Archive: March 2006
Amen To That
Prayer doesn't appear to heal, according to the latest scientific study. Or maybe it does, according to earlier studies and plenty of believers. Readers debate the subject. "If this is a federally funded research project," writes Truthdr, " it should be cancelled. Trying to investigate the super natural healing of people is akin to studying whether God exists or not...to expend public funds for this is just plain stupid." Corvette keeps an open, albeit doubtful mind. "As an atheist, I don't believe in God or prayer. However, I DO believe prayer is very similar to meditation, or just a general "calming down" of yourself and your mind, both of which can help someone physically."...
By Lindsay Howerton | March 31, 2006; 11:39 AM ET | Comments (2)
Developing A Headache
News that Fairfax County approved the development of MetroWest, a complex of homes and high rises flanking the Vienna Metro station has readers debating the pros and cons. Truthdr says, "Its about time. This is the way out of the traffic congestion that plagues the area." Jjofsp is less sure that Metro West offers a miracle cure for congestion, writing that its shortsighted to assume,"...that all of the people involved will live, work and shop in the same place. I'd be really surprised if that happened. In the meantime, you have greatly increased the population in an area that is already overcrowded, impacting those that already live there..."...
By Lindsay Howerton | March 29, 2006; 2:27 PM ET | Email a Comment
Insecure Advice
What's with slacker tech support teams dispensing possibly misguided advice to disable firewalls and anti-virus applications without telling customers that the measure should be temporary, and that they must re-enable their security features after solving program conflict issues? That's what Brian Krebs probes in today's Security Fix. His readers mostly share the outrage. BZ sees a liability issue in the cards. "One of these days such advice will lead to significant customer harm (e.g., identify theft), at which point the customer should be able to make a pretty good liability case against the vendor who advised them to drop all their security defenses."...
By Lindsay Howerton | March 23, 2006; 1:05 PM ET | Email a Comment
The Global Economy Mindset
Post columnists Harold Meyerson and Robert J. Samuelson take on globalization issues today. Meyerson says fifty million plus American jobs -- and not just in manufacturing --- are going to go up in smoke and that the U.S. ought to plan for the transition. Samuelson tackles immigration and the "guest worker" notion, calling it unnecessary and damaging to American workers. But just to keep it balanced, the good news is that consumers feel better. Apparently they're not reading Meyerson and Samuelson. Here's what the readers had to say about the columnists' stern talking-to. Terpfan83 lambastes Meyerson, calling him "..a lefty waterboy," (Hey -- do we have to get personal? No, cuz its against our rules so keep it straight and simple, Mr. Critic.) Oh, right, so Terpfan says Meyerson is,"...afflicted with the left's disconnection from economic reality -- increased unionization and increased investment at home don't belong in the same...
By Lindsay Howerton | March 22, 2006; 12:26 PM ET | Comments (2)
Taking Parents to Task
John Kelly sits in for Marc Fisher today on a Raw Fisher blog titled Parental Guidance Suggested that rants about involved parents and permissive parents in roughly equal measure. For the most part, his readers agree, adding fuel to the fire. "We pretty much let our daughter do whatever she wants, as long as it isn't dangerous or inconsiderate, but when we tell her no, it's final," says The Cosmic Avenger. "That's the biggest mistake parents make these days, GIVING IN TO WHINING."...
By Lindsay Howerton | March 21, 2006; 12:35 PM ET | Email a Comment
On Balance -- Who Weighs The Scale?
Your Post readers and forum participants will recall a thread last week referencing Post writer Leslie Morgan Steiner's social commentary piece, Moms at War: Attacking Each Other, and Themselves, which I blogged about here. Since then, Steiner launched a new washingtonpost.com blog, On Balance, whose comments have taken off at an amazing clip. One Steiner entry discusses whether it's really possible to create a "village" that raises kids when we view each other through fixed lenses of entitlement or resentment. She used the example of a working mom leaning on a stay-at-home mom to provide built in babysitting on snowdays without offering a reciprocal arrangement. The stay-at-home mom refused, but was her reasoning more defensive than negotiable? Here's what readers thought: Ms L voices skepticim about creating a village without a true relationship at work. She writes, "I live in a real village-- a cohousing neighborhood-- where neighbors do things...
By Lindsay Howerton | March 17, 2006; 11:22 AM ET | Email a Comment
Girls Gone Mild
I hope that when my girls are old enough to go on spring break that the headline above holds true. Or at any rate, if they choose to RRRRROCK, that they do it in a form that honors themselves and their world. Perhaps the recent American Medical Association warning about the dangers of spring break will have filtered out to girls by then. Along with what I hope is solid parenting messages that hold them in good stead. Here's what readers had to say about the article. Fizizzle is not optimistic. "Our society has completely decayed. Life is all about hedonism and self-gratification. I blame the erosion of family values and marriage as the reason. In today's world, youth can act on impulse, be capricious about their sexual behavior without any discouragement from society." Yeah, somehow the threat of no TV or ordering your kid to their room means little...
By Lindsay Howerton | March 15, 2006; 1:10 PM ET | Email a Comment
Ethics Not Included...Or Necessary
Readers aren't showing much appreciation for Congress's rejection of a proposal to create an independent ethics and lobbying oversight office. "Congress has no time to be ethical," says DFrantsen. "They are too busy snooping on Americans and giving deals to terrorist friendly nations." Toolman28 piles on. "Kind of like a group of Felons coming to the comclusion that they do not need prisons because they can police them selves" Ouch....
By Lindsay Howerton | March 3, 2006; 12:41 PM ET | Comments (12)
