Jody Allard

As you've probably gathered by the explosion of pink everything, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And, while many people try to spread awareness with the best of intentions, there isn't anyone left on this planet who hasn't heard of breast cancer. Breast cancer patients need many things, but sharing silly Facebook statuses and engaging in other click-it-and-forget-about-it forms of awareness isn't one of them.

I know what autism looks like, and I understand why people are afraid of it because, at its worst moments, it is desperately, terribly ugly — it is children who can’t communicate, who become adults who are unable to live independently, and who simply cannot cope with the onslaught of sensory input that we barely notice. It is meltdowns that are triggered by nothing and everything, learning difficulties, and services that cost our healthcare system billions of dollars every year.

ICYMI, Raven-Symone left pretty much everyone shaking their heads this morning when she

Dear Kylie,

One White House staffer took off his gloves, shredded them, and lit their tattered remains on fire when he told reporters that Trump's comments "disqualified him" from the presidency and that his candidacy will soon be relegated to the "dustbin of history."

Only highly educated white people seemed willing to consider the idea that their children might learn best without any instruction at all.

I

A flight home from Disney World became a nightmare for an Oregon family after the flight crew

There is a bitter irony to this morning's news that the entire Los Angeles Unified School District shut down after receiving an emailed threat of violence against its schools. Yesterday was the third anniversary of the Sandy Hook tragedy, and it is a stark reminder that although tragedy has become commonplace, we still do little to prevent it unless it is labeled as terrorism.

While this is, of course, better than excommunicating women for their reproductive choices, it is still founded on the premise that abortion is a sin and that men in power must absolve women of their mistakes. It also continues to paint women as incapable of understanding their options and making autonomous choices for their bodies and their lives.