Having Trouble with Faux Columns

Question

I've reviewed several websites that have code for Faux Columns but I still can't get my sidebar to stretch along the length of the page. Here's my code: 
<!--
body 
.twoColLiqLtHdr #container
.twoColLiqLtHdr #header
.twoColLiqLtHdr #header h1  
/* Tips for sidebar1:
1. since we are working in percentages, it's best not to use padding on the sidebar. It will be added to the width for standards compliant browsers creating an unknown actual width.
2. Space between the side of the div and the elements within it can be created by placing a left and right margin on those elements as seen in the ".twoColLiqLtHdr #sidebar1 p" rule.
3. Since Explorer calculates widths after the parent element is rendered, you may occasionally run into unexplained bugs with percentage-based columns. If you need more predictable results, you may choose to change to pixel sized columns.
.twoColLiqLtHdr #sidebar1
.twoColLiqLtHdr #sidebar1 h3, .twoColLiqLtHdr #sidebar1 p {
     margin-left: 5px; /* the left and right margin should be given to every element that will be placed in the side columns */
     margin-right: 5px;
/* Tips for mainContent:
1. the space between the mainContent and sidebar1 is created with the left margin on the mainContent div.  No matter how much content the sidebar1 div contains, the column space will remain. You can remove this left margin if you want the #mainContent div's text to fill the #sidebar1 space when the content in #sidebar1 ends.
2. to avoid float drop at a supported minimum 800 x 600 resolution, elements within the mainContent div should be 430px or smaller (this includes images).
3. in the Internet Explorer Conditional Comment below, the zoom property is used to give the mainContent "hasLayout." This avoids several IE-specific bugs.
.twoColLiqLtHdr #mainContent
.twoColLiqLtHdr #footer
.twoColLiqLtHdr #footer p  
/* Miscellaneous classes for reuse */
.fltrt { /* this class can be used to float an element right in your page. The floated element must precede the element it should be next to on the page. */
     float: right;
     margin-left: 8px;
.fltlft { /* this class can be used to float an element left in your page */
     float: left;
     margin-right: 8px;
.clearfloat { /* this class should be placed on a div or break element and should be the final element before the close of a container that should fully contain a float */
     clear:both;
    height:0;
    font-size: 1px;
    line-height: 0px;
-->
</style><!--[if IE]>
<style type="text/css">
/* place css fixes for all versions of IE in this conditional comment */
.twoColLiqLtHdr #sidebar1 { padding-top: 30px; }
.twoColLiqLtHdr #mainContent
/* the above proprietary zoom property gives IE the hasLayout it needs to avoid several bugs */
<!--
h1
h2
-->
[Item 1 | #]
[Item 1.1 | #]
[Item 1.2 | #]
[Item 1.3 | #]
[Item 2 | #]
[Item 3 | #]
[Item 3.1 | #]
[Item 3.1.1 | #]
[Item 3.1.2 | #]
[Item 3.2 | #]
[Item 3.3 | #]
[Item 4 | #]
Special
PURPOSE
This guide does not replace policy, procedures, or training
    Home Page
<!--
var MenuBar1 = new Spry.Widget.MenuBar("MenuBar1", );
//-->
</script>
</body>
</html>

Answer 1

Faux Columns will not work in a Fluid Layout (responsive web design)
Fortunately PVII have written a nifty little JS-file that will allow you to do that. See the example here http://www.projectseven.com/tutorials/css/pvii_columns/