Maybe AC does do this quite a bit but as another writer who just had her book reviewed in the Nation explained the use of "cripple" instead of "disabled" to me -- the reviewer used cripple for shock value. This is for Nation readers, a kind of way to make the story more controversial, to draw in a reader. So what does that say about what the media demands from people who write for them? Marta -- Marta Russell Los Angeles, CA http://www.disweb.org