Is actually a great machine for hard-core gamers. Sony dropped the ball with the PS3, which is why MS is killing in sales right now. But the Wii tops them both, and last Christmas the PS2 outsold all three.

The Zune 2.0 is a lot smarter than the Zune 1.0-- then again, what wouldn't be? I don't know if it'll be enough though. What's it got that an iPod doesn't have? What does it do better? Very little, as far as I can tell. I only sync my iPod when the battery's low-- I wouldn't find any value in wireless syncing at all.

Here's the thing: for your daughter, LW, the Church and God are as real as that football game Cary's talking about. She simply cannot get how you can't see the football game. It's right there! Don't you see it?

She'll probably never be as passionate about anything as she is right now at 13. She'll probably never believe so deeply or strongly. She's worried about you. She's afraid you're going to hell.

I would go to church with her, at least once. It won't necessarily send the message that you're ready to be converted-- that you can send, by your words and actions. But it will send the message that you take her seriously. Right now, you're telling her she's being foolish, she's being childish, and that her fears are without merit. (And for what it's worth, you're right.) But for her to feel loved and treasured by you-- which is always a concern for kids going through a divorce-- I think you have to hear her out.

But here's the catch: Tell her, if you go to church with her, if you take her seriously and hear her out, she has to listen to you too. Go forward from a perspective of mutual respect. She will feel loved. She will feel treated like a 'grown-up,' not a kid. She will feel like her opinions matter to you. And when you're 13, that's pretty damn important too. She's very vulnerable right now, between the divorce and her age. She needs you to be a bigger and better person, and to give her the unconditional love every kid craves.

Go to church with her. If you don't want to go again, drive her when she wants to go. Show her that someone who doesn't believe in God can be compassionate, and giving, and respectful of people of faith. That's an important lesson for her to learn, too.

I am thoroughly sick and tired of leftist moonbats sanctimoniously fetishizing the Constitution, Geneva Conventions, etc. ad nauseum. Americans who give these matters any serious consideration agree that we must not leave any techniques off the table, when it comes to confronting terrorist threats whether foreign or domestic. They deserve whatever is coming to them.

Damn right. They're souring the milk, making our daughters hysterical, and the crops are failing. Burn those witches at the stake! What kind of wimps would call for anything less?

But the father doesn't have to pander or pretend in order to offer love & reassurance. If there's one thing children can see through quickly, it's parental hypocrisy. If she sees that Dad is simply going to church to humor her, or placate her, how does that foster an honest & strong relationship?

And what's the lesson she'll get from it? That you shouldn't actually live by the principles you espouse? That you should simply go along to get along, especially if yours is a minority opinion?

But if the father goes there-- once-- to see what value his daughter finds in her church and in her faith, is that really just 'placating her'? I think the father needs to back down from his militant stance and approach things from a perspective of wanting to know his daughter better, and her world better. He's at a point where she'll start pushing away from both her parents-- I think it's vital that he makes the best connections with her that he can. If what he sees really disturbs him, he can talk with her about what he found disturbing later. She will-- I hope-- be more comfortable talking with him about it if he takes that first step. And if she's not? He doesn't have to go to church again.

Going with her to church can be about showing her respect and caring, not marching in lockstep with conformity. And it will give her an example of people without faith showing kindness and caring-- something she clearly needs to know more about.

And for posting the follow-up. I'm sure the ADL will now say they would've given you a better answer on Tuesday if you hadn't chosen to share this conversation with your readers, but oh well.

I grew up thinking of the ADL as courageous. Now I wonder if I was always wrong, or if their silence is just another symptom of the poison in our current political climate.

Cary's advice is good, but I wonder if you, LW, need something to be passionate about. You seem to approach design as a job-- something you do, and do well enough, but it doesn't seem to sing to you. I think you need a life-- a creative life. If design isn't or is no longer cutting it for you, try writing, or painting, or knitting-- knitting's great as the supplies are cheap, you can do it in front of the TV, and you can be as creative or NOT creative as you like. Find something that makes you happy, and that you can be proud of, apart from your sister and the work that pays the bills.

And yes, I'm totally with Cary: STOP BEATING UP ON YOURSELF.