Thank you for offering intelligent repartee while I am still paralyzed between wanting to respond to these assholes and not being able to see straight because my eyes are rolling so much. Sometimes they are so over the top that I almost laugh. But then I remember that the hatred, if not the argument itself, is actually sincere. And that is SUCH a buzz kill. Anyway, in a year when I am disappointed even in Gloria Steinem, you are still one of my feminist heroes.

And if you don't take action, you will get caught. Is that really what you want? Because it is inevitable. Perhaps you can take care of this problem by buying yourself some therapy with your own money instead of fucking up your own and other people's lives in an attempt to get them to fix what is wrong with you. Telling you to grow up is a bit on the harsh side, but it does seem as though you are challenging the authorities around you to call you on your bad behavior. That is a serious boundary issue, and you need to address it with a spiritual or mental health professional before you escalate even more and do something truly awful.

Not sure how it works at Salon, but at most publications the writer does not write the headlines.

I confess I was mad at you for a while over the whole abortion thing, and then the Ohio election thing, but generally I enjoy your writing and I'm looking forward to your book - especially if it's as hilarious as some of your longer posts have been recently. This room (the comments section) is almost as tough as Broadsheet's sometimes. And that's saying something. I don't know how you guys handle it. Maybe you can write your next book on what internet anonymity does to our basic humanity. Yikes.

71? What the hell are you talking about? That's exactly when my generation (so-called 'X') is planning to retire.

I guess I'll go with my second choice, although I keep going back and forth about who that is.

the Republican base feels the same way about McCain as the Democratic base feels about Clinton?

Your anecdote is actually a really good argument for the device over a vasectomy. And vasectomies aren't always the painless walk in the park they are touted as being. I know people who've had painful complications. The possibility of painful complications with this device may, of course, be comparable.

But golly! An electronic IUD for men? I hope it works without serious side effects. Men in committed relationships need more birth control choices. (Obviously, if you're not monogamously married or otherwise monogamously committed, a condom is still the best idea for both sexes, as they prevent more than pregancy.)

DurianJoe, I don't even HAVE a sac, and I'm cringing.

I just snarfed my coffee. Thanks for the laugh. I haven't had enough of those lately - especially at Bob Dole's expense!

Maybe, but it sounded more like he was trolling for votes from undecided progressives, in the absence of an endorsement. But maybe I just think he's talking to me because I happen to be an undecided progressive....

I suggest you go back and read through Juliebird's statement again. She was explicitly pointing out that Clinton's statement came first.

Don't get mad at Nader. Get mad at your beloved elected officials who gorge themselves on the status quo instead of offering us instant runoff elections, proportional representation, or genuine campaign finance reform. I do not plan to vote for Nader, but really. Please. You act like your vote actually means something to begin with! Nader is a huge reminder that it doesn't, and all you can do is yell at him for "stealing" votes from the corrupt, small-minded, utterly unrepresentational system we should all be tearing down brick. by. brick. No, the two parties are not exactly the same. I accept that. But they are enough alike that we never actually see any fundamental changes in our electoral system. We remain disenfranchised by our lack of choices in dozens of ways, and then Nader comes along to make people feel like they're actually voting for something that means something to them and you trash him and those who vote for him instead of acknowledging that no one - NO ONE - is truly enfranchised to begin with. No wonder this country is so screwed.

So, those of you who are telling me not to 'throw away' my already worthless vote? How about some ideas about what an individual voter can actually do to make electoral reform happen so we can all vote for what we actually believe in and get around to running a country again instead of just having horse races - I mean elections - all the time?

Whew. All that said, I am sad to see Nader presenting himself for punishment again. I do wish he would stop. But it doesn't change my feelings about the idea that my vote for president is somehow too precious to waste on someone whose ideas I actually support.