I'd be thrilled with Sibelius or one of the other women under consideration!

The running theme of Obama's campaign is that he can "bridge the divide" and bring a new kind of politics. [snip] How can Obama actually bring party unity when he ignores the solution that can best bring party unity?

Because while bringing Hillary Clinton (of whom I am a fan, not a detractor of any kind) in as the VP pick might assuage her angered supporters, it would alienate a lot more "regular" voters.

Hillary Clinton, whether deserved or not, is in some ways similar to Dubya (bear with me for a second, folks!!) in that for whatever reason, logical or not, she inspires people to extreme feelings. Most people either adore her or despise her with equal fervor. It is hard to find people who are Hillary-ambivalent.

Personally, I have thought for a long time that this election is [insert Democrat here]'s to lose.

But just as I came to believe that Hillary Clinton could not win the general election, I now believe having her as the VP nominee would cause the Democrats to lose in November. This country has been polarized too much.

And much as I would love to see a woman president or VP, this election is too critical for the future of this country to risk it.

Why does the auther refer to the band in the plural? "ABBA are..." etc.? It's the name of the band, it's a singular word, and it should be used as a singular noun.

is really really good on popcorn.

I'm just sayin'.

And all y'all complaining about "OMG how can Salon do a pork week feature when the economy's in the toilet, our civil rights are being eroded, thousands of our citizens are dying in a pointless war, gas costs more per ounce than gold, and we're all going to heck in a handbasket"?

Lighten up! Have a BLT!

The author left out two of the best bridgeworthy comic books of all times: Strangers in Paradise and Bone. Duh!

Also, I'd submit Zelda (Ocarina of Time) as a good bridge video game... particularly as they will get many an hour of laughter out of the not-so-subtle sexual references.

I can thank my ex-ex-bf for the above. My current manfriend just enjoys watching me kick ass at SpellJam.

I understand what you're saying, but it is absolute folly to assume that all women have a noticable eggwhite-like discharge when they're ovulating. That doesn't even make sense. I've been on the pill for 16 years (with some time off here and there) and I can tell you I have NEVER noticed any kind of eggwhite discharge, and I probably pay more attention to the goings-on than most women. Hardly any two women are exactly alike when it comes to fertility and menstruation.

In the real world, a size 10 isn't considered "plus-sized"...the average woman in this country is a size 12 (also not plus-sized). Only a 14 and up is considered plus-sized.

For the record, ANTM banned tobacco two or three seasons ago.

I'm a little sad that I know that, LOL.

>>If condoning the suicide of a woman who is in chronic pain but otherwise healthy isn't encouraging euthanasia, what is? <<

Grad Student: You keep using words like "condoning" and "encouraging."

I think you're coming at this from the wrong perspective.

It should have nothing to do with anyone else condoning or encouraging anything. People should be *allowed* to make the determination for themselves.

I find your attitude of "These people just haven't considered the finality of suicide/death" exceedingly patronizing and highly offensive. You claim to be pro-choice, yet your words sound suspiciously like the anti-choice crusaders who rally for 24-hour waiting periods, pre-abortion counseling, and laws requiring women seeking abortions to be shown pictures of fetuses.

My grandmother suffered with Alzheimer's for 12 years before finally passing away in 2004. And hers was not the quiet oblivion that some Alzheimer's patients are fortunate enough to experience. She lived every day of her life in mental anguish. For the last three years of her life, the only lucid thing she ever said was "Please, can't you just let me die?"

Like Ms. Houppert's grandmother (my grandmother was also a founding member of the Hemlock Society), her condition was not considered terminal, so she would not have been eligible. Despite her suffering through an endless, hellish torment, we were forced to just watch her suffer until nature took its course. I suppose technically you'd call her healthy: she survived a broken hip and surgery to repair it, she survived a bout of pneumonia that probably should have killed her.

Your position makes no sense: euthanasia & physician-assisted suicide (even non-assisted suicide) *are* against the law, so it follows that dedicated folks who believe it should be an option for people kind of have to "promote" it, in the sense of advocating for it to be included as a basic human right.

People advocating for euthanasia are fighting so that folks will have the right to seek it for themselves, not promoting it in the sense of "Everybody's doing it, it'll make you feel good" that you seem to believe it is.