I think the idea of using a marker to write the teen-ager's inscription on one's own t-shirt in such a situation is brilliant.

I'm thinking I want a T-shirt with "Your behavior offends me, so you must be punished" with some sort of wry symbol (or maybe a red circle and slash).

I've been watching the discussions and news articles over the past several months, but I still don't grasp a fundamental point.

The FCC has authority over the air waves because they grant licenses to public property to networks using those air waves (with requirements for public service programming, etc.)

But cable and satellite companies do not use the air waves. They offer service based on privately-financed infrastructure.

How does the FCC even figure into it?

I expect if these FCC efforts go too far, it will end up in the courts.

But if I'm wrong, I'll opt for the adult, non-fundamentalist package and use my v-chip and satellite channel blocking options and my own presence to oversee what my grand-sons watch at my house.

Dreadful. Ghastly. Certainly not compassionate.

Does anyone know of a fundraising effort?

In LW's situation, I recognized many aspects of my relationship with my own MIL (in my first marriage - I married at 19). The passive-aggressive actions on her part: while babysitting, she'd change our daughter into clothes she had bought and then describe the clothes we brought her in as "rags"; the constant, irritating questions at family gatherings at our home like: "do you really want so much cream in the gravy"; "do you think (our daughter) is dressed warmly enough since you have the thermostat so low", etc.

Like LW (although perhaps younger), I was "a scientist" pursuing a BS in math/physics when I married, while my MIL had a HS diploma. This was not a problem for me (my own mom didn't finish HS), but I now suspect it was a problem for MIL - I believe she felt threatened. BTW, I continued on to a scientific and reasonably compensated career.

Over time, we established a silent truce- enough so that we could "do" holidays and other family get-togethers.

She passed away 20 years ago.

But, here's the most important thing. Now that I'm older, (and,if not wiser, at least I have learned from life experiences), I truly wish that I had had the maturity to understand that my MIL (threatened by a superachieving DIL) had a lot of both history and experience to offer me...and I didn't understand that in time. I truly regret that.

My husband and I had a mid-life "destination" wedding in Las Vegas.

When we researched the cost of a modest wedding in our home town (where none of our adolescent and grown children lived), we opted out and had a modest wedding in the chapel at Treasure Island. We flew all the kids out and covered everything but their pocket/gambling money. Instead of a rehearsal dinner, we took everyone to the Siegfreid and Roy show. We essentially had a wonderful 3 day mini-family-vacation.

When we returned home, we threw a party for our friends to celebrate our union.

Great times and great memories.

As a resident of Texas, I can echo your words in my feelings about Dubya (well, maybe not the tobacco chewing).

Obviously, I'm older than the demographic in the article.

But I really can read a lot of news from a number of perspectives, online, in my home office, at my own pace and my fingers stay clean.

Transmission of news is simply moving to a different communication mode.

A week ago, the last telegram was sent. I see a similar obit for the printed newspaper some years hence.

A song from South Pacific below. This song repeatedly echoed in my head as I struggled to raise fair-minded, healthy children in unenlightened areas of the South.

You've got to be taught

To hate and fear,

You've got to be taught

From year to year,

It's got to be drummed

In your dear little ear

You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught to be afraid

Of people whose eyes are oddly made,

And people whose skin is a diff'rent shade,

You've got to be carefully taught.

You've got to be taught before it's too late,

Before you are six or seven or eight,

To hate all the people your relatives hate,

You've got to be carefully taught!

I was amused by the story...nothing Pulitzer-worthy, but OK.

What's up with many of you posters?

The gal got a tattoo! I didn't sense any child neglect or abuse - she even involved her kids in discussion before the event. And if she has enough money to put organic burger in the pasta sauce then she's likely not spending the grocery money on skanky personal adornment!

And as an author, she chose to share some of the thought process behind writing, including "slant" (admittedly, since I'm an Emily Dickinson fan, maybe I appreciated it more than I might some other reference, but hey).

All of y'all: Get over your own selves.