Sam, great joke! Your post is a sad but true fact. I read somewhere today that she was starved of oxygen at birth and the result has been a learning disability. She was abused and teased by classmates because of this and still deals with some  issues to this day. Susan Boyle is a testament to the human spirit. She needs no "makeover"!

EVERYWOMAN!! That is it exactly, Maurine. She is a testament to the human spirit.

The past does predict the future and I, too, find "The End of Faith" by Sam Harris a timely focus on the irrationality of religious faith.

 "His expose of faith-based unreason-from the religious fanaticism of Islamic suicide bombers to the secular fanaticism of Noarm Chomsky-is a clarion call for reasoned debate in this age of terrorism." Alan Dershowitz, professor of law at Harvard University

I hear you, SM. You WILL go on and you WILL find happiness. Both of my parents were narcissists of the worst sort and, like you, I didn’t understand it and thought it was just the way people were. Little did I know. I even married one as that was all I was comfortable with! You are free of it now and enjoy your new wings and fly away. Begin my living in the "now" and enjoy and feel every emotion and sensation and know that it is alright. Find humor in life and laugh and know that you will never allow "that" person the ability to ever bother you again in any way…they are just a nuisance to be avoided…as they aren’t worth your time or energy. You have taken a huge step and the rest will be a cakewalk so get ready for the fun to begin. I am wishing you much happiness.

Lee, you said it "Perfectly", girlfriend!! Cheers to you, Bob and all the family………………………………..

LOL…rubbing strawberries and orange peel on my teeth as I read.

Kelly, I am out and about quite often and I beg to differ with you.  Obama has been in office a little less than two months and two weeks and is fighting mightily to save what is left of a plundered nation and perhaps, when we are back on our collective feet, we will then see how well he is able to perform. Until then, let’s not throw in a revolution to complicate things even further. Patience is a virtue, you know.

I am very much against the NRA and believe our guns laws should even be tightened and the laws already on the books more rigerously enforced. However, I am sitting here now with my mouth agape having just read the above statement of Kelly in Texas and the turn this thread has taken. Whether Kelly intended to or not, she did just MADE DeBurca’s point which I thought was really pretty much a non-issue when she first said it. Are people of this "ilk" for real? I know that there are a lot of disgruntled conversatives out there whose voices have been tinged with maybe a little racism but are they to the point they want to arm themselves for revolution? Tell me, please, tell me it isn’t so !

I bow to your nimble mind, Ms. Doyle Pepe! I was so taken with the quote that I failed to absorb all of the information you share so generously. I thought it a beautiful way of expressing feelings that I share. Thank you again  and know that I have saved it.

I have appreciated this question of the day as Easter approaches and read with interest all of your views on this subject. And, I have respect for everyone’s point of view as it is such a personal thing. As the old saying goes "never bring up God or politics in polite company",  but we seem to always manage.

Growing up in the south, church, God, hellfire and damnation were the order of the day. I was conflicted and just couldn’t believe what my mind was thinking vs what my eyes were seeing. I was always a free spirit but it was not until college and I had gained a certain maturity and level of confidence that I could focus my thoughts and beliefs into what might be concidered a cognizant whole.

I was very touched this morning by a quote offered by Ms. Doyle Pepe from the poet and essayist, Steven Weinberg, as it states beautifully the way I feel and, I think, bears repeating:

 Living without God isn’t easy. But its very difficultly offers one other consulation—-that there is a certain honor, or perhaps just a grim satisfaction, in facing up to our condition without despair and without wishful thinking—-with good humor, but without God.

I am in complete agreement and fear that we are now in the clutches of a world oligarchy, the likes of whiich we could never have imagined in our wildest dreams. I have a family member who has been a huge part of the "military-industrial complex" and know of the huge fortunes that have been made just off the Iraqi War and some of the unspeakable horrors that have been commited in the name of democracy. I have read with interest the ecomonic issues of our day and have found it to be a fascinating subject but, at the same time, chilling, as I see it. Jefferson said it…"Banks are more dangerous than standing armies"  and Lincoln wrote toward the end of the Civil War in a letter to a friend in 1864…."as a  result of war. corporations  have been enthroned…working upon the prejudices of the people until all of the wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the republic is destroyed". The Giethner/Summers team seems to be appealing to what might be thought of as a  "bank eccentric universe" in that we, the taxpayer, buy their toxicity. However, one cannot MAKE math fit flawed theories.

Dear Dona,

I am somewhat of a lady so may I be added to the four ladies above as I echo their comments. As always, you are on point and so wise. And write a column…you bet and sign me up!!

I"m with you Countrywoman, I always  check out the OTHER side so that I can gt a better understanding of where they might be coming from with their point of veiw and the horse’s mouth thingy. There was also an interesting article on Huff Post yesterday written by Julie Linbaugh who happens to be a liberal cousin of Rush. She is writing a book about the reactions she gets from others and she has gone through college and is now teaching and the problems it has caused in her ife dealing with his brashness. In the end she comments that "he is family". I did, at least, respect O’Reilly’s efforts to take him on even though he is not my favorite person either. Last night Jon Stewart took on Limbaugh and tore him to shreds in a comical way with truth which can be so difficult to combat.

DeBurca…"The Failure of Laissez-Faire Capitalism" !!!!! My mouth is on the floor seeing this subject even up for discussion other than what can we do to help. SHAME ON WOW……………………………………………………………………………

Hey Gary, we aren’t playing the shoe game and whose foot fits where. Remeber, that was a fairy tale called Cinderella. This game we are all in is called REAL LIFE. I have been watching the polls done on this planet and so far, most have Obama at a 70% approval rating. And, why am I not surprised that you voted for Palin? Are you sure you are not a simple racist parading around disguised as a moose?