Thanks to everyone who has written me about my Sarah Palin column in the paper yesterday. Just so you know, the mail and calls I got ran about 2 to 1 against my view that Sarah Palin’s family choices are fair game for discussion. Most of the notes were thoughtful; only a few called me names.

Several things came to my mind as I read that column again yesterday, though. The first was that, a week after I wrote it, it seemed a little stale. (My column deadline is about week earlier than the column runs in the newspaper. That’s what I get for writing a feature column.) I still agree strongly that Sarah Palin’s thoughts about family issues are totally fair to discuss, but I no longer think they are most important. As we got a first look at her in a national media interview, and read more about how she ran the state of Alaska, I’m more concerned now with how her experience and judgment will guide her in national office, not as much how her position on “culture war” issues inform her decisionmaking.

The other thing I thought this morning, though, is that I am looking forward to the first presidential debate at Ole Miss on Friday, Sept. 26. We need to focus again on the guys we’re actually electing, and the choices THEY will make for our country. The choice of Vice President is only one of many that tells what kind of leader each will be.

If you’re like me, you’ve gotten pretty sensitive to the mountains of styrofoam packaging that’s involved in a lot of take-out or pre-packaged food. So I’ve started to look for restaurants and delis that are trying to “go green,” using paper or other, less permanent ways to package their food and drinks. Last night at Soul Fish, one of my favorite spots in Cooper-Young, I noticed that they’ve dumped their foam cups (length of time they take to degrade: forever) in favor of something called Greenware, which sounds a little less, um, permanent, and seems to work just as well as foam did.

Where have you noticed a serious commitment to using more “green” stuff, and to making less trash? Let’s see if we can compile a list of environmentally sensitive restaurants, delis and coffee shops. Then let’s push to get the rest to come along with us.

Lots of you have mentioned my Sunday column last week, and I just realized I forgot to post it, so here’s a link. Anyone else finally decided to let go of the idea that you have to do everything in your relationship? Tell me about it …

On Tuesday, Janice Holder — long a lawyer and judge in Memphis, who’s been on the Tennessee Supreme Court since 1996 — was installed as CHIEF JUSTICE of the Court, the first woman in Tennessee to have that job. (Though I was interested to read that she is one of 18 female Chiefs throughout the country.) Janice is more than a smart, capable, hard-working judge, though she’s certainly that. She’s a third degree black belt in karate (love the photo), and a fascinating person. All the best to her in her new, vital job. You can read more about her in this month’s issue of skirt! Click on the button to the right to find out where to get your free copy.

It seems like the only political story breaking to me, but how important is John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, to you, and what parts of her story have affected you most?

I have to say that I’m particularly focused on her family choices. Since she (and the McCain campaign) brought them up — her infant with Down syndrome, her eldest son shipping out for Iraq, her status as a “hockey mom,” and (eventually) her pregnant teenage daughter — what do you think? Can you raise five kids and have enough time to be Vice President? Leaving aside her experience and political views for a moment (we can talk about them later), does the shape of Sarah Palin’s family, and the attention it requires, affect your opinion of how much time she can/should spend on politics?