You are, at this very moment, the men who told Martin Luther King that he should not go Selma, Alabama. You are representing the safe choice that says that we should not make waves, that change comes through editorials and pinstripe suits and not through agitation. Would you even know when the right time was to confront authority through civil disobedience? I seriously doubt it. If Edward's call to action falls flat, it won't be because it's a bad idea, it will be because too many people prefer outdoor barbecues over social justice. I don't think that makes Edward's wrong.

Awesome!

I grew up reading Bloomsbury. It was one of the highlights of my week as a kid! And today, after reading this, it didn't quite make me nostalgic so much as grateful. Grateful that Breathed's clarity and humor is still a public resource. Thanks for bringing him back into my life!

First, if you're going to post an article about your personal life on the INTERNET you have to realize that people are going to respond.

I don't care about any schmo with two sets of kids. (Hey, there is a small possibility that I am making assumptions about just who the writer is. But I don't think so.) Did you actually think to yourself, "I did such a wonderful job the first time around the world deserves an encore"? Two sets of children? Come on. Let me guess; Your wife is half your age.

Obviously it's a free country, but I don't want to hear any self-pitying, b.s. article about your tribulations. They don't mean squat to me. Now, an article from your first set of kids about how they feel about being replaced and erased by cuter versions of themselves. That's an article I would pay to read.

I think that we have all been stressed. Seven years of dealing with the worst president of all time, a divider not a uniter, a reluctant war culture and an economy strained from all ends has put everyone on edge. I see it everywhere; in the check-out line, at the pump, sharing the sidewalk and going to the bathroom in a public restroom. We're all cranky and suspicious of our neighbors these days. I could use some baby benadryl myself right about now. Or a scotch.

Here are some things to consider from the perspective of childless adult, a person who will never have children but still wants the best for our coming generations. I'm tired of a culture that screams, "What about the children?! What about the children?" and then never does anything to substantively protect the children. I'm tired of living in a culture that uses children as a bulwark against my own personal liberties.

I also don't want to attend a public event, a lecture or a movie, where one mother and an unhappy baby ruins it for everyone else. I say this as a representative of all the people who can't, all the people who guiltily sit through "Lord of the Rings" or whatever and can barely concentrate because one parent didn't have the courtesy to take their kid outside during a tantrum.

I don't want to tell any mother what to do with her child. But when you are in a public domain, you should behave accordingly. It's expected of everyone, moms and children included. If the baby can't stop screaming, then it needs to be taken outside. And it ticks me off how frequently that one little rule of society isn't followed.

Obviously when you are on an airline, there's nowhere to go for the baby, and it sounds awful, being told off by a stressed out airline steward. For that you have my complete sympathy. Those airline attendants sound overworked and power-hungry, not anti-maternity. But if you are casting aspersions on the supposed baby haters who hate moms or behave hostilely towards babies, just be aware that there is another side to the story. Heck, there's a thousand sides.

Thanks for the discussion on anonymous postings. I believe that the goal of the letters section is to open up feedback to the widest perimeters possible; We want as many views on a subject as the audience is willing to give. One may not have the time/inclination to read 100 comments on a given subject, but sometimes you may want to read them all! (I know that I do. After all, the beauty of the internet is that it opens a discussion past the opinions and biases of the journalist middle class, which persists in being composed mostly of white men.) Anonymous postings allow people to express themselves without having to become targets.

The one thing that most of the complaints seem to be aimed at is that tipping point of hate speech vs. expression; No one wants to log into a discussion and find 10 pages worth of profanities and mindless bilge as it renders the comments section unreadable.

It seems to me that user-driven flagging could solve those problems. If all you can do spew hate then you've abused your posting privileges and should be banned. But, again, I think the correct side to err on involves opening up speech, not closing it down.

Regarding Mikes Place: How did you jump to the conclusion that Joan didn't want to hear from conservatives? I know you believe that you are "keeping us in line" or whatever. The truth is that most of us see conservatives who spend their time posting angry letters on progressive websites as sort of sad. It's true, you're not standing outside of a Planned Parenthood clinic with a sandwich board that says, "I break for babykillers." But you aren't that different from those people either. You're just stalking us and that's kind of sad. Personally, I wouldn't seek out conservative forums and post my opinion without a boatload of humility and a lot of facts as my ammunition. If you really want to be heard you wouldn't advertise yourself as our savior.