but Srini Jayaraman's tone is inappropriately snide. Due to a combination of government and private efforts led by local people, the average birth rate per woman in Bangladesh has fallen from over 6 to under 3 in the past two decades and it is continuing to fall. This is a remarkable achievemnent for a highly traditional society and not one to be sneered at.

I would choose actors on the young side for one simple, practical reason: If it's a big hit, I would want the same actors to be able to perform in several sequels before they become obviously too old.

Of course Giuliani was under no obligation to spend 12-hour days at ground zero like the rescue workers; and of course it's likely that Hillary Clinton didn't spend much more time at ground zero than Giuliani did. But neither of these is relevant to the issue. The point is that GIULIANI CLAIMED to have spent as much time at ground zero as the rescue workers, which is total self-aggrandizing baloney. Clinton made no such claim.

As for the other letters demanding that critics instead provide substantive analysis of Giuliani's terrorism-related performance, this has been done in many venues, especially Barrett's reporting for the Village Voice (widely reported elsewhere). It's perfectly legit to ALSO discuss this aspect of the topic--which, again, Giuliani thrust into the conversation himself.

like our New York know-nothings, Mike Franscesa and Chris (Mad Dog) Russo, will stop sneering at Theo Epstein and his belief in sabermetrics? Like most mainstream sports writers, they seem to deeply resent the idea that some young nerd who never put on a jock strap can out-manager the old-time baseball guys they worship. But it sure looks like it's true.

just like the Volkswagen Beetle. Obviously the Professor doesn't remember the 1960s, when the Beetle became the best-selling car model in history and the best-selling foreign car in the US.

I'm looking forward to reading this book. As a liberal sports fan in New York, I'm continually frustrated by the mixed political and social messages I hear in our local radio sports talk.

For example, consider our most popular local hosts, Mike Francesca and Chris Russo on WFAN. Although they occasionally pay lip service to racial and social tolerance, they can generally be counted on to take a harsher line against "misbehavior" by Black athletes--all while vehemently denying that race plays any role in their thinking. And when any caller dares to suggest that racial bias might influence the way Black (or Latino) athletes are treated, they angrily dismiss the topic: "Why do people always want to drag race into the conversation?"

They occasionally sound an anti-capitalist note when talking about sports economics--complaining about the power of money, for example. But whenever possible, Mike and Chris--especially Chris--find ways to exonerate the owners and blame the players. They seem to assume that OF COURSE the owners are greedy (they're businessmen after all), but the players have no right to be self-interested: Why can't they be loyal to their teams? Why can't they accept less money? etc. etc. They blame the baseball union--not the owners--for the steroids scandal. And any player who is too opinionated and "uppity" (my word, not theirs) is usually told to "pipe down."

In short, their political and social "thinking" is a muddle--and judging by the conversations with their callers, so it that of most of their audience. As I say, it's frustrating.

a player's "peak value" (how good he is at the height of his career" and his "career value" (his cumulative contribution to teams). Somewhere James writes, in effect, that a player's peak value is generally based on what his does in his twenties, while his career value is determined by what he does in his thirties. Same basic point Kaufman is making.

at the new Citifield, then obviously it should show Keith Hernandez kissing Elaine Benes.

. . . when it comes to viral emails. Here is a left-leaning website prominently debunking a false email attacking Sarah Palin. Meanwhile, dozens of false emails attacking Obama are being gleefully circulated by right-wingers and undoubtedly influencing countless uninformed voters.

To see what I mean, visit the Snopes "Urban Legends" website and check out their page devoted to the most popular viral emails of today (URL: http://www.snopes.com/info/top25uls.asp). Compare the 30+ anti-Obama emails they've uncovered--most of them provably false--with the tiny handful of anti-McCain emails, only two of which are false.

Lots of people in America believe "politics is a dirty business" and "you can't trust either side." But actually there is ONE side in America that deliberately uses dirt and lies, and it's not the left.