And I think the better candidate didn't win. There, that's done. Moving on...

Now I can send out the email I have prepared (I saw which way the wind was blowing) to my family:

Subject: preemptive "no thanks"

Hi family,

Obama was not my first choice, but Obama it is. So, let me tell you that I am NOT interested in receiving forwards on any of the following subjects:

--Obama secretly hates white people (he does not)

--Obama is a secret Muslim (he is not)

--Obama secretly hates Jews (he does not)

--Obama is against Israel (he is not)

--Anything about Michelle Obama (who is not running for president)

--Anything about Rev. Wright (who is not running for president; also, I don't care)

-------

God, this is going to get so ugly. I'm also pretty sure that some group of Republicans is going to manufacture or fail to stop a terrorist attack.

But let's see what happens next.

Until the divorce. Which, as always, is painful. Allie's assessment of what went down might be the right one, but it sure sounds like you had something special for a while.

Men, too. Let's work with it! My mother quit smoking for vanity, and that was 30 years ago, so vanity worked pretty well. Vanity was good for me during a nasty bit of adolescent self-destruction. Now we know: vanity can be adaptive.

Gayle said, "Put the kid into foster care pronto - with guardians who'll do frequent visitations per court order. It's not the kid's fault that mom (or dad) is doing time!"

No, it sure isn't. But my guess is, you don't know much about foster care in Chicago or other budget-strapped cities. The reality is, the babies are probably better off staying with mom while she actually learns to mother. If mom shows she can't hack it, or the baby is harmed, she loses the baby. It's a chance. Guardians doing frequent visitations? Like who, family members? Ground zero for the abuse mom probably suffered in the first place.

We pay now, or we pay later.

You said, "Personally, I think more charitable programs should focus on people who are struggling to get by who nonetheless obey the laws of the land."

I agree with you. The ones that are out there seem either too religious or constrictive of personal freedom. And overburdened, widening the gap between mission statement and reality. It's a bad situation.

My other post addresses this story's topic.

Unlike many, I mean that as a compliment. You don't scare! The frothing hordes want nothing less this evening than for you to be...well, Obama's fluffer. And what do you give them?

"Congratulations. Now, here's how to win the people who liked Hillary better."

It's not over, friends. I want him to win, too. But he's not just gonna.

In Judaism, sitting shiva is a the weeklong mourning period after a death in which the family members of the deceased halt their activities of everyday life.

Speaking of death, I hope Terry McAuliffe is on suicide watch. These past few days, I was beginning to worry about his mental health.

Because what happened to you sucked, no question.

Whatever dangerous mix of meds you took, you had apparently done it before with no ill effects. But the point is, you were hospitalized against your will and your body was restricted. Of course you feel traumatized. I would try not to get caught up in anger at the agents who surely did not intend to hurt you. They reacted to a situation that presented itself, and that they probably didn't understand completely. Focus on your own hurt. Accepting hurt is harder than feeling anger at others, but probably more useful.

Finally, I do have to wonder whether you ever saw a CBT therapist. Specific phobias are one of the fastest and most surefire things to cure using cognitive-behavioral treatment only. If the person you saw went right to potentially addictive and harmful meds, you may have been done a disservice.

"...I just don't get it. So many people would love to have a job flying - so many people are being laid off everywhere... it's horrible you saw the 9/11 attack, but, geez, grow some balls/ovaries and get over this!"

What do lay-offs have to do with this woman's situation? You know what I could say to someone who's just been laid off? "There are people getting maimed in Iraq." You know what I could say to someone getting maimed in Iraq? "There are people getting raped with machetes in the Congo." It's pain all the way down. The LW gets to feel some, too. Think you'd talk this way to her face?

God help you if someone you love ever encounters a truly traumatic situation.

You have a unique presence here. I love that about you.

Thanks for that illustration. Good plants.

For the past month or two, I have just been assuming that every awful poster is a Republican trouble-maker. It's probably not true for all of them, but it sure makes me feel better.

I live in an old building with pipes that are almost certainly giving me daily doses of lead and whatever else that my humble little pour-through filter can't touch. What's more, I drink a lot of water--more than the 8 glasses per day that are apparently a myth.

And still? I do not buy individual servings of bottled water. I don't buy larger servings of bottled water, either, but it's at least conceivable that on a long car trip, I would. For all the reasons stated in this interview.

I guess you could say I would rather die.