Was in the Harvard Business Review (Sept 2007). It was a very interesting, nuanced article. It wasn't an angry screed against the patriarchy.. It covered a lot of topics, from women's own choices that can negatively impact their careers, to the false assumption that getting back into the workplace after a break is easy, and the unconscious biases that both men and women have about women and power. The studies were really interesting about how women do get penalized for being perceived as "angry" and how they have to walk a very fine line in their communication and leadership skills so they aren't perceived in a negative light. That men get categorized as "passionate" or "ambitious" and women are "emotional" and "grasping". The idea of leadership is so historically rooted in maleness that it is difficult for women to be perceived as leaders. I highly recommend that managers, both female and male read it.

I liked The Golden Compass, but the second book was the one that kept me up all night reading. The Specters were downright frightening and I enjoyed the interaction between Will and Lyra. I didn't read Lyra as brave in the first book. I thought she was fearless rather than brave...and kind of a brat.

I read that he was raped and sentenced to 90 lashes. Was he pardoned also? Isn't he at risk for being targeted also? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that the woman was pardoned, but let's not forget that there were two victims here.

Until the US gov't starts requiring mandatory blood and organ donation, I don't see how one can justify a gov't prohibition of abortion. Goodness, we don't even allow dead bodies to be used for medical research without prior consent. So if a dead person still has autonomy over their own body, why shouldn't living women?

Maybe men should be allowed to terminate their parental rights in the 1st trimester. That way the mom-to-be would know exactly where she stood in her relationship with her "partner". I'd say for unmarried folk this should be an option...it the man decides to terminate his rights, then he owes 50% of the cost of an abortion. Would there be an increase in abortions? Maybe, but maybe not. As it stands now there are a lot of women having the children of men who are pretty obviously not interested in supporting their kids, existing or soon-to-be. Yes, I know the state picks up the tab if the mom can't support the child, but doesn't the state waste enough money now on tracking down dead beats and dealing with family court issues. Why not cut through the crap with the option of terminating parental rights?

As far as male PAS, my husband still feels guilty over the abortion his ex college girlfriend had. I think it's more because he didn't try too hard to convince her out of the abortion...in addition to the whole Catholic thing. It's definitely not something overwhelming or consuming. It's something he thinks about when her name comes up, etc. But he also readily admits that he wasn't ready to be a father that young. I had one when I was 18 and have never felt anything but pure relief. But then I don't have any Christian background to provide an impetus for guilt.

ThingsWeSaid said "However, I think sex is an invitation to the child...That is why I don't think an unasked-for pregnancy is comparable to lying in wait to razor out some stranger's kidney."

Does the gov't force parents to provide a kidney to their 8 year old? Do we force them to give blood transfusions or bone marrow transplants? Nope. Because it's an outrageous gov't intrusion into our individual rights. If you think that morally parents should donate body parts to their children, that's a different story. But if you think it should be a legal issue, should parent donor be strapped down and have their kidney razored out because the law requires it? Or should you just jail them instead?

Yes the wife was stupid to make that call to the kid and it was rude. However, that the kid decided to put the v-mail and the admin's home phone on Facebook, encouraging others to make 4am crank call is what's definitely out of line. One return call vs lots of nasty crank calls? The kid should pay to have the admin's phone number changed. The admin should make that new number unlisted. If people need to reach him about his job, use his office number. The admin should then take his wife to a nice weekend away for some relaxation and a stress management class...it sounds like she really needs it!

PS. Virginia is horrible about snow, the merest flurry causes people to stampede to the grocery store stocking up on bread, milk and toilet paper. Schools typically close with the first sign of snow (sometimes even before), so I'm not surprised that the kid expected to not go to school witn 3inches on the ground.