Dear Mr. Keillor,

While I agree with most aspects of your essay, I have to defend myself and many of my colleagues. Not all government workers are incompetent and unable to function in other jobs. Some of us went into government service to help our country and fellow citizens. Quite a few of us could actually make MORE money in the private sector or in academia.

It's easy to concentrate on thousand dollar hammers or a grouchy person who handed you some forms. Please don't forget that government and government workers actually support our common interests in many ways, from highways to critical scientific research that the private sector won't take on because the profit margin is too low.

I wish the author has put more effort into including actual content and less into constructing such floral prose. She presents little actual information about Lebanon. The author gave up a career as a lawyer in the US to temporarily teach in the suburbs of Beirut. Coming home, she decided to continue teaching. I'm happy for her, really.

How about more information on why the author still consideres Lebanon the best hope for a viable Middle East democracy? How about a real discussion of what it was like to live in Beirut, rather than the rose-tinted glasses version presented here? I believe her that it was a great city to live in, but it'd be nice to actually hear WHY.

Wow, I'm impressed. In his opening essay, Steven Rinella has established himself as a complete horse's ass.

I really can't believe that this is a serious article. Ms. Traister doesn't understand why a doctor who deals with patients shouldn't dress either in a slovenly or sexually provocative manner? Doctors have to build confidence in their patients. A professional image gives you a big headstart in this, particularly with an ill person who may not be in a state to grill a doctor over their qualifications and so forth.

I'm starting to think that Ms. Traister is writing their items in the spirit of old Usenet trolling. She probably doesn't actually support some of the opinions she's advancing, but rather is trying to start discussion. Ok, that's what I HOPE she's doing.

This whole debate has done something I didn't think possible. I now feel tremendous sympathy for Madonna.

These so called human rights organizations are grand standing and have lost sight of the basic issue in this case: the well being of the child. Is this little boy better off with Madonna and her family or back in the orphanage? Madonna and Guy Richie can give this child a stable upbringing, with good nutrition, access to outstanding health care, and a family's love and support. The orphanage allows the boy to remain in his home country, but is growing up in an orphanage really keeping him rooted in his own culture? Is the idea of his staying in Malawi more important that his well being overall?

I keep having this terrible vision of the so called human rights groups getting this boy pulled from Madonna, depositing him back in that orphanage, then moving on to their next cause.

Is this boy a real person to them or just the cause-du-jour or a way of attacking a celebrity?

Marcel is clearly enamored with gimmicks, novelty techniques or presentation. He needs to work on the basics of cooking and develop a strong foundation on top of which his beloved novelties could rest.

Overall, I have to say that this season brought together a group of largely unlikeable people. Who from this group would you actually invite into your home?

Molly was intelligent, funny, and able to see right to the heart of a matter. Even thought I never had the honor of meeting her, I'll miss her like family.

I took a charity fundraising flight from BWI in the late 1970's with my family. I believe that we were raising funds for a seriously ill flight attendant who was friends with our local priest (his former career was a flight attendant).

The trip was spectacular. It was a crystal clear day. We flew over Baltimore, low over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge (absolutely amazing), did an approach to a runway at Dulles, and took some loops over DC to see the monuments. The flight attendants passed out GOOD snack boxes and sodas and everyone sang and laughed through the whole trip.

I would do it again in a heartbeat, except of course we wouldn't be allowed to go over DC except up and down the Potomac River route now.

It was honestly one of the best things I've ever done and I'm not a plane wonk.

"I had never once experienced a delay lasting more than about three hours"

Wow, how on Earth did you manage such a lucky streak? Off the top of my head, I know I've had 9+ hour delays in Memphis, Anchorage, Freeport, Manzanillo, Cancun, Denver, Newark, Detroit, Minneapolis, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, Jacksonville, Charlotte, Atlanta, and that's not all of them and it doesn't even touch on the small regional commuter airports.

I wish I had your luck.

First, I greatly admire and appreciate you for your dedication and the difficult and largely thankless work you do.

That said, House is a television show centered around medical mysteries. A television show, not a documentary. It doesn't have to be terribly true to life. It's entertainment. When you watch other dramas, such as the legal or police shows, do you expect to learn the true nature of those professions or just to follow a good story?

There are more realistic views of hospitals, off and on, over on the various Discovery/TLC channels. There have been good documentary series based on Johns Hopkins and other facilities. That's where I expect to learn a bit about your world.

The short answer is no, they can't change Bush because he believes he was given a mission by God. I wish that was a joke or satire of some sort.