Jamie, you put that very well. I would add that the issue of a woman's right to choose is not only that she must be able to make a decision about what is best for her, as Farhad Manjoo mentioned in his article. The main issue is that she has the right to choose what to do with her own body, because this is THE most basic right for all of us. Every person must have the right to choose what to do with his or her own body. That's what it comes down to.

I agree with Jamie that men should have the right to opt out of legal parental rights if they do not want to be fathers. This could be tricky, legally, to figure out but it could and should be done.

Yes, KLAinMN, the decision should be made by both parties before conception. We all need to take more responsibility for sex. But that's not always happenning, is it? That's why we have this problem in the first place. (The anti-choice people make a similar argument--that the woman should "choose" before she has sex.)

is "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." That was the first book written, and until recently, the books were listed in the order published, not their Narnian chronological order. "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" is (or at least it used to be) every child's introduction to Narnia.

The books read much much better that way. I can't imagine reading "The Magician's Nephew" first! Reading the story of Narnia's beginnings after already knowing and loving Narnia was spellbinding revelation to me, as a child.

Regarding the Christianity issue: I was not raised as a Christian, and I am not a Christian now. However, I figured out the allegory when I was about nine -- it's pretty obvious. I thought it was interesting and I was so proud of myself for figuring it out that I wrote a paper about it for school. (At the time, I thought that I might be the only one who had noticed it.)

I've been hoping that the movie would be true to the book, in the sense that it wouldn't push the Christian allegory but also wouldn't play it down. I am relieved that the the screenwriters seem to have let the story speak for itself.

I think this "fear" of the Christian aspects in the Narnia story is not really a fear of Christianity itself, but rather a fear of fueling the scary Christian fundamentalism in this country. Personally, I have no problem with the Christian allegory in Narnia. The books are steeped with classic mythology and a love of nature, as well -- C.S. Lewis combined all of these beautifully in Narnia, showing that it can be done. For him, love of nature and embrace of mythology was not antithetical to Christianity. I hope modern Christians can hear that message.

Always go to female gynecologists.

The only man gonna see me in *that* position is my fiance.

When my kitten was very ill and diagnosed with feline leukemia, a fatal immune-system disease, I fed him a raw chicken-and-oatmeal diet with lots of other supplements thrown in (I found the diet in the book The New Natural Cat.)

The vet said he would die but he got better, grew up into an adult cat and lived for two happy healthy years. He did get sick again and die from the disease, but I am convinced that the special diet got him through his first acute illness and gave him two years of life.

I make over twice as much as my husband, but we still pay all bills equally and this helps us maintain a power balance. Our goal is early retirement, not lavish lifestyle, so all our decisions are based on that goal and we don't spend much. After bills, we consider my extra income "manna," and contribute most of it to our joint investments.

I would not be where I am without his support, so it's easy to think of the extra cash as belonging to both of us, not as "mine" or "my contribution."

Also, we both realize that anything can happen, and with potential layoffs and such, the situation could reverse at any time.

I look forward to reading them. I don't always agree but I often do, and either way I trust your abilities as a critic.

I really appreciated your review of "Narnia."

(Charles Taylor: Didn't like his reviews. Didn't trust his abilities as a critic.)

Regarding the idea that the sledgehammer method doesn't work...given the current state of affairs, it seems to me that some Americans really need the obvious pointed out to them.

I was in New York the night that the apology was taped on the Letterman show, and talked to a couple who had been in the audience. They were on vacation, and had not heard anything about Richards' tirade, so they were completely unprepared when Seinfeld started talking about it. In addition, before the show began, they'd been repeatedly instructed to laugh loudly at everything that was said on the show -- "whatever Dave says, it's the funniest thing you have ever heard."

At first they thought it was a joke - like, a play on the Mel Gibson thing. They said it got more and more surreal as the show went on, as they began to realize that it was serious, and it was a slow transition from one frame of mind to another. They felt awful about it. Afterward, they talked to other audience members who also said they had not heard about Richards prior to the show (the Letterman audience is pretty much made up of people on vacation who are not necessarily plugged in to the latest events) and all agreed that the Letterman show people should have explained the situation before Seinfeld came on.

Thank you for your eloquent and passionate words.

And gray hair since 22.

Oh well...