Boy, you really nailed this one . . .

I, too, can no longer have any meaningful conversations

with my ultra-conservative father these days. I don't know

what is worse - the simplistic black and white philosophy

(Business - good, Government - bad), or the accusation that

any critism, not matter how small, of current Republican

political or economic policy is some kind of giant leap toward

Communism. I've got the solution - I don't even go home for

Christmas any more. We can talk about the weather over the

phone or via e-mail. Thank God for the internet!

I don't wear make-up because, well, I don't like make-up. I don't like taking the time to put it on (at 5:30am) or taking it off. I don't like the way it feels. I don't wear high heels because they hurt my knees. I just want to be comfortable - end of story. It's that simple.

I hate high gas prices as much as anyone, but the reality is we will never change as long as gas is cheap. We've known that the US has had a major problem with oil dependency for 30 years - and have done nothing about it (except buy SUVs and Hummers). Americans need to get over themselves and accept reality - the American century is over and the sun rises in the East (in more ways than one). No, your quality of life won't diminish if you buy a smaller car. And there are many nice, safe small cars on the market now.

Also, has anyone seen the documentaary "Who Killed the Electric Car"? Infuriating!!! Talk about American shortsightedness - GM had a viable electric car on the market and killed it (literally - reclaimed all the EV1s and had them destroyed). Granted, the EVI was not perfect - but no new technology is when it first hits the market. Just think where we would be now if GM had stuck with the EV1, worked out the bugs, and eventually lowered production costs. If you haven't seen this documentary I highly recommend it.

I loved "Sex and the City" and watched every episode -

but I admit the lifestyles portrayed on the show were

a complete fantasy. Funny how the characters never

seemed to work much (except Miranda) but had tons of

time and money to endlessly shop. I must admit I lost

a lot of respect for the characters and the show when

Carrie realized she couldn't afford a down payment to

buy her apartment because she had spent $40,000 on shoes.

That bothered me more than anything else portrayed on

the show.

Oh please - it's such a myth that women can get sex "anytime they want". It's only true if you are pretty or very attractive. I'm an average woman - not pretty, not ugly, just unremarkable. And nobody wants to have sex with me - not when I was young, and certainly not now that I'm older. So please stop perpetuating this myth. Not getting enough (or any sex) is not just a problem for men!

I HATE it when people claim "everyone's in debt because they spend too much money on luuxury items". I don't have a mcmansion, an expensive car, or a big screen TV. I've been to Starbuck's once and haven't had a vacation since 1998. The real issue is stagnant wages and increasing living expenses. I finally left a "good" corporate job with a Fortune 500 company becuase I hadn't received a raise in 3 years. Now I am starting over in a new field with a pay cut. So please, spare me the "too many lattes" BS - that may be true of a small number of people, but everyone I know is working harder for less and less. All the money is going to the few people at the top. But according to my Republican father that's OK because they work hard and "deserve" it. What the fxxx! I work hard too! Where's my yacht?

Deregulation is a crock!

I live in Maryland, which deregulated public

utilities for "the good of the consumer". According

to deregulation theory competition would force

rates down for consumers. Well, no real viable

competition materialized. The result - an increase

in rates of over 70% the last few years. Right now

it's over 90 degrees outside but I can't afford to

run my AC very much. What can I say . . . middle

class was nice while it lasted.

You got that right - the primary reason many people cling to current Republican policies is because they think they're all going to be rich some day. Of course when I refute the possibility of that happening I'm called a pessimist! NO - I'm just realistic. Seeem to me it's more logical to support policy that helps you in your current financial situation and not some possible but highly unlikely future of millions.

Face it people - the vast majority of us are not going to be filthy rich (no matter how hard we work).

I HATE "The Biggest Loser"! It's completely unrealistic and non-sustainable weight loss. If you locked me up in a house and made me exercise ALL DAY I'd lose weight too. But in the real world where people have jobs and families nobody can do that. I agree with Laurel962 - track down some of those "biggest losers" in a few years and see how many kept the weight off. And the show is presented for maximum humiliation. I always wondered why the contestants are always dressed in the LEAST flattering way - to increase the humiliation of course.

I don't know why a portion of the US population is so worried about Islamic Extremists "destroying" our country. Seems to me we are doing a great job of it ourselves due to economic stupidity and greed. This country is really threatened by internal rot and neglect - not so much the physical threat

from other countries.