You said, "since there hasn't been another attack we can be academic in judging this. if there were, we wouldn't be discussing. everyone knows this. what GG is saying (to my mind) is that, TILL such a massacre comes along, how about going along with the old understanding of the constitution? it seems to have been good for us."

Yes, it does seem to have been good for us. And if G.W. had been paying attention to the presidential briefings, we might have avoided the massacres of 9/11, all without trampling on the Constitution.

This reminds me of when I was raising pigs, among other creatures, living on a farm in Minnesota, back in the 1970s. We butchered our own pigs, but never cured the bacon or hams; we sent them to a local charcutier. I wish I'd known how easy it is.

In any case, our own bacon was also delicious and wonderful. We fed our pigs a lot of oats instead of corn, so it was lean and marvelous. I don't remember what variety of pigs we had, but the article brought back the names of several kinds. Poland-China is one that crops up, along with the Berkshires and Hathaways.

This week's series on pork reminds me of raising pigs on a farm in Minnesota. We fed them a mix containing a lot of oats, so their meat was lean and tender and delicious.

When we first moved to a farm, we didn't have any animals of our own, but we rented our barn to a neighbor for some sows that were about to farrow. When the first one started giving birth, my oldest son, who was about five, came running in and said to me, "Mommy, one of the pigs is having babies, hundreds of 'em."

I read that link somebody posted, about the Post-political world, and it depressed me very much. However, it's clear to me that our current system of two corrupt political parties has to end.

I've just read Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle against World Poverty, by Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank, and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. If the Grameen Bank has been able to make such a huge difference in the lives of the poorest people in Bangladesh and other "third-world" countries, then it could make a difference here. In fact, it has made huge differences in the lives of some people in the inner-city ghettos of Chicago, and in pockets of the poorest of the poor in Arkansas (partly thanks to Bill and Hillary Clinton), and to Native Americans of the Sioux tribe and the Cherokee tribe. BTW, the Grameen movement has several organizations, both for-profit and non-profit, active in the US. BTW, the Grameen Bank itself is run for profit, and very profitable it is, too, with more than 98% of its loans having been repaid, and returning 20% interest, and most of its owners are the poor people who took out and repaid their small loans.

Yunus refuses to be classified as left/right or center. He is profoundly pro free-market economics, but he means really free, not the mess that protects only the current owners of wealth. And he is also profoundly pro civil rights for everyone, including women and the profoundly poor. We need a radical restructuring of not only politics, but economics in this country. And we're not going to get it with either of the two major political parties.

Nevertheless, for this election, I'm hoping my youngest son's dream comes true. He said he dreamed that he and a longtime close friend were watching the inauguration of President Obama on TV. In his inaugural address, Obama said, "I know that in the campaign I said ..... but I had to say that to get elected. Now, what we're really going to do is..." Dream on, son, I'm dreaming with you.

Clearly, the gender imbalances in arctic latitudes is disturbing. Another big cat is out of the bag. This ain't gonna stay in the arctic. Huge political implications. Rich material for science fiction and fantasy.

Speaking of fantasy, the article on the undergarments of women in games was a hoot, as were the illustrations included. That writer is excellent. The comments, though, are clearly written by adolescents. (Well, yeah, it's a page for gamers.)

No, we're not hearing about McCain's anti-feminism except through left-leaning online pubs such as Salon. I don't follow the MSM, but from what I hear it avoids anything that demonstrates what a creep McCain is.

I'm so glad to see more mentions, not only here, but in other articles and comments, of the visible symptoms of Alzheimer's disease in Reagan during his terms in office. McCain clearly demonstrates the same symptoms.

The only problem with this approach is that Reagan is still a god to so many people in this country, especially among Republicans.

Lord save us from another stolen election.

Thank you for your masterful analysis of our slide into fascism. Yes, corporatism, indeed.

One of the things you stress is the loss of institutional memory. Just think of the loss of institutional memory when so many agencies were swept into the Department of Homeland Security. The institutions themselves are now just a memory. I am very frightened to realize how far we've slid toward fascism.

Thanks for pointing out that, "As far as we know, Admiral Poindexter's 'Total Information Awareness Program' is still going strong today." And, as you say, "When even Robert Gates begins to sound like President Eisenhower, it is time for ordinary citizens to pay attention."

I, too, am frightened that we may not get through the next election as a true "representative democracy." Only recently have I become convinced by some of the conspiracy theories in the air, going back to "lone gunman" theory of the assassination of JFK.

And I have no doubt that the elections of both 2000 and 2004 were stolen. I fear that this one will be, too.