In places where shoe removal is the norm, people have socks that are clean and in good shape, and/or feet that are clean, and it makes sense.

In places where it's not the norm, asking people to remove shoes can result in embarrassment and/or nastiness.

I have a pair of backyard shoes to deal with mud, grass stains, and potential dog poop. Those don't get worn throughout the house. Otherwise, it's shoes-optional.

I think the answer is always: use your judgement. If anyone's had the Garlic Mizithra Spaghetti at Old Spaghetti Factory, they know the bacon is awesome there... but it wouldn't be very good in a marinara-based sauce.

Honestly I prefer bacon for its own merits, not as a condiment or seasoning. Couple of nice thick crispy slices with eggs, or a BLT. Not baconnaise, bacon salt, bacon chocolate, bacon ice cream, bacon lip gloss, bacon gum, gummy bacon bears, etc.

Tropical fish aren't necessarily more difficult than goldfish. It's just that people have long abused goldfish (they really do need good sized tanks, decent filters, and frequent water changes -- really more so than many tropical fish because they eat more and produce more waste).

"They" is so much less awkward than "he or she" or "he/she" and less ridiculous than defaulting to "he" or alternating.

And, let's not forget, there are people who do not identify as either male or female (I am one), and the other options out there for gender-neutral *specific* singular pronouns are universally terrible.

"They" is fine.

I wondered for a minute if the original post was a parody. I guess not.

I am a progressive. I believe it is our society's responsibility to support itself in the long term and always strive to make the world a better place. I am pro-education, pro-science, pro-technology, pro-environment. I believe that people should be free to live as they choose *as long as* they do not abuse each other or the environment for any reason, including profit. I am generally a pacifist, but I recognize that sometimes you have to fight -- preferably with professionalism and dignity.

I have *never* discounted the bravery of our armed forces -- and in fact, I don't believe many people ever have. This is a false story that conservatives tell about liberals.

I *have* frequently questioned the motives and necessity of particular actions our troops are sent into. I *do* believe the "War on Terror" has mostly been conducted in an ineffective way that has cost us the lives of thousands of soldiers as well as trillions of dollars of taxpayer money, and largely made our country less secure and less free.

In this particular case I think our Commander-In-Chief did the right thing in ordering this mission to take out bin Laden, and both the CIA and Seal Team Six did an excellent job.

You know what? In ordering this particular strike, as opposed to the original proposal to simply bomb the compound into paste, Obama (you know, that "liberal f@g") was showing trust that the superior training and competence of the SEALS would lead to a better outcome than "awesome" weapons. And he was right.

Glorifying war and destruction is never a good thing though. I'm sure from somebody's perspective, the hijackers on 9/11 were badass, it was really cool when terrorists got to play with those 747s, and really awesome how the twin towers collapsed.

Better cupcakes than bacon.

I'm picturing jazz trombonist Glenn Miller. I lost the rest of the story.

I've seen that one. It frankly just looks stupid.

...or as John Stewart said: "if you take them to a face-painting booth, it doesn't make them cats."

Also, pink is Steven Tyler's favorite color. Can't go wrong with that.

This is a fantastic example of how arbitrary and baseless the social concept of gender roles and identity are, and yet how much they get under the skin and into our irrational fears.

Pink is just a slice of the visible electromagnetic spectrum. It can't hurt you. It can't change which gender you are sexually attracted to. It can't send you to Hell. And unless you are already broken in some way, it can't cause any damage to your psyche.

When I bought a house last September, the two main criteria I had for appliances were price and energy efficiency.

I wound up with a relatively cheap top-loader without an agitator, and it's the best washing machine I've ever used.

I've personally gotten #11 and #14.

They ninja'd the lions' loot!

And actually Hope, lions tend to be cautious creatures. Anything that doesn't act like prey, they will at least want to wait and size up before getting aggressive. Villagers tend to chase lions off by standing tall and sometimes by yelling at them.

Armadillos *are* mammals...

But I think the better question would just be "Why?"