Amen!

Maybe this will be covered in the next installments of this commentary, but the biggest cost of owning a PC is the exorbitant cost of software that has been inadequately tested and fights with everything else in your computer.

I've spent way more on tech support and upgrades that refuse to inter-act than I did on the original price of the computer. My next machine will be a MAC, because everyone I know who owns one is thrilled with it and thinks I'm retarded for not switching sooner.

Not to mention my lost productivity (common among friends with PCs) when I spend about 40% of my time at the computer dealing with problems or the computer's failure to perform as it was allegedly designed. I leave it on for days now, becaue every time I boot it up there is something different to discover in how it chooses to function each time. There are times when it just seem better to deal with the calamities you already know.

It would be impossible to calculate the icy hatred I feel for Microsoft. I am not alone, which is not as comforting as having companionship should be.

At these prices the damn thing should work. And it doesn't. And don't even ask how many computers simply died and could not be recovered. Geesh, I'm a slow learner! The final blow was when I asked my computer guy this week if he also sells MACS because maybe, after all, I'm not too old to learn a new system. His response? "What, and lose my job security? I wouldn't have anything to do if I just serviced the MACS I sold." Join me now for a loud and long ARGGGGHHHHHH!

I like the conversational style of this commentary. It's like huddling over a cup of coffee with a brilliant friend on a mission. I have never watched "The Wire." Now I will. Ms. Havrilesky got my attention with her sterling wit and sassy demeanor. You gotta love a strong woman!

It is satisfying and inspiring to read this level of journalism. Of course, I'm accustomed to excellence as a daily reader. Still, I kept going from gasp to chortle to guffaw and back again throughout the story. I spilled my coffee twice. Who's going to pay to remove these stains!

A truly fine piece of writing and -- here comes the most important observation from a dedicated reader -- worthy of Salon.com.

A reasonable person might ask why we don't take a page from the playbook of Bush and his henchmen and just send him overseas for further questioning and investigation. The weather in The Hague can be very pleasant in the spring. Something for him to do in those lonely months following his banishment to Texas.

He would certainly be treated with more civility than his victims. That may be a kindness he doesn't deserve, but the goal is not to be vindictive, not even necessarily to punish -- simply to illuminate the truth for the sake of an accurate history. What group could possibly be more fair and balanced than all those friends he's made for American around the world during his term in office?

It has been fascinating to read the thoughtful and eloquent comments about the subjects of the story. I'm still reveling in the wickedly funny writing Kate Harding has given us. It's a dreadfully sad topic, which we can't do anything about. Still, when Ms. Harding shares her perspective, her wit skewers with the skill of a surgeon. Brava!

The German language gave us that delicious word Schadenfreude, but what if -- instead of taking pleasure in the misfortune of others -- we preferred the guilty distraction of taking pleasure in the stupidity of others? Please, let there be a word! It would be an extra gift if it rhymes with "Palin". Most of us don't wish misfortune on others, nor do we celebrate stupidity, but when it is brazenly paraded, sorry -- it just begs to be a target.

This blow-by-blow account of a major world event is worthy of every thinking person's careful attention. We must all be weary of fact-deficient "headline journalism" that leaves us unfulfilled. This is first rate.

By admitting that the current world economic crisis began in America, President Obama deflected what could have been a wasteful expenditure of everyone else's time in accusing the U.S. by stating the obvious and moving on to talk about what needs to be done. If you're drowning, don't try to figure out how you got into the water -- Did you fall in; were you pushed? -- Just get OUT of the water!

Yes, now I want to read this book. I also want to read anything else I can find by Laura Miller. How nice to discover two gifted writers in a single reading experience.

What gifts! First, there are accolades for a president who makes us think! Please, God, let it be true that we get the government we deserve. I want to be worthy of this president. The "icing on the cake" is to have the story presented by a gifted writer who uses such phrases as "limbic, visceral response." I was exultant with the thrill of learning before I even knew what it meant!

I had to consult my American Heritage dictionary to learn that limbic is "a complex system of nerves and networks in the brain, involving several areas near the edge of the cortex concerned with instinct and mood. It controls the basic emotions (fear, pleasure, anger) and drives (hunger, sex, dominance, care of offspring)." WOW! Salon.com just returned my investment in membership! What a thrill it is to experience such creative use of our language. Heartfelt thanks ... for always making me think and helping me understand!

We must struggle to keep our religious faith and government separate. Neither should be diluted by intrusion from the other.