As a mother who brought up two kids, with and without a partner you need to realize especially if you work ,that feeding the kids is the ONLY real essential- everything else is fluff.

Although men may not be doing what you think they should be - most likely they are adding much more to you and your childrens life than if if they were not around... in terms of financial assistence, companionship, and maintenece of a household.Maybe you don't see the things they do, because you're not slacking off enough. Try it. Take a weekend a couple times a year just to see that you are not as indespensible as you think... and that your family will survive , perhaps not to your standards but survive they will. No one is going to offer you time off- YOU have to take it- own up to being an adult who gets to make choices.

I think women get a lot of false pride at "needed". Its false ,because we are the ones making the rules of what those needs consist of.Its not your laundry that you will be remembered for.

When women want children I think they are not truly aware of what they are asking for and when they get them ,there are a few years of shock. Raising children is incompatible with neatness, fashion and hipsterdom. They are truly about serving and most Americans are just not prepared for that .

just as an exercise in change. Its doesn't cost you anything. Where else can you get something new for free?. Are you willing to pay the price of a friend to stay the same ? -

What we're dong here is measuring the size of your ego.

And believe me , if you can't find it in you to make this little change for 3 months I can see in my crystal ball - your relationship weather will be full of cold fronts, hurricanes and dust storms.

...Because you will become the straight man to the funny man's antics, always reminding him about the the bills coming up and the how important it is to show a little respect at certain family functions. You will be the one having to be the grown up to his Peter Pan and after a while you will feel like pissed about having to balance out his joi de vivre and guilty because you're a party pooper.

On the other hand , if you choose the stable guy you will get to wear the cap of the lighthearted careless one , who can be free to forget to do things and bring levity into the daily grind.

You can be afforded time and space to indulge your whimsy , because thats Mr Stable will appreciate the light touch. However there is the possibility of never really being taken seriously.

I've been with both and I have to admit I'm much more suited to being the space case - When I was the solid one in the situation I was filled with jealousy at having to be the adult all the time, even though I did get to indulge my self righteous side and feel soooo responsible.

This great news It almost signifies that Dascle actually cares more about the country than making millions.... which would mean maybe he is qualified for the job.

Nah - compared to Howard Dean , who wanted this job and has every qualification you could need in one person ( DOCTOR, EXECUTIVE , AND ORGANIZER) Daschle doesn't even seem to have the ability to figure out his tax form, not a good sign for the overseer of one of the most form filled genres in the Cabinet.

Go Howard!

I'm sure delivering such a high risk pregnancy by several doctors as well keeping 8 babies in premie ICU is going to be a considerable amount. So before you say she's not on welfare lets get the facts- . Is she covered under Medi-Cal? California's budget is so bad they are issuing IOU's to state employees.Maybe her check from Oprah can go straight to the California coffers.

And if she's got insurance - let me know who it is - I want them , it sounds like they'll cover everything.

to the tune of thousands of dollars each from the the Phillipines and Nigeria. And now the latest , Mexican nurses .

They 'd rather have peple who are used to thirty patients each and won't dare blow the whistle because they'd lose their green card.

publishing volumes of these words.

Everything will be lost- all the beautiful mornings we wake up to, the conversations we have , even most the books we now read are probably not important enough to be published again in 5 years.

But thats okay - as far as this column goes- lets leave something for the next generations to do - solve their own problems.

a giant Asarco copper smelter in the middle of the town was threatening to reopen.

It had already contaminated many neighborhoods to the extent of having them declared Superfund sites in its previous incarnation.

Texas enviromental commision had given it a free pass , but the new EPA just stated it would require a new permit proving it could meet the latest standards.

result - Asarco is giving up - it looks like it will no longer cast foul fumes over this border area , home to 3.5 millon people.

.

Thank you Obama!

Thank you voters!

Thank you EPA!