"repulsive laughter and boisterous cheers . . .It's as adolescent as it is depraved."

Listening (not by choice) to the horrible local AM talk radio here (Greenville, SC) which my husband likes, I heard the hosts and public discuss how to deal with illegal immigrants. One caller suggested that we pay for them to return to this country and force them to sign something promising never to return to the US illegally. If they return illegally, we should execute them. Even the host had trouble with that one - but not much. The next caller suggested putting RFID tags into all illegal aliens as we deport them so we could track them and make sure they haven't re-entered the US. Can you believe this was discussed on the public airwaves in serious tones of people trying to solve problems??? Are Conservatives in this country that dumb and morally depraved? I'm afraid the answer - for a large percentage - is absolutely yes. Their candidates have to appeal to this shockingly cruel, imbecilic and xenophobic base.

There simple is no denying that Hillary Clinton would not be where she is were she not married to Bill Clinton. I don't see a vote for her as a vote for the first woman Pres. I see a vote for her as a vote for someone who grew to national prominence as someone else's wife. Of course she's very smart, knows the issues, could handle the job. I believe she could do a decent job. If she's the nominee, I'll vote for her in the fall.

However - as a professional woman myself who never had a single door opened for me on the basis of family connections - I reject the notion that a vote for Hillary is a "vote for women." A vote for Hillary is a vote for a woman who used to be First Lady and who became Senator of a large state she had never lived in because of her prominence in that position as someone's wife!

I am quite liberal and I hope my daughters (now 4) agree with me politically one day. As it stands, they are far too young to understand politics, much less form their own positions on anything. I see it as abusive to put my preferred candidate or political view on them on a t-shirt or anything like that. I see people using their children that way - even friends of mine who think it's cute to put anti-Bush onesies on their baby. For me, I hate the trend and think everyone has the right to decide for himself or herself - when they are mature enough - what they believe. Suggesting to the world at large that my girls (or someone's baby) has a political view is really unfair to the child. I will not engage in brainwashing them and will not have them read tracts such as "Why Mommy is a Democrat." I trust them and their intelligence and - when they are old enough and mature enough - we will discuss such things. Not before.

Since when has he been considered "a leader(s) of Paul's amen corner in the respectable liberal blogosphere." ?

If we were in a place with better transportation policy (such as Europe), we could choose among driving, flying or taking a train anywhere we want to go. Airline and AAA lobbying against trains has made our train system a laughingstock most places in the country - to all our our detriment. When flying and driving both become prohibitively expensive, there is no other way to go.

We'll soon see how this poor planning serves the American public.

Despite this crushing loss and troubling turn-around by Obama, my mood is upbeat as I consider how privileged I am to be able to read Glenn Greenwald's amazing coverage of this and other issues.

Glenn - you do an incredible job covering these issues.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

You're my hero and I hope you can take some comfort in that, despite the incredible disappointment of this bill's passage and capitulation by our Democratic standard-bearer.

Please keep up the fantastic work.

"Its leaders laugh off the idea of the public interest as airy-fairy nonsense"

This is so true. Public interest considerations are all but gone from administrative decision-making at the federal level (see Exhibit A, the FCC). Perfect example: conservatives love to demean anything liberals and moderates want to institute to improve the lot of children by saying in sneering and condescending tone "It's for the *children*." They find this impulse to do something that helps children as laughable and worthy of total scorn.

I have never understood how something implemented - yes by the government - and designed to help children is worthy of such a nasty, sneering statement by those on the right. Isn't helping children a good thing?

Thanks for the great piece.

Even if Obama were white and had a teenage daughter and she got pregnant and decided to have the baby - the Rs would go on and on about the terrible morals and depraved lack of family values of the Democratic candidate and his family. The sheer hypocrisy of the Republicans is astonishing to witness.

Look, I hate Palin and all that she stands for. But think it hurts Salon and liberals generally to post that image of her as dominatrix of moose. The contents of the story likewise strike me as mysogynistic and poor quality. Sorry, Gary, I usually like your articles.

Are you just TRYING to give fodder to the right wing - something totally slanderous that they can talk about for days on end? As my husband who often listens to right wing radio but isn't a right winger says - just ignore her! Focus on McCain and the issues and the Bush administration. Palin is a deliberate distraction from those real life fiascos and you are buying into it to the literal detriment of the cause of truth and light.

eom