good article. The picture is weirdly photoshopped though…what is the silver blob on the ride hand side?

It’s a microphone - I’m guessing the pic was taken during a panel discussion from a camera located below the table.

A microphone.

This is seriously OT but the Dianetics advertisement is making me giggle, especially in light of the fact I’ve seen what feels like 30 billion Scientology advertisements on television lately. THE TRUTH.

  Thanks for the heads up Amanda!

Slut-shaming and inanity at Comment is Free? Holy shit.

(I know I run this line every time someone I know publishes there, but it just drives me CRAZY.)

The articles at Comment Is Free may be good, but the comments section are a cesspool of UK rightwing nastiness.

Great takes.  Funky pic (good though).  It’s looks like a Southern Belle gardinia or something.  Perhaps even those dense dolts have figured out they’re going to have to shed at least part of <strike>fringe whackos</strike> base to get anywhere.

Don’t worry.  The abortion debate will be front and center if and (hopefully) when a Supreme Court nominee is replacing a conservative justice.  This is a case of choosing your battles; even Lindsey Graham admitted Sotomayor’s confirmation is pretty much a foregone conclusion.  But I wouldn’t underestimate how much play this will have in upcoming congressional races and the 2012 election.

That doesn’t ease my worry.  It increases it.  The intellect-free, weeping bullshit that anti-choice nuts trot out is a serious threat to our democracy.  It’s all about encouraging people to quit thinking, hate science, reject equality, and embrace authority.

Sadly, I also don’t think there’s a good chance that Obama will replace a conservative.  :(

“Imisscheney2” is a cesspool of hate UGH

“It’s a microphone - I’m guessing the pic was taken during a panel discussion from a camera located below the table.”

I thought Amanda had a first gen Babelfish in her ear… before they get smaller and sleeker later…

The photo looks like your FB profile with the red-curtain background whited out.

Frankly, the comments are a cut above the “letters” published after nearly every column on Salon’s Broadstreet. Reading the Guardian’s commenters is depressing, but I like that the Guardian has comment rating that shows a relative lack of support for anti-woman comments.

I was going to leave a witty remark on your weird blue ear, but see that I am once again late to the dance.

The Guardian is one of the most liberal of the mainstream English language newspapers, so at first I thought it strange to see so many right-wing comments on its articles.  Then again I guess it makes sense seeing as right-wingers seem naturally attracted to making troll comments on liberal sites.

You wrote a great article.  The comments weren’t as bad as I expected.  I didn’t read all of them thouroughly, but it seems the anti-choice nuts are in the minority and others are doing a good job of calling them on their regurgitated talking points.  They really have nothing new there, just repeats of the same old stuff.

I gotta kick out of you having an article with a title in British English.

You need to update your photo, I’d say something else a lot of folks my age say but then, I’m not your mother .

You do get the British eccentric type, from the comments in your first article:

  but if you haven’t had a child by the time you’re of an age when you’re no longer especially fertile, haven’t you just missed the boat and shouldn’t you seek non-biological options?

Large numbers of pet cats are still a biological option.

Great takes.  Funky pic (good though).  It’s looks like a Southern Belle gardinia or something.

It looks like she’s about to attack someone with her chin.

I liked the helpful chap who pointed out that you don’t speak for all women.  Betcha didn’t know *that* Ms. SmartyPants!

Yeah, I pointed out to that dude that whatever a woman’s political views are, she has a right to abortion, and in fact, women who don’t believe in legal abortion nonetheless get legal abortions all the time.  Fancy that.

Isn’t kinda warm Texas at the moment to be wearing earmuffs? even though I like the pewter color. What? a microphone? nevermind.

Wouldn’t even show me comments. Ah, well…

For a CiF thread, it’s not actually too bad… You should see the typical threads for anything by Monbiot.

I saw the edgiest bit of TV comedy I-who-have-no-premium-channels ever witnessed last night.  Colbert was putting on the right wingers over their desperate denunciations of Sotomayor.  He was saying stuff like “the way to fix her attitude is just to get her pregnant”.  My shock is somewhat abated but my discomfort with what passes for culture in this country much increased to now find that Colbert basically quoted rather than exaggerated those he is aping.