As I've asked before in another letter, is there anyone besides those cronies that the president knows who is not a total toady and boot licker?

To replace Gonzales it would probably be best if they look outside Washington into the field of qualified federal judges or attorneys who have some glimmer of knowledge of Federal law.

There are several requirements for this position:

1. A complete understanding of the United States Constitution.

2. Experience in corporate management.

3. Fundamental working knowledge of the Department of Justice.

4. Honesty

5. People skills

6. Independence

7. Integrity

8. Experience in Federal court

9. Familiarity with legal procedures

10. Respect for the rule of law as it pertains to the United States.

11. Non-affiliation with any member of the White House

From what I have heard about Chertoff, he might fulfill some of these requirements, but I have my doubts about 4, 6, and 11.

If he is nominated for this position, I hope Congress grills him to a hot flame before they confirm him. We deserve better than the incompetent fools that the WH has chosen to give us.

In my own life, I've noticed several things that happen to people who lose "everything" while enjoying the good life.

First-they have a bad financial problem, whatever; a financial crisis of some magnitude of sorts that undoes 6 months worth of work.

If they're homeowners, they start falling behind on their payments.

If they have credit cards, they stop paying even the minimum amount on that card. Too bad if you're locked into a higher rate once you start doing that.

They start not paying the bills for the truck, car or second car.

Then the spiral really goes out of control.

By the time all is said and done, the people who were living quite well 2 years ago are broke, unemployed and homeless, with no credit, nothing left but an empty shell called "once upon a time".

It used to be you could wipe out all your debt with bankruptcy-no more. The banks and credit card companies have made sure their bills are not discharged in bankruptcy.

It just takes one slip on the banana peel to break your back-how many people are not looking where they're going? Do they really feel that secure in their jobs or positions? I wouldn't, and I would definitely be paying off everything in sight if I had anything to pay on.

Needless to say, I don't have a credit card, either; don't believe in them and won't have one, either-that means I live on cash, not hopes.

Here comes the true disaster-millions of people are depending on their credit cards to bail them out. Once that's gone, there goes the farm, house and good life they are accustomed to.

I think Cary's advice is right-the LW needs to get away and do some very serious thinking about what she wants for herself.

The yarmulke issue is a red herring of sorts, but it indicates some real conflict between the LW and her husband-and it won't get better even if they become parents, it will only get worse, and I think the LW subconsciously knows it, which is why she wrote.

To have a child by any means is an act of faith. Her faith is solid, her husband's non-existent. To bring a child into a marriage with such conflict is asking for eternal emotional hell and I think the letter writer is trying to establish what she should do to end it before if they do have a child.

I think she is angry at him for a lot of things and the yarmulke is just the focus of her anger right now.

A vacation alone would probably be the best thing she can do for herself.

We are arrogant, insisting that we know better than a lot of "heathen Muslims" in their fight for freedom, during which we unleashed a torrent of radical fundamentalism directed at destroying their society.

We are so damned smug, arrogant and callous about our "mission" that we fail to see the complete irony of a cartoon strip that says it all.

It is only offensive to those in power, who did such a wonderful job getting us into a such a terrible waste of manpower and money. Newspaper editors are sensitive about their readership, among whom were the ones who elected the SOB's into power in the first place. Fools writing for the fools don't like it, either.

Perhaps he wasn't trying to be funny, either. Perhaps we failed to see the very dark humor about such a disastrous war, but maybe he didn't intend for it to be amusing-merely contemptuous of the entire situation. In that, he succeeded admirably.