Wow what a well written letter on this subject. If you are already feeling this way when your child is only 4, I would hate to be in your shoes. I remember when my kids were small someone told me "little children, little problems, big children, big problems" and I thought what a naysayer they were. Well my kids are 28 and 30 now and probably since they were in middle school I have wished I never had them. I know pretty much what I can handle in life and believe me I have handled a lot, but when it happens to your children it is unbearably heart breaking. Once you have kids, your life is never your own again and there is no such thing as peace of mind. I have advised both my children not to become parents but I think that urge is so strong in humans that eventually they both will succumb. When my duaghter was in elementary we had the opportunity to hear the author Judy Blume speak and she told about going to her high school reunion. At the time her kids were grown and one of her classmates had just started a family and he was telling her how lucky she was to already be 'finished' raising her kids and she said she corrected him and said that he was the one that had had all those free years and that once you have kids you are never free again. I am paraphrasing and she was not speaking negatively because she talked very lovingly of her children but I have absolutely experienced what she expressed that day. I ran into a teacher that had taught my kids in middle school and she asked about them and after telling her what they were up to she said "you must be so proud", she did not have kids of her own so I don't think she understood my reply but I said to her "yes, but they could be crack addicts on a street corner next week". We are all vulnerable every day of our lives and never so much as we are when it comes to what we would do to protect our children. There are many couples who have exhausted their resources because their children took a wrong turn into drugs or gangs or whatever and many a marriage has been ruined by a child that can't be saved from himself. I advise the writer to take his kid out of daycare which destroys kids self esteem, make sure he goes to a good school in a good school system when the time comes and don't have any more kids. And count his many many blessings every day.

You put me on notice when at 35 min. you noted that the Debate was sponsored by Coors. Coors is a Republican run Right Wing Company. Then at 72 min. you totaly lost me when you called the sponsors the "good people at Coors". How can you have a serious Democratic Debate under these circumstances? The media is wholly owned by Rebublicans and that is why our country is in such trouble. They look for every opportunity to make the Democrats look bad and the Republicans look good. By the way which way does Salon lean? Did Rupert buy you too?

We just returned from Guatemala and if you haven't had Ron Zacapa Centenario, you haven't had the best rum in the world. Try it and you will become a true believer.

We moved from the Margarita capital of the world, Houston, TX. to the Frontera and we haven't had a decent drink since. They put olives in the margaritas here and they are all made of those horrible chemically mixes. I envy anyone that lives in the Pacific Northwest.

Last Christmas we had an Elvis themed Holiday and based our family dinner on Fit for a King the Elvis Presley Cookbook. Not everything was a hit. For instance the Cheese Grits called for 1 6-ounce roll garlic cheese which I had never heard of but easily found at our local grocery store. They were OK but not worth repeating. My hands down favorite which I will serve over and over and is the perfect color combo for Christmas is the Strawberry and Asparagus Salad. That alone was worth the price of the cookbook. It calls for strawberries, asparagus, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and sugar, salt and pepper to taste. If this is something Elvis actually ate, he had better more eclectic taste in food than he is credited with.

The general perception is that Hillary can not win the Presidential Election. If the Republicans can help Hillary win the Democratic Nomination then when they steal their third Presidential election in a row they can say "see we told you Hillary was un-electable" and most people will never question it. My bet is that Cheney throws his hat in the ring at the last minute and uses the same group W. used to make sure he comes out on top. As they have said themselves they make thier own reality.