And you know, I really dislike this thing where respecting one’s husband becomes “taking whatever shit he dishes out.” I respect Mr. A. I don’t know if I “honor” him but I certainly admire him and think he’s a good man and a good husband. That doesn’t mean I feel subject to him in any way. I just hate this crap that turns marriages into domestic guerrilla warfare instead of a partnership of equals, and makes it sound like you can’t have a modern relationship and also respect at the same time.

Fuck me, if this is the recruiting poster no wonder people aren’t getting married anymore.

A.

“Spending some time alone with the Lord” is the worst euphemism I’ve ever heard.

A.

I will admit to WANTING to pepper-spray people in IKEA who stop at the bottom of the escalator to consider their next move as a group. Hello, it is an escalator, it is disgorging more people all the time, please move your asses to the side before taking a poll about your lunch plans.

A.

Dearie, I think there are more people like you than not.

Northwestbynorth makes a good point that this is a small percentage of the population being held up as an example of the whole, and so turning off the coverage that treats this day like some kind of Super Bowl is a good start.

This stuff goes in such a predictable journalistic cycle; it’s all OMG BIGGEST DEALS EVER HERE’S HOW TO SHOP COMPETITIVELY followed by HOLY SHIT CAN YOU BELIEVE SOME ASSHOLES SHOWED UP AND SHOPPED COMPETITIVELY followed further by LET US ALL NOW PRETEND THIS JUST HAPPENS SPONTANEOUSLY.

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Dearie, I’m a huge, huge fan of The Hunger Games. There’s still a relationship and/or love-triangle element, but so much more in there as well. A friend who’s a YA librarian and feminist turned me on to it.

And The Beekeeper’s Apprentice is a great book, though not specifically Young Adult lit, though it helps to be a gigantic Sherlock Holmes fan for that one.

A.

She does.

I seriously got into it with a relative the age of my parents, who came up to me at Christmas a couple years back enthusing about how “old-fashioned” and “chivalrous” Edward was.

I don’t deny women’s fandoms are often sidelined and/or not questioned, but I take so much issue with the idea that romance=misery=soulmates4evah. Fuck soulmates, if you’re with somebody who makes you miserable, your misery is a sign you need to not have that boyfriend anymore.

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Hi Maria,

What would be a way to influence journalism education so that these things don’t persist? US journalism schools seem determined to take the path of encouraging the least amount of controversy possible. How can we make better young journalists?

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Just FYI, we’ll be crack-vanning (live-chatting) the results once the polls close and monitoring whatever coverage we can find over at First Draft, in case all you little political junkies can’t get enough.

This feels like 2004 to me. Only this time hopefully it won’t end with me drinking an entire bottle of chardonnay while non-ironically listening to Avril Lavigne.

A.

Most hunter-gatherer groups in the temperate and northern zones do a massive fall hunt (often a communal drive) and dry the meat for winter, supplementing that with what game they can kill.

My cousin’s a kickass ice fisherman, so if we’re somewhere with fresh water and fish, we’re set.

You know what’s going to be hard to replace, though? Cloth. I think far more people in the world can hunt than can weave. We’re gonna need some looms and people who know how to work them.

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The larger problem is where do you even get the tools you need for traditional agriculture?

Looting small-town historical societies and museums would be a safe bet, I would think. I saw a freaking scythe at a garage sale last weekend. Thing could have taken my head off in one stroke.

Larger problem is, I don’t think I could lift the sucker, much less use it for what it’s for. You should probably plan on killing and eating me right at the beginning, just to save time.

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Schweet. Fenway for the win.

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Poor little fluff, and poor you guys. Thinking good thoughts for you.

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Thinking good thoughts for you guys. I hope, I hope, I hope all will be well.

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Was the ballfield inaccessible by foot? As in, surrounded by a moat? Encircled by manticores? Defended by velociraptors? WTF?

I ask because to be honest, I wouldn’t be surprised if a suburban ballfield was reachable only by car, given how sidewalks are both gay and communist. Still, suck it up and walk on the grass.

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CT, I don’t think they care. Their entire ideology right now is LOOK SEE I’M NOT TOUCHING YOU I’M NOT TOUCHING YOU I’M NOT TOUCHING YOU. Learning ain’t part of the equation.

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Looks to be that way. That makes it all the more reprehensible to be smearing young women who happen to be committing the unpardonable sin of being followed by Weiner on Twitter.

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Agreed. Good thing thing we have a liberal media that’s on this , reporting in depth, also

The local reporters have, by and large, been good. By which I mean they haven’t committed egregious falsehoods, have been updating their Twitterfeeds regularly, and are at least attempting to get stuff right.

Nationally, the coverage is laughably bad. Either everyone in Wisconsin is a bunch of murderous thugs punching tea partiers out, or the union rallies are organized by MoveOn and so cannot be authentically American.

People on Twitter keep asking for CNN to show up, and I swear to God, I’m kind of happy they’re not covering it more, given how crapass their stories have been so far.

Thanks for the interest, everybody. Scout’s been inside all week and Jude’s been going back and forth, and it’s been great getting on the ground reporting from the blogs at least.

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The Ian’s pizza folks are amazing. Indie Coffee donated free coffee today, and my awesome friend Megan baked bunches of homemade cookies and was up there passing them out. The goodwill is astounding.

All right, love you all, but I’ve gotta crash. Tomorrow’s a long day. Thanks for reading and caring, guys!

A.