No, I am not in favor of the death penalty. We have seen so many instances of innocent people wrongly convicted and just now released because of the availability of DNA evidence that I don’t know how we can continue to allow the death penalty. A recent case, not a death penalty case, involved a man who had been convicted of rape based on the victim’s testimony. DNA evidence proved he could not have been the rapist. Humans are too flawed make the judgment over who lives and who dies.

Perhaps someone can correct me if I am wrong but I wanted to address Arelene C’s point about the vote in California against allowing marriage between gay couples. I believe this relates to the Jefferson Doctrine. Under our constitution the states are afforded great leeway to determine their laws and governance but our constitution sets boundaries such as the right to equality and liberty. I believe the CA Supreme Court was saying that CA has overstepped the boundaries of what they can legislate. So even if the majority supports something that violates a persons constitutional rights it will be prohibited constitutionally. The argument with regard to the supreme court is whether the supreme court should be strict constructionist or more interpretative. If you are a strict constructionist you probably can’t support the decision in Roe v Wade and feel it should be a state by state decision. With regards to the ability of gays to marry it seems to me constitutionally protected. We may be a religious nation but there should be separation from religion when it comes to the laws. I think the word “marriage” has a religious connotation to most people and that is why we hear politicians support “civil unions”. Though my understanding is that civil unions do not give all the same rights as marriage. But if we are honest there is no honesty in marriage vs civil union. If individuals do have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness then we should defend their constitutional rights and not discriminate due to their sexual orientation or religion or race.

I think what we do that may impact others should be taken seriously. What others do to impact the lives of many should be taken seriously. What others do that impact you individually should not be taken too seriously, but appreciated or forgiven as appropriate. With each passing year I take life less seriously. I stopped making lists of what I must acheive and just try to appreciate today.

A great example of the irresponsibility of the media is the recent exposure of the pentagon’s propaganda program. This involved the major media outlets using former generals as “military analyst” on the air in the lead up to the war. These generals were given their “talking text” by the pentagon and the media outlets did not reveal this or that many of them were part of the administrations “Committee for the Liberation of Iraq” and many also sat on the boards or held paid positions with defense companies who stood to profit from the war. Since this has been uncovered the news organizations involved have not addressed their culpability in this travesty. As Mary Wells points out the only way to bring about change is for the customer to demand change. We are the target of advertisers and we can have a voice. Mary, if you read this perhaps we could have a part of the site which have letters written by the wowowos staff which outline a position on this or even bills being considered by congress. The letter can then be available for those readers who agree with the position to electronically sign. Then the letter can be sent to the appropriate parties. This is routinely done by various members of congress and various organizations when they have a position on a bill or policy and want to get documentation of support from their constituents. The founding fathers of America risked everything for freedom. I think we should be willing to spend some time to retain that freedom. If anyone did not see the John Adams series on HBO you should - see what our founding fathers sacrificed.

First birds chirping. Then my husband who wakes up cheerily, bless him, telling me to turn on the tv and then just starts talking about silly things. I on the other hand always feel like I am just coming out of a coma, man I wish I could figure out how he does it, oh well. The my dog comes and lays her head in my lap, patiently waiting for her first petting of the day. Hey, I have it pretty good.

Well as they say, “the squeaky wheel gets the grease” and “we the people” have not been squeaking. Lobbyist, corporations, friends and associates of politicans spend their time squeaking. I am as guilty as anyone but am trying to stay more informed and write to my representatives. For example, how many of us knew about the details of new bankruptcy law passed by Congress and how it affects the interest rates your creditors can charge. We all have to get informed and stand up for our combined interests. We can’t just vote someone in and then take a nap. We have to rant and rave. We have to decide how we want our tax dollars spent and what taxes we will pay. We “the people” have to make as much noise as the lobbyist and corporations. Then perhaps we will have health care, free college education for our children and other things that many other countries have. Together we have power. Perhaps the ladies that put this site together can help us have a collective voice!

Senator Obama’s association with the Reverend Wright has and will hurt his campaign. Did Obama know who Reverend Wright was and his views, of course he did. When Senator Obama announced his candidacy, Reverend Wright was suppose to appear with him but they decided at the last minute to not have him appear. They knew, then that he was a potential negative. I don’t think that Obama’s views are the same as Reverend Wright’s. But it does show, by his earlier claim of no knowledge of the Reverend’s more devisive views, that he is also apt to be less than honest when politically necessary. It takes the shine off his “different kind of politician” status. We can all say it isn’t fair that he be judged based on the views of his pastor but reality is what counts. Winning the election is what counts and your associations with people/organizations affect how you are viewed. Having said that, all the candidates have negatives in this regard. On the positive side at least it is out there now instead of coming out during the general election. This is why the long primary election is good, especially for a relatively unknown candidate like Senator Obama. It gives us a much clearer picture of his electability in a general election.

I love to have alone time. The only problem with it is deciding which project to do or book to read. But, now that my daughter and her two children and my mom are living with me, alone time is just a fantasy. However, I have discovered that if I go out and clean the garage everyone is more than happy to leave me alone.

No, let everyone have their say at the primaries. This will help bring people in to the election process and may increase voter participation in November. I have mixed feelings with regards to the superdelegates. While in the purest sense the votes should decide the nomination, there is the electoral college to consider. The states the candidates can carry will decide the general election. Perhaps with a virtual tie superdelegates can determine who is more likely to win the general election. The election, this year, is too important to let our emotions overcome reality. As, we saw in the discussion on health care this election could really make a difference in people’s lives.

She should ask herself if she was just waiting for an excuse to stray. I can’t imagine trying to find a lover within 24 hours of discovering the infidelity. She needs to talk to herself first and figure out what she really wants in life. If she really wants the marriage she must confront him and spell out what needs to happen for the relationship to continue.

Amen, Liz. Unfortunately, like others I don’t know how to quit them - I guess at some level I like aggravation. How about the Huffington Post? I had to laugh when they had to use decimal points to show Hillary only had a single digit lead. One other thing, I am so tired of the headline “desperate democrats”. Perhaps some democrats are desperate to have it over but personally I love that people in late primary states finally get to have their say. Let it roll, I’m voting for a democrat regardless of who gets the nomination.

As a human resource director for a manufacturing firm, I was responsible for preparing the salary schedule as part of the budgeting process. Every year the wage surveys showed that our female middle managers were underpaid in comparision to our male middle managers. I had to fight every year and every year I inched the female salaries closer to parity. Fortunately, we were subject to affirmative action audits which I used to motivate change. After ten years of this I had the female salaries at parity. I know this cost me in terms of my relationship with the senior management but it was worth it and I am proud of that accomplishment. The bill recently voted down by Congress to reestablish the original statute of limitations (the time limit to file from the current 180 days after the discrimination first took place back to 180 days after you have knowledge that the discrimination took place) to file pay discrimination claims is a travesty. I know from experience that pay discrimination is common practice and without a stick to shake it won’t change. Have you ever wondered why many companies have a policy against discussing your salary with other employees?

We do not unplug our tv’s, computers, etc.. I understand they are still using electricity even when turned off, up to 40% of their normal usage. However, I just learned that plugging everything into a power strip and then turning off the power strip is an effective and easier way to eliminate this waste of energy.

Wow, it is hard to limit it to seven. 1. Tolerance of politicians who take care of corporations rather than the citizens, obliterates the very foundation of our country and recklessly spends the lives of our young, of religion when it shows contempt for life and the security of and well being of all people, and corporations who abuse the powerless to gild the lives of the powerful. 2. Ego unchecked. 3. Ignorance when self induced though I think this is the mission statement of corporate media. 4. Triteness because it is the result of number 3. 5. Fear which prevents rational reasoning and measured reaction. 6. Vanity when it makes us feel that everything we do is so important that what is really important is last on the list. 7. Cruelty in any form for any reason.

I would tell a 21 year old girl just what I told my girls. Prepare for life as though you will only have yourself to depend upon because at some point this will probably be the case. Even the best of husbands can become disabled or die. So find something you are interested in and obtain the education and/or skills required to turn this interest into a career. But even if you are interested in a trade or the arts be sure and pursue some secondary education and include some finance or accounting so that you can learn critical thinking skills and how to manage your money. Being self sufficient will only enhance any good relationship and will give you options.