The backlash against Juno reminds me of certain indie music fans I know who love a song or an album or a band (The Postal Service, let's say) until it actually becomes popular, at which point they turn up their nose.

I'm sure some of the Juno naysayers liked the film but just don't want to appear to be jumping on the bandwagon. Juno's gone mainstream, and if you like a mainstream movie, how will anyone know you're a hipster?

This is extremely good news for Democrats, no matter which candidate you support. If Edwards had stayed in, a floor fight at the convention would have been far more likely. If that had happened, Edwards' delegates would either have been herded along toward the candidate of Edwards' choosing (not a very democratic way to decide things), or they would have been forced to speculate on how their 'constituents' would want them to vote (a difficult guessing game indeed).

Now Edwards voters themselves will get to express their second choice. In the absence of instant runoff voting, this is the best solution for a democratic nomination process. Thanks for making the tough decision, John.

I'm fairly certain Obama will get to 66% with them... If he wins the primary season, the MoveOn endorsement would be a liability in the general election.

And yes, it's not that moderates want to censor MoveOn, it's just that the Betray Us ad was patently a BAD way of making a point. It is certainly possible to convey a strong viewpoint without making yourself the story.

"What if I have a daughter someday and she asks me about why we've never had a woman president?"

This gave me chills. I've never thought about this race in that way. I'm already a Hillary supporter, and I also have no qualms about favoring her because of her gender (among other qualifications). There are positive externalities to electing a woman, most notably the fact that it will encourage more women to run for office at all levels (I have research to back this up). Our country is missing out on a lot of talented would-be leaders because too many women grow up thinking politics is not for them. A woman president would change that, and would counteract the alarming stagnation in female representation (particularly in state legislatures) that we've seen in the last 5-10 years.

People have asked me if I want to be the first woman president. What a dreadful thought that I, currently a 24-year-old, would be in a position to one day be the first woman president, presumably at age 60 or so. I won't be upset in the short run if Obama is the nominee, though I am certainly caucusing for Hillary. But if Hillary is not victorious, Rebecca, then let's do all we can to support female candidates across the country in the next four to eight years so that our future daughters never have to ask us the question you wrote.

"Isn't Idaho, like, the mothership of white supremacy? Interesting."

If it is, do you think those people are attending the *Democratic* caucus?

I think some people are misinterpreting this article's critique. It is not saying that films should be slavishly true to reality, but that this film's very particular deviation gives a rather ill treatment to a real-life, living person. When Shakespeare wrote Henry V, it wasn't as if Hal and pals were still kicking around.

It just seems kind of crass that Florence has to go about her business knowing that so many people out there have gotten the wrong idea about her. Maybe she doesn't care, but it still seems unfortunate. This article shows that films depicting recent events should perhaps be handled with a little more care and diplomacy than historical period pieces.

Let me paraphrase the letter from rebecalouise:

"Waaahh! All I want is to go get a pedicure, but Hillary Clinton is FORCING me to keep phonebanking for Obama! Why hasn't Clinton served Obama the nomination on a silver platter like he deserves?? Waaahhhh!!"

Sense of entitlement, much?

I thought the plant idea was wonderful until I read SmartPoppet's suggestion of alternating between your two spots, which is even better. It's less likely to get you into trouble with your condo board. On the other hand, if you're still getting interlopers in whichever space is unoccupied on a given day, you can go back to the plant idea.

To be honest, though, I think it's sad that you should have to spend any time, money, or energy devising ways to protect what's yours. You're paying hundreds of dollars a month for your condo and parking spaces. Why should you have to make concessions to anyone?

I put up with the faint smell of cigarette smoke from some other apartment every evening for months, even though smoking indoors is clearly against the rules of our building. Then I thought, why in the hell am I putting up with this? I'm not paying $1200 a month to get hotboxed by Joe Camel. So I put up a complaint sign in the building foyer and things have been stink-free ever since.

Nicely put. I was also Harvard undergraduate and now I'm a Harvard graduate student. My family does not have a vacation home. I don't have a trust fund. When I've been able to travel abroad it's been with a hiking pack on my back and a reservation at the cheapest hostel. I am $60,000 in debt with student loans, and I'm planning to go into public service anyway. And I'm not alone - there are many, many, many of us who don't fit the stereotype. The vitriol Cary directed at Ivy Leaguers is unwarranted and tiresome.

Why is it that nobody tells a man "you're only voting for him because he's male"?

You don't have to dump someone for being environmentally unfriendly, but can and probably should dump someone for being a jerk. This guy sure sounds like one!