Without choosing a side of the original poster's question, I suggest reading Kathleen Parker's commentary on the "broken window syndrome". If it isn't in your regular reading, you can find it at: http://www.townhall.com/columnists/k.../archive.shtml

interesting,,,particularly when you hear some people talk about how overly stiff and formal Europeans can be...i guess thats just the ones that wear clothes?

Thanks, kappa, for figuring out what C'aillez was supposed to be. It had me totally stumped and rooting around in French dictionaries. I thought maybe someone had made a verb out of the word for quail and stuck in an apostrophe!

As a Canadian, i assure you that in the majority of Canada, French is very much a foreign language. We learn colors and numbers and a few basic phrases in school, but that's about it.

abbynicole..."colors?" I assume you mean colours, or are you from that part of Canada that is a blue state?

You can count me in for listening to naked boobs, too. ((a)) ((b))

we spell it both ways in western canada - I've never been corrected for spelling it 'colors'

Replying and wondering if I'm a "neo-con" or some other label bantered about here....
The Kathleen Parker article is very good. Kind of a variation of the "slippery slope" concept. I for one am glad that, whether it be morality or civil liberties (often seen as two different sides of the spectrum), that there are those who stand up against erosion. Yes, positions taken by the ACLU or the far right can be absurd, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be discussed and they may have other, more subtle, validity (ok, not all the time!).
Pal, I don't know if you are just trolling for responses, but I don't think even Hillary would agree the Clinton scandal can be compared to an open relationship permitted (at least tacitly) by an understanding spouse. And I think you may find, in many instances, that governance is influenced negatively by personal choices or scandals.
Socr: I'd be interested in who you think the vociferous groups are? I would suggest they shift as the media plays to its perceived audience (and, to its own bias, sometimes). The Blue staters (or at least anti-Bush people) were very visible pre-election. The anti-Bush sentiment in the news calmed with his strong election results, but I think it is already creeping back in. It can't stay away long, b/c (a) it makes for divisive but passionate news (and they say it is Bush who divides (doesn't anyone remember the 90s?)); and/or (b) it is a position held largely by those who report the news.

Kappa: well they didn't teach me very good francais in school either; though i studied French for 4 years in high school and at the hotty-tottie U of M i could barely speak understandable French though i could read it well enough to muddle thru Candide. It's only when i spent summers in France babysitting my young French son that i began to pick up the language, but as my ex-wife says, i speak like a six-year old child. Anyway ca y'est i heard over and over and used it often never realizing what it technically meant from a translation point. To me it means 'that's enough, it's over' but i'm sure it means other things as well. Anyways Kappa thanks for correcting me - i thought c'aillez because maybe it came from 'there it goes' which is also probably an incorrect translation. Salut!

one of the buzz phrases after the election was people were "voting for moral reasons" - that they were against gay marriage. Bush would not have won without pandering to the religious right. Interesting that George did come out in for support of civil unions (had to appease Dick) - and the religious right was not pleased. Spain is now considering gay marriage despite that catholic church's disapproval - it's only a matter of time when all of Europe will embrace gay marriage. (and no the world will not come to an end - you can leave that to the religous fantatics, thank you very much)

WOW! With the deletion of NYCFoodSnob's post, mine kinda stands out there with no meaning. I was just 2nd-ing her original comment. ((a)) ((b))

It is a shame that at least some of the beaches in the states can't be set aside for those who wish to go nude.

Perhaps if there were more nude beaches in the states, it would give more people a chance to experience going "au natural"

<b>fehgeddaboudit</b>

I thought you actually just missed the German reference, but now I know that if anybody has to take their head out of their behind it may just be you. You must not be the brightest star in your family if you missed this part of the original post:


<b>In Germany I saw teens playing volleyball topless in a park. Or Munich's Englischer Gartens, which on a nice day has hundreds of nude bathers laying and prancing about.</b>


Have a wonderful day! :-)

You can find one very famous, very nice textile-optional beach here in Vancouver - Wreck Beach. It's an excellent spot for hiking - and not because of the humans. Plus, people often have various forms of protest or fundraising that involve public nudity. But as my husband points out, somehow no one seems to want to protest nude in January. Wonder why.

&gt;It is a shame that at least some of the beaches in the states can't be set aside for those who wish to go nude.&lt;

For those who might be interested, google &quot;nude beaches united states&quot;. You will find more than a few dozen.

I wonder if there are any in US that are truly public, not so fenced off hideaways to keep perverts out? Holland for example has stretches of its popular beach in Zandvoort officially labeled nudism OK. It's not that there are nude beaches or nudist clubs here, i remeber looking at nudist club magazines in the drug store when i was in high school in the 60s - 'naturalism' has a long and storied history in the US; public nudity is still a no-no that will put you on the sex offender list forever in many locales.

I'm surprised those dear editors were so heavy handed. It's not like I called the OP an idiot, well sort of.

As long as the editors read what I write. That's enough pleasure for me. I have a feeling some folks at fodors corp. appreciate my take on things in spite of all the complaints. The fact that Budman got to read and respond is icing on my titty cake.

Ira,

There are VERY few legal nude beaches in the states. There are some beaches were nudity has been the custom but nudity on the beaches remains technically illegal.

It would be nice if &quot;more than a few dozen&quot; beaches really were legal for nude sunbathing.

I should have batted my eyes faster, or closed them sooner, when I saw an older, heavy, topless woman <u>running</u> across the beach at Cannes once. It was not a pretty sight.

<b>AAFrequentFool</b> : I read it all correctly the first time. You're having a semantics issue with yourself.
Having &quot;just returned from the UK&quot; does <u>not</u> mean that PalQ &quot;just returned&quot; from Germany.
Who in your family is helping you log on?