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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
Booboobabies
Published Letters: 45 Editor's Choice: 7
the "s word", as we politely say when our 5-year-old is around. Not all men who marry for money are gay. If that was true, Maxim magazine would not have had an article telling its male audience how to marry for money. Larry Fortensky met Liz Taylor in a rehab center and later married her - Fortensky no doubt had problems, but being gay wasn't one of them. And let's not forget that a man who is married to one of the world's richest women was darn near elected President in 2004. People may have fallen for what the Swift Boat guys said about Kerry, but I don't think that anyone believes he is gay. (Tho "Best Week Ever" on VH1 had a funny clip about how friendly he was with his running mate.)
I don't condemn anyone for marrying for money, tho I can't imagine myself doing that. It may be tacky, but if others wish to be that way, it's their problem, not mine.
I was very happy to change my name when I married 14 years ago. My maiden name was very unusual, and I was always picked on about it in school. So when I married, I was glad to finally be able to have a common last name.
Trouble is, now my last name is way too common. I have had numerous screw-ups at pharmacies over the years. There are three people in the insurance program my employer provides me with the same first and last name as me. So I've received bills for their medical services.
If I had it all to do again, I would have legally changed my maiden name when I left home, even though I understand it is a long process. I would have changed it to something that sounded nice, not real common and was easy to pronounce, and then I would have hung onto the new and improved name after I married.
As far as our kids, who knows? They seem okay with their Dad's common name, though my oldest has experienced some screw-ups with it like I have.
I had no idea that so many Salon readers were Dolly Parton fans! Especially since Salon is based in San Francisco, and I thought that all of you may have been too sophisticated to pay attention to country music, or admit to liking it. Thanks for proving me wrong! I have always liked Dolly, and love her even more since reading all of the things you thanked her for. I became a Parton fan in 1983, when I decided to dress up as her for Halloween. I knew that in order to do justice to Dolly, I'd have to do more than just pad my chest to her size. So I did my homework, and read everything I could about Ms. Parton. The more I learned, the greater my admiration for Dolly grew - and has continued to grow over the years. I hope that Dolly had a very happy 60th birthday, and will have many more great ones.
all I could think is "He looks like a Nazi dream come true - no wonder his store discriminates against minorities".
A & F is the only store is the only store in our local mall that I have never set foot in. Coming from a shopoholic like me, that's saying something. When I came across an article about their racist hiring practices a couple of years ago, I e-mailed it to my husband and then 12-year-old daughter. I'm glad I did because I learned that my daughter is wise beyond her years. She replied by saying "They're mean", and she has not stepped into A & F either. She is more the Hot Topic heavy metal type, and for that I will be eternally grateful, even if it does piss off her grandparents. Metal has its share of offensiveness, but it's honest, and therefore far superior to the phony and racist A & F world.
is that Jeffries has got to be gay, even if it is only on a subconscious level. I'm not saying that because I'm prejudiced against gays. On the contrary, if he ever publicly came out of the closet, I would gain respect for him. And that would be the only time in my life that I'd ever feel respect towards anything associated with A & F!
Granted, this isn't the most inspiring thing I've ever read on Salon, but it doesn't deserve all this criticism. For those of you who don't like it, well, wait until you have kids. This article is exaggerated, but there is some truth to it. Trust me, I know this stuff - I have a 14-year-old daughter and a 5 year-old son.
If you want to really lose your sex drive, try taking said 14-year-old in for her first Gyn exam. I did that earlier today, and it felt really strange, though I knew that it was necessary. But life is full of strange-but-necessary things, so one has to accept this stuff as it comes.
but fortunately, my situation is less extreme, even if my in-laws bug the hell out of me.
Normally, Cary's advice is spot-on, but not today. Most of the responses here have the right idea - the marriage isn't as perfect as the LW would have us believe, and the husband needs to develop a spine. If he won't do it, the wife really needs to see about ending this marriage. Yes, I know that an ultimatum between Mom and wife almost always ends in the wife losing, which is why I've never forced my husband into one. But if I were in a situation like today's LW, I would do an ultimatum on my husband in a heartbeat. If he chose his Mom, I'd say "Fine, I'm better off without you, you son-of-a-bitch! Don't let the door hit you where the Good Lord split you." Trust me, there are worse things than being divorced - such as having a horrible mother-in-law like this one!
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
Once seen as a lunatic fringe, reactionary anti-women groups are courting respectability
Salon headlines in your mailbox
