Not enough people take protecting children from sex predators seriously. If you think that desiring children sexually is "natural"--that one just has to practice "impulse control" and all will be well, then one is apt not to meet out the punishment that perverts deserve.

By the way, someone has already registered with my original handle--Phoenix, so now I'm known as Phoenixtrue. So, any letters that you've seen from Phoenix for the past few weeks up to this point were from me.

Who knows, your child, who never got to know your mother, may want them someday. Some of the things that I treasure most are things that belonged to my grandparents that my parents may not have wanted for themselves, but they kept. And now, I have these things. And unlike (possibly) your Mom's art, these vases and knick knacks and end tables aren't worth much of anything monetarily. But they mean the world to me.

When he announced on election night that he and Kerry were going to insist that all the votes be counted, regardless of the MSM's projections. I was shocked, because one of the reasons I had been a Dean supporter in the primaries was that I felt he had the gumption to fight the right-wing cabal, and that Kerry didn't. So, when Edwards made that announcement, I thought. "Wow. This guy (Edwards) must be something else if he convinced Kerry not to concede to these (known) crooks." As we all know, Kerry wound up doing exactly what I thought he would, but, again, my respect for Edwards grew.

So, I'm definitely considering supporting him this time around. It's a little early yet, but I like what he's saying about poverty, health care and jobs. His stance on Iraq--maybe. I'll give him props for saying he made a mistake and that he'll listen to contrary viewpoints on any issues he'll have to decide on and will make the best decision based on all of the knowledge available to him.

But I take issue with his saying that he has no regrets about voting for the Patriot Act. I understand his point about the need for better communications between intelligence and policing agencies. But that could have been covered in a specific bill. He (along with the other members of Congress) knew what Cheyney/Rove/Bush were capable of. They had no business voting for anything that the White House called the "Patriot Act". All Cheyney/Rove/Bush needed was an in to get their authoritarian utopia started. The Patriot Act needs to be repealed.

You're only 25--go live your dream. Things may not always workout the way you want them to (that's life), but you won't have any regrets about not giving it a try!

And, LW, you may have strong feelings for this guy, but I'm going to tell you what my Mama told me: "If you LOVED him, none of that stuff (his being an allergic conservative, etc.) would matter."

I hope you screw up your courage and go where you need to go. And I wish you well.

"It seems you are cringing because you can't stand to think a 60+ woman still see herself as sexual as in her 'Barbarella' days, regardless of what *you* think."

Jane Fonda is hot, she knows it, and she used it to comic effect. It was great! You "it was so icky" people need to come to grips with the new reality: more and more people are remaining sexually attractive and active beings past the age of 40. In other words, they are no longer abandoning a part of their humanity because it makes younger people and some older prudes uncomfortable.

Go Silver Foxes!!!

has always been an arrogant, pompous ass.

healthyskeptic, you need to do more than read a few articles and watch a PBS documentary. Especially since you can't even be bothered to remember a name. Bayard Rustin is the gay man you referred to who was one of the architects of the Civil Rights Movement in the 50's and 60's--but he wasn't behind the scenes because he was part of some deliberate decision not to promote gay rights. He was behind the scenes because that was his personality: he determined he worked best as a "power behind the throne" kind of guy.

And, he didn't distance himself from the Movement because he was "outed." Number One, he was never IN the closet, so no one could OUT him; and, Number Two, the Movement changed after the deaths of Malcolm X and MLK: the people who had done a lot of the marching and sit-ins were tired of doing both, and the younger people that were coming along no longer felt that those types of protests were necessary or effective. What Rustin did was become a mover in the Gay Rights Movement, which was at that time starting to do marches and protests in urban areas--Rustin always believed these were effective tools for social change. In other words, the Gay Rights Movement was the perfect fit: its practices were a continuation of what he believed worked to better society.

healthyskeptic, don't write about things of which you have scant knowledge. What am I saying: if you followed my advice, you wouldn't post at all.