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In an effort to cast a net beyond the sea of my own opinions (most of which involve reality television and hilarious animal photos) I asked for reader feedback on this week's Douchebag Decree. The nominations were many, and all were deserving: The Itawamba School District, for its attempts to ban gay couples from attending the prom. Eric Massa, for allegedly sexually harassing employees in his Congressional office. Ken Cuccinelli, for his letter advising public universities to retreat from their policies against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Ben Roethlisberger, for yet another alleged sexual assault. Douchebags are running amok!

However, one nominee rose to the top of the list for me, especially once I realized this Douche Supreme has never been awarded The Decree before. (I guess it was too obvious?) Congratulations, Howard "Douchemeister" Stern.

There's a lot of fun/interesting stuff happening in the blogosphere today! A sampling:

• A great interview from The Guardian with Gabby Sidibe. Be prepared to get irritated when she talks about how everyone conflates her with the character of Precious.

• Interesting piece at The New York Times on expectations of motherhood in Germany

• Latoya Peterson's insightful take on the ten most bizarre sex ed videos. Boys beware! (Women's periods and gay men in cars are dangerous!)

• Veronica Arreola on why she supports women-focused relief organizations. The first comment is someone calling her a sexist, of course.

• Jessica Valenti responds to Nina Power's claim that she is a "consumer/self help" feminist.

• Judith Warner on Elizabeth Edwards' public image in the light of Game Change

Any other links you'd like to add? Put them in the comments section!

Several years ago, I read the novel Push written by performance poet, Sapphire.  I remember climbing into bed one night to read it and finishing it at about 5 AM.  Several times I had to put the book down for a few minutes, just to get myself together, to breathe.   Once I put the book down for the final time, I still couldn't sleep: I was emotionally wrung out and deeply disturbed.  It's hard to recover from a book that opens with: "I was left back when I was twelve because I had a baby for my fahver..."