Editor’s Note: The following comments have been edited for length.

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Comment to the Question of the Day November 17
By Ine Drage on 11/18/2008 11:57 am

Traditions…
It wouldn’t be much of a tradition if we only did something once :)

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Comment to a Post on November 18
By Nancy B on 11/18/2008 2:32 pm
Dear Uncle Sam:
We are married 26 years, both working full time every year of it; 1 mortgage, 4 cars, 2 kids in college, etc. We have never, ever, ever requested government assistance. When times got tough, we just got up, went to work, and toughed it out with less.
My husband found out last week that the company he works for is closing this month. He is 52 and the job market (as you know) is about as bad as it gets. I, the wife, work to pay for our health insurance and food - there is nothing left of my paycheck once those things are paid for each month.
We would like to be placed at the top of the bailout list. We’ve never cheated or lied, ripped anyone off, taken gifts or money we didn’t deserve, or asked for loans or money we knew we couldn’t pay back.
Please let us know when our check is in the mail.
Sincerely,
Mr. and Mrs. Working Class Taxpayer

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Comment to a Post on November 18
By beth willis on 11/18/2008 2:57 pm

Greater minds than mine must remember that these same issues existed in the 70’s. Sometime around late 70’s the government bailed out Chrysler but in some, I assume ‘regulated’ bailout, managed to make over 500 million dollars over the course of the deal. At that time the same concerns about foreign oil and gas guzzlers were common knowledge. The difference now is two fold 1) The auto industry is one among myriad problems, but 2) We have a President-Elect who acknowledges what happens in cycles when gas prices drop significantly : we just go back to what we’ve always done and drop innovation for profit until the next disaster. Obama, ‘No, it’s time right now to stop the addiction.’ I agree, nothing to the residents of the Bloomfield enclave without pinpoint regulations and transparent oversight. If I were cynical I would directly connect this current situation to Cheney’s clandestine energy meetings-executive privilege?-but I am on this issue, so I will.
Peace and grace

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Comment to A Friend Stopped By on November 19
By Patty E on 11/19/2008 9:15 pm

Boomer: Too young for Social Security, Too old to get a job, to make back the money lost in our retirement accounts. Too smart for entry level positions in our newest ‘career’ as well as too old. Too dumb in the ways of new technology, no matter how hard we tried to keep up…Too poor to retire…too rich in experience…too expensive as employees in salary, health costs, yet not valuable because we will want to retire in less than 20 years. Able to teach our children, yet unteachable in todays’ new way of doing things that needed to be learned starting in kindergarten…..Expected to move mountains, yet deemed not capable of lifting 50 pounds if someone has to pay you for doing so… sigh…….

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Comment to a Post on November 19
By kermie b on 11/19/2008 2:21 pm

Michelle Obama is a beautiful, intelligent woman who will make her own impact on history. Why is anyone demeaning her by asking about her hair, her clothes, her shoes? Do we examine men that way?

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Comment to a Post on November 18
By Joanne Parrent on 11/19/2008 2:45 am

Hi Jane, It’s Joanne. Well, I cried on the 5th when I found out that we had definitely lost Prop 8. It felt so awful to have so many people vote to deny us our right to marry. God knows, it felt weird to get married at first, since we’d been together so long and never had the right. But then, just when I kind of got used to the idea, wham — Prop 8 passes. So it’s been kind of an emotional roller coaster. The demonstration we went to was really cathartic — there were people or all sorts, gay and straight, black, white, Hispanic, old, young. The signs were great, like "When are we going to vote on your marriage". Or "When do we get a gay tax discount". So that felt better. Then, Mayor Villaraigosa was at the protest last Saturday and he said, after arriving by helicoptor from the fires, "I felt like the winds of change were carrying me here." Reading that made me cry, too. So, yes, Jane, I do think the winds of change are blowing. It was as if the world expected Californians to be better than we were and it was kind of a shock that, as Brenda said, has awakened a sleeping giant. Thank you, Jane for your post. And I’m really proud of Bren’s clarity and leadership on this issue. Warm regards, Joanne

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Comment to a Post on November 20
By Diana T on 11/20/2008 1:18 pm
The women in Africa, as well as all of the developing countries need our help. They need to be supported because, not only the poverty, but the oppressive anti-female laws that their cultures have practiced for centuries. The World Bank is doing a lot. And, so are many agencies. Hopefully, President Obama will be able to change some laws that the Bush administration put into place that prohibits family planning because of its stand on abortions, and other issues.
One way to help the women become independent as we approach this Holiday Season is by supporting Heifer International. Instead of giving meaningless gifts to your friends and some family members, please seriously consider a contribution to this fine organization that promotes independence by donating different animals to needy people in the most poverty stricken parts of the world.
http://www.heifer.org/site/c.edJRKQNiFiG/b.204586/k.9430/Gift_Catalog.ht…
If women can have help with providing for their families in a dignfied way, and also learning to have control with what happens to their bodies, I believe it is the most important means of helping.

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Comment to The Question of the Day on November 20
By Dona Howlett on 11/20/2008 1:41 am

I, like most Americans was sitting in front of my TV watching CNN……switching channels also.
When I heard the news I burst into tears and cried almost all the time for two days. My granddaughter called me and she was also crying. For the next two days every time we talked on the phone we started to cry all over again.
I don’t remember ever having the kinds of emotions I was going through. It was so different than anything I had ever experienced. It was PURE joy and sorrow at the same time..
It seemed to burst in me a Dam that had held in all my emotions and tears for the past 7 years. I so wished my sweet Richard could have been here sharing in this wonderful event………..I know he was looking at me from the ‘Other Side’ and being happy for my joy.
Each day I thank God for giving this World a wonderful intelligent knowledgeable man to Lead us back to an abundant Life this Country so deserves after the horrow of the past eight years.
I hope and pray that all Americans will support him in his efforts to make all
Amerians have a more productive and happy life.
No matter what happened before the election, we are all in this together.
He is the President of all of us (after Jan20)
I listen and read about the all the things he is doing during the transition period to make this a smooth change.
I don’t think I’ve ever had a good thing to say about George Bush, but I will say I respect him for being gracious to the Obamas and helping them make this transition run smoothly for all of them involved.
I had hoped it would be Hillary Clinton I would be celebrating………but to have my second choice be a person of such quaility is overwhelming.
Again, I am so thankful we will be saying President Barak Obama after the inauguration

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Comment to a Post on October 20
By Ms. Dee on 11/20/2008 10:30 am

Ahhhhh! Ms. Nevins. A++++ "Beethoven/ before Eroica" Explicit,
concrete, gorgeous.

Remaining hopeful, however, I recall Mozart…after a few hours spent with a teen-aged Beethoven, predicting, "We will hear a great deal from that young man." So Obama’s "Ode to Joy" may not be out of the question.