I agree with your original article. The guy performed admirably and in a highly professional manner. But it doesn't fit my definition of a hero. Heroism requires a motivation that is selfless and the pilot's motivation doesn't meet that criteria.

My law firm owns a turboprop and I'm a private pilot (although I don't fly the firm airplane). As our pilot likes to remind me when I mention something about safety, "The sharp end crashes first." Sometime the motivation of saving ones own life is good enough to save everybody else.

Not only is Obama forcing Democrats in Congress to take a stand so that they are in the boat with him, he's also forcing Republicans to make choices that are inevitably to their detriment. He talks a great bipartisan game and includes some of their pet projects in the stimulus bill. Then, he invites them to the Whitehouse and then goes to Capital Hill to say even more soothing words. All the while he knows that they almost certainly will end up rejecting the olive branch and look bad in doing so. (And much to my delight, and no doubt his, they've fallen all over themselves this week to do more that Obama ever could to make the Republicans = Rush Limbaugh meme work perfectly.)

And even if they accept his olive branch, the marginalize themselves. I think he's playing the game perfectly so far.

The icing on the cake will be if he gets Judd Gregg to become his Commerce Secretary and replace him with a Democrat. If Gregg makes it a condition of the job that his replacement be a Republican, well Judd old boy, you just came in second in the beauty contest. Maybe next time.

At the time that we had our daughter, both my wife and I worked around 55- 70 hours a week. There was simply no way to raise a child without full time child care. I obviously understand that the vast majority of people can't afford even part time care. But I wonder how many of the women in this article might not be able to afford child care relief even once a week. And failing that, leave the damned kid with their husband for -- good or for ill -- the kid will probably be alive when you get back. Go out with friends and just tie one on. Or go to a movie. Just go somewhere.

Being locked up and joined at the hip with a squalling kid all day isn't good for any adult, no matter how much you love them. I'd be pissed off to, at anybody that happened along. But I do strongly feel that having the opportunity to experience a normal work day, and still have the ability to have even occasional normal adult time is essential, and well worth saving for, if at all possible.

I have no answer for the letter writer. But her story touched me, too. Perhaps for selfish reasons. Same think happened to me, in a sense. However, I was with the girl for 11 years. And she left me eight years ago. I've tried pretty much everything from a new relationships to therapy to enough anti-depressants to kill a horse. Nothing works. And I still feel like shit. Complete self questioning in an otherwise life that had never been very introspective. A loss of self confidence when I had previously been bullet-proof (and in a profession where that type of confidence is almost a sina quo non). I'm still a fucking shambles emotionally. I have not answers, but if anyone does, please let me know.

Peace of God!

"The lifestyle I've described isn't based on the banal male fantasy cliché of one man having two women satisfy him."

Mine wouldn't be either. I'm sure I'd find some other justification for it. But damn, if you find the two gals, you sign me up.

francescasf obliquely raises a very interesting point. I wonder whether there is a correlation between the number of kids a family has and various measures of success in the offspring. (Surely such a basic topic has been thoroughly explored.) AS an only child of an only child who has an only child, I can't imagine how burdensome it would be for two professionals to raise more than one kid. Raising one was all I could handle.

Unfortunately, the suit will probably be barred by the pernicious doctrine of qualified immunity. But it's high time some of the arrogant prosecutors get a little dose of their own medicine. These prosecutions are ridiculous. But a few more lawsuits like this and even with the qualified immunity, perhaps the district attorneys will learn, as I'm sure they've said to others, "Even if you beat the rap, you won't beat the ride."

I agree with the previous poster that it is amazing that Justice Department prosecutors are pursing some alleged silly regulatory filing violation that stems from an affair between somebody who was a candidate for public office in the past, but won't pursue all but admitted war criminals. This disgusting turn of events shows how far the rule of law has fallen in our society and how even our highest institutions have fallen prey to the cheap siren call of infotainment style titillation and celbritrash. Sad, sad, sad.

Why does society have such a problem with women/girls who like to fuck?