My partner served in the Gulf War and retired in 1998. She incurred several injuries over the course of her service, many of which were incurred during the Gulf War and all of which were documented. None of her injuries were life threatening, but over the years have contributed to increased pain and limitations. It took literally years for her claims to wend their way through the system. Along the way, she was treated like a criminal. She had one VA doctor (who himself had never served a day in the military) ask her how much she "paid" her neurosurgeon to write up a fake report on her MRI that showed clearly herniated disks. During another VA evaluation, to which my partner went after work and was dressed for work, another VA doctor told her she was dressed too well to be filing disability claims (i.e., that she was faking her disability and was quite well off).

The other thing that serves as an injustice to servicemembers (both active and retired) is that when the VA determines disability, they don't use appropriate technology. For example in my partner's situation, the VA would only do an X-ray for her herniated disks and they refused to do an MRI (she had to pay for an MRI out of her own pocket).

Why aren't these people (Winkenwerder and Nicholson) being tried for violating the Patriot Act? If the Administration is so gung ho about protecting us, surely our wounded need protection from these cronies. Try them for Crimes Against Humanity and put them away.

Here's a guy who made money doing gay porn and then takes an award from a right wing organization, and poses with a homophobic whack job and he's able to justify it. Why didn't he tell his defenders about his past BEFORE he accepted the award? He's a marketer, a modern day charlatan. He's perfect for the Bush Admin spin control industry. Did he give the money back to the folks who paid him for doing porn? Or did he get to keep it and complain about left wingers outing him? I'm surprised he didn't say that it wasn't he who acted in the porn movies, but rather his monster cock. He hasn't mentioned his thoughts about the service members who've been kicked out of the military because they're gay/lesbian. Perhaps they're not as deserving of compassion as he would like to believe he is.

Poor Matt. Getting caught is such a bummer.

Just as George Allen's haplessness was a boon for the Democrats last year, so will Ann Coulter be for the Dems in 2008. I only hope she gets more and more outrageous because at some point, she will start disgusting more conservatives, than amusing them. She hasn't yet targeted Mary Cheney, but we can only hope that will happen soon. I say let Ann's skinny ass flit about as much as she can - maybe she'll be nominated to give the speech at the Republican convention and divide the Republicans even more. Can't wait.

I'm childless by choice and so far, have no regrets. I am also pro-choice and a staunch supporter of Planned Parenhood and yet, when I read your letter, my feeling was that you should definitely have this child. You're a secretary and I'm guessing that you have health insurance and would get paid family leave. If you and your husband never wanted kids, I'd be more likely to encourage you to have an abortion, but you and he do want kids. I think that a child born into a loving marriage such as yours, is a lucky child indeed. Good luck!

I love it when people with heterosexual privileges pontificate that marriage for gays is a bad idea. And this coming from a man who has been married how many times?

just doesn't cut it, Garrison. You have shown your true colors. As a lesbian living in Virginia, which has the most homophobic laws on the books, your funny little piece minimized the struggle for equal rights under the law - not special treatment - but just equal rights. The legal documents that my partner and I have to protect each other (wills, medical directives, financial powers of attorney, the title to our house) are null and void under the Constitution in the Commonwealth. Ain't that a frikkin' riot?

I would suggest that you attend a pet loss bereavement group in order to get a sense of what TD might be going through. I'm not suggesting at all that you're lacking in compassion, but attending a group such as this might give you a broader perspective of the loss with which TD is dealing. We had to euthanize our 20 year old cat recently - it was not traumatic and in fact, very peaceful. We had our vet come to the house, but the loss has been the most profound I've ever experienced (and I've had my share of losses) and attending the bereavement group has helped me make sense of why this loss is so profound. I hope that you and TD are able to resume the closeness you once had. Good luck.

I am so moved by your posting - your perspective, the work you have done (most likely continue to do) and I am so sorry that your brother didn't make it. My parents (who were physically and emotionally abusive and are now "just" emotionally abusive) are still alive and my contact with them is minimal, but the only way I can have the little compassion for them, is to see them as mentally ill. Your path is inspiring and thank you for posting.

Which Constitution is he talking about? The one that he and his minions are trying to dismantle? How does he say this stuff while keeping a straight face?