I make a distinction between Conservatives and conservatives. There seem to be very few of the latter these days. Much of "Conservative" discourse is just totally unacceptable. The likes of Limbaugh and Coulter make comments like the one about Chelsea Clinton being 'the White House dog' regularly, and yet these people are accepted by the Conservative, Republican mainstream. That's not an OK 'difference of opinion' to me. Don't like John Kerry? Don't vote for him. He wasn't my favorite possible candidate, but I voted for him. But if you attack a decorated combat veteran, say he didn't earn his Silver Star and Purple Heart and all he should have gotten was a band-aid, you might as well have pissed on my grandfather's grave. I've read Kerry's commendation, and he earned his Silver Star, just like my grandpa did. GWB quite demonstrably earned no such thing, UNlike his father.

So, Bad Son, are these parents of yours OK with this kind of stuff? Do they make apologies for this kind of slander or do they reject it as uncivil? For me, that would be a key factor as to how much you can keep them in your life, the hatefulness factor.

So to use a weird, stark analogy: are your parents 'good Germans' in willful denial about the Holocaust, or are they Mr. & Mrs. Himmler? If, as the letter suggests, they still support 'the Leader' after all he's done, the third option of 'proud Germans who only want to serve their country' isn't really open.

Kind of a stretch, but my point is that if you're dealing with Mr. & Mrs Himmler, you have a BIG problem, one that can't be overlooked for the sake of family bonds.

"habeus corpus, whuzzat?" - LOL

And apologies to my German friends.

Alright you whiners, I'll be happy to take your $100 credits if it'll make you happy.

Good Lord, the things some people find to complain about!!!

"You're supposed to back your own troops against a river so they have no escape and will redouble their efforts to fight."

As I recall, the Germans backed up all the way to Berlin from 2 directions, across more than one river.... and then lost.

Cruel skinny person that I am, I thought it was funny.

Airlines can refuse to serve people for trying to board in a thong, or because they eat only onions and garlic, or if they don't believe in bathing even if such people would actually fit in the seat; the issue of underclothed fliers (and the idea of smelly ones) HAS been in the news recently and is certainly ripe for parody. But people who ACTUALLY DON'T FIT, to the great inconvenience of everyone else, they must be allowed on, and the rest of us are to remain in hushed, fearful silence about the fact! Be as fat as you can, fat people, but you MAY NOT sit on me! If amusement parks can say "you must be this tall to ride" why can't airlines require something similar? BTW, I'm in agreement about the minimum seat requirements and the passenger's Bill the Cat. Bill Of Rights!

Anyway, the comic was deadly accurate and thus, quite funny.

10 years from now, will there be an 'Unbathers Acceptance League'? The UAL acronym might be available...

Let one of them overhear you talking on the phone about how "of course he's not really your boyfriend, he's gay and you're a lesbian"; and how even if you share the same bed nothing happens, you're just building up the backstory for your impending green card marriage.

Then have one of your old 'girlfriends' from the neighborhood stop by to meet your 'boyfriend'.

See how they like them Apples.

You know, pitch a FIT! RAVE about how the two of you will be together FOREVER after you walk down the aisle NO MATTER WHAT because you made CERTAIN you were right for each other BEFORE you got married. Throw in a few minutes about how you feel you were DESTINED to be together, and how God HIMSELF made your paths cross. Then, with the greatest degree of guileless, clueless sincerity you can muster, RANT about the SANCTITY of marriage for a nearly unbearable length of time, and then wrap the whole thing up with a breathless "Don't you agree, Mom?"

How do you remember which things to not mention, which things are 'none of their business'? You're in a 'serious, long-term relationship' with someone and you have a whole minefield of things mapped out in your head, people and experiences to not mention or discuss even though they helped shape who you are today? How does that work? Building all those walls in my head would hurt my brain, not to mention hurting my relationship. It doesn't seem conducive to mental health, to me.