Did Uncle Rusty do his imitation of Michael J. Fox's disabilities while you were there? Hey, Uncle Rusty loves an audience and what a hoot that would abeen, eh? Flopping his head all o'er the place, uncontrollable, jerky movements. A real barrel o'laffs. At someone else's expense. And then Ann Coulter could've repeated her hysterical comment about John Edwards playing the sympathy card over his 16 year old son's death.

Whilst I am not agnostic, I do believe that agnosticism is a form of spirituality. I think that how you communicate your beliefs will have a lot to do with how your family and friends respond. A wonderful, wise person reminds me to always use "gently and appropriately" as a guideline.

I believe that if you do communicate openly and honestly how you feel, your family and friends' reponses will be very telling as just how Christ-like they really are. Will they apply the tenet of "do unto others"? And wouldn't it be wonderful if your coming out gives others the opportunity to express their own concerns about faith and deepens the conversation in a meaningful way.

Good luck to you, LW. You strike me as a sensitive and questing soul.

OK, so these kids have been charged with a felony. So what? The taxpayer will end up having to pay for their public defender. Why not make it quick 'n easy? Instead of the expense and tedium of the legal system, just make these kids eat something similar to the concoction they created. Fair and equal treatment, right? Give 'em the "mystery sandwich" and make sure they eat every crumb.

If Iowa hadn't agreed that same sex marriage is OK, then Mel and Rob would still be together. It's us lesbians and gays that are destroying the sanctity of marriage, eh?

Poor Mel ... a mediocre actor with a penchant for the grape and anti-Semitism.

God, how gays and lesbians are destroying the moral fabric of this country!

If you want to hear the pitter patter of little feet, put heels on your cat(s).

I can totally relate to the LW's dilemma. I spent 3 months at a contemplative Catholic monastery - I was unattached at the time and what I learned is that monastics are not necessarily more evolved, nor are they necessarily contemplative. People are there for many different reasons - some were hiding out, under the guise of religion. The time was valuable to me and I have no regrets. I'm not sure what the LW's definition of contemplative is. Mine is about being in the world, in a mindful way - mindful of my own deficiencies and attempting to turn them into strengths. My partner is an extrovert and we've had to accommodate each others' needs - this has been key. It took a while before she understood that my need for contemplation/solitude was not about rejecting her, but more about me being more attentive to life.

To all the posters who view the LW's need for contemplation as an ulterior motive, I would urge you to give LW the benefit of the doubt - that this is his/her search for a deeper life, and to borrow from Viktor Frankl - "man's search for meaning".

I think Merton was electrocuted in Thailand, not Japan.

I too would love nothing more than to see Cheney's smirking face in the dock facing trial. And I too am impatient for that day. But could it be that the Obama administration is giving Cheney rope to hang himself? Just last Sunday, Cheney incriminated Bush quite openly - there was nothing subtle about Cheney's assertion that Bush knew about torture and signed off on it. Perhaps after a few more of these "interviews" Cheney might actually make a case for his own prosecution.

Why did Oprah not ask Somers if she's being compensated in any way by the manufacturers of HRT? It is well known that the pharma company manufacturing these meds paid people (Patti LaBelle, to mention one) to hawk these products.

To the posters against holistic medicine ... you have made the very case that this article makes - the medical establishment is deficient. Regardless of how much you want to disparage holistic medicine, it still doesn't come close to the 100,000 deaths per year (at least those are the ones we know about) because of the mistakes of conventional medicine. We cannot treat just the symptom without looking at the underlying cause of illness. By eliminating a symptom we are just masking the illness which will manifest in a more serious form, over time. It is possible for someone to use both conventional medicine (for more acute cases) and holistic medicine (as practiced by someone thoroughly trained) for more chronic issues. The two are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

your comment "to the legalization of polygamy, and of incestuous marriage", I do believe that you left out "bestiality". You and Rick Santorum are no different, other than you read Salon and he doesn't. Your analogies are insulting, hurtful and despicable.

Condolences to you on the loss of your mom. I hope that it's Northern Virginia you're visiting. If you need some respite, a quiet place, do come to the City of Fairfax Regional Library - it's brand, spanking new, pine ceilings and state of the art with comfy chairs, quiet/study rooms and you're allowed to take in covered drinks - there's a Starbucks across the street. Forbes just rated our town the #3 best place to live.

We also have some fine ethnic restaurants nearby to nourish you. Good luck and be well.

I thought the dictum was "what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas" Maybe Ensign could resign to "spend more time with my family" Jus' sayin'.