hot pants college II

"Smokey Locke (that’s what I’m calling him) tells Richard that it’s good to see him “out of those chains”—probably a reference to Richard time as a slave on the Black Rock. (The Black Rock, remember, was the slave ship that arrived in the first few minutes of last year’s finale, and was then marooned in the middle of the island.) We know that Jacob brought the Black Rock to the island. Was it for Richard? Is Jacob running his own version of the Underground Railroad? Side benefits include eternal life, eyeliner, Banana Republic outfits."

"Bouncing between the two narratives also allows the show to answer one of its central questions: Is it better to control your own destiny or to let fate decide it? In the reset timeline, half of the characters are worse off than they once were: Charlie is suicidal; Kate is homicidal; Sawyer is still a con man; Locke is still a crippled man; Sun and Jin are still unequal partners in a failing marriage. But then half actually seem better off: Boone is alive; Sayid is in love; Bernard and Rose are happy; Jack isn’t an ass; Hurley is lucky."

"Pam Tebow’s story certainly is moving. But as a guide to making abortion decisions, it’s misleading. Doctors are right to worry about continuing pregnancies like hers. Placental abruption has killed thousands of women and fetuses. No doubt some of these women trusted in God and said no to abortion, as she did. But they didn’t end up with Heisman-winning sons. They ended up dead."

"O’Keefe got heaping amounts of praise, including from the conservative corners of this blog, for his ACORN work. The group and its allies insist that he told a one-sided story, using shady editing and cherry-picking a few bad workers to paint the entire organization as corrupt. He was defended as a fearless investigative journalist. But the Landrieu stunt, if proven, would blow a hole in that defense. If he is willing to break the law, wouldn’t he be willing to shade the truth in the ways the ACORN supporters have accused?"

"I’m used to Republicans and conservatives not giving a damn about people like us, or mocking us for asking questions like this. That’s why my father spent so much of his life fighting to keep Democrats in power. But to be abandoned by people my father worked with and supported his entire life? What in the bill is so terrible to justify that?"