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"MARRIAGE" In The News
(March 2006)

Enter Our Blog Spot!

"Marriage In The News" is not a representation of The Real Proposal magazine...

The news articles and features presented below are simply an indication of how topical, controversial, and all-encompassing the issues surrounding marriage are throughout our society--and the world-- today. Some of the views and opinions expressed, and their respective web sites, do NOT reflect the views or opinions of The Real Proposal magazine. Many are highlighted largely to reiterate that the alarming statistical trends on the chaotic state of "Marriage" and "Family"--outlined in "A Mere Glimpse"--will continue unabated without a fundamental grasp and purposeful dissemination of TRUTH on the issues.

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Russell, Kimora Lee Simmons split
  • Russell, Kimora Lee Simmons Split  People Magazine - By Stephen M. Silverman with Tiffany McGee, Mar 31, 2006
    Rap mogul Russell Simmons and his wife Kimora Lee Simmons are splitting, a rep for Kimora confirms to PEOPLE. Russell issued his own statement Friday afternoon, saying: "Kimora and I will remain committed parents and caring friends with great love and admiration for each other. We will also continue to work side by side on a daily basis as partners in all of our businesses." . . .

    RELATED ARTICLE
    Russell Says He and Kimora Can Still Save Marriage  Vibe.com, By Mark Lelinwalla, April 04, 2006

  • More on Russell Simmons and Kimora Lee!  AllHipHop- Mar 30, 2006
    With all the talk about Russell and Kimora divorcing, it might all be pure BS. So, word is the doting pair are supposed to be in Jamaica today with Louis Farrakhan, Freddie Jackson, Roberta Flack at the inauguration ceremony for the new Prime Minister there. So, I will let you know if this is true! Word is they will be down with the international dignitaries. We need our Hip-Hop royalty. Still, rumors say that Russell is already seeing a model named Denise Vasi, 23, and Kimora is dating a certain rapper that’s been mentioned on these pages plenty. . .

  • The Divorce Dilemma:
    Sociologist finds that even amicable divorces are likely to have negative effects on children
      University of Texas at Austin- By Michele Bryant, Mar 30, 2006
    While amicable divorces are certainly better than the alternative, particularly when children are involved, a new national study shows they still take a toll on children’s overall wellbeing, as well as their own future marital success. Surprisingly, persons whose parents had a good divorce had, on average, the least successful marriages of any of the categories of persons compared. Their results differed significantly from persons whose parents had bad divorces involving destructive behaviors or low-conflict but not happy marriages. Results for that group were considerably poorer than those whose parents had a happy marriage. . .
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  • Matt LeBlanc filing for divorce after 3 years
    Couple split in January after his show, 'Joey,' was pulled
       MSNBC  Mar 30, 2006
    Former "Friends" star Matt LeBlanc plans to file for divorce from his wife of nearly three years, Melissa, Access Hollywood has learned. A rep for the actor released the following statement to Access: "Melissa and Matt LeBlanc have decided to end their marriage of three years. The dissolution is amicable. They remain devoted parents and friends. For the sake of their family, they ask that their privacy be respected at this time." According to reports, the couple split up in January, soon after LeBlanc's NBC sitcom "Joey" was pulled from the schedule. . .

Husband James Wilson camping out on roof to get his bed back

  • Victories in the marriage debate  Town Hall- DC- By Maggie Gallagher, Mar 28, 2006
    History is written by the victors. So it is particularly fitting that New York's own Institute for American Values (where I was once an affiliate scholar) should release two scholarly reports on the marriage debate by Norval Glenn and Tom Sylvester. Professor Norval Glenn is one of the nation's top family scholars, a sociologist at University of Texas-Austin widely respected for his methodological rigor.
    Report No. 1, "The Shift," is a painstaking effort to investigate the widespread perception that expert opinion on whether and how much marriage matters actually changed in response to new scientific data. Glenn and Sylvester analyzed every study on family structure that appeared in the premier Journal of Marriage and Family between 1977 and 2002. They conclude that yes, between the late '70s and the late '80s, a definite change is visible: Scholars began to report increasing concern about the effects of divorce and unmarried childbearing on children. 
    . . . . . Report No. 2 by Glenn and Sylvester is "The Denial." It analyzes "common arguments" used by scholars to downplay the importance of family structure for children. . . . . 
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  • Marriage debate  Town Hall, DC - By Tim Chapman, Mar 28, 2006
    Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has made clear his intention to bring the Federal Marriage Amendment to the floor of the Senate for a vote in June. In preparation for that debate, Senator Jon Kyl's policy committee has released a paper that details the surrounding cases in question and summarizes how the amendment would work if enacted. . . .

    RELATED ARTICLE:  
    The Jon Kyl paper:  is being circulated on the Hill today (Courts Continue to Redefine Marriage Despite Public Opposition-  Why a Marriage Amendment is Necessary).

Forget Prince Charming. Women need to save, invest, buy a home
  • Forget Prince Charming: Women Need to Save, Invest, Buy a Home  Bloomberg - By Joan Oleck, Mar 28, 2006
    (The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Bloomberg.)
     . . . So begins "Money, a Memoir'' (Henry Holt, 269 pages, $23), one of two useful new books on the subject of how women make -- or elude -- financial decisions. Perle, a former book publisher, calls money "the great unexplored territory'' for women: "We've granted it the authority to single-handedly make us feel safe and cared for. We twist ourselves into impossible shapes to please and stay attached to the people and institutions that dole it out.'' She uses her own survival story to explore the tendency of women to equate money, usually from a man, with happiness. That dependence plays out in schoolgirl fantasies of Prince Charming's arrival (carrying buckets of cash) and our dismay when he behaves less than, well, princely. 
    A Man Is No Plan. . .  

  • Marriage: A social justice issue  Townhall.com- by Jennifer Roback Morse - Mar 27, 2006
    Our culture glamorizes early sexual activity, unmarried sexual activity, and unmarried childbearing. But these cultural influences have very different implications for poorly educated, low-income women of color, than for the elite opinion-makers who graduate from exclusive universities. . . .
    Oddly enough, the one great cultural issue that has tremendous impact on black America’s wealth is hardly ever approached in this way. This one policy area has the potential to increase black wealth, education and power. This major cultural course correction could reduce drug use, delinquency and violence, especially black on black crime. I am speaking of course, of marriage as a social justice issue. Yet, liberal elite opinion is strangely silent on the potentially revolutionary importance of marriage to the black community . Marriage is a protective factor against social pathologies. Marriage generates and preserves wealth, unlike other family forms which dissipate wealth. . . . .

    RELATED ARTICLE: 
    'Marriage Is for White People'   Washington Post, US- By Joy Jones, Mar 26, 2006

  • Perelman vs. Barkin: Scenes from a broken marriage
    Tough Love: What happens when mogul and a movie star get married? Contracts get signed, and the drama begins. . .
      New York Magazine,  USA - By Geoffrey Gray, Mar 27, 2006 Issue
    . . .
    But not this New Year’s Eve. Tonight, Perelman and Barkin weren’t speaking, a friend of Barkin’s says. They hadn’t been intimate for months, and Barkin speculated Perelman might be cheating on her, the friend says, although Barkin had no evidence. As the clock approached midnight, hundreds of revelers in linen shirts and party dresses had gathered on the docks, as they do each year, to watch the fireworks and toast in the New Year. On the Ultima III, the guests soon stood waiting in place for the big birthday moment. Perelman’s cake was ready, the candles flickering. But Barkin was elsewhere, on the top deck with a friend, not at Perelman’s side. “The tension,” one observer says, “was thick.” Back in New York the next week, people close to Barkin say, Barkin was still raw from the fight they’d had on the boat. Even so, she never thought that weeks later, she’d be served with divorce papers and booted from her home. . . .

    RELATED ARTICLE:
      Ex- Ex- Ex MEN: The Remarrying Kind  NYTimes.com- By Kate Zernike, Jan 29, 2006
Perelman vs. Barkin: Scenes from a broken marriage

'Marriage is for white people'
  • 'Marriage Is for White People'   Washington Post, US- By Joy Jones, Mar 26, 2006
    I grew up in a time when two-parent families were still the norm, in both black and white America. Then, as an adult, I saw divorce become more commonplace, then almost a rite of passage. Today it would appear that many -- particularly in the black community -- have dispensed with marriage altogether. But as a black woman, I have witnessed the outrage of girlfriends when the ex failed to show up for his weekend with the kids, and I've seen the disappointment of children who missed having a dad around. Having enjoyed a close relationship with my own father, I made a conscious decision that I wanted a husband, not a live-in boyfriend and not a "baby's daddy," when it came my time to mate and marry. . . . And that's when the other boy chimed in, speaking as if the words left a nasty taste in his mouth: "Marriage is for white people.". . . I was stunned to learn that a black child was more likely to grow up living with both parents during slavery days than he or she is today, according to sociologist Andrew J. Cherlin. . .

  • With this contract, I thee wed  Seattle Times, United States - By Eileen Ambrose, Mar 26, 2006.
    Put yourself in Anna Nicole Smith's stilettos. At 26, you marry a Texas oil tycoon more than 60 years your senior. He dies a short time later. A decade goes by, and you're still wrangling with your stepson over the multimillion-dollar estate, all the way to the Supreme Court. It could have been avoided if you and your fiancé had drawn up a prenuptial agreement. Maybe it's a stretch to imagine yourself in the former Playboy Playmate of the Year's situation. But with the start of the wedding season, it's a good time for engaged couples to consider whether a prenuptial contract is for them. . . .
With this contract, I thee wed

  • Should you say, "I do"
    Premarital counseling may prove to be priceless
      The Jackson Sun-TN, By Tonya Smith-King, Mar 27, 2006
     For couples considering premarital counseling, there are benefits beyond the huge break they can get on their marriage licenses. . . . Marriage licenses are $33.50 with premarital counseling and $93.50 without it, a $60 difference. . . Tennessee's divorce rate was 6.5 per 1,000 people in 1990, according to the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control. That rate has steadily decreased over the years to 4.9 per 1,000 in 2004, the latest statistics at the CDC's Web site. But that's still above the national rate of 3.7 per 1,000. Couples must get at least four hours of premarital counseling to qualify for the discount. . . .

    RELATED ARTICLE:
    Pastor gives tips on making marriage last  The Jackson Sun- By Tonya Smith-King, Mar 27, 2006

  • Same-sex marriage battles escalate  USA Today -By Joan Biskupic, Mar 23, 2006
    WASHINGTON — Gay rights advocates are pushing to legalize same-sex marriage with an unprecedented wave of lawsuits in state courts, while those seeking to ban such unions are gaining ground in state legislatures. The contrasting strategies reflect how judges have begun to show a willingness to expand the rights of same-sex couples at a time when many state lawmakers — and most Americans — are cool to the idea. Several key developments are likely soon. The top state courts in Washington state and New Jersey have heard arguments brought by gay men and lesbians. Either court could open the door to a second state joining Massachusetts in allowing same-sex marriages. . . The legislative moves against gay marriages aren't limited to the states. In June, the U.S. Senate is scheduled to begin debating a measure intended to lead to a U.S. constitutional amendment banning such marriages. The proposals in legislatures and in Congress partly reflect public-opinion polls, which for five years have indicated that about 60% of Americans oppose legalizing same-sex marriage. . .

    RELATED ARTICLE:
    Wave of lawsuits targets bans on same-sex marriage  USA Today- Joan Biskupic, Mar 23, 2006
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Gay marriage foes, friends insist God is on their side
  • Gay marriage foes, friends insist God is on their side St Paul Pioneer Press- MN- By Rachel E. Stassen-Berger, Mar 22, 2006
    The Rev. Steve Goold and the Rev. Doug Donley have prayed over the issues surrounding gay marriage. Their prayers landed them on opposite sides of a proposed constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Like many involved in the emotional fight over the amendment, their opposing positions spring from their faith. That has made the debate over the proposal at the Minnesota Capitol and across the nation more intense and more personal. . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Whose side is God on in same-sex marriage debate?  Minnesota Public Radio, MN - Mar 23, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE:
 
Gay rights supporters rally at capitol  KARE 11 News-MN, By Jim Croman, Mar 23, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE:
Capitol Crowd Rallies Against Gay Marriage Ban  WCCO, MN, Mar 23, 2006


  • Poll finds US warming to gay marriage   San Francisco Chronicle,  USA - By Wyatt Buchanan, Mar 23, 2006
     Opposition to same-sex marriage dropped sharply across the country during the past two years, though just over half of Americans still oppose allowing gays and lesbians to marry, according to a poll by the Pew Research Center released Wednesday. The poll also showed increased support for allowing same-sex couples to adopt children, and substantial backing for the rights of gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military. . . .The Pew center's national poll of 1,405 adults, conducted from March 8-12, found that 51 percent opposed same-sex marriage and 39 percent supported it. In February 2004, as same-sex couples were marrying in San Francisco, a Pew poll found 63 percent of Americans opposed the right of gays and lesbians to marry and 30 percent in favor. The margin of error in the latest survey was plus or minus 3 or 4 percentage points, depending on the question. . . .Any shift toward support for same-sex marriage has yet to show up at the polls, however, Since 2004, voters in 13 states have passed constitutional bans on same-sex marriage. At least seven states will vote on similar measures in November. . . .

    RELATED ARTICLE
    Poll: Acceptance of gay marriage has grown since 2003 decision  Boston Globe-By Will Lester AP Writer, Mar 22, 2006
Poll finds US warming to gay marriage

Deleting Dad
  • Deleting Dad  Townhall.com, By Kathleen Parker, Mar 22, 2006
    . . .
    This past Sunday, the New York Times was replete with stories that answer both Dowd's question and that posed by Thurber and White. Not only are men not necessary, but neither is sex in many cases. The cover story of the Times' Sunday Magazine, for instance, was headlined "Looking For Mr. Good Sperm" and featured women who have given up on Mr. Right and are searching instead for a good vial of sperm. . . While such distilled summaries can't tell the whole story, the unspoken essence is that women have all the power when it comes to children, and men are only as good as their sperm count. . .There's something terribly wrong with this picture, and it is this: These are sad stories that reveal symptoms of a diseased culture in which human relationships have no moral content and children are treated as accessories to adult lives. Yet, these trends are portrayed as the latest gosh-gee fashions. A society in which women are alone, men are lonely, and children don't have fathers is nothing to celebrate. . . .  .

    RELATED ARTICLE:
    WANTED: A Few Good Sperm  New York Times (Free Subscription)- By JENNIFER EGAN, March 19, 2006

  • The Meaning of Marriage (Part 2) 
    Interview With Princeton's Robert George
        Zenit News Agency, Italy - Mar 22, 2006
    PRINCETON, N.J. --Proponents of same-sex "marriage" often claim that allowing same-sex couples to marry cannot possibly harm anyone else's marriage, as the relationship is distinctly private. This argument prompted scholars from across the disciplines to gather together to offer distinctly "public reasons" for the preservation of the institution of marriage as a male-female union. Their results have been gathered into a new book, "The Meaning of Marriage: Family , State, Market and Morals" (Spence
    ), co-edited by Robert P. George and Jean Bethke Elshtain. . . . 

    Q: You describe the good of marriage as a "one-flesh communion of persons." Is that a distinctly religious concept?

    George: No. The intrinsic value of marriage, understood as a comprehensive, multilevel sharing of life founded upon the bodily communion of sexually complementary spouses and naturally ordered to procreation and the upbringing of children, can be grasped, and has been grasped, by people of different faiths and by those of no particular faith. The teachings of most, if not all, religions extend to marriage in one way or another, but the good of marriage can be known, and is known, by reason, even when unaided by revelation.
    . . .

    RELATED ARTICLE:  The Meaning of Marriage (Part 1)   Interview with Princeton's Robert George

  • Gay marriage now, polygamy later   U.S. News & World Report - John Leo, Mar 22, 2006
    Bloggers are probably getting too worked up over the new polygamy TV show, Big Love. One show doesn't create a real-life trend. But critics are right (as Rick Santorum was right) when they say the gay marriage debate opened the door to legal approval of polygamy. A New Jersey appellate court judge wrote that if marriage is couched only in terms of privacy, intimacy, and autonomy, then what nonarbitrary ground is there for denying the benefit to the polygamous unions whose members claim the arrangement is necessary to their self-fulfillment? Traditional conceptions of marriage and the "privileging" of marriage drop out of the debate once courts, such as Massachusetts's highest court, define marriage in terms of feeling and choice. . .

    RELATED ARTICLE:
     
    Once same-sex marriage is OK, polygamy's next  Star Tribune- By Katherine Kersten, Mar 16, 2006
Gay marriage now, polygamy later

  • 'No sex grounds for divorce'    News24, South Africa -Mar 22, 2006
    New Delhi - A sexless marriage constitutes cruelty and is grounds for divorce, India's top court has ruled. The Supreme Court made the ruling in response to a petition by a woman who sought a divorce on the grounds that her husband was schizophrenic and they couldn't have a normal sex life, her lawyer said Wednesday. "The court ruled that one of the necessary outcomes of a Hindu marriage is procreation, and non-consummation would be added as a ground for divorce," senior lawyer Kamini Jaiswal said. . .
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What women really want
  • What women really want   Palm Beach Post.com- By Mark Schwed, Mar 22, 2006
    My wife digs me. Really. She does. Here's why: I work hard at the office, and she stays home with the kids. (She's the perfect mom. I tell her all of the time.)  There's more: When I get home to our McMansion on the McOcean, I whip up dinner, wash the dishes, help the kids with their homework, then lavish her with me.  I light candles. Rub her feet. Spread rose petals on the bed (which I will clean up later). I tell her she's fantastic. And I really, really listen. In short, I am the ideal husband. And I am a complete fantasy. . . . .

  • Thoughts on marriage, shoes, and love gone bad   Post-Gazette.com- BY Peter Leo, Mar 22, 2006
    . . . The other shoe falls. . . . 
    Now that we've dispensed with that insidious stereotype, have you noticed how women never have enough shoes? Liz Perle has. Her new book, "Money, A Memoir: Women, Emotions and Cash" (Holt), analyzes why women "spend more on face creams and shoes than we do on our retirement funds." M. P. Dunleavey, a personal finance columnist, has no quarrel with Ms. Perle's thesis, but, she asks: Guys don't have money problems? . . .

  • A good thesaurus would resolve the 'marriage' debate   St Paul Pioneer Press, MN By JOE SOUCHERAY, Mar 22, 2006
    Apparently we are in agreement that the traditional definition of the word "marriage" is the union of one man and one woman, and that presents the conundrum. Really what is at issue in Minnesota and elsewhere in the Western world is the expansion of the word to include arrangements other than one man and one woman, for example, two men or two women. Well, no. The union of two men or two women would have to be called something else because words mean something and "marriage" is taken. It would be like the architects of a game in which a ball is struck with a mallet through wire hoops insisting that their game be called "baseball." No. Baseball, it would have to be pointed out, is different from this new game and a new name, "croquet" perhaps, would have to be invented. Croquet, huh? OK, croquet it is and thus the world has both baseball and croquet. . .

  • The Meaning of Marriage (Part 1)
    Interview With Princeton's Robert George
      Zenit.org, Mar 20, 2006
     PRINCETON, N.J. --Debates about the institution of marriage are often characterized as clashes between religious adherents and secularists, which imply the debate is one between faith and reason. However, a new collection of essays from across the academic disciplines argues that marriage need not be defended solely through appeals to religious authority or tradition. . . .
    Scholars presented papers on their academic discipline's contribution to our understanding of marriage, and each of the disciplines offered profound insights into the importance of marriage both for individuals and for the nation. The papers did not invoke revelation, religious authority or sectarian reasoning. This was the best of what's been termed "public reason" at work. And the conclusions from everyone at the conference were that: a) marriage matters; b) marriage is in crisis; and c) we could be facing the virtual abolition of marriage if we go down the road of same-sex "marriage." Professor Elshtain of the University of Chicago and I decided to compile these essays into a book because the information and arguments we were fortunate enough to have heard at the conference need to be disseminated throughout our nation. Every American who cares about civil society, child well-being and the condition of marriage in our culture needs to know about the scholarly findings reported in this collection. . . .


  • Needed: Leadership for a nation adrift   Townhall.com- By Star Parker, Mar 20, 2006
    . . . As we spread freedom around the world, I think there is concern, judging from much of what we see going on at home, that we're losing a sense of what the pillars are that hold our own free society together. If we're losing our compass at home, can we really spread the word abroad? This is a subject blacks know well. It's why the marriage issue struck as responsive chord as it did in this community. We know from what we have seen in our own communities that when core traditional values collapse, when the integrity of families collapses, when life becomes cheap, when property has no meaning, there is no freedom. . .  It seems like common sense that a society where there is no longer clarity on the most basic things like what constitutes a family and what it means to be married is one lost and confused place. This poses a threat to our country as much as any hostile force from abroad. . .

HBO's 'Big Love': What taboo?

 

  • HBO's 'Big Love': What taboo?  Human Events Online- By George Neumayr, Mar 20, 2006
    . . . 
    Press accounts about “Big Love” have noted that its creators are gay, which underscores that the opposition to polygamy from gay activists over the last few years is nothing more than political posturing. They know that polygamy is perfectly consistent with the logic underlying same-sex marriage but can’t say that lest it stall that drive.  Once marriage is accepted as “man-made,” humans can make it, unmake it, and remake it at will. And after that point any prohibitions are simple arbitrariness. Gay activists, for largely PR reasons, will sometimes insist upon the sacredness of “two,” which is oddly arbitrary, since they justify their position on the grounds that marriage has no natural, pre-existing character to it. At least the creators of “Big Love” are ignoring this fakery and following the premises of same-sex marriage to its logical conclusion. . .

    RELATED BLOG:  
    The Next Civil Rights Frontier?  TownHall.com- D. Son's blog, Mar 20, 2006


  • Gay marrriage question begs resolution  Yale Daily News- Peter Johnston, Mar 20, 2006
    Is gay marriage immoral? Merely asking the question infuriates many Yale students. In response, they walk away in a huff, angry and indignant -- they don't engage the questioner at all. Those who do engage skirt the content of the question, responding with a theme of their own: "How can you question the personal choices of others?" or "Don't impose your opinions on me!" Of course, the question does nothing of the sort; it simply gives voice to a subject that is on everybody's mind. At least, the subject should be on everybody's mind. Some say that gay marriage is the civil rights issue of this generation, while others think the idea's prominence in the public sphere constitutes the height of depravity.  . .The question is illegitimate only under the condition that a moral standard does not exist. But Yale students are quite committed to the existence of a moral standard. . .
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  • Author find that husbands aren't as shallow as we've been led to believe   Seattle Post Intelligencer- By Melissa Fletcher Stoeltje, Mar 18, 2006
    Journalist Neil Chethik was sick of the stereotypes -- the ones that say men are louts who don't value their marriages, who operate as psychological juveniles next to women who do all the emotional heavy lifting in the relationship. Married for 19 years -- very happily, thank you -- he knew something was amiss in this picture. So he started asking men about their marriages. . . A writer in residence at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning in Lexington, Ky., Chethik published his results in a new book, "VoiceMale: What Husbands Really Think About Their Marriages, Their Wives, Sex, Housework, and Commitment (Simon & Schuster; $15.64). What he found was that many men find their stride in marriage -- a fact that should make wives very happy. . .

Q: What made you want to write this book?

A: The image of men on television and movies is that they're idiots who can't change a diaper or boil water, and all they care about is beer and sex. When I looked around at the people I knew, and all the people I've interviewed in 20 years of writing about men, I saw this vast chasm between the image of men and what men are really like. . .


White Bible Ceremony seals a marriage in sanctity and spirit
  • White Bible Ceremony seals a marriage in sanctity and spirit   PensacolaNewsJournal.com, FL -By Reginald T. Dogan, Mar 18, 2006
    Before a man and woman unite in holy matrimony, the man's best friends usually throw a no-holds-barred bachelor party. For the woman, a more subdued bridal shower is the prenuptial plan. Too often, lost in the fleeting flurry of parties and wedding details is the real meaning of what's about to take place, and that's when a White Bible Ceremony can refocus the prospective bride and groom on faith and spirituality.... But given renewed emphasis on faith, religion and family, the White Bible Ceremony has seen a resurgence in recent years. The ceremony symbolically seals a marriage in sanctity and spirit of Christian faith. . . Patricia Threadgill, mother of the future bride, read about the religious custom in the June 2005 edition of Southern Lady magazine and loved the symbolism of the ceremony. So did her daughter. . .

  • Readers offer their own advice to wife in troubled marriage  South Florida Sun- Sentinel, Mar 18, 2006
    EDITOR'S NOTE: Several readers took issue with Pastor Bob Coy's March 11 column, in which a woman asked if she should stay with her verbally abusive husband. Quoting Scripture, Pastor Coy recommended she "go the extra mile by humbly submitting to your husband, as unto the Lord.". . .

    Dear Rev. Coy: I am surprised and dismayed in your response to Mrs. P.B. of Fort Lauderdale. You basically left her to hang out there all alone in her efforts to deal with her abusive husband. You could have made her aware of the groups of abused women who meet on a regular basis to give mutual support and encouragement. She would know that ways exist between submission and divorce that would help her in her misery. In addition, you gave Mrs. P.B. no aid in dealing with her husband. I would think that Calvary Chapel has men who have been abusers, and have reformed not because their wives submitted in fear, but because other men persuaded them that there are better ways. . .


  • Discuss issue of adultery with mate instead of dodging subject  Pacific Daily News- By Norman Analista, Mar 17, 2006
     How many people do you think are engaging in extramarital affairs? Who really knows? Based on how often the subject pops up in rumor mills, however, it seems like more and more people are messing around. I'm bringing up the touchy subject of adultery not to judge anyone, but rather to make the point that it's an issue married couples should openly discuss -- especially if they want to thwart the threat of infidelity from damaging their relationships. . . .Movies like "Unfaithful," soap operas, romance novels and other forms of media glamorize the act of adultery. Their misleading implications are always: "Want passion? Go outside of your marriage, because the person you exchanged vows with and pledged to give you their heart and soul is incapable of making you feel pleasure and excitement." Couples who want to prevent an affair not only need to commit to being honest. . .

    RELATED ARTICLE:
    Maintaining a healthy marriage:
    "A Weekend to Remember" brings couples together to focus on building marriage and families
     
Discuss issue of adultery with mate instead of dodging subject

  • Pandora and Polygamy  The Washington Post, By Charles Krauthammer, Mar 17, 2006
    And now, polygamy.  With the sweetly titled HBO series "Big Love," polygamy comes out of the closet. Under the headline "Polygamists, Unite!" Newsweek informs us of "polygamy activists emerging in the wake of the gay-marriage movement." Says one evangelical Christian big lover: "Polygamy rights is the next civil-rights battle.". . .  As Newsweek notes, these stirrings for the mainstreaming of polygamy (or, more accurately, polyamory) have their roots in the increasing legitimization of gay marriage. In an essay 10 years ago, I pointed out that it is utterly logical for polygamy rights to follow gay rights. After all, if traditional marriage is defined as the union of (1) two people of (2) opposite gender, and if, as advocates of gay marriage insist, the gender requirement is nothing but prejudice, exclusion and an arbitrary denial of one's autonomous choices in love, then the first requirement -- the number restriction (two and only two) -- is a similarly arbitrary, discriminatory and indefensible denial of individual choice. This line of argument makes gay activists furious. I can understand why they do not want to be in the same room as polygamists. But I'm not the one who put them there. Their argument does. . . .

    RELATED ARTICLE:
    The Next Civl Rights Frontier?  D. Son's blog, Townhall.com, Mar 20, 2006

  • Polygamists, Unite! They used to live quietly, but now they're making noise Newsweek- By Elise Soukup, Mar 20, 2006 Issue
    . . . There's a sound legal argument for making the controversial practice legal, says Brian Barnard, the lawyer for a Utah couple, identified in court documents only as G. Lee Cooke and D. Cooke, who filed suit after being denied a marriage license for an additional wife. Though the case was struck down by a federal court last year, it's now being considered by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, and Barnard plans to use the same argument—that Lawrence v. Texas, the 2003 sodomy case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that individuals have "the full right to engage in private conduct without government intervention," should also apply to polygamous relationships. . .
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Polygamy drives plot of new HBO dramedy
  • Polygamy Drives Plot of New HBO Dramedy
    Mormonism -- Polygamy and the Latter-day Saints
     
    The Seoul Times-
    By Gail Pennington, Mar 17, 2006
    Imagine "Desperate Housewives" if Bree, Lynette and Gabrielle were all married to Tom. The resulting super-family might be something like the one headed by Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton) in the new HBO dramedy "Big Love," making its debut Sunday after "The Sopranos."  For Bill, a mild-mannered Everyman who lives in Utah (more about that later) and owns a home improvement store, wife No. 1 is Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn). The others call her "boss lady." Wife No. 2 is Nicki (Chloe Sevigny), who abuses the family budget with her home-shopping habit. No. 3, the youngest, is Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin), who's confident about little except her sexuality. . . . When everyone joins hands as Bill prays for his "loving family sealed together through time and all eternity," it's possible to think this polygamy thing might really work.
    Well, Wisteria Lane looks pleasant, too. Actually, we soon learn, the Henrickson family is dysfunctional times three. . . Executive produced by Tom Hanks and his Playtone partner Gary Goetzman. . . .

    RELATED ARTICLE:
    Paxton finds romance (times three) in 'Love'  MSNBC.com, Mar 15, 2006 
     
    RELATED ARTICLE: The Joy of Sects- HBO's 'Big Love'  Creative Loafing.com- Atlanta, By Curt Holman, Mar 15, 2006 

  • Once same-sex marriage is OK, polygamy's next   Star Tribune- By Katherine Kersten, Mar 16, 2006
    . . . "Big Love" is just a TV show, you say? But cultural expression can pack a powerful wallop - witness the much ballyhooed bid by "Brokeback Mountain" to normalize same-sex attraction. Influential voices are already calling for allowing polygamy. Last week, New York Times libertarian columnist John Tierney endorsed itslegalization in a column titled "Who's afraid of polygamy?" . . . . Today gay marriage supporters' mantra is, "How does my same-sex marriage harm your marriage?" Down the road it may be, "How does my marriage of two men and a woman harm your marriage?" If we don't answer the first question with resolve -- making clear that "one man-one woman" is at the heart of marriage in Minnesota -- we may not have a chance to answer the second. . .

  • Polygamy and the Marriage Market: Who Would Have the Upper Hand?   New York Times (Free Subscription), United States -ROBERT H. FRANK, Mar 16, 2006
    MOST people believe that consenting adults should be free to do as they please, provided they do not cause unacceptable harm to others. The difficult question, of course, is what constitutes unacceptable harm. The debut on Sunday night of "Big Love," the new HBO series about a polygamous fictional family in Salt Lake City, has touched off renewed debate about this question. Barb, Nicki and Margene, the three heroines of "Big Love," chose to marry Bill Henrickson, a successful businessman able to provide generously for their extended family. Mr. Henrickson chose to marry them. Should society outlaw such arrangements because they cause unacceptable harm to others? If so, who is harmed, exactly, and how? Economic theory, it turns out, has interesting things to say about these questions. The traditional argument against plural marriage is that it harms women, particularly younger women who may be coerced to enter such marriages. Needless to say, society should prohibit forced participation in any marriage, whether plural or monogamous. But mature women who freely choose plural marriage reveal a preference for that arrangement. So if plural marriage harms women, the victims must be those who prefer monogamy. . .

  • Phil Collins' son blames marriage split No3 on insecure childhood  Mirror.co.uk, UK - By Fiona Cummins, Mar 17, 2006
    PHIL Collins' son yesterday blamed the collapse of the pop star's third marriage on "childhood insecurities". Simon Collins, 28, claimed his multi-millionaire father split from Orianne, 33, after six years of marriage due to low self-esteem. . . .The pair have been living in different houses since the New Year after "growing apart". However, mum-of-two Orianne appeared to be unaware yesterday that the marriage split was about to become public. She had denied she was parting from Phil just hours earlier. She insisted: "It is absolute rubbish to say we are separating or divorcing.". . .

  • Marriage Woes for Dave Navarro and Carmen Electra  Post Chronicle -By Jack Ryan, Mar 17, 2006
    Rocker Dave Navarro has confirmed that his marriage to sexy actress Carmen Electra is in trouble, confessing the couple rarely gets to enjoy quality time . . . It's like the old adage says, you have fun with a freak - but you don't marry one. . .

  • Pitt-Jolie marriage rumors rife  CNN.com- Entertainment, Mar 16, 2006
    LAGLIO, Italy (AP) -- Speculation spread once again that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie would wed on these Italian shores -- perhaps this weekend. George Clooney is a friend of the Hollywood couple and his lakefront villa in the town of Laglio is cited in Italian news reports as a credible location for such a ceremony. Saturday has been mentioned as a possible date. . .

  • Goa to make HIV test mandatory for registration of marriage  newsKerala.com, Mar 17, 2006
    PANAJI: Goa government today decided to make HIV test mandatory for registration of marriage. "We have decided to amend the Goa Public Health Act making HIV test mandatory before registration of marriage," State Health Minister Dayanand Narvekar told reporters after the cabinet meeting. The government has also decided to "throw open this amendment for public debate" and various NGOs and other individuals can give their suggestions in this matter, said Narvekar, briefing reporters on the cabinetdecision in presence of Chief Minister Pratapsingh Rane. . .

Should HIV test be mandatory for marriage?

Drive to reduce forced marriages
  • Drive to reduce forced marriages  BBC News- UK, Mar 16, 2006
    A drive to reduce the number of forced marriages of British citizens is due to be unveiled.
    The campaign by the government's Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) is backed by actor and writer Meera Syal and former EastEnders star Ameet Chana. More than 250 cases are reported to the FMU each year, most of which involve links to south Asian countries. A decision by the government is also expected soon on whether to outlaw forced marriages. More than
    250 cases are reported to the FMU each year, most of which involve links to south Asian countries. A decision by the government is also expected soon on whether to outlaw forced marriages. . .    Forced marriage is a form of domestic violence and a human rights abuse. The victims often face emotional and physical abuse. "We are determined to help young people at risk and protect their right to choose whom they want to marry . . . .

    RELATED ARTICLE:  
    Forced marriage made me suicidal  BBC News-UK, Emily Buchanan, Mar 16, 2006

  • Da Vinci author finds his marriage on trial  The Age, Australia -By James Button, Mar 16, 2006
    This week the extraordinary case of Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh versus publishers Random House has taken on new dimensions. It is a plagiarism (technically, breach of copyright) suit that has revealed much more. It has cast new light on the weird way that the world's best-selling novel, The Da Vinci Code, was written. It may be a lesson in the perils of the internet. And it is a portrait of a most unusual marriage. . .
    Arguments close on Monday, after which Justice Peter Smith of the British High Court will decide whether author Dan Brown stole the architecture and central theme of Holy Blood, Holy Grail — a 1982 book by Baigent, Leigh and another author — for The Da Vinci Code. Millions of dollars in royalties and the fate of the blockbuster film of Brown's book, not to mention common understandings of copyright law, hang on the result. . .

  • Marriage Protection Amendment Approved by House State Government Committee  SOLANCONEWS.com, PA -Mar 15, 2006
    HARRISBURG -- Legislation sponsored by Rep. Scott W. Boyd (R-Lancaster) that would allow the people of Pennsylvania to amend the state's Constitution to specifically define marriage as a union between one man and one woman was approved today by the House State Government Committee, clearing the way for it to be voted on by the full House. Boyd's Marriage Protection Amendment (House Bill 2381) passed out of the committee by a 15-13 vote. . .

  • Mormon in legal gay marriage faces cutoff   Seattle Post Intelligencer -By Jennifer Dobner, Mar 15, 2006
    SALT LAKE CITY -- A gay man who is a lifetime member of the Mormon church could be facing disciplinary action and excommunication after legally marrying his partner in Canada. Buckley Jeppson, 57, said he's been informed verbally by a senior church leader that his life is incompatible with the doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and that a disciplinary council will address the matter. . . "If the person later decides to reject these core principles, they have the right and freedom to do so," she said. "However, they cannot reasonably expect to reject the most fundamental teachings of the church and still wrap themselves in the cloak of church membership. Of course, they would be welcome to continue to attend church services.". . .
Marriage Protection Amendment approved by House State Government Committee

  • Quiz: Is he marriage material?  Mumbai Mirror, India - Mar 15, 2006
    Will your boyfriend be the ideal husband or is he not the marrying variety? Take the quiz to find out.

    1. You have been hinting like crazy that you want a puppy for Christmas. Your guy would:
    a. Get you a stuffed animal puppy with a shiny red bow
    b. Ask, “How much do those cost, exactly?”
    c. Find out your favourite breed — and surprise you with one on Christmas morning. . .

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'Desperate Housewife' Nicollette Sheridan gets engaged to singer Michael Bolton
  • 'Desperate Housewife' Nicollette Sheridan Gets Engaged  ABC News -By BUCK WOLF, Mar 14, 2006
    When Nicollette Sheridan arrived at the Oscars with a huge diamond ring on her left hand, reporters asked if she and boyfriend Michael Bolton had an announcement to make.
    "No," she said, with the same coy grin she flashes as Edie Britt on "Desperate Housewives." "Do you?" Now it's official. The 42-year-old actress and the 53-year-old are engaged, the actress's rep tells ABCNEWS.com. . .  The couple began dating in the early 1990s, and recently rekindled their relationship. Sheridan was previously married to "L.A. Law" actor Harry Hamlin. Last year, after she split from fiancé Nick Soderblom, she and Bolton reconnected during the Christmas holiday. .

  • Big Love, from the Set  National Review Online- By Stanley Kurtz, Mar 13, 2006
    It's getting tougher to laugh off the "slippery slope" argument — the claim that gay marriage will lead to polygamy, polyamory, and ultimately to the replacement of marriage itself by an infinitely flexible partnership system. We've now got a movement for legalized polyamory and the abolition of marriage in Sweden. (See "Fanatical Swedish Feminists.") The Netherlands has given legal, political, and public approval to a cohabitation contract for a polyamorous bisexual triad. (See "
    Here Come the Brides.") Two out of four reports on polygamy commissioned by the Canadian government recommended decriminalization and regulation of the practice. (See "Dissolving Marriage.") And now comes Big Love, HBO's domestic drama about an American polygamous family. . . We don't need to talk about all the claims for the cultural significance of Will and Grace or Brokeback Mountain. Have a look at this fascinating piece from the Salt Lake City Tribune, " Will the polygamy debate ever be the same?
     ". . .  
Big Love, from the set

NJ Law Journal comes out in favor of gay marriage
  • NJ Law Journal Comes Out in Favor of Gay Marriage   Blue Jersey.net, Mar 13, 2006
    This is a big deal. Today the New Jersey Law Journal, which is read by thousands of lawyers, judges and their staffers across the state, endorsed marriage for same-sex couples. This is the same paper that in the past was only willing to support civil union. Some excerpts:
    ". . . The state's reliance on the historical definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman fails in our view because it seeks to use past discrimination to justify continuing the practice. The fact is that society no longer subscribes to the so-called "traditional" view of marriage, which derives from a time when wives were deemed chattel, when they could not own property in their name, and when they could not be raped by their husbands. None of these "traditional" views of marriage remain part of our jurisprudence.

    Each time our American society has pondered extending fundamental rights - from emancipation, to women's suffrage, to Civil Rights, to interracial marriage, to gay and lesbian adoption - a vocal majority has feared that the extension of our basic rights to the minority would alter the American way of life. Those fears have always proved unfounded, even if the majority was not always ready to immediately accept the change.. . ." 


The Age of Desperation
  • The Age of Desperation Townhall.com, By Daniel Son, Mar 12, 2006
    . . . But to me, it’s not the particularities of the plot or the specific events in the lives of these women that makes the show gripping. Rather, it is the social commentary that the program provides that I find principally engaging. All these women possess things that one group or another in society would deem as critical to the happiness of a woman — whether that be a high-powered career, a husband, children, more than enough money to go shopping with or a voluptuous figure. Yet, no matter what their lot in life may be, none of these women seem truly content with where she is — indeed, they have thus become desperate. . . . Essentially, the underlying message that Desperate Housewives conveys seems to be counterintuitive in the age of feminist clamoring for independence and rights. Why would Gabrielle choose a child to hamper her freedom when she has almost unlimited material resources at her disposal? Why wouldn’t Lynette love her job where she gets to be her own husband’s boss (most recently) and where she makes a lot of money? Why would she prefer to be there for her children, nurture them, and be there for them to turn to? That doesn’t make sense within a feminist framework. . . .

  • Dads: No cash for unwanted children
    In lawsuit, activists argue if women have right to decide fate of fetus, fathers can decline financial role
      The Detroit News- David Shepardson and Eric Lacy, Mar 9, 2006
    A national men's rights group plans to file a federal lawsuit this morning in U.S. District Court in Detroit, claiming that fathers have the legal right to opt out of the financial responsibilities of supporting a child they didn't want -- in a claim they dub "Roe v. Wade for Men."  A Troy lawyer for the New York-based National Center for Men said he will file a long-shot lawsuit on behalf of 25-year-old Matt Dubay of Saginaw that seeks an order declaring the Michigan Paternity Act unconstitutional. Dubay recently was ordered to pay support for his 8-month-old daughter. . . After three months, they stopped dating -- but soon afterward, she told him she was pregnant. "It's just not fair. She has options in this. As a man, I have no options and am forced to live with her choices,". . . The National Center for Men and its president don't want to be able to force women to have abortions or give up a child for adoption. They want to be able to go into court before a child is born and renounce parenting responsibilities -- and 18 years of child support. "More than three decades ago, Roe v. Wade gave women control of their reproductive lives but nothing in the law changed for men. . .

Haven't we had our Phil of get-love-quick schemes?
  • Haven't we had our Phil of get-love-quick schemes?     Hub, MI –By Matt Katz, Gannett News Service, Mar 8, 2006
    Asking Dr. Phil for advice is weird for a number of reasons.  First of all, the tough-love self-help guru - who was once Oprah's sidekick, and is now the official