I mean, really, who but those who've been married for years and years know the color of their spouse's toothbrush - assuming they even care?

There is a simple way of determining whether a new, immigrant bride is legitimate. Verify the following:

1. Her family is aware of the match and, even if they don't approve, can recall a genuine romance complete with their daughter/sister/niece's mooning over the guy.

2. HIS family is aware of the match. Ditto as to the details.

3. The romance unfolded over the course of at least one year and preferrably two.

4. Correspondence was extensive, long and regular, and only concerned itself with immigration issues until just before or just AFTER the guy popped the question. IMPORTANT: Number and length of phone calls should NOT be counted, primarily because most women in developing countries can't call and men in this country can't afford more than the occasional, short call (assuming she even has a phone).

5. The man visited the woman at least twice.

If those five criteria check out, it's better than a good bet that the match is legitimate.

Because only a fool would write what amounts to the same kind of right-wing obituaries that were written when Barry Goldwater lost to Johnson in 1964. And we all now know how accurate were THOSE obituraries.

Does Mr. Lind not know of the Christian Reconstructionist-Dominionist movement growing ever larger across the United States? At the every least, has he not seen the documentary "Jesus Camp"? Does he not understand that these fanatics are not marginalized but number in the millions? That although Pat Robertson and the Jerry Falwell shut down their direct action organizations they set up numerous others to work in stealth? That their "universities" - along with Bob Jones - are pumping out graduates who are being given direct access to the halls of power? Is he not aware of the evangelicalization of both the Air Force Academy and West Point? In short, where in the hell has Michael Lind been for the last 15 years??

And then there are the triumphs of the right to which others have alluded. There is no more Interstate Commmerce Commission. The Department of Education came so close to being eliminated that it took on "No Child Left Behind" without a whimper of protest. On the cultural front the Congress not once but twice came within a hair's breadth of censoring the Internet; the FCC has revived the odious idea of sanctioning TV shows for "indiscretions"; it is now impossible for a teenager to see an R-rated movie (I saw plenty in the 80s, and they didn't ruin me); PBS has become a "virtual commercial"-ridden phantom of its former self. And on and on.

Yes, thank God, the Supreme Court has not rescinded Roe v. Wade. Yet.

The far right cultural agenda has not been implemented. Yet.

Unions are not completely dead. Yet.

The Bill of Rights has not been successfully squashed. Yet.

I could go on, but I think you all get the picture. The right will re-group and come at us stronger than before. That's why we have to push things all the way. Assuming Obama is elected President, we must push him to the Left as hard as we can. He mentioned investigations of any wrong-doing by members of the current administration. Alright, lets MAKE HIM DO THAT! No more fucking around. No more shrinking violets.

IT'S TIME TO FIGHT!!

The Hills Have Eyes.

...they'd all be a LOT better off. Then, when they're all fucked out, their minds will be clear and they'll gravitate to the right partner, settle down and make a family.

See how simple it all is?

That second letter of your's was kick-ass!

The man can't be dead, because if he was that would mean that I'M dead. It would mean that MY sense of humor - and the sense of humor of a whole generation - was likewise dead!! AND THAT CAN'T BE! Why did he choose NOW to die?! Was it the damn FISA decision? I bet it was, I bet it was the straw that broke his camel's back!!!

Noam Chomsky, in his now-legendary appearance on "Firing Line" in 1968. And to my joy the bastard Buckley was outlived by both of Chomsky and Vidal.

And to the idiot up-thread who inferred that Chomsky claimed that Pol Pot did "good things" - Please. I've heard this bullshit before and it's no less a slander than it was in the past.

Almost exactly ten years ago what is arguably Carlin's greatest HBO special - and perhaps the greatest of ANY comedian - was aired. Entitled "You Are All Diseased", it was the apotheosis of Carlin's transformation from Mister Hippy-Dippy into Mister Cynic. Some classic moments:

And what's all this shit about children? 'What about the children? Who will save the children?' Well you know what I say? FUCK the children. FUCK 'EM! They get entirely too much attention already.

How about the abomination known as the House of Blues? Fat, middle-aged white movie stars pretending to have the blues. It's despicable. Nobody who is white has any business claiming they have the blues, because they've been giving everybody else the blues for hundreds of years!

Then there's this new fad of smoking cigars. Arrogant, white Yuppie assholes suckin' on a big, brown dick. And I know you Freudians are going to say: 'Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.' Yeah? And sometimes it's a BIG, BROWN DICK!