Those wacky Brits spell "subsidising" with an s instead of a z. Here's a working URL:

http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2007/12/subsidising_rootedness.cfm

... Until a state does something they dislike. Why shouldn't California regulate its own greenhouse emissions if it has the legal right to do so based on its 40-year old EPA exemption? That's what federalism is all about: individual states having the power to work out solutions to problems. California has a long history of being ahead of the federal government on curbing air pollution. And the majority of California's residents want their state to regulate emissions of greenhouse gasses.

Last night, my husband and I were looking at snapshots of our oldest son taken this year in eighth grade and back in fifth grade. In three short years, he's changed almost beyond recognition. He's shot up about six inches, his hair has gone from blonde to brown, and his little round baby face has grown longer and thinner. He's now got that fuzzy little middle school "stache" and will probably start shaving any day now. And his voice has cracked and dropped about a fifth.

We had barely noticed any of this happening, apart from the growth spurt and the little mustache. I look at older boys and can see the outlines of his continued transformation. It is a little scary. But we can't keep him locked in childhood forever, much as we love him that way. We have tried not to push him away, but he will be going soon of his own accord.

The point of parenthood is to raise independent, functioning adults, isn't it? But it is hard to think of them growing up and leaving us, even though it is the way things are.

Having children has allowed me to be in touch with my own younger self, for better or worse. There's always the wish to undo all of the things that damaged me as a kid, to protect my children and do it right this time, to remember my childhood triumphs through theirs. But there's a fine line between sharing my child's life and latching onto it like a vampire to make up for what's lacking in my own life. I try to give them room and hope for the best.

10,000 Maniacs summed it up pretty well:

Every time we say goodbye

you're frozen in my mind

as the child that you never will be,

you never will be again.

He and Maria Schriver have four kids. Presumably that makes him 2/3 of the environmental hypocrite that RFK, Jr. is with his six offspring.

Anyhow, the old saying is true: you attract more flies with a teaspoon of honey than a gallon of vinegar. This hyper-moralistic, "all or nothing" approach to environmentalism is counterproductive. For starters, it alienates people. Most of us resent being made to feel guilty for choices that we think are reasonable for our individual situations. Beyond that, environmental hype leads inevitably to environmental backlash -- as is now happening with the Prius.

We need to think about what's better in the long run. Having a few purist environmentalists who don't drive, don't reproduce, and live semi-ascetic lives? Or having many people make modest green changes to their lifestyles? A bigger group that makes smaller changes will do more to conserve energy, encourage sustainability, and reduce our collective carbon emissions and other pollutants than a select group of enthusiasts will.

So let's lay off the environmoralism and show some encouragement for people who are starting to make green choices. After all, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. The McMansion owner who drives a hybrid is using less gasoline than her next-door neighbor who drives a monster SUV. The guy who only bikes or takes public transportation one day a week is using less energy than his officemate who doesn't do either one. The family that switches to compact fluorescents is consuming less electricity than the one that doesn't. These little things will add up if enough people are encouraged to do them and are made to feel as if they're part of the solution -- not castigated for being insufficiently green!

Quite a few Iranian women have been liberalizing their standard hijab-plus-longsleeved-coat outfits by wearing pink, pushing the hijab back so that some of their hair shows, and so forth. This nutjob cleric's vile comments are an attempt to rein in these uppity women and their supporters and maintain the Islamic hardliners' strict female dress code in the face of the public's desire to relax it.

The sweeter varieties of onion (like vidalias and mayan sweets) don't seem to be as hard on the tear ducts.

Water, refrigeration, and good ventilation all work pretty well, too.

I should have said headscarf instead of hijab. The chador is the voluminous, (usually) black cloak that many Iranian women wear over their clothes while they're out in public. A popular alternative is wearing a longsleeved coat and headscarf, and it's this form of dress that I was referring to.

One of my cousins used to teach in an online school for high school students who were unable to attend classes at their regular schools for various reasons, mostly related to illness or discipline problems. Many of her students were teenaged girls who were either pregnant or had recently given birth.

My cousin was given the syllabuses and resources for the kids' classes by their regular teachers, covered the material in online discussions, and made sure that the kids completed their assignments. This is the kind of thing that Denver should take a serious look into setting up, with the benefit that any student can take advantage of it (not just teen moms).