While she was still America's Sweetheart on the Today Show, Katie Couric was one of the few journalists (okay, I use that word a little loosely when applying it to her) who had enough visibility and clout to ask the tough questions without much fear of retribution. And frankly, asking Condi Rice to confirm a Bush political smear against Kerry doesn't even qualify as a tough question; it could just as easily be interpreted as water-carrying for Bush. Didn't hear the smear before? Well, now you have!! She should have been asking tough questions about the prosecution of the war, and whether it was making America safer. Or about Rice's inaction before 9/11.

If Couric actually had asked tough questions, what was the "punishment" that NBC could have threatened her with? That they'd yank her off the air? Not likely. That they'd assign the political interviews to somebody else? At least she would have gone down fighting.

Instead she bolted for a higher-profile ego boost at CBS, and the last time she interviewed Condi Rice, she asked her about what it was like DATING when you're a high-profile political figure. She learned her lesson, all right. And taught a lot of other less powerful journalists a lesson in the process. What a shameless tool she is.

Send the bill out there for a vote, force Bush to veto it, and force his Kool-Aid drinkers in Congress to align with him to sustain his veto. Get them on record on every issue. You're with Bush, or you're with the American people.

If the Democrats go to the voters in 2008 and say, "We did everything we could on every important issue, but we didn't have the numbers to get these bills passed," then they've mounted a persuasive argument for sending more Democrats to Congress. If, as they've done on too many issues, they give up even before the fight has even been waged, and say they simply don't have the numbers, they'll get little support from the electorate.

Note to Dems: You have to get out there and stand for something, and fight as hard as you can, as you did on SCHIP, to convince people that they should bulk up your numbers on the Hill. So get out there and fight. On everything that matters. Or risk having the electorate say that Congress changing hands didn't mean anything. That will seriously diminish your chances for improving on your majority in the upcoming elections.

Ellen and the shelter BOTH behaved badly. The shelter was too rigid and vengeful to check out Iggy's new home and if it proved a safe and happy one, which I'm pretty sure it would have, let the dog stay where it was. Ellen used her bully pulpit to try to strong-arm the shelter, and in her little fits of self-indulgence, probably discouraged lots of people from going to shelters to adopt a dog, possibly driving them straight into the arms of pet shops that traffic in puppy-mill cruelty. She did a humongous disservice to the animals in shelters waiting for homes.

As for Heather, boo-freaking-hoo. So you felt bullied by the shelter folks. Big deal. When you're back at your cozy keyboard, they're still out there dealing with all kinds of animal cruelty and abuse every day and saving as many as they can. Does this ultimately make them self-righteous and cranky? In a lot of case, probably yes. So what. Most people who struggle daily to protect the defenseless and who go places most of us would rather not go -- be they animal rescuers, environmental activists, child-welfare advocates, etc. -- probably end up being a little pushier, preachier, and less likely to suffer fools gladly than the rest of us are. We still owe them a huge debt of gratitude, and in the short time we spend with them, we should show them some patience and respect.

My family adopted just the type of dog that Heather sneers at, wondering why anyone would waste time or resources on him. He had been horrendously abused, was terrified of everyone and everything, and peed all over the place out of fear. Definitely not the kind of "hand-licker" some people need in order to feel instant pet gratification. Now, after a lot of love and patience and training, he's a happy, trusting dog, and a treasured member of our family.

The shelter we adopted him from was run by a woman who'd been in animal rescue for most of her adult life. She was pushy, bossy, and drove my husband and me a little crazy -- for the short time we were there. Then we went home, and she went back to work. Bless her, and all the people who devote their lives to these causes.

"Even on faith and politics, Mike is easy to like," Alter writes. "From afar, he seems extreme..."

No, Jonathan. From afar, he, like Bush in 2000, seems affable and moderate. It's only when you look at his bat-turd-crazy views and supporters up close and personal that he seems -- and is -- extreme.

Please, please, don't tell me the media are once again coalescing around a "folksy, friendly" Republican extremist. Because the country literally cannot stand another one. Now is the time to undo the damage -- not to set it into stone.

As for Huckabee's claim that science "changes" (ie WE ACTUALLY LEARN THINGS) while God doesn't, "The Wizard of Oz" hasn't changed any since it was written either, so I'll draw my lessons from that, and not trust deceptive little men hiding behind facades and pretending to have the answers to all of our problems.