Letters to the Editor
Malusinka
Published Letters: 350 Editor's Choice: 49
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This is a bunch of malarkey
[Read the article: McCain-onomics: A tax cut in every corporate pot]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I admit, I'm not a big fan of the capital gains tax. But, McCain's argument seems to be that as the risk of an asset increases, the quality decreases and the bank might have to put it in a lower quality tier which requires a larger ratio of cash reserves to asset. Selling assets to meet this increased cash reserve must be what triggers the capital gain.
Why is this malarkey? Because either the bank is required to rate assets according to their risk and have the appropriate cash reserves or it isn't. A) If it is required, then the bank has to pay whatever tax is levied whether it wants to or not. If it isn't required, then the problem is that it should be. If banks can rate their assets however they choose and their statements of the risk of their assets is meaningless and investors/consumers have no reason to trust the
soundness of their balance sheets.
In short, McCain sounds clueless. I sure hope the Dems fgure out that it's the economy, stupid.
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What about the statistics?
[Read the article: Have a daughter? You wimp]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If sex of offspring were random, one would expect 1/4 of 2 child families to have 2 girls, 1/4 to ahve 2 boys and the rest one each.
If the mothers' characters influence sex, you'd expect a lot more families with two children the same sex. I bet this data is readily available. So, did the scientists do a simple demographic test to see if their hypothesis is born out by the facts?
Because it's a lot easier to get census data on millions of 2 child families than it is to get a small sample of women to undergo tests before and during pregnancy.
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I don't see why being attracted to OG is a problem
[Read the article: I am the keeper of secrets]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]As long as you make it clear that you're loyal to Hubby. If what you've got with hubby is good, it's not worth wrecking your marriage. If you've got marital problems, all bets are off.
I've been in that boat. As long as you are 100% sure that your happiness is with hubby and your not the type to get drunk and stupid: no problem.
I do think you should mention to each member of the couple that while you respect their confidences, the other has spoken to you.
And you want to be careful what you advise OG, as 'find someone better' advice might be misconstrued. You are the logical other woman for him.
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One would assume the most together and successful women
[Read the article: Can abortions lead to mental illness?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]are less likely to have unintended pregnancies. As Brightstart pointed out, there are lots of forms of birth control. Yes, accidents happen, but many forms of birth control are extremely effective when used conscientiously.
My point is not to say an unplanned pregnancy is a sign of carelessness, but that the careless will have more unplanned pregnancies.
People in control of their lives have fewer mental health problems than those who let life control them. Plus, pre-existing, undiagnosed mental health problems are probably correlated with poor BC use.
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The thing about the liquid ban is that it hardly worked
[Read the article: Ask the pilot]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]When the good folks get out their liquids, it's easy to check. I can't remember how many times I've come off an international flight too tired to check my backpack for liquids while transferring to domestic. I'd figure the worst that could happen is the TSA will ask me to dig through my backpack to find it. It's quite rare that TSA picks up on the liquids -- or anything else I haven't bothered to excavate from the bottom of my pocketbook or backpack.
Needless to say, if the liquids were a risk, the terrorists would have them deep in their backpacks, not in a clear plastic baggy to show to TSA.
When I went to Israel, the x-ray techs were very zealous. They saw something suspicious and made me empy my pocketbook. They x-rayed it three times. And they took their time.
Screening is only as good as the people manning the x-ray machines or the open-bag search.
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Find the husband first
[Read the article: I want a baby so badly it scares me]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I think you're at about the right age. Have a long talk with BF to see how he feels about having kids. Not necessarily with you, right now, but with the right woman in the next 5 years. If he can't picture that, find someone better.
Use a dating service or make it clear on early dates that you're looking for a serious relationship with might lead to marriage and kids, not just fun.
Give it time. A good friend of mine took about 3 years to ditch kid-phobic BF, date, get married and try for a baby.
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Sure you can control for the placebo effect
[Read the article: Buff up your brain]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Before the second test, tell the testees that the exercises they've done CAN improve performance by up to 10%, there for you've made the test 10% harder. Tell another group it's the same test, and a third that the test is 20% harder. Give them all the same test.
Do the same for people who haven't done brain exercises and for a group who did an educational course, whether studying Greek, literature, math, or quantum physics. And, since some of this testing seems to test reaction time, a group of people who have spent time playing video games.
It sure would be interesting to know if scientifically designed and tested brain games improve performance more than hours playing Super Mario brothers.
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The Watchtower
[Read the article: What is your literary deal breaker?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]enough said
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Topography is the reason condoms for men work
[Read the article: Planned Parenthood's condoms for women]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]and the ones for women are hard to find. Since a barrier protection worn by women won't fit snugly, I'd expect it to cut sensation more than a male condom.
Further, I think most women want partners who love them, not their bodies and are willing to work to find the best form of contraception for both.
It's pretty clear that lots of men don't see why all the forms of BC available to women aren't right, but they often aren't.
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Say it with a grin
[Read the article: I'm embarrassed to admit I met my guy online]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Cary's right, it's all in the presentation. You don't have to drone on forever, though. Just say, 'my love life was going nowhere, I tried out an on-line dating service and found a winner on the first try'. If your smile's big and genuine, people will give you envious, not funny looks.