I generally find the misogyny in the letters section pretty outrageous. But the people trying to defend what this woman did as if the offense were her sleeping with more than one guy are way off-base. What she did that is shocking is assume that one man HAD to be the father based on...what? She had sex with him more often? She had sex with him on the right day? She made a decision about her daughter's paternity, a decision that profoundly affected the lives of her daughter, her husband, and the other man, based on some sort of vague understanding of basic biology so flimsy an off-hand comment years later is enough to jar her out of her assumptions. That's deeply irresponsible, and that's what people are responding to. Add to this the bizarre remarks about Cinqo de Mayo (she is more concerned that her daughter will lose a cultural attachment to a holiday than that she will feel alienated from both of her parents at once - one because of the dishonesty, the other because of a major change in her understanding of the relationship) and a picture forms of someone who is disconnected from the effects of her own actions. Very troubling, and that has nothing to do with sleeping with more than one guy at a time.

The people who ask why "women" do this, though? "Women" don't do this. Some women have done this. Not the majority, not by a long shot. There are unethical people of both sexes. And "women" don't generally race out and find a bad boy to screw when they're ovulating while keeping their good guy for security. If you think that's common behavior, you've got a really skewed view of the world.

- a woman who married the good guy and finds bad boys tiresome

Laurel is a serious ass-kicker.

who checked the list just to make sure Kicking and Screaming was included.

The title and the intro imply she is recommending Jello, an nasty artificial blend of chemicals and sugar or artificial sweeteners. Really, that's like recommending soda - it's cheap and fun, great for this economy! Please. But reading further, her actual recommendations are for rediscovering gelatin, which has been, in one form or other, the basis for all sorts of delicious things since people have been cooking - good stock, aspic, bavarian creams, simple coffee or fruit jellies. I commend her for her defense of gelatin, but clouding the issue with its bastard child Jello is silly (except to point out that the ubiquitious overgelled, oversweet, artificial tasting Jello molds of the fifties and sixties are what killed off the public taste for properly prepared aspics and jellied desserts to being with.)

And, yeah, the outrage over the animal origins of gelatin is very silly, as if there's something more offensive about the use of bones than the use of muscle tissue (I know that most of the commentators are horrified by any animal consumption, but they seem to feel that others will be more shocked by the fact of bones and tendons than by "regular" meat.). If anything, at least gelatin uses the by-products of meat production. Personally, I get more offended by people who will only touch the breast of the chicken and best cuts of steak than by those who understand how to use the bones, tongue, liver, kidneys, and other parts - I think it shows more respect for the animal. It's also healthier - those "gross" parts tend to be highly nutritious.