On one count you are totally wrong. The passing along of pedophile priests absolutely occurred and persisted with the support of many ostensibly good, moral priests. Having read the documentation of the accusations, it is more than clear that priests (such as Geoghan for one) were only able to continue on, for decades, in their priestly roles by maintaining favor from priests higher up in the bureacracy in the face of repeated accusations of abuse from many, many families.

One of the implications from this indisputable fact is that some priests are so cut off from their emotional lives that they cannot comprehend the vicious damage a pedophile can do. Really, what else is there Steele? Are we to believe that the Catholic church is simply rife with lots of pedophile-supporters? That's hardly rational. On the other hand, men who have trained themselves to pretend that their emotional lives don't have great value could certainly fall prey to a knee-jerk "forgive and forget" in the face of clearly criminal, immoral behvaior.It's also quite odd that so many pedophile priests were not aggressively confronted by other priests who saw the behavior. There's definitely sometihng amiss there as well.

However, it's not up to me to make that decision. Let rational catholics demand it right along with easier rules for divorce too.

There's only one qestion left to answer: Who should be fired for this debacle?

That was a very funny piece and happy Mother's Day to you too!

I feel sorry for Elizabeth Edwards but she is truly gaining nothing by this book and the inevitable media tour. I get it that she's tough. Too bad she can't face the fact (and it pretty much is fact) that her husband has another child out there and has no contact with the child as of now. That's nothing more or less than immorality.

John Edwards owes that baby a family and a father. Elizabeth Edwards may be in fragile health and in pain, but Rielle Hunter's child desrves everything her own children have. I would admire Edwards so much more if she just stood up and said,"screw it, the baby is John's, we do visitation and child support, and that's the end of it so mind your own business."

This book is just a trainwreck. I'm sad to see Elizabeth possibly defined by this story since she may not have all that much time left.

I think it's funny that the guy who effectively drove Specter out now has no real chance of winning anything. It's even funnier that the Right is now trying to recruit Ridge to replace Toomey. Where's the loyalty, huh?

I live in a small town in NJ. I would be appalled to see a 5 or 6 yr old allowed to walk to kindergarten or 1st grade. After 2 grade, it's OK. The distance is close and people who know you are everywhere.

OTOH, I teach in a West Philly school. I'd walk/drive my kids to school and back daily until they either got a car or left for college if I lived there. Why? It's just not safe. There are drug dealers, people shooting others, drug addicts wandering around. Not all the time but enough of the time. I know because I grew up in West Philly and I saw how drugs destroyed so much of the community. Only a middle class white mom could write a book about "free range kids" and suggest that this is reflective of the lives of so many American children. Unfortunately, many children in poverty live amidst violence. How about writing a book about that tragedy? I guess it might not sell as well but it would be far more timely than this book.

A-Rod and all of the others who knowingly take steroids to give themselves an edge are cheaters. What else do you call giving yourself an advantage no one else can have in any legal way? And let's not forget that taking steroids are not about fixing an impairment or disability as depression drugs might be for an individual. It's about taking something healthy, perfectly fine and upgrading it in a medically unethical and unnecessary fashion. Of course, there is one need that steroids serve: they help the cheater and his/her cohorts in the doping scheme profit. This is the bottom line and I have zero sympathy for those who engage in the practice.

If you want it for your child, go ahead. I did. If not, then don't. However, if he decides he wants to look like all the other guys at 15, he's got a hell of an exerience awaiting him. Once I heard about how it is for older boys and men, I said, "Now please!" My little boy was fine with it.

Female circumcision, OTOH, is a painful & ultimately degrading experience that limits your function as a woman. How many circumcised men can say that?

The purpose of behavioral strategies is to help the child develop skills to live in and engage with the world. If you are so busy stimming or acting out that you can't meet your basic daily needs (take care of yourself, make friends, ask for help, enjoy the community) how are you reaching your potential as a person? More importantly, what is the cost to society for allowing people who CAN develop skills to choose not develop them simply because it's a challenge for them?

That little sitcom had it all over Sex and the City. I'm sad to read Bea Arthur has passed away. She was a wonderful, funny, and original character.

I'm sure many women would also love to be 5'8", blonde hair and blue eyed with a figure like Barbie but that's not reality. It's also not reality that Ms. Prejean is Miss USA not matter what her heart tells her. Get over it sister, you lost.