Letters to the Editor
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Published Letters: 21 Editor's Choice: 3
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Promoting Promiscuity? Huh?
[Read the article: HPV vaccine recommended for preteen girls]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I don't understand the argument that vaccinating 11 and 12 year olds against HPV will promote promiscuity. As a kid, I didn't have any idea what vaccinations I was receiving - I was just taken to the doctor and given a shot with the promise of one of those little dum-dum suckers afterward. My dad was my doctor - if any kid would've felt comfortable asking, "Hey, what's that you're giving me? What's it for?" that would've been me.
Those who are really worried that the knowledge of a vaccination against a disease which the kids have probably never heard of before will somehow promote promiscuity, when other much more commonly-known risks, such as pregnancy and AIDS, still exist... well, just don't tell your kids what that shot is for. Or, go ahead, tell them it will help prevent a form of cancer. That's not exactly going to make them think, "Oh, hey, I can sleep around now with no consequences!"
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So lesbianism = the new rhythm method?
[Read the article: Can bachelors save damsels from abortion?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I laughed aloud at the line "Most women are pro-choice and, therefore, will have no incentive to abandon their current practice (whether celibacy, lesbianism, or contraception)..." So the new theory is that women "practice lesbianism" in order to avoid pregnancy? I'll make sure to pass that on to my sister and her new wife (yay, MA) and partner of more than a decade - they're too old to have kids now, so they can give up the charade and go marry men instead. Finally!
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Strip it down
[Read the article: My husband beat me. Should I divorce him?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]He became possessive.
He abused you verbally.
He abused you physically.
He promised to stop.
He abused you again.
And again.
And again.
You left.
He's trying to lure you back by (a) making promises to you and (b) making you feel guilty.
You know that he does not keep his promises. You know you are not guilty of anything that justifies abuse, because nothing justifies abuse.
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clarification
[Read the article: Rape charges dropped in Duke case]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]According to the press release, the rape charges were not dropped b/c the accuser couldn't confirm penetration, but b/c she could not confirm penetration by a penis, which is apparently required of a rape charge in NC.
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"Opting out" is not the main issue - at least, not in tennis
[Read the article: From tennis pro to working at home]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It seems very young, yes, b/c we're used to people starting careers at the age of 22 or so.
Clijsters turned pro in 1997... at the age of 13. She started winning ITF-level events @ age 14 and Tour-level events at age 15 (she won $135k that year). She's been at this for 10 years now.
On top of that, take a look at her bio (www.wtatour.com); for the last three years, she's been injured more than she's been healthy.
Yes, many other female players manage to last longer than age 23. Clijsters, though, plays an incredibly physical game; for those of us who have watched her play for the last decade, it's not surprising that her body is breaking down more rapidly than other players' bodies. It's a shame that this is happening... but the real conversation should be about the follies of a system that requires players of a physically taxing individual sport to play day in and day out for 11 months of the year.
I don't know about other sports... but that's the real story here. And this isn't limited to the women - the men are complaining about this too (and suffering record numbers of injuries) and the men's tour is in the midst of trying to reduce the length of the season and reduce the commitments so the men can last longer too. (It only seems like the men last longer - they typically don't turn pro until at least 16-17 and most don't start playing a full schedule until 18-19.)
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Prosopagnostic here
[Read the article: Lost in space]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]It was so nice to read this and hear how other people deal with these types of things. I have prosopagnosia (face blindness). Though mine is not as severe a case as some have, I have done things such as mistake an old co-worker for an ex-boyfriend when I ran into him on the street. I greeted him with a hug; we definitely were not that close when we were working together. My friends are highly amused by this story. Ah, the fun of never really being entirely sure who you're talking to, particularly when you run into someone out of his or her normal context.
I used to walk down the street looking at the ground or the trees or the sky - anything to avoid meeting peoples' eyes and not recognizing someone I was supposed to recognize. Now, I just smile and say hi to anyone and everyone. Life's a lot more enjoyable this way.
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Bush says:
[Read the article: Remember when Iraq was a sovereign nation?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"Generally, the way these things work is that you try to be cordial with the person you're with," he said. "You don't want the picture to be kind of you, know, duking it out."
Right. As in, the way Maliki acts when he's with you?
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It might be about The Thrill
[Read the article: Lately I've been kissing women I'm not married to]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]My dad was happily married to my mom, too, but he cheated on her almost throughout their entire 35-year marriage (which finally ended in his death). The last 7-8 years or so, when my mom found out, were hell for her. And it wasn't exactly easy on us kids, either, though we were all adults by that point.
It wasn't about sex. It wasn't about being unhappy. It was about the thrill of doing something he knew was wrong, about bucking authority / social norms and getting away with it. It was like a drug for him.
So is this what's going on with you? Are you looking for a way to inject some borderline dangerous excitement into your life? Because there are plenty of ways to do so without jeopardizing the physical, mental, and emotional health of your entire immediate family.