Judy - I am the guy who wrote that fairly snotty post, advising you about being a parent. Everybody here is delighted to hear from you directly. Your real story, as you tell it, is much better than the way Lauren Sandler told it. You sound as if you can fend for yourself and your kids, but we cannot help but worry about that cult.

Good luck! God bless you!

I turned off the computer, and went to bed, but then I got up to write this:

Pastor Driscoll and his Real Estate Guy Vice-Pastor may try to use this attention in an evil way. This article, with all our negative comments, is proof that Mars Hill is, at best, a questionable enterprise. Pastor Driscoll may try to use it as proof that the world wants to persecute Mars Hill.

Christianist bozos often welcome this sort of publicity. They try to use it to draw their people closer, and to increase their own influence, and to decrease the level of rational thought in their flocks. I particularly worry that Mars Hill members who were quoted or misquoted here might suffer. One of the best ways to snug up the herd is to single out and cull a "traitor."

Somebody out there, somebody in Seattle, will you please go to the Mars Hill service this Sunday, and see what the Reverend Mister Driscoll says about this in his sermon? And then, please somehow report back to Salon?

I believe Sidney Blumenthal told us about the boots because all the non-combatant wannabee bozos wore the combat boots inside the non-combat Green Zone. They wore the real combat boots to look cool, even though they were not fighting, and they were not even in the army.

This is like pampered Hollywood types sporting FDNY hats after 9-11. It was a fashion thing that highlighted the obtuse bureaucrats' basic silliness. Seinfeld fans may remember the Urban Sombrero.

Every poster so far, except one, voted for you, John Kerry, last time, but NONE of us would vote for you again.

Congressman Pete Hoekstra is from West Michigan, where I am from. He is a regular West Michigander of Dutch extraction. Apparently, recently, he fancies himself a Player in national and international politics, and he has decided to distribute lies nation-wide.

Pete! Cool it! We know your family, and we know you are not so hip. Please just get back to filling potholes and so on. These Texas guys will fry your butt, and our butts. We know you, and, within limits, we like you and respect you. But you ain't no Mover & Shaker. Anyway, we HATE Movers & Shakers.

In the Protestant tradition, you can start your own denomination today. We have historical denominations, but these are open and flexible. Especially, let me say, Mars Hill is NOT Presbyterian, and it is NOT Reformed Church in America! Maybe Mars Hill has calvinist roots, but... BARF! They do not have the SAT scores to get into these denominations.

Mars Hill is worrisome because they stress eschatology and they subjugate women.

The dopuses who run Mars Hill do not want to be part of a denomination. They want to START a denomination. They want us to believe that they have the real answers. They probably imagine that they are the ultimate prophetic all-but-messiahs, and that the world (= us) eventually will realize, and bow down to them.

I agree that Bush is a pernicious twit, but, Gary, your writing stinks. Do not mix metaphors when you deal with such an important subject. (Edit yourself.) Try for insight. Do not just repeat the obvious. Do not waste our time. tick-tick-tick-tick...

Poster PacificWhim, I love you! Congressmen! Senators! Presidential Candidates!

The emperor is stark naked! Point that out! Now! The sooner you start, the greater chance you have of being the next President of The United States of America!

Dear King,

Your proposed stat, all due respect, is kooky and vague. Here is a more useful, easier baseball stat:

We might charge relievers for one-half run when they allow inherited baserunners to score. And charge the other half of each run back to the earlier pitchers, the guys who put the runners on base. (Rather than charging the full runs to the pitchers who put the runners on base, as we always have done.)

See if this might even up the ERAs of starters and relievers. See if this might turn ERA into a real stat, rather than a stat we need to take with a grain of salt.

Note that we would need to come to terms with the concept of half-losses, if we accept my half-earned-runs concept. But what the heck? We already accept half-games-behind in the standings.

Please give this some thought. This is not just a 4-beers + e-mail sort of a thing.

This is the time to stand up against torture and dungeons! Every Senator, Every Congressman, stand up now!

Calling all Senators and Congressmen! Stand up against torture and dungeons now!

Prosecute every torturer, and prosecute everyone who ordered or allowed or did not prevent torture. If they did it, they already are guilty. They could have refused to torture; they could have quit the CIA; they could ordered against torture. But it already is done.

And we already have perfectly good definitions of torture. No need to go back into that. Prosectute them. Let the regular American courts decide. If they are guilty, lock them up.

W.Bush's idea that his torturers need legal protection is obscene.