It seems like the three subjects bound to generate the most vicious letters around here are (1) race, (2) parenting, and (3) what people eat (or don't eat).

I guess it's just human nature to separate ourselves into groups who either really do feel morally superior or are perceived by others as feeling morally superior. (I don't know who's worse, the former or the latter.) We can be so predictable that way. Vegetarians vs. carnivores/omnivores. Vegetarians vs. vegans. Mothers and fathers vs. the childfree. SUV drivers vs. hybrid drivers. Hybrid drivers vs. bike riders. I'm a firm believer that just about anyone can be obnoxious about their beliefs. But, it makes life interesting.

Am I going to talk about what I eat? No. Freakin'. Way.

it's fake. This looks like someone's acting class project.

If you want to be pregnant, and you miscarry, you have, indeed, lost your baby.

If you don't want to be pregant, and you have an abortion, it wasn't a baby.

What's the problem with that? This is what being pro-choice is all about - the woman's perception and the woman's decision.

That being said, a "wrongful death" suit could be problematic.

...were on Good Morning America today. Yes, it was staged.

Instead of asking this question on a job interview, why don't we just ask each young man and young woman, as soon as they hit puberty. If they answer "yes", all we have to do is sterilize them on the spot! Problem solved!

I doubt that any prospective parent goes into it wanting to spank their child. And yet, many will end up doing it a few times. These people have been branded in here as cowards, weaklings, bad parents, abusers, and now, potentially, criminals. Do we really want to see someone who administers a swat to a child's bottom arrested, handcuffed, jailed, and tried in criminal court? Think carefully before you answer that, because you might just see your siblings, friends, and maybe even your own grown children carted off.

"That Thing You Do" was, hands down, the best original song from that year (and many other years). It was the very heart of the movie, and the subtle transformations it went through from first performance to last mirrored the story of the "one-hit Wonders" in a way that was both touching and triumphant.

I didn't realize that he was behind the music in this film as well. I hadn't really planned on seeing it, but certainly will now.

If anyone reading this isn't familiar with Fountains of Wayne, I have two words for you - Radiation Vibe. Pop music doesn't get any better than that!

Oh, the many Saturdays spent at the library in the cookbook section, picking out one or two, and then hurrying home to spend a couple of hours on my front porch, dreaming about Sunday dinner!

I read cookbooks like novels, from the introductions and acknowledgments to the last page of the dessert chapter. A good cookbook with a coherent theme is a wonderful resource to have on hand, and provides a real glimpse into the soul of the author and his or her philosophy of food and cooking. I spend a few weeks with my library selections, and then decide whether or not I want to buy the book. Used bookstores and ebay are also good places to browse. I have a particular fondness for those small cookbooks that concentrate on one particular type of food (bar cookies, tarts, appetizers, etc.).

That being said, I also love websites such as epicurious, magazines such as Cooking Light, and the Food Network. All of these resources serve different functions, and blend together to provide a wealth of information I never dreamed possible. Even the New York Times provides good recipes from time to time. (If you haven't tried the no-knead bread that was featured a few months back, you owe it to yourself to spend a weekend doing it.)

So, I can't really come down in favor of one or the other. I just love food, cooking and baking, and take my inspiration wherever I find it.

Don't use the word "faggot".

Don't use the word "nigger".

Don't use the word "kike".

Don't use the word "chink".

Don't use the word "gook".

Political correctness? Gosh, I thought that was just being polite.

So don't give me this shit about Isaiah Washington being run out of town by the PC police. He showed his hatred in public. He was called on it. As he should have been. And as I hope Coulter will be.

But, I won't be holding my breath, to use a tired old cliche, waiting for the right to denounce her.

Edwards is a promising candidate, but a campaign would probably be detrimental to his wife's health at this point. I wish them well.

I think it's too much to hope for...but you should be ashamed of yourself.

Eight U.S. Attorneys fired for very questionable political reasons mid-term, after a convenient new law is passed allowing said U.S. Attorneys to be replaced without any Congressional oversight or approval.

That has NEVER been done before, and anyone who says otherwise is simply LYING.

I'll be on the phone urging my Representative, Jim Cooper, and my Senators, Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, to support this legislation. I don't have much hope for Alexander and Corker, though. See if you can talk some sense into them!

...but, recently, in an online forum that I frequent, someone said, "I wish they would change the name of the show to '20'".

Actually, maybe "17" would have been better. Then we would have been spared this latest ridiculous plot twist.

I think my Monday nights have suddenly become free again.