Jennifer Sey has a lot of balls to be so critical of amateur or former athletes when the majority of former and current olympians do absolutely nothing to improve the world Yes, they put on a good show however quickly forgotten. These olympians do it strictly for themselves, for the glory or maybe to please mom and/or dad. They are not well-educated. One can't practice 40 or more hours per week and devote sufficient time to studies. I don't even think Phelps went to college, though he may have. For example, Mark Spitz is a "motivational speaker" which usually translates into lots of money for little work. And he probably is still talking about his past olympic glory. The olympics don't bring peace or understanding to the world--it's competition not camaraderie. As the olympics progress Russia and Georgia are at war, the miserable Iraq situation persists, Darfur, etc, etc, etc. The olympics are just egomaniacal, feel-good, entertainment shows usually not as memorable as a good broadway show. When the olympics are over, the spectators may have had a pleasant time, but no one's life is altered. And the majority of olympic athletes will soon have to get some job training in order to make a real living. Get off your high horse Jennifer. Most people don't even remember who you are!

Ms. Cordell,

Thank you for a very thoughtful commentary on the Prop 8 initiative. While I will be upset if it passes, I also know that just as an amendment can be added to the constitution, it can also be taken away. Gay rights, just as civil rights for African-Americans, will happen in time. Even as a skeptic, I do believe that people are a tiny bit more caring than they are bad or evil. It's just a waiting game. However, when I see homophobia, I am confident that racism, sexism, etc. are all lurking under the surface. As you are aware, we humans have far more trouble getting over the isms than we do, say, shelling out a trillion dollars to the wealthy financiers. Money always seems to trump civility. Perhaps we just have to show how gay marriage and gay civil rights will only "enrich" society as a whole. We've certainly had tougher times; this will be a cakewalk. Thanks again.

Bob Davis

Ironically, the man was crying for obama before the results of prop 8 were in. I am sure that he cried more for the discriminatory result of prop 8. Even more disconcerting was the fact that 70% of black california voters supported the ban. What that says to me is that it is wrong to discriminate against blacks but ok to discriminate against gays and lesbians. I am confident that the loss of gay marriage outweighed the excitement of a biracial president (who by the way is also against gay marriage even though his parents would have been prevented from marrying in 25 states.) Even though gay issues are not as crucial as other issues today, homophobia is always a nasty character flaw.

When are we going to let go of this "god" thing? God was created by groups of people who had no planetary understanding, electricity, plumbing, medical knowledge, printing, computers, televisions, etc., etc., etc. But for some bizarre reason, it is accepted that these same people knew and understood the great mysteries of the world! "Bridging the gap" only serves to reinforce these unfounded beliefs. This is beyond irrational. As to the ceaseless creativity, we do not invoke god when a painter paints or a sculptor sculpts or an architect builds. Why? Because we know that the artist uses his hands and tools to create. While we may admire his skills, it is rare to call his work sacred. Despite myriad supported theories about how the world is created, we may not yet have all the answers, but that does not mean that our understanding of this creativity will not unfold at an increasingly rapid rate to expose the "hands" that create natural art. Just because primitive peoples used a deity to explain that which they could not, this certainly does not justify using the same methods in the 21st century. There is just NO NEED FOR GOD!

If you must rationalize Eastridge's criminal behavior with ptsd, then we need to incarcerate all people with ptsd in order to prevent murder sprees and other criminal behavior that would be thrust upon the general public. And I mean for life since apparently ptsd is a lifelong malady. However, as it turns out, Eastridge and his buddies were just petty criminals who devolved into felons. This is also a lifelong condition and the three should never, ever, be allowed back into society. Any 12 year old who kills a playmate needs to be in a hospital and in constant therapy for at least ten or more years. Unless the child is totally without conscience, this incident will haunt him forever. Eastridge should never have been allowed to be within a hundred miles from a gun. But he was. I can only hope that he is kept away from the general public until he dies. While it is important to treat people like him, it would be another crime to give him the opportunity to act out again given his lifelong demons.