Love the content (as usual with Mr. Reich), but this piece should have been edited more carefully. The word "wielding" is misspelled in paragraph 3, and the first sentence in paragraph 4 should read, "So why are unemployment and underemployment so high, and why are they likely to remain high for some time?"

Signed,

Former yearbook editor who just can't stop herself from noticing these things

Just realized that I mistyped the word stationery--a definite strike against my credibility as an "intellectual." Oh, the shame. Maybe that's why I don't get Hirshman's point…

"There's something in all of us that craves the trappings of a classic wedding -- even intellectuals who rail against the institution's traditions."

Actually, I'm the living, breathing antithesis of this statement. I was brought up in this world--i.e., the world of people who crave the trappings of classic weddings--but I DO NOT WANT THAT for myself. The thought of being the bride in a traditional wedding gives me the heebie-jeebies. I do want the honeymoon, but only as an excuse to visit some exotic location. So the fiancé and I are going to plan a nice vacation and get married while we're there. (No one else is invited, so it's not a destination wedding.)

Am I the only girl who cringes at the idea of selecting invitation stationary, picking out flatware, and walking down the aisle with everyone staring at me? Maybe it's just me…

I personally think she's just very, very stupid.

Thank you for this post. I am extremely disappointed in Obama right now, and it frightens me to see so many people (like my once-beloved Keith Olbermann) giving BHO a free pass on the FISA thing.

I appreciate the article, but gosh, how helpless it makes me feel! What can the rest of the world do to stop this nonsense? When we do try to help, the volunteers get shot along with the women they try to protect! It seems like change has to come from the religious/cultural leaders inside the society…but how to make them see the light? Can it even be done?

Just a sad, sad situation. As a woman, I am so thankful not to have been born into that kind of society.

I think the plight of domesticated animals is particularly upsetting because those creatures are so helpless. When the world around them crumbles, people can and will stockpile food, call 911, leave town, board up windows, loot stores, etc. Dogs and horses have much fewer options at their disposal, because their humans are supposed to take care of them. That's why the fate of one horse makes me tear up, but the cyclone in Myanmar does not. (Not that I'm unfazed by the events in Myanmar-- I'm just not weepy.)

Mayor Sanders just singlehandedly restored my faith in humanity.

Katharine wrote, "A joke that really only proves the lactivists' point that breasts are considered 100 percent socially acceptable when they're intended to sexually titillate lascivious middle-aged men but 'Ewww, gross' when they're used to feed a kid."

To my knowledge, Hooters customers aren't invited to suck on the waitresses' bulging breasts in the middle of the restaurant. Such a sight would undoubtedly titillate middle-aged men, and yet it's 100% not allowed in Hooters, Applebee's, or any other restaurant that doesn't feature a stripper pole. So yes, there are double standards at work here. But the lactivists are mistaken if they think exposed breasts are ever 100% socially acceptable in U.S. society.