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"MARRIAGE" In The News (May 2006) |
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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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- Saving a marriage: Spend, save
or give?
Understanding your partner can save you a trip to divorce
court
MSNBC.com-
Forbes.com, By Scott Reeves, May 31, 2006 Money in the bank gives you the warm fuzzies, but
money in your spouse's pocket creates an insatiable urge to spend.
The marriage needn't tumble off the personal finance precipice if
you understand each other's response to money and learn how to
accommodate it. "Our attitudes toward money are so deeply embedded
that we tend to believe we are right and our partner is wrong,"
says Diane McCurdy, author of "How Much Is Enough? Balancing
Today's Needs With Tomorrow's Retirement Goals." "Typical
responses are: 'I'm a responsible adult and you're a spoiled
child,' or 'I like to have some fun and you're a miserly killjoy.'
If more couples understood how their partner feels about money,
fewer would end up in divorce court." McCurdy says there are four
basic attitudes toward handling money: saver, spender, builder and
giver. . . . .
RELATED
ARTICLE: Talk About
Money Forbes.com- By Scott Reeves,
Apr 10, 2006
RELATED ARTICLE: Family (Financial)
Planning Forbes.com- By Scott Reeves, Apr
15, 2005
RELATED ARTICLE: First Comes Love, Then
Financial Planning Forbes.com- By Scott Reeves, Feb 9,
2005
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- Protect traditional marriage USA Today- By Wayne Allard (Sen.
Wayne Allard, R-Colo., is the author of the Marriage Protection
Amendment), May 31, 2006
. . . . . Unfortunately, the U.S. Constitution is
being amended to reflect a new definition of marriage — not by
democratically elected members of Congress, but by unaccountable
and unelected judges. As a result, I introduced an amendment to the
Constitution that simply defines marriage as the "union of a man
and a woman," while leaving to state legislatures the freedom to
address the question of civil unions and domestic partnerships. The
amendment would not overturn current state and local laws dealing
with these arrangements. Democracy and representative government
are at the core of this debate. In 2004 and 2005, voters in 14
states overwhelmingly passed constitutional amendments protecting
marriage. Today, 19 states have constitutional amendments
protecting marriage, and 26 have statutes designed to protect
traditional marriage. The will of the people is clear on this
issue. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Just
say 'I don't' Editorial/Opinion- USA TODAY, May 31,
2006
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- Education Linked
to Better Fathers: Study Food
Consumer, IL - HealthDay News- By Steven Reinberg,
May 31, 2006
. . . . "The race
differences are very striking," Martinez said. "We know that blacks
are less likely to marry, so you would expect those births outside
of marriage would be greater," she said. "About 50 percent of
births to Hispanics were within marriage, 77 percent of births to
whites were within marriage, but only 36 percent of births to
blacks were within marriage," she said. Other data in the report
show that among non-Hispanic black fathers, 25 percent fathered
their first child before they were 20 years old; 19 percent of
Hispanic fathers also became fathers as teenagers, and 11 percent
of non-Hispanic white men became fathers while they were teens. But
across all races, a dad's education still made all the difference.
. . .
RELATED ARTICLE: New study looks at men,
fatherhood USA
Today - By Sharon
Jayson, May 31, 2006
RELATED STUDY: 2006 Media Advisory- Fertility, Contraception, and
Fatherhood: Data on Men and Women from the National Survey of
Family Growth National
Center For Health Statistics, May 31,
2006
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- Joan Collins: 'A man is not a meal
ticket'
Five husbands and four divorces have taught JOAN COLLINS a bitter
lesson. . . The Daily Mail- By Joan
Collins, May 30, 2006 Having had
five husbands and four divorces I am, you might say, a veteran of
the matrimonial courts. It was with much interest that I read the
results of last week's two rulings which, according to legal
experts, have yet again strengthened the hand of divorcing wives.
They have certainly strengthened the bank balances of the women
concerned. . . . . . . My own rather varied experience of the
marital field has left me with firm views about the culture of
'entitlement', which the courts seem to be encouraging, even as the
legions of silicone-enhanced gold diggers grow steadily more vast.
In my case, the chancers and fortune-hunters have been men, which
is perhaps less common. But male or female, my conclusion is the
same: the only 'entitlements' we have are to the things we have
worked for. Attempting to get rich on the back of a brief
partnership is despicable behaviour. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Forget Prince Charming: Women Need to Save, Invest,
Buy a Home Bloomberg - By Joan
Oleck, Mar 28, 2006
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- Is a
Submissive Wife the Key to a Happy Marriage?
Author Laura Doyle thinks so, and apparently
a lot of people agree with her because this new bestselling book is
flying off the shelves. About.com, May 30, 2006 With divorce rates reported at fifty percent
in recent years, could the problem be that women no longer respect
the man of the house? Maybe wives can simply learn to behave and
all will be well. In her new, surprisingly popular and not
surprisingly, controversial book, The Surrendered Wife,
Laura Doyle proposes that every woman should stop trying to control
her husband, cease all criticism of him, learn not to interrupt and
definitely apologize if she becomes "disrespectful.". . .
. . If all this sounds positively ludicrous
and antiquated, we have to wonder aloud why Doyle's book has
already made Amazon's Top 10 list and proven itself a trendy seller
in ultra modern cities like Chicago and Los Angeles. The
controversy is heated, with no opinions falling to the middle of
the road. . . . . Doyle herself was raised
in California and cites her parents "equal" relationship full of
torment and battles as one component in the revelation her book
details. Initially, Doyle--a self-proclaimed feminist and "former
shrew"--took after her mother, nearly ruining her marriage with
nagging. Turning to friends and self-help books she says she soon
realized that happy marriages were those with submissive wives. . .
. .
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- Brangelina baby name translates to
'Messiah'
Shiloh is the Hebrew word for 'Messiah and also
means 'peaceful one' MSNBC.com- AP,
May 30, 2006 Nothing was normal about the birth of Angelina Jolie
and Brad Pitt’s child, so naturally, neither was their baby’s name.
The child — whose pending arrival created a frenzy of hyperbole
making it for some the most awaited baby since Jesus — was named
Shiloh, which fittingly means “Messiah” or “Peaceful One.” . . . .
In a statement to People magazine, Jolie thanked the staff of
Cottage Medi-Clinic Hospital. Jolie’s obstetrician from Los
Angeles, Dr. Jason Rothbart, told People that he delivered the
child, weighing seven pounds, by Caesarean section “due to breech
presentation.” Pitt, he said, “was with Angelina in the
operating room the entire time and cut the umbilical cord of his
daughter. The surgery and the birth went flawlessly.”. . .
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- Gay marriage creates new conflicts for
neighbors Town
Hall, DC - By Maggie Gallagher, May 30,
2006
The story
circulating on the Internet was hard to believe at first: A North
Truro, Mass., volunteer fireman lost his position because he
signed a petition opposing gay marriage? I was lucky enough to
get Leo "Skip" Childs on the phone. Skip is the kind of guy who
makes you ashamed of yourself, but very proud to be an American. He
volunteers many hours in the tiny town of North Truro, repairing
fire trucks, saving lives. . . . After five years, Skip thought his
reappointment to the Board of Fire Engineers would be routine. . .
. But two ideas are clearly now on a collision course in America:
1) There's something special about unions of husbands and wives,
and 2) there's no difference between same-sex and opposite-sex
couples, and only hate-filled bigots think otherwise. In
Massachusetts, the second idea is now the official view of the law.
. . . .
- Ga. court to expedite gay marriage
appeal Seattle
Post Intelligencer - May 30, 2006
ATLANTA -- Georgia's highest court said
Tuesday it would expedite its review of a ruling that struck down
the state's voter-approved ban on gay marriage. A Superior Court
judge earlier this month ruled that the ban violated the Georgia
Constitution's single-subject rules for ballot questions because it
addressed issues other than gay marriage, including civil unions. .
. . . A statement from the Georgia Supreme Court released
Tuesday said the court will hear arguments in the case on June
27. Seventy-six percent of voters in 2004 approved the
constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages. . . .
- Bible allows gay marriage, bishop
claims PinkNews.co.uk, UK - By Marc
Shoffman, May 30, 2006
The Bible supports same sex partnerships, a
senior Church of England bishop has claimed. Reverend Richard
Harries, Bishop of Oxford, has fuelled the Church’s row over gay
marriage and gay clergyman by stating that traditionalists should
be “converted” to see gay unions are allowed according to
scriptures. . . . . His remarks were quashed by Reform, an
evangelical group, Reverend David Banting said: "He thinks that he
has the weight of culture and the weight of the majority of the
Church in the West behind him, which convinces him that he's right.
"Same-sex partnerships are not congruous with the Bible, sexual
relations outside of heterosexual marriage are not blessed by God.
"We need to be pastorally supportive of those who struggle in this
area, but we shouldn't be trying to change the teaching of the
Church. No amount of calling black white will make black white.'' .
. . . . .
- Poll: Boomers go easy on
marriage USA Today- By Sharon Jayson, May 30, 2006
Baby boomers think more
like their kids than their parents on love and marriage, a Gallup
Poll reports Tuesday. Thirty-five percent of those ages 40-64
believe marriage is "very important" if a couple have a child
together; 58% of adults 65 and older say so. Of those ages 18-39,
30% believe it is "very important." Overall, 37% of respondents
believe a child is a "very important" reason to marry. "It's
shocking in what it represents: that we're going to have more and
more children growing up without the benefits of a two-parent
family," says Howard Markman, co-director of the Center for Marital
and Family Studies at the University of Denver. . .
.
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- Hilary asks gay activists for marriage amendment
help Townhall.com-
By Kevin McCullough, May 29, 2006
. . . . . So what is this innocent
game of, "we just don't want federal law to over step its limits of
power," routine she has been pulling with my listeners and those
who call her office in recent weeks? Sad to say it’s nothing new.
And important to point out that she is a candidate whose conviction
on this matter is truly troubling. In one breath to callers from
her state she assures them of her support for the institution of
traditional marriage and how the states should have every right to
protect it. In the next she is hosting backdoor conferences, making
propositions in smoke filled rooms to advance the radical
homosexual activist cause - yet she must go to the activists to
learn how to make their case. . . .
- Bloomberg Wants Same Sex Marriage
Licenses 1010
Wins, NY - May 28,
2006
NEW YORK (1010
WINS) -- -- During his weekly Sunday radio address, Mayor
Bloomberg announced that if the Court of Appeals does not rule
in favor of the city issuing same sex marriage licenses, he will
work with others in the city and state legislatures to establish a
new law that establishes ‘marriage equality.’ "I believe all
New Yorkers should have the right to marry whom ever they choose
regardless of sexual orientation," said
Bloomberg. The court of appeals is
scheduled to takes up the issue of same sex marriage this
week. . . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: New York court takes up
gay marriage CNN.com- From Christopher Browne, May 30,
2006
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- Gay agenda means less freedom for
all Townhall.com- By Star Parker, May 29, 2006
. . . . Completing the picture of what seems
reasonable to call a trend, the area of the population where
support for same-sex marriage is strongest and growing is among
young people. Time does not seem to favor those who want to
preserve tradition. A more qualitative measure of this trend is to
just listen to how the debate is cast. A Washington Post editorial
opposing the Federal Marriage Amendment accuses Republicans of
"picking on gays and lesbians." According to the Post, such an
amendment would "discriminate against a class of people." So, along
with the trend toward increasing acceptance of the idea of same-sex
marriage has been the complete obliteration of the idea that
homosexuality is a type of behavior as opposed to a state of being.
The discussion has long disappeared that this is about attitudes
regarding this behavior and it has become almost exclusively cast
as discrimination claims against gays and lesbians . . .
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Who
Was Mary Magdalene? Newsweek- By Jonathan Darman, May 29,
2006 Issue . . . . Indeed, for all its revolutionary claims, "The Da
Vinci Code" is remarkably old-fashioned, making Mary important for
her body more than her mind. In the movie, we see a stricken,
shadowy Magdalene with swollen belly being spirited out of
Jerusalem by a crowd of attendant men. But we never hear her voice.
"The Da Vinci Code" seems to think that the secret tradition of
Mary Magdalene speaks to the carnal. In reality, it tells of
something far more subversive: the intellectual equality of the
sexes. The current Magdalene cult still focuses on her sexuality
even though no early Christian writings speak of her sexuality at
all. "Why do we feel the need to resexualize Mary?" wonders Karen
King, author of "The Gospel of Mary of Magdala." "We've gotten rid
of the myth of the prostitute. Now there's this move to see her as
wife and mother. Why isn't it adequate to see her as disciple and
perhaps apostle?" "The Da Vinci Code" especially misses the
point about Mary when it makes its case that she was the bride of
Christ. . . . .
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- The End of Motherhood?
But somehow the United States better mixes
child rearing and the job market than do other advanced
societies Newsweek- By Robert J.
Samuelson, May 29, 2006 Issue - Russian president Vladimir Putin has
inadvertently spotlighted one of today's momentous mysteries:
collapsing birthrates in industrialized countries. Putin proposed
that Russia pay women to have children to remedy a "critical"
population outlook. Actually, he might have said "desperate." . . .
. . Russia's case, though extreme, isn't isolated. There's no more
population "explosion." In wealthier countries, motherhood is going
out of style and plunging birthrates portend population loss. This
is a hugely significant development, even if we don't fully
understand the causes—experts didn't predict it—or consequences.
One way or another, the side effects will be massive for economics,
politics and people's well being. Indeed, they may already have
started. . . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Children for
Sale: Would $36,000 convince you to have another
kid? Slate.com, By Daniel Gross, May 24,
2006
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- Marriage merry-go-round New Straits Times- Malaysia News Online- By
Kathirasen, May 28, 2006
WE may be moving full circle as far as marriage is concerned. And reel life might just
become real life in the not-too-distant future. The signs are
there: The changes occurring in gender relationships; the speed at
which society, particularly urban society, is evolving; changing
societal values and increasing divorce rates. . . . . At one
time you were either married or unmarried. Today, you can be
married or unmarried, have a live-in lover, be unattached but have
partners now and then, or be in "a relationship". . . . . If
that is not enough, gays and lesbians have thrown a major spanner
into marriage as an institution.
Coming out of the closet in droves in the West, they are seeking
same- sex marriage and the right to
be allowed to "raise" families. Several countries in Europe and
some US States now allow this. And what if there are more than two
partners in a marriage? Last
September, The Netherlands allowed the "civil union" of two women
with a man. . . . . . .
Celebrities, on and off the movie
sets, have children first and then decide to register their union.
Or they just live together cooing about how great the other is for
a few years before parting with no hard feelings. Juicy stories
about celebrities and the erotic excitement sold
by some movies and television shows have helped erode attitudes
towards marriage. . . . .
.We already have what I call "serial marryers",
especially among those who practice polygamy. We will soon see more
of them. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Forgot
wives' names GG2.NET NEWS, May 21, 2006
RELATED ARTICLE: Here
Comes the Brides- Plural marriage is waiting in the
wings The
Weekly Standard, Dec 26, 2005
RELATED ARTICLE: First trio "Married" in The
Netherlands The Brussels
Journal Online- By Paul Belien, Sept 26,
2005
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- All may be fair in love but not
divorce The Sunday Times- UK- By Minette Marrin, May 28,
2006
. . . . Three
sensational divorce rulings were announced last week. Two went in
favour of non-earning wives. “Wives Win Out!” “Payday for the wives
who stay at home!” “Landmark victory for ex-wives!”, cried the
headlines. Melissa Miller and Julia McFarlane, whose faces were
splashed all over front pages and television screens, were
supported by the law lords in their settlement claims. . .
. .“The Men Strike
Back!” screamed one headline. “After those landmark divorce payouts
for two ex-wives, British Airways pilot wins £3.5m from the lady of
the manor”, and she will have to sell her pretty manor to find the
money. The law lords’ findings
were said to be the most important ruling for more than 20 years on
the division of property upon divorce. And they were widely said to
establish new principles, in a long overdue reconsideration of
these painful matters. But I remain confused and unconvinced, in so
far as I understand their rulings. . . . Try as I will, I cannot
work out whether this includes assets brought into the marriage.
Are they also fruits of the marriage and therefore the spoils of
divorce? . . . . . .
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- How we split: It's not just divorcing couples.
Now even unmarried partners are heading for the
courts The
Independent Online- Legal, UK, By Sophie Goodchild and
Martin Hodgson, May 28, 2006
People who live together instead of
getting married will get the right to share each other's money and
property if they split up, under new proposals to be published this
week. Rather than having to walk away with only the CDs they had in
the first place, a change in attitudes would allow Britain's 4.4
million opposite-sex cohabitees to stake a claim for possessions
acquired together and wealth that has been built up while in a
relationship. . . . . "If you recognise the
rights of same-sex couples who cohabit, then it cannot be right to
discriminate against heterosexual couples in the same situation.".
. . . The number of people getting married
has fallen, and the number of marriages that fail has risen to one
in three. Now 40 per cent of births take place outside marriage,
which is four times more than was the case in 1986. The number of
cohabiting couples who are living with children has gone up by 50
per cent since 1996, to 2.2 million. . . . . More than two million
couples cohabit in England and Wales, though they still have fewer
rights than married couples. Most have a mistaken belief in
"common-law marriage", though no such thing has existed since 1753.
. . .
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- As they preach on divorce, their readers may be falling off the
straight and narrow
Real life gets in the way when newspapers try to
hold the line on marriage The
Independent, UK- By Peter Cole, Professor of Journalism, University
of Sheffield, May 28, 2006 . . . . . Newspapers are seldom
reticent about marriage and divorce, both staples of the celebrity
coverage that so dominates the pages today. But they are less
confident when handling "real" marriage and divorce. . . .
. . Even the serious newspapers are less happy with
shades of grey than with certainties, and found that taking a
position on the Lords ruling was not a matter of voting on party
lines. Left of centre: liberal on divorce, compensate the wife.
Right of centre: defend marriage, make divorce harder, men have
suffered enough. It was harder for the more liberal papers. . .
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- Don't despair. Some women pick partners for love not
money The Independent, UK-
By Robert Booth, May 28, 2006
As many as 10 million British women are ready to
take over bread-winning duties from their partners in "a profound
shift" in the ground rules for relationships. Research suggests
that financial confidence among women has reached such heights that
men who use the status of a powerful job and a fat pay packet to
attract the opposite sex may be wasting their time. Almost half the
women surveyed said they would be happy to be the sole bread-winner
in a relationship, and nine out of 10 said they valued love and
happiness over money in the dating game and relationships. . . . .
. However, the survey also showed that 13 per cent of men felt
intimidated, embarrassed or insecure dating someone who earned more
than them, compared with 3 per cent of women. "It might sound
fantastic to avoid the nine to five and play golf, but for a lot of
men they feel they aren't contributing and don't feel 100 per cent
male, particularly among friends. That can percolate into the
relationship," said Denise Knowles, a Relate marriage guidance
counsellor.. . .
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- CELEBS LAUGH OFF LOVE, MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE
SPLIT & MISS People.co.uk- By Rebecca Rampling, May 28, 2006 IT'S been a tough few weeks for Paul
McCartney, with ex Heather Mills in line to scoop a staggering £200
million divorce settlement. And with multi-million pound splits in
the news this week, it makes you wonder how celebs feel when they
fall out of love. But if there's nothing you can do about it, you
may as well laugh it off. REBECCA RAMPLING takes a look at some of
the stars' thoughts on the great institution of marriage. . .
I SAID to the wife:
Guess what I heard in the pub? They reckon the milkman has made
love to every woman in our road except one. And she said: I'll bet
it's that stuck-up Phyllis at No 23. - Max Kauffmann. . . .
.
SEE the problem is that God has given men a brain and a penis, and
only enough blood to run one at a time. - Robin
Williams I HAVE never hated a
man enough to give his diamonds back. - Zsa Zsa
Gabor WOMEN need a reason
to have sex. Men just need a place. - Billy Crystal. . . .
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- A Pitt-Jolie Child Is Born E!Online- By Joal Ryan, May 27, 2006
And, lo, she has come to pass, the most celebrated
of celebrity babies: Shiloh Nouvel Pitt-Jolie. Angelina
Jolie gave birth to Shiloh, a girl, Saturday night in Namibia,
a statement from Brad Pitt's publicist said. There were no
details on how mother, baby and Pitt were doing. . . Shiloh is a
name of Hebrew origin meaning, "His gift," per thinkbabynames.com.
It also associated with an 1862 Civil War battle, and a Neil
Diamond song about a desperately lonely childhood. (Diamond's
imaginary friend, however, spelled his name "Shilo."). . . . .
- It's a Baby Girl for
Brangelina Washington Post- By Christopher Webwe-AP, May 27,
2006
LOS
ANGELES -- The baby has arrived _ and no, they didn't name her
Brangelina. Thousands of miles from Hollywood but still within easy
reach of celebrity hype, Angelina Jolie gave birth to Brad Pitt's
daughter Saturday in Africa, Pitt's publicist announced. "The
night of May 27, 2006 in Namibia, Africa, Angelina Jolie and Brad
Pitt welcomed their daughter Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt. No further
information is being given," publicist Cindy Guagenti said in a
statement. No photographs were being released, she added. . .
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- Wedding on water Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom - May 27,
2006
I didn't plan to get married on a cruise
ship. In fact, I didn't plan to get married at all. So why was I
standing nervously outside the chapel on Grand Princess, dressed in
white, clutching a bouquet and waiting to meet Captain Andy, who
was going to marry me to my long-time partner, Mark? The
answer is that, having decided to tie the knot, we both liked the
idea of doing something different. Caribbean beaches, palm
trees and gazebos have been done to death, and saying "I do" while
hurtling to the ground on the end of a bungee was really not our
style. But being married by the captain at sea sounded all very
Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn - remember The African Queen?
- and certainly different, especially as Princess Cruises was the
only cruise line in the world that could make it happen. . . .
.
RELATED
LINK: Marriage (Cruise) Lines
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- Don't Jump into bed before
marriage Vanguard
Online, Nigeria- By Folake Aina, May 27, 2006
I know I should have addressed this issue before now, but
you know I do apologize. For all the young ladies who have been
sending me mails on whether to succumb to pressure for sex before
marriage, and for everyone who wants to know, this one is for you.
I would not move into this topic acting holier than thou. But of a
truth every young unmarried lady should be glad that you fall into
a generation where all the counseling you need is available. .
. . My honest opinion? I think sex should be reserved for
marriage. If the guy wants you that bad, let him get his finances
together and propose. “No wed, No bed.”. Sex cannot keep a
guy. . . .
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- Five Fun Wedding Trends for
2006 Devil's Lake Journal, May 26, 2006
Teal bridesmaids' gowns? So last year. Bridal bouquet
of red roses? Been there, done that. Platinum wedding
bands? A classic choice, but there are trendier options.
According to a report published by The Wedding Report, the $58.5
billion wedding market in 2006 is expected to boast 2.2 million
weddings (a three-percent increase over last year), at an average
cost of $26,400 (a 2.3 percent increase.) With staggering
statistics such as these, no wonder that planning a wedding can be
difficult - and expensive - work. Many brides- and grooms-to-be
already have a firm grasp on their wedding plans and budgets. For
those of you just starting to comb through bridal magazines, here
are five trends you may want to consider when planning your big
day:
* COLORS. While many
colors will be popular this year, purple will prevail.
TheKnot.com foresees a palette from pale lavender to deep
eggplant, used in a variety of patterns on everything from
bridesmaids' dresses and invitations to the wedding cake and
cocktail napkins. . . . . . .
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- Parenting Issues: Too much TV for
tots
Townhall.com- by Brent Bozell III - May 26, 2006
The more Americans live the fast-paced, overworked
life, the more their young children are over-entertained. It isn't
that parents intend to introduce their children to the world by
having them gaping blank-faced into a TV screen. But when there's
work to be done or just noise to be muffled, parents can see the
benefits of young children glued to the TV, quiet and still. At
least that's how I would defend myself, if challenged to explain
why my children watch more TV than they should. In the final
analysis, however, this exercise in parental laxity is not only
indefensible, it's now out of control. The Kaiser Family Foundation has just released a new study
showing just how much electronic media has become a central focus
in the lives of many of our youngest children. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Study:
More parents use TV as an electronic babysitter USA
Today- By Janet Kornblum, May 24, 2006
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- Gwen Stefani Gives Birth ABC News.com,
May 26, 2006
-- Pop star Gwen Stefani can now add
mommy to her list of achievements, as the 36-year-old pop superstar
gave birth to a baby boy today. The singer underwent a Caesarean,
or C-section, at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, giving
birth shortly before 1 p.m. Stefani's husband, Gavin Rossdale,
formerly of the rock band Bush, was reportedly greeted with cheers
and clapping after he announced the baby's arrival to eager family
members waiting in a private room. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: It's a Boy for Gwen Stefani People
Magazine - People News, May 26, 2006
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- Swank. Lowe. Over. E!
Online - by Joal Ryan, May 26, 2006
There will be no happy ending for Hilary Swank and
Chad Lowe. Just an ending. The couple, who announced they
were separating last January, are headed to divorce court
after more than eight-and-a-half years of marriage, Swank's camp
confirmed Friday. Hilary Swank and Chad Lowe have
jointly decided to divorce," a statement from their attorney said,
per People magazine, which broke the news. "They continue to
be friends and have the utmost respect for one
another." Swank is doing the filing, People
said. Unlike some celebrity splits, divorce did not seem a fait
accompli when Swank and Lowe separated. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: And, baby, I love you The Observer, UK - By Barbara
Ellen, May 21, 2006
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- The divorce ruling strikes a blow at
marriage
The
Times, May 26, 2006
Sir, Just what did Messrs Miller and
Macfarlane think they were doing when they married their respective
wives (report,
May 25)? When couples marry they commit all that they have and all
that they are to each other until death. This means that every
material thing that they bring to the marriage belongs to their new
spouse just as much as it belongs to them. The answer, the
divorce lawyers tells us, is to sign a prenuptial agreement. This
is wrong. Marriage must be entered into on the basis of its being a
life-long, exclusive commitment. If there is any thought (much less
intention) that this is not the case, then the couple are not ready
to make that commitment. . . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: The
rewritten rules of marriage and divorce
Times Online- Law, By Frances Gibb, May 25,
2006
RELATED ARTICLE: Wealthy?
Don't get married, lawyers say Times
Online- Law, By Alex Spence, May 24,
2006
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- Can I say something?
Soon-to-be spouse tells his side of the marital
story Ledger-Examiner- By Pat Gillespie, May 26, 2006 For the last month, my fiancé, Erin Simpson, has
been exposing all of our secrets to pre-marital (and eventually
marital) success. She has also been misinforming the readers of the
Columbus Ledger- Enquirer. First of all, pedicures are never a
necessity, as she stated in her May 5 column. Secondly, poker with
friends is worth every penny, especially when I would win every
week, which may or may not be the truth. Seriously, though, the
advice Erin has given is good for couples who are planning for a
long life together. . . . Sometimes you just don't feel like
having a long, drawn out discussion about much to spend on flowers
and food for the wedding or how much to invest in a 401(k) plan.
Who knows? But these are things that need to be done, don't put
them off. But don't look just to the wedding, think long-term. Plan
on how to get out of your current debt. Put that $20 for a movie
into the savings account, take out $5 and rent a movie. Do that
consistently and you'll make a difference. And think beyond the first five years.
. . . .
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- Joined in Marriage and
Finances Washington Post -By Michelle
Singletary, May 26, 2006
— In Act II of George Bernard Shaw's "Man and
Superman," the character Violet says, "You can be as romantic as
you please about love, Hector; but you mustn't be romantic about
money.". . . . . . I often find that some couples go to great
lengths to complicate their financial lives in the name of romance.
For example, here's a question I received from a San Francisco
woman during an online chat recently: "My fiance and I will be getting married this August
and we plan to each keep one account separate (depositing 10
percent of our individual earnings each month or bimonthly). I know
that you advocate the total combining of incomes in a marriage, but
how else can we surprise each other with the occasional gift,
birthday present without the other being tipped off by the online
statement? We just wanted to know what you thought.". . .
.
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- POLYGAMOUS UNION SPARKS SPLIT
Divided Utah Supreme Court Holds Lawrence Doesn’t
Protect Plural Marriages American Bar Assn. JOURNAL eReport -By
Stephanie Francis Ward, May 26, 2006 The Utah Supreme Court has upheld the
bigamy conviction of a polygamist but split over whether the
landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Lawrence v. Texas
reaches beyond consensual sex between same-sex couples. The court
rejected the appellant’s argument that a law prohibiting plural
marriages violates his constitutional privacy rights. And though
lawyers may take opposite sides on the case, several agree that its
arguments may have an effect on the legal battle over same-sex
marriage. . . . In his appeal, Holm
argued the state bigamy law should be struck down under Lawrence
v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558, the 2003 ruling that found sodomy laws
unconstitutional. The majority in Holm’s appeal disagreed, finding
that Lawrence only applies to private, consensual sexual
acts involving adults of the same sex. The Utah opinion notes that
Lawrence specifically exempts minors. . .
.
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- The Dangers of Same-sex
"Marriage" BreakPoint.org- By Regis Nicoll,
May 26, 2006
. . . Before we examine the societal effects of gay
“marriage,” we need to set the record straight about the moral
teachings of Jesus. . . . Consider Jesus’s conversation with
adulterous woman. Jesus didn’t treat her as a poor creature
helplessly controlled by her earthly desires. He treated her as a
free moral agent capable of choosing a different way to live.
Consequently, He didn’t give her the false compassion of tolerance
toward her lifestyle. Out of true compassion, He showed her the way
out of her broken condition by challenging her to “go now and leave
your life of sin.” This is a helpful pattern for us. .
. . Next is the claim that homosexuality is an inherited
trait. . . . . Even if we accept that sexual preferences are genetically determined,
sexual behaviors are
not—unless, that is, we take the low view of man as a genetic
robot. . . . .The real question for the Christian is whether a
genetic link really matters. . . .
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- If gays marry, churches could suffer
CHICAGO TRIBUNE By Douglas W. Kmiec,
Professor of Constitutional Law, Pepperdine University School
of Law, May 26, 2006
. . . . . The
Feingold-Specter tiff illustrates the intensity of feeling about
adding to the text of the Constitution what the founders surely
thought was obvious: "Marriage in the United States shall consist
only of the union of a man and a woman." The need to reaffirm the
self-evident was prompted by Massachusetts' judicial recognition of
same-sex marriage, which motivated more than a dozen states to
overwhelmingly proclaim otherwise. With the states being so
vigilant in defense of traditional marriage, is there really a need
for the people to act? Yes. . . . While it may be inconceivable for
many to imagine America treating churches that oppose gay marriage
the same as racists who opposed interracial marriage in the 1960s,
just consider the fate of the Boy Scouts. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Banned in Boston: The Coming Conflict Between Same Sex Marriage
and Religious Liberty Cover Story- The Weekly
Standard, By Maggie Gallagher, May 15, 2006
Issue
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- Zombie Killers A.K.A., “Queering the
Social” NATIONAL
REVIEW ONLINE- By Stanley Kurtz, May 25, 2006
. . . . Still confused? Then I’ll make my point
succinctly: Gay marriage undermines marriage. You see, it turns out
that this decidedly conservative observation is entirely consistent
with the views of some of the most influential sociologists in
Europe (and their followers here in America). I’ve been quoting and
paraphrasing these prominent sociologists to show that I’m far from
the only one who connects same- sex marriage with the decline of
traditional marriage. Of course, “hip-and-happening” left-leaning
sociologists would be loathe to put the matter precisely the way I
do. For fear of scaring the public away from still more change,
they’d be careful not to offer a detailed causal case showing that
gay marriage undermines marriage. Above all, Europe’s sociologists
(and their American fellow travelers) actually celebrate and
promote the decline of the traditional family that is signaled and
advanced by same-sex marriage. But strip away the jargon, drop the element
of celebration, and it turns out that conservative opponents of
same-sex marriage and some of Europe’s most influential
sociologists are saying much the same thing: Same-sex marriage
doesn’t reinforce marriage; instead, it upends marriage, and helps
build acceptance for a host of other mutually reinforcing changes
(like single parenting, parental cohabitation, and multi-partner
unions) that only serve to weaken marriage. .
.
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- Victoria Principal and husband
split Canada.com, Canada - May
25, 2006
Former Dallas star Victoria
Principal has filed for divorce from her husband of more than 20
years, plastic surgeon Harry Glassman. Principal, 60, filed
for dissolution of marriage in Los Angeles Superior Court on
Tuesday, citing irreconcilable differences. According to documents,
the couple split in March. . . . Principal is a former model who is
best known for playing Pamela Ewing for nine years on the popular
prime time drama Dallas. Although she continues to work as
an actress and producer, Principal has made a fortune with a
signature line of beauty and skin care products. . .
.
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- 'Triumph for man' as pilot wins divorce
appeal Times Online- Law, UK- By Michael Herman and PA, May 25,
2006
A former
British Airways pilot declared a "small triumph for man" today
as judges ruled his £900,000 pension should not be treated as
an ordinary asset in a divorce settlement. A panel of judges at the
Court of Appeal awarded Philip Martin-Dye a further £650,000 on top
of the £3 million he has already received in his divorce
settlement. Mr Martin-Dye, who rented a room in his wife’s
home before marrying her, appealed over whether his pension should
be treated as an asset, similar to a property, when dividing the
marital wealth. Unlike a property or portfolio of shares, a
pension cannot be sold for cash. . . . . In what lawyers are
calling the most significant divorce rulings in 20 years the House
of Lords yesterday found in favour of two ex-wives of wealthy
husbands awarding them substantial financial settlements. . . .
.
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- Interracial partner not welcome at
wedding San Bernardino
Sun, CA -By Michael Stone, May 25,
2006
DEAR
MICHAEL: My name is Lucy, I am black and live in The Netherlands. I
have been married once. I have been single since the death of my
husband almost 10 years ago. I have no
children. After many years of being alone, I met someone. He is
54 years old and not black. He has two children, ages 25 and 21. We
met at a sporting event in January 2005. Three months later, we
decided to be friends and ever since we have been
together. We attend all family events and visit all members of
his family including his children. Last Christmas, his son sent him
a Christmas card addressed to him alone. He saw that I was not
pleased. He confronted his son. The matter ended.
This year, his son sent
him a wedding invitation with a note requesting that I remain at
the background. Could this be racial on the part of his
son? . .
. .
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- Marriage should be serious
business Telegraph.co.uk- By
Rachel Simhon, May 25, 2006
. . . Attitudes have changed to
such a degree over the past 40 years that living together is
commonplace and easy, and the concept of "living in sin" so
laughably quaint as to be greeted with absolute incredulity by
anyone under the age of 25. Therefore, the fact that anyone
actually bothers to go through with a marriage ceremony these days
speaks volumes about how much value people still place on the
institution, this very public statement of intent - and
consequently, how devastated they are when all that confetti and
optimism end in the divorce courts. . . . Married couples are
partners in the strictest sense, not the trendy euphemistic sense.
And how they contribute to that partnership - whether by earning
most of the money or giving up work to bring up the children or
making short-term sacrifices to allow the spouse to build a
business - is considered to be of equal value. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Landmark victory for
ex-wives Telegraph.co.uk- By Catriona Davies and Joshua
Rozenberg, May 25, 2006
RELATED ARTICLE: Balancing fairness and
compensation Telegraph.co.uk-
By Joshua Rozenberg- Legal Editor, May 25, 2006
RELATED ARTICLE: Divorce
should be the exception not the rule Telegraph.co.uk, May 25, 2006
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- Landmark victory for
ex-wives Telegraph.co.uk- By Catriona Davies and Joshua
Rozenberg, May 25, 2006
Wives are entitled to a fair
deal on divorce, Britain's highest court ruled yesterday. For the
first time, women who sacrifice their careers for the benefit of
their families will be able to seek compensation from wealthy
husbands - rather than just enough to live on. The same principles
will apply to house-husbands who stay at home to bring up children
while their wives go out to work. The law lords ruled that two
women were entitled to multi-million-pound settlements from their
former husbands. The House of Lords also slammed the lid on the
growing tendency of judges to investigate who was to blame for the
breakdown of a marriage. . . . Family Law in Partnership,
which acted for the other successful ex-wife, described it as a
"ground-breaking" ruling. "Until today," the lawyers said,
"maintenance for a stay-at-home mum was based purely on her living
costs. Now judges must consider 'contribution' and 'compensation'."
. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Wealthy?
Dont get married, lawyers say Times Online, By Alex Spence, May 24,
2006
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- The Biggest Lies About
Marriage ABC News.com, May 24,
2006
— There are a lot of lies out
there about marriage that prospective brides and grooms, newlyweds,
and long-married couples believe. Psychologist Robin L. Smith
debunks many of them in her best-selling book, "Lies at the Altar:
The Truth About Great Marriages." Smith's book includes 276
questions for people to ask themselves and their partner if they're
thinking about getting married, or have been married for years and
are looking for a new road map. Here are four of the biggest lies
Smith says people tell themselves — and others — about
marriage.
No.1: The past is over.
The truth is that the past is driving you to the
chapel or the temple or the synagogue. Until you deal with the
past, it will follow you. It's like luggage that you pack and you
think you can leave in one city. When you arrive in the next one,
your luggage is there too. You can't just get rid of it. . . .
.
RELATED: BOOK EXCERPT: 'Lies At The Altar' By Dr. Robin L. Smith
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- Rush to marriage turns into
disaster Biloxi Sun Herald,
USA - May 23, 2006
Dear Annie: I am 26
years old. Six months ago, I married a man I've been dating since I
began college. This is the only serious relationship I have been
in. The problem is, I have always had major doubts about our
relationship. I know I "settled" because I wanted the whole
marriage-and-children thing. I am hardly attracted to my husband,
and worse, embarrassed by him because he is socially awkward. We
agree on a lot of things, such as parenting (we do not yet have
children), but sometimes I'm afraid I made a terrible mistake by
marrying him. To compound the problem, I have cheated on him
with three different guys. A divorce would devastate my husband,
who not only has baggage from his own parents' divorce, but also is
very much in love with me. I also don't want to disappoint my
family and his. I'm afraid I will always be looking for affairs.
Please help. I have no one to turn to, since all my friends know
the co-worker I am having an affair with. Staten Island, N.Y. . . .
.
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- Twenty Years Later: It turns out that
getting married after age 40 wasn't quite as difficult as we once
believed
Newsweek Society - By Daniel McGinn, May 23, 2006
- Christine
Stroebel-Scimeca was recently digging through old boxes in her
basement, preparing to move to a new house. In one box, the
50-year-old Wisconsin financial planner came across the June 2,
1986, issue of NEWSWEEK. “The Marriage Crunch,” read the cover
headline. Below it was a line graph sloping steeply downward, above
an ominous subhead: “If You’re a Single Woman, Here Are Your
Chances of Getting Married." There’s a reason Stroebel-Scimeca had
saved the magazine for 20 years. In its pages, she was one of more
than a dozen women featured discussing the “cruel reality” of her
apparently poor marriage prospects. . . . . But a funny thing
happened on the way toward spinsterhood—and not just for
Stroebel-Scimeca. . . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Too Late For
Prince Charming? Newsweek, June 2, 1986
RELATED QUIZ: Marriage Over
40
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- Love And Marriage -- Former First Couple
On The Couch And The Front Page
CBS News -
May 23, 2006
There it sits, the first story to catch your eye on the
front-page of The New York Times: “For Clintons, Delicate Dance Of
Married and Public Lives.” The story, based on “interviews with
some 50 people” and a “review” of the Clintons “respective
activities” since they left the White House in 2000, paints an
interesting, but not surprising, picture of the former first
couple’s current relationship. Already, however, the blogosphere
sees ulterior motives at work in the stor... You can bet the ranch
the Clintons themselves understand that their marriage will be
dissected many more times should she run in 2008. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: The
Shadow of a Marriage Washington Post- By David Broder, May 25, 2006
RELATED ARTICLE: Clintons Balance Married and Public
Lives, New York Times (Free Subscription)-US, By Patrick Healy,
May 23, 2006
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- Senators take Position in advance of marriage
amendment vote Townhall.com- By Maggie Gallagher, May 23,
2006
The week of June 5, the Senate will
vote on a constitutional amendment on marriage. The text reads:
"Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a
man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the constitution of
any State, shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal
incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union
of a man and a woman." On Fox News Sunday, Sen. John McCain
announced: "I will vote against it because I believe very strongly,
first of all, in the sanctity of union between man and woman, but I
also believe that the states should make these decisions."
Leave marriage to the people in the states? We'd love to, senator,
but at this point the judges won't let us. . .
.
- Americans Still
Oppose Gay Marriage
But only half favor a constitutional amendment to
bar it GALLUP NEWS SERVICE (Subscription)- By Lydia Saad, May 22,
2006 PRINCETON, NJ -- Americans are
closely divided in their reactions to the sort of constitutional
amendment banning gay marriage that produced considerable fireworks
in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. Asked whether the
Constitution should be amended to define marriage as only between a
man and woman -- a move that would preclude states from sanctioning
same-sex marriages -- 50% of Americans say they would favor such an
amendment, while 47% are opposed. Sens. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) and
Arlen Specter (R- Pa.) had a heated exchange about a similarly
worded amendment before it passed on a 10-8 party-line vote --
although it is expected to fall well short of the two-thirds
support needed in the full Senate in order to take the next step
toward becoming an amendment. While out of character for the
Senate, the indecorous incident perhaps reflects the gulf in
attitudes between Republicans and Democrats on gay marriage. .
. . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Senate panel OKs gay-marriage ban The Washington Post-
By Andy Sullivan, May 18,
2006
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- The 'Las Vegas of gay marriage' sounds like
money Boston Herald- By Brett Arends, May 22, 2006
Would it really be so bad if Massachusetts became
the “Las Vegas of gay marriage”? Mitt Romney used the phrase
disparagingly a few weeks ago, as if no one would want such a
role. He was speaking as the state Supreme Judicial Court
upheld his use of a 1913 segregation law to stop gays from coming
here from other states to get married. But you know
what? Throwing out that law would be great for Boston and for
Massachusetts. I appreciate lots of people are opposed to gay
marriage. But this law makes no sense. If we are going to
have gay marriage, let’s make a profit from it. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Banned in
Boston: The Coming Conflict Between Same Sex Marriage
and Religious Liberty Cover Story- The Weekly
Standard, By Maggie Gallagher, May 15, 2006
Issue
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- Only human: Sanity goes a long way in
marriage
CourierPost
Online- By Michael Riley, May 22, 2006
This is the
month I celebrate my 25th wedding anniversary. A quarter century of
connubial bliss is no mean feat these days. Therefore, those of us
who have managed to hang on to matrimony, who have, in fact,
thrived in the holy estate of marriage, owe it to the world to
share our secrets. So I thought I'd devote a few columns to the
subject of how to have a happy marriage. The first thing you have
to do to ensure a long marriage, of course, is to pick the right
person to marry. "Stay away from the crazy ones," I tell my sons. .
. .
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- Do's and Don't's of Online Wedding Planning
Average US. Wedding Costs between $20,000 and
$25,000 ABC News.com, May 22, 2006 . . . . The average American wedding takes more than
seven months to plan and costs between $20,000 and $25,000,
prompting many couples to look on the Internet for ways to save
time and money. Bride's Editor in Chief Millie Martini Bratten said
Gomez's predicament illustrated when you should not rely on online
shopping. "We live in a very technology-driven society, but there
are times when you have to step away from the keyboard and do
things face-to-face," . . . .
RELATED
ARTICLE: Five
Fun Wedding Trends for 2006 Devil's Lake Journal, May 26,
2006
RELATED ARTICLE: Latest
Wedding Gown Looks ABC
News.com, April 8, 2006
PHOTOS: Hot
Wedding Fashions
PHOTOS: Preston Bailey Floral
Designs
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- Stella should let Sir Paul make his own
mistakes in love Scotsman- UK- By Dani Garavelli,
May 21, 2006
THEY think they know what's good for
them, but of course they're wrong. Possessed of a new-found
independence, they take rash decisions, and all you can do is sit
back and wait for the inevitable fall-out. But that's parents for
you. For years they give you not a jot of trouble, then, wham, they
turn into wilful risk-takers who fall in love with little regard
for the consequences. You see, Stella McCartney is not so unusual
(unless you count the fact her father is an ex-Beatle with a £800m
fortune). Ever since society stopped expecting those
approaching 60 to put on bedsocks, a new generation of
thirtysomethings have had to come to terms with fretting over their
parents' irresponsible behaviour. . . .To a certain extent, then, I
understand why Stella might feel vindicated by the news that Sir
Paul and Heather Mills-McCartney have decided to split after four
years of marriage. . . .
- And, baby, I love you The
Observer, UK - By Barbara Ellen,
May 21, 2006
Macca and Heather are just fine. Time to split, then. .
. . As if to help us make sense of it all, the couple
released the now obligatory 'meaningfully-meaningless' post-split
statement. 'It is with sadness that we have decided to go our
separate ways', it reads, going on to claim that 'both of us still
care about each other very much'. If true, it makes you wonder why
they are bothering to split at all. . . .
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RELATED
ARTICLE: Keep a healthy distance
from families in a marriage ABS CBN
News, Philippines -By Bob Garon, May 13, 2006
RELATED ARTICLE: Let it be Guardian Unlimited- UK, By Alexander Chancellor, May 27,
2006
RELATED ARTICLE: When it
comes to breakups: Deny, deny, deny MSNBC-
AP, Oct 6, 2005
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- Love marriage case: Police told to produce couple in court on
23rd Daily Times, Pakistan- By Maqbool Ahmed, May 20, 2006
PAKISTAN: The Supreme Court sent on Friday Neelam
Ladhani, who recently converted from Hinduism to Islam and married
Amjad Shehzad of her free will, to Islamabad directing police to
lodge the couple at National Police Academy and produce them before
court in Islamabad on May 23. . . . Neelam, who was a student of
B.Com Part-I at Government Commerce College Karachi and originally
hailed from Umerkot fell in love with Amjad Shezad of Daherki. The
boy would travel to Karachi every week to meet the girl who later
embraced Islam and they married on April 13 this year once they
obtained a certificate of free will form Family Court, Malir. After
the marriage, the couple fled to Punjab. . .
.
- Woman says 'no' to marriage, ends life News
Today, India - May 20, 2006
INDIA: A young woman who shunned marriage committed
suicide by setting herself fire. . . . Ambattur police have
registered a case and are investigating. They said she was forced
into marriage and so took the extreme step. . .
- Marriage Is Still Causing Discrimination
To Women Los Angeles
Chronicle, USA -May 19, 2006
. . . . . Statistics show that
18 percent of the girls in Asia, 16 percent in Africa and 8 percent
in Latin America married by the age of 14. According to the
progress of Nation reports " In 6 of the 21 sub-Saharan African
countries surveyed, the average age of marriage was less than 18.
In Bangladesh, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Yeman more than half of the
young women interviewed were married by the time they were 16 years
old. The highly gender discrimination Hindu marriage law permitted
the marriage of a very young girls and a very old man. . . .
Statistics show that in Bangladesh 4 percent of girls are married
before the age of 14. . . . .
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- Arab News: What about 'Normal' Marriages?
Arab News Online-Arabnews.com- By
Lubna Hussain, May 19, 2006
SAUDI ARABIA: Over the past few weeks
I have read with wide-eyed amazement the heated discourse in the
local press dedicated to the concept of marriages of convenience.
There has been great uproar in society against the recent
legalization of these contracts. So what’s all the fuss about, you
may ask. Supposedly, these new fangled forms of wedlock deny Saudi
women the basic rights afforded to them through the umbrella of
regular matrimony. They allow men to marry without taking any form
of responsibility for their wives and also make it very easy for
them to divorce without suffering the usual consequences. After
all, boys will be boys. But what stunned me the most was not the
fact that the laws of God continue to be violated by men to suit
their own lascivious ends but rather the borderline delusion that
preponderates when idealizing the current laws that pertain to
“normal” marriages. . . . .
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- Wedding-night consummation losing allure? Fewer couples feel the need to do the deed right away The San Diego Union Tribune- COX News Service, By Helena Oliviero, May 2006
No canoodling on the wedding night? About one in three brides-to-be expect to hop in the sack and snooze after the wedding reception. One in 10 say they anticipate staying up late swapping stories from the big day. That leaves just over half of brides consummating their vows, according to a recent Brides.com survey of 1,057 women. The take-it-or-leave-it attitude toward sex marks a dramatic shift from previous generations, when virgin couples got married early — sometimes years earlier — just to have sex. . . . "For the man who was a virgin, they would be thinking about sex as the main goal of the wedding night, and no amount of exhaustion could interfere with that agenda," said Dr. Scott Haltzman, an assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University. . . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Beware of marriage killers Northwest Herald.com- By Dr. James Dobson, May 16, 2006
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- Is love enough for
marriage? Vanguard-
Viewpoint, Nigeria- By Chioma Anyagafu, May 20, 2006
. . . . . Let us not deceive ourselves thinking that love
is blind. For me, love sees quite clearly. I am not the type that
enters into any relationship blindly or foolishly. Even when in
love, I have my two eyes widely opened. In all honesty, in matters
of marriage which is a long lasting relationship love is very very
important, but I am of the candid opinion that it is not all there
is to make marriage happen. In other words, love is not enough for
such a permanent relationship as marriage to take
place. There are other considerations. . . . Look around and you
see cases of broken marriages which were planted by love and
watered by money. The moment that water ceases to flow the love
shrinks and dies off. That tells you that right from the onset, the
foundation of that relationship was not only weak but also faulty.
. . .
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- Marriage Really Isn't About The
Wedding
Hartford Courant- Courant.com- By Michelle Gardella, May 19,
2006
Is it really that time of year again?
Every day I check my mail and it's not bills I am afraid to see;
it's the invitations. 'Tis the season for getting married, and I,
for one, am not too excited. At first it's fun
when your friends start getting married. You're asked to be a
bridesmaid, you feel honored and you help pick out the cake and the
flowers and the perfect pair of pantyhose. Seriously. It's all
about the details .
. .
So I wonder, as this
crash dieting season draws closer, when did weddings become so
insane? When did people forget what weddings are all about and dive
headfirst into blatant materialism without shame or apology? . .
.
- Wedding jitters: They're normal ... and not just for
men South Florida Sun
Sentinel- By Jessica Berthold, May 19, 2006
Any woman who
flips through the pages of a bridal magazine knows instantly how
she's meant to feel about her wedding day: Like a princess running
through a field of daisies on a sunlit morning, with layers of
white silk streaming behind. Elated, free, proud and grateful.
Complete … at last. Talk to the betrothed on the
message board of Web site Indiebride.com, however, and a different
picture emerges. . . .
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- First Test: The wedding budget Ledger-Enquirer- By Erin Simpson,
May 19, 2006
One good way to not start off a marriage with a lot of debt
is to find a way to keep your wedding costs manageable. We've heard
of people spending up to $50,000 on their weddings -- and more --
and, I'm sorry, but we'd rather have two new cars for that price
(nicer than the new cars we already have that didn't cost near that
much together.) I know, sometimes your parents just have that much,
or sometimes they feel like they've got to pay for every penny of
your big day, and that's fine, but to all you budget-conscious
brides out there, here are some tips from some of the things we
learned over the past year. . . . SAMPLE WEDDING BUDGET. . . . .
.
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- Marriage & Money: 4-letter
word to avoid: Part 3 of 4: Ledger-Enquirer- By Erin Simpson, May 19,
2006
Debt -- the financial four-letter word. My first
student loan payment will be due in approximately 24 hours (unless
you're reading this at night) and will be due every month for the
next 10 years of my life. If that sounds bad, it is. I hate being
in debt of any kind. We pay off our credit card bill every month,
and besides car payments, we don't owe any other money. . . . We've
got the banks and the credit card people telling us how easy it is
to charge things," Solomon said. "It's very very expensive
financing. Have you ever read the small print on the back? I would
bet that 98 percent of people with credit cards have no idea what
they signed off on.". . . .
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- Sperm Donor Seen as Source of Disease in 5
Children New York Times Online
(Free Subscription)- By Denise Grady, May 19, 2006
A sperm
donor in Michigan passed a rare and serious genetic disease to five
children born to four couples, doctors are reporting today. The
doctor who discovered the cases said that all four couples were
clients of the same sperm bank. That bank, the doctor added,
assured him that it had discarded its remaining samples from the
man and had told him he could no longer be a donor. . . .
Genetic testing showed that all the affected children had the exact
same version of the defective gene — and that none of their mothers
did. The donor was the only explanation. Dr. Boxer called the sperm
bank and requested one of the donor's samples for testing but, he
said, the sperm bank refused, saying the donor had given permission
for the sperm to be used only for conception, not genetic testing.
. .
RELATED ARTICLE: Who's
your daddy? And does it really matter in the
end? SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE- By Mark Morford, April
12, 2006
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RELATED ARTICLE: WANTED: A Few Good Sperm New York Times (Free Subscription)- By Jennifer Egan, March 19, 2006
RELATED ARTICLE: Deleting Dad Townhall.com, By Kathleen Parker, Mar 22, 2006
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- Runaway Bride, Fiancé Done For Good CBS News- AP May 19,
2006
The runaway bride who generated a media storm
with her phony tale of abduction and the fiancé who took her back
have broken up for good, the man's friends and family told People
Magazine. . . . Wilbanks disappeared four days before the scheduled
wedding in April 2005. Hundreds of police officers and volunteers
searched for her for three days before she called Mason from
Albuquerque, N.M., claiming to have been abducted and sexually
assaulted. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Wedding Off for Runaway
Bride People
Magazine- PeopleNews, May 18, 2006
RELATED
ARTICLE: Runaway
Bride
Indicted
CBSS
News, May 25, 2005
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- The Big Question: Has divorce become too
expensive for the rich? The Independent Online-
Legal- UK- By Maxine Frith, May 19, 2006
How much does Heather Mills McCartney
stand to win in a divorce settlement? Anything
from £30m to £200m. In America, Australia and many European
countries, only the assets amassed by the couple during the
marriage are considered in financial settlements - a policy known
as "marital acquest". But British case law is based on the idea
that all the wealth brought to the marriage by both parties is
potentially up for grabs. . . . Should Sir Paul
have signed a pre-nup? Yes. While pre-nuptial
agreements are not technically valid under British law, the courts
do taken them into account when deciding on a financial settlement.
If a pre-nup had been signed, with proper negotiation and legal
representation of both husband and wife, and is considered to be
generally fair, it will have a major bearing on the ruling. . . .
. How are the super-rich cases
decided? . . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Wealthy turn to the pre-nup to cap multi-million pound
divorces Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom -By Andrew
Alderson, May 21, 2006
RELATED ARTICLE: Papers Shed Light on Billionaire's Divorce Forbes Magazine, By Jeremiah Marquez, May 19,
2006
RELATED ARTICLE: With
this contract, I thee wed Seattle
Times, US- By Eileen Ambrose, Mar 26,
2006
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- I fell out of love, Sir Paul
tells The Daily Telegraph,
May 19, 2006
LONDON: The war of words between the
battling McCartneys has already started, just hours after they
admitted their marriage is over. Friends of former Beatle Sir Paul
said yesterday he fell out of love with charity campaigner Heather
after seeing her "for what she really is". Sources close to his
wife fired back, saying she realised how "selfish" he was when he
proved unsupportive after a recent operation on her amputated leg.
The couple's relationship, which has always been fiery, has
deteriorated amid a string of rows over past weeks. . . . Sir
Paul, 63, issued a statement yesterday insisting there was "not an
ounce of truth" in suggestions she married him "for the money". He
apparently refused his wife's offer of a prenuptial agreement,
saying it was "too unromantic". . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: The
real reason Macca snapped The Daily Mail- UK, By Alison Boshoff, May 20,
2006
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- Golfer Norman in '$150M' divorce CNN International-
Austrailia, May 18, 2006
-- Australian golfer Greg Norman and his American
wife Laura are to separate after 25 years of marriage, the Sydney
Morning Herald reported on
Thursday.The paper estimated Laura could receive 200 million
Australian dollars ($152 million) in a massive divorce
settlement. The 51-year-old former world
number one told the newspaper that divorce proceedings had begun
and that the couple would remain friends. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Shark 'bite' looms larger Melbourne Herald Sun, Australia -May 21,
2006
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- The Myth of Monogamy: Why Gay marriage
Won't Work
Political
Gateway- By Bud Beck, May 19, 2006
. . . I
certainly understand the social and the economic implications of
marriage. There is the community property thing, benefits for
“spouses” and to some extent, the Social Security thing too; but we
all expect that system to fail so maybe it isn’t that much of a
factor. I’ve also heard a whole lot about decision-making and not
being acknowledged when there is an illness or a death. I’m not so
sure that holds water any more because there are things like Power
of Attorney, living wills and joint right of survivorship. Most of
the gripes I’ve heard expressed in favor of gay marriage could be
cured by a visit to a financial planner and a lawyer. . . .
Marriage and monogamy is as long standing as is adultery and
infidelity. The grass is always greener on the other side of the
fence and someone new is always more exciting, at least at the
beginning. The concept of a man and woman being faithful to one
another is one thing, but the concept of two men being monogamous
and faithful seems to be another. The children are the common link
in a marriage between a man and a woman. What is the link in a same
sex marriage, and even if there are children, in a divorce, who do
they belong to?. . . .
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- Senate panel OKs gay-marriage
ban The Washington Post-
By Andy Sullivan, May 18, 2006
- A
U.S. Senate panel advanced a constitutional ban on same-sex
marriage on Thursday as the committee chairman shouted "good
riddance" to a Democrat who walked out of the tense session. "If
you want to leave, good riddance," The Senate Judiciary Chairman,
Republican Arlen Specter, told Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Russell
Feingold, who refused to participate because, he said, the meeting
was not sufficiently open to the public. . . . The testy
exchange highlighted tensions over the proposal, which seeks to
amend the U.S. Constitution to prevent states from recognizing
same-sex marriages. . . . Because the measure seeks to change the Constitution,
it must pass both houses of Congress by a two-thirds majority and
then be approved by at least 38 states . . .
- A Gut feeling on Va.'s Gay Marriage
Vote The Washington Post- US, By
Marc Fisher, May 18, 2006
Nineteen times in 19 states, voters have been
asked if they want a constitutional amendment banning same-sex
marriage. Nineteen times, those amendments have won. And still,
opponents of such amendments keep avoiding the core of the issue. .
. Despite 19 straight wins across the nation, the pro-amendment
side worries about "a middle group of people who have always known
where they stood on marriage, but now their beliefs are being
challenged," says Dean Welty, a retired Foreign Service officer who
started the Valley Family Forum in Harrisonburg."I come from a
biblical background," Welty says, "where we can say, 'the Bible
says,' and that's enough. But now we have to make our argument on
more secular grounds.". .
RELATED
ARTICLE: Legislative Update: Marriage protection
proposal comes on the heels of budget Catholic
Explorer, IL- US, May 18, 2006
- Protecting marriage is the right thing to
do TownHall.com- By Kevin McCullough - May 18,
2006
With one stroke of the pen, Fulton County Superior
Court Judge Constance C. Russell defied the will of the
overwhelming majority of people in his state, and concluded that
their collective voice should not be recognized in the matter of
marriage in the state of Georgia. He did so even though seventy-six
percent of the voters in that state had spoken in one of the
largest turnouts in state history. . . . So what options are left?
The Marriage Protection Amendment. It’s coming up for a vote on
June 5th. Right now we are close to 54 Senators in favor but we
need 60. . . All of them can be reached at
202.224.3121. On Thursday listeners to my show lit the switchboard
up and nearly caused it to break down. We will do so again everyday
between now and June 5th. I invite you to join us as "we the
people", who already, overwhelmingly find solidarity on this matter
- stand up, and make our voice heard - for the well being of our
children, family, and society. . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Judge: Georgia Gay Marriage Ban Violates State
Constitution FOX News - May
16, 2006
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- Casualties In The Culture Wars: Gay 'Marriage' and
Children BreakPoint.org- By Mark Earley, May
18, 2006
I have a quick test for you. Don’t
worry, it’s a multiple-choice test and won’t take long. Ready?
Here’s the question. Which of these things doesn’t belong: A)
children, B) Easter egg hunts, or C) political
activists? Unfortunately, the homosexual activists of the
Family Pride Coalition did not pass this test on Easter, when a
nearly 130-year-old tradition of hunting for eggs on the White
House lawn suddenly became the bull’s eye of controversy. .
- Sorry Mrs. Bush-- Protecting Marriage
Is a Campaign Issue Agape Press- By Allie Martin and Jenni Parker, May 17,
2006
The president of the American
Family Association of Pennsylvania (AFA of Pennsylvania) says
federal and state amendments protecting traditional marriage should
be a campaign issue, regardless of what First Lady Laura Bush says.
. . . . Gramley feels it is tragic that Mrs. Bush does not
see the importance of making the marriage amendment a campaign
issue. Marriage is of essential significance to America's citizens,
the Pennsylvania pro-family leader says, "because it is the
foundation of the nation and of any society. . .
.
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- Wedding
Planning- Part II: How to keep fire alive in
marriage KHQA-7.com, May 18, 2006
It is easy to get all caught up in the idea of
getting married. You want the best flowers, the perfect dress and
the best honeymoon. But when you enter into the unity of marriage,
it is for life. You see it in the movies: boy meets girl, boy and
girl fall in love, boy and girl get married and they live happily
ever after. While marriage has been portrayed as a fairy tale, it
often takes hard work and even hard times. . . .
- Wedding
Planning- Part 1: Advice for handling in-laws and forming strong
family unit KHQA-7.com- By Tegan Orpet May 17, 2006
The summer wedding season is just
about underway. Anyone who has planned a wedding before knows that
getting ready to tie the knot can tie you up in knots with everyone
else contributing ideas for your big day. Psychologists say it is
important to understand that you can not please everyone when it
comes to planning a wedding. But you can set ground rules for a
stable future. The decision to marry not only merges two lives, it
also merges two families. Everyone wants a perfect wedding,
and making everyone happy might sound like an added bonus to
some. But, psychologists say that is not realistic. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Keep a
healthy distance from families in a marriage ABS CBN News, Philippines -By
Bob Garon, May 13, 2006
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- Should singles bring dates to the wedding? Charlotte
Observer, NC -By Amy Dickinson, May 17,
2006
Dear Amy: You answered a letter recently
concerning a 15-year-old who wanted to bring his date to a family
wedding. I think it is very inconsiderate to issue a wedding
invitation to a single person that does not say "and guest."I am at
an age when a lot of my friends are having weddings for their
children, and I have been invited only to come as a single! These
weddings usually include dinner and dancing, so my single friends
and I end up seated together and looking at each other all night
while our married friends are dancing the night away. . . .
- Planning pre-wedding
parties NorthJersey.com- By Gretchen McKay
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 17, 2006
. . . One of the most
popular ways to celebrate upcoming nuptials is with a bridal
shower; it's also one of the most time-honored. Legend holds that
the tradition originated in Holland in the 18th century, when a
young girl fell in love with a poor milliner and -- denied the
customary dowry by her angry father -- was "showered" by the
townspeople with gifts. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: It's wedding season; how choose a shower theme Scripps
Howard News Service, DC - Apr
25, 2006
RELATED WEB SITE: www.consciousweddings.com
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- Fresh Idea: Wedding
Insurance KUTV, UT -May 17,
2006
You
insure your home and your car, but what about the most important
day of your life? In this Fresh Idea Michelle King shows us whether
you should say "I do" to wedding insurance. When you consider the
total cost of a wedding, adding wedding insurance may be the sigh
of relief you're looking for. . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Ka-Ching! Wedding price tag nears
$30K CNNMoney.com, By Grace
Wong, CNN Money Staff Writer, May 20, 2005 - Danger Can Lurk
Beneath Limo's Glamour
ABC
News -May 18, 2006
Prom season — and wedding season —
is here, which means lots of limousines will be rented. Limos are
glamorous, but if the company you choose isn't properly registered
or insured and the driver isn't properly licensed, your trip could
be dangerous instead. . .
RELATED SITE (WEDDING PLANNING): The New York Observer Bridal
Blog
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- It's a wedding epidemic London Free
Press, Canada -By April Kemick, May 17, 2006
The first of the dreaded white envelopes has arrived.
It looked innocent enough when I tore into it last week, hoping it
might hold a belated birthday wish or a carefully penned letter
from a friend living overseas. But as I caught a glimpse of its
cutesy contents, I knew I should have known better. There was the
fancy letter seal -- a golden oval with a pair of interlocked
initials. The silky white ribbon tied in a perfect bow, perched on
the edge of the expensive white paper. The glittering script,
requesting the "honour" of my presence. And just like that, the
annual summer wedding blitz began. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Wedding season is time to ponder marriage
advice Mcall.com- By
Kevin Devlin, May 3, 2006
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- Lance's ex stirs
debate
Philadelphia Daily News-Philly.com- By Jenice Armstrong,
May 17, 2006
EVERY SO
often,Oprah Winfrey airs a show that keeps people buzzing days
later. One of her most recent to have struck such a nerve aired
last week and featured the ex-wife of cyclist Lance Armstrong.
Kristin Armstrong got it started with her assertion that marriage
is a "conspiracy" against women. That conspiracy, she contends, is
protected by a wall of silence perpetuated by married women who
don't 'fess up about the realities of the institution. "Women don't
talk about that and I don't know why. I just don't," Kristin told
Winfrey. But what seemed to irk viewers most was when Winfrey
chimed in with her own comments on the subject, at one point
saying, "And to be honest... this is why I never got married,
because I just wanted to be myself.". . . . Libraries and
bookstores are filled with magazines and books advising spouses on
the importance of maintaining their own identities after marriage.
It's hardly a unique concept. Many of the problems surrounding
marriage are of people's own making. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Lance's Ex Felt Smothered by
Marriage People Magazine - By Stephen M.
Silverman, May 9, 2006
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- Are
God's People Sexual Beings?
The Black Church and
Sexuality AOL BLack Voices- By Angela Bronner, May 17,
2006 Sex and sexuality permeate the
fabric of our modern world -- not only is it constant rotation on
MTV and BET, but we talk about it everywhere -- chat rooms,
lunchrooms, boardrooms, in cozy corners with our girlfriends, even
barbershop chairs with our boys. Come Sunday morning, though, there
is a deafening silence around sex, for a few hours at least.
Whether deemed inappropriate or simply not relevant, the question
must be asked, if Jesus the Christ, the most significant figure in
Christianity, was conceived through an immaculate conception, then
how and where does sex fit into church? Asking may be blasphemous
to some, but to others, long overdue, especially given how sex
affects us. . . . . In recent years many high profile people in the
black community have denounced homosexuality and feel that church
is the place to castigate its scourge, not discuss it as a
legitimate "lifestyle." Grammy-winning Gospel vocalist Donnie
McClurkin, who has written about his struggle
with gay relationships in his book 'Eternal Victor, Eternal
Victim,' and whose 2004 documentary, 'From Darkness To
Light' also explores the subject, and says that he
vows to battle "the curse of homosexuality.". . . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: 'From Darkness to Light:
The Donnie McClurkin Story AOL Black Voices-
By Celia C. Peters
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- Parenting
Issues: Are Stepparents Real Parents?
A Supreme Court decision involving lesbian
parents could affect millions more America
families Time magazine- By Po Bronson, May
17, 2006 This week the Supreme Court let stand
a ruling that ultimately could affect as many as one-third of all
Americans — anyone in a stepfamily. But you'll probably never
realize it from any news reports on the ruling. The case comes out
of Washington State. Sue Carvin and Page Britain were lesbians
living together since 1989. Their baby, L., was born in 1995, using
an at-home artificial insemination kit and some sperm donated from
their gay friend. . . . . The U.S. Supreme Court has never been
pressed to rule whether a stepparent is a real parent, and if so,
under what conditions. But when it declined to review Britain v.
Carvin, Washington State's test for "de facto" parents instantly
became a model for other states to replicate. Through a case
everyone thought was about gay rights, stepfamilies just opened the
door to the recognition they truly deserve. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: De Facto Parenthood The Weekly
Standard - Vol 011, Issue 24, By Sara Butler Nardo, Mar 6,
2006 Edition
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- Parenting Issues: Is Teen Sex Bad?
Americans and Western Europeans Don't Agree on
What's Normal and Acceptable. But Many Health Experts
Do By
Elizabeth Agnvall, WASHINGTON POST, May 16, 2006 In our bicultural household -- I am
American, my husband is Swedish -- we are trying to raise our
children with the language, cultures and values of both countries.
In most cases this isn't difficult. In one area, however, our
values differ widely: My husband, reflecting the predominant view
in Sweden and much of Western Europe, thinks sex is a normal part
of adolescent development. Like many in this country, I disagree,
believing it's better for teens to wait -- if not until marriage,
at least until they are in an adult, loving relationship. As a
health journalist, I wondered if one way of thinking is
demonstrably healthier, physically and psychologically. I resolved
to find out. . . .
- Viginity Pledges Can't Be Taken on
Faith Washington Post- US, By Sandra G.
Boodman, May 16, 2006
Many abstinence programs
have embraced the concept of virginity pledges, encouraging
children as young as 9 to promise to wait until marriage to have
sex. So how reliable are reports of sexual activity by teenagers
who took such a pledge? Not very, according to a study by Harvard
doctoral candidate Janet Rosenbaum published in the June issue of
the American Journal of Public Health. . . . . Leslee Uhruh,
president of the nonprofit National Abstinence Clearinghouse in
Sioux Falls, S.D., called Rosenbaum's study "junk science." "These
programs work," said Unruh, calling the study a "politically
motivated attack" on pledge programs. . .
.
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- Kidman Uses the F-Word E! Online - By Josh Grossberg, May 16,
2006
Nicole Kidman may still have feelings for ex
Tom Cruise, but that doesn't mean she's not ready for another
go-round at the altar. In New York Saturday to host the 30th
anniversary gala for UNIFEM, the United Nations Development Fund
for Women, Kidman confirmed what's been the subject of tabloid
speculation for months—-she and her country star beau Keith Urban
aren't just dating, they're officially engaged. "He's actually my
fiance," the 38-year-old Oscar winner told People magazine.
. . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Nic picks her wedding gown The Daily
Telegraph, Australia - May
19, 2006
RELATED
ARTICLE: Nicole Kidman: Keith Urban Is My Fiancé People
Magazine- PeopleNews, May 16, 2006
RELATED
ARTICLE: Nicole Kidman Says She Still Loves
Cruise ABC News - AP- May 8,
2006
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- Beware of marriage killers Northwest Herald.com- By Dr. James
Dobson, May 16, 2006
Question: Would you identify some of the
major "marriage killers" that are most responsible for the high
divorce rate that plagues today's families? Dr. Dobson: Any one of the
following "dragons" can rip a relationship to shreds if given an
opportunity to do so: * OVERCOMMITMENT AND
PHYSICAL EXHAUSTION: This condition is especially insidious for
young couples who are trying to get started in a profession or in
school. Do not try to go to college, work full-time, have a baby,
manage a toddler, fix up a house and start a business at the same
time. . . .
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- Judge: Georgia Gay Marriage Ban Violates
State Constitution FOX News - May 16, 2006
ATLANTA — A
Superior Court judge has struck down Georgia's constitutional ban
on same-sex marriages, saying the measure that was
overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2004 violated the state
constitution's single-subject rule for ballot questions. . .
.Governor Sonny Perdue said he was disappointed by the
decision, which he said ran contrary to the voice of Georgia voters
in defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The
people of Georgia knew exactly what they were doing when an
overwhelming 76 percent voted in support of this constitutional
amendment," he said. "It is sad that a single judge has chosen to
reverse this decision." Perdue said the state is considering
appealing the decision to the Georgia Supreme Court. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: ADF:
Marriage will ultimately be defended in Georgia just as it was in
Louisiana Alliance Defense
Fund Media Relations, May 17, 2006
- Transsexual loses right to be father Gay.com
UK & Ireland, UK -By Stewart Who, May 16,
2006
A transsexual is not legally the 'parent' of
his daughter because he was still a woman when the child was
conceived, the Court of Appeal ruled today. The 17-year marriage
between a wealthy heiress and a transsexual was nullified when the
woman discovered that she had, in fact, married a transsexual. At
the time of their marriage, Mrs C belived she'd married a
biological male. . . . Lord Justice Ward described the marriage as
a "travesty" and said: "Many, and I am one of them, will find it
quite astonishing that there was no single occasion in 17 years of
life together when her eyes did not see, or her hands or her body
feel, or her senses tell her that she was living with a man who had
the genital formation of a woman. . .
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- Banned in Boston:
The Coming Conflict Between Same Sex Marriage and
Religious Liberty Cover Story-
The Weekly Standard, By Maggie Gallagher, May 15, 2006
Issue CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF BOSTON made the announcement on March
10: It was getting out of the adoption business. "We have
encountered a dilemma we cannot resolve. . . . The issue is
adoption to same-sex couples." It was shocking news. Catholic
Charities of Boston, one of the nation's oldest adoption agencies,
had long specialized in finding good homes for hard to place kids.
. . . . ."Just how serious are the coming conflicts
over religious liberty stemming from gay marriage?
"The impact will be severe and pervasive," Picarello says flatly.
"This is going to affect every aspect of church-state relations."
Recent years, he predicts, will be looked back on as a time of
relative peace between church and state, one where people had the
luxury of litigating cases about things like the Ten Commandments
in courthouses. In times of relative peace, says Picarello, people
don't even notice that "the church is surrounded on all sides by
the state; that church and state butt up against each other. The
boundaries are usually peaceful, so it's easy sometimes to forget
they are there. But because marriage affects just about every area
of the law, gay marriage is going to create a point of conflict at
every point around the perimeter." . .
.
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- Same-sex marriage supporters say wording
of 2006 census discriminates Canada.com, Canada - By Clement-Meoni
Poon, May
15, 2006
TORONTO (CP) - It should be a sign of the times, but
the 2006 census form is being called discriminatory, with same-sex
marriage advocates questioning how well it
reflects Canadian society. Activists across the
country are angry that the census form asks same-sex married
couples to list their relationships in the "other" category - not
as "husband and wife." Noelle Pottle-French, the first lesbian to
legally marry in Newfoundland and Labrador, says the "other"
category should be removed. . . .
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- On Mother's Day,
The Mother of all action figures
Lincoln Journal
Star, NE - May 14, 2006
They manage kids by night and meet deadlines
by day, juggling children and careers in pursuit of work-life
balance. Now, hard-working moms have their own toy heroine — the
SuperMom Action Figure. SuperMom is the newest arrival in a
line of ’everyday superhero’ action figures, created by the
independent toy inventors at Happy Worker. . .
- A Mother's Day
Wish Washington Post- By
Amy Joyce, May 14, 2006
It being Mother's Day and all, I figured it was time
for a wish list. The Working Mom's Wish List. Oh, sure, I know all
you moms are sitting there right now, looking at that carefully
crafted Popsicle-stick card your little ones made you. But if those
little ones had all the power in the world, I can guess what you,
dear working mom, would ask that they give you. In short: flexibility. . .
.
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- Mother's Don't Go on
Strike
Some jobs defy
quantification Independent Women's Forum- By Carrie
L. Lukas, May 12, 2006 Women deserve a raise.
According to salary.com, a full-time stay-at-home mom would earn
$134,121 if only she were paid for her work. These experts in
compensation surveyed 400 mothers and found that the stay-at-home
mom is part daycare worker, housekeeper, cook, computer operator,
laundry machine operator, janitor, facilities manager, van driver,
chief executive and psychologist. In the spirit of Mother’s Day,
it’s appropriate to contemplate the undervalued contribution of
stay-at-home moms. Even salary.com’s list of job responsibilities
overlooks several roles they assume . . . .
- The Worldwide Assault on
Motherhood United Families International- By Sharon
Slater-President, May 12, 2006
If you want to cause a commotion at
the United Nations, all you have to do is to wear one of our red
“Motherhood” badges. That will definitely bring on the hostile
stares. I know because I have tried it. Despite the fact that the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, one of the founding
documents of the UN states, “Motherhood and childhood are entitled
to special care and assistance,” motherhood is an extremely
controversial subject at the UN. . . You see, motherhood, according
to the feminists that use the UN as their stomping grounds, is the
antitheses of empowerment. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Happy Mother's
Pay? Critiquing Holland's Parental
Punishment
BreakPoint.org - By Anne Morse, May 12,
2006
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- Keep a
healthy distance from families in a marriage ABS CBN
News, Philippines -By Bob Garon, May 13, 2006
We joke an awful lot about
in-laws. Perhaps it is because in-laws can create so much friction
in a relationship, in a marriage. Over the years, I have seen many
marriages devastated by arguments over in-laws. For this reason, it
is of vital importance that lovers get to the bottom of the in-law
issues before they tie the knot. Much of whether or not they will
be happy in the future could well depend on it. . .
- Parental alienation gets a
day Townhall.com- By Kathleen Parker, May 12, 2006
Proclamations
generally have the same riveting power as supermarket
ribbon-cuttings, but a recent one in Maine is being celebrated as a
small victory for children and noncustodial parents wounded by
divorce. The proclamation, signed by Gov. John E. Baldacci,
recognized April 25 as "Parental Alienation Awareness Day." If
you don't know what "parental alienation" is, you probably haven't
had the pleasure of a divorce with children. Veterans of those wars
know without a governor's seal exactly what it means - agony for a
noncustodial parent and emotional problems for children alienated
from one parent. . .
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- Nancy's Notes:
The Real Nick Lachey AccessHollywood.com, May 12, 2006
. . . However, in the course of the interview, I came
to know more about Nick and developed a sincere appreciation and
profound respect for a man who, from my perspective, is a rarity
these days. See, I have always been of the opinion that the
measure of a man is not in the quantity of his conquests, but the
quality of his emotions. Nick goes against what most people
would say is 'manly'. He demonstrates his belief that 'manly' isn’t
defined by putting on a tough exterior, but more importantly by the
ability to be sensitive and express emotions. To do this in such a
public forum, with the knowledge that naysayers and critics would
be there to pick on him or put him down, and to still be strong
(yes, the TRUE strength), is admirable and made me appreciate him
as a person and an artist even more. . .
We ask and ask for
celebrities to be revealing, so here it is! . . .
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- Men's dating e-mails: goofy, grumpy and just plain
dumb Ashbury
Park Press- By Matt Katz, May 12, 2006
I've never been more
embarrassed to be a man. I used to think the being-a-guy thing was
a pretty good deal. We can't give birth, but a few of us are able
to throw a baseball 100 mph. We grow hair on our faces, which is
pretty disgusting, but our voice actually changes completely after
age 12, which is pretty awesome when you think about it. Still,
there's nothing good about the content of a shocking new Web
site, www.ilikedyourprofile.blogspot.com, which
compiles the outrageous and disturbing e-mails sent by online
daters. All of these e-mails are, of course, from men. . .
.
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- The
Polyamory Interviews: Tess and Otis By Mistress Matisse THE STRANGER, Seattle,
WA
Otis is 35, an artist and designer.
Tess is 30, an urban professional. They've been together for seven
years. How did you decide that polyamory was
something you wanted to incorporate into your life
together? TESS: Long before I'd ever heard of polyamory, I
was having "open relationships." With Otis, I agreed to keep our
marriage monogamous. However, monogamy felt foreign to me—the only
way I knew how to be faithful was to switch my sexuality off almost
completely. When we entered the BDSM scene, and saw people around
us having loving, committed polyamorous relationships, it became
clear that poly was my sexual orientation. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Polyamory: A
Twist On Polygamy KUTV.com- Salt
Lake City, Mark Koelbelreporting, April 30,
2006
- Invest in your marriage, not divorce lawyers Western Catholic Reporter, Canada -By Ramon
Gonzalez, May 11, 2006
Once upon a time, it was more
than just a romantic sentiment uttered at the altar when couples
tied the knot. It was for real. Marriage was forever. These
days, it may seem that if you make it past your fifth wedding
anniversary you deserve to be congratulated. Modern marriage is
tough going - and many people decide it's not worth the hassle. . .
. Too many married people act like singles, MacDonald said,
thinking only about what they want and need instead of being
considerate of their partners. That's in part because young couples
enter marriage with a set of relationship skills that are dictated
by society. "Society, from the time they are young children, places
them in competitive situations," he noted. "Marriage on the other
hand takes them to a place where the rules of the game are supposed
to change. . .
RELATED
ARTICLE: Dating
should continue after wedding bells Western Catholic Reporter, Canada -By Lisa
Petsche, May 11, 2006
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- Put God in center of your
marriage Seattle Post Intelligencer -By Dr. Billy Graham,
May 11, 2006
DEAR DR.
GRAHAM: My fiance and I are getting married next month, and I
wonder if you have any advice to give us. We've gotten lots of
advice from people, but I'm not sure how much of it is right, and
we'd like to hear what you have to say. By the way, how long have
you been married? -- N.G. DEAR N.G. . . . There is much I could say -- but the most important
advice I could ever give you is to make Christ the center and the
foundation of your life together. Ruth has often said that a good
marriage actually takes three people: the husband, the wife -- and
God. Make sure of your commitment to Christ, and make His love the
heartbeat of your marriage. What difference can Christ make in your
marriage?. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Marriage II: Fundamental precepts AntiguaSun, Antigua and Barbuda -
May 20, 2006
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- CANADIAN COMMERICAL PROMOTES GAY MARRIAGE TO
AMERICANS Out In Montreal - May 11,
2006
MONTREAL – A Canadian GLBT tour operator
has launched a TV commercial promoting gay and lesbian marriage in
Canada for Americans. The 42-second
commercial presents what initially appear to be two straight
couples on the point of marrying in a chapel, only to discover at
the time of the traditional kiss that each couple is in fact made
up of two men and two women. The video is being broadcast over the
Internet thanks to viral marketing efforts as well as through video
directories on the Net. Outbyview.com is also currently negotiating
the purchase of spots on American TV channels devoted to the gay
and lesbian community in the United States, such as here!, Logo and
OutzoneTV (part of the Bravo network). . .
RELATED
SITE: Watch the
commercial
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- Pope Sparks New 'Gay marriage'
Row ANSA.it, May 11,
2006
ANSA) - Rome, May 11 - Pope Benedict
XVI provoked a political row in Italy on Thursday by reaffirming
the Catholic Church's firm opposition to any form of 'gay marriage'
. Speaking to participants at an international congress in the
Vatican on the family, the pope said marriage between men and women
had a deep significance connected to procreation and the
continuation of society . "It is especially urgent today to avoid
confusing it with other types of union based on a weaker love," he
said . . . . Campaigners for these rights in the centre left
accused the pontiff of interfering in national politics and
objected strongly to his reference to "weaker love". "There is no
hierarchy of feelings. Gay unions are not based on weak love," said
Vladimir Luxuria, a former drag queen who has been elected as a
Communist MP . . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: MARRIAGE
DIGEST: Dean comments about platform upset homosexuals
... BP News, TN -May 12, 2006
RELATED ARTICLE: Strategy key in marriage court fights, advocates
say Bay Area Reporter- By Lisa Keen, May 11,
2006
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- Marriage is a gamble for life Mountain Mail Newspaper, CO-By Sean Carter, May 11,
2006
Last week, the
State of Kansas took a big step toward joining the rest of us in
the 21st century by setting a minimum marrying age. That’s right.
Very soon, you will need to reach the ripe old age of 15 before
getting married in the Sunflower State. . . Am I the only person
who thinks this makes about as much sense as U.S. energy policy?
Why would we allow any minor to get married under any
circumstances? Think about it. We don’t allow them to vote,
even if their parents give their consent. Nor do we allow them to
drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, or gamble; once again, even if
their parents let them. Yet, we will allow them to make a
life-altering decision just because they happen to have parents
stupid enough to let them. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Kansas
House: No one under 15 can marry CNN International - May 5, 2006
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- Inexperience a virtue London Free Press, Canada - By Christine West,
May 10, 2006
Dear Christine: I was raised in a strict
religious environment and was taught sex is wickedness to be
avoided until marriage. And then, it is only allowed for the
purpose of reproduction. Well, I've since parted ways with the
religious beliefs of my youth. Now here I am, a virgin in my late
20s, feeling like a child in a man's body. I'm even a virgin when
it comes to things as basic as kissing. Even if I do OK socially in
the dating scene, there will be the fumbling of the first kiss,
where a woman will know there's something about me. Please help. --
CHOIR BOY
Dear CHOIR BOY: As a virgin, you are
naturally self-conscious about your wooing abilities. Well, join
the club. Everyone is self-conscious about that. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Is it
Comedy to Suggest That Men Can Be Virtuous? If So, I Don’t Get
It BlackAmericaWeb.com- By
Joseph C. Phillips, May 12, 2006
RELATED ARTICLE: Don't
Say This on a First Date Courtesy of
Match.com's Happen magazine-By Lisa Lombardi, May 11, 2006
RELATED ARTICLE: The First Dating Simulation Game for the
PSP ByteSector.com- By Asim, May 11,
2006
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- Sex in America Townhall.com- By Burt Prelutsky, May 9, 2006
Back when Bill Clinton was leaving his mark on
history by leaving his mark on Monica Lewinsky’s dress, one of the
most aggravating aspects of the entire shabby episode was having
our nation patronized by the European media. As usual, the
snidest commentary came to us courtesy of the French. They were
like 80 million cats lapping up cream. Our alleged lack of
sophistication is like food and drink to them. They couldn’t
stop snickering over our bourgeois value system. After all,
their premier had a mistress. What real man didn’t?. . .
.While I regarded Clinton as a national albatross
for a variety of reasons, quite aside from his having sex with a
young intern, I happen to think that where sex is concerned,
Americans are, by and large, childish and embarrassing. . .
.
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- Old dating rules broken in the wake of Internet Gainsvilletimes.com- By Susan Reinhardt, May 9, 2006
A whole new ballgame is on the field as far as the dating world goes. You can't imagine the phone calls and e-mails I get, people wanting to tell their stories about how they met online or on the Internet and are in love or getting married. I tell them, "Sure, I understand it can work. Why, my very own sister Sandy from Rich City, Ga., met her second husband off a Christian singles Web site, married him within six weeks and they've been together six happy years." We hardly knew she was dating him before she announced her marriage. It wasn't until Granny's funeral the family met the new chap as we were marveling over how well the mortician had fixed Granny's makeup. . . . Today, it's all about the Internet and matchmaking sites on the Web. . .
RELATED ARTICLE: New Christian Dating Site Based on Discipleship, Obedience to God's Word Religion News Service, May 10, 2006 BEGIN_TEXT
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- We don't need something new to fight
about Townhall.com-
By Maggie Gallagher, May 9, 2006
Just in time for Mother's Day, The New York Times
devoted the cover of last Sunday's Times Magazine to a
frightening-sounding new expose: "The War on Contraception." . . .
. On close inspection, "The War on Contraception"
dissolves into an acute case of projection of aggressive impulses.
The bulk of the article describes a renewed effort not by religious
people to stop contraceptives, but by social liberals to shut down
abstinence education programs, or to force Catholic hospitals and
pharmacists to prescribe emergency contraception (which may
sometimes function as an abortifacient). Yes, a
tiny minority of Americans do have moral objections to
contraception. And yes, a few are pharmacists, who want to keep
their jobs and refer contraceptive-seeking clients to others. .
. . So why this
new declaration of a nonexistent war? The author thoughtfully
supplies the real motive here. . .
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- Parenting
Issues: The right way to write about right Townhall.com- By
Rebecca Hagelin, May 9, 2006
. . . . It may seem like the height of
sophistication to think that we can (or should) load our children
with facts and figures and then leave it up to them to decide
what’s right and wrong. In fact, it’s a moral abdication of our
duties as parents. No, we can’t make our children see the truth.
But we do them a grave disservice if we fail to show them, in word
and deed, right from wrong on the most critical issues. Even the
best parent, of course, can use a little help -- and that’s where
Anderson’s marvelous book comes in handy. But “Christian Ethics
in Plain Language” isn’t just for parents; it’s for anyone
looking for concise, well-documented answers to the pressing
ethical questions of our day. Want to know what the Bible says
about cohabitation? What the social effects of pornography are? How
to respond to questions about capital punishment, artificial
reproduction and genetic engineering? It’s all there. . .
.
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- Parenting issues: Your daughter:
Dating dos and don'ts...for parents
SheKnows.com, AZ -By Charlene Giannetti and
Margaret Sagarese, May 9, 2006 The world of adolescent
dating is more confusing then ever before. Children are growing up
faster and pushing the boundaries of sexuality earlier, as well as
facing new kinds of pressures that most parents have never even
dreamed of. You'll have to face the inevitable: Your tweenage
daughter no longer plays with Barbie, but dresses like her. Get
some advice from the authors of Cliques
and Boy Crazy: Keeping our Daughter's Feet on the
Ground When Her Head is in the
Clouds. . .
.
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- Sleeping in the basement Townhall.com- By Jennifer Roback Morse, May 9,
2006
When you have a
reputation as a defender of marriage, you’ve got to deal with the
Good, the Bad and the Ugly. This week, I got an e-mail that was
definitely, well, Not Good. "Dear Dr.
J, I'm part of a group of 5 men.
We all work together; we are all married, with children. Our
ages range from 35 to 45. All but one of us sleeps in the
basement because our wives don't really want us very
badly. The youngest of our group does not yet sleep in the
basement but he reports the same frustration that moves all of us
there. Sharing a bed with a woman who does not want you is
painful. Oh, she wants you to pay the bills and be a father to your
children, but she doesn't want you. It’s difficult to just
leave when you know you've created responsibilities, but it is
pretty clear she'd rather you just left. . .
.
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- Lance's Ex Felt
Smothered by Marriage People Magazine -
By Stephen M. Silverman, May 9, 2006
Lance Armstrong's ex-wife, Kristin Richard,
revealed to Oprah Winfrey on Tuesday that the road she shared with
the Tour de France record holder was far smooth. Although the
1999-2003 marriage produced three children before it ended in
divorce, the union also left Richard feeling "smothered," and
turned her from an opinionated career person into a "yes" woman,
Richard, 34, said on The Oprah Winfrey Show. . . . "I paid
more attention to the rock on my left hand than to preparing myself
for the journey ahead," Richard wrote in the article, which Winfrey
said reduced her to tears. "This is why I never got married," said
Winfrey. "I just wanted to always be myself.". . .
.
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- I was jilted for Tori
Spelling Globe and Mail, Canada - By Gayle MacDonald,
May 9, 2006
Toronto TV
personality Mary Jo Eustace feels a great deal of empathy these
days for Jennifer Aniston. Like the jilted actress, left by Brad
Pitt for his pillow-lipped co-star Angelina Jolie, Eustace's
husband of 12 years, Dean McDermott, dumped her for his
bleached-blond co-star Tori Spelling. On Sunday, Spelling, 32, and
McDermott, 39, tied the knot on a beach in Fiji. McDermott, a North
Toronto native who has flaunted his romantic entanglement since the
couple's engagement over the Christmas holidays, was quoted on the
weekend as saying: "I've never had as much of a desire to get
married and make a woman my wife as I've had with her. The feeling
is overwhelming. We're soulmates." Yesterday, Eustace, 44,
summed that comment up as "the final nail. What is that? Let's
completely negate 13 years," said the now single mom, who has a
7½-year-old son and 10-month-old adopted daughter (the little girl
arrived three weeks before McDermott met Spelling on the Ottawa set
for the TV movie Mind Over Murder.). . . .
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- Panel Rules Against Same-Sex Marriage
Ad Washinton Post.com- AP- By Pete Yost, May 9, 2006
-- A three-judge panel Tuesday ruled unanimously
against a conservative group that wants to air an advertisement
about same-sex marriage as Maine's primary election approaches on
June 13. The Christian Civic League of Maine had sought a
preliminary injunction against "electioneering communication"
provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. The law
bars using corporate or union money to pay for broadcast ads
referring to a clearly identified federal candidate within 30 days
of a primary election, or 60 days of a general election. . . .
- Federal Court of Appeals Tosses Same-Sex
Marriage Case LifesiteNews.com, NY -May 8,
2006
- On Friday in Smelt v. Orange County, the
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a challenge brought by
same-sex marriage advocates. Liberty Counsel defended the case on
behalf of Campaign for California Families, which was granted
defendant-intervenor status. The case began when Arthur Smelt and
Christopher Hammer filed a federal lawsuit against the Orange
County Clerk seeking a same-sex marriage license and claiming that
the California Marriage Laws and Federal Defense of Marriage Act
("DOMA") violate their rights of Equal Protection, Due Process,
Privacy and Freedom of Speech provisions under the United States
Constitution. . . .
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- Freezing young eggs an option for women Arizona Daily Star- KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS, By
Joan Morris, May 8, 2006
From the moment a baby girl is born, her
fertility clock begins the countdown. Though she has millions of
eggs in her immature ovaries, by the time she's a woman the
viability of those eggs has already started to diminish. By age 40,
her chances of conceiving have declined, while her chances of
having a child with chromosomal abnormalities have increased. And
if she's like thousands of women in their 30s who have yet to meet
Mr. Right and whose careers and personal choices don't include, for
now, child rearing, she may find herself wishing that she could
freeze time. Actually, she may be able to. .
.
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- Paul and Heather Kiss and Mac Up
Mirror.co.uk- By Fiona Cummins, May 8, 2006
SIR Paul McCartney and Heather Mills have vowed to
beat their "marriage problems" after claims the relationship is in
crisis. Although the couple spent five days apart last week,
allegedly after a furious bust-up, sources insist there is no
suggestion that they have permanently split. Heather, 38, rubbished
claims that the four-year marriage was rocky. She said: "It's
hilarious. We're still very much together." . . . .
- Nicole Kidman Says She Still Loves
Cruise ABC
News - AP- May 8, 2006
Nicole Kidman says her divorce from
Tom Cruise was a "major shock" and, she still loves him. "That was
a major shock," the 38-year-old actress says in an interview in the
June issue of Ladies' Home Journal, on newsstands Tuesday. "He was
huge; still is. To me, he was just Tom, but to everybody else, he
is huge. But he was lovely to me. And I loved him. I still love
him," she tells the magazine. . . .
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- Marriage matters: Marriage is like a
marathon Sturgis Journal, MI- By
James and Audora Burg -May 6, 2006
The book
that prompted last week’s column — urging people to prepare for
divorce while happily married — still has our ire raised. We find
it incomprehensible that anyone really thinks that way. . . . What
if instead of prophylactically preparing for divorce while married,
the focus shifted to fully preparing for marriage before getting
married? We’re not talking
wedding planning here. We mean marriage planning. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Marriage matters: Tying a slip-knot Sturgisjournal.com- By James and
Audora Burg, Apr 29, 2006
- Love, marriage - financial planning:
Money can't buy love, but it can spoil it if
couples don't plan their financial future Stuff.co.nz, New Zealand - By Rob Stock, May 6,
2006 The couple that plans
together, stays together. It's a bold
assertion, but Susanna Stuart and Deborah Carlyon, partners in the
Stuart + Carlyon financial planning firm in Auckland, say it's not
far off the mark. Financial planner
Lisa Dudson shares their view. She
says the four most stressful things in the world for the average
person are a death, a divorce, public speaking and money - and
getting the last one wrong is a sure step along the way to the
second. . . . Only a third of people have written financial goals,
and a recent online poll by Superbank found 42% of women and 35% of
men lie to their partners about their finances. .
.
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- MARRIAGE & MONEY: Yours, mine and ours: Part 1 of
4
Merging finances a task soon-to-be-newlyweds shouldn't
neglect Ledger-Examiner.com-
By Erin Simpson, May 5, 2006 My fiance and I are like a lot of people about to be
married. We've both finished college, started our careers, have
been living on our own and paying our own way for quite some time.
But that's going to change on May 27. I will be marrying Pat
Gillespie (a former reporter here at the Ledger-Enquirer). And like
other engaged and newly married couples, we're finding out
something. Marriage is certainly a financial detour. From now on,
there'll be another person questioning that new pair of white
sandals or another PlayStation 2 game. Once you
get engaged, even though the wedding is looming (and that's
certainly another financial discussion) and the excitement is
building, you've got to have some serious talks about the future.
Since almost half of all American marriages end in divorce, and
financial concerns are considered one of the biggest struggles in a
marriage, it would do you some good to get everything out in the
open before the wedding. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: MARRIAGE & MONEY: Part 2 of 4- Budget can sort needs
vs. wants Ledger-Examiner.com- By Erin Simpson, May 12,
2006
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- Going to the chapel Sydney Morning Herald- Radar blog- By Samantha
Selinger-Morris, May 3, 2006
Celebrity marriages are so
dissected that even those of us who shun gossip mags are armed with
embarrassingly intimate titbits. How long was Eminem remarried to
wife Kim before filing for divorce a second time? (83 days.) What
is blamed for Madonna and Guy's recent rocky patch? (Not enough
time with the kids.) But when it comes to the state of our own
marriages, the picture isn't quite so clear. We know about the
divorce rate of nearly 50 per cent and that the number of
twentysomethings tying the knot has declined dramatically. Only 4.2
per cent of Australian women aged 20 to 24 were newlyweds in 2001,
compared with 18.7 per cent in 1976. For Australian men in the same
age bracket, it was 2 per cent in 2001, compared with 12 per cent
in 1976. Yet on any given day, the line-up of hopeful young
things beaming out from bridal veils and top hats at the Opera
House and Art Gallery of NSW is so long as to resemble a Krispy
Kreme store at lunch hour. . .
RELATED ARTICLE: MANGALORE: Mass
Marriage Ceremony at Dharmasthala- 125 Couples Enter into
Wedlock DAIJIWORLD, May 4,
2006
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- Tabloid Tuesday: Denise Richards versus Heather
Locklear National Ledger.com- By The Staff, May 2, 2006
Three of
the four tabs think the BIG story this week is Denise Richards with
Heather Locklear’s husband Richie Sambora. Depending on which
tab you read, she either ‘stole Heather’s husband,’ or ‘is
dating Richie’ or ‘runs off with Richie.’ Just remember
– this is the world of tabloids so you “pays your money and you
takes your chance.”. . . . See, this is what happens when the
editors think everyone who reads their publications will believe
anything they say. To Tabloid Tuesday, when someone ‘runs
off’ with someone’s husband, that suggests an illicit affair,
marriage broken up, sleazy motel rooms, squeaking headboards… ok,
maybe not squeaky headboards…. But when you look at the story, what
you discover is that two unattached people decided to date or
whatever it is they do in Hollywood. The operative word being
UNATTACHED! In other words, there was no story – just a lot
of creative and somewhat misleading headlines to cover the fact
that it’s just another dating story. Give us a break!!!. . .
.
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- Wedding season is time to ponder marriage
advice
Mcall.com- By Kevin Devlin, May 3, 2006
Kevin Kervick's lifework centers on
bolstering marriages. He is a counselor and runs Responsive
Community Resources Inc., a nonprofit in Souderton that provides
literature, workshops, counseling and other services designed to
strengthen marriages. . . . One recurring theme on his
organization's Web site and on his blog is how other, less
important things — too much work, a quest for material goods,
umpteen children's activities — intrude on marriage and family
life. It seems to me that a lot of the activity leading up to
weddings — picking the ring, the dress, the hall, the menu, the
band or disc jockey, the invitations, the seating list — has
nothing to do with the concept of how these two people will get
along the rest of their lives. . . He divided his advice for
marrying couples into five main themes. . . .
.
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- Mich. woman, 46, to face felony polygamy
charges USA
Today, May 3, 2006
ROSEVILLE,
Mich. — A suburban Detroit woman who police say made a habit of
marrying men and draining their finances was ordered Wednesday to
stand trial on polygamy charges. Kyle McConnell married about 15
men, St. Clair County sheriff's Detective Tim Donnellon told The
Detroit News. She is charged with wedding one man when she was
already married to at least one. A felony polygamy charge carries a
maximum of four years in prison. Authorities are confounded. "In
polygamy cases, usually it's a man who is married to more than one
woman. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Dark
side of polygamy revealed The Delaware County
Times, PA -By Neal Zoren, May 2, 2006
RELATED ARTICLE: Polyamory: A Twist On Polygamy KUTV.com- Salt
Lake City, Mark
Koelbelreporting, April 30,
2006
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- Mexico first lady wins damages
for divorce story Scotsman-UK-Reuters, May 3,
2006
MEXICO CITY (Reuters)- Mexican first lady
Marta Sahagun won $178,000 (96,600 pounds) in damages against an
Argentine author and a Mexican magazine on Tuesday for invasion of
privacy in an article about the breakup of a previous marriage. A
Mexican court ruled that Proceso weekly news magazine and writer
Olga Wornat damaged Sahagun's reputation by publishing part of a
petition she wrote to the Catholic Church in the 1990s asking for
the annulment of her marriage to a Mexican businessman. . . . .
- Couple, 33 and 104,
reportedly marry Thanhnien News.com, May 3,
2006
MAYASIA- It was Muhamad Noor
Che Musa's first marriage and his wife's 21st, according to The
Star newspaper which cited a report in the Malay-language Harian
Metro tabloid. Muhamad, an ex-army serviceman said he found peace
and a sense of belonging after meeting Wook Kundor, whom he said he
initially sympathized with because she was childless, old and
alone, the report said.
"I am not after her
money, as she is poor," Muhamad reportedly said. .
- Girl, 14, left for dead
after dad rejects suitor
Brutal attack puts spotlight on 'honor
killings' Houston Chronicle-US-
By Zarar Khan (AP), May 3, 2006 KARACHI, PAKISTAN - Suffering from five
bullet wounds, Noor Jehan calls out in pain for her mother. The
14-year old Pakistani girl is recuperating slowly in a hospital
from an attack allegedly carried out by two male cousins to avenge
a rebuffed marriage proposal. . . . Honor killings claim hundreds
of lives each year in this Muslim nation. The targets include wives
accused of having affairs, young women who refuse a marriage
partner, and brides and grooms marrying without family consent. The
crimes are usually committed by male relatives and most go
unpunished. . . .
- Husband: Marriage
Counselor had affair with
wife Chicago Sun-Times-US, By Dan Rozek, May 3,
2006
A McHenry County man
is suing his marriage counselor, contending the therapist he hired
to help improve his marriage instead began an affair with his wife.
That relationship eventually prompted the couple to divorce,
according to the breach-of-contract suit filed by 35-year-old Scott
Buetow of Lake in the Hills. .
.
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- Hatcher has eye on
love USA
Today -By William Keck, May 2, 2006
... In her book, she says, "I still feel I'm
never going to find someone to love who loves me back in spite of
and because of all my dark, complicated, insecure places." Hatcher
revealed the root of that darkness in the April issue of Vanity
Fair, in which she opened up for the first time about an uncle
who began sexually molesting her at age 5. The childhood abuse had
lasting effects and played a role in the dissolution of her
1994-2003 marriage to actor Jon Tenney. Hatcher pauses to search
for words when asked how her life remains affected by the abuse. "I
guess the area of love and trust. When it's a family member who
supposedly loves you and violates you this way, what you thought
was love and some sort of physical intimacy was really violation.
That intimacy can be something pleasurable as opposed to something
that's going to cause you harm, is something I've had to deal
with.". . . . . The book reveals she and her ex-husband had very
little sex in their marriage. She did not have sex on her honeymoon
and knows the exact date her daughter, Emerson, 8, was conceived. .
. . .
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- Britons 'put fun before
babies' BBC News.com, May 2, 2006
Britain's falling birth rate is being fuelled by a
generation who would rather have fun and live comfortably than have
children, a survey suggests. The poll of 1,006 adults for the Guardian also
suggested potential parents were forced to delay family life by
career pressures. Half of the adults quizzed said they found it
increasingly difficult to find someone to have a family
with. It comes as
French research suggests men's fertility fades after 40. . . .
Fertility experts have repeatedly warned women not to wait until
their fertility declines to have children. But over the last 20
years pregnancies in women over 35 have risen markedly and the
average age of mothers is continuing to rise. Some experts claim
infertility will double across Europe within the next decade. . . .
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1. Celebrate arrival
of baby with Katie Holmes 2. Promote new
movie 3. Get
married Being such a
religious man, you might think marriage would be higher on his
list. But it's not like Tom is a trendsetter, delaying marriage
until after the baby. Today, firstborns conceived out-of-wedlock
are now more frequent than those conceived in wedlock. . . Whether
they intend to or not, they encourage others to follow suit. The
problem is, there's a huge difference between mega-stars having
babies outside of marriage and regular people having babies outside
of marriage. Every year about one million more children are born
into fatherless families. The number of those children and their
mothers who will live in poverty is staggering. .
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- Kobe's, Shaq's
wives give birth Monday
Bryants have a girl, then 6 minutes later, O'Neals
also have a girl MSNBC- AP May 1, 2006 Just like old times, Kobe Bryant and
Shaquille O’Neal are celebrating. The former Lakers teammates
became fathers again Monday when their wives gave birth to girls
six minutes apart. Gianna
Maria-Onore Bryant was born at 2:03 a.m. PDT in Orange County,
Calif. Kobe and Vanessa Bryant are already parents to 3-year-old
Natalia. . . .Shaquille and Shaunie O’Neal became parents for the
sixth time when Mearah Sanaa O’Neal was born at 4:57 a.m. EDT in a
South Florida hospital. . . .
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- Homosexual Advocacy Group Launches
Campaign Against Marriage Amendment CNSNews.com- By Melanie Hunter, May 1, 2006
- A homosexual advocacy group has
launched a postcard campaign urging senators to vote no on the
Federal Marriage Amendment, which defines marriage as the union of
one man and one woman. Beginning Monday and ending on June 5,
Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) is
urging homosexual activists to join their month-long "Dear Senator"
campaign by sending senators postcards, with the theme:
"Dear Senator: All I want for Mother's Day is for you to vote NO on
the Federal Marriage Amendment ..."
RELATED ARTICLE: Conservatives Look to June Vote on Marriage
Amendment CNSNews.com-
By Monisha Bansal, Apr 26, 2006
RELATED ARTICLE: Homosexuals
in no hurry to 'marry,' new study says BP
News, TN - Apr 28, 2006
RELATED ARTICLE: Attacks
Continue on NY's Marriage Laws- Liberty Council Files briefs in
Defense of Traditional Marriage AgapePress.org- By
Allie Martin, May 2, 2006
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- Congress gives couples new incentive for
marriage Theithacajournal.com- By Sharon Jayson, May 1,
2006
Winston Graham and Saundra Corley finally tied the
knot after almost 20 years and four children together. Now they're
planning to make their new marriage reap some additional benefits.
Thy've signed up for a new pilot program for low-income couples in
the District of Columbia that could get them as much as $9,000 in
federal funds and other cash just because they make their
relationship legal. . . . “You don't see a lot of families in our
community who are married,” says Corley-Graham, 37, who on Nov. 26
added “Graham” to her name. When they set the wedding date, the
couple hadn't heard about the idea pushed by Sen. Sam Brownback,
R-Kan., and approved by Congress to give couples earning under
$50,000 a year a “marriage bonus” to buy a home, pay for job
training or education for themselves or their children, or to start
or expand a business. If couples save $3,000 in
three years, they will receive a 3-to-1 match of up to $9,000. . .
. The idea goes beyond just dollars; it offers a
broad-based approach to helping couples. . .
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