MikeL

I think the kind of tendencies you mentioned are natural. By natural, I don't mean they are something we are born with but rather a reflection of our own experiences. It is natural for us to believe those ideas to which we have been exposed. Someone who is around a group of Christians may frequently hear about the evils of homosexuality. That person may or may not adopt that belief himself. He may consider himself a devout Christian and not harbor any ill will toward homosexuals. Or, he may be a Christian in name only and have a bitter hatred of the gay lifestyle. It is only natural that he would, given his environment. Indeed, some Christian groups never speak out against gays. The same situation may apply to a gay person who frequently hears other gays lambasting Christians for their attempts to impose their morality on everyone else. He may or may not develop a distaste for everything Christian. It is only natural that he would dislike or distrust church people. One thing Christians and gays have in common is the tendency to stereotype the other group. Such an approach is always wrong if you believe that everyone in a given group is like everyone else in that group. Everything is beautiful in its own way.

I'm sure you didn't intend anything negative about Tennessee, Benji. I mean, surely you are not prejudiced against, or guilty of stereotyping, the citizens of various states. Reading the full story linked clearly shows that the practices in a few school districts do not meet the policies which have been adopted, policies which are supportive of gays. Tennessee has 95 counties and some of the cities have their own school districts, resulting in 135 school districts in the state. Just because the Tennessee ACLU sent a press release to the media about several districts in the state doesn't mean Tennessee is the only state with a practice which might be considered discriminatory despite policies which prohibit such discrimination. It may mean only that the Tennessee ACLU is actively pursuing this issue at this time. You may wish to read this summary of recent ACLU press releases on similar cases. One of the these cases involved San Francisco. San Francisco? No big surprise there, right?

American Idol has nothing on Britain's Got Talent. If you doubt that, watch this.

Gay Authors now has 7,000 members. Number 7,000 is zako2v31. Let's party!

Robbie, if you're still in the market for a replacement car, you might not want to rush into buying one. You should at least wait to see what Detroit produces after the government bailout/takeover is complete. Remember that the best minds in Washington will be involved in designing your new ride. For example: And remember, you new ride is backed by the full faith and credit of the Government of the United States of America:

Buddha Buddy, Congratulations on becoming a homeowner. I hope you will get the house at the asking price; don't hesitate to bargain. The bank knows that, if they end up foreclosing and selling at auction, they will get considerably less; that's your trump card. I would hazard a guess that the beginning of baseball season will inspire you to return to work on When I See You Again.

I am celebrating the birth of my second grandson today! He's cute!

Following a strong aftershock, the death toll has reached 207.

Was this part of an early release program?

We deserve the current mess because we are too little involved in our government. Since I retired, I've had time to meet with and/or write to my representatives on a variety of topics...taxes, zoning and Medicare being the most important to me. I have found my city councilman, US representative, and one of my US senators to be very responsive. I wish I had started getting involved years earlier. I also have Comcast and find their cable internet service to be very good...if you consider 12 Mbps to be fast enough...but pricey. They have excess usage penalties, but I haven't been affected; I guess I don't download that much. Their HD TV signal is horrible, so I swithced to DirecTV over a year ago.

Les Miz (London) Starlight Express (New York) Phantom of the Opera (National touring company) I guess anything by Andrew Lloyd Weber; I think I've seen them all.

Toe rag? Need to remember that one!

Here's a cool Smart Car: If I remember correctly, the European version has an 81hp, 3 cylinder, diesel.

Congratulations and thanks to the administrators and authors who have been involved with GA over the last seven years. If I figured it correctly, Joe was 12 years old at the beginning. GA has come a long way.

Great chapter, Cliff. It is action-packed and well worth the wait. As usual, it ends in a cliffhanger or two. Will the C-130 escape detection? Or, will the ever-resourceful General have another trick up his sleeve?

I think the Italians call this pasta Penecello, which translates into English as "little prick".

Just an observation...the Smart car is a German automobile, not that you would want one. It's made by Daimler-Benz.

I drive an eleven year old Chrysler Concorde. It's not exactly a young man's car , but it is the best car I have ever owned. I've had no significant problems in 118,000 miles (much lower mileage than it would have if I hadn't retired six years ago). My point is Chrysler makes good cars...better than their reputation. You may find some of the Dodge body styles more appealing. I just hope the company survives, both for the sake of the good cars and for the jobs that are at stake. My wife drives a sixteen year old Dodge Grand Caravan. We did replace the transmission about six years ago. She loves her van.

What do you do if you are being silent and a really cute guy speaks to you? Do you ignore your vow of silence and engage him in conversation or do you give him the silent treatment? Just curious.

I just wish my high school teachers had been silent for one day. Sorry, I realize I'm no help.

I'm green everyday!

Thanks, Cliff, for a great chapter. Romance and duplicity are in the air.

BONNE F

Have a good trip, Cliff. Careful climbing that volcano. Six weeks?

About people not using their turn signals...if you see a turn signal flashing, it probably came that way from the factory.