If I were more cynical I might say that Palin's pick is a calculated move on the part of McCain to draw attention away from his own sinking popularity. What better way for a megalomaniac candidate to get the sharks to circle another carcass than pick an inept VP prospect that comes with a prepackaged media event.

It may not look like much with the naked eye but if you look into Amy Goodman's heart you can tell there was a riot just waiting to happen. Sure, she wasn't doing anything 'outwardly'; no pushing or not even remotely resisting arrest but as a keen observer of human nature I can assure you that she was about to open a whole can of whup ass on those cops. Yup, she was about to unleash the awesome power of her 5'4", 115 pound frame and go ballistic on those four large officers armed to the hilt and covered in body armour.

Obviously some of you also didn't notice that she was armed with a pencil and a pad of paper. Glock 9mm's are no match for a maniac weilding a #2 pencil--and don't even get me started on how awful paper cuts can be.

So to you officers who brought this quasi-terrorist down, I salute you. Thank you for protecting and serving!

I wonder what her position on wolf abortion is?

You said: "While I agree entirely that everything about this woman's politics is vile, is this sort of article going to help elect a Democrat in November?"

I have a lot of complaints myself about Salon's election coverage myself but I don't believe that it is Salon's fundamental mission to tailor articles to get the democrats in office in Nov. In fact nothing would get me to cancel my subscription faster that if they did!

I liked the article and am not really sure why you claim it isn't real reporting or is somehow incidiary to the Democratic cause.

Though I can understand your sensitivity to the photo of the wolf dangling from the plane, I don't think the pic was either graphic or trying to be sensational. I thought the picture underscored the message of the article and gave it more impact. It may not be what you wanted to see while eating dinner but it's the 'way it is' and I think it's good for people to see that.

You said: "Is this particular article on this issue, vis a vis Palin, contributing anything to the national discourse?"

I would argue yes! It underscores her fundamentaly bankrupt views on both science and animal issues. I have family that is gung ho over McCain but are also animal lovers (especially dogs and their geneticaly identical cousins canis lupus). This article may not change their vote but it may get them to think just a little more about the consequences of their vote. Remeber that Rome was built one brick at a time.

On a personal note I also found the article informative and interesting and I got something out of it.

You said: "She said her state has "managed its wildlife so that we still maintain abundant populations of all of our indigenous predators almost fifty years after statehood." This is something no other US state has accomplished."

No other state has a territory over twice the size of Texas with a total population that's less than Salt lake City.

Completely unfare comparison!

You said: "I would like to see Sarah Palin have to get down on the ground and minister to the wounded woves as they are in their death throes."

Not me. I'd rather sent Palin out on the tundra with a pair of snow shoes and then run her down in my Piper Cub until she's exhausted (see the attached video to see what I'm talking about). It would give the heartless haridan a taste of her own medicine.

I’m not really offended by the photo or the article but I find them both a bit hokey and off the mark. By comparing Palin to a dominatrix you are giving her way more power and panache’ than she deserves (she’s an insult to any real dominatrix). This is not a good strategy. Yesterday you had an excellent article on aerial hunting of wolves in Alaska that showed Palin for what she really is: a mindless evangelical, a vacuous shill for big business, an undemocratic authoritarian and a completely uncritical thinker with a vicious anti-science bent.

Let’s stick with those talking points and lay off the sex images—because seriously, she’s not that hot!

I'm a little bit foggy on how you define a feminist Camille. Is it purely on the basis of genitalia and chromosomes or is there at least some component of philosophy or ideology involved?

Take a look at these letters and notice that the subscribers have pretty much called Camille for what she is; an irrelevant has been. The fawning fan letters are mostly from conservatives. I’ve got nothing against having a contrarian or even a thoughtful conservative voice on the site but Camille is no longer in touch with your readers —or reason for that matter.

Oh, and if you do get someone to replace her please find a writer that doesn’t have a creepy Madonna fetish.

Just a thought, but I was hoping that maybe just one day this week you could feature a lead article that is not about Sarah Palin. Perhaps something about one of the other six billion people on the planet- or if your feeling real nutty and wanna really mix it up- even an issue!

Palin's just not important enough to give this much ink to and you're already preaching to the choir anyway.