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"But what about the looting of luxury items? Some media images showed people hauling off television sets and DVD players, in an area with no electricity. "That's something we as researchers are going to take a closer look at," he said."

I have a theory.

I didn't think of it, really, till I read the original post. But if I was stranded and scared after a disaster, of course I'd take food, drinks, whatever survival items my family needed. Christian or not, you would, too. And if I had half the chance, I'd also take luxury items like jewelry and electronics if I had a place to keep them. The smaller stuff I could carry with me would be better, cigarettes, even maybe prescription meds from the pharmacies. Why? They're as good as carrying money if you can get somewhere to sell them. Even if you can't go anywhere, if you can hang onto them till order is restored, you can sell them then and get a head start on rebuilding your life. Is it unethical, knowing that if you don't get there first someone else will take it? Knowing that it might save your family's lives? Hell, you can pay the shops back later if it matters that much to you. I probably would, when I could. Doesn't matter what it is - something is better than nothing.

What I don't get, though, is that apparently some people stayed behind ON PURPOSE JUST SO THEY COULD LOOT.
Now, THAT is pure evil.

And even if the Little House TV story weren't totally fabricated, might I point out that Mary's TV baby died when the school caught fire? And the blind couple - Mary and Adam - had sighted people who worked and lived there to help out. Not a great example, but hey, I love the stories too. :-)

I understand that blind people develop a different sort of "sight" and can, within reason, "see" almost everything. I would expect that blind parents, if they were responsible and caring, would find creative ways to keep their kids safe.

I am thrilled to read that others caught the flubs and other funny things I did while watching - OG-BYN, look into your gut, the stammers and pauses when trying to describe ETHICS regarding abortion and stem cell research.

It was grand to see Kerry at a loss for words and awkward when it's generally Bush who is regarded as a poor speaker. He did marvelous.

I lost track of how many times DH and I said, during the debate, "that sounds expensive."

Whether Kerry won or lost, according to the media, is irrelevant. I cannot imagine how anyone could've watched tonight's debate and come away thinking Kerry could be trusted. You can win a debate and still be a gooey waffle.

I've said it many times - this election is not Bush vs. Kerry. It's Bush vs. Not Bush. I've never spoken with anyone who said they really liked Kerry - if they were on that side, they said they didn't like Bush. That's all. How can you win a race that way?

I'm laughing - what a wonderful phrase, "how very Sept. 10"! I can see that phrase catching on big time.

Done. I'd been wanting to do that for a long while. What I said was that they should pump some new blood into the lineup and let us think instead of assuming we want anchors that do the thinking for us.

Maybe so. But what did Buddha do for his followers?

And what did Christ do for his? He died so they could live forever.

I don't see it as a religion based on fear. I see it as a religion based on infinite forgiveness - a wonderful Dad who loves us all so much that he's willing to give us everything we need. What a comfort.

I can't compare it to a religion of meditation and peace. That seems to me like a religion of nothing, but then, it's not my culture.

For the author, I recommend the following reference:

Catholicism For Dummies

Absolutely - it's an evolutionary issue. Used to be, most people didn't live long enough to worry about losing their adult teeth to decay. Now that some are living to 100 or so, a third set 'round about our 30's or 40's would really come in handy! I could use a few.

The options seem to be this: Bush, or anyone who isn't Bush. Not much of a choice, is it?

Let me just ask you two questions. One, do you smoke? Two, have you, as a child, been forced to ride in a car with parents who smoke?

I was. I experienced long car trips - two days in the car, from OH to FL, both parents smoking, windows up and a/c running. And my parents never understood why I had so little energy and ran out of breath so quickly.

I quit smoking in January this year. I have two children but I never smoked in the car with them - okay, rarely. I'm ashamed, really.

When they come home from other kids' houses where parents smoke, I can smell it on them. I can tell, when I volunteer at school, which kids' parents smoke. When you quit, you can tell and you hate it. I must have smelled like that my whole childhood. It's awful.

Thank the LORD I'm not doing that to my kids anymore.

But I digress. My point -- and I know this because I'm using powerful point-detection software -- is that people have...

We could all use this wonderful invention, point-detection software. Where do I buy it? Is anyone going to tell Kerry about this?

The answer: get married for life. Don't get divorced.

Excellent answer. It's simple, really:

1. Pick a GOOD one, not an easy one.
2. Take your time and actually (gasp) get to know them before getting married and having sex, preferably to be done in that order.
3. Take care of each other and any children you might bring into the world.
Why do so many people find that hard to do?

The really sad part is, "Rosie" wasn't a bad magazine, once you waded through all the gratuitous self-promotion.

I didn't want to like it. I got a free promo copy in my mailbox one day and was curious to see what replaced the venerable McCall's. And unlike most women's mags, "Rosie" had substance - at least for its first few issues.

It would've been a great mag if Rosie weren't so prominently featured. If they'd continued to publish it after she walked away, I might've even subscribed.

When I was a kid, we learned about bike safety in school. It was some sort of special program, like fire safety week. They taught us traffic rules, how to signal for turns, etc.

I doubt many schools do that anymore. Back then, most kids rode bikes as transportation around town. Nowadays bike riding is mostly done for recreation on trails or 'round and 'round suburban cul-de-sacs. It's a shame, really. No wonder this 8-year-old had no clue about right-of-way.

I don't get the tipping thing, anyway, never have. In any other job, you either do the work well or you don't get a raise, or you eventually get fired, and you get paid a solid check.

"To Insure Proper Service" doesn't make sense, because you tip *after* the service, not before, and may never be there again. And even if you are there again, what's the odds you'll get the same server who remembers your propensity to tip anyway?

I hate tips. I've never been into haggling, either. Just give me the price, and I'll decide what I want to buy. I hate commissions too. Just pay employees a decent salary and supervise their performance to make sure they're doing the job right.

FWIW, our school did the same thing in Kindergarten. But as of first grade, the kids kept their own property. Well, most of it.

I think part of the issue during K is that the morning/afternoon classes (1/2 day) share the same classroom, so keeping supplies in students' desks/cubbies was not an option.

My daughter tells me that a couple of her supplies were collected that way, things like tissue boxes and glue. The tissues were obviously meant to be shared with the classroom as needed, and the glue was "rationed" simply because 1st graders to tend to overdo it. :)

I don't see any political agenda here, just common sense. That isn't to say public schools are lacking in political agendas...just that this isn't part of it.

Yeah, no food on its own is the problem. My next door neighbor, a vegetarian, once got on his soapbox and informed me and his wife that it was all that meat we ate making us fat. Joke's on him, though - four years later, he's still a vegetarian but looks like he's about 8 months pregnant. Yep - it's inactivity.

Seems to me that a lot of our obesity problem is due to an obsession with obesity and food. It's a catch-22 - you worry about getting fat, so you think about each bite you eat, and those junk foods become even more tempting when you're not "allowed" to eat them.

My parents never prohibited me from eating junk food - even cookies before dinner. I was rail-thin, at least till my mid-20's. Genetics? Maybe - my dad was the only thin person in my family, though. Food didn't have much significance to me beyond simple enjoyment till I was in my late teens and surrounded by dieters.

I could lose a few pounds - well, more than that if I wanted to meet magazine model standards :) but I'm at a healthy weight. I personally feel that the key to keeping at a healthy weight is to eat a wide variety of foods.

I don't prohibit my kids from eating junk, either. I just make sure they have lots of healthy options. When faced with a choice between a box of donuts and a garden-fresh cucumber, my 7 year old will take the cuke sliced up with some low-fat dip any time.

Then again, maybe she's weird. ;)

>>>>Why do Saddam's sons go by pig latin names? That's got to be bad juju.

>>Could be worse: in regular language they'd be called Doo and Suck.

Now THIS is the post that finally got me laughing. Thanks!