Far be it from me to further criticize black women and what they do with their hair (they get enough criticism from society), but I LOATHE black hair that has been straightened. It just doesn't look right -- it looks like "second best wannabe."

I'm German and my hair is very fine, limp, thin, extremely straight. Most American men prefer the big-haired women. There are many things in life I can have, but big hair isn't one of them. So I choose an appropriate haircut (short, usually) and live with it. It suits me. While I'll never have big hair, I do love the fact that it's soft and shiny.

For those of you who remember the 70s, short and long Afros were in. Man, did I envy black women! All that beautiful hair! I've gotten perms, but it wasn't the same. (One of my earliest memories after coming to the U.S. was standing in line at school behind a black girl with lots of little braids on her head and NOTHING HOLDING THE BRAIDS IN. I was in love with that hair and envious like you wouldn't believe. My braids always came undone because my hair was too fine to hold a ribbon.)

I understand that black women are under a lot of pressure to "fit in," look as white as possible. I say, "Don't do it." Your kinky hair is gorgeous, and you can sculpt it and do all kinds of wonderful things with it. And you look much better with your natural hair than any kind of "white people hair."

By the way, I love this topic, and I think it's important. Hair is a part of life and that's what makes it important.

Have always been tasteless. This one's pretty tame in comparison.

@ barad: "Why infer that the opposition is somehow evil. Must be the Kool-Aid in the break room."

Because being against affordable health care for everybody is hunky-dorry??? Let me spell it out: it's nuts, it's bad, it's the wrong thing.

Conservatives = bratty, greedy kids who never grew up.

@ unlovely: "If I had a dime for every hypocritical liberal statement on this site alone. . "

Project much?

Trolls = people who project all their bad deeds on others (i.e., pretty damn unaware).

Liberals = people who try to do what's right and sometimes fall far short.

Conservatives = people who preach that others must do what's right but who never apply that to themselves.

@ NobleGiant: "One blog says says it has to be some lefty cause they painted the swastika wrong"

Here's a little history lesson. The swastika is an honorable ancient Greek symbol (you can see it on old Greek buildings and paintings, used decoratively). That Greek symbol, however, had the "arms" going counter-clockwise.

Hitler appropriated the symbol, but changed the "arms" to go clockwise.

Now, I only saw the item on T.V. briefly, but that swastika, while a little rounded probably because the person was in a hurry, was clockwise.

After this lesson, here's a little lesson in logic (not aimed at you, NobleGiant, but at the ignorant blogger): Just because he/she thinks it was painted wrong it "had to be some lefty" = faulty logic at work.

But I've never ascribed logic to right-wingers.

P.S. HITLER WAS A RIGHT-WINGER. That might be something the American "conservative right wing" has forgotten. I would like to remind them of that little fact.

"When you’re talking about panels that are going to be imposed, that will be making life and death decisions, that will be making decisions about whether or not you get health care or don’t receive health care."

As others have pointed out, don't these people know that we currently have these panels in our for-profit health insurance system? Don't they know that profit comes before everything else?

I certainly would prefer a panel that is not motivated by profit to decide whether I receive health care or not.

I can't believe just how stupid this is all getting. And logic and facts don't seem to help. But wait, that's exactly what the Repugs are shooting for.

Thank goodness I don't watch this show (So You Think You Can Dance is much better).

I think I'd puke watching Tom DeLay dance. Or watching Tom Delay period.

"We have a public option already, in many ways one might wonder if all the hubub about death panels, and single payers might have been a smoke screen. . ."

All the hubub about death panels is the fruit of the insurance companies' $1 million PER DAY spent on trying to keep the status quo.

"Here's one fact that andrew leonard may not be aware of; a whole bunch of people are happy with the health care they currently receive and DO NOT want a federal bureaucracy in charge of this service, nor establishing its policy."

Hey there, I'm sure Andrew Leonard is aware that a whole bunch of people are happy with the health care they currently receive. I'm pretty happy with the health care I currently receive. But I'm not sick yet. So I DEFINITELY want a public option.

And believe me, I would switch to that public option as soon as it became available. Why? Because I don't want to be at the mercy of a for-profit corporation.

If you want to keep your current health care policy, fine. But don't try to stop me from getting my public policy, o.k.?