"The GOP has its head so far up its own ass they couldn't successfully execute a national election for dog catcher."

You know things are bad for the GOP. But I do agree with everything Sirota said. Obama said a lot of things during his campaign that encouraged me to vote for him, and he's backtracked on most of it. If he doesn't have some genuinely progressive policies implemented by 2012, there's a good chance I'll decide he's not worth the trip and the wait to vote. If enough people feel like I do, that could be bad for him.

This is one of the better things I've read in the Broadsheet portion of Salon (damning with faint praise, perhaps). Although criminal cases are always brought by a prosecutor on behalf of the people of the state against the perpetrator, that prosecutor has some measure of discretion regarding the cases he or she wants to pursue. And he or she will often consider whether the victim wants to press forward as a factor in making that determination. As such, a prosecutor's decision not to pursue a given case doesn't necessarily signify the death of the rule of law, it's just a decision based on a lot of different factors. I'm not saying for a second that prosecutors should be discouraged from going after rapists and child molesters, even in circumstances where the victim does not want to be further traumatized. In this particular case, however, I think the victim's opinion should be given a great deal of weight.

As for putting the victim on trial, the legal community is certainly aware of the toll trials take on victims, and a great deal of progress has actually been made to reduce the damage. For instance, evidence regarding the character of the victim is much less likely to be admissible in a rape case, to shut down the "she-was-immoral-and-deserved-it" defense. I do agree that more work needs to be done, but it's a delicate balancing act between allowing the accused to confront his accuser (a constitutional right) and protecting the accuser from further trauma.

I just commented on the "opposing" article to this one, and I agreed with the writer. But I also have to agree with Kate. I just think it's possible to say we should take the victim's advice and drop the case while at the same time making no excuses on Polanski's behalf. He admitted to doing a horrible thing, and his behavior shouldn't be excused. At the same time, the victim has expressed her desire that the justice system leave him (and her by proxy) alone, and his incarceration isn't really in the state of CA's best interest at this point in time.

It's at times like this that I'm glad I believe in God. After all for a Christian, justice will always eventually be served. If not in this life, then the next.

"Children raised in such kennels are perfect for manning the picket lines around abortion clinics and staffing the crowds at teabagging events. They don't think, they can't think, and therefore they are the perfect cannon fodder for wars against health care, or real wars for that matter. Whatever reasons you may have for locking your children in the closet, Mr. O'Hehir, they're not the reasons that the vast majority of loons are doing it."

Kindly STFU. I was home-schooled through middle school and high school by religious parents, with religious cirriculum, and I'm happy to report that I'm well-acquainted with thinking. I happen to be politically progressive, even though my parents remain conservative, because learning at home required me to I think for myself. In fact it required me to educate myself, which I continue to do to this day. Frequently this education is informal, but I have by no means neglected formal education. I did standardized tests throughout high school to ensure that I was not dropping behind my peers, scored well on the SAT, went to college, scored well on the LSAT, and will graduate from law school in May. And not even from Regeant University. My home-schooled peers from the area are also politically diverse, and to throw a bit more water on your crude and ridiculous stereotypes, even my politically conservative parents are in favor of health care reform. Granted there are children who are home-schooled by ignorant parents and receive poor educations as a result, but to say that someone who is home-schooled in a religious environment "can't think" is just fucking insulting. And don't even get me started on your use of the words "kennels" and "fodder." Dehumanize much?

See above. Everybody here appears to have a high need to shout at others.

Yep Paglia repeated the right-wing talking point like it was the truth here in Salon and I was probably one of hundreds who wrote to yell at her about it. I guess Drudge just rules Joan's world.

Quick, somebody define "socialism" for UTR. Ah nevermind, he probably wouldn't understand half of the words that make up the definition anyways.

The fact that anybody identifies this guy as conservative shows once again that labels have lost all meaning.

Nice letter.

Bastard: Wait a sec, God deserves to be sodomized but conservatives just get castrated and killed? I beseech you to take a couple minutes out of your busy schedule for sodomy before the castration and beheadings. Equal treatment for all enemies, real or imaginary!