Lovely flowing nightgowns, always—thin cotton in the summer and flannel in the winter—even when I’m by myself.

See the world and become a citizen of the world; try out the jobs you think you would enjoy and settle in one by 35. Then save as much as you can; retirement will come sooner than you think, and you must be able to take care of yourself.

Liz Smith—that was an irresponsible remark you made about Iran and Israel. You say “one hardly knows even what to wish for.” One should wish for peace. Israel is bristling with nuclear weapons; if you lived in the neighborhood, you’d be very nervous about that. More countries—including those we don’t get along with—will eventually get the bomb. The key to the survival of us all is more and more accurate knowledge of other countries and cultures, better diplomacy, and the realization that war as a means of settling differences is a barbaric and out-dated practice that must be stopped.

Obama is not Abraham Lincoln, nor is he JFK. In fact a real comparison of Obama’s record to that of JFK is hilarious reading. I’ve given up on the intelligence of the American people. To elect Bush (without really considering his performance as Gov of Texas) and to learn nothing from it is sad. To elect Obama without really looking at his experience, his record or his platform is stupid. We’d have been much better off with Gore (no Iraq War!) and we’d be much better off with Clinton. But it’s been said that no one ever went broke by underestimating the intelligence of the American people, and it looks like we’re going to prove that statement once again in the upcoming presidential eletion.

Like Suzanne, I have heard very few racist remarks in my life. (I heard more from the tapes of Rev Wright than I’ve heard in conversations.) Obama will win, and the fact that he is half Africian-American will be a plus for him. The person who is handicapped by sterotypes and bias is Hillary Clinton. Clinton told a story about being fired upon when she arrived at an airport, and the press made it news for days, twisting and turning it, placing all sorts of import on it. Obama has lied about numerous things—important things—and the press generally gives him a pass. His main assets seem to be his race and his nice way with words. He really didn’t distinguish himself in any of his previous positions. He lacks the wisdom and the experience to be president. But the American people, led by a biased press, will elect him. My guess is that he will be fairly ineffective. As for the press, I am as ashamed of them as I was when they acted as cheerleaders for the Iraq War early on. (Imbeded journalists, indeed!) What we’ve needed in this election period is a fair and detailed look at the candidates records, votes, accomplishments and failures. Instead, we get fawning favoritism or furious opinion.

My greatest fear is that we will continue to meddle in the Middle East for decades, if not centuries, to come. The war in Iraq was a total mistake from day one; the sabre rattling at Iran is foolish. Iran is a wonderful country and its people have always admired America … but first the British and then the US installed and supported dictators (Shahs) who robbed the country while keeping the people desperately poor. In the early 1950s, the US CIA, in cahoots with the British, overthrew Iran’s democratically elected prime minister, a Swiss-trained PhD in law, who wanted nothing but his country’s betterment. Harry Truman liked him and he liked the democracy movement in Iran. Then Eisenhower and his cold war mentality came into power and the CIA, acting out of the American Embassy, destroyed Iran’s democracy. Our disasterous involvement in Iraq is plain for everyone to see. We need to stop treating the countries and people of the Middle East as our inferiors; we need to meet with them on a level playing field and deal fairly with them. They have the oil we need, you say. Of course they do, and they need to sell it. They’ll be happy to sell it to us in a fair trade. Our press must stop demonizing the people of this part of the world, and we must stop molly-coddling Israel. Israel needs to grow up and come to a FAIR aggreement with the Palestinians. They could’ve ended the conflict years ago, but their greed for land and water has made them continue the conflict while pretending to be the victim. Our press is so biased on this issue, that few Americans have any idea what has happened and is still happening in this conflict. What we need is a very well-informated, rational, and fair policy for dealing with all the countries of the Middle East. They could easily be our friends if we implemented such a policy. If we do not do this, conflict all over the area will continue, putting our lives, our children’s lives and our economy at great risk. This is my greatest fear.