I don't want to say Ms. Hasselbeck went Full Metal Kitty here, but where I am from, when posed with someone behaving thusly, you put some newspaper down on the floor in the corner, you place them squarely on it, and you don't let them leave until they understand that if they make a mess (as she did here), there will…

For very force, there is an equal and opposing force.

Yes, Mr. Kostas comported himself with amazing restraint and directness. I don't recall ever seeing anyone from the world of sports journalism exercise such restraint alloyed with such remarkable focus.

Say what you will, I think Mr. Kostas did a superb job of asking grenade-like questions without overdoing it and pulling the pin. The tension on his face was palpable, so great was the challenge posed by this interview. And for my money, Mr. Kostas was more than up to the task.

I am indeed. The Calumet Region is where I hail from. You? When did we correspond? (And forgive me for not remembering!)

You are nothing but welcome.

You are nothing but welcome.

The reference to WalMart was nothing more than a backhanded swipe at their ability to stock everything under the sun. (I just bought an Jarvik 7 artificial heart there, for instance.) But I appreciate how the underlying reality of WalMart as a corporate citizen makes the chances of them carrying moral compasses a long…

Thanks for the kind words, Hip. I think it's mind-numbingly obvious that the gap where the moral rubber is supposed to meet the ethical road (stop me before I commit more metaphorical atrocities!) is ever-widening and eternally elusive. But the idea that somebody is going to parlay the Occupy Movement into a business…

Interesting how the "he didn't HAVE to" logic has appeared yet again.

Yeah, it's tragic. Your friend can contribute to society in so many more ways following his true passion instead of doing what the townsfolk want, but somehow that gets lost. Personally, I think it's because if he follows his muse, by implication it touches on how so many people didn't or haven't. And no one likes…

Thanks, PP. As an ex-Hoosier, I witnessed firsthand what I touched on. I am not blaming people for lapsing into temporary insanity when posed with the existential vacuum that life in the middle of a Midwestern winter can become, but what you're seeing in Pennsylvania is as ugly a display of misplaced anger as I have…

There is a reason that in certain parts of the country sports is God.

Thanks, SV. I think there is something about this topic that seems to blind people to what feels on the verge of obvious to me.

Thanks, SV. It just happened to be something I am deeply committed to, something this culture I live in seems to intent on trying to outrun despite the obvious conclusion.

The bottom line for all this piece touches on is that we live in a time and place where we refuse to confront the inevitable and unavoidable conclusion that aging gracefully is not for the meek. They may (allegedly) inherit the earth, but they won't negotiate life's invariably frothy whitewater with aplomb.

Mr. Paterno's response/lack thereof brings into focus the difference between technically discharging one's duties versus doing what's right.

Given what a tool Mr. O'Neal comes off as in this piece, I think the use of the word ""uncut" in the title is more than a little appropriate, if not downright ironic.

Well, if the rule of rebelling against one's parents is any indication, this young lady is going to be one very well-adjusted human being.

At best, Ms. Handler should be a supporting character on a show. Her darkness, density, and inability to carry a real laugh (as opposed to the ones she elicits by saying something off-color/off-putting) are well-documented.