Male expectations Aug 31, 2017
An extended family member was complaining about her husband and how he doesn't have a steady job, doesn't cook or clean up after himself, doesn't show up to family functions, and has a history of infidelity.  Just by doing something as simple as having a job or cooking a meal, I'm already way ahead of the competition.  It occurred to me that expectations for males in general are quite low. #sociology
Conversational pivot Aug 31, 2017
Standard political discussion these days: 
Interviewer:  What are your thoughts on the health care debate? 
Politician:  Health care would be more affordable if we stopped spending money on unnecessary wars.
This is an example of a conversational pivot, which is a device commonly used by politicians to either dodge an issue completely or change the emphasis from one aspect of an issue to another.  It's not simply changing the subject, or transitioning into something else.  It's an abrupt evasion, used intentionally.  It's effective in debates when the question doesn't fit the politician's narrative.  Political talking heads also use the tactic constantly.  And it seems to have carried over into "friendly" political discussions among us common folk. 

I find it to be a really shallow way of avoiding a topic.  Can we not just talk about a single thing?  It seems to be getting worse lately, possibly as a result of the political regime change, where people will constantly pivot to something about Obama or Hillary.  Obama is done, and Hillary lost the election.  Literally no one cares about a birth certificate or some goddamn emails.  Let's address an issue, talk about it, then move on. #politics