apparently, you learned-- most likely on the internets-- how increasingly difficult it has become to write satire worthy of the name, since our public officials have driven the satire & irony threshholds completely off the charts (like that graph in Gore's movie), which makes your response just that much better. Well done! Too bad, though, that those who really need to read it probably won't, though, if they do, they will take it at face value.

but I think the real story here is the "Endgame."

Whoever really sat down to work on writing the bill is perhaps looking ahead to the not-so-distant future when abortions will be unavailable except in large urban areas, and those women and girls who are most likely to fall into the "unlucky" category the first commenter mentioned, will have no choice but to travel a distance to find an abortion provider. (And perhaps they are simultaneously working, as well, on making contraception even more unavailable.) The more legal barriers (as opposed to fertility barriers), the better, in their book.

Actually, I would guess that most women and girls prefer to take someone with them, rather than go alone, no matter how old they are, or what distance they must travel, but the endgame is designed to completely isolate a young woman from even the help of a supportive adult, relative, or family friend.

No matter how distasteful abortion is to most people, I really don't think they want it to be illegal or impossible to find a provider, precisely because there are cases like the one described in the story, and because most people don't presume to walk in another person's shoes, or to know their circumstances when it comes to such deeply personal decisions, except when they wish to impose their own beliefs on everyone else. Yet, even many deeply religious people still accept the importance of abortion being safe and legal (and hopefully rare).

But, an incest-committing father? I can see how he might object, though, to his daughter rejecting his seed. Certainly, his paternal "rights," including both approval over his daughter's gynecological needs, and his rights as the fetus's father should be considered before his daughter's well-being.

(One question: do incestuous relatives even use contraception? If so, theirs must occasionally fail, too.)

...there is a novel by Willa Cather, "Alexander's Bridge," that might suit. It's been awhile since I read it, but I believe some of it also takes place in Boston. (I was there last summer and drove through some of the Big Dig, too!)

But, unlike a Rand novel, it is not "heroic." At least not unless you want to consider one of the women heroic.

From Amazon:

In this, Willa Cather's first novel, we find Bartley Alexander, a successful engineer torn bewteen his duties to his career and his wife, and his passion for an Irish actress. In the only critical edition available, we see how Cather uses urban settings and the figure of the bridge-builder to analyze America's emergence as an international, industrial power at the turn of the century. Both anxious and celebratory, Cather's novel anticipates The Great Gatsby in trying to reckon with the social and emotional costs of that emergence.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/019283214X/103-5668323-0962231?v=glance&n=283155

...and after reading this post, in which Tim Grieve suggests the mystery man might not actually be a current candidate, I'm going with my original gut feeling: Norm Coleman.

Blue state. The other opinions sounded more like him than, say, Chafee. And, I'll bet he loves the monogrammed shirt and cuff-links thing. Besides, Chafee would be more likely to go on the record, but temper his remarks.

I notice no one has suggested Lieberman. I guess that would still be a bit premature?

Thanks for all of these great stories, and your passion in telling them.

Your stuff, combined with O'Hehir's story on the "real" Homer, have made my day.

It's heartening news, but unfortunately, this poll still doesn't address the issue of voter suppression and fraud. Even more important than who votes, is who counts the votes. So far, the GOP had maintained just enough of a monopoly on that activity

Isn't it a given that the GOP will use similar tactics to those that they have used in the last three elections--or worse-- in order to throw "close" races their way?

I only wonder what they will do now when the races may not be as close. And if they should still manage to hold the House, against all odds, and by using unethical/illegal tactics, will Americans finally take to the streets?

Wyeth is having some kind of supply problems, too, though I don't know why. I only know that my usual drug store did not have them in stock. Another branch had a few packs, but they were almost twice (not quite, but almost) what they had been before. And because of my provider's rules, I can only get one month at a time.

In the meantime, my ob/gyn has changed offices, and I have not been able to get a call-back on when I might have an appointment. It's a cruel calculus... will I get the appointment before my prescription runs out in 3 refills? (I already got an extension before he moved.) Will the dwinding supply last even that long?

And I don't even care about the contraception!!!! I just need to be able to have a reasonable quality of life.

Why do I not hear about any problems with Viagra distribution?