You're right, Suleman was a sloppy fighter, and the reporter had opportunities to put him down, but it seems obvious that the reporter was scared and, based on his lack of defense as Suleman charged him, not a trained fighter. Once he got punched, he was confused and probably panicking, and so it was game over for him. Luckily that other guy was around to save his butt.

Just goes to show, folks, that it's a dangerous world filled with nutty people. It pays to learn how to fight (not martial arts class, but fight class, like Krav Maga). You don't need to turn into Bruce Lee, you just need to learn the basics, under pressure, so that you're not a sitting duck like that unfortunate journalist.

At the very least, being trained will tell you when it's time to run away (like our untrained journalist should have). There's no shame in winning a fight by staying out of your attacker's reach -- in fact, it's the best tactic there is.

It is dismaying that Newt Gingrich is still invited onto news shows as if there was anything respectable about him, but so be it (Dick Morris, "Mr. Toesucker," still makes the rounds, thus the bottom has fallen out).

I would love to see Gingrich run in 2008. He has such a sleazy past that anyone could beat him, even a Jihadist, puppy-eating pedophile. For example, we Salon readers know that Newt told his wife he wanted a divorce while she was in the hospital for cancer, but most Americans are unaware of that. To me, that one episode says all you need to know about Newt Gingrich. He is a disgusting, selfish, thoroughly repellent human being. So let him run! He is the weakest Republican wannabe out there.

We face a nightmare that could well come true: President Guiliani. Run, Newt, Run!

My dog was killed by a speeding driver. He was a grown man who should have known better. According to my parents, who witnessed the accident, the driver stopped and was very upset. It took a few days for my dog to die. I was at sleepaway camp when it happened. I never got to say goodbye to her.

Some years later I saw a rabbit get hit by a speeding car. The driver didn't stop. I put the rabbit in a box and drove her to a wildlife rehabber. There was a lot of blood, but what I remember most was the rabbit's terrible cries of pain. She died later.

It is estimated that about one million vertebrate animals are run over each day in the United States. Many of these deaths are unavoidable, but many are not. If you drive slowly and carefully on dark country roads, you increase the odds of stopping in time or swerving out of the way.

When I drive, I watch for animals. That's my memorial to speeding. The more desolate and darker the road, the more I watch and, more importantly, the slower I go. I do not want to run over an animal and kill it or worse, injure it so that it dies a slow death. I do not want to kill a mother animal out foraging for food and thereby condemn her children to death by starvation. I absolutely do not want to kill someone's beloved pet.

To the LW: I understand the thrill of speeding. When I was a kid, I sped, but fortunately grew out of it. As an adult, I enjoy scuba diving and full contact sparring. Both of those activities have a good risk of death or injury. However, in both of those activities I put only myself and other consenting participants at risk.

I you want to drive fast, go visit the Autobahn or do as some others here have suggested and go to a racetrack. If you want to do it at night while blasting music, go for it. If you end up dying in a fiery crash, so be it, though I would feel badly for your kids. However, do the world a favor and pull your head out of your ass. Stop speeding on country roads where you could easily kill someone or something. You have no right, legal or moral, to do what you are doing. There is enough suffering in this world; why would you want to contribute to it?

Don Imus has a history of saying racist and antisemitic things. The man is a bigot, period. I don't care if he brings in money for the station -- he should be fired, along with all the other modern-day Father Coughlins like Limbaugh and Savage and their sick ilk. These people are hatemongers, and they harm and divide society.

Mr. Imus is free to speak his mind. The First Amendment guarantees it. However, he has no right under law to spew his garbage over commercial airwaves; that decision is solely in the hands of the private owners of whatever medium Imus is on. Let Don Imus, who to me looks like just another bitter drunk, rant away on the streetcorner along with the other derelicts.

I love good food, and I love gourmet food, but the home fries philosophy is just about where it's at: simple and soulful is often best.

For me, a nice bottle of red wine (bottle, not box, natch), some excellent warm. herbed olive oil, and a fresh baked loaf of bread are really all one needs to ascend into gustatory heaven.

That, and thou, my dear.

"As opposed to us Christofascist wingnut women bloggers . . . trying to use the web to spread poisonous conservative ideas." - Michelle Malkin

Who knew?