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"MARRIAGE" In The News
(October 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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- A Case for Strengthening Marriage The Washington Post, By Leah Ward Sears, October
30, 2006
. . . . I am not a
law professor. But from where I sit as chief justice of the Supreme
Court of Georgia, a family law that fails to encourage marriage
ignores the fact that marriage has long been associated with an
impressively broad array of positive outcomes for children and
adults alike. Experts who contend that we need to move "beyond
marriage" say they are only responding to the facts. But here is
one major fact: High rates of family fragmentation hurt children. .
. .Why are state judges such as myself so concerned about
strengthening marriage? Start with the basics: Fragmenting families
are flooding our court dockets. . . . As a judge I am often
frustrated that I must work within a system designed only to pick
up the pieces after families have already fallen apart or failed to
come together. We must work to prevent family fragmentation,
because the consequences for children and society are severe. . .
.
RELATED ARTICLE: Declining Marriage Rates Aren’t Just a Black Family
Thing – They're an American Thing BlackAmericaWeb.com, By
Joseph C. Phillips, July 17, 2006
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- Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe Split
TMZ.com, By TMZ Staff, October 30, 2006
Reese Witherspoon
and Ryan Phillippe have separated. The couple's rep released a
statement to TMZ Monday morning that says "We are saddened to
announce that Reese & Ryan have decided to formally separate.
They remain committed to their family and we ask that you please
respect their privacy and the safety of their children at this
time." Sources tell TMZ Witherspoon has contacted celebrity
divorce lawyer Robert Kaufman, who has represented Jennifer
Aniston, Roseanne and Lisa Marie Presley. . . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Reese
Witherspoon & Ryan Phillippe Split People
Magazine, October 30, 2006
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- Prince may defuse row over interfaith
marriage The International News -Pakistan, By Rauf Klasra, October
30, 2006
LONDON: One unusual meeting that Prince Charles is
to have during his visit to Pakistan is with Bishop Alexander John
Malik who, like a traditional loving father from the East, yielded
to the wishes of his daughter Nadia to let her marry a Muslim of
her own choice in a church despite opposition from followers of his
faith. The newly wedded couple has already left Pakistan after
receiving threats from different quarters, both Muslims and
Christians. . . . . Islamic clerics were also angered by the
marriage. Last week Mufti Asghar Ali Rabbani of the Farooqia
College, a leading Islamic jurisprudence centre, said Nadia Malik
was guilty of becoming an infidel if she had converted, and that
her husband should not have taken part in the marriage ceremony in
a Christian church. “She has become an infidel and the punishment
for it is death,” Rabbani declared. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: South Africa:
Divorcée - Why I Am Challenging Muslim
Marriage ALL AFRICA.com- Sunday Times (Johannesburg), By
Suthentira Govender, October 29, 2006
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- SPIRIT WORLD RUINED MY 22-YEAR MARRIAGE
Heartache of psychic's widow The Daily Record- UK, By Mark Mcgivern, October 30,
2006
THE widow of a top
medium has told how spiritualism wrecked her marriage.
Margaret Doherty said her 22-year marriage to clairvoyant Eddie
Doherty started to crack when he formed the Friendship of Love
& Light Spiritual Church five years ago. He became obsessive
about psychic meetings and was soon taking endless phone calls -
even on Christmas Day. Eddie, 57, left the couple's Paisley home
and moved in with his sister, Maureen Quigg. Then, in April this
year, he was diagnosed with cancer. . . .
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- Report: Divorce development looking grave for
McCartney The
Boston Herald- Herald wire services, October 30, 2006
Tearful taped
conversations between the late Linda McCartney and her literary
agent are poised to be used as evidence in the ugly divorce battle
between her hubby, Paul, and his second wife, Heather Mills, London
newspapers reported yesterday. In 20 hours of audio tapes, the late
animal activist, photographer, and purveyor of vegetarian frozen
food confided to Peter Cox about her marital woes, shattering the
idyllic image of the couple’s famous 30-year marriage. . .
.
RELATED
ARTICLE: Linda
to give evidence from beyond the grave in 'dynamite' marriage
tapes The
Daily Mail, By GORDON RAYNER, October 29, 2006
RELATED
ARTICLE: PAUL
AND HEATHER REUNITE FOR BEATRICE'S BIRTHDAY Hello
Magazine, Oct ober 30, 2006
RELATED ARTICLE: Paul
and Heather 'consider Diana-style TV
interview' The Daily Mail, October 30, 2006
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- Faith
Hill talks about motherhood and marriage
Celebrity Baby Blog, Oct 30, 2006
Faith Hill's career
as a singer takes her all over the world - but she says that no
matter where she is performing, she always is a mom. "I'm
able to shift gears from mom to performer to mom pretty
quickly. It doesn't bother me when the kids run in while I'm
getting dressed. And in terms of coming offstage, the minute
you walk through the door and your kids run into your arms, you're
smacked in the face with a dose of reality: It's like, this is my
real life." . . . .
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- Gay Marriage Through a Black-White Prism
In Gay Marriage Battle, Both Sides Use Mixed-Race
Rulings as a Model THE NEW YORK
TIMES (Free Subscription), By Adam Liptak, Oct 29, 2006
. . . .The New
Jersey court did not mention the Perez case by name and it said
that interracial marriage was not a useful touchstone in thinking
about same-sex marriage. But people on both sides of the same-sex
marriage issue say there are important lessons from the earlier
debate over laws banning interracial marriages, about the reasoning
in the Perez decision and about how, over two decades, that
decision came to be accepted in the courts, in state legislatures
and in the popular culture. Unsurprisingly, they differ about what
those lessons are. . . .
RELATED
ARTICLE: Same-Sex marriage: Hijacking the Civil Rights Legacy
The indiscriminate promotion of various social groups' desires and
preferences as "rights" has drained the moral authority from the
civil rights industry The
Weekly Standard- By Eugene F. Rivers & Kenneth D. Johnson, June
1, 2006
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- Clinton Won't Fight Gay Marriage
But She Says She Favors Civil Unions for Same-Sex
Couples ABC News Political Unit, By TEDDY DAVIS, Oct 27,
2006
— Sen. Hillary Clinton will not
stand in the way of New York's governor and legislature if they
want to enact a same-sex marriage law, though it is not the
position she supports, the New York Democrat who is running for
re-election said today in Syracuse, N.Y. Clinton said that
she favors civil unions, not same-sex marriage. "I put forth my
position, which is in favor of civil unions,"
Clinton said. "But the political process will decide what New
Yorkers want to do.". . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Clinton says
she's "evolved" on marriage Gay.com, Oct 27, 2006
RELATED ARTICLE: Spitzer says
he'll push for same-sex marriage
Gay.com, October 9, 2006
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- Shakira and Ex-President of Argentina's Son Wait on
Marriage FOX NEWS- AP, October 27, 2006
— Shakira and the son of an ex-president of
Argentina have talked about marriage but are waiting for now, his
father was quoted Thursday as saying. Former President
Fernando de la Rua told Dominican newspaper Listin Diario the
29-year-old hip-shaking singer and his son, Antonio, have talked
about marriage and raising a family but have no immediate plans to
tie the knot. "They prefer to wait," de la Rua said. "Kids today
would rather live as a couple, they don't believe that marriage is
necessary to be happy.". . . .
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- Cowell rules out 'ridiculous'
marriage The Irish Examiner, October 26, 2006
British pop mogul
Simon Cowell has ruled out marriage with longterm girlfriend Terri
Seymour, insisting he finds the concept "ridiculous". The
American Idol judge has been dating Seymour for four years but is
in no hurry to walk down the aisle, claiming a life-long romantic
and financial contract bothers him. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Marriage Gets the Silent Treatment Townhall.com, By Harry
Jackson, Jr., September 18, 2006
RELATED ARTICLE: 'TomKat'
thumbs nose at marriage and reality IndyStar.com, By Lori Borgman, April 23,
2006
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- Why falling marriage
rates are bad for the culture ScrippsNews,
By Betsy Hart, October 26, 2006
. . . . Most adults
still want to get married, and most eventually will. Still, the
decline in overall marriage rates is important. That's because the
traditional institution of marriage civilizes men, protects women
and children, and provides stability to the community. (Gasp ...
snort ... hurl my liberal friends are saying about now, but before
gagging too loudly they should check out the National Marriage
Project at Rutgers University, or the Institute for American Values
in New York City, and the vast sociological data they provide that
backs up the common sense on the matter.) Anyway, just because each
marriage does not do this is irrelevant to what marriage was
designed to do and in fact, typically does. So the question is, are
we at a tipping point yet when it comes to whether or not we as a
culture value and sustain marriage? . . . .
RELATED SITE
& PUBLICATIONS: National Marriage Project at
Rutgers University
RELATED ARTICLE: In the
United States, the married are in the minority International
Herald Tribune (The New York Times), By Sam Roberts, Oct 16,
2006
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- Let’s pop the real question: what does marriage mean these
days? The HERALD- UK, By JENNIFER CUNNINGHAM, October 26
2006
. . . . . They
"fell in love with Scotland" on holiday seven years ago, but had
fallen in love with each other a year before that. Helen resisted
marriage because, she says: "I just thought it would not have any
particular bearing on my life, although we do know that we want to
spend the rest of our lives together. I am not religious and I
don't want children."
Now 37, she changed her mind largely for legal reasons. . . . .
Helen will keep her own surname, but use Mrs rather than Ms. "I am
absolutely certain, although I can't think why, that I will wake up
and feel different the morning after the ceremony. I am at a loss
to explain it. . . .
RELATED
ARTICLE: Marriage
is no longer vital, Ulster women say The Belfast Telegraph- IRELAND, By Claire McNeilly, Oct
24, 2006
RELATED ARTICLE: Five
non-religious arguments for marriage over living
together TownHall.com- DC, By Dennis Prager, Oct 3, 2006
RELATED ARTICLE: How living together before marriage ruins
relationship The Pilot- Independent, By Dr. Val Farmer,
September 22,
2006
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- Marriage Back on the Table
Has the New Jersey supreme court just made same-sex marriage an
electoral issue? NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE, By Stanley Kurtz, October 26,
2006
Yesterday the New
Jersey supreme court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage, or its
equivalent, just without the name “marriage.” It is not entirely
clear what will happen next, but here is a preliminary evaluation
of the situation. There are three possible outcomes in New Jersey:
. . . . . If civil unions are the most likely outcome, they are
certainly not the only possible outcome. New Jersey’s Democratic
leaders are not about to say, less than two weeks before the
election, that they will approve full-fledged same-sex marriage.
These politicians understand perfectly well that such a promise
could provoke a Republican electoral revolt in New Jersey, and in
the nation as a whole. When the election is over, however,
all bets are off. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Will New
Jersey Gay Decision Be a National Factor in the Midterm Elections?
No Compelling Evidence Same-Sex Marriage Sharply Boosts
Conservative Voter Turnout ABC NEWS, By GARY LANGER, Oct 26, 2006
RELATED ARTICLE: Will the
Gay Marriage Ruling Rally the Base? The New Jersey court decision
may be just what Republicans need to motivate Christian
conservatives in key Senate races in the South TIME Magazine,
By PERRY BACON, JR./WASHINGTON, October 25,
2006
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- New Jersey
High Court Leaves Gay Marriage Rights to Legislature
FOX NEWS, October 25, 2006
TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey's Supreme Court has
left it to the Legislature to decide the rules for gay couples who
want to marry in the state. In a 4-3 ruling Wednesday, the
court said the state constitution gives same-sex couples the same
civil rights afforded to heterosexual couples, but the lawmakers
must decide how to grant those rights. "The Legislature must either
amend the marriage statutes to include same-sex couples or create a
parallel statutory structure, which will provide for, on equal
terms, the rights and benefits enjoyed and burdens and obligations
borne by married couples," the court held. . . .The high court
stopped short of fully approving gay marriage in the state, and
gave lawmakers 180 days to rewrite marriage laws to either include
same-sex couples or create new civil unions. "The issue is
not about the transformation of the traditional definition of
marriage, but about the unequal dispensation of benefits and
privileges to one of two similarly situated classes of people," the
court said. . . .
SEE COURT'S
RULING: Mark Lewis and Dennis Winslow, et al. v. Gwendolyn
L. Harris, etc., et al.
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RELATED
ARTICLE: N.J.
Court Opens Door to Gay Marriage The Washington Post, By GEOFF MULVIHILL-AP, October 25,
2006
RELATED ARTICLE: NJ lawmakers — pro and con — pledge swift action on
gay marriage USA
Today, By Tom Baldwin, Michael Rispoli and Gregory J. Volpe,
Gannett News Service, Oct 25, 2006
RELATED ARTICLE:
Re: New
Jersey Ruling on Same-Sex Marriage
National Review Online Blogs- Bench Memos, By
Ed Whelan, Oct 25, 2006
RELATED
ARTICLE: New
Jersey Okays Gay Marriage New York Magazine, Edited by Jesse Oxfield with
Michael Idov, Oct 25, 2006
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- DNA Evidence Frees Man After 15 Years Of
Marriage The Onion (Satire)- FL, Oct 25,
2006
JACKSONVILLE, FL—Henry
"Hank" Doswell, 42, was released from his marriage Wednesday, after
DNA tests conclusively proved his innocence in the July 1991
fathering of Spencer Doswell, the solitary charge that has kept him
committed for 15 years. . . . "Fifteen years, seven months, and two
days," said Doswell, speaking to a group at the Red Room bar's
Singles Night shortly after his release. "I always said they'd made
a terrible mistake, that I did not deserve to be put away in the
prime of my life, but no one believed me. If it hadn't been for
this DNA test, I might have died in that monogamous relationship."
. . . . Doswell, who admitted that he had fantasized about escaping
"countless times," said he would like a public apology from those
who were most vocal about his assumed guilt, especially the bride's
father, Ralph Sanders, who reportedly paid off top-level wedding
planners in exchange for a guarantee of swift nuptials. . . .
- Japan's Husbands Learn to Be
Loving Voice of America- Tokyo, By Catherine Makino,
October 25, 2006
The National
Chauvinistic Husband's Association is trying to change the way
Japanese men treat their wives, showing them how to put quality
into their marriages before it is too late. The issue is important
in a country where many women are reluctant to marry and more are
eager to divorce. . . . . Recently, they gathered in suits and ties
outside a busy train station in Tokyo and chanted their "Three
Principles of Love:" saying "sorry" without fear; saying "thank
you" without hesitation; and saying "I love you" without shame.
Calling themselves the National Chauvinistic Husband's Association,
they say these declarations are what women want to hear. . .
.
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- Feeling Sexy at Harvard. And The Gap is here to
serve NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE, By C. R. Hardy, October 24,
2006
. . . . The last
time I lived in Cambridge with kids was four years ago. Back then I
had just two of them — and was pregnant with my third. According to
my fair- minded fellow Cambridge residents, I was an overpopulating
nut-case. . . . . My favorite sign of the times is that in my
absence the GapKids that used to occupy the second floor of one of
the Harvard Co-op buildings in Harvard Square was replaced with a
GapBody. . . .
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- State marriage amendment and gay rights: New
dilemmas Townhall .com, By Maggie Gallagher, October 24, 2006
. . . . On Nov. 7, eight states will vote on state
marriage amendments that define marriage as the union of husband
and wife, and also confine the legal benefits of marriage to
married couples (i.e., no government- created civil unions). Twenty
states have already passed such amendments, with around 60 percent
to 80 percent voter approval. This time around, gay rights groups
have grown excited about the prospect of knocking down one or more
of these amendments. Three states in particular are in play:
Wisconsin, Arizona and South Dakota, each of which has had polls in
recent months suggesting the state marriage amendment may be in
trouble. . . . What do we make of the political situation? . . .
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- Catherine of Aragon marriage plea letter to go under the
hammer This
is London.co.uk, October 24, 2006
A document that
records one of the defining moments behind England's split from the
Roman Catholic Church will go under the hammer next month.
The letter was penned by Catherine of Aragon in 1534 as she
desperately tried to cling on to her marriage to King Henry
VIII. In it the estranged noblewoman begs her nephew Roman
Emperor Charles V to ask Pope Clement VII to uphold her marriage to
the King. The Pope obliged and the course of English
religious history was changed forever when Henry VIII responded by
turning his back on the Vatican. . . .
LISTEN TO THE
STORY: 16th
century royal letter for sale
BBC WORLD SERVICE, Oct 25, 2006
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- Marriage is no longer vital, Ulster women
say The
Belfast Telegraph- IRELAND, By Claire McNeilly, Oct 24,
2006
Gone are the days when Ulster
women were desperately trying to trick their men into
proposing. In fact, new research shows that women in Northern
Ireland think that marriage is no longer necessary in today's
society. Almost three-quarters of those surveyed - more than
2,000 - think that couples today enter into marriage too quickly
without thinking it through, while 57% of childless women are
concerned about their declining fertility. The study unveils
women's concerns about marriage, fertility, divorce, children,
working, money, healthy eating and celebrities. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Marriage is no Longer Relevant in Today's
Society EarthTimes.org, Oct 23, 2006
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- Tom and Katie Set the Date E! Online,
By Sarah Hall, October 24, 2006
First came love, then came baby
and now it's marriage for Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. After
getting engaged back in June 2005, Suri's parents will finally
trade vows Nov. 18 in Italy, Cruise's rep, Arnold Robinson,
confirmed to E! News. The couple was rumored to be
considering George Clooney's Lake Como abode as a site for their
celebration, but there was no word on where the ceremony would
actually take place. Those lucky enough to score an invite to
the impending union were notified of the event's date and location
late last week, according to Us Weekly, which broke the nuptial
news on Tuesday. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Tom and Katie's Rep Confirms
November 18 Wedding US Weekly magazine, Oct 24, 2006
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- Welfare Reform Isn't Working
More people are employed, but the goal of
preserving families has been a
failure LOS ANGELES TIMES, By Amy L. Wax, October
22, 2006
THIS FALL marks
the 10th anniversary of Clinton-era welfare reform, which imposed
strict work requirements and time limits for receiving some forms
of federal relief. Have the rules been a success? If the goal is
employment, reform has unquestionably triumphed. . . . . But
although work requirements were the centerpiece of the 1996
statute, its chief declared goal, as revealed by its preamble, was
to reverse the decades-long decline in the nuclear family. If
judged by this objective, welfare reform has been an abysmal
failure. Domestic disorder continues to roil the lives of poor
women. Among the unskilled, extramarital childbearing is
relentlessly on the rise, and marriage grows less common and less
stable. More than one-third of the children of women with a high
school degree or less are now born out of wedlock. . .
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- Former tennis star Chris Evert to divorce husband Andy
Mill CBS SportsLine.com wire reports, Oct. 20, 2006
-- Former tennis
star Chris Evert and husband Andy Mill said Friday that they're
divorcing after 18 years of marriage. "We are confirming that,
after 18 years of marriage, we have decided to get divorced. The
decision is mutual, and our main concern is for our three sons,"
the couple said in a statement. "We know we have some difficult
times ahead, together and apart, and hope that our family's privacy
will be respected." . . . . .
RELATED
ARTICLE: Tennis
Great Chris Evert & Her Husband
Split People Magazine, October 21, 2006
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- Where is Technological Reproduction
Taking Us? COMMONWEAL, By
Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, October 20, 2006
. . . . The science of baby making-in vitro
fertilization, surrogacy, genetic engineering-has given rise to a
global trade in sperm, eggs, embryos, wombs-for-rent, and in the
services of a cadre of suppliers, technicians, middlemen,
researchers, lawyers, third-party payers, and consultants. . . .
For Spar, babies are good; markets are good; and happy parents are
good. Notably, though, she fails to consider whether this market is
good for the babies. What about the children who have been created
through assisted reproduction? Does it matter to them that they may
have multiple parents, some of whom will remain forever anonymous?
Is it a good thing to deliberately produce, for profit, a
population of children who will never know their full parentage? Is
a business that creates satisfied customers but less secure
children a good thing? Spar is silent on these questions. . . .
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RELATED STUDY:
The Revolution in Parenthood:
The Emerging Global Clash Between Adult Rights and Children's
Needs AmericanValues.org
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- Black teens have bleak view of marriage
Views are influenced by broken or unhappy
relationships of people in their lives, pop
culture The Detroit News, By Vanessa E. Jones- Boston Globe, Oct
19, 2006
. . . . Their
disillusionment mirrors a growing resistance to marriage among
African-Americans. In the post-Civil War era, when
African-Americans had the option to marry legally for the first
time, many did. The 1890 Census showed that 80 percent of
African-American families were headed by two parents, according to
Andrew Billingsley's 1992 book, "Climbing Jacob's Ladder: The
Enduring Legacies of African-American Families." In 1970, census
figures showed that only 57 percent of black men and 54 percent of
black women were married. By last year those numbers had slipped to
42 percent for men and 35 percent for women. As the teens' comments
indicate, views about marriage are formed by what people see in
their lives -- and in pop culture. Shows such as "Divorce Court"
and the media's focus on the latest celebrity break-up do not paint
glowing pictures of relationships. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Response Letters: Why black teens view marriage
skeptically The
Detroit News- Editorials & Opinions, Oct 24, 2006
RELATED
ARTICLE: Black Teens
Disheartened Toward Marriage: Poor examples are making marriage
elusive in their eyes Eurweb.com- Agape Press-CA, Sept 11, 2006
RELATED ARTICLE: 'Marriage Is for White People' The Washington Post- Joy Jones, By Mar 26, 2006
RELATED
ARTICLE: Why Our Black Families Are Failing Washington Post- US, By
William Raspberry, July 25, 2005
RELATED
ARTICLE: Divorce
and Marriage Affect Black Children More UC Davis (press release)-CA, May 25, 2005
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- As Europe Grows Grayer, France Devises a Baby
Boom Washingtom Post, By Molly Moore, October 18, 2006
. . . . In many
European countries, park benches are filled with elderly residents.
In France, parks overflow with boisterous children, making it an
international model for countries struggling with the threat of
zero population growth. In recent months, officials from Japan,
Thailand and neighboring Germany have traveled to France to study
its reproductive secrets. But the propensity of women here to have
more babies has little to do with notions of French romance or the
population's formerly strong religious ties to the Roman Catholic
Church. . . . France heavily subsidizes children and families from
pregnancy to young adulthood with liberal maternity leaves and
part-time work laws for women. The government also covers some
child-care costs of toddlers up to 3 years old and offers free
child-care centers from age 3 to kindergarten, in addition to tax
breaks and discounts on transportation, cultural events and
shopping. . . .
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- Friends With Benefits?
State marriage amendments will not ban private
contracts NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE, By
William C. Duncan, October 17, 2006
This November, eight more states will vote on
marriage amendments. The new amendments (like most of those already
passed in 20 states) typically say two things: (1) marriage is the
union of one man and one woman; and (2) something else about civil
unions. That “something else” has become the subject of increasing
political and legal controversy. Gay- marriage advocates realize
from hard experience that trying to stop these marriage amendments
by rallying support for gay marriage is a losing proposition. So
they’ve employed a new tactic: increasingly focusing their
opposition on the civil-union ban instead. In Virginia, Wisconsin,
Arizona, and elsewhere, marriage-amendment opponents are telling
increasingly lurid legal stories (see) about the harsh consequences
that will follow if these amendments pass — and not just for gay
people, but for single people and cohabiting couples. . . .
.
RELATED ARTICLE: Va. Ban's Reach Is At Center Of Fight: Same-Sex Marriage On
November Ballot Washington Post, By Chris L. Jenkins, October 2, 2006
- Married and Single Parents Spending More Time With Children,
Study Finds NEW YORK TIMES (Free Subscription), By Robert Pear,
October 16, 2006
— Despite the surge
of women into the work force, mothers are spending at least as much
time with their children today as they did 40 years ago, and the
amount of child care and housework performed by fathers has sharply
increased, researchers say in a new study, based on analysis of
thousands of personal diaries. . . . The findings are set forth in
a new book, “Changing Rhythms of American Family Life,” published
by the Russell Sage Foundation and the American Sociological
Association. The research builds on work that Ms. Bianchi did in 16
years as a demographer at the Census Bureau. . .
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- In the United States, the married are in the
minority International Herald Tribune (The New York Times), By Sam
Roberts, Oct 16, 2006
Married couples,
whose numbers have been declining for decades as a proportion of
American households, have finally slipped into a minority,
according to an analysis of new census figures by The New York
Times. The American Community Survey, released this month by
the Census Bureau, found that 49.7 percent, or 55.2 million, of the
nation's 111.1 million households in 2005 were made up of married
couples - with and without children - just shy of a majority and
down from more than 52 percent five years earlier. . . .The census
survey estimated that 5.2 million couples, a little more than 5
percent of households, were unmarried opposite-sex partners. An
additional 413,000 households were male couples, and 363,000 were
female couples. In all, nearly one in 10 couples were unmarried.
(One in 20 households consisted of people living alone). . . . .
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- Report: Actress Mel
Harris to divorce again
Marriage was fifth for former ‘thirtysomething’
star MSNBC- AP, Oct 15, 2006
- Mel Harris, a
co-star on the hit 1980s show “thirtysomething,” has filed for
divorce from her husband of five years, People magazine reported
Saturday. Harris, 49, cited irreconcilable differences in her
petition to divorce investment banker Mike Toomey, filed Oct. 3 in
Los Angeles Superior Court, People reported on its Web site. The
couple married in 2001. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Actress
Mel Harris Files for Divorce People Magazine - Oct 14,
2006
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- Divorcees in the most
debt My Finances.co.uk- UK, Oct 16, 2006
Divorcees have a
higher debt burden than anyone else, new figures show. According to
calculations by Alliance & Leicester, the cost of a marriage
breaking up is far more than emotional, with divorcees having the
highest debt relative to their income of anyone. On top of this
high debt burden, the UK's divorced community rely more on credit
cards and personal loans to get by than any other group. . . . .
"However, over the years, divorced people's finances do not seem to
improve - showing how long-lived the effects of relationship
breakdown can be." . . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Indebted divorcees struggle to regain a foothold on the
property ladder Citywire- UK, By Lorna Bourke, Oct 15,
2006
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- Jharkhand youth marries hill to cure
curse Hindustan Times- Indo-Asian News Service, Ranchi, October
14, 2006
A 16-year-old youth
in a Jharkhand village got married to a hill so that his mother
could "clear herself of a curse". The marriage of Robin, a resident
of Bordih village in Jamshedpur, about 170 km from Ranchi was
solemnised with great fanfare with Laxmi hill in his village.
Robin, dressed as a bridegroom, garlanded the top of the hill and
kissed it. Laxmi hill was also decorated by the villagers. A grand
marriage feast was organised on Tuesday for 400 villagers. . .
.
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Sara Evans Seeks Divorce, Quits ‘Dancing
with the Stars' Extra TV, October 13, 2006
In a decision that stunned America, "Dancing with
the Stars" fan favorite Sara Evans has quit the show, citing her
sudden divorce as the reason. "Extra" blows the lid off the
shocking divorce, which includes allegations of cheating, abuse and
a problem with pornography. . . .
RELATED
ARTICLE: Sara Evans vs.
Craig Schelske: Sexual Details National Ledger- AZ, By
Chris Bergman, Oct 14, 2006
RELATED ARTICLE: Statement of Craig Schelske,
Husband of Sara Evans Yahoo! News
(press release), Oct 13, 2006
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- Health Issues: Farrah
Fawcett Is Fighting Cancer WebMD, Oct 13, 2006
Former Charlie's Angel
Farrah Fawcett faced many foes in her years playing private
detective Jill Munroe, but she may now be facing her toughest enemy
yet -- cancer. While her publicist, Mike Pingell, did not confirm
the type of cancer, actor Ryan O'Neal told People magazine that
Fawcett had been diagnosed with anal cancer, a relatively rare
cancer that occurs in the anus.... "There is nothing recommended
that we can do to screen for or prevent anal cancer," Saslow says.
But "some people are looking at what causes anal cancer and
focusing on human papillomavirus (HPV) infections," she says. A
sexually transmitted infection, HPV has also been linked to
cervical cancer. This summer, the FDA approved a vaccine against
the virus. . . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Ryan O'Neal Hopes To
Nurse Farrah Fawcett Back To Health Starpulse.com, Oct 10, 2006
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- Anchor's comments anger gays,
lesbians San Francisco Chronicle, By Wyatt Buchanan, October 12,
2006
. . . . Pete
Wilson, the anchor of ABC's local evening news and host of a radio
show on KGO 810 AM, criticized Supervisor Bevan Dufty and his
friend Rebecca Goldfader, who are sharing a home and co-parenting a
newborn, during a radio broadcast Tuesday. Their daughter, Sidney,
was born last week. Wilson, who said he supports same-sex marriage
and lesbian and gay couples raising children, referred to her as an
"experiment" because they're not in a romantic relationship. . . .
. Later in his show, Wilson said, "At some point there is a limit
to how far we stretch the self-indulgent search for the alternative
that we have been involved in the last 30 or 40 years in this
country." . . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Redefining
Parenthood Edmonton Sun, By Mindelle Jacobs, Oct 2, 2006
RELATED ARTICLE: The New Revolution in Parenthood: DOES
BIOLOGY MATTER?
UExpress.com, By
Maggie Gallagher, September 26, 2006
RELATED ARTICLE: The Revolution in Parenthood:
The Emerging Global Clash Between Adult Rights and Children's
Needs AmericanValues.org
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- Bucking the
norm, some families think big
Could 4, 5, even 6 kids become suburbia's new status
symbol? MSNBC- AP, Oct 11, 2006
. . . . It’s barely a blip on the nation’s demographic
radar — 11 percent of U.S. births in 2004 were to women who already
had three children, up from 10 percent in 1995. But there seems to
be a growing openness to having more than two children, in some
case more than four. The reasons are diverse — from religious to,
as Bennett reasons, “Why not?” The families involved cut
across economic lines, though a sizable part of the increase is
attributed to a baby boom in affluent suburbs, with more upper-
middle-class couples deciding that a three- or four- child
household can be both affordable and fun. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Sorry,
but my children bore me to death!
The Daily Mail, By HELEN KIRWAN-TAYLOR, July
26, 2006
RELATED ARTICLE: Myth of the
opt-out mom Christian
Science Monitor, By Stephanie Cooontz, Thursday March 30,
2006
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- Parenting &
Health Issues: McDonald's didn't make them
fat TownHall.com, By John
Stossel, October 11, 2006
I have a question for federal Judge Robert Sweet: If
your own children blamed McDonald's for making them fat, would you
buy it? I don't think so. Yet the judge has given the green
light to a lawsuit against McDonald's by two teenaged girls who
claim the popular fast-food chain tricked them into eating food
that made them fat and sick. At first it looked as if this lawsuit
was going to be pushed down the garbage disposal, but now it's
back. What's going on? . . . . Whatever happened
to self-responsibility?
RELATED ARTICLE: So, What Really Is In a McDonald's Chicken
McNugget? Al Nye The Lawyer Guy Blog, March 22,
2007
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- ‘Runaway bride’ Jennifer Wilbanks suing former
fiance USA
Today- AP, Oct 10, 2006
— Jennifer
Wilbanks, who became known as the "runaway bride" after taking off
just days before her lavish wedding in 2005, is suing her former
fiance for $500,000. Wilbanks and John Mason broke up for good in
May, about a year after her excursion to Las Vegas and New Mexico
made international headlines while hundreds of friends and family
members searched for her back home in suburban Atlanta. Mason has
until Oct. 22 to respond to the lawsuit, filed last month in
Gwinnett County's Superior Court. . . . .
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- Cohabitation laws dwell
Washington Times, By Cheryl Wetzstein,
October 10, 2006
Decades ago, it was
illegal in every state for adult lovers to live together without
being married. Today, just seven states still criminalize
cohabitation and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is eager
to reduce that number to zero. . . . In 2005, the U.S.
Census Bureau reported 4.85 million cohabiting couples, up more
than 1,000 percent from 1960, when there were 439,000 such
couples. A 2000 study found that more than half of newlyweds
lived together, at least briefly, before walking down the aisle.
Many young people now view cohabiting as normal and prudent -- "a
useful way 'to find out whether you really get along,'?" Barbara
Dafoe Whitehead and David Popenoe wrote in their 2006 "State of Our
Unions" report for the National Marriage Project at Rutgers
University. . . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: 'Cohabitation is replacing
dating' USA TODAY, By Sharon Jayson July 17, 2005
RELATED STUDY: The State of Our Unions: The Social Health of
Marriage in America 2006 National Marriage Project-Rutgers University, By Barbara
Dafoe Whitehead & David Popenoe
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- Episcopal Diocese may quit marriages Same-sex debate drives
Mass. plan Boston Globe, By Michael Paulson, October 8, 2006
In a novel approach
to the tensions that have accompanied the same-sex marriage debate
in many religious denominations, the Episcopal Diocese of
Massachusetts this month will consider getting out of the marriage
business. . . . The approach, radical for the United States, is
commonly practiced in Europe. The Episcopal Diocese of
Massachusetts, which covers the eastern part of the state, has
scheduled a vote in three weeks , at its 221st annual convention. .
. .
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
- R.I. Lesbians Win Right to Wed in
Mass. The New York Times (Free Subscription)- AP, October
8, 2006
-- A lesbian couple from Rhode Island
who won the right to marry in Massachusetts held their ceremony
Sunday. After being denied a marriage license in
Massachusetts, Wendy Becker and Mary Norton challenged a 1913 state
law that prohibits out-of-state residents from marrying if the
union would not be permitted in their home state. They argued
that same-sex marriage was not specifically banned in Rhode Island.
Superior Court Judge Thomas Connolly agreed last month, saying he
saw no evidence of a ''constitutional amendment, statute, or
controlling appellate decision'' making same-sex marriage illegal
in Rhode Island. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Rhode Island Same-Sex Couples Now Can Marry In
Massachusetts-- But Will Rhode Island Recognize Their
Unions? FindLaw.com, By Joanna Grossman, Oct 3,
2006
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- Is Marriage worth it?
Married life and singledom both have their share of
sexual and financial pluses and
minuses Ottawa Sun-Canada,By Valerie Gibson, October 8,
2006
Single or married: Which is better? It's always been said that
single people want to be married while married folk long to be
single again. But is this true anymore? With so many singles of all
ages (over 7 million men and women in Canada between 20-65),
especially in the 40-plus range, (the biggest growing demographic
of singles), and the world more accepting of the single status than
ever before, is singledom no longer such a reluctant state? . . . .
.
- Is Marriage worth it? Part II
To be in love.To be rich. Or
both Ottawa Sun- Canada, By Linda Leatherdale, Oct 8,
2006
. . . . But it's a burning question for the unattached, who
lust for a relationship, and perhaps the comfort of two paycheques.
So, are you better off single? Or married? "Conventional wisdom
says you're better off married," says Bev Moir, senior investment
advisor at ScotiaMcLeod. "Two incomes are better than
one."
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RELATED
ARTICLE: Going to
the chapel
Sydney Morning Herald- Radar blog-
By Samantha Selinger-Morris, May 3, 2006
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- MARRIAGE MYTHS
Happily ever after isn't always as we dream The Birmingham News, By
Chandra Temple, October 08, 2006
Well before Roderick "DJ Rahdu" Moody and his wife,
Tamika, exchanged vows in March, they discussed raising children,
how they'd handle the finances, and who would do the cooking. Their
conversations continued on many other levels, and they believed
they were ready for whatever would come their way. Or so they
thought. Months into the marriage something started to change -
first it was Roderick's waist line and then Tamika's. . . .
"To me, marriage is the second most important decision of your
life. The first would be your relationship with Christ
...
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- Marriage rise bucks
national trend L.A. Daily News, BY TROY ANDERSON, Oct 7, 2006
. . . "I think we
all feel that urge in our hearts. Let's go back to tradition," Helm
said in describing why the couple chose to be married. "You know,
technology is fine, self-help is fine. All that stuff is fine, but
there is something missing. I think on all our parts we almost feel
a calling within us to go back to that tradition." As the
nationwide marriage rate has dropped nearly in half since 1970, the
two couples are part of what may be the country's first uptick in
marriages - in Los Angeles County of all places. As the
entertainment capital of the world - famous for the bed-hopping
antics of its Hollywood stars - the county trend has experts
scratching their heads. . . .
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- The Bachelor Rome: A Nice Princely Guy
Meets His Shrews RealityReel.com, By David W.
Taylor, Oct 6, 2006
So this prince, this Borghese, this importer of
Italy cosmetics, this handsome rich dandy, prefers the warblings of
The Rolling Stones, The Grateful Dead and Bon Jovi? He recoils from
"forward" women — so he says — and his mother calls him her
"special soul." Naturally, he's a pilot. He left Italy at two years
old but counts an eminence such as Pope Paul V as a distant
relative and benefactor. Your typical Bachelor. A Roman god no
less. . . Mr. Borghese was just too nice looking, too dapper, too
neatly wrapped to cause much fire. Consequently, in a selection of
online exit interviews, many of the jilted women from the premier
were slightly mocking of our prince. . . . I guess he's
hooker-curious or whatever... yet, alas, she was one of the few
that bellowed a loud whoop of approval, with arms raised, after
stepping away from their very first handshake. Obviously that's an
event seared into Lorenzo's brain. But this isn't someone you bring
home to mom and dad — mom and dad Borghese that is. .
.
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- Karrine Steffans May Not Be a Homewrecker, But She’s Anything
But Innocent BlackAmericaWeb.com,
By Gregory Kane, Oct 6, 2006
You’d figure, wouldn’t you, that not even Karrine Steffans
would want to be known as “the tramp who stole Whitney’s man.” But,
justified or not, that’s the word going around. . . . In an August
New York Daily News story, Steffans denied being the cause of the
break-up between Houston and Bobby Brown.“It’s really a tricky
situation,” she chirped. “He is my dearest friend. But I’m not
saying it’s romantic. We won’t know what it is till we’re ready.
There’s a wife and children involved. I don’t want to wreck any
marriages. But if a marriage is already wrecked, that’s not my
fault.” That sure wasn’t her position when she first got
involved with Brown. She gave the details in her book. Brown’s
being married didn’t stop her from having a sexual relationship
with him then. . . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Whitney
Houston Files For Separation From Bobby
Brown Access Hollywood- CA, Sept 13, 2006
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