Rebecca -- It's "the" Napa Valley.

Has Salon.com joined the celebrity rags? Jennifer Aniston is an actress I have never seen on TV (Yes, I know, the yuppies glommed onto "Friends," but ... )or in movies. There are so many more attractive, interesting female actors.

Hillary is in a box of her own construction. Let's hope she can't get out.

I'm not mourning for the Virginia Tech students and I bet you aren't either. The nation didn't mourn, only the national media.

Of course, I feel deep sympathy for the families, friends, classmates, professors and others who had a relationship of some sort to the shooting victims or that campus.

But this wasn't my tragedy; it wasn't the tragedy of the American people.

Our tragedy, the one we should be mourning, is the daily killing of more Iraqi civilians than died in Blacksburg.

It is obscene for us to show so much grief for those college kids when our country is responsible for so much daily carnage in the country we invaded and now can't leave.

Americans need perspective.

The best thing about the end of "The Sopranos" is that we won't have to read any more fawning articles about it.

We stopped watching it after the first episode this year, and will always have fond memories of earlier seasons. But the story lines got stale and repetitive, and the characters didn't really grow in response to situations.

I wish it had been as good as some TV critics thought.

Let's just move on.

Robert Bruce

It's notable that African-American notables such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have condemned Michael Vick's dogfighting and killing, but there is a notable exception in the black community: Dr. Harry Edwards.

The UC Berkeley sociologist has long been associated with the San Francisco 49ers, and was selected by Bill Walsh before he died to give Walsh's eulogy.

Now we have a CBS interview Monday (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/17/sportsline/main3177543.shtml), where Edwards makes all kinds of excuses for Vick.

Let's hope the usually squeaky-clean Niners quickly sever ties with Edwards. We don't need anyone defending Vick.

Robert Bruce

First, the author must not have spent time in California's Mendocino County, where you can find organic wines, good and bad, in quantity.

I recommend Lolonis Wines, from a Greek-American family that eliminated pesticides years ago in their vineyards, replacing them with ladybugs.

The wine-making process at Lolonis still uses small amounts of sulfites, but in my experience that's the only way to maintain quality and consistency.

Mr. Conason:

It's somewhat disingenuous for you to publish an anti-Obama piece (and claim journalistic fairness) less than one week after doing a pro-Hillary article (Sorry, I don't have the URL).

Joe,

We know you are one of the pro-Hillary pundits, but your analysis of the negative pundits is right on.

The problem with this analysis is that i don't think most voters read the New York Times, the Washington Post, Salon.com, etc.

And the negatives that the con-Hillaryites describe are really the ones that have hurt her.

We'll see whether Obama can adjust his strategy by using Michelle more, and by being more policy-specific in his speeches.

Joan,

Please note that a massive percentage of California voters received mail-in ballots a month before Super Tuesday, marked them and mailed them in.

This was when Clinton had a double-digit lead and Obama was beneath everybody's radar.

His "surge," if you will, didn't happen until after Jan. 26 in South Carolina. Obama's poll numbers had pulled him even with Clinton by Feb. 5, but it was too late to recall all those mail-in ballots.

And note: There were thousands of votes for Edwards, Biden, Dodd and Kucinich, who had long disappeared from the contest.

Robert Bruce

rbruce07@comcast.net

I look at Salon.com to read this sort of thing, not to listen to an abbreviated TV commentary.

"Which Democrat can beat McCain?" is the title of Walsh's commentary, but she only talks about Iraq, and only superficially.

This does nothing to advance our understanding of the campaign; it just wasted my time.

Just an awesome and beautiful piece, Gary. I originally came to the Bay Area because of its jazz clubs, but drifted away during the rock era of the Sixties.

Now, although I lost all my jazz albums in the 1991 fire, I find myself coming back and wanting to remember and learn anew.

You captured much of what it meant to me. I cannot thank you enough.

Robert Bruce

Given that your thesis is correct and documented by the video, does this mean you advise voters to support her?

Does this mean she would be the best president?

Does this mean she has run an efficient, fair campaign? Is she therefore not responsible for the actions of her husband, of her campaign staff?

We know that President Clinton and members of Hillary's staff, and Geraldine Ferraro, have disparaged Barack Obama because of his race. And by doing so, they have encouraged racist remarks and encouraged racist voting patterns.

So, I'm saying, yes, Hillary has been the target of sexist remarks, but that does not qualify someone to be president.

I would love to see a woman president who is qualified and inspirational. Hillary ain't it.

Joan,

I wish someone would address the issue of the SF blogger who got into the private fundraiser because she was an Obama supporter.

As a retired print journalist, I was always alert as a reporter and as an assignment editor not to use dishonest ploys to get stories.

There are times it would be simple for a reporter to misrepresent himself/herself in order to gain the confidence of a source. If I had been the Huffington Post editor, I would never have used the Obama quotes, as they were collected under false pretenses.

The Internet is a great thing for getting more news, but lowering our ethical standards as journalists shouldn't be part of it.

Thanks.

Robert Bruce

(formerly a Bay Area resident)