...best situation for a completely innocent, law-abiding, baby.

I see your point here, but surely you can agree that prison moms keeping their innocent, law-abiding babies should be decided on a case-by-case basis?

A mom in jail for petty theft or check fraud, say, is a different situation from a mom in jail for repeat DUIs or crack dealing or meth use.

In the latter cases, the TRUE best situation for the baby - assuming a competent father / immediate family member / caretaker is not around - might be (carefully screened) foster parents...and perhaps adoption.

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I wish successful rehabilitation to all prison inmates, male or female. But the reality is that at least some of them cannot break their habit(s); in such cases, motherhood and access to your still-INNOCENT baby's life is not a right, but a privilege they have sorely, sorely abused.

was and is a Corvette convertible. (Which, actually, gets a very decent 28 mpg, considering it's a uber-powerful sports car.)

For most daily driving I would go with a 5-spd manual Subaru Forester: decent economy (hoping for Subie diesels to come to US!), very practical and it has AWD (great for a Snow Belt dweller like me). But in the summertime & on weekends, I would love to take a ragtop 'Vette out on a nice twisty two-lane road.

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If a woman judges me to be an anti-green pig solely because of my above auto preferences, so be it. I would not change for them anyway...well, unless they looked like or actually were Natalie Portman or Anne Hathaway - in which case I'd happily amble along in the overpriced Corolla / green fashion statement they call a Prius.

"Stone Age men fought over Beautiful Women"

It may not be P.C. or sensitive to mention...but it's true. Thag would risk gettin' his head clubbed over Thaglina if the latter was a "Gisele" - but not if she was a "Kathy".

Clearly as someone who doesn't hate 'Vettes & who thinks that a sports car in its purest form is a "hybrid" of Engineering and Art, I am in a minority here at Salon.

And I'm fine with that.

I accept that I cannot convince the knee-jerk reflexive "sports car = penis compensation = conspicuous consumption = rednecks with gas for brains = status symbol = sleazy chick magnet", holier-than-thou greenies that some of us car enthusiasts simply love the beauty of the cars themselves...and the visceral thrill of surging power which envelops us as you ride a tight S-curve at the limits of your machine's handling.

And I accept that I cannot assuage your eco-scorn by informing you that the some of the best sports cars out there - the Porsche 911, Mazda MX-5 and Chevrolet Corvette - are much more fuel-efficient than your average land barge.

But the beauty of our country is that in the end I need nobody's approval to be able to appreciate a fine work of engineering. So enjoy your hybrid-driving men, ladies; I'll be the single guy in the droptop zoomin' by with a wide grin of joy on my face...

economically stressed voters care more about the price of gas than the temperature of the planet.

What horribly elitist scorn this is on your part, Andrew. Yes, you are fortunate enough to feed, clothe and shelter yourself and your family by writing for an e-magazine. The closure of industrial plants in a flyover state does not mean you are gonna join a soup line tomorrow, or a line for a homeless shelter the next day.

But these "economically stressed voters" who you scorn in your statement are not necessarily anti-environment, pro-global warming and an anti-pollution. Most of them are decent blue-collar folk who just want a way to earn money so that they can live their lives.

I have to ask you directly: if you place global warming as being more important than the livelihoods and lives of tens of thousands of people, would you be willing to do this if you were in their shoes?

Would be so noble and principled to sacrifice your career and live on $2 of food stamps a day just to earn/keep "green cred"?

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Statements like the one you made above only reinforce the (false) GOP assertion that progressive environmentalists are elitist snobs who could give a shit about the Average Blue-Collar Joe who happens to a work at a factory or plant. This stereotype damages the case we are collectively trying to make for environmental change.

Can any of you put down your lattes long enough to see that? Anyone?

Signed,

A blue-collar Liberal (who thankfully, still has a job)

....makes me hungry for a tuna fish sandwich - and a large glass of warm milk.

I think it is NOT impossible to seek out and look for solutions that are bth environmentally positive and economically positive. This does NOT have to be a zero-sum game: can't we not fight global warming will making changes that will allow people in industries to find sustainable ways to earn a living, and provide for themselves or their families?

And to you, Mr. James Levy: I'm guessing the thousands of jobs you're so willing to sacrifice do not include your own. How wonderful to discard the fate of so many people from your comfy ivory tower - without even daring to think about coming up with pan-beneficial solutions.

If things do get as bad as some predict, I'd suggest buying a shotgun and wood to board up your house, James. When a society cannot take it anymore and revolution is the the only answer, the elitist bourgeoisie are usually the first to feel the anger of the poor. Best of luck with that.