One reason I'm convince St. Ronnie remains propped up as so is that he "pioneered" massive deregulation. He stripped away corporate responsibility, safety checks, and monopoly restrictions, all of which led to the appalling economic constructs we now live under. And in the process he made the rich and powerful even more so, and out of gratitude they continue to exalt him through their media mouthpieces and congresspawns.

I fully believe his actions as president initiated this "beginning of the end" process for our nation. I am sceptical that anything will pull us out of this death spiral, and that we will only really begin to restore balance once we wake up some morning to discover we are no longer a superpower.

The medical complications that can be induced or compounded by carrying a pregnancy to full term are well documented. Anything from blood pressure problems to retinal damage to immune system failure can occur as a natural consequence of pregnancy if the mother is unlucky, or even if she just has a minor pre-existing condition.

Compare this to the "dangers" of a professionally performed abortion, which (barring possible emotional consequences) carries all the medical risks of a tonsilectomy.

Once again we are hearing the fact-warping speech of the anti-science, anti-women, indeed anti-life crowd, who hold potential humans as the only ones of any value. It's too late even to pretend that the mother's life means anything at all to them after the third trimester.

Look, it's Grand Funk Railroad! And Guns 'n' Roses! And the Bay City Rollers! And the Spice Girls! They've sold more albums than Elvis and the Beatles combined!

Just another band you won't give a toss about in two years, and will be uncomfortable to admit having liked in five. Superstar - the name alone is your guarantee of forgettable mediocrity.

Instead of Liberal and Conservative (or Democrat and Republican), how about Triangulators and Autocrats. One group can't make a decision on their own, and the other can't do anything but.

For the people wondering why it's okay for women to use "masculine" forms of expression, but not for men to use "feminine" forms, the answer is that masculinity is seen as the preferrable (or strong) position and femininity as the undesirable (or weak) position. So it is understandable, in a gender role situation, that people of both sexes would want to be view as powerful actors (via the masculine trope). A male, who automatically has authority to adopt masculine signifiers due to his birth gender, is scorned for choosing to abandon those cues in favor of feminine ones. Likewise a female who assumes masculine cues may be seen be some as arrogating power not bestowed by her birth gender.

Frankly, I'm all for the death of gender-based roles. I realise this will never occur completely, so long as there are the biological differences to contend with, but they certainly can be reduced from the stifling proscriptions we've endured for centuries. So unlike the antifeminist authors and posters in this discussion, I welcome the changes afoot.

As was feared when you retained your Anonymous posting option, this thread is littered with ranting screeds from anonymous posters who are too cowardly to stand by their words. I understand your desire to allow people to post sensitive material without it being linked to them in real life, but as expected 90% of the time it's being used by flamers and pissants to hide their face while they shout their drivel.

Please reconsider removing the option. The loss of the few times it would be used legitimately certainly offsets the egregious abuse of it as it currently stands.

...is that people like this are walking around un-smited. No respectably wrathful diety would tolerate this level of calumny without laying a plague upon the house of the offender.

As for neologisms for these hypocrites, I'll offer "hypocrypt". Because essentially they are crypto-hypocrites, being actual practictioners of hypocrisy but cloaking it in language that makes them appear opposed to it to the average viewer, while simultaneously being code words to those in the know.

Can I once more offer up a big "Thanks!" to the Democrats who so wisely decided to hold off on using the Supreme Court nominee filibuster so that they could save it for a real crisis. Thank god the court didn't shift while they prudently held on to their trump card!

Wankers.

Howard, and others like him, should be ashamed of himself.

How telling that a line like this comes from someone who has also effectively hidden his/her identity. My real-life identity is easily pegged, as is my gender, and I have no reason to conceal either. Apparently you do, so that you can continue to engage in hyperbolic twaddle while remaining "safe" in your real world persona.

Do I understand the need for anonimity in certain circumstances? Absolutely. I said as much in my post. That doesn't negate my contention that it remains a tool for abuse, and that in most cases it ups the noise-to-signal ratio of most discussions. Look at yourself, presuming to know my thoughts, misrepresenting my actions, and impuning my name, all the while cringing in the shadows.

Clearly you have a real need for anonimity, since you are too craven to allow your words to issue from your true face. Until such time as you can stand by your words as much as I do, I feel free to dismiss you as the negligible nonentity you are.

Thank you for proving my point, by the way. The shame is all yours.

Lovely. He looks like a corn farmer from 1930 with a chopper helmet on, who somehow got lost in Iraq because he'd never driven the cart further than the county seed store before.