Really? You've got to be kidding me!

I've never planned on blogging American politics, but this is more about posing questions than proposing answers: Is it just me, or are the Republicans losing their embittered minds? (How do these people walk? Eat? Breathe? Face themselves in the mirror?)

In just the past 24 hours, I've learned from senior Republicans that:

• Socio-politically, the United States is where Germany was at the dawn of World War II
• Recent evidence suggests the globe is not warming, but even if it is, the warming is unlikely caused by human activity
• Judge Sotomayor's past pro bono service on the board of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF) disqualifies her from the Supreme Court—for rightists, the PRLDEF is another NAACP, an "un-American" and "Communist-inspired" organization that forces civil rights "down the throats of people."

And in the unlikely case that these and myriad other faux pas aren't enough, USA Today reports that, even in the wake of her most recent attempt at political suicide, "71% of Republicans say they'd be likely to vote for Palin if she ran for president in 2012."

Yes, I realize I'm posing a rhetorical question. And yes, I realize the Democrat caucus is mediocre and disorganized at best—actually, it reminds me most of a circular firing squad—but here's another question: If one (or more) of my friends is a vocal Republican, how do I treat him or her seriously? (How do I respect him? How, indeed, do I remain friends with her?)