Glenn, and I share your disgust, but I see in column after column that you just don't understand how this country works. You can wrap yourself in the flag (if you are a Republican) and commit any crime and or horror and because of the tribal nature of Republicans and Americans, you can get away with it. Don't you see? MOst Americans really do not give a shit whether people outside the tribe LIVE or DIE. Specialness is our addiction and will be our downfall. We give ourselves credit all the time for completely unwarranted specialness. We are, in this sense, like Nazis, say, or any fascist country. What I like about you is that you still care. I don't think I do. I think the whole country has gone to the dark side. It was always in there (witness--slavery and genocide) but now that's all that's in there.

We had to modify our pie crust to get rid of the butter and shortening and lard. So here is one:

food processor: 2 c. all purpose flour, about 1/4 granulated sugar, 1 tsp salt. Mix briefly. Add 1/2 c. combined oils: walnut, almond, grapeseed. Process until crumbly. With the processor spinning, add 1/2 c. ice water. When it has formed into a ball, divide in half and knead for a few seconds. Roll out with your silpat pad and your silicon rolling pin. Set into pie plate, and pour in the fruit. Roll out top crust, place over fruit. Sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake for forty--forty-five minutes at 350. Crispy and rich, different from lard, but yummy.

If you don't think that Americans have used "exceptionalism" to justify slavery, genocide, terrorizing minorities and dissenters, and religious persecution since the beginning of the 17th century, then you haven't been paying attention. Then WW II comes along, and it appears to Americans that as a result of that conflict, the US is going to be the world power, and so all sorts of crimes become the order of the day, standard practice, and government policy. The question is not "Is the US as evil as other countries in it's dealings with minorities and enemies and non-conformists, but is it MORE evil?" The answer to the first question is certainly yes (if you equate Native Americans with Jews, say). I don't know that we know the answer to the second question because so many things have been kept secret. The only variable in any American's perception of his or her country is "How long did it take you to realise what's been going on?" But hey, none dare call it treason.

As you can tell by the previous letters, no one is sympathetic to your desire for self-expression. No one wants you to be an artist, and no one wants to hear about your torment. Or your husband's. That's why you just have to do it and he just has to do it. Maybe you will come up with something you can sell, and maybe you will have a career and make a go of it, and maybe he will, too. But writing careers and artistic careers are entirely self-generated, and that's how it should be. Here's the secret--for all the "torment", artists consider making art to be more fun and rewarding than any other thing. If your husband doesn't feel that way, then he should go ahead and keep working and watching TV. It may be that your lives will then diverge--it may be that they won't. But you can't motivate him and you can't free him--it is in his demand for freedom that he will find his artistic meaning. So leave him alone and keep working on your own stuff. Set a good example, and maybe he will follow it.

big enough for three people over six feet tall and two others, plus three dogs, if one sits on a lap.

did the Jewish population of Europe, when seeking a refuge and a county of their own, have to choose Jerusalem? Wasn't that asking for trouble?

According to the movie Exodus, the Arabs and the Jews then living in Palestine after WW2 got along fine with one another until various remaining Nazis instigated Holocaust denial and attacks by the Arabs on the Jews. Is this true?

The world we live in rewards people unequally and arbitrarily. If you are going to be in a long relationship that goes through several economic cycles, then you have to get rid of all ideas about who earns the bread and just be glad that someone does. I am a woman and I earn the money in our relationship. I also do all the cooking. But my partner is wonderfully helpful and does all the errands and the schlepping and also keeps the household running. I am incredibly grateful for him and his efforts and his happy attitude. He reciprocates. And the kids know both of us quite well, since we are around and we are both always on duty. We are lucky. BUT both of you really have to get rid of your preconceived notions about who earns the money. Our relationship is way better than those I know where the man brings home a big paycheck and expects a high level of service from his well-educated wife.

as much as I could. He sounded drunk to me.

the "lash of the whip" line, I was impressed and moved. Thank you Prez O. But there is another original sin we cannot forget, and that is genocide of the original inhabitants. The war in Gaza should remind us how much effort genocide takes. American is an interesting nation, and it has given many people a new start. But that new start was bathed in the blood of others. So let's not go thinking we're specially good, folks.