... he is now 76 years old and has had his life. Had he been sent to prison for a long sentence, his life and career would have been ruined. Now at the very worst he is in a similar position to Madoff. Maybe he will die in prison, but if he does, he has already had his life on the outside. However, more likely some deal will be worked out so that he spends a few months inside then gets out on parole and resumes the life of a man who is elderly but rich and successful.

Of course there has always been one system of justice for the rich and another for the poor. In my state it is very probable that a poor Mexican man who committed the same offense (drugging and anally raping a girl of 13), assuming that the widely circulated details of the case are true, would die behind bars and would not be allowed to plea bargain to a lesser offense.

Of course the poor guy probably wouldn't get bail, so he wouldn't be in a position to flee to Mexico in the first place.

... in US politics.

Someone who is not capable of writing a book has someone write it for her, then sells hundreds of thousands of copies of the unreadable book to wealthy political donors and becomes independently wealthy. Later on the donors are repaid in the currency of political favors.

If Palin was actually capable of writing a good book, then probably it would be worth reading, but it is almost guaranteed that this book will be dishonest, self-serving, self-aggrandising, and offer no insights at all into the formative influences of a right wing politician.

This question is like a Rorschach Blot Test, because everyone interprets it in light of their own experience.

We know almost nothing about the LW. We don’t know what state she lives in, what ethnicity she is, whether she lives in a city or a rural community, whether she is a physician or a drivers license clerk.

We don’t know if she is ugly or attractive. We don’t know her intellectual interests or hobbies.

We know nothing about her family history, her relationship with her father etc.

We know nothing.

What we do know is that she is 32, single, and that she got drunk and spent the night with a man and that he, like others before didn’t pursue her further.

If I had to take a guess and narrow things down a bit, I would say that she is at least a 3rd generation person of European descent and that she lives in a metropolitan area. But that still leaves a lot of leeway.

I think she needs to think about what kind of man she is looking for. Perhaps she might think about meeting men from outside her own ethnicity. Does she want a man who is older or younger? Many men of her age will already have been married, have children, and be looking at a second tour of matrimonial duty if they marry again. Would she consider an immigrant? What does she have to offer to someone else that would make her a “catch”?

What does she want her children to look like?

As many have pointed out, falling in love is the least of her worries

... is to go to a party, get drunk, and have sex with a good-looking drunk, then get him into the registry office while he has a hangover and can't fight back? Interesting theory.

How about you stay sober, talk to guys about what they want out of life, then follow up with the more serious-minded interviewees?

Forget about the sex. If you get married you will soon have other things to bother about. And falling in love is a gradual process that should be distinguished from mere infatuation. Have you read the recent story about how rocky the Obama marriage was for several years until their daughter's meningitis pulled them together and really bonded them as a couple?

My wife told me she wanted to marry me and have 3 children the first time we met, which I thought was very impressive and indicated that she was goal oriented. Although we did have sex on the first date, neither of us was drunk, and it was just to make sure we were compatible before we became formally engaged and told the world we were going to marry.

We are still happily married.

... mostly revolves around the consumption of alcohol in pubs, discos, clubs etc., so this is hardly a surprise. Of course there may be SOME cases of women having sex after returning home tipsy on communion wine imbibed at church, but not too many.

Alcohol consumption also gives deniability. Well, of course, as everyone knows, I am no slut, but last night I was mightily pissed on rum and coke and ended up in bed with this guy whom normally I would never consider a suitable companion, he being a garbage collector, and I a librarian. He invited me out for drinks tonight, but I am still sore, so suggested tomorrow instead...