Thanks for the insight and helpful references. I try to teach parts of the service to young students and appreciate these perspectives. (We have a combined school of Reform and Conservative families so a broad appreciation is helpful.) Stuart

Chris - nice post it sounds like you are a fan of Tom Barnett.

I'm with you Dr. Wu. (and Donald and Walter) The neurotic symptoms described here seem to be common in LA - meeting women elsewhere around the world dispels the normalcy of the condition. At the risk of splashing a little ether on the flames, the argument about women being paid disproportionately less than male coounterparts doesn't have an appearance of intellectual honesty. I work at a large corporation where plenty of women share the same job titles as men - but the men are paid more due to their years of experience. I have tremendous respect for women that sacrified their professional careers to raise a family - but I don't think they are owed back pay while they made those sacrifices. And for those women (or men) who aren't willing to dedicate themselves to a career by working less than fulltime or even not working the usual extra 10-15 hours a week - well they just aren't as valuable economically as those that do.