I was reading this story and actually felt like I could write reams and reams of stuff. Literally every sentence of this account inspired another thousand words. But then I read BobbyG's response, and I thought, "Actually, that says it all. Domenech really has no other honorable choice but to join the Army and get his privileged little ass over to Iraq as fast as he can." Beyond that, there's really nothing left to be said.

ps--Oh, and to Diane, if those right wing bloggers were actually capable of grasping the irony, well, they wouldn't be right-wing bloggers, would they?

pps--To any right-wing bloggers who might happen to read this: No, this is no sort of "victory" for the left. There is nothing to "celebrate." Those of us on the left aren't feeling anything that could possibly be described as "satisfaction" over this. Not even close.

Except for the NL West. Sure, I'm a partisan, but I think the Giants will be quite competitive. Other than the Dodgers, none of the other teams upgraded like the Giants did. The Giants and Dodgers will win more games than last year, and the other teams won't. And I still like the Giants over the Dodgers. In my own biased opinion, the Dodgers have more question marks than the Giants.

Russ Feingold is smart enough to have considered the different ways in which this move could backfire, on both the Democratic party, and on himself personally. He knows what's at stake politically this year. It could be argued that he, or any number of Democrats, could and should have done this a long time ago. How long does the Democratic leadership let Bush and Rove thumb their noses at the rest of the world before they finally ACT instead of TALK? I think it's about time someone like Russ Feingold stood up for principles and took action. If others want to cynically argue that he's being selfish or foolhardy, well, time and history will judge that point. Let he chips fall where they may.

Blake Mitchell

Austin, Texas

I can feel for Joan Walsh simply because I was a Giants fan who held out hope a little too long, just like she did.

However, I CAN offer this anology: Politically speaking, I'm a liberal who's pretty far left on the continuum. Yet I'm also a Christian. When folks ask me why I NEVER go to church, I answer, "You don't have to like the church to love the God." And I feel the same way with baseball. Yes, many of the players piss me off, and some always will. But just as I love my country and loathe my president, I also feel contempt for so many of my fellow "Christians" yet still love my God. I feel contempt for Mr. Bonds yet still love my Giants and the game of baseball.

I have friends who have chosen to give up on baseball. I have liberal friends who have chosen to give up on politics. I cetainly know and love people who have given up on God, too.

But I happen to inhabit a space at the moment that is full of moral ambiguity rather than moral absolutes. Life is like that. Nothing is certain in this life. That much I know.

ps-Tom DeLay is going down! Sometimes, you just have to go with the good!!!

pps--Someone gave me Bill Clinton's book for my birthday, and I just started reading it last night. Yikes!!

If the Republicans would simply purge their party of all the Tom DeLay's and Duke Cunningham's, I'd go back to thinking they're just a bunch of selfish, racist, tax cheats, instead of a bunch of criminal, selfish, racist, tax cheats.

ps--For anyone who's in the mood for celebratory music today, might I suggest "Guilty" by Alejandro Escovedo. Rock On!

Why do some posters feel the need to resort to name-calling, i.e., "degenerate redneck," whenever someone disagrees with them?

There's no doubt that there are race issues in professional sports today. I don't feel like Bonds is a victim in all this necessarily because he is black; however, the fact that he IS black does affect how he is perceived. That's about the extent of it, in my opinion. White sports heroes are more beloved in this country. Why is a Mickey Mantle baseball card always more valuable than those of other players? Not because he was the best, but because he was the most popular. I think anyone in advertising would tell you that it's easier to market a white star over a black star.

So I think Bonds' color affects how he is treated in the court of public opinion, but not to the extent that his behavior has brought on so much contempt. He has only himself to blame. Race is a relatively minor factor here, but it IS a factor. If everything else were equal here, he would have had a slightly easier ride if he was white.

"Please, if we are going to have a conversation about Bonds, baseball and steroids. I always new the midwest was populated by degenerate rednecks."

I re-read your post, and I think the problem was your poorly worded last two sentences. The way it was written, an objective reader can't be blamed for assuming you included "Terry" as one of the "degenerate rednecks" you mentioned. If that's not what you meant, you should have written your insult more specifically.

When you read as many veiled insults from politicos, spokesmen, talking heads, press secretaries, bloggers, writers, etc., as I do, you begin to assume that the authors' vagueness is intentional.