Reagan when he was in his more lucid years talked aobut his skirt chasing of starlets before he settled down with Nancy.

You know, I have thought that Reagan was a lot of things, but he didn't ring my gardar bell. Who'd a thought? Thanks to Annie, I now have a better method of identifying who is straight or not.

Newt, Limbaugh - serial marriagers, and notably hostile to women - Gay!

Bush Senior had his wife and mistress too - now that shows some hostility towards women. Gay!

All those CongressCritters and Senators with their affairs and mistresses - Gay!

Washington is filled with Gay!

Hmmm - didn't little Annie used to complain there was no one to date in Washington? Now we know why - it's all Gay!

(and we all know gay men have better taste that to be seen with someone like Lil Annie. Even "Jeff Gannon" - well, maybe)

Animals, AND people, do not die from arthritis.

A periodic shot just makes life easier. A lot of cats die around 15. More than a few live into their 20's.

Making an animal comfortable is the humane thing to do. Quaility of life issues also arise. If we were a humane people, we would look at ourselves with the same goals.

I don't believe in torturing a dying animal with treatment after treatment to get another month or two, at the same time, if you can afford it, letting the animal live out their life with some sort of quality and lack of pain - that is what we should do once we decide to keep an animal.

And back to Barbaro.

I love horse racing but I can only watch it by suspending my knowledge that for every horse appearing on the track, there is a 1000 at sale barns or sold off injured or leading lives that continue to spiral down due to the way they are trained. Far too early - it is the American way - got to make the profit quick - so the industry trains essentially preteens for Olympic level sport and is "shocked" when so many break down.

I do hope that Barbaro pulls through. It is a heroic effort that people are taking to make this horse whole again. And they are learning a tremendous amount that could help in other cases. Don't forget that aspect. And if he pulls through, I hope Barbaro and his owners can make the case to change the antiquaited breeding practices that the Thoroughbred breed organization demands.

And maybe, just maybe, there will be more of an effort to make some changes in the industry - but I don't harbour much hope in that - too many people out to make a buck as quick as they can. If they were in the sport for the love of it - they would not begin training these lovely animals until they were three. At least.

I also found no blame in that article about "lazy men".

I did find it a depressing commentary on the state of mind of people who have lost their jobs during The Bush Years. Professionals of a certain age are NOT finding equivalent employment. There was a lot of futility in the words of the men interviewed. No faith that things could get better. There are women in the same boat by the way - professionals of a certain age who have been laid off or outsourced.

As far as men leaning on women, I see absolutely nothing wrong with it. Women do lean on men when employment is not available and there is no blaming of men for enabling lazy women.

There is plenty to criticize out there without reading too hard into some article.

Neither the reason for it, nor the method are comparable when talking about circumcision and males and females.

If male circumcision would be comparable to what is done to females then the boy's penis would be cut nearly off, with a straw left in the urethra while the wound heals for urination.

And the reason would be so that boys would not become immoral and play with themselves, or get too much pleasure from sex and seek it out with those not his wife.

THEN - comparisons could be made.

I think you made a good summation of the issue.

For some reason whenever FGM/Circumcism is mentioned - it brings out a pro-con male/female who's got it worse. I think you meant "more" not "less" but I think you stated what a lot of people think about this issue.

Being more outraged by FGM than male circumcision does not mean that one is pro-male circumcision. Can we all agree on that?

And let's not forget that the Number One NeoCon who left the back door open for the rest of them to come in was Dick Cheney.

Hardly a Semite.

The first one he brought in was Donnie Rumsfield.

Hardly a Semite.

The NeoCon = Jew meme is just wrong. But I guess it helps to back off any criticism of the NeoConservatives and their remaking of the world according to PNAC.

I wish we could get to the point - in this country - where marrying or not marrying is not subject to pop media speculation or a measurement of a person's worth.

I think it is just lovely that we live in a society where we don't have to get married, but we need to get over the over-analysis of marital state.

I've noticed that over the last few years, all the closet racists are now feeling safe enough to come out and try and take center stage.

Allen is not a new thing - just the latest example.

So who gets to pay the price for political ideology?

Just the 65 girls?

I hope that school system bends over backwards to ensure those girls finish school.

It's not only the ethical thing, it's the moral thing.

And "morality" is what lay at the bottom of this to begin with, right?

Yep - the Republicans sure know how to bring dignity back into the White House.