"This violates equal opportunity housing laws...

...unless she'd also sell to a straight woman and be her maid.

-- area woman"

The advert doesn't say anything about the buyer needing to be a man (I think she knows better being a realtor). Honestly, I think she'd just be happy to have someone get her out of her crappy mortgage and let her keep living in the house.

Depending on the details of her offer of "summers in Europe," I might be interested in buying her out. As long as my husband can come along.

First off, a servant in NOLA with no family and a Voodoo-priestess godmother? Is that really the common experience of a young African-American woman?

OK, being a white woman, I am no expert in what constitutes an accurate portrayal of the black or brown "experience." Living in mutlicultural neighborhoods and attending liberal urban universities doesn't cut it, and I get that.

However, I do see how it could be difficult for [presumably mostly white male] Disney execs to figure out how to make a non-white children's movie: you don't want to "Anglo-cize" non-white characters, but you also don't want to resort to stereotypes to get the "THIS IS A BLACK/BROWN PRINCESS" message across.

I'm no expert in the demographics of Disney either, but maybe the solution is for Disney to put people with more diverse life experiences in executive roles. Maybe, just maybe, Disney should be less concerned with how to least offend people by the steroetypes perpetuated in its *movies* and more concerned with how to address the stereotypes perpetuated by its *business practices.*

When I started reading the linked article, I shuddered and was totally grossed out.

But as I read a little more (and saw how tiny and cute the fish are!) I started thinking, "I wonder if there are any salons in California that do that?"

Weird, intriguing, downright fascinating. I just might be in.

"How do judges who make statements like that keep their job? I know many judges are appointed or voted in, but shouldn't there be something, such as blatantly sexist statements, that would call for immediate dismissal?”

Well, yeah, in America…but I’m guessing since the plaintiff’s case was dismissed and the result published internationally, this statement is no so outrageous in Russia.

Judging other countries/cultures by US standards is a difficult habit to break, but you can’t really make any kind of meaningful analysis unless you try!

I just polled my fiance. He's all for it to. Especially since I'm the scatterbrained one and he has to remind me to take my pill nearly every night anyhow. He says he'd rather take it himself.

Regarding the picking-up-socks analogy, my experience is that dirty socks on the floor of the bathroom, living room, etc. don't bother most men (like my guy). They don't "forget," they just don't care.

Most guys are plenty responsible, give them some credit! Seriously, does anyone think that guys are unable to remember to take a PILL to prevent a BABY? I know plenty of guys (including, thankfully, all the men in my office) who manage to remember to shower, brush their teeth, put on deodorant, and find clean socks and undies every morning. The consequences of forgetting those things are much shorter-lived than forgetting to prevent a kiddo.

There are few arguments against male contraception that don't also apply to female contraception. It's not about who is better equipped to remember, or who benefits more from contraception, but about equal responsibility and input regarding family planning.

The article, the pictures from the original article, and the letters got me thinking:

1. The skirt "movements" of the 80s and 90s were not mainstream trends so much as they were something people did to stand out and/or rebel (e.g. Robert Smith, Cobain & Grohl) that some [pseudo-]rebellious kids followed.

2. There's a strong minority of dudes in my area who rock a sarong after surfing if they're going to be hanging at the beach a while. It's easier and more secure than a towel, and easier than remembering/putting on dry shorts I guess.

I used to work at a beachfront camp with a focus on surfing, and a lot of the guys rocked the sarong after the last surf of the day; admittedly, it was mostly the Aussies. A couple guys (2 Americans, 1 Kiwi) wore Utilikilts if they were out of the water the whole day. When I worked for Outward Bound most of the river leaders and a couple mountain leaders would wear sarongs, wrap skirts, or kilts for ease of changing and less chafing.

3. I don't think men's skirts will become mainstream enough to be found in Wal-Mart or Target any time soon, but I look forward to seeing more men in sarongs on the beach and in kilts on the trail. I'd much rather come home to my honey in a sarong and no shirt than his usual gym shorts and nothing else.

...is beyond mistaken, it is dangerous. This country faces serious privacy and data collection concerns that are not problems in other countries which choose to protect their individual citizens over their corporations.

I'm not advocating that the US should effectively censor the internet, or should completely ban data collection, but there needs to be balance. A president who is likely to veto (or at the very least, be skeptical of) a law that might limit some telecom corporations' rights simply because he doesn't get it? Because its a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, gobbledygook? That's frightening.

PS McCain's "meh, I'm old" argument is weak. My father is 69 years old and trained/worked on the first computer developed by the US Air Force, and went on to IBM thereafter. Hell, my 86 year old grandmother is a downright expert on searching for zany internet videos. The internet's not going anywhere. Educate yourself McCain, you can't make your interns do everything for you.