An intense debate has been started by California Democratic Assemblywoman Sally J. Leiber's announcement of her intent to introduce a bill to make spanking a child under the age of 4 a crime.

After sex and money and kids the thing most couples fight about is chores. Chores. It doesn't seem to have the emotional baggage that the others do, so what's the deal? Apparently, it's about respect (I read that somewhere). If the other person isn't taking enough care about the house we share, it feels like a lack of respect and appreciation for the other person. If you put it that way, it does seem like a pretty important part of a healthy relationship.

So, after smoldering all day about my husband not helping out as much as I wished he did, I decided that I wouldn't get mad, I'd get even. That's where the Taskmaster came in. No, it's not a torture device, it's a form to help you divide the household chores evenly.

Circumcision really wasn’t a topic that came up much in my life until I was faced with the responsibility for making a decision about whether to cut my own child or not. How do you make a choice like this? It seems weird and incestuous to be contemplating the future sexual gratification of your unborn son.

The choice not to circumcise has become increasingly popular - you know, the way vegetarian meats have become popular - not that pork farmers have anything to worry about, but people don’t look at you sideways (as much) if you pack it (for lunch). There are even movements amongst Jews that are questioning--circumcision, not pork. Some say the originally prescribed circumcision was only meant to be the very tip of the foreskin and not the more severe version of circumcision today, which, they claim, is barbaric.

I run with the crowd that is fringe enough to consider not circumcising, but in the end not quite fringe enough to keep the fringe on their boys. The main reason seemed to be locker room phobia - not wanting their little peters to be made fun of. Considering that many men get castration anxiety if you so much as stare daggers at them, I was surprised that, it was the dads who seemed to lean more pro and the moms who had a hard time imagining inflicting any pain on their poor innocent Mr. Pickles.

A recent New York Times Magazine piece reported that doctors have confirmed that circumcision reduces the chances of a man contracting HIV by 60 percent. Tina Rosenberg makes the argument that this is as good as any vaccine we are ever likely to develop for the wily HIV virus.