"Conservatives will no longer put up with this. Good luck financing your Marxist cause with the 40% of the population who pay no taxes. And buy no magazines or newspapers. Or see no movies..."

Are you kidding?

Of the hundreds of people I know, the ones who have worked the system to great personal advantage happen to be conservatives. In fact, several of them are bankruptcy filing, tax evading, gun toting, government handout takin' (for their own families, but never OK for anyone else of course), self proclaimed extreme "christian" right zealots. Then they proclaim great love and patriotism for their country, the one they just ripped off and used!

It's scary how you choose warp the truth. On a side note... what do movies have to do with any of this and how far removed are you from reality? Have you missed the part where extremists hijacked the GOP in recent history? Extremists seem to be doing so much good all around the world. You are suggesting we vote them into power in our this country again?

And you call yourselves "christian"? This is a joke, right?

Glad you wrote that. It resonated with me, especially for today. Gracias, and now I will go dream of meadows instead of news.

My heart is full and I feel less alone in the world when reading your words. On this day of our country's great sorrow, a beacon of light.

Happy Birthday CT!

Fooling yourself can be such fun eh?

I could have written a similar letter years ago (and more than once), but never could have penned the reply, because I just didn't get it. We are too close to what we believe we love. It blocks the bigger picture and corrupts the truth. Love, intense desire, and dreams of the other... they are always fluid in our fervent dreams. They "get" us and we feel somehow released from isolation on every level.

The desire alone can warp your mind. What a dream it is! It is the stuff of novels, your longing and terrible choices. You know though that it isn't real and that deep love takes much more than you describe. So you move on and find someone you will now know how to love better. We are all students of love. How to love deeper and better those who matter most. What could be better than that?

A reply so inspiring and painfully honest. Bravo Mr. Tennis!

Someone wrote:

"America is going to elect an intelligent person to be President."

I want to believe this, but I don't.

...these threads held more venom toward Paglia than most other writers. Why was everyone hating every word she wrote?

Now I get it.

Dear Ms. Paglia,

You just lost a robust supporter of your work and a voice against the rioting crowd. Have you researched the facts or are you just dreaming of a female version of Ted Nugent in your bed?

Notice the new respondents pouring in, people who would vote and stand against your personal rights simply because you are a lesbian. See the posters play manipulative games as they agree with something you've said for the first time in their lives. The same people who would have sneered had you been burned at the stake are coming out of the woodwork because you said something nice about their "Barracuda". Even Heart would not lend the rights to their song for her.

Palin has rolled back feminism or any semblance of equality by slurping at the lowest common denominator. You, Ms. Paglia, must be ill. Sorry to hear it but you've lost me on this one.

Have at her. No more Paglia for me.

LW,

Short answer: You are normal to be horrified at a mammoth publicity machine and extremely clever speechwriters who manipulate truth.

Long answer: To call Palin a "shrill bitch" is counterproductive. There are a few things about Palin that could be a source of fury and have been confirmed by her party:

Banning books, killing animals for sport and recreation, telling people what to do with their bodies (even if they are raped or molested), agreeing with a church that attempts to convert those "evil gays", saying there is no such thing as global warming and that war is an act of God.

The GOP contains more derisive hypocrites than anyone could imagine in their worst nightmares. People who have successfully worked the system to their advantage, but want to be sure that no one else gets to. Especially people who aren't exactly like them.

Who gives a rip if a person has a vagina or a penis (or both!), if they are yellow, black, white or polka dotted! If people would stop saying stupid things like "Sarah Palin is a strong bitch and I love her, she's so real!" (Overheard just yesterday...who knew the pod people are real!), then maybe we could move forward and make some positive changes together. Why join them by slandering her with the same language?

People who vote based on a speech and surface impressions from their couches along with a bag of chips are willfully ignorant. "Yay honey, look, isn't she something? She can shoot things! Oh she seems so cool. I wanna have a beer with her!" She reminds me of someone... an unqualified person who has no business being in the White House.

But wait, there's a bonus to the Bush years! With that $300 tax break, you can buy yourself a year's supply of People magazine or something else to take your mind off the fact that your country is a f-ing mess!

So yeah, you and I can be angry, we can be furious and spit venom at everyone who disagrees with us. Now what are we going to do about it?

I was in 'Hangover CSI' and I can think of a few people who could use some 'Real World Baghdad'. You crack me up!

Great read. You made my day!