ITA. That's a great analogy to make to the exploitation of illegal labor also. I get so tired hearing TV pundits and hack pols rage on about illegal laborers in our country. Where I live, a host of clearly Mexican laborers make lawns and the local golf course manicured to a ridiculous degree. Restaurants are manned by an army of illegal workers. It's right out in the open. So why blame the folks trying to earn a (very poorly paid) living? We Americans who profit from this system are very much to blame for the situation as it stands right now.

I fail to see the connection since porn is legal and prostitution is not. I can see the difference quite clearly. Jenna Jameson didn't have sex with YOU, just with lots of other people who did NOT pay her. You pay to watch her performance.

It's funny really. The same people toss up the same points which are refuted by the evidence over and over again. Prostitution, legalized or not, carries with it a host of social problems. There have been numerous attempts to remedy this system. Despite being mocked, the Swedish government acted to reduce prostitution and has done so. Prosecuting pimps and johns heavily appears to be working. Legalization clearly does NOT work to reduce trafficking, the worst offense. If it did, other countries would be visiting the Netherlands to see how they make it work. Instead, they're visiting Sweden and the Netherlands is driving out brothels and generally making prostitution a less hospitable endeavor in their country.

This speech is why I want Obama as president. Of the three candidates, only he could come along and give such a nuanced, intelligent and honest speech about race in our country. None of the rhetoric we have come to expect from the Clinton camp or the silliness from the Republicans. Just an honest dissection of the challenges that race presents to us all and, perhaps, a way to overcome these obstacles to make our nation more unified, stronger and more just.

You're starting to sound like an angry child.

Face it. Obama's speech was terrific!

To win over every thinly-disguised racist like Ferraro? To sway the far-right that desperately wants the conversation to be about ANYTHING but the economy and the disastrous Iraq war? I guess not.

For anyone else who is honestly concerned about the tone of discourse about race in our country or cares to hear some honesty about the subject, the answer is clearly YES.

Yes, and then some. Barack Obama took on a topic no other candidate could or would do and did it in the most honest, BS-free way possible. Reading his words, I felt proud that this guy was running for president of the United States and that he was on OUR side. What a refreshing change from the knuckle-dragger in office we have now. Could you imagine GWB reflecting in such an honest way on any given topic?

You wrote:

"Short answer: NO

Obama's speech contained nary a mention of the shameful SC video clip circulated on YouTube, in which the candidate openly portrayed the Clintons as whites using blacks as political fodder..."

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And the Clinton's didn't? The Hillary camp, sadly enough, played the race card when they lost SC and lost big. That was a blow many in the African American community will not forgive. Given that the Democratic party has relied on the African American vote to succeed, this was a very bitter issue.

Barack Obama, in his speech, highlights the conflicting views espoused by his grandmother. Why is this important? To demonstrate two things: First, that ALL people (white or black) can habor some contradictory and sometimes, downright ignorant views about others. Secondly, that this is not necessarily what defines them. Their actions do that.

Let's reflect on this. Rev. Wright has worked tirelessly for the poor and disenfranchised. Does all that work go out the window because he holds some incindiery views about "rich whites" in America?

Puller wrote:

"In my experiences with blacks, I find that the paranoia, conspiracy mongering, and resentment all too common even among more prosperous blacks."

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Ah. There we have it. I take it your "experiences" are quite limited. Your anger at blacks is palpable and might go far to explain why.

No, neither Dick nor Bush gives a toss what we, the taxpayers, think. Hasn't this war been about them from the very beginning? It certainly hasn't been about making our nation more secure because that has clearly failed.

Your ignorance is truly staggering. The cultural, social and political history of South Africa (and many other African nations) has conspired to create a vicious system where girls and women are forced to prostitute themselves to simply survive. They can no more force condom usage than any other impoverished female in South Africa. How in the world did you deduce in one of the AIDS hotspots of the world that they could? Ignorant, ignorant and more ignorant.

Thanks to deeply entrenched yet outdated social norms regarding chastity and gender, females taking control of their own bodies in any way is seen as anathema. That not only serves to harden views against condom usage but, of course, ensures the spread of the disease to women, girls and their children. This perpetuates a vicious cycle of poverty, abuse and abandonment since these women and their children will become societal castoffs, and will be driven to ever more desperate measures to survive. Like prostitution.