psychprof: There's no denying that the concerns of lower income individuals are currently downplayed in our society. Hopefully that will change if and when we retreat from the far right precipe we currently dangle from.

kufir77: When I read your response, and your other letters to Salon, I also remind myself that government-provided mental health care would also be a very good thing.

Lestat1, my idea of taxing people for having babies was slight tongue in cheek, but I do support discouraging people from reproducing, or at least from reproducing without having both a clear intention to do so AND a solid basis upon which to raise a happy and healthy child.

The Democrats roll at the first hint of a scowl on the Republicans face. Get some courage, Democrats! Call these goons' bluff. Make them fililbuster. Make them show the nation that they're a bunch of obstructionist jerks. Make Bush veto popular bills.

Do the Democrats have any political advisors who actually know how to win at politics? Maybe they can just double Karl Rove's asking price and bring that pig onboard, since at least he knows how and where to stick the knife.

I've already stated that I think BC should be widely available and free, or at least sold at-cost. Poorer people are especially in need of such easily accessible BC, as the downside of an unwanted pregnancy hits them much harder.

That said, I think BC must be widely and cheaply available in college. As Laurel pointed out, college-age women are at their most fertile. Now consider college: a place where hundreds or even thousands of young men and women live, study, and play together in close quarters, 24-7, with minimal adult supervision. In what other situation is it so easy to get laid? If anyone needs BC, it's college kids.

As for college kids having money, I can tell you that I came from the 'burbs and was dead broke in college. Fortunately, campus groups and the college itself often provided condoms free of charge.

Whatever happened to "Washington is the problem, not the solution," "States' rights," and "Let the local people decide"? This is just the latest in a mile-long line of Bush & GOP actions which run contradictory to all that conservatives allegedly stand for.

The Bush Administration is Corporatist, plain and simple. They don't give a damn about conservatism. They care about only one thing: making the rich richer. Any conservative who still believes in the Republican Party is simply being played for a fool.

The conservative pundits and Republican operatives who praise Mr. Obama are doing so with the grins of hungry crocodiles. Sure, due to their own twisted psyches they do have an intense hatred of Hillary Clinton, but rest assured that they despise Obama, too.

The question is whether their motives spring from their hatred of Ms. Clinton or a cold calculation that Obama will be easier to beat in a general election (i.e., they will play the race card and promote the lie that he is a Muslim) is up for grabs. Either way, they -- like most Republicans -- are sociopaths who cannot be trusted for a second.

P.S. Go Edwards!

Just keeping away the trolls...

This 16 year-old girl should be shamed not because she had sex, but because she not only got pregnant but is going to give birth.

Young Ms. Spears has enough money to raise dozens of young children, but the vast majority of 16 year-old girls do not have the resources to raise even one child successfully. Spears is a role model, and in this case, the lesson she is imparting is terrible. Get pregnant, despite the wide availability of birth control (AIDS, anyone?). Have a baby, even though for any teen but a wealthy celebrity that all but ensures a derailed education and poverty for you and your baby.

Why is she giving birth, anyway? Conseravite religious convictions? If so, what the fuck is she doing having pre-marital sex in the first place?

What the hell is a 30 year-old man doing having sex with a 16 year-old? Sorry, but that is stat rape for a reason.

I have no problem with teens having sex with each other, but I do have a problem with grown men having sex with children. This guy Brady is a sleazeball.

Even a coward like you can be right once in a while. I mistakenly thought Brady was the father.

What's your excuse for being an anonymous coward? Another question is, what lies beneath your compulsive need to insult others?

You're just a troll, kid, and a scared pathetic one at that.

"Maybe the rightwing hates the clintons because they see them for what they really are -corrupt, malicious, incompetent, power hungry dirt bags?"

Sorry pal, but you're confusing the Clintons with Bush.

People living in the streets. Animals being euthanized in shelters for lack of funds. Classrooms falling apart. On and on. Think of all the good that $1 million could do. Instead, a wealthy 16 year-old is getting $1 million wealthier for the achievement of getting knocked up.

Merry F'n Christmas.

I saw this film several weeks ago at the American Film Institute's theater in Maryland, and it barely kept me awake. There was nothing particularly original about it; as some have said, it hits most of the ghost story cliches.

On the other hand, it was made with obvious talent and care. The scenery was beautiful, and the acting was very good, so it certainly is not a bad movie. For horror mavens, though, it's nothing special.

For a scary kids ghost story, I still go with "The Innocents."