"We've tamed them (cats). Left to their own they still hunt. Dogs on the other hand would die out pretty soon w/o human intervention."

My husband suggested: "Dogs will do just fine without humans. They'll eat all the cats." :)

"Garry: dead on with the criticisms regarding Mad (though i don't think that Don Martin was its primary song parodist) and Jules Feiffer."

A wise comic once told me "There are only three funny ideas. All we do is change the delivery." Plenty of others have parodied song lyrics. I"m sure the first human to do this wore fur pelts and slept in a cave. And dancing comic characters? I'm thinking Jules Fieffer owes Charlez Schultz a "thanks for the idea."

Lord, nobody better make a fart joke, a gay joke, a dumb blonde joke, a lightbulb joke, a lwayer joke ... it's all been done.

Or, we could enjoy the humor we are presented with.

Now, he died before I was buying my own music, but ... didn't women scream and faint by the satdium-full for the bloated, jumpsuit-clad, heavily-sideburned, drug-addled, overripe Elvis?

(Not that Britney has the same level of musicianship as the King, but, they both made quite a bit of hay on their concert personas.)

Preteens wanting to get rid of body hair is not a new phenomenon: every tween-girl book I read as a tween had a scary shaving/plucking scene in it. Plenty of my friends (and I) shaved when we were 11 or 12 - once. We said "Gawd, that sucked" and then let things grow until we were in high school.

But Nair for tweens seems like wasted time and money.

If one has coarse hair (think: Mediterranean of African ancestors), products like Nair and other brands are usually not strong enough to dissolve the hairs. And if one has fine hair, why bother removing it? No one notices.

Having sifted through this thread, I can't help but think about parallels to women trying to avoid rape.

Women learn to take certain precautions to avoid being sexually or physically assaulted, such as:

1. going out in groups

2. crossing to the other side of the street when someone approaches

3. carrying pepper spray, or a whistle

4. holding a cel phone in one hand

5. avoiding being alone with med they don't know

6. meeting new dates in public places, instead of your house

etc.

Brightstar excluded, most people wouldn't then describe all women as "paranoid" of all men. The vast majority of men are lovely, wonderful people. The vast majority of men would never rape or abuse a woman. Most men are perfectly safe to encounter on a dark street at night.

However, a smart women should not assume any guy is "perfectly safe" at first glance. Too many "perfectly safe" guys have ended up beating and raping and killing women. It's sad that we need to "verify" before we can "trust." But ... it's reality.

And certainly, on Broadsheet threads that deal with rape stories, plenty of people believe that rape victims are at least partly to blame for their own assault if they are not "smart."

I do share the sorrow of all the wonderful men who feel they must always second-guess themselves when they are interacting with children. But, no more than I feel sorry for women (including myself) who must second-guess their actions when out for a night. And no, I'm not saying "women have it worse" or "Who cares about men's problems?" I'm saying I think we know how you feel.

Well, back at you, girl!

I enjoy your posts greatly. Not only for the clear thinking and solid arguments, but for the fascinating anecdotes. Very often you say things I wish I had been able to articulate. Thanks for being a great part of this conversation.

Good lord, there's a huge, wide, bright line between talking to a child in distress (and thus running the risk of suspicsion) and turning the other way and hoping for the best!

That flight attendant sure sounded like a bitch. And I think it's grossly irresponsible parenting to allow a young child to fly unaccompanied (yeah, the 70's were a different time than now, but I still think that kids' parents were wrong to let him go by himself).

But, today, if you see a lost child crying in a grocery store or a mall, how's about you find the nearest employee and say "Hey, there's a lost kid in aisle 12, crying by the juice boxes." You can be socially responsible without being suspect.

It's clear that you have never been "just" fondled by a pedaphile. Any person who has can tell you, it's as humiliating, degrading and fearful experience as being raped.

It's still terrorism.

How silly to quibble about which is "worse."

I agree with whichever anonymous suggested convicted of molesting children under 12 receive life sentences without parol. They are a constant threat to society's most vulnerable citizens. And as AKA Smith and others have pointed out, these are not single-offenders. They harm dozens of children until they are unlucky enough to get caught. Their "careers' span decades and can haunt generations.

I know one family where aunt and nieces were abused by the same family member, in the same way. Oh, yeah, it was "just touching." But it was devastating. The creep was in law enforcement in the 1930's-60's, so who knows how many other non-related children he harmed? The (presumed) last child (who finally told her dad) was victimized when the creep was a retired grandfather in his mid-70's. He should have been on the other side of the bars.