As one of her fans, I have to add that Marie Curie actually had 2 daughters...

Marie's eldest daughter, Irene Joliot-Curie won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1935 with her husband, Frédéric Joliot.

Marie's youngest daughter, Eve Curie wrote the biography Madame Curie after her mother's death.

Whenever you see a southern woman on screen, she's usually a ditzy pageant queen or an inbred shack / trailer dweller. She also will typically speak with a ridiculous accent that sounds nothing like an actual southerner.

Emily Procter on CSI: Miami is a notable exception. Her character is a smart and professional woman who just happens to be (gasp!) Southern.

Hollywood rarely has any richly textured female characters of any type.

The difference, of course, between traditional “letters to the editor” and the newer, online version is that the older type was limited both to the subscription area of a publication and the transient nature of old newspapers or magazines. They were thrown out or recycled with yesterday’s trash. In the modern world, it lives on forever, and can be accessed from anywhere on the planet with an internet connection.

A simple solution would be to have two options for letters - one for “comments” and another more formal “letter to the editor” section.

It is easy for Salon editors to say you shouldn’t post something that you don’t want a potential employer to read. They live in San Francisco, work for a left-leaning publication, and Stating Opinions is their business. Many of Salon’s readers work for conservative organizations, or live in Red States.

I now slightly regret a couple of the letters that have been published in my name at Salon, not because they are ill-considered rants or poorly written, but because I deal with clients and work to maintain a professional demeanor with them. I’d rather them not read some of the political, personal, or even (yes) frivolous things that I put online - though now I do so without my name. I only offer opinions to clients about things for which I have a professional license. That would exclude most of the articles that I love reading on Salon. I don’t put bumper stickers on my car. I don’t advertise my views. I would say among friends anything and everything that I post at Salon or elsewhere online, but people other than friends know how to Google. If I had to rely exclusively on left-leaning Democrats for my business, I wouldn’t be able to pay the rent.

Cary gave good advice regarding living within a budget, both for spending and saving. I do want to applaud the LW for her discipline and that she shuns the debt lifestyle that most American’s are living.

The LW sounds like most of my father’s family. They are all educated and well-employed people, but oh so cheap. The kids are mostly in their 20’s now, and I can tell you, their kids have a good bit of lingering bitterness towards the parents over this. One cousin had to wear only green socks for years because his mother got them at a great sale. He still gets angry about this, saying “the other kids made up a song about my green socks!” His father is a highly-paid physician, BTW. Other cousins had to buy anything for themselves that wasn’t “strictly necessary.” So the parents would by shampoo and toothpaste, but the girls had to buy any type of makeup, other hair products, shaving products, etc. with their babysitting money, no allowance of course. “They always said you don’t HAVE to shave your legs or wear makeup” the girls will angrily tell you, years later. Another uncle refused to pay for a college age daughter to join the family visiting grandma and grandpa over spring break. “She’s on her own now, she has to pay for herself because we don’t support her financially anymore,” said her well-off dad. This wasn’t a week at MTV spring break - this was a week with the family!

Finally, my dad, a semi-tightwad himself, eventually asked one of his brothers, “so what are you saving FOR?’ and the brother was speechless. “I never thought of that!” he replied. (true story) So I think the LW needs to identify her goals and fears. What are you saving for? So you will be sure to have a place to live? So you can have a comfortable retirement? So the kids can go to college? A financial advisor can help you identify an actual goal number, both monthly and total. That could help the LW let go of the fear, if you know you are on track to have your goals met and your future secure.

While I celebrate anyone who refuses to buy a brand new car for a 16 year old’s birthday, I think the important lesson here is balance. You still need to enjoy life a little. And you really don’t want your 25 year old son still upset that you were to cheap to buy white socks.