You are not getting me. You and I are on the same page politically on the underlining issue here, but throwing shit at and shaming a 16 year pregnant girl is the last thing I am ever going do.

So, saying that Jamie Lynn Spears and her mother have shamelessly cashed in on her unplanned pregnancy is 'shaming' her and 'throwing sh** at her'? That's interesting. . . Again, I am pointing out a fact here and IMHO, it is more than a bit disturbing how they have cashed in on this.

Did it occur to you that Jamie Lynn Spears might need our support and understanding?

Considering that I don't personally know Ms. Spears and probably never will, she would probably benefit more from the support of those closest to her. And frankly, I don't believe that her mother is giving her much parental support or at least it doesn't seem that way since her mother reportedly let her minor daughter live with an 18 year old man.

Please save your wraith (sic) for the people who deserve it

I can honestly say that I don't hold any wrath towards Ms. Spears. If anything, I pity for her and her unborn child for being born into that dyfunctional clan.

Wonderful article. Reminds me why I came to salon in the first place.

The bit about the Tom Cruise Oprah interview was the funniest things I have read in a long time. One small quibble though, I think little princess-rather than little prince-best describes Cruise.

Rebecca Walker may not have had what she envisions to be the perfect mother growing up, but if it weren't for her mother I seriously doubt that she would be "one of the most prominent faces of third-wave feminism". In fact, I doubt that without her mother's celebrity she would even have the sort of career she has today. Indeed, that is probably the reason why Ms. Walker is still using her mother's name rather than her birth name of Leventhal.

I read THE DAILY MAIL article the day it was printed, and I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Alice Walker. It is one thing to be estranged from your only child but another thing entirely to read about this in the pages of a newspaper. Also, this is not new or familiar. Rebecca Walker discusses she and her mother's falling out in length in her memoir BABY LOVE. If Ms. Walker is so desperate to reach out to her mother like Phyllis Chesler suggests, then surely there are better ways of doing so then penning a piece for a right-leaning British tabloid discussing at length Alice Walker supposed failings as a mother and grandmother.

I can't help but wonder how Rebecca Walker is going to react when/if 30 years from now her son pens an article discussing her failings as a parent. Karma is a bitch.

Abstinence only doesn't work. While I agree this is a family matter, but by accepting the nomination supposedly with Palin knowing her daughter was knocked and being very vocal in her support for abstinence only education Palin knowingly threw her daughter into the public debate. You can't tell me that if the Obama girls were teens and one of them was pregnant the right-wing wouldn't be having a field day with this.

Was this meant to be a joke? Her lack of experience is a matter of public record. Now more than ever experience and knowledge of international relations is more important than ever and this is a woman who in her own words "never really thought about Iraq". Her prior political experience before being Gov. of Alaska could literally fit on the back of a postcard. Worst case scenerio: McCain dies in office and she takes over as President. Ya really think this woman is up to the task? She's the Harriet Myers of VP nominations, IMHO.

Is anyone really surprised by this? Apparently, these extreme right wingers only care about children when they are inside the womb. Once they are out of it, you're on your own kids!

Palin goes on and on about the choice and decision to have Trig but if she had her druthers, the choice and decision for other families wouldn't be left up to them but up to the government. Not only that, but it would be left up to govt. that in Ms. Palin's ideal world would not include much funding or support for those that happen to be unwed mothers or those in need of foodbank services.

. . . Governor Palin is just an average American. I doubt that she, like me, has ever seen Arugula, much less eaten it. . . Though I don't agree with Palin ideologically, I relate to her on a very personal level.

Heaven help the American public if that is the average voter mentality. Kind of reminds me of the, "Who would you like to have a beer with?" mentality of the 2004 election. And look where it got us.

I agree with him. If the recent surge of letter writers on here are in anyway representative of the American voting public and McCain/Palin win this one then there truly is no hope for the Democratic Party.

Katrina. The secret wiretappings of thousands of Americans. The adminstration's use of torture. The economy. Take your pick.

If the worst case scenerio, then I guess my fellow progressives and I will be forced to accept that the America we knew and loved is no longer and keep lying to ourselves that one day, the rest of the public will wake up, too.

I can't help but wonder how Ms. Paglia's idol Madonna would feel having someone like Sarah Palin compared to her. Apologizes in advance but are you F'ing kidding me?!

but I utterly fail to see the physical appeal of this woman. Her hairdo is outdated and she dresses like someone who hasn't followed fashion trends in about 10 years.