It's good to hear someone admit how much of their world view is shaped by Star Trek. And I would have to include The Next Generation, which was less political than the original, but had a lot more to say about human relationships. I could go on listing values I hold that come from issues in Star Trek, but I'm not a trekkie, so I won't.

As for the Obama thing, it is a bit far fetched. Put it this way -- next to George W Bush, Obama looks like Spock. Obama is not excessively driven by logic, only like the average intelligent man. It has become a hallmark of presidents to appeal to the emotions rather than logic, which came to a head with GWB. Obama moves people by appealing to their ideals, I'm not so sure our Vulcan friend would do that.

Reading these comments it amazes me how much closet homophobia comes out in arguments that proport to support gay rights. Are people like Larry Craig and Mark Foley just a safe way for liberals to diss gay people?

Grey Poupon is designed to look French by its packaging. It is made in the USA by Americans. If you started labelling as un-American every food with a foreign name that originated in a foreign country (pizza, bratwurst, mayonnaise, tacos, cappicino) we wouldn't have much food left.

"We don’t think that the process of selecting a Supreme Court justice should include asking questions about a person’s personal sex life. But if a person does publicly identify as gay or lesbian"

So it is ok to have gay sex, just as long as you stay in the closet, which means lying about it.

I think since we de facto guarantee a seat on the Supreme court to an African-American and a Jew and gays and lesbians constitute a comparable minority it is only appropriate. And this is not just tokenism but a gay justice would bring a different point of view to the Court, which I guess is what conservatives are afraid of.

"It seems that while Obama may have thrown Jeremiah Wright under the proverbial bus, Obama is still holding tight to the values he learned at the feet of Jeremiah Wright."

You should bother learning a bit about Jeramiah Wright before you decide anyone who is an energetic preacher is a conservative Christian. Wright was certainly not homophobic, or bigoted in any way. The problem was that he was that he was devoted to justice for all people (including gays and lesbians) in his words and actions and America just can't handle such radical ideas.

Non-rival, non-excludable -- isn't the real difference here material property vs intellectual property, that is stuff vs. information. We've entered into a technological era where information is more and more significant. In the day of replicators and transporters, even matter will be basically information.

As for money in the ST universe, it seems money isn't used on the Enterprise, although I can't imagine what they gamble for when they play poker. But money does seem to exist, and this is very obvious in DS9. I mean what would the Ferengi devotion to acqusition mean if you could not accumulate money?

Can you say "Slap in the face" because that is exactly what this is, and to the President of the United States. The fact that he has real degrees from better schools is irrelevant. An honorary degree is given for different reasons.

Seems to me like Obama is turning the other cheek, maybe choosing his battles. This kind of mollifying his opponents wouldn't be so bad if he wasn't compromising on issues like the Bush administration's use of torture and a few other more controversial issues.

A picture of a naked man sends her running in tears? It's not the Internet but our sick society that makes a child would have such a reaction to the human body. I don't need to say in many cultures children see naked adults all the time and think nothing of it.

Perhaps the irony is intentional. Maybe the LGBT people in the foreign service have found a creative way to protest DADT. And by playing up the drag aspect they are both seeming innocuous and also making it an event that straights will want to come to. Such a creative move is in the best traditions of gay protests.

(Ok, my favorite was when the DC police wore rubber gloves to "protect" them from people with HIV/AIDS and the protesters chanted "Shame on you! Your gloves don't match your shoes!")

So women alter their appearance to please men? I think you'll find that most men do cosmetic things to please themselves. If you like it, and especially if it makes you feel sexy, then do it, because feeling sexy goes a long way towards looking sexy to other people.

And to the straight women... men are pervs. This is actually a good thing because no matter how strange you look, there are some guys out there who will be very turned on by it.

Oh, what a useless bit of crap! This website is interested in one thing, selling you products you don't need. And it tells you NOTHING about how to shave your pubes and balls. I know it's not that hard to figure out, but neither is shaving your face, and there are detailed instructions out there for that. I mean there are different types of skin down there and some instruction would be in order. And take it from someone who knows, you don't have to buy all that crap. You need maybe a hair clipper for the first time, and after that a regular safety razor, the kind you use on your face works fine. If irritation is a consistant problem, maybe you shouldn't do it.