That was very understandable and reasonably argued. Thanks. Good job Salon having Reich on the team.

So I don't go. Boil rice or pasta at home if you want cheap, easy, relatively healthy food.

Getting married and having kids isn't like buying a new car or something. Your decisions affect other people here. When you got married did you think about this?

I'm not sure if you should go or not, but it doesn't seem like your a serious person. I'd work on that as opposed to worrying about my uninspiring wife.

What city? What country? Who won't hire you to teach English cause you aren't blue eyed and blonde? Did they actually say that? How do you know this? Lack of specificity makes for bad reading....

Anyway, I agree with some of the other commentors. You're young. Making a living as a writer or in some gig that uses a literary degree isn't easy. Finding a job period isn't easy right now. Don't beat yourself up over that. You're in good company.

Try to find something that will help pay the bills. It will keep you busy and you can gain a sense of accomplishment in doing a job well no matter how low caste.

Finally, if your parents are ashamed of you because you work in a sandwhich shop they're idiots.

As far as I'm concerned Obama can be the worst husband in the world. That wasn't what he was elected to do. AFAIK GWBush was a reliable, non-philandering husband and his wife might have got along with him great. Means nothing to me. Clinton, dog that he is, presided over peace and prosperity and good international relations. Don't confuse the President with the Royal Family. The Pres actually has a job.

I like this line - "American fertility clinics exploit the situation, “unabashedly advertis[ing] … services in Indian- and Chinese-language newspapers in the United States.” "

How is this exploitative? They are doing what there customers want? This strikes me as quite the PC dilemma. Choice is good, all cultural traditions are equally good, therefore we need to make the fertility clinics, ie abortionists who are usually the good guys, the bad guys in this case. Niiice.

I'm pro-choice, think this is a fucked up predjudice but it certainly isn't the fertility clinics fault.

I notice nothing about you. Do you live with the kids father? If not, any new boyfriends? What's your job history like? Do you move around alot? Do you scream at your kid?

Your kid might be a total beast, but you raised her. Sorry. In any case, hang in there a couple years and she'll be gone.

My advice is play it cool for a couple of years. This kid is alien to you at this point. Do what you can to keep her out of jail and get her an abortion if she needs one.

When she's gone you might want to think about fixing yourself.

From what I can tell nobody seems to like having teenagers. The ones who are least unhappy with them praise their obedience, grades, manners - and that's it.

The LW said her daughter, at 16, lacks the means to live on her own. No doubt. Too bad there isn't cause that's obviously what both parties want.

I wonder if the LW wants, or expects, to have a relationship with her daughter when she's grown up. My advice would be give up on that. It's not likely. Just try to keep things quiet for a couple of years.

"As with most Americans, my own ideas about love were formed not only by books -- "Jane Eyre" and "Pride and Prejudice," "Emma" and "Wuthering Heights," yes, as well as the incestuous "Flowers in the Attic" series, "The Thorn Birds," and the Andrew Greeley books with their fornicating priests -- but by soap operas and romantic comedies: the tempestuous on-again-off-again affair of Bo and Hope on "Days of Our Lives," the jaunty repartee of "When Harry Met Sally.""

I doubt if most Americans have read these books, much less been motivated to model themselves after them. Soap Operas? Please.

Not everyone is as literate, or delusional. Some people have spouses they like regardless of what the Romance Literature Mafia/Nehring wants them to think.

Because, in general, people haven't liked what these authors have been offering. Sorry. There isn't any conspiracy. People would rather watch Tennessee Williams over Lillian Hellman, or watch The Vagina Monologues every Valentine's day (how radical!) Try worrying about artistic content instead of group-think score keeping.

Suggestion for the women who did this study - Write a play that you would like to see instead of complaining that people like stuff and your jealous.

Jesus. It's 2009. Some people will never learn.

Nicely Done. It'll take some time for me to process this. MJ was part of my youth. I have to agree with the Elvis analogy. So big so early. So much indulgence in the later years.

We'll always have the music though.

RIP. Michael.

But, I hate the hokey way this frames the issue.

Typical Mr. Wobegon.

Why should you have to pay for health care? Hey, food should be free too.

Don't ask anyone else to like it for you. If you like it, do it. If not, don't.

This shouldn't be a big deal. Examine your life as to why it is. It aint about the guitar, I'm sure of that.

Before the drove the company into bankruptcy. As someone's who's been in business for 20 years I'd say 90% of the long hours are to prove how hard you will work and 10% of it is to accomplish something. Jack wants to let us know how macho he is. That way his 200 million dollar golden parachute is justified. He earned it!