You wrote that neither of you is ready for marriage. That sounds like you've answered your own question. Marriage can be ended with a divorce. Moving your daughter to a strange city, uprooting your lives and taking her away from her father -- however bad a guy he is -- would be much harder to undo. It seems to me to be a much bigger commitment than marriage. So if you're not ready for the big commitment, you sure as heck aren't ready for the really big one.

Ha ha! Britney was so funny when she started screwing up. Ha ha! We all saw her hot pocket AND her c-section scar. Ha ha. Wait. This is just kind of pathetic. Not funny anymore. Let's sanctimoniously announce that WE are not paying attention anymore. Next!

She is a human being. She is rich beyond most people's fantasies, yes. But she's still a human being. Why does wealth seem to cost you your humanity in the eyes of so many non-wealthy? It sickens me to realize that people are unwilling to offer her sympathy or kindness because of her wealth. It's not really any different than saying some people deserve to die because, well, they're awfully poor and can't really be enjoying life much anyway. Viva the middle class!

The anger over this essay springs from the uncomfortable truth that we've all been laughing AT a human being who was disintegrating. Just as with Anna Nicole -- whose reality show was a laugh-riot because of her obvious substance abuse problems. Right and wrong doesn't have a sliding scale based on how much money someone has.

Why is it that in order to believe women have the right to an abortion, we must accept that abortion is good or "morally neutral"? That's the kind of black and white thinking I normally associate with the far right. But in the abortion arena, things are backward. Pro-lifers can often make exceptions for rape and incest -- but if it's a life, it's a life, right? So when their position ought to be black and white, they're going for the gray.

I'm pro-choice. But I think each and every abortion represents a failure. A failure to think ahead. A failure to plan. A failure of morality when it is the result of rape. A failure to take responsiblity and control of your life. A failure of birth control. And while you can measure the cost of birth control pills and abortions in dollars and cents, there is also an emotional cost for most women. Because no matter how unwanted the child is, with an abortion you must face the fact that there is a potential life, unique and yet part of you. It's no longer theoretical. Morally neutral? Who cares? We all have our own moral codes. But I think it's crazy to think that it's emotionally neutral.

It was obvious from the way he was looking at that baby and how cozy they were in the hospital photos that he was the daddy. And really, if they weren't involved, why exactly would he spend THAT much time with her?

It's interesting how we turn, eventually, on the victims of tragedy. In the days after 9/11, no one would have thought of criticizing any of the victims' families. But after some time, everyone is expected to move on. I swear, I think people get jealous of the attention paid to the grieving families. "Shut up about your pain, already. No one is listening to me tell about mine." I think there's also a sick sort of cachet in some people's minds to having lost someone on 9/11 -- they're actually envious of those who actually experienced the trauma personally instead of vicariously.

We are all simply human beings. None of us knows how we will grieve until we are actually faced with doing it. If you find yourself upset with the way others mourn or express their grief, don't read stories about them. There is plenty of pain and sadness to go around. I find criticism of people's grief process to be both narcisistic and just plain mean.

Any modicum of respect I ever had for Lieberman is destroyed by his decision to run as an independent. The guy's ego has no bounds. When he ran for V.P. he refused to step off the ballot for Senate in Connecticut. If votes had been counted correctly in Florida, he would have been VP and the Republican governor in CT would have appointed a Republican to the Senate, costing the Dems a chance to control the Senate. He was unwilling to fully throw his future in with his party, he had to hedge his bets.

If you don't want to be a Democrat, Joe, you should have told us sooner.

You can whine about the pitfalls of celebrity or the fact that your mama didn't love you or you were abused by that jerk of a boyfriend etc. etc. The bottom line is that any addict who recovers does so only by accepting responsibility for his or her decisions.

I remember those first few albums. I was old enough (in college) to recognize that they were over-produced, vocal-candy. But damn, they were good candy. I went to a concert with a friend in the '80s. Whitney showed -- sort of. Her performance was perfunctory and uninspired -- as if the enormous audience were a bunch of unwelcome guests she had to endure because it was her job. That's when I knew she was in trouble. Because before Bobby and all the other problems, she was a young woman at the height of her career and she seemed unable to enjoy the adulation of 20,000 people.

I hope she gets better. I hope she comes to terms with whatever her demons are. But rich, poor or in-between, drugs destroy lives. You just don't see the poor folks in magazines. I'm sad for her and for her family. But like every other addict, she's responsible for her choices. Looking to blame anyone else doesn't help.