Telling mom and dad to butt out is a viable option if one has the support of the administration. I have found support for doing this at some administrative levels but not all. If the parents are persistent enough, they'll usually win.

Pathetic indeed. I guess it is good to know it has been there under the surface this whole time. Maybe realizing just how far we still have to go will motivate some.
My recent post Hate- When You Have Nothing Else to Offer

One of the things that irks me (and there are obviously many) is that I can't seem to find a physician or even a dentist near me who does not have Christian bibles and assorted propaganda littering the office waiting room. I don't generally assume that this means that the doctor is religious, but it does make me think twice about what I am doing there.

Al Sharpton! That's a strange one. He hasn't had any real power for...did he ever have any real power?

Oh yes, that one was great too.

If I had to pick one thing about the South that I found most difficult to adjust to, it would be the manner in which religion is considered a public matter here, even in the workplace. It sounds like telling your boss would be unwise. I feel the same way, and this is one of the reasons I haven't been more open at work. At the same time, it pisses me off that everyone else can freely discuss their religious beliefs but me. It is one hell of a double-standard.

Yeah, I am struggling with this too. Maybe it really does boil down to doing whatever is necessary to keep Republicans out of office. It is tough, however, when it seems like the Democrats keep moving closer and closer to Republican positions.

I'm not sure how many of the contributing authors are natives. I'm certainly not. I have long hoped that we would find at least one contributor from every region of our state, but I've had little luck in attracting authors, native or otherwise.

There are plenty of dangerous people in the world, but I happen to think that you are right that Palin is one of them. The views she represents are about as anti-democratic as possible.
My recent post Glenn Beck Attacks Religious Liberty

Yeah, I miss the Northwest almost every day!