It might be the only excuse they have, and it's one that cultural relativists and true believers will respect/ignore. Not so for the others. Oh, and here's another thing... other people (stereotypically, her closest male relative, but anybody) might be more likely to help if they don't feel abuse is condoned by "god."

How is Ms. Anthropie a bigot? How can you be a bigot for empirical facts and rational thinking, as opposed to superstition?

Suppose your mom had never given birth to you. How could you care?

If you don't have the means/knowledge to prevent pregnancy, isn't that what non-Penis-in-vagina sex is for? Isn't that why it's supposedly so common these days? Or maybe I answered my own question: they lack the knowledge.

Wouldn't breeding just make it worse?

The lowest (First World) rates of STDs and the like are found in the Netherlands. There (and elsewhere) they focus on harm reduction, not some kind of moralism. It works.

... I wish she would make the same point about all religions. They all must go.

It's so disingenuous.

1. So many of these religious types really think that all uncovered women are whores. This applies to those living in "The West" as well, and it's exasperating, because they really have so much less of an excuse.

2. They claim they aren't oppressed because many of them do in fact have educations and jobs and such. Yes, but are they free to (for example) enjoy the mosh pit and sleep with whomever they want? Can they choose not to get married nor have children, or have children without getting shackled? Can they live alone, move away... Freedom means a lot more than employment. Many people seem to be afraid to ask this part of the question.

3. And of course, I know what the solution to all of this is, I think. I don't want people to choose their own oppression, but unless we want a world like Enver Hoxha's Albania, the best we can do is discourage it.

There is no god, anymore than there are fairies flitting around the garden.

I meant to include this part: They think all "outsider" women are Christina Aguilera. They're blind to the existence of, say, Alanis Morissette.

Would I be one of those people "screaming that America is the worst nation on Earth" if I pointed out that the White House supports the House of Saud and opposes secular states in the region?

It's often said that a generation requires larger subsequent generations to offer some kind of support. That's a pyramid scheme, and those are unsustainable.

Someone please tell me where I found my subject line. I'm looking for people, smart people like you, Large.

I think we may have a winner.

"And the OTHER side of the coin which you conveniently left out: No one to be proud of later in life, no one to visit with you or take care of you in your old age, no grandchildren to play with...and MOST important of all, no one who looks at you with those loving eyes KNOWING you are the wisest, strongest, most wonderful person in the whole world."

I think I'm covered in sap and/or syrup.

Over at Snopes.com, they call this "glurge."

The Dutch have the lowest teen birth (and STD) rate, speaking of liberal social mores.

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If the elders are so frail, how will they live such a long time, particularly if things do seem to be getting worse everywhere? Will they want to?

Once again, generations can't continually get larger than their predecessors... though, now that I think about it, each generation gets a little smaller every day, once the next one starts.

I've been reading the obituaries a lot lately, partly because I was looking for somebody. People seem to be dying at all ages. Remember that life expectancy rises and falls largely due to changes in infant mortality. I think it was a commenter here somewhere who mentioned that Baby Boomers seem to be dying at noticeably high rates. Does anybody know anything about this?

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And how many of those new births are planned/wanted?

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned Sarah Silverman's joke about the best time to have a child.

Don't sports, and their role in society, go a long way towards explaining why men are so violent?

Jesus quite probably never existed. www.thegodmovie.com

And wire0monkey doesn't know anything about "isms" or the proper assignation of blame.

If abortion is outlawed, affinity groups around the country need to be prepared to seize the equipment, medical information, and so on and go underground. A situation like that existed before Roe V. Wade.

Of course, it's been suggested that the Republicans have no intention of actually banning abortion, since that will doom them at most ballot boxes for thirty years. Thus we see this gradual, reformist strategy.

Does anybody have any experience as a clinic escort?

... for getting at the heart of the matter. They're trying to stop people from having sex. "Everything's pornographic to them because they're basically sexless themselves." -Johnny Rotten

So many of the immigration-related problems in Europe actually deal with a particular set of immigrants: practicing Muslims. Spain and Portugal already get a substantial number of immigrants from Latin America, for obvious reasons, with (it seems) far fewer problems. If other European countries need immigrants, it stands to reason that they would prefer to take a cue from Iberia. Remember that urban and suburban Latin Americans are part of "The West." Sure, there are plenty of hardcore Catholics in there, but Brazilians and Mexicans and all the rest aren't living in the Dark Ages and wearing the bedsheets like so many of Europe's immigrants today. Come to think of it, you could say something similar about the Phillipines.

Many people refer to anti-immigrant elements in Europe as "right wing," but often these people are actually social liberals.