Thursday evening roundup

Take it from the Secretary of State: quit whining about your life choices.

I don't know about you, but I--and I am no fan of schoolbuses--find this punishment is spot-on.

It's funny: I struggled with the same concepts when I first learned French, and it's absolutely true that going through the process made me a better writer in English.

Does this strike anyone else as a ridiculous fluff piece that no woman would have written? If the Post wants to go close-reading photos, they best get Robin Givhan back, because she's actually good at it.

Who the hell charges people, much less family members, for hosting holidays?

Let's talk about women, as voters. Let's start with Amy Davidson's take:

When you are insulted, when you are told that endless conversations about liberty do not include control of your own body, when it becomes clear that a politician views the crisis of a woman who has just been raped as an abstraction, you begin to think about sympathy, and its limits. And you begin to think about trust.

And now, Alexandra Petri:

 Any more, and we’ll stop being excited to see a woman on the ballot. This will become dull and routine, and “Women Senators” will just be “senators.” Women will stop being lumped together and start being evaluated on their individual merits. They might even run against each other! Who wants that? We must retain the magic, at all costs. Familiarity breeds contempt. Women are a special-interest group who vote in monolithic packs because otherwise they worry that bad things will happen to their rights. And the fewer of them there are in office, the longer they are likely to stay that way.

No no, any more, and we’ll start taking the days when our legislatures don’t try to tamper with our bodies for granted! Stuff and nonsense. After Title IX, Relaxing Without Fear That The Government Wants To Make Deeply Personal Choices For You is one of the few activities men can still enjoy without women showing up and ruining everything.

...

I look forward to the day when a candidate’s gender is barely noteworthy. I look forward to the day when the choice is just between two people.

Now I’m excited by 20 women. But I can’t wait for the day when I’m disappointed by that number. 

But I don't think these Drunk Nate Silver jokes are funny. These are better.