Several months ago, I thought that a prolonged Democratic race would be good for the party. I imagined months of our side dominating the news with debates over health care and the war being waged with little to no input from the Republicans.

I thought Democrats were too smart to not take full advantage of this glorious opportunity. That was a pipe dream. My party couldn't get it right even when it was handed the political landscape on a platter.

Instead, we've seen petty bickering and negative, damaging personal attacks.

And like everyone else in the party, I blame the candidate whom I don't support. Damn the other side for not seeing that my candidate is the far superior choice and rallying behind my candidate as our Party's nominee. (Yes, I honestly feel that way, and no, it doesn't matter whom I support.)

I can't believe it, but two of the last three posts on BS discuss sex, completely absent any "sex is icky" or "men are disgusting" comments at all.

I'm stunned. Has a new day arrived for BS where I can enthusiastically agree with the feminism without having to defend my gender against "dirty old perverts" attacks?

I'm very hopeful!

I have at times wondered how it is that girls, especially pre-college girls, tend to pick each other apart with ferocity, but if there's anything to that, and I'm not sure there is, it's something people grow out of.

My girlfirends (this usage meaning "friends that are female") are not in anyway handicapped at their ability to be loving, sincere, devoted friends. No pettiness. No drama. Just solid friends.

And it's got nothing to do with the second X chromosome they have. They're just good people.

1. the uncollected gas taxes would NOT be passed along to the pump. These companies are not in the business of charity.

2. The hypothetical "windfall tax" to offset the revenue loss has no chance in hell of becoming law. So the revenue losses would not be offset. They'd just get swallowed by our increasing debt, which weakens the dollar, which weakens the economy, etc.

3. Even if I were wrong about #2, there's no way the oil companies wouldn't pass that tax along to the pump, thereby increasing gas prices.

I have to wonder how many Obama or Clinton voters won't vote for the candidate the voted for, either. That's a lot of Republicans voting, and just because say a Clinton voter won't vote for Obama, it doesn't mean they'll vote for Clinton in November, either.

How many of those numbers reflect that?

Personally, I'll be hugely disappointed if my candidate doesn't win, but I'll get over it by November and cast a vote against John McCain either way.

Usually "adequate provocation in the heat of passion" is the reason for reducing a murder charge to a manslaughter charge. It doesn't mean "oh, okay, I guess you were right to shoot the guy in the head." Sheesh.

As for the woman facing a ranting mad & jealous husband, who happens to be brandishing a loaded gun and frothing at the mouth, pointing to the lover and saying "he raped me!" is pretty much the same as firing the loaded weapon yourself.

That doesn't mean that the husband wasn't guilty, but the wife was guilty as hell, too. She took a frothing pissed off, hell bore for murder madman, and directed his anger at the only innocent person on the scene. If she didn't know for sure that he'd get murdered, she should have known, and she at least acted with extreme indifference to her lover's life.

I wholeheartedly agree. TWC completely screwed this one up. Two consecutive co-anchors of this sleazebag had to endure his crap and they defended him right up to the point where they (duh) lost an arbitration hearing on sexual harassment. Then they wanted it to be a secret. But they at least *finally* fired the guilty party and had to pay up.

But when I sleep with your wife, I'm not breaking any law. When you murder me for it, you're going to jail.

Jealousy may be your motive, but it's hell and gone from legal justification.

Can we please start to make peace here? We're ripping each other apart so that John McCain can come down and pick at our corpses like a Vulture with Karl Rove and Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter sitting in their perches snickering at us.

Obama supporters need to recognize that Hillary supporters are loyal democrats who want what's best for the country and Clinton supporters need to take a fresh look at our nominee and see his qualities, which are many. Don't give up on him as "unelectable," just because Hillary made the argument that she was "more electable." (and you believed your candidate, naturally.)

He's also not unpatriotic, weak, Muslim, or elitist... don't buy into those rovian stereotypes. He's your candidate now. He's OUR candidate now. Make peace with it and climb on board the bandwagon. There's lots of room, and beating the snot out of the R's this fall is going to be a blast.

John Kitzhaber, former Governor of Oregon.

He's from a swing state, he's got the gubernatorial experience, he's got the folksy charm, he's from the West, he's a doctor, he's a white male, and he was a wildly popular two term governor of Oregon.

He also has experience creating and implementing the Oregon Health Plan, which is one of the most successful state health programs ever (till the R's underfunded it to near death.)

He also carries no national baggage. For much of the country, he'd be brand spankin' new.