Free Republic

Dear Miss Manners: My husband and I are expecting our second child. When I delivered our son, before the pandemic, there were no restrictions on visitors at our hospital, and any required and routine vaccinations were not an issue, despite known political differences among our family members. Now, things have changed. My husband’s father, sister and her entire family refuse to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, despite several cases in the family — including our son, who was too young to be vaccinated and ended up at the hospital via ambulance. My husband and I are both very confrontation-averse, but...

If you scroll halfway down the link you'll see..... DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am a teenage boy who apparently has impregnated a teenage girl. She says she's in love with me still, but also she will not get an abortion and insists that I pay support. I think this is all mood swings. How do I support her morally but not monetarily? GENTLE READER: That is neither a moral nor a legal position. Miss Manners trusts that the young lady's lawyer will explain that to you. (Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email,...

From abortion clinic owner Charlotte Taft: For many women nowadays, they’re angry that they had a choice. It’s too bizarre, but it’s like “If you weren’t here, I wouldn’t have to have made this choice.” And so, instead of feeling gratitude toward the physician and a sense of, you know, “You’ve helped me so much” a lot of the time that woman [is] in her own pain or anger, or whatever, and the doctor may not get a lot of that [gratitude] these days…When a woman doesn’t want an abortion, but simply accepts it as her fate, she is unlikely...

MISS MANNERS It's best to ignore strangers who shout their prejudices Judith Martin Miss Manners November 8, 2007 Dear Miss Manners: This evening I found myself waiting in line with two young men who proceeded loudly to proclaim at least five different countries they would like to bomb, and advocated reintroducing the draft so that everyone else would have to share their "sacrifice." They then loudly branded several political figures they disapproved of with a crude word. I bit my tongue and waited quietly. Then the people in front of me joined in and, incredibly, they all complained about how...

'WOMEN ARE equals now. They can fend for themselves. To offer a perfectly healthy woman a seat simply because she is a woman, however well-intentioned, is creepy. At best, she'll think you're from another country; at worst she'll feel old, or overweight enough to be perceived as pregnant." And that is a lesson in modern manners, according to the new issue of GQ (with Clive Owen on the cover). Glenn O'Brien and other GQ scribes weigh in on e-mails, cellphones, gym etiquette, dressing for travel, how to handle chatty seatmates, sleeping with your friend's ex, online dating, wedding gifts and...

SAN DIEGO (UPI) -- A California psychologist says young people have become increasingly indifferent to the impression they make on others. Jean Twenge, the author of "Generation Me," teaches at San Diego State University. She gathered data from surveys taken between 1958 and 2001 by more than 40,000 youngsters. They featured questions aimed at whether the respondents always said "please" and "thank you" or were careful to dress appropriately. Twenge says that 76 percent of children aged 8 to 12 in 1999 were indifferent to social approval, up from 57 percent in 1970. Among those who were already in college...

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Dec. 17 (UPI) -- The National Association of Theater Owners wants the Federal Communications Commission to allow the blocking of cell phone signals in theaters. John Fithian, the president of the trade organization, told the Los Angeles Times theater owners "have to block rude behavior" as the industry tries to come up with ways to bring people back to the cinemas. Fithian said his group would petition the FCC for permission to block cell phone signals within movie theaters. Some theaters already have no cell phone policies and ask moviegoers to check their phones at the door,...

"Why do people act that way?" a young Delta Airlines stewardess recently asked in astonishment as an underground shuttle scooted among terminals at Georgia's Hartsfield Airport. "It's manners," an older, exasperated colleague replied. "Most people aren't taught any." Who knows what outrages they endured that day at 35,000 feet. Serving hundreds of regular people daily, it could be anything. On a recent flight from La Guardia to Atlanta en route to New Orleans, a young father prepared to change his baby son's diaper on the empty window seat beside his own spot on the aisle. After another horrified passenger and...

For the past several months, fate has conspired to keep me away from the computer. I haven't posted nearly as much on FR as I used to. With the holidays, though, I've had an opportunity to catch up a bit. What I found on my return is a bit disconcerting. While there's always been an element here that refuses to reason and does little more than insult Democrats and RINOs, it seems that this mentality has taken over a large portion of our membership. I've encountered more shrill, radical nonsense in the past couple of days than I had in...

Summary: The DreamWorks' animated film, "Shrek 2," is billed as harmless entertainment but contains subtle sexual messages. Parents who are thinking about taking their children to see "Shrek 2", may wish to consider the following: The movie features a male-to-female transgender (in transition) as an evil bartender. The character has a five o'clock shadow, wears a dress and has female breasts. It is clear that he is a she-male. His voice is that of talk show host Larry King. During a dance scene at the end of the movie, this transgendered man expresses sexual desire for Prince Charming, jumps on...

<p>The fuss over frowning has generated so much angst, ridicule and hate mail that the Palo Alto City Council is doing an about-face.</p> <p>The council plans to dump a proposed guideline discouraging members from frowning or using other body language to show ``disagreement or disgust'' at public meetings.</p>

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A California city councilwoman who sought to encourage civility in public discourse by calling for an end to offensive body language said on Thursday that she has received piles of hate mail. "I've been receiving hate mail from all over the world," said Palo Alto Councilwoman Judy Kleinberg, who headed the committee that drafted the rules encouraging more politeness. "I've been called a Nazi." "I've been told I need to be in a straight jacket with a bag over my head." The city council in the Silicon Valley town was hoping to improve civility in the...