What people need is health care. Insurance may get you in the door, but if you've got a high deductible, as many do, you pay the co-pay and then you pay the balance.

You may find that there are many necessary medical treatments that are not covered. So you pay for them - in addition to those pricey monthly premiums - or you go without.

If you have some pre-existing condition, as Ms. Price does, and manage to get medical insurance, you may find that anything associated with your condition will not be covered. So you pay again - or do without.

But you still pay, even if you never get to see a doctor or fill a prescription. And if you "consume" too much medical care, you'll pay an escalating premium, if you're not dropped altogether.

People are getting rich from selling medical insurance. It's a high profit business, denying care and refusing to pay bills.

Why do Americans put up with it? People are smarter throughout the rest of the world. But here in the "Good Ole U. S. A." we're blinded by jingoism and market-worship.

I apologize for this morbid and unpleasant digression from the considerably more upbeat subject of taxes.

Forgive me for taking another bite of the apple. I really enjoyed this article - the advice was smart and common sense, plus funny.

HOWEVER - Salon, couldn't you have published this a month or two before April 15?

I haven't been to that many funerals yet (lucky me). However, of the few that I've attended, the central image is of people - relatives, co-workers, members of an organization - who haven't seen one another in some time getting together.

And that part is just great. It may border on the obscene to even mention it, but the reunion aspects of the funeral can really be enjoyable. The party, all those great stories about the deceased, reconnecting with people you used to be close to... well, it helps with the grief, even as it increases the grief, if that makes any sense.

But maybe the LW doesn't want to reconnect with her New Mexico family and friends? She mentioned how unhappy she is in New York; might there be a fear of disclosing this to her friends back here in the sticks? Might she be afraid she'd want to move back? And the lux vacation "back" to NM - to some pricey resort? So, she doesn't plan to stay with relatives or friends? What's up with that?

Perhaps the LW should consider the possibility that an underlying reason for skipping the funeral of a beloved relative is that she doesn't want to face the rest of her relatives?

"Karl, the supposed political genius, hitched his political wagon to the most reviled and inept presidencies in our nation's history."

Not to be disrespectful, but so what? From the point of view of Today's Republican Party, the Bush administration has been perfect. Bush is reviled? Well, they want you to hate the gummint. Bush is inept? Isn't the core Republican message that the gummint is incompetent?

Meanwhile, Bush has quietly gutted the civil service, privatized much of the military, redefined the President's job to be somewhat more expansive than Julius Caesar's, largely eliminated the Bill of Rights, and is working tirelessly to literally bankrupt the United States Government via breathtaking expansions of the national debt and reductions in taxes on those best able to pay them. And more! But I hope that you all get the point.

And all this is the point: discrediting and bankrupting the government of the United States. Today's Republican Party has grown tired of this "democracy" experiment. It has seriously interfered with the accumulation of wealth and power, from a dynastic point of view, since FDR held the job. It's got to go. And all that crap that Roosevelt foisted on a grateful nation has to go, too.

Contrary to the assertion that Karl Rove goofed, he's actually attained his goals to an alarming degree. And he continues to make progress.

I would not call him stupid. Immoral, horrible, and even anti-American, but not stupid.

IaintBacchus asks "how do they propose to collect the raw material?"

A diaphragm works pretty well. Just wear it for an hour or so; be careful not to spill the contents when removing. It's pretty thick and jelly-like, so spillage isn't a big problem.

For commercial/medical use (is there any difference anymore?), there would need to be special sanitized collection media and protocols, of course. But the basic mechanics is trivial.

Sorry, I must have misunderstood. To address the scheduling issue, young women would schedule appointments if they were paid for their donations.

Of course, a few would contribute even if not paid, just as there are still some people who donate blood. Would there be enough? Depends on the demand, and on the hygienic restrictions. ("Have you ever gotten a tattoo? Have you ever been in prison? Have you been paid for sex? Have you travelled to a foreign country, where you were paid for sex and imprisoned?" etc.)