He's actually being (somewhat) honest about his needs. LW, he may be on board with sleeping with other people, but it doesn't sound like you are. It also sounds like neither of you is ready to sacrifice in order to actually be together like a real adult couple! What is this marriage timeline? How's that going to work if you're about to move to another (albeit closer) continent and he's not ready to move or leave his job? (Psst--it's already 2009.) Sorry LW: you may love each other, but it doesn't look like you love each other enough.

I'd rather live in a system that would deny me super-expensive but potentially lifesaving care for a rare or severe illness, than in the one we have, where I'll probably die from chronic anxiety brought on by a relatively minor illness or accident that bankrupts me.

like everything the Christian right says and does, to be offended by this.

Boys (being CHILDREN) are a protected class, too.

None of us are winners now.

if it weren't for her, there probably wouldn't be Octo-mom, who might instead have taken her inspiration from Britney and stopped at 2.

Thanks, comedy show.