Dear Garrison;

I think you know better. The troubling reading scores for your state have not much to do with any federal program, accuracy of tests and the analyses (summaries, interpretations, expert opinions from those PhD's in Education and politicos), or even the struggling efforts of classroom teachers (although smaller classes would be a start, look at the research supporting this). I think you nailed it when you cited income (read: poverty and working poor) as a factor in the numbers. It's bad enough most of the country is not interested in reading anymore, but the poor are especially at risk. What reward is there for young minority children to behave smart, when it is labeled acting white? Do you know the stress of many poor parents who both want their children to be better than they are, but at the same time not (I lived this paradox)? College is becoming financially out of reach for poor children, and they know it. What will reading give them that radio and TV won't? Step into these shoes, these families, these over sized classrooms with underfunded mandates and needs. As one writer already said, the blended method of teaching children to read is the one most often used. Getting them to care, and for that interest to be supported is another matter.

When it comes down to it, there really is only one answer: Obama.

Dear Garrison;

On your show you talk about the Shenandoah Valley from time to time, how about actually coming out here? I even have a venue. James Madison University. I even have a crowd waiting to listen. Call us. You won't have to stay in the flea bag motels, and no one will tell you "you were not our first choice". Wanna see some other "heartland"? No poets, but lots of real, beating hearts. Please come.

Spelling as the cause of fiscal ruin? I think this leap is a bit too wide. Perhaps it is the lack of complex problem solving abilities paired with low reading comprehension that is a better skill base to blame. Spelling may be a subset of reading comprehension in a broad sense, but overall there are much better links to make for our collective fiscal ruin than spelling.

WAIT a minute! All this hubris over Rev. Wright and NOTHING about the bigots who run the largest evanlgelical mega churches in the US? There are plenty of tapes of them, saying very dubious and bigoted things. Where is the media attention on these guys? They certainly drive a much bigger section of the citizenry, and encourage acts against women, homosexuals, people of color, the poor (of all colors), and various other folks as they justify themselves. Write about these men Salon!!

How about parent's day? I know several men who are the stay at home parent, doing all the things moms have always done, with just about as much appreciation. Mothers and Fathers day seem so outdated. I vote for an all around parents day. We can celebrate both sexes, adopted parents, and all the versions of the good folks who raised us. We can also take a break to love our lives just as they are, gritty and crazy, with kids of all ages. Here's to parents Garrison, and all the manifestations of family they lead.

As a former member of rural, off the beaten path, small town midwestern America- I can say that there is a grain of truth in the generalizations. Ignorance is considered a virtue and education is considered "getting too big a head". Sexism and racism are alive and well. Being different in any way is a reason to be scorned, outcast, or hunted. The ugliest things about America reside in these nooks and crannies, while the rest of the world (and media) ignore it all until it makes a good show for Oprah or a story for the NYT. Cleaning up the image of rural America, enshrining it, making it seem something it is not- is not good for politics or our collective culture. Rural America has been dying and struggling for the past 40 years. It isn't getting better, that much is true. Maybe SALON needs to do more stories about the real rural America, and quite pondering the images of imagination.

You say with a high degree of redundancy that this is such a small thing, you can't believe it was made such a big issue- yet you are going on national television to debate about it? Hypocrite much?

This is a terrific excerpt. WHY can't these things be more widely distributed? ESPECIALLY now? In the next several months we need man more researchers and journalists to come together to expose and report on the gross errors and crimes of the past administration AND if/how McCain is associated. Get these words out there people! Email this article!

I know someone who is a TSA inspection person. She has told me with humor, and sometimes horror, and sometimes regret, about what these folks do and why. You betcha they get off on the power, and the actual planning to harass people. Often saying "Who's the B++++ of the day?" and cackling over who gets picked and what gets done. It is turning into the ugliest thing in the US- revealing hate, anger, racism, sexism, class revenge and all sorts of very ugly but consistently motivating forces in the US underbelly psychology. We have every right to be afraid, and take note of this very failed experiment.