Neither John Edwards nor the woman he slept with is a victim. No one should feel sorry for either of them.

They are adults. They each made their decision to have an affair out of selfishness and egotism. I don't pity or feel the need to defend either of them. I don't blame society, I blame them. I don't blame Elizabeth Edwards or her medical condition. I blame them. They could have chosen not to sleep with one another and then lie about it, but they didn't.

No excuses should be made for either of them, nor blame placed elsewhere. This one is pretty straightforward.

...should be damn thankful that he had parents that were willing and able to help him out financially. His attitude is selfish and ridiculous. He is privileged and seems to resent his wife's parents because they are not. LW ought to sit him down and explain that he's acting like a complete jerk.

If he had such a problem with his wife's and her parents' financial situation he should have more seriously considered that before they married.

And again, he should look around and see how uncommon his own situation is—and be grateful he got so lucky.

Name your kids whatever you want to name them, but but keep in mind that you are potentially saddling them with a burden they have to carry around forever. A weird spelling of a hard-to -pronounce invented name is bad enough, but what about names like (real people, by the way) London Bridge, Honey Beir, and Golden Peaches? Or the celebrity names: Apple, Pilot Inspecktor, Banjo. Seriously, what the hell are these parents thinking? Because it seems to me that the last thing they're thinking about is the feelings of the kids that have to carry this name around with them. I feel bad for the kids, and wonder seriously about the adults who name them. Can't we revoke their license to procreate or something? Jeez!

Why does anyone ever bother to read Cary's advice? I stopped long ago. I read the letter, and I read the letters to the editor. I can't manage to get through long his long, drawn-out often navel-gazing responses that are off the mark as often as not, in my opinion.

Anyway, I agree with many of the responses here. LW: Either disconnect yourself from your parents entirely, or tell them both, in no uncertain terms, that you will not participate in this war between the two of them, and that they should both be ashamed for putting you and your siblings through all this ridiculousness for so long. Stick to it. If they don't change their ways, there is nothing you can do about that. But you can save yourself from being stuck between them, trying to work out a situation that likely will not end until one of them is gone. They've wasted years on this; don't waste any more of your own.

If Orthodox Jews aren't supposed to carry things or use machines (this is their choice, based on their beliefs, remember) then if they can't get into a building because they aren't allowed by Jewish law to push a f***ing buzzer or carry a key, it's nobody's problem but theirs. They shouldn't be allowed in just because they want to be. They have no right to be angry. This isn't a disability, this is a choice. People need to learn to live with their choices. The LW shouldn't feel the slightest bit bad for not allowing them into her building. It isn't her fault that they choose to make these choices. I have no sympathy for them. At all.

Six of one, half a dozen of thee other.

The Illinois corruption machine has many players, and I wouldn't be surprised if a few of the general assembly members names will be brought to the surface in the next few months alleging that they've been playing "wash my back" with Roddy B an his cronies.

...that I'm not the only one who is constantly irritated by Cary's long-winded, often self-focused, navel-gazing approach to responding to letter writers. It's generally 90 percent unnecessary, with 10 substance. I seldom read past the first paragraph anymore because of it.

...sound awful.

...that maybe people are annoyed by the way in which Dory tells her story. It is a bit lifeless, but she's not a writer, she's a woman telling her story, which may be why there aren't lots of insights, exposition, and drama. She probably wasn't trying to create some multi-layered examination of her life.

I thought her story was interesting. Not particularly scintillating, but interesting.

I've never married. Never really cared to, actually. But I really appreciated this article. It's about what I expect a good, real marriage to be: ups, downs, good, so-so, bad, and a whole lot of other stuff mixed in. It's just nice to know that there are lots of people, when all is said and done, who are happy in their marriages. We don't hear a lot about them. So yay to you happy married people! I'm happy for you. It's nice to see people making it work—and not just by going through the motions.

...the point of publishing/responding to this wiseass fake letter, whether with cleverness or not, is what?