Thanks for making my case. I voted "undecided" because I was ambivalent about the bill. However, when the answer came that 85% of the voting members were for it, I was fine with it. I mean, I was glad to be asked and able to give an opinion.

And oh by the way, I didn't even bother reading all that verbiage that was supposedly meant to slant my vote. I read about the survey, went to other websites to check out the proposed bill, and then made my decision before voting.

As another letter writer said, give MoveOn members some credit.

I've seldom heard so many misinformed whiners.

Veal = baby cow. If you don't keep it confined in a small space, it's still a baby cow. If you don't mind eating baby cows, it's better to eat one that's free-range.

Foie gras = fat liver. Bad enough that geese are force-fed, but humans eating fatty liver will have all kinds of problems. I'll take my pate without the extra fat, thank you.

Baby steps = Doing one small thing, or a few, that will eventually have an impact.

I say good for Wolfang Puck.

Toll, dass Du das machst!

"I understand it's an emotional issue for Matthew, as it is [for] a lot of other people in this country."

And it's certainly not an emotional issue for W, no sirree. Our esteemed resident thinks of this as a video game where he gets to make a lot of neato decisions and then call himself "The Decider."

Ain't life grand for him!

Rudy, what goes around, comes around.

That's what a polite person would call Sen. McCain's remarks.

I call it B.S.

Here's the deal, folks:

Excepting bombs or similar devices, nothing kills as effectively as a gun. Some letters above mentioned cars/SUVs rampaging through a crowd of people and killing dozens.

Now, that car or SUV was registered, it had a title, it had proof of ownership and a paper trail. Granted, someone could steal a car and go on a killing rampage.

However, why do Americans find it perfectly acceptable that the law says we have to register cars, but when it comes to guns, the system is fast and loose?

Liberals (of which I'm mighty proud to be one) don't say "gun control" equals "nobody gets any guns." Gun control means guns should be TIGHTLY CONTROLLED. So that when stolen, there's a paper trail with a corresponding ID number. So that when bought, they're not bought by some nut. We don't yet have these controls in place. Currently, any nut can by-pass the system and get ahold of a gun.

We want restrictions on how many guns are manufactured and distributed, and we want tight controls on how they are distributed.

Could some innocent bystanders still be shot and killed? Sure, but at least we would know that the shooter had to work hard to get ahold of a gun.

That might be a start.

And furthermore, my first thought when I heard W was going to VA Tech: Photo opportunity! But where's the compassion when it comes to the dead soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan? Not such a good photo opp, huh, W?

"Spector plays a creepy role in GOP politics. He feigns anger and disgruntlement shoots his mouth off like he actually cares and then votes the party line. Spector is a ball-less moron."

Remember the Clarence Thomas hearings? Spector was all huffy and righteous, but of course he voted the party line. Get that conservative on the Supreme Court at any cost, no matter what.

I mean, the man has done everything W wanted. He's been plenty busy getting the DOJ full of "our kind of people." The career employees are leaving in droves, all replaced by OKOP.

Now that Alberto is being questioned about it, he pretends not to remember, just that mistakes were made and he'll fix them (i.e., try not to be so blatant next time).

Alberto is exactly the kind of person that has W's full confidence.

For crying out loud, he asked you WHAT COLOR rug you wanted. Not, could you please design me a rug for use in the Oval Office.

Yep, I'm sure this is the way W has been running our country. Don't actually listen, just jump to conclusions and then run with it, never never never backing down.

This administration has been totally incompetent in everything it's done. Why should handling classified documents correctly be any different? I used to have a Secret clearance and it ain't rocket science -- just some easy procedures. And yet, they can't even get something that simple right.

Are they dumb? I'm afraid they just don't care.

It all sounds so reasonable, but here's my question:

How many Americans would have been all gung-ho about the war had they known it would take this long -- not mention more years to come?

We went to war for the wrong reasons, that stinks to high heaven. The fact that most Americans swallowed the rosy theory "it will all be over in six weeks" really sticks in my craw.

Elephantman, Tiberius: care to comment?

You would have been a good candidate to replace Tony Snow while he was having chemo. You're much better at lying than poor little Dana.

You're starting to piss me off!

Harsh treatment? Since when is it o.k. to do illegal, abusive, harsh stuff just because the other person/country/whatever did even worse stuff?

Since when?

"But you still defend them and shame Bush??"

O.k., you've just revealed yourself as a true Republican.

Who's defending "them"? I wasn't. I was merely saying that two wrongs don't make a right; we shouldn't stoop to their level; etc. ad nauseam.

In "the oldest Democracy" we have a right to criticize our government without being accused of all sorts of vile stuff.

If you think my point is wrong, use your brain and tell me why. Make your argument. Don't just call me unpatriotic or whatever.