I am Protestant. I've read the commentary, and maybe half a dozen of the letters.

I agree with those writers who see nothing harmful in the prayer. And, I agree that the commentary is "snarky," etc. It is shallow and doesn't add to, but detracts from, any real discussion of the practice of religion as it affects sexual practices.

Where is the sex, the writer asks. The sex comes after the prayer, naturally. Or it is your view that God is so stupid as to require requests for blessings of specific organs and sensations? Or are erotic feelings so tepid that God needs to jump-start them for partners to have a good time?

Geez--lighten up. It's a nice prayer that reminds partners of mutuality and belonging to a larger community in which their love is placed.

davidbrown: And how would an antitrust agency define "relevant market" as to these institutions? The whole financial industry likely is too broad a definition.

I take your point, but I think there are ways to show that research is being done behind the scenes. You don't have to actually show it being done! And when the research scientist emerges, there are ways to show that what s/he found is important, for good or ill. Viewers understand stories with time lapse; and they understand someone can be intellectually awesome and maybe even cool as a result. It's all in how you play it.

Thank you for drawing attention to the duration of our fiscal problems. It is mystifying how myopic the discussion seems to be in the press and in government. I agree that the new President is not yet fulfilling his potential for intellectual leadership on this topic.

Really, it is not rocket science, or even complex economics. This table from the Census Bureau seems to tell a big part of the story:

http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/historical/gands.txt

It's certain that nearly everyone is anxious about finances right now, so the writer is not alone.

Writer, I hope this is encouraging: your husband in buying CDs gets a promise of earning a certain rate of interest for a certain period of time. You, in buying stocks, own parts of companies. There are people in those companies working to make their product or service better so their stocks will go up. You own just as many shares as before, they are just worth somewhat less on the "market" right now. But I agree with the other commentor who said that your losses are just on paper. Try to keep that in mind, and all the best to you both.

Regarding your liking for Gov. Palin: I certainly applaud any examination of voters' refusal to look afresh at substantive issues, like abortion, as you briefly discussed.

But, I object to your characterization of our rejection of candidate Palin as some sort of herd-based inebriation that will result in a hangover.

I had no knowledge of Gov. Palin prior to the Republican National Convention. As I watched her acceptance speech, my reaction was shaped entirely by the candidate, not any media spin. I heard a string of lies, delivered with a malice the speaker obviously savored, as if she were eating something delicious.

If you didn't, and don't, see that malice, and did not read the hatred and resentment in her face on the campaign trail, you need a new pair of spectacles. I do not want her in national office because of her nasty temperament and her mendacity, not her accent or personal values, or the press's treatment of her.

I'm a Boomer who never was part of the sex & drugs culture (although really loved the music, and still do). I've resented my own generation for many of the reasons you mention. I like the skepticism and understatement of Gen Xers, but have worried that it has shaded too often into despair.

Please don't lose your sense of regeneration when things get tough. As the President-elect stated during his victory speech, there will be some rough going. But we can do it. And going forward, you can do it.

Thanks.

Joan, you are not alone. I watched the video yesterday with a sense of wonderment that the Secretary--whom I had never seen smile except grimly--seemed to be enjoying and sharing a few moments of unguarded joy. It was heartwarming.

The Palin "brand"?

Why are you interested in "relaunch"-ing it?

I didn't think Salon was that cynical. But you're journalists, so I guess I should have been more cynical myself.

Remind me not to renew next year.

Thank you for saying it so well.

In case the writer of this letter is reading responses, I'm offering this as an addition to Cary Tennis's wonderful ideas.

If you are at all interested in preserving life on the planet, use a few of those $3 million to buy a copy of _Bringing Nature Home_ (Tallamy), a book that discusses how our elimination of plant biodiversity eventually will destroy our food chain (think: starvation). Then think about how you can help your neighbors build a wildlife corridor. Or, since you like Latin America, you might think about how you can help preserve or even expand the last migratory forest for monarch butterflies.