Rep. Steny Hoyer

There are news articles that you criticized Stephen Colbert performance at the White House Press Corp Dinner. Perhaps you made the mistake of thinking the silence of the room meant he wasn’t funny. Let me clear it up for you, the people in the room represent an elite so out of touch with the American people it is scary, and most of them have never been truly criticized – like Bush with his hand picked audiences at his road show. They were silent, because they were uncomfortable with the truth. But then I assumed they were the 29% (but only the part with millions of dollars vs religious fever) that supported Bush. Once the video hit the internet, the other 71% of the population has been watching that video and calling Colbert a hero.

The only people saying negative things about Colbert is the press, who were rightfully taken down a notch or two, after all those were the people who had betrayed the 4th estate. What I want to know is how the Democratic Whip is part of the 29% of the population? How can you be so clueless, no wonder the Democratics can’t win.

If anything Clinton should have taught you, is the office of the president doesn’t come with automatic deference, or respect in a real democracy (and in fake ones it only comes at the end of a gun) – respect has to be earned, and the sitting president has lied to the American people and has not earned anyone’s respect.

Beside with Rove and Co – he doesn’t need anyone else defending him, but every time the president meets with deserved criticism there always seems to be a Democrat there to defend him – excuse me, this is why people think the Democrats are weak, and no one votes for the weak.

(name and address removed from online version)

(So sick of Democrats throwing away their chances, I am voting Green Party, after what difference does it make, if the Democrats don’t actually want to win?)

Mailed with DSCC fund raising sticker on envelope

I've been married twice, still friends with the ex - had serious boyfriends before marriage, and frankly I don't think any of my friends or myself ever went on formal dates.

We run science fiction conventions, and medieval fairs for fun, lots of planning meetings, traveling, and then the events themselves, they usually last a weekend, and you are camping out or staying in a hotel. Lots of group events, meet tons of wonderful folks.

One of my friends who is not into the geek fest - joined a club here in Portland for single folks, they organize weekly sporting events - ski trips, wind surfering in the gorge, rock climbing , hiking. Every weekend you can go out with this group and do something physical, meet tons of people without dating and talk.

And that is what is in common in both appoarches, you don't go out on dates, you meet people in a non-threatening group setting, and talk, and talk for an entire weekend. If you like someone you hint about the next event you will be attending, and then you talk somemore - and if it goes somewhere from there great. In addition to a romatic interest -actually more importantly you are likely to make real friends of both genders who will be with you for a long time, and then meet their friends.

I can't imagine doing something so passive as on-line dating, events are a safer way to see these people in real life scenarios, and see how they really behave in the real world. Plus they can't lie about how they look.

http://www.pulitzer.org/year/1996/investigative-reporting/works/1111.html

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Look there were reports coming out of the refugee camps in Eastern Europe, of women being killed for their eggs, if there is a market for it you endanger women. Which is why in the states you can only pay for the medical inconvience - ie the donor doesn't get much for the egg, most the money goes to the medical company providing the infertility treatment. If you are going outside of the country for eggs or a surgate mother, you are probably hurting the women involved, and paying to organized crime. Yet people who want a baby, will lie to themselves and say it was voluntary.

It is important, that we don't create a demand for this service, or we will be hurting women all over the world, as crimals try to fill the demand. If you don't personally know a donor before you needed the egg or surgate, you can never be sure you are not hurting someone. Also the US fertilty industry is not regulated, and there are tons of reports of abuses coming out this industry, thats why they lobby so heavily to keep the government out. The hormones they shoot into young college girls to get eggs, are not FDA approved for that use, and they can have terrible side effects - they can permanantly damage the fertility of those young women, and no one is enforcing the fertility companies to tell these young women all the possible side affects. If you are willing to endanger another human being just so you can have a baby, you are not a good person, and have no business being a parent.

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I'm very surprised,'' said Baird. "Clearly, if it's illegal to sell eggs, it should be illegal to advertise selling them. The potential for exploitation of women who need money to sell their eggs is enormous.''

Egg harvesting is an invasive procedure which requires donor women to take powerful hormones, usually by injections that first stimulate then suppress the ovaries. The procedure is painful and involves medical risks.

http://www.chander.com/2006/03/women_advertisi.html

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Women can die from egg harvesting, or suffer irreversible infertility, and the long term effects of the drugs which are used in the process are still being questioned,