Now for something TOTALLY revolutionary, completely unwelcome to the credit-card companies, and absolutely beneficial to both individuals (now) and the economy as a whole (later).

Seven words: Save. Use cash. Live BELOW your means.

Now there's a completely new concept for you average Americans....

Your servant,

Lord Karth

For 62 years we've been babying the problem along, hoping against hope that it would solve itself. Well, guess what ? It hasn't. It won't.

The Palestinians want Israel dead. The Iranian leadership wants Israel dead. Heck, most Arab Muslims want Israel dead. Now we have Netanyahu, who seems to have something of an issue with that.

Fair enough. Let's tell BOTH sides that we're not going to have anything more to do with the place. No more money for either side. Pull the troops out, get the diplomats out, the whole nine yards. Cordon the place off. If Israel wants to go postal on Iran or Palestine or whoever, then so be it. If the Iranian leadership wants to bring about the Hidden Mahdi's return, let them try. We tell them we'll deal with the survivors later.

It's a win-win, on several levels: US taxpayers are relieved of a several-billion-dollar obligation, our domestic politics loses a worthless issue, the two sides get their war and settle things once and for all, and one side gets victory. And pay-per-view gets the biggest, baddest spectacle it ever had. What's not to like ?

I'll take this one at a black-market price right now. Let 'em rip !

Your servant,

Lord Karth

All this talk about whose numbers are right draws attention away from the real problem: the existence of these immoral and utterly barbaric acts of theft-at-gunpoint. Since when is it MY responsibility to deprive my family of resources to provide for some gray-haired improvident who fell for the government's sucker line ? If a common (non-governmental) thief held me up and stole my wallet, the fact that he was doing it to give to his old neighbor down the street would in NO way negate the fact that what he was doing was robbery.

Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are nothing short of intergenerational acts of war. The ONLY moral solution is to eradicate them, root and branch. Now.

If the "beneficiaries" don't like it, tough. If they bought into the garbage they were fed by FDR, Johnson, Reagan and the rest about how they "deserved" what they were getting, and didn't make plans for themselves, TOO BAD. Let them hit up their families, let them eat dog food, or give them the Soylent Green treatment.

End Entitlements Now ! Stop the War against Generation X !

Eradication: The Only Moral Solution.

Your servant,

Lord Karth

Perhaps it hasn't occurred to anyone that it may make good sense for men to be less concerned with sex as they enter their 40s.

Consider that many men of that age are at the point where they are facing maximum demands upon themselves and their resources. The kids are starting to hit college age; that's got to get paid for. If you still have young kids, that's even worse; they are time- and attention-demanding, and the stress they put on BOTH parents (financial and otherwise) doesn't help matters much. Retirement is drawing nearer; that's got to get paid for. Maybe one's spouse is looking for "the finer things in life"; travel, a bigger house, a better car. For quite a few men, simply maintaining themselves in their current job---because the bills have to get paid, no ?---requires every last ounce of concentration and energy.

Under such circumstances, sex SHOULD, and probably OUGHT TO BE a strictly secondary issue, if not off the table entirely. Porn is too much of a distraction, not to mention an unneeded cost in both time and money. And an affair ? Does the phrase "economic suicide" mean anything to any of you ? Or how about "too much hassle" ? After all, you've got the whole issue of keeping the affair under wraps, making up excuses, et cetera, et cetera, et freaking al. And if you get caught, may God help you when the wife files for divorce. (As a matrimonial/family law attorney, I see this sort of thing all too often.) Time to stick a fork in you, fellows, 'cause you're gonna be DONE.

Then there's the whole spectrum of issues surrounding the act itself. "Performance anxiety", attractiveness, Viagra, all that sort of thing is an added source of unneeded irritation, expense and grief. PASS.

Let's not even go into the whole issue of a surprise pregnancy (either with a wife or a mistress). Who in the flaming hell needs 18-21 years of additional child support at that age ? Deliberately risking such a thing strikes me as conclusive proof of an utter lack of sanity.

I hate to be the bearer of unwelcome news, troops, but for the average man, sex after 40 makes about as much sense as shoving a red-hot poker into the nether regions. The screwing you get just plain isn't worth the screwing you get---or even the screwing you risk.

Your servant,

Lord Karth

Would someone please tell me what on Earth this girl was doing proclaiming this in public at all ? Overt sexual conduct or public expression of sexual "preference" at this stage of life--normal, gay, bestial, whatever---has about as much place on school grounds as a live bomb, and is almost as appropriate. Most schools, public and private alike, do have disciplinary codes, and virtually all of them include public expressions of sexuality as distractions/infractions against discipline.

This girl brought this problem on herself. I'd wager that the school settled simply because trying the case to verdict (any sane judge would have found for the district) would have cost more than the case warranted. I'd also wager that the girl's attorney was aware that her case was marginal at best. Otherwise, he/she/it would have either held out for more money or gone to trial.

Your servant,

Lord Karth