The Seventh Sense

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Dear Abby Hijacked: Volume Two

Actual letters to Dear Abby, randomly selected, with my response:

DEAR ABBY: My closest friend, "Tina," who is married, has been having an affair for a few months. She has now decided she's no longer in love with her husband, "Hal," and wants a divorce. Tina and Hal have been in my life for several years and are like family to me.

Hal recently reached out to me for an explanation about Tina's 180-degree change in attitude, feelings and behavior. He is crushed and confused about why she wants a divorce. He told me he had asked her if she had been cheating. Of course, Tina lied to him.

I don't want to be the one to tell Hal what she's doing, but I feel I owe it to him. I'm disgusted with Tina, and it's killing me to see him in so much pain. What do you suggest? Am I really a friend if I don't tell, or should I continue keeping her dirty little secret? -- IN THE MIDDLE IN CORPUS CHRISTI

DEAR IN THE MIDDLE:  No, don't tell Hal.  He'll find out soon enough, especially if shes sues for divorce.  The truth will always out, as Shakespeare said.

I would, however, start to distance myself from Tina, hard as it may be.  She's made herself an ugly bed, and is essentially asking her friends to respect her decision to have an affair.  If you can, fine, but most people don't approve of lies and deception.  Take your "disgust" with Tina, and move away from her.

DEAR ABBY: My children have been cared for by a wonderful baby sitter I'll call "Sally" for two years. Mine are the only children Sally watches, and she has three of her own. Our families have a friendly relationship.

Once in a while I will stop at the grocery store on my way home, or take off from work early for a dental appointment or some personal time. It is rare, but it does happen. I always tell Sally because I want to be honest. When I do, sometimes she acts like I should have picked them up right away. I still get there on time -- sometimes early -- and I pay her well.

Is there an unwritten rule that sitters are only for when you are at work? I don't think I have abused her services, but sometimes I feel as though she thinks so. -- FEELING GUILTY IN ILLINOIS

DEAR FEELING GUILTY:  You may be reading her wrong.  Or she may have a legitimate gripe.  Perhaps a frank and honest discussion with her is in order.  There is no "unwritten rule" about babysitting; reasonable people are allowed to differ.   Perhaps she thinks her services are being provided for only the time when you work.  Just talk to her and see if you can both get on the same page.

DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend, "Brady," and I do not share the same passions. I'm a gay rights activist and love animals. Brady is tolerant of gays, but does not love animals. (I have three cats.) Also, he is not altruistic.

"Something" is not right. I need to decide if I should go it alone because I have no intention of giving up my passions in life. What do you think? -- ON DIFFERENT PATHS IN TEXAS

DEAR ON DIFFERENT PATHS:  No two people are exactly the same, and compatability does not mean they have to see eye-to-eye on all matters.  You need to decide how "passionate" you are about these issues (gay rights, animals) and more importantly, how passionate your ideal boyfriend should be.  (Perhaps he is passionate about something that you are not?).  If not being a gay rights activist, for example, is a "deal breaker" for you, then it's time to move on.  But remember, a great part of any relastionship is being tolerant of the differences you have, and respecting those differences.

We're #5

U.S. News & World Report ranked the top law schools in the country.  Mine still remains at #5, behind Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and Columbia.

The New York Times Goes Mad

An interactive display of Al Jaffee fold-ins from over the years

Lou Dobbs Steps In It

Lou Dobbs explains how he's sick of "cotton pickin'" black leaders telling him how he can and can't talk about race (he catches himself at the last minute -- sorta) ...

UPDATE:  The folks at CNN threw Dobbs a bone.  The CNN transcript cut the work "cotton"

Blogging Traditions

John Cole starts a new blogosphere tradition: your 10,000th blog post should be about your cat.

Ok.  Well, this is my 5,511th post.  Maybe I'll have a cat by 10,000.  But I doubt it.

Government Deregulations

From The New York Times:

At this point, according to a review by Politico.com, the election commission, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board and the National Labor Relations Board do not have enough members to do their jobs. Scores of federal judgeships are vacant. The Council of Economic Advisers is down to one adviser.

Comforting, isn't it?

Cell Phones "More Dangerous Than Smoking"

The Independent:

Mobile phones could kill far more people than smoking or asbestos, a study by an award-winning cancer expert has concluded. He says people should avoid using them wherever possible and that governments and the mobile phone industry must take "immediate steps" to reduce exposure to their radiation.

The study, by Dr Vini Khurana, is the most devastating indictment yet published of the health risks.

It draws on growing evidence – exclusively reported in the IoS in October – that using handsets for 10 years or more can double the risk of brain cancer. Cancers take at least a decade to develop, invalidating official safety assurances based on earlier studies which included few, if any, people who had used the phones for that long.

Who ever thought that cell phone use could become a vice?

That said, I'm sure it's like aspertame in Tab.  You probably have to be one of those people with a mobile phone headset glued to your ear 24/7.  Casual users, like most of us, probably won't be affected.  I'm guessing.

UPDATE: Still, some people are afraid not to have their cell phones.

Obama Cutting Into Hillary's Superdel Advantage

WSJ:

WASHINGTON -- Slowly but steadily, a string of Democratic Party figures is taking Barack Obama's side in the presidential nominating race and raising the pressure on Hillary Clinton to give up.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota is expected to endorse Sen. Obama Monday, according to a Democrat familiar with her plans. Meanwhile, North Carolina's seven Democratic House members are poised to endorse Sen. Obama as a group -- just one has so far -- before that state's May 6 primary, several Democrats say.

[UPDATE:  The NC delegation that is supposed to endorse Obama en masse?  There's been a denial issued on that.]

The graphic says it all.

Also, the daily Gallup poll shows Obama widening on the popular vote over the past week or so, suggesting that the Wright controversy hasn't hurt him:

This marks the first time either candidate has held a double-digit lead over the other since Feb. 4-6, at which point Clinton led Obama by 11 percentage points.

I'm not among those who thinks Hillary should bow out now.  It is still very possible she can win, although the only way I think that can happen -- realistically -- is if Obama's three illegitimate children show up (or something like that). 

Look, she'll win Pennsylvania, but lose North Carolina and Indiana and most of the remaining states.  Superdels will continue to move into Obama's column.  Her chances of winning are at 25% in my estimate, but that's good enough to keep fighting the good fight.

The Washington Post editorial board sees some advantage to a protracted battle, namely:

* There are “millions of votes are yet to be cast,” and those voters should get “a chance” to express a preference;

* An “extended contest informs the electorate” and “battle-tests” the eventual nominee;

* Dems are gaining new voters for the fall with increased registration.

Sounds good to me.

How's That Training Of Iraqi Police Going?

Um.....

Iraqi police in Basra shed their uniforms, kept their rifles and switched sides

Abu Iman barely flinched when the Iraqi Government ordered his unit of special police to move against al-Mahdi Army fighters in Basra.

His response, while swift, was not what British and US military trainers who have spent the past five years schooling the Iraqi security forces would have hoped for. He and 15 of his comrades took off their uniforms, kept their government-issued rifles and went over to the other side without a second thought.

Such turncoats are the thread that could unravel the British Army’s policy in southern Iraq. The military hoped that local forces would be able to combat extremists and allow the Army to withdraw gradually from the battle-scarred and untamed oil city that has fallen under the sway of Islamic fundamentalists, oil smugglers and petty tribal warlords. But if the British taught the police to shoot straight, they failed to instil a sense of unwavering loyalty to the State.

I know all this intra-Shi'ite infighting is confusing, but thanks to Kevin Drum, we now have a handy cheat sheet so we know who’s shooting whom.  Not that it matters.  A clusterfuck is a clusterfuck.