I've read some of these letters saying the author was "greedy" and thus got what she deserved. I don't get that. She was no different from the rest of us who scrape together what we have and try to turn it into something bigger for the future. We invest in stocks we feel will go up and be worth more. We choose what we think will be the best--i.e. most profitable--mutual funds to sink our retirement money into. It's totally normal. She just happened to choose the wrong person to guide her. It could have happened to any of us.

I heard no self-pity from the author, just self-awareness. She worked hard and suffered for the money she invested with this charlatan. I don't have two shillings to rub together anymore--my pitiful investments and retirement savings are down to nothing now--but I can still find it in my heart to feel sympathy for a good person who lost everything to a monster. She probably still has more than I do, but that doesn't change the fact that she got robbed, and I feel bad for her.

To do my dirty work for me. You have a much stronger stomach than I. And you could not have paid my stomach to watch that spectacle. Actually I have avoided all the Idiot-in-Chief's speeches for 8 years, relying on clips and articles such as yours. The very sight of his face raises my blood pressure and sends me diving for the remote. That smug smirk, that smarmy fake Southern accent, the lies that spew forth whenever his lips are moving...

I could not be happier to finally see the back of this hideous bunch. The next time I see them, if there is any justice at all in this world, should be at The Hague.

Change has come to America. Thank GOD.

"Wow, now I know how to really get a liberal fired up!!!"

Interesting observation, coming from someone who supposedly used to be one. BUH-BYE.

LMFAO! I haven't laughed that hard in weeks! Thank you!

It is what it is. War crimes. And war crimes are supposed to be prosecuted. Period. Why we think we should be the exception to that, I'll never know. But as long as we continue to run this double standard, the higher the probability that these same "interrogation methods" will be used on our own soldiers, and we won't have a moral leg to stand on. We can't do it to others and then insist it can't be done to us. We play that game far too much as it is.

But nothing will be done. You know it and I know it. So like we have for the past 8 years, we must simply live with our impotent rage, because "doing the right thing" is not politically expedient. Extramarital affairs are serious business that must be dealt with in gory, dragged-out and expensive detail, but war crimes? Not worth getting everyone all upset. Play nice.

You're absolutely correct, but I was only speaking in the context of war because that's the subject at hand. I totally agree with you that the more disrespect we continue to show to the rest of the world with regard to inhumane treatment, the more unsafe all Americans--both in and out of war--will be. At some point we have to show the world that we are SERIOUS about being sorry for the evil of the last 8 years... sorry enough to make it official. Or nothing will really change.

Where do you loons get this crap from? I've never known one liberal who "approves" of al-Qaeda. All you right-wing crackpots seem to do is make lists of everyone you hate (which is, well, EVERYONE) and put "-loving" at the end of each one, assuming we must naturally "love" everyone you hate. It's like grade school.

Just stop. Put down your gun, give up on your macho John Wayne fantasies, stop thinking there's Reds under the bed and join us here in the world of the sane and reasonable. You probably don't even personally know any liberals, and if you do, I doubt very much they've ever spoken out in favor of terrorists. Or is "not a Republican" your knee-jerk definition of "in favor of terrorists"?

I am heartened to hear that the Tuskegee Airmen were afforded the respect they deserve. I saw a couple of them on TV recently and they were so excited to be going.

And thank God that Teddy and Sen. Byrd appear to be OK. Geez, I wasn't even there (no thanks to my crappy congressman, who told me in early November that I was near the top of the ticket list and waited until 1/16 to claim he decided on a lottery--code for staffers, family, friends and DONORS--instead), and I found the day totally exhausting.

Thanks so much for reporting in such colorful detail. I was missing your Tweets, though... ;-)

I'm a NYC gal who goes between hippie and metalhead, but I do love me some Garth. I thought he woke everyone up and brought some welcome joy to the proceedings. Wish Bono hadn't gone and harshed my buzz by gettin' all political on our collective a$$. It just wasn't the time or place, and Obama suddenly had a face like thunder.

I liked the concert, schmaltzy as it was. A lot of the music wasn't to my taste, but all in all, I found it entertaining and inspiring in a totally cheesy kind of way. I was all "Proud to Be An American" goofy, which is not something I'm used to. BushCo. and the crackpot right kind of co-opted it, and battered all the patriotism right out of me. So it was fun to feel that way again.

Yes, it's nice to see a president duly elected according to our laws... haven't seen that since 1996.

Thank you. :-)

PS: More difficult, perhaps... but certainly not impossible. ;-)