We had kids in our 30s and one of the delivery ward doctors we spoke to told my wife “Your age classifies you as geriatric but don’t take the label too hard. You’re just not 15 anymore.” And I remember saying “15? Gee do you see a lot of 15 year olds having babies in here?” And she said oh yes, all the time, and “They’re the superstar athletes of giving birth. In, out, easy, done.”

I guess my point is that while we consider sex a crime before 18, nature doesn’t care and 15 year olds are not merely eligible but in some ways at human peak for fertility.

It’s uncomfortable, but it’s biology. I am not surprised if 15yos are making a real contribution to fertility rates in aggregate. I’m not saying that’s right and we should encourage it. Again, just uncomfortable realities here.

Sad how abuse begets abuse, innit?

So the company did suffer one theft, and they turned it into a marketing stunt. Look at how delicious our product is. We have to guard the fuck out of it. They’re not even being coy about it. It’s very openly a marketing stunt. Meanwhile people are lining up here to say “I bet it’s just a marketing stunt!”

Congrats everyone - you win the bet.

Openly so. It even says so in the article.

KitKat Canada appeared to lean into the headlines, transforming a logistics nightmare into a marketing opportunity

Yeah I agree with all of that. Part of what was in my mind is that I would perceive a man laughing as very different than a woman laughing. I assume that all women live under potential sexual threat from men at all times, and laughing at an advance is a way to defuse it without getting confrontational. “Haha surely you jest” is actually a deflection, even if it isn’t a head on confrontation. I’m a man and I don’t fear direct confrontations, but I understand women don’t have the same privilege as I do in this regard.

People also laugh when they are uncomfortable and don’t know what else to do. Obviously we’d rather see objections than nervous tittering, but I wouldn’t always take laughter as active complicity / celebration.

That’s not far from what we had with Bernie.

Where did they dig this guy up from?

JV Dunce may develop a sectional with dildos in all the seats, claim I.

Now why isn’t the media talking about that?

/r/brandnewsentence has a mod sticky right now telling people for the love of god stop posting this.

Wow, no exaggerated clickbait here.

I hear you. There’s room for confusion in much more than just titles, too. Often when someone reports something “literally” happened it’s some thing on the edge of credulity, but not past it, and you have to stop and clarify “wait, so the cop asked to search your car and you literally shit your pants?”

Alas, it is a mere emphasis modifier.

Oh I’m with you, but I stopped fighting for the word “literally” when the damn dictionaries gave up and added shit like this:

2 informal : in effect : VIRTUALLY  —used in an exaggerated way to emphasize a statement or description that is not literally true or possible

I literally died of embarrassment.

… will literally turn the world upside down to combat cruelty or inju

It’s been commonly held for a long time that the deficit spending and industrial gear up for World War 2 are what finally shook the US out of the Great Depression, which has created a deeply-seated association between war and economic stimulation. It’s worth revisiting that question for today’s extremely different conflicts and economy. It may not be true anymore, and if not, that seems worth knowing.

Similarly, there’s a long history of warfare driving technological innovation. I think this one is even less controversial. It’s just a fact. But pointing that out doesn’t mean I’m recommending we go to war for the sake of innovation.

I agree completely. I always assume there are younger folks in the room who haven’t formed an opinion on everything yet.

You’re interested in solutions. The person you’re replying to is only interested in hearing his own voice.

That’s a problem. I’m not sure we can say “most offices” as it seems to vary quite widely. There’s a huge variety of roles from city to county to school district to state to national. Some do just get a minor stipend, but others earn much more than “poverty wages.” California pays its state legislators $132k which is above state median wages.

So while I agree with your point, you may have overstated it.

Run for office! I finally know someone who decided they’d had enough and are just going for it.

Don’t we have any fucking work to do in this country? The childlike carelessness of this administration is horrifying.