It's funny you thought of that, because while I was watching the opening ceremonies, it occured to me that they remind me a lot of the Cremaster movies (especially the bit where the racecar was doing donuts!), which were created by Matthew Barney, Bjork's husband. Personally, I look forward to the opening ceremonies every Olympics. They provide the kind of glorious, pompous absurdity that you used to get with the Super Bowl halftime show before they turned it into the Grammies.

I know you think you're swimming upstream with these columns sometimes, but I really do find this reassuring. I'm generally a rational person, but prone to getting terrified during severe turbulence, and the knowledge that it's rarely dangerous should help me relax the next time.

You forgot the second "shocked" [should be in all caps as well] in your description.

Doesn't it seem as though every other post here could easily be accompanied by a photo of Claude Rains? The world supply of phony indignation seems to be at about peak capacity right now. Glenn is doing yeoman's work documenting it all.

O'Beirne also suggested that an old Giuliani campaign ad showcasing his lovely family could be revised to say: "Don't worry. I dumped them all because I am that tough guy."

Maybe the Republicans should nominate Keyser Soze for president instead. By killing his family in an act of defiance, he showed us all what "will" really is.

What's amazing to me is how many people will write in congratulating her for "puncturing the herd's bubble" despite the fact that she clearly doesn't know the first thing about climate science. Perhaps if she DID write a column claiming the earth is flat, and lots of angry letter writers complained about it, the right-wing trolls would be piling on: "not one of you liberal know-it-alls have PROVED the earth is round! Guess you're all a bunch of sheep. Rock on Camille!"

I don't know much about Chuck Klosterman, but his comment seemed the most succinct and dead-on to me.

As you can see, you've got a long ways to go before you can match the original.

It's worth pointing out that if you dontate directly to Glenn Greenwald, not a penny will go to Camille Paglia, which makes it worthwile even if you already have a Salon subscription

I find the tone of much of this letters thread quite bizarre. I'm the parent of a toddler myself, so I can certainly understand the concept of anger and frustration. Most parents are capable of lashing out at their kids from time to time, and I don't think it causes any lasting harm. But there seems to be a belief by many people here that this lashing out is actually an effective parenting technique that needs to be employed much more frequently by everybody, and furthermore that all the kids who are misbehaving now are doing so as a result of insufficient insulting by adults.

In response to all the "my parents were insulting jerks and I turned out just fine" comments... yeah, apart from a tendecny to write spittle-flecked, angry rants at liberals, women, other parents, and society at large, you're doing just great. Your parents really toughened you up nicely.

Don't you think there's a good chance that the right's admiration for a strong, unitary executive that overrides the rule of law will expire around, oh, January 2009?

I hate to be so literal about this, but the problem with that metaphor is that -- with the local news broadcasts and newspapers in the Twin Cities as my gauge -- it's HUGE news when a dog bites a man. I can think of three big dog bite stories in Minneapolis alone just within the last few months.

Who would have thought that Philadelphia or Minneapolis would have more traffic than Tokyo, Frankfurt or London's Heathrow?

Well, those who live in South Minneapolis and hear every one of the damn things roaring overhead all summer could have guessed...

Thank you. It's inexplicable how many people here are essentially saying that people who are insensitive enough to have children should do their best not to appear in any indoor public spaces until the teen years, lest their childish outbursts disturb their two hour plane flight. It's been said many times here, but deserves repeating: we were all children. We didn't always behave perfectly, and our parents didn't keep us out of contact with the general public as a result.

I completely understand the frustrations of people -- both with and without kids -- who have to endure the misbehavior of other people's children. And I know the Internet wouldn't be the Internet without lots of people venting what's on their ids (and these people complain about toddlers not being able to control themselves!). But believe me, parents are already making plenty of sacrifices in their lives, and I don't think "if you really insist on leaving your hometown, better make it a 40-hour car ride" is particularly fair or realistic.

You appear to be the last person in the world who should be lecturing people about how to behave in public, based on your letters here. At least the toddlers have the excuse of being toddlers.