The state of the culture

Let's check in on the impact of technological change on the culture, shall we? The last time we checked, getting matched on the Internet was passe, but the debate about whether watching online porn was real cheating still raged on. Things have moved along nicely since those innocent days:

A world gone mad:

A transgender teenager, who was born male but identifies as a female, can continue to use a women’s restroom and locker room at a Jefferson County Public School.

Yeah, you've come a long way, baby, but sometimes it's one step forward, two steps back, Millennial women's No. 1 request: Give me a man with a job:

Is the culture war really over?

An interesting question: It's 2014: Why are men still paying for first dates?

Told you so, told you so: Say hello to a brand-new disease, "orthoexia," an obsession with healthy eating that can be physically and mentally debilitating.

Opponents of same-sex marriage who argued that abadoning the traditional one man-one woman definition would lead no standards at all were dimissed as reactionary, patriarchal homophobes. But now that gay marriage is but one Supreme Court decision away from being the law of the land, some are beginning to open that door. Here is Sally, Kohn, for example, wondering why polygamy should be any different:

Janay Rice, victim of husband Ray's knockout punch, is lashing out at the media for "making us relive a moment in our lives that we regret everyday" and for taking "something away from the man that I love." That prompts this question:

A worthy rebuttal from the one person qualified to make it — or an attempt to shift blame?

During any hot story, people will use the buzz generated as an opportunity to trot out a pet theory. This is my favorite from this week: NFL is in tatters, and only Condi Rice can save it!

This is one of the most vigorous defenses of free speech you'll ever see: