Green,

Lucky you.  Have a great rest…or adventure!

Kim,

I’ve been thinking the same things.  The young woman’s formal education stopped at 4th or 5th grade…her kids have never been to school or had any friends, aunts, uncles, etc.  The ramifications of this isolation and abuse are just overwhelming.  How will they ever trust anyone?

I don’t think children who are the result of rape have to acknowledge their fathers.

This question and the first five screens of comments is from last winter!  Why is it back?

Liz,

That was great!  Thanks so much for posting it here.  Can’t wait to see the documentary.

See Lee I don’t consider myself either Rep or Dem - I vote for who I think is best…or the lesser of two evils, depending on who the candidates are :o

Truth be told C Hardy, I’ve been both and have probably voted for more dems than republicans…but in this environment, I consider myself a republican.

I totally agree with you and Lady that first we need to address what needs to be fixed:  take care of the uninsured; take care of people with pre-existing conditions, address torte reform, etc.  We don’t need to overhaul the entire system.  And as I keep saying, this is too important to trust politicians to do it right.

C Hardy,

Very well put.  Thanks for pointing out to Frank that those of us who have reservations about proposed health care reform are not tools of FOX or Astro Turf or those other "bad guys" he mentions…though I admit to being a Republican;-)

Most assuredly Beth.  You go girl!

Liz,

Thank you for the thoughtful and even-handed piece.  My gut says the town hall folks, like the tea bag people this summer, are scared to death by the direction our country and the economy is being led.  I think most people realize our health care system needs to be addressed, but we’ve lost faith in our elected representatives.  We don’t trust them to do the job efficiently or fairly.  As I’ve said before on these posts, this is too important a job to trust to politicians.

My first child’s birth was mind-blowing due to pain, longevity and fear…but so long ago I didn’t initially think of it in these terms!  Many years ago I was in the dancing/singing chorus of several community musical reviews.  Each time I was nearly rendered crippled from weeks of rehersal in high heels…but had the time of my life!  More recently what comes to mind is my climb up the Great Wall in 104 degree heat and trekking through many of the ancient hill towns in Tuscany.  Even walking through parts of San Francisco is a challenge to me who doesn’t seem to have a shred of mountain goat in her;-)

Thanks Lila,

Guess I should have also mentioned that no amount of money buys common sense.  Have a profitable day;-)

Enough money buys freedom; too much money seems to cause paranoia.

Liz,

No comment…except THANKS for your wonderful articles.

I don’t trust any politician…the higher they get, the less I trust them.  But for some reason, I’m compelled to vote.

An arc trainer (elliptical-type machine) does wonders…but I’ve learned you actually have to use it rather than just walk by;-)