There is no way, I think, to more thoroughly annoy a proponent of free speech than to claim that criticism violates it. It’s hard enough defending free speech sometimes. People don’t see anything wrong with stopping the Westboro Baptists from protesting. Denying the Holocaust? Yeah, go ahead and outlaw that. Hate speech– what, that’s not … Read more
Two former members of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) found a kitten, still alive, mostly buried in concrete inside a metal tube on one of the men’s property in Colorado City, Arizona. The tube was of one of six standing upright in the ground, intended for use in making posts to support … Read more
Spotted at infidel753.blogspot.com I am not one of those people who enjoys dressing up. I do not fault them for it, and wish them all the best, but I am not one of them. Sure, it can be fun for a wedding or fancy dinner, but generally speaking I am at my happiest in a … Read more
I’ve been slacking with the interesting articles sharing lately. Let’s fix that. From The Raw Story: Global report: Decriminalization does not increase rates of drug use Money quote: The report, A Quiet Revolution: Drug Decriminalisation Policies in Practice Across the Globe, “looks at over 20 countries that have adopted some form of decriminalisation of drug possession, … Read more
I often say that offense is a valuable thing– as appealing as it might seem, you really wouldn’t want to be a person who isn’t offended by anything, because that would mean losing your humanity. People who go through life being oversensitive are in a bad state because they’re suffering more than they really should, … Read more
Gaming as Women has an excellent advice post up today. The letter-writer wants to know if it gets easier to be a feminist: Right now it is very hard to be a feminist when I am constantly told that I shouldn’t be one, that I’m doing it wrong somehow, and that I’m ruining everyone’s fun. … Read more
So my nieces are going to visit my parents soon, and my mother was thinking of games for them to play. She brought up the game Operation, which was in the basement. “Operation?” I said. “Yes, I got it for you and your brothers when you were kids, and I was keeping it in the … Read more
Note: In case, for some reason, it isn’t clear that I am not trying to disparage any of the people discussed here in the slightest, let me say that I am not trying to disparage anyone discussed here in the slightest. I’m going to describe a phenomenon and how I think it has worked or … Read more
This post is based on a comment I made on an article called “Women in the World of Warcraft: The Bigger Picture” by Will at Skepchick (yep, it’s not just chicks!). There were a lot of reactions to the piece, some of them quite…vehement, but a commenter going by the name of Sawhoof who described herself … Read more
Look, a thread about an article addressing sexism in ______. Let’s read the whole thing through. I see that participants in ______ took their time to read the article, avoided making pointless ad hominem attacks against the real or imagined authors of it, and carefully considered whether the criticisms made reflected the presence of a … Read more