Gudanov - I defriended someone on Facebook because he said even though he "felt bad" that people died because of lack of access to health care or insurance he preferred that to people getting "handouts" (this was in private message comments).

I'm not arguing with Bird Feeder Dude anymore. I know that I can use straw men at times and I'm not the best at debates, but at least I can do better than - birds eat at bird feeders!

I defriended someone on Facebook because he said even though he "felt bad" that people died because of lack of access to health care or insurance he preferred that to people getting "handouts" (this was in private message comments).

I know an ER doctor (a no-longer-friend from high school) who believes passionately that people should not have insurance at all and should have to pay out of pocket for everything.

Ironically, I ended up in his ER with chest pains a couple of years ago, and he was the Attending at the time. I wanted to ask him if he would be accepting the payment from my insurance or not. (But I didn't because I was more preoccupied with the possibility that I might die.)

Okay, typography Scrabble and BatNails would drive me crazy both. Nuts! And I can't talk about Scrabble until I take three extremely late next turns.

Jezebel just wrote a weirdly BDSM-shamey (maybe I should say it's weirdly--stop being naive, girl) about 50 Shades of Grey. Maybe what's weird is that not one commenter called the author on the "but he's monogamous and respectful" part of the article. Why shouldn't he be? Because he whips her to orgasm, consensually? No, everyone's busy patting each other on the back about how recycling fanfic is beneath them, and people should read Kushiel's Dart for true to life BDSM instead.

Hmm, okay.

Speaking of scenes, do any Buffistas who participate therein bump into much raceplay? Is it done as publicly as other sorts of play? Gawker noted it as "advanced", and I can see as it might rile some people up, and also attract some undesirables. It would certainly freak me out much more than many sorts.

I know an ER doctor (a no-longer-friend from high school) who believes passionately that people should not have insurance at all and should have to pay out of pocket for everything.

Because ER care is so affordable.

Jezebel just wrote a weirdly BDSM-shamey (maybe I should say it's weirdly--stop being naive, girl) about 50 Shades of Grey.

ARE YOU A WIZARD?

No, seriously, I just bought the damn e-book Monday night and finished it at lunch today. It is clearly recycled fanfic, it desperately needs nonconsensual editing, and there is one ENORMOUS assumption in there that makes me seethe with raaaaaaage (that people are kinky because of Big Ugly Trauma in their past).

That said, for a novel about BDSM, it's honestly not bad. Er, content-wise. The writing is...better than Dan Brown. That's about all I can say. t edit Was it Twilight fanfic? Because in the scene where the heroine meets the Brooding Dark Hero (think Spader from "Secretary" with a dash of Brosnan from "Thomas Crowne"), she literally trips and falls through his office door, and that is their first meeting. And I thought, "Oh no, you DIDN'T, Bella Swan!"

Speaking of scenes, do any Buffistas who participate therein bump into much raceplay? Is it done as publicly as other sorts of play? Gawker noted it as "advanced"

It's certainly not done publicly in my neck of the woods. I believe at one large weekend-long event (with classes and whatnot) there was a class on raceplay, presented by an African American submissive woman. t edit again Yeah, it was Mollena Williams, who's in the Jezebel article. I've read a little of her writing on it, and I think she'd agree that it's "advanced." I mean, simply because of centuries of ugly societal baggage, there be dragons.

It's complex, to say the least. And as a white woman, I won't even begin to posit whether raceplay is more complex in our society than male dom/female sub (because I think it's very difficult, given patriarchal yadda yadda, to be a woman and ask a man to hit me).

Just imagine what being able to get health insurance from the public sector would do to people trying to start their own business, or wanting to switch jobs to a start-up that can't afford good health insurance. There's a degree of freedom you'd gain for giving up having health care tied to your job.

It's not like you can even say you'll take a little gamble for awhile and get insurance once your business gets going. A gap in coverage can make for big trouble.

The worst thing about that stupid 50 Shades of Grey book is that there are 2 more, and I'll probably buy them.

Remind me why I don't write BDSM novels, again? I could write the HELL out of that shit. (As evidenced by my smoov prose stylings in this very post. Yo.)

Removing the pre-existing conditions clause would do wonders, in and of itself.

Didn't people used to at least give lip service to caring about other humans and not wanting them to suffer?

Didn't people used to at least give lip service to caring about other humans and not wanting them to suffer?

Maybe they were only pretending. I'm 100% serious. They didn't say what they were really thinking until the tide shifted and made it okay to voice the morally bankrupt shit they've believed all along.