The state of the culture

Well, well:

After setting off a storm of criticism from abortion rights groups upset that a Democratic president had sided with social conservatives, the Obama administration said it will comply with a judge's order to allow girls of any age to buy emergency contraception without prescriptions.

Good lord -- the partisan divide is reaching even into the crib:

Wow, tough call by Angelina Jolies:

My doctors estimated that I had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman.

Brave new world:

BLOOMIINGTON - Indiana University researchers have re-released a smartphone application that allows people to report their sexual behaviors after taking steps to protect users' privacy.

IU said in a news release Wednesday that it has released the free Kinsey Reporter app. University attorneys had pulled the plug on it last September.

It's come to this -- Even "Indie" rock is getting government subsidies:

For the first time, the U.S. government’s trade arm is stepping in to help the music business, funding trade missions to Brazil and Asia in recent months for the heads of a dozen independent music labels, which make up one-third of the U.S. music market.

[. . .]

The Indian fighters don't give up:

OK it's official now. Bill Clinton has a failed ex-presidency:

NEW YORK (AP) -- It's a diplomatic failure at the highest level: Bill Clinton couldn't get Led Zeppelin to reunite.

The CBS "60 Minutes Overtime" webcast reported Monday that the former president was enlisted to ask the British rock gods to get back together last year for the Superstorm Sandy benefit concert in New York City. He asked, they said no.

The depressing news, from The New York Times:

From 1999 to 2010, the suicide rate among Americans ages 35 to 64 rose by nearly 30 percent, to 17.6 deaths per 100,000 people, up from 13.7. Although suicide rates are growing among both middle-aged men and women, far more men take their own lives. The suicide rate for middle-aged men was 27.3 deaths per 100,000, while for women it was 8.1 deaths per 100,000.

Yeah, yeah, sure, teens are going to drink on prom night no matter what we do, so let's provide designated drivers for them, even if that might send the signal that we're condoing teen drinking. And they're going to have sex no matter what we do, so let's pass out condoms in high school, even if that might say to teen boys that we're giving our approval for them to put even more pressure on teen girls to sleep with them.

Juxtaposition of the day. First this:

There's no “mystery meat” at one Queens public elementary school.

Public School 244 in Flushing is the first public school in the nation to serve all-vegetarian meals for breakfast and lunch, according to city education officials.