I still refuse to get a cellphone, though I have plenty of modern gadgets. There's just something distancing about them.

Loved the letter, but more practically, I'd advise the LW to only call the cellphone when he absolutely has to. LW, ask yourself, "if she didn't have a cellphone, would I be making this call? Would I be driving around trying to find her, desperate and panicked?" And if the answer is no, don't make the call. It sounds like you or your wife are using the cell for far more than what you feel it's needed for-- her safety and security. The less you talk on the phone overall, the less frustrated you'll be.

And the hangup/tunnel suggestion: Very, very useful.

You've been through a tough time. You deserve far better than some married jerk. Take care, and listen to Cary.

I wasn't familiar with outsports before this, but I think I'll check it out. This was a nice interview-- breezy and fun, but still informative.

It was love at first sight, at least from the nerdy Rove's point of view. "Huge amounts of charisma, swagger, cowboy boots, flight jacket, wonderful smile, just charisma -- you know, wow," he said later.

And thus the roots of Republican homoerotic machismo-worship were sowed, I suppose.

We all knew they were going to be writing it, but it takes brass rocks to announce it in advance. Maybe it'll help convince those stonewalling Republicans to give up the damn fight already. (I know, I'm a crazy dreamer.)

I have no problem with kids using Guitar Hero as an entry point into music, but I worry that kids who only know Guitar Hero will misunderstand what real music is all about. A lot goes into writing or performing a song, and only people who have really done it can fully appreciate the art.

I'm not sure how this is different from any entry point into music-- although kids who've played GH first will at least know that playing music, even in a video game, can be very difficult. And kids have always washed out of piano and guitar lessons at an alarmingly high rate, at first. Is Guitar Hero a substitute for actually playing guitar? Of course not. But at least a kid playing Guitar Hero learns rhythm-- often one of the most challenging things for novice music players.

Adoption is not the easy option it's often depicted to be. You're fingerprinted, your background is questioned-- both legally and morally-- the waits are horrible and the fees ludicrous. In addition, 'birth parent' rights are pretty entrenched in the law, and the scare cases of the 90's-- the kids taken away from loving, adoptive parents and returned to the birth parents-- are burned into some potential parent's minds.

That's not even addressing the racism and cultural taboos that come hand in hand with many adoptions.

The people in my family faced with infertility chose adoption and I think they made the right choice, but it's not a bed of roses by any means. And wanting to carry your own child is a deep emotional craving for many people. I can understand why IVF has become the cottage industry it is.

I wish there was more support in this country for adoption and adoptive parents, but that's a story for another day.

Kohl sounds thoughtful and deeply moral, and this was a great interview, at any rate. I think I'll check out the book.

Your question about why fertile couples don't adopt was probably rhetorical but here's my answer anyway:

Having sex is cheap, fun and free. Adoption is none of the above.

For example, shirts' necklines should not be more than 4 inches below the collarbone.

I'm 4'11" and a 36C. I think if I wore a shirt that had a neckline 4" below the collarbone I'd get arrested.

It's too bad the modesty movement focuses so much on morality. I'd love to see a movement that encouraged teenage girls to have dignity and self-respect, not because of what boys will think or what God wants, but for her own sense of self. (One would think God would approve of that, but I know not everyone agrees.)

I recently read that the GWB administration is really just "Reagan II". Yet, there is a major difference the 2 men. President Reagan built his oratory around sweeping archetypes like "A shining city on a hill", or "Welfare Queens". However, President Reagan's speechwriters were always careful to make sure his rhetorical images were at least dim reflections of reality. After all, it couldn’t be denied that some people around the world admired the U.S., and we all knew people who abused the welfare system.

There's another big difference in rhetoric too. There's a hope and rah-rah Americanism that Reagan exemplified that's totally lacking from the rhetoric of GWB. Where Reagan's spirit was "We can kick some Commie butt wherever we need to," GWB's speeches are peppered with fear and anger. Even the rhetoric around higher CAFE standards is fear-based-- "Higher fuel efficiency will cost American jobs!" It's filled with "we can't." We can't defeat the terrorists without giving up the freedoms we treasure as Americans; we can't innovate enough to build better cars; we can't solve the world's problems without going to war. There's no hope in it. I think it's one of the reasons the Obama campaign's done so well-- he's one of the few candidates with hope and inspiration.

No. I don't get it. Do you really think that if pit bulls are banned, suddenly dogfighting will stop, breeders will no longer encourage aggression in their dogs, and all pet owners will magically become responsible?

Even if you think pit bulls are responsible for all aggressive dog attacks (completely untrue), do you really think a breed ban would cure all these problems?