I like Obama but I liked him better in 07 than in 08. Remember his FISA vote? An investigation into warrantless wiretapping would uncover information not just on the Bush administration but on the involvement of the telecom companies as well. Now the telecoms are immune (thanks to the FISA bill which received broad support, including Obama's) but they still would be reluctant to have their involvement exposed. Of course, Obama and the Democrats are in bed with the telecoms as much as Bush and the Republicans. It was hard to watch footage of the Democratic National Convention without seeing at&t or Qwest logos. Yes, they may be hiding behind the cover of creating harmony between the parties, but the Democrats owe just as much to the Telecoms as the Republicans and that's why you won't see too much digging into these crimes.

Whatever you want to say about the treatment of Clinton and Palin, it's hard to use them as the poster children for gender bias. One is a senator and the other is a governor. While they may not have made it as far as they wanted this election season, they both made it pretty far. These women reside in a fairly elite political class either despite or because of their gender.

Is there a need for feminism to shed light on gender issues in this country? Absolutely. But these women have had just about every advantage someone could hope for and more than most Americans will ever see. I do not feel sorry for either of them.

...we will be spared the stories about Missouri's historic "bellwether" status as the state that always votes the same way the nation votes.

Some of the talk on sports radio here in NY has been that Mussina's a fringe HOFer at best. Some of the hosts have even said, 'if we need to have a debate about it, he shouldn't be in The Hall.' My thinking is that as long as there's more than just Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb and Cy Young in the Hall of Fame, there's going to be a debate about who should be in or out, no matter where you draw the line. I would agree that the line has been lowered too far, but where ever you draw it, there will be a lot of guys on the fringe, some of whom will get in.

As far as where the line is drawn, a player's stats and accomplishments should be a major factor...they're going to have to look reasonable on the plaque. But there's also the subjective "was this player one of the greatest to play the game?" question that must be answered. I've seen Mussina pitch many times with the Yankees and the Orioles. He's been really good for a pretty long career. But I wouldn't call him one of the greatest to play the game. I'd like to go to Cooperstown with my son and daughter and have them ask me questions about what it was like to watch the HOFers from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 00s play the game. I would just feel awkward answering the question: "Dad, what was it like to watch Mike Mussina?" This is a question I asked my parents about Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays. This is a question that, good as he was, shouldn't be asked about Mike Mussina.

HOF voters need to consider the parents and grandparents of the future who will need to testify to the greatness of these players.

I will miss your regular column on Salon but will look for it elsewhere.

It is sad to see this type of column go. While I find your subject matter interesting, I've been most encouraged by the way you chose to reveal your thoughtfulness, research and approach to answering questions we should all be asking. While so many across Salon fill their writing with thoughtless judgments based on trendy "thinking" (SUVs: bad; Farmer's Markets: good), you seem to challenge yourself and your readers to truly think about how we go about our lives.

We cannot sit and wait for government and corporations to address environmental concerns. Change will come too slowly, if ever. Government and corporations, as our representatives and suppliers, will not do anything to reduce our energy consumption if we don't acknowledge the ways in which we must change the ways we live. Our environmental crisis is only solvable if more and more people follow your lead and think about how their daily decisions actually impact the world we live in.