[T]he Bush administration knew about a Terrorist in an Afghan safe house making Terrorist-planning calls into the U.S., then they could have -- and should have -- eavesdropped on that call and didn't need a warrant to do so. So why didn't they?

More than lies about the supposed "need" for greater contempt of the US Constitution is what they're trying to hide. Mukasey's tearful admission is that Bush either knew about 9/11 beforehand or was asleep at the wheel of America's safety. We should be asking harder questions of Bush and his cronies, under oath. The 9/11 Commission Report is fast becoming as irrelevant as the Warren Commission Report. Bush, and the incompetent ideologues he surrounds himself with, screwed up before, during and after 9/11, and they don't have the cojones to admit it.

The American people cannot trust the Bush administration. For all the right-wing talk of "values", Republicans are the party of lies, fear, taxpayer rip-offs and sexual predators. We shouldn't give unlimited wiretap authority to untrustworthy people.

I'm Jewish and very pro-Israel. Sen. Obama has my vote.

I have no problem with talking to Hamas, Iran, et al... as long as we make it very clear that they won't be taken seriously until they recognize Israel and negotiate in good faith. Talking is good.

Sphincter Conservatives keep trying to use "wedge issues" to drive single-issue voters away from voting for the person with the highest values. Well, they've cried "Wolf!" too many time to be believed. On this issue, as on so many others, Republicans have a major credibility problem. If it does come down to this one issue, I'll vote for the person who will do the best by Israel. And there's no question that Barack Obama, of the people running, is that person.

All that tells me, from your brief recounting of the study, is that a climax is hardwired into the female. The necessary steps to get there may be a matter of cultural or personal conditioning, but the physical response is built in. The superego looks for a mate, the ego finds a partner and when it works the id gets rewarded.

Speculation, but I might as well weigh in.

Geeze, people, get a grip. Hillary is right: Bill didn't have enough delegates until June. He may not have any competition by then, but for the nomination he needed a certain delegate count. Similarly, RFK's chances.

In baseball, it ain't over 'till it's over. In politics, the pundits need to fill air time over trivial issues but someone has to count heads.

George W. Bush has lowered the bar on attempts at spoken English, so any conservative who laughs at anyone else is just subject to ridicule. The MSM shows its right-ring handling by ignoring actual issues to focus on trivial speeches.

Remember the Iraq War? Housing crisis? Torture? Health Care crisis? Billions of dollars just lost by Bush and co's incompetence in Iraq? Global Warming?

Didn't think so.

Mary Poppins (yeah, you said "no Disney". Tough. It's the best musical ever, and one of the greatest movies ever. No villains!)

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. (Dr. Suess's only movie doesn't work great, but does work)

The Phantom Tollbooth (not as good as the book, but still fun)

I'll second the Miyazaki films.

The three Wallace and Grommit shorts, and the more recent Were Chicken movie.

Hans Christian Anderson, with Danny Kaye (and most anything by Kaye).

The Wizard of Oz. (It still works.)

Neighbors, by Norman McLaren (and almost anything by him)

Kevin Garnett may not be the "go to" guy, but he's always the "go around" guy.

Garnett, perhaps as much as Shaq in his prime, is a player who creates opportunities for others more than he takes them for himself. As a Minneapolis basketball fan who is supremely happy that KG has found a team that's going to win a ring, I've seen him hold up mediocre teams and spark good ones. He's not the closer, the "transcendent" guy who makes the last second game winner and wags his tongue for the camera. He's the one who shuts down the lane, blocks the shots, gets the rebound and is suddenly on the other end of the court feeding a player who has penetrated the defense.

When he needs to take the shot, he will. In earlier games in the playoffs, I was amazed at just how many times one of KG's shots would be in the air as the 24-second buzzer went off. And they usually went in.

I can understand your frustration, King, at a player who isn't flashy by NBA standards: His first thought isn't to dunk. But try to picture these Celtics without him. Credit to Danny Ainge for trades that cobbled together a team that's strong and deep.

I grew up on Batman, from Detective Comics to the camp 60s tv show to the bolder art of the 70s to Frank Miller's manga-inspired reinvention to the Tim Burton movies. Wollk is correct that there is no "definitive" version, but I'll have to put in a plug for Batman, the Animated Series. Dark thoughtful, dystopian yet upbeat, they include everything the article wants Batman to be: Brooding, cerebral, inspiring. They contain the notion that Batman is as much a product of his obsessions as the inhabitants of Arkham are of theirs, but they are not tied together. They coexist, and Batman is needed to stop them. Harvey Dent has to cope with "the bad Harvey" dreams before succumbing to madness.

The Dark Knight is superbly put together, but ultimately doesn't work. There are crimes but no legend. Violence but no redemption. Hope but no consequence. Perhaps daubs of these things are spackled throughout, but the clear winner in the movie is the Joker. He gets everything he wants and no one else gets anything they want. That's not a Batman tale.

People will like the movie for many good reasons, but it left me empty.