Submitted by lpadron from Miami, Fl

Q: Gee, David's note kind of makes you feel all christmas-y inside doesn't it? Anyway, I hope you consider writing more on your experiences as a stepdad. There is way too much in the way of "how to" on this subject and not enough "this is what I learned, this is how it changed me and why I'd do it all over again (or not)" books step dads-in-the-making can avail themselves of. It's sorely needed material. Have a good christmas and new year!

Answered 12/03/08 13:59:14 by Leonard Pitts

A: Thank you. (And yes, David was a piece of work. I wish he was unique, but he's anything but.) This is my last Live Chat of the year (I'm on vacation beginning next week). Have a great holiday. And to all, a good night.

Submitted by Will Sharpe from Austin, TX

Q: Who were some writers, especially columnists, who inspired you to want to write? H.L. Mencken, for instance?

Answered 12/03/08 13:57:53 by Leonard Pitts

A: When I was a young writer, the only columnist who was an inspiration was the late Erma Bombeck. Some years after that came Al Martinez and Jim Murray of the L.A. Times. The writer who was most influential upon me, however, wasn't a columnist, but a comic book guy: Stan Lee.

Submitted by Will Sharpe from Austin, TX

Q: Should urban public schools hope for the likes of Michelle Rhee in improving their dismal performances? She certainly rules with an iron fist and operates undemocratically, but her results and ability to produce change, thus far, seem to be headed in the right direction. Most importantly, she genuninely appears to take the children's best interest to heart--placing their education and well being above teachers' tenure. Do teachers unions need to see more Michelle Rhee's?

Answered 12/03/08 13:50:04 by Leonard Pitts

A: My hunch - and it is only that, since all the results are not yet in - is that American education (not just urban public schools) needs more of what Michelle Rhee is offering and much less of the excuses that seem so ubiquitous.

Submitted by David from Atlanta

Q: You sir are Ungrateful black man. You are obviously an affirmative action recipient.We gave you an education,favorable loans ,free housing a job you probably took from a white person with twice your skill set, and this is how you thank me. When judgement day comes , I hope that I am not in the same line with you.

Answered 12/03/08 13:42:23 by Leonard Pitts

A: David, you are an idiot. Good luck with that.

Submitted by Clarice Boucher from Austin, Tex

Q: Thank you for your wonderful Thanksgiving Day column. Thank you for your "conversation with God". I really needed it on ths day of all days. I read your column faithfully,and even sometimes I don't agree with you, I appreciate your courage and conviction on writing any subject you choose. Isn't America wonderful that you can write as you choose. God Bless, and thank you again.

Answered 12/03/08 13:41:10 by Leonard Pitts

A: Amen. And thank you.

Submitted by Colleen Long from Ephrata, WA

Q: I wanted to tell you how much I appreciated your "Faith makes sense of world" editorial. Fantastic. Thought provoking and appropriate for the season. I loved the ending. Thank you.

Answered 12/03/08 13:40:54 by Leonard Pitts

A: Thank you.

Submitted by rick from phoenix az

Q: Mr. Pitts Happy Thanksgiving from the beautiful Sonoran Desert, where cool rain showers are enlivening our holiday today. I read your column this morning and enjoyed it as I do all your writing. Still.....it is not hard to divest oneself of the beleif that some supernatural being is watching your every move and logging your every thought, assuming that anyone would consider that a good, as opposed to an evil, concept. It just a takes a litle courage. Isn't the universe laid out precilsey as we woud expect it to be if there were no God? Today, msnbc is reporting new and surreal creatures live at the depths of the oceasn, discovered by a group of scientist in a deep diver, an amazing machine. Clearly they have been there, evolving, for millions, maybe tens of millions of years. Is it so, so that today, we, little specks that we are, can find them? Is it not more likely that they are the result of natrual processes, unguided and undirected, and would have remained undsicovered by us were it not for human curiosity, somethign every religion in the West has a long history of actively discouraging? But God's ultimate problem is the one of evil....does the benficient creator also make tapeworms, cancer cells, and childhood leukemia? Can he heal you and me of horible diseases....and if you believe so, why, oh why, are amputees never made whole, despite the earnest prayers of those who love tehm? Yes, the universe does appear to operate as we woud expect it to, if NO god wer at the helm. If there were a benfcient God at the helm, he woud run things much differetnly, and to the extent that he does not, that he allows the tsetse fly and the AIDS virus, is no god worthy of the name or the worship. Your thoguhts?

Answered 12/03/08 13:40:40 by Leonard Pitts

A: My thoughts were expressed in the column you read. But I do wonder if this is the part where I am to congratulate you on having "a little courage."

Submitted by Jim Carr from Mesa, Arizona

Q: Why did you refer to god as male in your column, published Thanksgiving Day in Phoenix, AZ?

Answered 12/03/08 13:38:39 by Leonard Pitts

A: Because there is no gender neutral pronoun in the English language other than "it," which has the disadvantage of sounding highly pejorative.

Submitted by Will Sharpe from Austin, TX

Q: When you write a story as powerful as "Our destructive love of stuff" or the story about the MySpace bully in Iowa, do these subject matters ever make you hesistate before writing them or are they, moreso, a call to hold a light to the darkest transgressions of our society?

Answered 12/03/08 13:37:31 by Leonard Pitts

A: I don't hesitate at all, so I guess I'll go with the latter interpretation.

Submitted by Will C from Bethel, Maine

Q: Hi Mr. Pitts, at my high school seniors must complete a presentation on a topic of their choice as a graduation requirement. Mine is on how irreverent humor and satire affect society. In a July 16 article you wrote that satire "seeks truth in the ridiculous," but the article, which was a response to the infamous New Yorker cover, also discussed misinterpretation of satire. My question is this: do you believe that because of it's ability to "seek truth" satire can be used to enlighten audiences? Or do you think that audiences must already be enlightened even to interpret it correctly, and so at most satire can only reinforce the beliefs of those intelligent enough to "get it?"

Answered 12/03/08 13:36:49 by Leonard Pitts

A: This will sound terribly "elitist" (good thing I'm not running for office!) but understanding satire requires a certain level of sophistication on the part of the audience. Such people are accustomed to seeing a piece of art (book, movie, picture, whatever) both in terms of what is on the surface and also in terms of deeper meaning. Other folks will take the same piece only at face value. (And no, I'm NOT saying everybody who hated the New Yorker cover was an ignorant rube. There were many people who "got" that picture, but still hated it.)