It's a pity that that group considers ads like these the best use of their funds. There is so much more tangible good they could be doing with that kind of money. But it does show exactly what their priorities are.

I commute on BART daily, and so I see the ads all the time. They make me sad and afraid--of the Catholic church, not of having an abortion. They actually make me more supportive of groups like Planned Parenthood. This, after all, is the kind of mindset that causes people to harass women going to get abortions or shoot abortion providers. Defacing them would be easy, but seems to me that I need to try to live in the world I want to be part of if I want it to exist.

I wonder, by running that ad campaign in the San Francisco Bay Area, how much is the group actually crystallizing opposition, scaring those of us who have become complacent about the issue of abortion into action. After all, if ads like these are beginning to appear in this solidly pro-choice area, things are really bad, right?

Sometimes keeping your mouth shut is the smartest thing to do, if what you say only strengthens your opposition. I'm reminded of the Planned Parenthood clinic that was being picketed daily, who took action in an interesting way. They took internet pledges, so much per person per protester, for so many days. If it's going to happen anyway, make them pay for creating the problem in the first place.

We no longer require that the franchise be limited to property owners, even though the idea that only those who actually own a piece of the country have a real stake in the process. We no longer limit the franchise to males of a certain race.

As a female property owner, I suddenly feel part of a really bizarre subset of the population.

I don't think it makes any more sense to limit eligibility for the presidency to a certain arbitrary subset of the population. Is the ability to make war properly the defining capability of most administrations? And while Bush may be extraordinarily bad at it, Clinton didn't seem to do a half bad job. And hey, if Clinton had been excluded on this kind of ridiculous premise, who might we have elected--or reelected?

Entertaining premise, but really, really bad public policy, Mr. Keillor.

But your monologue on Cheney last week? That, sir, was Comedy.

"I may disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"

- S. G. Tallentyre, 1906

I think the point has already been made that if one side suppresses the free speech rights of the other, the other will feel free to do exactly the same thing.

Hey, whatever works.

Do we really want feminism to be as much of an iron maiden as femininity has been?

She's a mother, and a fox, and she's secure enough in that and savvy enough to find common ground wherever she can. To me, that's a good thing. If I were in her shoes, that kind of thing wouldn't work for me. But my way of being in the world is not hers.

To me, feminism is about being who you are, without having to refer to a list of talking points first. She's powerful enough to be able to be herself. To me, that means we've arrived!

And remember the old slogan: "A woman's place is in the House. And the Senate." I loved the mom voice comment. If you ask me, our little boy president needs someone to use the mom voice on him. Badly. And Congress, likewise.

I'll miss the way she talked sense when we needed it most--like now. Her last two columns were a call to arms. I think the best way to honor what she gave us is to heed them and get out there and stop this crazy war!

None of us never know when we'll be forced to leave the movie. None of us ever sees the end, but it's sad that she won't get to see the rest of the adventure we're all embarked upon now, and that we won't have the benefit of her eloquence and inspiration. It doesn't seem fair, or right, but does it ever?

Thank you, Molly Ivins. Your passing leaves a hole in my heart.

It's nice to be able to bend over the topsail yard and not have my tits get in the way. And as I've aged, those smaller tits that made me feel a littler *erm* underendowed have only gotten nicer, or at least haven't fallen as far as larger ones could have. Not to mention, having breast surgery, whether to enlarge or reduce, carries a certain risk, as far as sensitivity of the nipples is concerned. Not worth it, at least not for me.

But hey, your mileage may vary.