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"MARRIAGE" In The News
(April 2007)

Enter Our Blog Spot

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

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

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  • Parenting Issues:  Young, Gifted, and Not Getting Into Harvard  New York Times, By Michael Winerip, April 29, 2007
    . . . . Over the last decade, I’ve done perhaps 40 of these interviews, which are conducted by alumni across the country. They’re my only remaining link to my alma mater; I’ve never been back to a reunion or a football game, and my total donations since graduating in the 1970s do not add up to four figures. No matter how glowing my recommendations, in all this time only one kid, a girl, got in, many years back. I do not tell this to the eager, well-groomed seniors who settle onto the couch in our den. They’re under too much pressure already. Better than anyone, they know the odds, particularly for a kid from a New York suburb. . . . Actually, meeting the soon-to-be rejected makes me hopeful about young people. They are far more accomplished than I was at their age and without a doubt will do superbly wherever they go. Knowing me and seeing them is like witnessing some major evolutionary change take place in just 35 years, from the Neanderthal Harvard applicant of 1970 to today’s fully evolved Homo sapiens applicant. . . .
Young, Gifted and Not Getting Into Harvard

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  • Desperado Housewife   New York Times, By Lisa Carver, April 29, 2007
    For me, getting married has always been like throwing up. I’ve done it as alone as possible, feeling sick, drastic and doomed. My first one was before a justice of the peace in Philadelphia. I was 19 years old, marrying a 35-year-old Frenchman. I wore my work apron from Kelly & Cohen’s diner. We did it between shifts. We did it for our twin, tremulous hearts that somehow reached through age, country and political differences to touch each other. . . . . Both my marriages were open. When I fooled around on No. 2 with someone else, I didn’t take off my wedding ring. I was vaguely dissatisfied with the arrangement, but I expected to be. Then one night, six years into our marriage, we were sitting on the couch and I told him how lonely I was. . . . Before all that happened, while I was still married, I was talking on the computer with a fellow across the country in even worse straits than I was about to fall into. (Yes, I know, I’m totally sleazy.) He was already divorced, he once spent five days in jail, his guitar was in hock and some guy wanted to kill him. . . .

  • N.Y. Governor Unveils Gay Marriage Bill  Washington Post, By MARC HUMBERT- AP, April 27, 2007
    -- Following through on a campaign pledge, Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer unveiled a bill Friday that would legalize gay marriage in New York _ a bill he has conceded has almost no chance of passing. Opposition from the Republican leader of the state Senate effectively blocks the legislation, which would make New York only the second state, after Massachusetts, to permit same-sex marriage. . . . Spitzer said Monday the time was right to press ahead with the gay-marriage bill, despite its slim chances in the Legislature.  "I do not think there is a realistic shot that it gets passed, but I will submit it because it's a statement of principle that I believe in and I want to begin that dynamic," he said. . . .
N.Y. Governor Unveils Gay Marriage Bill

RELATED ARTICLE:  N.H. Senate Approves Civil Unions: Governor Vows To Sign Bill Into Law  WNBC.com- NY, April 26, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: 
N.J. Approves Civil Unions For Gay Couples  WNBC.com- NY, December 21, 2006


Randall Tobias- A Senior Official Linked to Escort Service Resigns
  • Senior Official Linked to Escort Service Resigns  ABCNews.com- The Blotter, Brian Ross and Justin Rood Report, April 27, 2007 8:58 PM
    Deputy Secretary of State Randall L. Tobias submitted his resignation Friday, one day after confirming to ABC News that he had been a customer of a Washington, D.C. escort service whose owner has been charged by federal prosecutors with running a prostitution operation.  Tobias, 65, director of U.S. Foreign Assistance and administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), had previously served as the ambassador for the President's Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief. . . . On Thursday, Tobias told ABC News he had several times called the "Pamela Martin and Associates" escort service "to have gals come over to the condo to give me a massage."   Tobias, who is married, said there had been "no sex," and that recently he had been using another service "with Central Americans" to provide massages. . . . Palfrey maintains she ran a sexual fantasy business that was legal and that if any of the women who were working for her had sex, they did so in violation of her rules and without her knowledge. . . .

    RELATED ARTICLE:  Randall Tobias: Another GOP Hypocrite Bites the Dust   Huffington Post, By Roy Sekoff, April 28, 2007

  • Are Internet marriages more likely to end up in the delete bin?  ABC 12.com, By Lauren Moraski, April 26, 2007
    - An estimated 3 million U.S. Internet users have clicked their way to love, so says the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Some entered long-term relationships after linking up in cyberspace, and some even made their way down the aisle. But more than 10 years after the Internet transformed dating, one question remains: Are these couples living happily ever after, or are they more likely to meet with divorce lawyers? . . . . EHarmony.com now has a "relationship lab" that monitors certain couples for at least five years to see how the marriages are going. There's also an advisory board of sociologists, neurologists and human relationship experts who offer advice on all aspects of relationships. In 2006, it launched eHarmony Marriage, a separate Web site it calls an "online alternative to marriage counseling." Newlyweds can take part in a 12-session marriage program created by a team of in-house psychologists. . . . .

    RELATED ARTICLE:   The Disastrous Effects of Match.com and What Women Can Do About It  WASHINGTON POST, January 28, 2007

    RELATED ARTICLE:  The REAL SECRET To Online Dating  AmericanChronicle.com- By Stacée L. Hardiman, May 8, 2006

  • 'Family values' won't get help from immigration
    Study: Out-of-wedlock births among Hispanics rise from 19% to 42%
       WorldNetDaily, By Jerome R. Corsi, April 24, 2007 

    The high rate of illegitimate births to immigrants is a warning to American leaders not to expect help building family values from such newcomers, according to a new study released today by the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C. Hispanic immigrants have seen the largest increase in out-of-wedlock births, from 19 percent in 1980 to 42 percent in 2003, according to the study entitled "Illegitimate Nation," authored by Dr. Steven A. Camarota, Director of Research at CIS.  Camarota notes that illegitimate births in the native population have increased as well, from 19 percent in 1980 to 35 percent in 2003. For immigrants overall, both legal and illegal, out-of-wedlock birth rates have been comparable to illegitimate birth rates among the native population, increasing from 13 percent in 1980 for immigrants (both legal and illegal) to 32 percent in 2003. The higher rate of illegitimate births among Hispanic immigrants is important, Camarota notes, because births to Hispanic mothers now account for 59 percent of all births to foreign-born mothers. . . . Keying from this claim, a major goal of Camarota's study was to answer the following question: "Is one of the benefits of immigration that it will infuse the country with traditional family values?" After reviewing the high rate of illegitimate births, especially among Hispanic immigrants, his answer was a resounding, "No." His conclusion was that illegitimate births to immigrants will add to a growing societal problem. . . .
'Family values' won't get help from immigration

RELATED ARTICLE & REPORT: Illegitimate Nation: An Examination of Out-of-Wedlock Births Among Immigrants and Natives  Center for Immigration Studies, By Steven A. Camarota, May 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  ACLU sues official over license denial
Register of wills won’t give license for illegal immigrant to marry area woman.
  TimesLeader.com, By TERRIE MORGAN-BESECKER, April 19, 2007 


  • Our Marital Future: One Democrat gets it.  NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE, By Robert P. George & Ryan T. Anderson, April 23, 2007
    David Blankenhorn's new book, The Future of Marriage, explodes the widely promoted myth that redefining marriage to include same-sex partnerships would be a harmless innovation.  Blankenhorn, the Harvard-educated author of Fatherless America and founder of The Institute for American Values, unabashedly describes himself as a "marriage nut." Long before the issue of same-sex "marriage" rose to national prominence, he was a founder of the "Marriage Movement" - a campaign to lower divorce rates, decrease out-of-wedlock child-bearing, and provide as many children as possible with the care and protection of their mother and father. As Blankenhorn knows, these problems preceded the push for legal recognition of same-sex unions. His concern is - and always has been - to strengthen marriage. Homosexuality and "gay" relationships were not among Blankenhorn's concerns - which is why he recoils from charges of "prejudice" or even "conservatism." Having grown up in Mississippi during Martin Luther King's leadership of the civil rights movement, Blankenhorn is "a lifelong Democrat," thinks of himself "essentially as a liberal," and cannot stand "to be viewed as a bigot." He affirms that "the principle of equal human dignity must apply to gay and lesbian persons," but insists that the institution of marriage is not the vehicle for advancing gay-rights, for marriage is not "fundamentally about the rights of adults." "Marriage is fundamentally about the needs of children.". . . . . Drawing from the resources of evolutionary biology, psychology, history, anthropology, and sociology, Blankenhorn defends the thesis that marriage is a natural institution present in all (or nearly all) human societies. He shows that marriage is not just a private emotional bond between lovers, or a mere religious affair, but rather a natural and profoundly public institution. . . . .


  • McGreevey Dirty Laundry Hung Out to Dry  Towleroad.com, April 23, 2007
    The New York papers have begun having their field day with the McGreevey divorce and the forthcoming release of Dina Matos-McGreevey's tell-all Silent Partner: A Memoir of My Marriage.  When last we heard from either camp in the McGreevey divorce, Jim McGreevey had laid down new demands in the bitter divorce and custody battle between Matos-McGreevey and the former New Jersey governor over their daughter Jacqueline. One of the new revelations that came to light at the begining of April was Matos-McGreevey's demand that a nude photograph hanging in the home of McGreevey and his partner Mark O'Donnell be taken down. . . .  . . Matos-McGreevey also speaks of that day when her husband stood before news reporters and shocked them with the statement "I am a gay American. McGreevey reportedly told her before the news conference: "You have to pull yourself together. You have to be Jackie Kennedy today...You have to smile. And if reporters ask you why you're here, you should tell them, 'I'm here because he's my husband and I love him.' And if the reporters ask you what you think of gay marriage, you should say, 'I'm sensitive to the issue.' Make sure you smile a little more when I ask for forgiveness and thank you for bringing joy to my life.". . . .
McGreevy dirty laundry hung out to dry

RELATED ARTICLE:  McGreevey is no role model:  The former N.J. governor is damaging the cause of advancing gay rights.  Washington Blade, By James Kirchick, May 18, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:
 McG'S GAY POSTER BOY  NY Post.com, By Elizabeth Wolff, April 22, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: 
My 'marriage' to Gov. McSleazy! He was great in sack & a great liar, McGreevey's ex writes  NY Daily News.com, By TRACY CONNOR, April 22, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: 
COMING OUT - IS IT GETTING EASIER?   NY Post.com, By GINA ZUCKER, January 17, 2007


  • Washington governor signs domestic partnership bill into law  JURIST- Paper Chase, By Melissa C. Bancroft, April 22, 2007
    Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire signed legislation Saturday recognizing domestic partnership status for same-sex couples. The law [PDF text] guarantees gay and lesbian couples some of the legal rights that previously were afforded only to husband and wife. To be considered a legally recognizable domestic partnership, couples must be over the age of 18, live together and not be in a domestic relationship with anyone else. The legislation also introduces a state wide domestic partnership registry and affords same-sex couples hospital visitation rights, inheritance rights, and the ability to authorize medical decisions for their partner. The registry will also include heterosexual couples with one partner over the age of 62. Many of these couples have been hesitant to marry because of the repercussions for their pension or social security benefits. . . . The bill is the latest step in Washington's pioneering stance on gay civil rights which includes a revision of the state's Civil Rights Act to include the phrase "sexual orientation" among the classes of people protected from discrimination in housing, lending, and employment. . . . .

    RELATED ARTICLE:  Washington gay civil rights law takes effect   JURIST- Paper Chase, By Joshua Pantesco, June 7, 2006

    RELATED ARTICLE:  Gay "Marriage"  Townhall.com, By Thomas Sowell, August 15, 2006

    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

Marriage Proposals: Creative Ways to Pop the Question
  • Marriage Proposals: Creative Ways to Pop the Question  American Chronicle, By Gerry Restrivera, April 23, 2007
    Is it the right time to ask your special someone The Question? Whether standing on two feet or on bended knees, making your marriage proposal can be a very scary and exciting event. And you'd want to get it right, too. About 60% of engaged people say their proposal could have been better. If the hopeless romantic in you wants the perfect pitch, here are some creative ways to pop the question:  . . . . . Whatever creative ways to pop the question you decide to use, remember that a lot of things rely on planning and timing. Focus the entire proposal event on your story and include things, places and events that are unique to your relationship. Be creative, have fun and if everything goes right, there's a huge chance you'll get a 'yes'.  Marriage proposals don't have to cost a fortune. In fact, the best ones usually don't. If you are thinking of getting engaged, you probably want to do it right. You want it to be amazingly special. Something she or he will want to share with everyone. Do you really want to know how to create a marriage proposal that will blow her (or him) away? Find out more . . . . . .

    RELATED SITE:  Marriage Proposal Stories & Ideas: How to create a marriage proposal that will blow her (or him) away

RELATED ARTICLE: Goodbye bended knee: The modern marriage proposal must be a public spectacle  MercuryNews.com, By Nara Schoenberg-Chicago Tribune, February 1, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Marriage proposal could be dying out  Yorkshire Post Today, UK -By Grace Hammond, July 24, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE:  A proposal to remember  Rome News- GA, By Diane Wagner, July 22, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE:  Real Proposal, But Bent Knee Was Virtual  New York Times, By Michael Cooper, April 16, 1998


  • After 40 years, still an engaged couple  The Charleston Gazette, By Rosalie Earle, April 22, 2007
    For a man whose mind is filled with all sorts of baseball trivia, perhaps it’s not surprising he vividly remembers his first date with his wife of 40 years. And maybe that’s why their marriage has lasted 40 years. “It was instant,” U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller said of his falling for Sharon Percy. . . . About 1,200 guests attended their 1967 wedding in the Rockefeller Memorial Chapel on the University of Chicago campus, and a crowd of about 2,000 watched from the lawn. In a Life magazine story on the affair, Sharon is described as “cute as a pearl button” and Jay as having “a Jimmy Stewart grin and hunched up amble.” That’s a bit better than a Good Housekeeping article 18 months later. The writer refers to Jay’s “rumpled as an old bathrobe appearance” and “his sheep-dog congeniality.”. . . . But Jay cited the importance of couples having their professional lives when asked what makes a successful marriage. “You have to love the person you’re married to and you have to respect them. It really works out well if each has a professional life that you love ... We love each other deeply and both of us are doing something we really enjoy.”. . . He described his wife as highly disciplined and extremely focused. For that reason, he knew that they would celebrate their 40th anniversary despite her diagnosis of cancer two years ago. . . . .

    RELATED ARTICLE:  Sense of purpose made marriage stronger   The Charleston Gazette, By Rosalie Earle, April 22, 2007
Jay & Sharon Rockefeller celebrate 40 years of marriage.

  • Value intimacy in a marriage  Press Enterprise.com, By Mitchell Rosen, April 21, 2007
    I remember when my daughter was close to 15; my wife and I had a discussion about whether or not to let her subscribe to CosmoGirl. I was OK with Seventeen magazine but had major reservations about the appropriateness (a therapist's word, no doubt) of a younger version of Cosmopolitan for my teenage daughter. I looked through a few copies of CosmoGirl and saw that it was fairly tame, at least compared with its mother ship. We went ahead and made the decision to let her have a subscription. Now my daughter is an adult and I still have mixed feelings about whether or not I want her reading Cosmopolitan. This month's lead article is entitled, "10 things guys crave in bed.". . . .

  • How to Find a Marriage Counselor Hitchedmag.com, BY FRANCINE KIZNER
    Don’t just drop in on the first shrink in the Yellow Pages. Follow these six tips for finding someone right for the two of you. . . . Marriage counseling… ugh. It’s the last thing you want to go through. But sometimes it’s just what your relationship needs, and it’s important you find the right one. We’ve done the grunt work by consulting some experts who’ve given us six tips to help you find your marriage-counselor match.

1. Use your intuition. " . . . . 4. Don’t go to a divorce therapist. . . . .

RELATED RESOURCES: Marriage Friendly Therapists
                                  Smart Marriages
                                  Psychology Today
                                  American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists


Abhishek Bachchan arrives on a white horse to claim his princess, Aishwarya Rai
  • India celebrates Bollywood wedding of the century   International Herald Tribune- AP, France, April 20, 2007
    Astrologers were consulted, the gods gave their blessings, the white stallion was ready and delirious fans milled around the marigold-bedecked home. The stage was set for Bollywood's "wedding of the century." Film-crazy India held its breath Friday as two of its biggest stars, the emerald-eyed former Miss World Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan, a romantic hero and son of an Indian cinema legend, celebrated their wedding. The affair, hyped by Indian media as "the wedding of the century," was filled with the melodrama so beloved in Bollywood, India's flamboyant Hindi film industry: secrecy, dance routines and even a suicidal fan who claimed to be the groom's jilted lover. . . .

    RELATED PICTURES: 
    The Wedding in Pictures: India's Big Wedding  BBC News- UK, April 20, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Bollywood celebrates star wedding  BBC News- UK, April 20, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Marriage - a bad Bollywood career move?  BBC News- Mumbai, By Monica Chadha, April 20, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Abhiash worth Rs 700 crores!  SantaBanta.com, April 23,2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Drama ahead of wedding- Young actor attempts suicide    The Hindu- India, April 21, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Model claims she is Abhishek's wife, attempts suicide  Rediff- India, By Syed Firdaus Ashraf, April 20, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Jhanvi's mother says she knew of Abhishek Rediff- India, By Mukhtar Ahmad, April 20, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Couples ready to share AbAsh luck - Most auspicious dates in the year, Akshya Tritiya ushers in wedding rush  The Telegraph- India, April 20, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  7/7/7 IS THE DATE TO WED THIS YEAR  UK Express- UK, By Emma Bamford, April 7, 2007


  • Testimony of preacher's wife helped her, lawyers say  CNN.com- AP, April 20, 2007
    -- During the 10 years she was married to a handsome young preacher, Mary Winkler said she never told anyone about the bruises and the sexual humiliation she endured. But the preacher's wife accused of killing her husband took the witness stand this week and dredged up every embarrassing detail, talking about the abuse in front of TV cameras and family members. That risky decision to testify, her lawyers said, had a powerful effect on the jury and probably explains why Winkler will not spend the rest of her life in prison. . .  Matthew Winkler, a 31-year-old preacher at the Fourth Street Church of Christ, was found in the church parsonage fatally shot in his back in March 2006. One day later, his wife was arrested on the Alabama coast, driving the family minivan with their three young daughters. . . .
Mary Winkler- Preacher's wife convicted of voluntary manslaughter in husband's death

RELATED ARTICLE:  Preacher's wife: 'My ugly came out'   CNN.com, April 19, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Agent: Preacher's wife apologized to dying husband  CNN.com, By Ann O'Neill, October 3, 2006


Alec Baldwin makes the wrong call: Actor berates daughter in voice mail leaked to Web
  • Alec Baldwin's Threatening Message to Daughter  TMZ.com, Posted April 20th 2007
    An enraged Alec Baldwin unleashed a volcanic tirade of threats and insults on his 11-year-old daughter, Ireland, calling her a "thoughtless little pig," and bashing her mother Kim Basinger -- and TMZ has obtained the whole thing unfiltered and raw. And we've learned, a family law judge was so alarmed after hearing the tape, she has temporarily barred Baldwin from having any contact with his child. . . . UPDATE: Alec Baldwin's spokesperson released the following statement to the TV show "EXTRA": "In the best interest of the child, Alec will do what the mother is pathologically incapable of doing ... keeping his mouth shut and obeying the court order. The mother and her lawyer leaked this sealed material in violation of a court order. Although Alec acknowledges that he should have used different language in parenting his child, everyone who knows him privately knows what he has been put through for the past six years.". . . .

RELATED VIDEO:  A Father's Fury  MSN-TODAY, April 20, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Voicemail Rant Reheats Alec-Kim Feud  ABC News-AP, April 19, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  After Leak of Voicemail Rant, Alec Baldwin Explains Himself on His Web Site  ABC News, By Sandy Cohen, April 21, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Basinger and Baldwin in New Legal Battle  SoFeminine.co.uk, June 2, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: 
Basinger- Baldwin Battle Continues  People magazine- By Ken Lee, Oct 31, 2005 



High court backs ban on disputed abortion method
  • High court backs ban on disputed abortion method  The Los Angeles Times, By David G. Savage, April 19, 2007
     The ruling marks first time justices uphold such a limit and opens door for more. Majority finds government has substantial interest in "preserving and promoting fetal life.". . . . The Supreme Court changed course on abortion Wednesday, upholding a national ban on a midterm method of ending pregnancies. The decision clears the way for states to pass new laws designed to discourage women from having abortions. In a 5-4 ruling applauded by antiabortion forces, the court said the "government has a legitimate and substantial interest in preserving and promoting fetal life." In 2000, the court, also by a 5-4 margin, struck down a nearly identical state law on the grounds that it could force some women to undergo riskier surgery during the fourth or fifth month of pregnancy. But the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor in 2005 and President Bush's appointment of Samuel A. Alito Jr. to succeed her tipped the balance the other way. It was the first time the court upheld a ban on an abortion procedure. . . .

Enter Our Blog Spot!RELATED ARTICLE:  Abortion: An "inconvenient truth" within Marriage  The Real Proposal magazine, January 26, 2008

RELATED ARTICLE:  A Sane Decision: The restoration in Gonzales v. Carhart.  National Review Online, By Walter M. Weber, April 20, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Women's health again held hostage to men's ideology  San Jose Mercury News- CA, By Ellem Goodman, April 20, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  One in 30 aborted foetuses lives: One in 30 foetuses aborted for medical reasons is born alive, a 10-year study at 20 UK hospitals has found  BBC News- Uk, April 20, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Abortion ruling leaves physicians uncertain: Doctors don't know exactly what will qualify as an illegal procedure  Houston Chronicle, By Karen Kaplan- LA Times, April 19, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  The SLED Test – Four Top Arguments  Heartlink.org, By Steve Wagner
We all agree that toddlers are valuable human beings with rights. Yet the unborn differ from toddlers in only four ways, and the first letters of each of these differences spell an easy-to-remember acronym, SLED (Size, Level of Development, Environment, Degree of Dependency).

RELATED SITE:
 
THE CASE FOR LIFE: Like You Have Never Heard It Before
Only One Issue: The abortion controversy is not a debate between those who are pro-choice and those who are anti-choice. It’s not about privacy or trusting women. To the contrary, the debate turns on one key question. What is the Unborn?

RELATED ARTICLE:
 
What Do You Know About Roe v. Wade?  Family.org, By Shana Schutte
Like many Americans, you know Roe v. Wade legalized abortion, but you may know little else

RELATED SITE: 
Abort73.com: The Case Against Abortion

RELATED VIDEO:  This is Abortion  RATED: MA (Mature Audiences Only)
WARNING: Contains graphic post-abortion pictures. Be Warned! The Visual Evidence is Disturbing.


  • ACLU sues official over license denial
    Register of wills won’t give license for illegal immigrant to marry area woman.
      TimesLeader.com, By TERRIE MORGAN-BESECKER, April 19, 2007 
    – The American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday filed a federal lawsuit against Luzerne County Register of Wills Dorothy Stankovic for refusing to accept a marriage application of an illegal immigrant who wishes to marry a legal resident of the United States. The suit, filed on behalf of Heather Buck and Jose Guadelupe Arias-Maravilla of West Hazleton, says Stankovic’s policy requires applicants to prove they are legal residents before she will issue a marriage license. The ACLU maintains that policy is not based on any state statute and violates the U.S. and Pennsylvania constitutions. The suit could potentially have statewide impact as other counties are believed to have similar policies, said lawyer Mary Catherine Roper of the ACLU in Philadelphia, the lead attorney in the case. . . . According to the suit filed in federal court in Scranton, Arias-Maravilla, a citizen of Mexico, has admitted he is in the United States illegally and has agreed to be deported by May 12. He and Buck, who is a legal resident, have been living together since October 2005. They have a son, who was born in December. The couple were making arrangements for their marriage when Arias-Maravilla was taken into custody in January. . . .
ACLU has sued over the denial of a marriage license to illegal Mexican alien, Arias Maravilla

RELATED ARTICLE:  Illegal alien denied marriage license (no duh)…SURPRISE!…ACLU sues  Stop the ACLU, PA, By Glib Fortuna, April 18, 2007


  • Marriage commitment produces fruit after suffering  Catholic Explorer, By ANN PIASECKI, April 19, 2007
    —Beyond the bridal gown and tuxedos, the church and reception, the flowers and honeymoon remains the reality of a marriage commitment. The blessing at the altar is an outward sign of hope that stress diminishes unless the doors of communication remain open. The truth is if insensitivity, disrespect, selfishness, addictions or infidelity are allowed to spread, the roots of commitment choke and eventually dwindle away.  In today’s society, the preponderance of overworked, overscheduled, overstressed family situations takes a toll on a marriage. In an effort to battle against that statistic, marriage promoters around the globe have adopted a program that has proven successful in the majority of cases. Since 1977, a program named Retrouvaille, which means “rediscovery,” made its debut in Quebec, Canada. A variety of elements integral to the program, including an initial three-day weekend commitment to marriage along with six to 12 post-weekend sessions, are coordinated within a faith-based environment to first identify and then target the problems that plague individual families. The program challenges the trend toward divorce, which has become a sad alternative among couples in countries around the globe. . . . .

    RELATED ARTICLE: How to save a marriage: Read an excerpt from talk show host and marriage counselor Dr. Laura Schlessinger's new book, “The Proper Care and Feeding of Marriage”   Today Show- MSNBC.com, January 3, 2007


Britain's Prince William & Kate Middleton announced their split recently.
  • Live in sin and pay the price  Brisbane Times- Austrailia, By Miranda Devine, April 19, 2007
    Poor Kate Middleton, dumped by the second in line to the British throne then displayed humiliatingly to the world as Prince William's "practice chick", the mere recipient of some of his wild oats. But judging by the astonishing Pommy snobbery unleashed in the week since the break-up of her almost five-year relationship, Middleton, 25, is well off out of it. . . .  Of course, there is goodwill and sympathy for William in Australia, mainly because of the tragic end of his mother, Princess Diana. And it is silly for the British press to chastise him for doing what practically every other man his age does - extending his promiscuous bachelor days as long as possible.  Still, as the British TV agony aunt Denise Robertson wrote this week of the break-up: "There are undertones of 'droit du seigneur' - a maiden dishonoured and then discarded." It is an old-fashioned concept, but Middleton's fate is a salutary lesson for young women contemplating shacking up with the love of their lives rather than holding out for a firm commitment. . . . But the idea of "try before you buy" gives all the advantages to men, who get the benefits of marriage with none of the responsibilities. They get sex on tap, domesticity, companionship, and probably nutritional and hygiene improvements. They can test-drive the merchandise for as long as they like. But for women, the immovable biological fact of declining fertility means the deal is inevitably unfair. . . .

RELATED ARTICLE:  The art of etiquette   Belfast Telegraph, By Andy McSmith, April 17, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Wills and Kate Split  The Sun, By DUNCAN LARCOMBE- Royal Correspondent, April 14, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Perils of 'living in sin'   Edmonton Sun, By Jennifer Parks, Aug 5, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE:  Calling off the Wedding - How to Survive a Broken Engagement   American Chronicle, By Cori Russell, December 1, 2006


RELATED ARTICLE:  The Marrying Kind: Which Men Marry and Why The National Marriage Project- The State of Our Unions 2004,  By Barbara Dafoe Whitehead and David Popenoe

RELATED ARTICLE:  Ten Important Research Findings on Marriage and Choosing A Marriage Partner: Helpful Facts for Young Adults  The National Marriage Project- Rutgers University, By David Popenoe and Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, November 2004



  • Why men and women have nothing in common (except sex)  The Daily Mail, By NIRPAL DHALIWAL, April 18, 2007
    . . . . . Her companion gazed empathetically into her face from across the table, listening intently as he stroked her hand to comfort her. He was paying her the sort of devoted, patient attention that only a man in desperate want of sex can manage. Any other guy would surely have found her blathering unbearable. From the tension in his jaw and the way his eyes narrowed as his hand slid ever upwards along her bare arm, it was obvious there was only one thing on his mind. And he was prepared to listen to two hours of her garbage in the hope that he would get it. In their idiotic way the couple exemplified a fundamental truth about men and women. We exist in two different time zones. Men want to be happy right now, today, preferably in the company of a beautiful woman. Tomorrow can wait. Women, on the other hand, are constantly concerned with the future, and with their prospects financially, emotionally and sexually. . . . . I remember when I proposed to my wife. We were lying in our hotel bed, on holiday in Thailand. We'd been living together for six months and my wife was now pestering me to find out where our relationship was 'going'. I had no idea where we were 'going', and it was late and I was tired. I told her that if we were still together in a year's time I'd marry her. Then I went to sleep. Romantic, huh? . . . . .
Women and men have nothing in common (except sex)?


Anna Nicole Smith's baby, Dannielynn, makes her magazine debut in OK magazine with father, Larry Birkhead
  • Anna Nicole's £250million baby  The Daily Mail- UK, By Barry Wigmore, April 18, 2007
    She looks just like her daddy, underlining what DNA evidence has already revealed. As the late Anna Nicole Smith's seven-month-old daughter, Dannielynn, makes her magazine debut, the likeness between her and her father, photographer Larry Birkhead, is undeniable. Now, as this picture taken in the Bahamas shows, Mr Birkhead, 34, is getting to know the daughter he fought for through three courts. . . . Now he and Mr Stern have put aside their differences. He told OK magazine: 'People blame Howard a lot, but Anna had her own mind too. I'm thankful that everyone gets along now for Dannielynn. 'It seems unlikely but he's been a great help. He's been with Dannielynn the last several months. He knows her likes and dislikes and things that could help me. 'He gives me credit when I'm doing good things and gives me tips on things I should do a little different.' . . . .

RELATED ARTICLE:  Bi-sexual Rumors For Paternity Winner Larry Birkhead? Enough Already!  GlossLip.com, April 18, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Virgie Has Son with Her Stepbrother  TMZ.com, April 19, 2007


  • Marriage is a train ride away  News24- South Africa, April 18, 2007
     - In a hurry to get hitched? How about boarding the "wedding train" being offered by a Saint Petersburg rail company to start your married life? The rail project was unveiled by the Oktyabrskaya railway company at a ceremony in Russia's romantic former capital Saint Petersburg on Wednesday. "Newly weds will have the chance to marry, celebrate their wedding, and go on honeymoon on their own wedding train," the company said in a press release. . . .

  • The ultimate betrayal: I cheated on my wife as she battled cancer  The Daily Mail- UK, By NATALIE CLARKE, April 18, 2007
    He did the unthinkable — betraying his wife with a string of affairs as she lay dying of cancer. Now he's written a controversial bestseller about it. Brutal callous monster? You decide. . . . . How does a man help his young wife reclaim her dignity when she is suffering from cancer? What can he do when she loses a breast to the disease, when her once beautiful face is ravaged by the effects of chemotherapy, when her long blonde hair falls out in clumps in her hand? How can he make her feel womanly again when the disease has struck at the very core of her femininity? Ray Kluun was placed in this heartbreaking situation when his wife, Judith, developed breast cancer at the age of 34. So what did he do? His response was not what you might imagine. . . . . Could there be a more shameful betrayal? Ray attempts to give his callous actions a sheen of respectability by examining the subconscious motives - as though there was anything more than a desire for meaningless sex. He believes he was seeking to withdraw from his wife because he could not bear the thought of her dying. . . . .
Raymond Kluun did the unthinkable-- he betrayed his wife with a string of affairs as she lay dying of cancer. He is pictured here with his new wife, Natalie.

RELATED ARTICLE:  Revolution in cancer treatment: Scientists discover technique for pain-free, highly effective chemotherapy - the latest milestone in a miraculous medical journey   The Telegraph, By Steve Connor, April 12, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Working With Cancer  Forbes.com, By Tara Weiss, April 11, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Exclusive: John And Elizabeth Edwards-- Edwards Open About Cancer, Unconditional About Couple's Decision On Presidential Run   CBS NEWS- 60 Minutes, March 25, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  How to Live with Cancer  TIME magazine, By CLAUDIA WALLIS AND ALICE PARK, March 29, 2007


  • The 9-To-5 Marriage   Forbes.com, By Tara Weiss, April 17, 2007
    With all the heat World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz has been taking over his girlfriend's career path, he might be forgiven for thinking "why bother?". Sometimes it just makes more sense to have a purely platonic girlfriend or boyfriend at the office--a "work spouse," if you will.  With a work spouse, you know each other's favorite food; gripe about co-workers; confide about personal issues; and support each other during good and bad times. The main difference? There's no canoodling. Yet with reports turning up more and more regularly showing that work pressure is making real married couples too tired for sex anyway, maybe there isn't that much of a difference. With a 9-to-5 marriage, a "couple" gets support without the hassle of a romantic entanglement. After all, with the amount of time we spend at work it's not unusual to become close--if not intimate--with our colleagues. . . . .The term office spouse has become so prevalent it made its way into a poll last year on attitudes in the American workplace. Of 750 respondents, 17% said yes, they had a workplace spouse, according to the Harris Interactive poll. Marital status didn't seem to matter. Singles and married folks reported to having an office spouse at the same rate. Marriage--even a faux one--can be stressful, and the potential fallout from a breakup of an office marriage might be just as great as in real life. . .
Marriage--even a faux 9 to 5 one--can be stressful

RELATED ARTICLE: Wolfowitz defiant as world criticism grows  The Telegraph- UK, By Matthew Moore and Alex Spillius in Washington, April 17, 2007


Love, Marriage, and the Baby Carriage: Revisiting the channelling function of Family Law
  • Love, Marriage, and the Baby Carriage: Revisiting the Channelling Function of Family Law  Social Science Research Network, By Linda C. McClain, Hofstra University School of Law, CARDOZO LAW REVIEW, Vol. 28, No. 101, 2007
    This Article revisits a significant idea at the core of contemporary debates in family law: the channelling function of family law. This idea is that a basic purpose of family law is to support fundamental social institutions, like marriage and parenthood, and to steer people into participating in them. Family law scholar Carl Schneider helpfully invited attention to this familiar idea in an essay published fifteen years ago. Challenges to the conventional sequence (expressed in the childhood rhyme) of love-marriage-baby carriage posed by changing social practices, rights claims made by various groups within society that lead to legislative change and judicial rulings, by technological developments in the area of reproduction, and by changes in family law toward a more functional definition of family changes provide a valuable opportunity to revisit Schneider's notion of the channelling function of family law and, in particular, how it relates to other important functions of family law. . . .


  • Kisses from Richard Gere plunge Shilpa Shetty into India row  The Daily Mail, April16, 2007
    India's love affair with Shilpa Shetty has gone up in flames after a public embrace with Richard Gere. Crowds burned posters of the Celebrity Big Brother winner and the American actor in protest at their behaviour. TV news bulletins repeatedly showed Gere, 57, kissing the 31-year-old actress during an Aids awareness rally. Religious fundamentalists and Hindu nationalists consider any display of public affection taboo. It is all the worse when the pair in question are unmarried. And a further aggravating factor is that Gere is a non-Hindu foreigner. The pair had appeared at a press conference in New Delhi as part of a campaign to preach safe sex to truck drivers in India, the country with the world's largest proportion of HIV sufferers. . . .


    RELATED ARTICLE:  Jail threat for Liz and hubby as in-laws rage over their religious violations  The Daily Mail- UK, By CLEMMIE MOODIE, April 10, 2007
Celebrity Big Brother star Shilpa Shetty has been swept up in controversy again - this time after being kissed by Richard Gere.

Is it the end of Brad and Angelina?
  • Is it the end of Brad and Angelina?  The Daily Mail, By J. RANDY TARABORRELLI, April 16, 2007
    She wants it all - babies, fame, and to save the world. But what she definitely doesn't want is marriage. So - could it be true? Is Angelina getting ready to dump Brad? . . . . "So, how are things going with you and Angelina, anyway?" I ask. He smiles and replies: "Oh sure, like I'm going to talk to you about that." His attitude isn't surprising in view of reports that Angelina Jolie is thinking about ending it with him after just a couple of years of unwedded bliss. According to these stories, the actress recently left Brad to take care of their three adopted children, Maddox, five, Zahara, two, and Pax, three, and their own child, Shiloh, born barely a year ago, while she went to Chicago to work on a new movie called Wanted. This was just a week after she had adopted Pax and told a newspaper in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where he was adopted: "I will stay at home to help Pax adjust to his new life." . . . . . Only in January 2006, when Angelina was clearly pregnant, did she confirm she was carrying Pitt's child. But then came the problems. "It's been downhill from there for them," said one of the couple's intimates. "It was too much too soon, especially for Brad. They're bickering an awful lot these days. They're like an old married couple with kids - and they never even got married." According to Jim Cruse, who has known the actor for many years: "Brad always said he wanted a family. But you should be careful what you ask for. He got four kids in two years, all under the age of six. It's no picnic. . . . .

RELATED ARTICLE:  More New Moms Stay Home Even If It Causes Financial Pain   Wall Street Journal, By Sue Shellenbarger, December 1, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE:  Should You Stay Together For The Kids?  TIME magazine, By Walter Kirn, September 17, 2000

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

RELATED ARTICLE: Obvious but False: Common Views of Love and Courtship  Breakpoint.org, By Chuck Colson, August 08, 2005


  • Jada Pinkett-Smith would quit acting if it ever jeopardised her marriage  EOG.com, April 16, 2007
    Jada Pinkett-Smith would quit acting if it ever jeopardised her marriage.  The 'Reign Over Me' star and husband Will Smith are both successful actors, but she values her family above her career. Jada, 35, told Britain's Independent newspaper: "I'm very aware how busy careers can quickly lead to divorce, but I'm not going to let that happen to us. I will throw my career away before I let it break up our marriage. I made it clear to Will. I'd throw it away completely, which is what I'm doing to a certain extent." In her latest film, Jada plays a wife trapped in an unhappy marriage. She claims the role taught her how to make her own marriage stronger. . . . . .

  • Royal split sparks fevered speculation  The Age- Austrailia, April 16, 2007
    British Prime Minister Tony Blair urged people to leave Prince William and Kate Middleton alone amid feverish speculation today as to the reasons behind their shock split. Mr Blair said most of the stories written about the demise of their four-year relationship would be "complete nonsense," as British newspapers picked over the bones of their break-up, with conflicting accounts as to why they parted. The split between the prince, second in line to the throne, and his university sweetheart, was given blanket coverage in Britain's press. "I think, in respect of Prince William, they are a young couple. We have had the announcement, fine," Mr Blair told BBC television - though Clarence House, the royal residence which handles the prince's affairs, has refused to confirm or deny the break-up. "They should be left alone now without reams of stuff being written that I can assure you, from my experience of royal stories, most of which will be complete nonsense. "I think, now it has been announced, they should be allowed to get on with their lives.". . . . .
The end of the relationship between Prince William and longtime girlfriend Kate Middleton has sparked a media frenzy in Britain.

RELATED ARTICLE:  The art of etiquette   Belfast Telegraph, By Andy McSmith, April 17, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:
  The decision was made by William alone - but why did he take so long?  The Daily Mail- UK, By RICHARD KAY and GEOFFREY LEVY, April 16, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Wills and Kate Split  The Sun, By DUNCAN LARCOMBE- Royal Correspondent, April 14, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: 
Prince William and Kate 'split up'  The Daily Mail- UK, April 14, 2007


Tennis greats Andre Agassi and his wife Steffi Graf.
  • Graf needs stitches after Andre's miscue  Boston Globe- AP, April 15, 2007
    --Andre Agassi accidentally hit Steffi Graf in the face with his tennis racket, cutting his wife's lip, as the pair played a game while holding hands for a fundraiser following the U.S. Clay Court Championships finals on Sunday. . . . The couple was in town for Agassi's part in a reality show called 'The Big Give,' an upcoming Oprah Winfrey production. An auction raised at least $225,000 Sunday for a Houston-area elementary school chosen for the show. . . .


    RELATED ARTICLE:  Graf and Agassi Find Love Off the Court  ABC NEW Good Morning America, April 4, 2007

  • The 10 Commandments for Husbands  Townhall.com, By Doug Giles, April 14, 2007
    I hate to sound like some religious nut job here—but I really felt (sort of) for certain that God gave me, and me alone, the 10 Commandments for Husbands, last Wednesday while I was watching American Idol. “God inspired you to write this?” you say. Yep, God did. The way I’m almost certain it was maybe God speaking to me is that every time He speaks to me about something (and it’s pretty often), I begin to smell WD40, packing popcorn begins to fall from the ceiling of my trailer house, and then a voice begins speaking to me in English—but with an angry and commanding high-pitched Chinese accent. It’s quite an experience. Given all these divine attestations, who can doubt that what I have penned for you husbands is anything but inspired. Stand in awe, all ye husbands, because herewith are 10 things that thou must doeth . . . or I guess not doeth—actually, there’s both—to have a successful marriage.

    1. Thou shalt not demand that thy middle aged wife look like one of Hef’s 20-year old chicks. . . .


    RELATED ARTICLE: 
    How Wives Can Kill Their Marriage: The Final Straw  TownHall.com, By Doug Giles, April 7, 2007

    RELATED ARTICLE:  How Wives Can Kill Their Marriage: Part Two  TownHall.com, By Doug Giles, Saturday, March 31, 2007

    RELATED ARTICLE:  How Wives Can Kill Their Marriage: Part One  TownHall.com, By Doug Giles, March 24, 2007

  • Jordan Divorce Most Costly Ever: Forbes Forbes.com- AP, April 13, 2007
    Divorce has its price - and no celeb, it appears, knows that better than Michael Jordan.  The basketball superstar's split last December from his wife of 17 years, Juanita, is No. 1 on Forbes.com's list of "The 10 Most Expensive Celebrity Divorces." Juanita Jordan could possibly "get more than $150 million in a settlement, making the Jordan divorce the most expensive in entertainment history," Forbes said. Neil Diamond, whose 1995 divorce from Marcia Murphey cost him an estimated $150 million, holds second place. Steven Spielberg comes in third for paying his ex-wife Amy Irving an estimated $100 million, which was then half his fortune, when they divorced in 1989. The Oscar-winning director is now worth $3 billion. . .
Michael Jordan & Ex- Wife Juanita now hold the dubious record for the most costly divorce ever.

RELATED ARTICLE:   All may be fair in love but not divorce  The Sunday Times- UK- By Minette Marrin, May 28, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: Balancing fairness and compensation  Telegraph.co.uk- By Joshua Rozenberg- Legal Editor, May 25, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE:  Wealthy? Dont get married, lawyers say   Times Online, By Alex Spence, May 24, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE:   The Big Question: Has divorce become too expensive for the rich?  The Independent Online- Legal- UK- By Maxine Frith, May 19, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: Divorce should be the exception not the rule 
Telegraph.co.uk, May 25, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: With this contract, I thee wed  Seattle Times, US-
By Eileen Ambrose, Mar 26, 2006


Conservatives in Canada have joined together to apologize to the world for allowing homosexual marriage to gain a foothold on society.
  • APOLOGY MANIA: Canadians apologize for all 'gay' marriages
    'Our warning is to avoid repeating our mistakes'
      WorldNetDaily, By Bob Unruh, April 13, 2007
    Don Imus has apologized for dissing a women's basketball team, Mike Nifong is sorry "to the extent" he was wrong, and now Canadians are apologizing to the world for all "gay" marriages. . . . Family-friendly organizations and individuals from Canada, including former Conservative Party leader Grant Hill, have joined in a campaign to apologize to the world for allowing homosexual marriage to gain a foothold on society. In a letter released to "the world's leaders and people," the initiative is described as the work of United Families Canada, but many other individuals and groups also are joining, with developing plans to publicize the apology at the World Congress of Families IV in Warsaw, Poland, in May.

    To the world's leaders and people, We, the people of Canada who support marriage solely as the union of a man and a woman, apologize to the people of the world for harm done through Canada's legalization of homosexual marriage. We are grieved and troubled as we consider the impact this is having in weakening the fundamental institution of marriage in countries and cultures around the world. We understand that because Canada does not impose citizenship or residency requirements in order for same-sex individuals to be 'married' here, couples are coming to Canada to seek legal sanction for their homosexual relationships with the intent of returning to their own countries to challenge those countries' legal definition of marriage. . .

SEE APOLOGY TO THE WORLD & RELATED SITE:  Restore Marriage, Canada

Enter Our Blog Spot!RELARED ARTICLE:  Responding to Homosexuality & Gay Marriage: “Love the Sinner. Hate the Sin”   The Real Proposal magazine, March 21, 2008

RELATED BLOG:  Canadian Right "Apologizes" For Gay Marriage   Science Blogs, Posted by Ed Brayton, April 13, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Lesbian couple wed in Canada launch landmark lawsuit seeking marriage rights in Ireland   International Herald Tribune- AP, October 3, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE:  Prominent scholars release "Ten Principles on Marriage and the Public Good"  The Witherspoon Institute, June 9, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE:  The Dangers of Same-sex "Marriage"  BreakPoint.org- By Regis Nicoll, May 26, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE:  Alberta Christian Pastor Hauled Before Human Rights Tribunal For Letter to editor on Homosexuality  LifeSiteNews.com- Canada, Sept 2, 2005

RELATED ARTICLE:  Same-sex ‘Marriage’ in Canada: A Guide for American Legislators  The Heritage Foundation, Bradley C. S. Watson, JUly 20, 2005

RELATED ARTICLE: United States Urged to Learn From Canada’s Homsexual “Marriage Disaster   Lifesite- Canada, LifeSiteNews.com, July 22, 2005

RELATED ARTICLE:  Getting it Straight, What the Research Shows about Homosexuality  Family Research Council- By Peter Sprigg

RELATED ARTICLE:  CANADIAN COMMERICAL PROMOTES GAY MARRIAGE TO AMERICANS  Out In Montreal - May 11, 2006

RELATED SITE: Watch the commercial


  • Caribbean island Aruba has to recognize gay marriage: Dutch supreme court  SawfNews, April 13, 2007
    The Dutch Supreme Court on Friday ordered the Caribbean island of Aruba to recognise same-sex marriages registered in the Netherlands. . . . .- The ruling puts an end to a conflict between Aruba, a former Dutch colony in the Antilles, and a lesbian couple who moved to the island having married in the Netherlands in 2001. Although independent in internal politics, Aruba is part of the kingdom of the Netherlands and comes under the jurisdiction of the Dutch Supreme Court. After moving to Aruba the women wanted to register, but were told that same-sex marriages were not legal on the island. The Supreme court ruling, published on the internet, stated that a marriage certificate signed by an official of the Netherlands, carried the "same force of law" in Aruba. . . .
     

  • The prospect of all-female conception  The Independent- UK, By Steve Connor, April 13, 2007
    Women might soon be able to produce sperm in a development that could allow lesbian couples to have their own biological daughters, according to a pioneering study published today. Scientists are seeking ethical permission to produce synthetic sperm cells from a woman's bone marrow tissue after showing that it possible to produce rudimentary sperm cells from male bone-marrow tissue. The researchers said they had already produced early sperm cells from bone-marrow tissue taken from men. They believe the findings show that it may be possible to restore fertility to men who cannot naturally produce their own sperm. But the results also raise the prospect of being able to take bone-marrow tissue from women and coaxing the stem cells within the female tissue to develop into sperm cells, said Professor Karim Nayernia of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. Creating sperm from women would mean they would only be able to produce daughters because the Y chromosome of male sperm would still be needed to produce sons. The latest research brings the prospect of female-only conception a step closer. . . .
Women might soon be able to produce sperm in a development that could allow lesbian couples to have their own biological daughters, according to a pioneering study published recently.

RELATED ARTICLE:  The Revolution in Parenthood: The Emerging Global Clash Between Adult Rights and Children's Needs   AmericanValues.org

RELATED ARTICLE: 
The fertility lottery  Sunday Business Post- Ireland, By Jennifer O'Connell, January 14, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  'Embryo Bank' Stirs Ethics Fears: Firm Lets Clients Pick Among Fertilized Eggs  The Washington Post, By Rob Stein, January 6, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  The Parent Hood: How technology and social progress are turning procreation into self-actualization.  The Daily Standard, By Claudia Anderson, December 4, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE:  Where is Technological Reproduction Taking Us?  COMMONWEAL, By Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, October 20, 2006 


40 years after landmark ruling, interracial marriage flourishing in the U.S.
  • 40 years after landmark ruling, interracial marriage flourishing in U.S.  SignOn San Diego- AP, By David Crary. April 13, 2007
    – The charisma king of the 2008 presidential field. The world's best golfer. The captain of the New York Yankees. Besides superstardom, Barack Obama, Tiger Woods and Derek Jeter have another common bond: Each is the child of an interracial marriage. For most of U.S. history, in most communities, such unions were taboo. It was only 40 years ago – on June 12, 1967 – that the U.S. Supreme Court knocked down a Virginia statute barring whites from marrying nonwhites. The decision also overturned similar bans in 15 other states. Since that landmark Loving v. Virginia ruling, the number of interracial marriages has soared; for example, black-white marriages increased from 65,000 in 1970 to 422,000 in 2005, according to Census Bureau figures. Factoring in all racial combinations, Stanford University sociologist Michael Rosenfeld calculates that more than 7 percent of America's 59 million married couples in 2005 were interracial, compared to less than 2 percent in 1970. . . . Opinion polls show overwhelming popular support, especially among younger people, for interracial marriage. That's not to say acceptance has been universal. . . .

  • Parenting Issues:  Those Bawdy Bratz Babes  Townhall.com, By Janice Shaw Crouse, Thursday, April 12, 2007
    I recently bought a doll for my 6-year-old granddaughter. It was a really beautiful, expensive baby doll. She looked at the doll; then laid it aside. To her mother’s dismay, she displayed socially-incorrect behavior by firmly announcing, “I’m sorry, but I’m way too old to play with that kind of doll.” Little girls don’t get to “mother” their pretend babies any more; instead, they act out today’s young adult values with the more popular “fashion dolls.” Bratz dolls, those ghetto cool, sexualized dolls with skimpy miniskirts, high-heel boots, pouty lips and ‘bad’ attitude, are now the #1 doll in America, having pulled ahead of Barbie as the most popular fashion-doll in the United States. One writer explained that the dolls made little girls “sluts-in-training,” another said they promoted “hooker chic” and another claimed that they promoted “precocious sexuality.” MGA Entertainment, which manufactures the dolls, spent $15 billion last year marketing to children in the 70 countries where the doll is available. In spite of the huge price tag for marketing to children, MGA Entertainment reveals that their market research indicates that mothers of pre-teens are the ones who are buying the Bratz dolls for their little angels. . . .
Bratz doll_Funk and Glow Cloe

RELATED ARTICLE:  Doll Collecting: Bratz dolls   Profile  About.com, From Denise Van Patten

RELATED ARTICLE:  What’s Wrong With Cinderella?  The New York Times (Free Subscription), By PEGGY ORENSTEIN, December 24, 2006


  • Wife of Reality Show, Radio Star Danny Bonaduce Seeks Divorce  FOX NEWS- AP, April 11, 2007
    LOS ANGELES  —  Danny Bonaduce, the radio and TV host whose marriage troubles were aired in a TV reality show, says his wife of more than 16 years, Gretchen, is seeking a divorce. "Apparently she went and signed papers yesterday around noon," Bonaduce said Tuesday on KLSX-FM's "The Adam Carolla Show." "I really don't want a divorce. I love her," he said. . . .

  • DNA Test Determines Larry Birkhead is the Biological Father of Anna Nicole Smith's Daughter, Dannielynn Hope Marshall   ABC NEWS.com, By JESSICA ROBERTSON, April 10, 2007
    — Anna Nicole Smith's former boyfriend Larry Birkhead said Tuesday that DNA tests have proven he is the father of her infant daughter. Birkhead emerged from a closed court hearing to announce the results. Smith's companion, Howard K. Stern, has been caring for the girl, Dannielynn, who could inherit a fortune in the wake of her mother's February death. After the hearing, Stern said he would not fight for custody. An expert in genetic evidence said the DNA analysis has proven Birkhead is Dannielynn's father. . . . .

    RELATED ARTICLE: 
    DNA Test: Birkhead Is Dannielynn's Father  People magazine, By Stephen M. Silverman,  April 10, 2007
'I Told You So!'  The results are in. DNA tests show Anna Nicole Smith's ex-boyfriend Larry Birkhead is the biological father of her daughter, Dannielynn Hope Marshall.

 RELATED ARTICLE:  The Celebrity Asylum  TownHall.com, By Brent Bozell III, February 26, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Anna Nicole Smithing   TownHall.com, By Doug Giles, February 17, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: 
Pop icon's life was a mess Americans loved to watch: Anna Nicole Smith was never offstage  The Tennessean, By ANN OLDENBURG- USA Today, February 7, 2007



Living happily ever after? Two weeks after the wedding, Liz Hurley and Arun Nayar are disowned by Nayar's family.
  • Jail threat for Liz and hubby as in-laws rage over their religious violations  The Daily Mail- UK, By CLEMMIE MOODIE, April 10, 2007
    When her in-laws disowned her just weeks after her wedding, Liz Hurley could have been forgiven for thinking the worst was over. But it may be yet to come. Miss Hurley, 41, and her husband Arun Nayar, have been accused of breaching Hindu customs with their Indian wedding – an allegation that could technically put them in jail. And to make matters worse, it appears that Arun's father Vinod is willing to testify against them. . . . .Their £2million magazine deal with Hello!, which helped to cover the cost of the wedding, may be used as evidence against the couple. Prosecuting lawyer HM Saraswat said: "An arrest warrant could be issued for Arun and Liz as soon as the prosecution has made its case – either because they are summonsed to give evidence or they have been found guilty. . . . .

    RELATED ARTICLE: 
    Father disowns Arun Nayar after being "humiliated" at wedding  Hindustan Times- Press Trust of India, April 8, 2007

  • Death of the £100m conman who sacked his staff by text message  The Daily Mail- UK, By FIONA BARTON, April 10, 2007
    Mansions in Britain and Spain. A £1.5m yacht. Parties with Bill Clinton.And a Bentley with the number plate CLA 1M. Mark Langford built his fortune on "no win, no fee" cases and, when his lawfirm crashed, sacked all 2,500 staff by text. This week, abandoned by his wife, he died at the wheel of a cheap hire car. . . . But to those whose fate was tied to the fortunes of Mark Langford, it marks the end of an astonishing story of one man's excessive greed and extravagance. For Langford was one of Britain's most notorious - and crooked - businessmen, who infamously sacked 2,500 employees by text message when his insurance company collapsed owing £100million. The fact that he died from massive head injuries at the wheel of a cheap hire car rather than his Bentley with its number plate CLA 1M was proof of just how far he had fallen. . . .
Karma? Mark Langford died at the wheel of a cheap rental car this week after being abandoned by his wife and fleeing to Marbella, Spain to avoid the law.

Case closed: Natallie Evans has spent years battling through the courts to stop the embryos fertilised by Howard Johnston being destroyed.
  • Cancer woman loses her four-year battle to use frozen embryos The Daily Mail- UK, April 10, 2007
    Natallie Evans, who was left infertile after cancer therapy, has lost her fight at the European Court of Human Rights to become a mother using frozen embryos fertilised by her ex-partner. Ms Evans, who underwent IVF as she fought ovarian cancer, has spent years battling through the courts to stop the embryos being destroyed. Ms Evans, 34, from Melksham, Wiltshire, had viewed this final appeal as her "last chance". Ms Evans said in a statement she was "distraught" at the court's decision. Today's ruling means the six embryos have to be destroyed. . . . . Anna Smajdor, researcher in medical ethics at Imperial College, London, said: "As a society we are obsessed with the idea that shared genes are the essence of parenthood. "Ms Evans' ex-partner does not want to be a father and this apparently gives him the right to destroy these embryos simply because they contain some of his genes. "There is something deeply amiss here. Ms Evans is not allowed to have her embryos implanted without her ex's consent, yet he - effectively - is allowed to have them destroyed without hers. . . . .

 RELATED ARTICLE:  Woman loses final embryo appeal   BBC NEWS- UK, April 10, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:
Embryo case: Reaction  BBC NEWS- UK, April 10, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Q&A: Embryo storage  Guardian Unlimited- UK, April 10, 2007


  • How Wives Can Kill Their Marriage: The Final Straw  TownHall.com, By Doug Giles, April 7, 2007
    I think the world is coming to an end. I didn’t come to this conclusion simply because a lot of people actually read and like my column, but primarily because of the tons of positive emails I’m getting from former livid ladies confessing their remorse for their previous acts of husband hating. It’s crazy. It must be global warming causing all these ex-ice queens to melt and warm up to their men. See, global warming ain’t all that bad, Al. Anyway, enough of the happy crap. . . . I want to continue to feed the wives who want to snuff the life out of their marriage and make that thing more tedious that listening to Sanjaya sing, “Riders on the Storm.”  Having covered “nag your husband and disparage him in public” in part one and “how to drive him nuts by short leashing him, becoming a drama queen, hating his friends and hating his hobbies” in part two, I now offer you (the bellicose beastesses of husband hatred) the final four fundamentals that will make your husband prefer being bitten on the crotch by a black mamba to your blah, blah, blah. . . .
How Wives Can Kill Their Marriage: The Final Straw

RELATED ARTICLE:  How Wives Can Kill Their Marriage: Part Two  TownHall.com, By Doug Giles, Saturday, March 31, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  How Wives Can Kill Their Marriage: Part One  TownHall.com, By Doug Giles, March 24, 2007


  • 7/7/7 is the date to we this year  UK Express- UK, By Emma Bamford, April 7, 2007
    The most popular day to get married this year is July 7 – or 07/07/07. The date, a Saturday in wedding high season, has seen thousands of couples scrambling to book venues, convinced  it is a lucky day to tie the knot. . . . Desperate Housewives babe Eva Longoria is among the 07/07/07 brides-to-be. She is expected to wed basketball star Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs at a castle in France. Seven is seen as a lucky number because it has a special meaning of perfection in mythology and astronomy. There are the seven seas, seven virtues, seven Wonders of the World as well as repeated references in the Bible – seven days of creation, the seven stars and the blessing of the seventh day, making Sunday a day of rest. Couples choosing the date have claimed it is lucky because it only comes around once every 100 years. And brides-to-be are joking that it is the only way of ensuring their other halves remember anniversaries. . . .

    RELATED ARTICLE: 
    The Most Popular Wedding Date?  AOL Personals
     

Gay 'Fairy Tale' weddings and honeymoons are now available at Disney's theme parks.
  • Disney's Theme Weddings Come True for Gay Couples
    Company Expands Access to Lavish Package
       Washington Post, By Frank Ahrens,  April 7, 2007

    Same-sex weddings are coming out at Disneyland.  Walt Disney Co. said yesterday that gay couples can buy the company's high-end Fairy Tale Wedding package that allows them to exchange vows at Disney's theme parks and aboard its cruise ships, starting about $4,000 per wedding. Same-sex couples have been allowed to use facilities on Disney grounds, such as banquet halls and conference rooms, for commitment ceremonies. But now, same-sex couples have access to the very public elements of the Fairy Tale Wedding plan, which includes a ceremony at one of the parks' marriage pavilions; Disney costumed characters at the reception; and a ride in a horse-drawn, glass-enclosed carriage through Disney property. . . . Gay marriage continues to be a politically heated issue. Last year, the Senate voted down a constitutional amendment, backed by President Bush and some conservative groups, to ban same-sex marriage. In 2004, the California Supreme Court ruled that San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom had overstepped his authority by issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Same-sex marriages are not legal in California or Florida. The events for same-sex couples at Disney parks would be commitment ceremonies. . . . .

RELATED ARTICLE:  Disney does the right thing on same-sex marriage  AfterElton.com, By Michael Jensen, April 5, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  When two bridegrooms go on honeymoon  Mail & Guardian Online, South Africa - By Hila Bouzaglou, Nov 22, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE:  Gay Marriage Advocates Don’t Want Tolerance, They Want Their Lifestyles to Become Mainstream  BlackAmericaWeb.com, By Joseph C. Phillips, November 07, 2006


  • Not-so-naked truth
    Indonesian Playboy's lingerie-clad freedom fighters strike a blow for T&A over Muslim hard-liners
      Chicago Sun Times, BY ANDREW HERRMANN AND RUMMANA HUSSAIN, April 6, 2007
    The old ad campaign used to ask, "What kind of man reads Playboy?"
    An Indonesian man might, after Thursday's dismissal of indecency charges against the editor of a Jakarta-produced version of Playboy there. In this clash of sexual sensibilities between the West and Islam, the bunny won. Chicago-based Playboy called the decision proof that "there is a market for a high-quality men's lifestyle magazine" in Indonesia. The battle, though, served to illustrate tensions between two cultures as Western entertainment corporations try to expand while Islamic traditionalists push back. "American popular culture challenges Islamism like no other force on the planet,'' writes Sadanand Dhume, a scholar on Islam in Indonesia. . . . . . Still, sexually charged materials can be seen as an invitation to the Islam-prohibited "zina," or sex outside marriage, according to Ruediger Seesemann, a Northwestern University religion professor who holds a doctorate in Islamic studies.  "It undermines the morality and threatens the sexual order as it's supposed to be according to Islam," he said. Islam isn't necessarily anti-sexuality. The Prophet Muhammad spoke openly about sex, including recommending the best time of day to have it and the necessity for men to make sure it is pleasurable for women. "Muslims are encouraged to enjoy sex but it has to take place within the proper context'' -- within marriage, Seesemann said. . . .
Playboy logo

Re-examining what the Bible really says about divorce.
  • Evangelical Separation Anxiety: What the Bible says about divorce  Wall Street Journal- Opinion Journal, By DAVID INSTONE-BREWER, April 6, 2007
    . . . The evangelical attempt to follow a literal interpretation of the Bible has always been difficult in the face of the realities of modern life. When Jesus was asked in the Gospels if he allowed "divorce for any cause," he replied that anyone "who divorces his wife except for sexual immorality and marries another woman commits adultery" (Matthew 19:3). This admonition has long been interpreted to mean that divorce, for Bible-based Christians, is allowed only in cases of adultery. Even then, the spouse who has been faithful is treated the same as the adulterer: Neither can remarry as long as the other is alive. . . . As it happens, new scholarship supports a slightly less strict biblical understanding of divorce than the traditional one. Scrolls found near the Dead Sea, which confirm indications found in ancient Jewish authors like Philo and Josephus, show that the key phrase "any cause" was actually the formal name of a type of divorce. That is, Jesus did not reject divorce for any cause but rather, he rejected the "Any Cause" divorce. . . . 

  • Halle Berry: "We'll Redefine What Marriage Is"  Access Hollywood, April 5, 2007
    -- Fresh off of receiving her star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame, Halle Berry sat down with Access Hollywood's Nancy O'Dell to discuss the powerful position she's at in her life, as well as her wishes for a family. . . . . Halle's power stems not only from her talent, but also from her passion, drive, and focus on what matters in her personal life. After making it through two very public divorces, she's found a new partner in Canadian model Gabriel Aubry, and while she has no intention of getting married again, she says "I have a wonderful guy in my life, and we'll redefine what marriage is." Part of that definition surely includes having children, which Halle has made no secret about wanting. She speaks of taking that next step: "Not that there's not more to accomplish, but I think I arrived at a point in life that I realized I needed more to get me up in the morning.  More than going to a new movie set. Or as much fun as getting the star was yesterday, I need something even more profound than that and that's family. And that's children. I need that like the air to breathe these days and I'm ready. I'm at a point where I'm really, really ready." . . . . .I finally realize that real happiness starts with me. And I think I've spent a lot of years looking for it externally. . . .
Halle Berry and Gabriel Aubry redefining marriage?

RELATED VIDEO: Halle Berry's New Ambition  Access Hollywood

RELATED ARTICLE:  Berry Upset with Suicide Story  Hollywood.com, By WENN, April 7, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: 
The (futile) pursuit of happiness  The Daily Mail- UK, By HELEN KIRWAN-TAYLOR, March 30, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Great Expectations  Psychology Today, By Polly Shulman, March 27, 2007


  • Lover must pay broker for claiming son was his  The Telegraph, UK, By Amy Iggulden April 4, 2007
    A woman who deceived her stockbroker boyfriend into believing he was the father of her son was yesterday ordered to pay him more than £22,000 in damages. A High Court judge ruled that the woman, now 46, had made "fraudulent representations" to her boyfriend after lying to him for five years about a one-night stand. Judge Sir John Blofeld told the court in London that it was impossible to accept her as "a witness of truth". In the first known case of its kind to reach trial in Britain, he awarded the 63-year-old former stockbroker just over £22,400, including £7,500 to compensate him for the distress he suffered when he discovered the boy was not his. "I am satisfied she intended her fraudulent representations to be acted on by Mr A," the judge said. "As a result of those fraudulent representations, he suffered damage." He said the man was not motivated to sue by revenge, but by the strong feeling that he had been "taken for a ride". . . . . 


    RELATED ARTICLE:
      Duped Dads Men Fight Centuries-Old Paternity Laws  ABC News, By Geraldine Sealey, October 2, 2002

    RELATED ARTICLES:  Paternity Fraud and Children's Human Identity Rights  Canadian Children's Rights Council


CNN News Anchor Paula Zahn
  • Paula Zahn Leaves Nest, Finds New Mate  Radar Online- Fresh Intelligence, April 4, 2007
    Newswoman Paula Zahn is making some sexy news of her own. The CNN star is divorcing her husband of 20 years, real-estate developer Richard Cohen, and is said to be seeing a new man, Conti Group CEO Paul Fribourg. Speaking for both Zahn and Cohen, publicist Howard Rubenstein confirmed, "They are planning to divorce." However, he added, "In the interest of their children, they will not discuss it any further." (The couple has three children; Fribourg has four of his own.) Animal lovers may view the disruption of Zahn and Cohen's domestic bliss as karmic payback. . . . .

    RELATED ARTICLE:
      Adultery Is Killing the American Family The Conservative Voice, By Nathan Tabor, Sept 22, 2005

  • Whitney Houston finalizes divorce, gets custody of daughter Los Angeles Times, By Christine Hanley, April 4, 2005
    With R&B singer Bobby Brown a no-show in court, an Orange County judge today granted Whitney Houston a divorce and sole custody of their 14-year-old daughter. During the 10-minute hearing, Houston testified that she didn't need spousal or child support and that her daughter, Bobbi Kristina, couldn't rely on Brown. "He's unreliable," said Houston, dressed casually in jeans and a black hooded T-shirt. "If he says he's going to come, something he does, usually he doesn't." At the Lamoreaux Justice Center in Orange, Judge Franz Miller ruled the divorce will be effective April 24, six months after Houston filed paperwork to end the marriage that began in 1992. Houston lives in Laguna Hills, according to court documents. . . .

    RELATED ARTICLE:  Judge Approves Whitney Houston & Bobby Brown's Divorce  People magazine, By Howard Breuer and Amy Keith, April 04, 2007

  • Connecticut Lawmakers Attack Catholicism at Gay 'Marriage' Hearing  LifeSite News.com, By John-Henry Westen, April 4, 2007
    - On March 26, Brian Brown, Executive director of the Family Institute of Connecticut, testified before the judiciary committee of the state legislature in regard to House Bill 7395: An Act Concerning Marriage Equality.  Representative Michael Lawlor, a proponent of homosexual 'marriage' repeatedly asserted falsely that Brown, a Catholic, believed homosexual people were intrinsically evil.  Lawlor, joined by Senator Edwin Gomes continued this line of attack even after Brown repeatedly insisted that he agreed with the Catholic Church's position that homosexual acts, and not homosexual persons are intrinsically evil. Brown presented an admirable defense of his faith and his stand in favour of the traditional family based on rational argument.  Nonetheless, the repeated and discourteous attacks by Lawlor and Gomes drew criticism from the Catholic League. The following is an edited transcript of the exchange:. . . .

    RELATED VIDEO:  Religious Liberty Under Fire   YouTube.com— AirMaria.com

    Enter Our Blog Spot!RELARED ARTICLE: 
    Responding to Homosexuality & Gay Marriage: “Love the Sinner. Hate the Sin”   The Real
    Proposal magazine, March 21, 2008

    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

    RELATED ARTICLE: Gay Marriage v. Religious Liberty  National Review Online- The Corner- By Stanley Kurtz, May 8, 2006

  • NH House passes civil unions for same-sex couples  Portsmouth Herald News- NH, By Beverley Wang. AP Writer, April 4, 2007.
    - The House took a historic step Wednesday toward joining neighboring Vermont and a handful of other states in approving civil unions for same-sex couples. The House voted 243-129 for civil unions that would give same-sex couples the same rights, responsibilities, and obligations as married couples. Same-sex unions from other states would be recognized if they were legal in the state where they were performed. . . . The civil unions bill now goes to the Senate, where Republican Bob Clegg has proposed legalizing "contractual cohabitation" as an alternative. His bill would give gays and other adults who don't choose to marry the same legal rights as married couples. . . . .

    RELATED ARTICLE:
    Redefining marriage: A dangerous gamble  The Union Leader- NH April 4, 2007
NH House passes civil unions for same-sex couples

  • Same-sex marriage ban defeated  Indianapolis Star, By Bill Ruthhart, April 3, 2007
    A proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage failed on a tied vote today in the House Rules and Legislative Procedure Committee, effectively killing the amendment’s chances for this year. The issue, however, could be resurrected for a second vote by lawmakers next year. One Democrat joined four Republicans in supporting the amendment. The Democrats who voted against the proposed amendment said they had no problem with the first section of the amendment, which states that marriage is between a man and a woman. Each said they believe in that portion, but had concerns about the consequences of a second section which states that no law can be construed as granting the legal incidents of marriage to anyone other than a married man and woman. . . . .

    RELATED ARTICLE Austin’s vote ends marriage amendment; emotional scene in Statehouse over second provision  The Herald Bulletin, By Steve Dick , April 4, 2007


  • Romney: 1 man 1 woman  The Union Leader- NH, By JOHN DISTASO, April 3, 2007
    – Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney says his successor's decision to recognize the Bay State marriages of out-of-state gay couples reinforces a need for a federal constitutional amendment establishing marriage as being between a man and a woman.  "As the governor of Massachusetts having seen the advent of same-sex marriage in my state, and recognizing that with the new governor, people are going to be coming to Massachusetts, getting married in Massachusetts and then going home to their home states, it strikes me that you have to have a national standard," the Republican Presidential candidate said yesterday. Romney reacted to Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick's move ordering state public health officials to record the marriages of 26 out-of-state gay couples whose unions Romney had blocked under the provisions of a 1913 state law. . . . .

    RELATED ARTICLE: 
    Mass. Gov. Reverses Romney Gay Marriage Edict  365Gay.com, April 2, 2007

Broader horizons: A svelte Ursula on holiday in Cuba and, right, happy to have regained her curves having finally found true love.
  • An unhappy marriage is the best diet The Daily Mail- UK, By URSULA HIRSCHKORN, April 3, 2007
    As Ursula Hirschkorn prepared for her big wedding day, she went from a size 12 to a size six through an obsessive regime of exercise and dieting. However she soon came to realise how futile being slim is when you're married to the wrong man . . . . My first husband, Paul, was a super-successful City lawyer and wanted the arm candy to match. So, to keep him, I had to keep slim. We’d been together for years. We met in the sixth form when a healthy combination of clubbing, alcohol and cigarettes kept me to a trim size 12. Not that I was really that bothered - I thought that Paul was in love with me, not my dress size. It wasn’t until we decided to name the day that my weight became an issue. . . . . Perhaps I should have realised then that our union was doomed to fail. But when the big day came, the sun shone, the bride was beautiful and the husband rich - a recipe for success if ever I saw one. As we drove away from our reception in a vintage Roller leaving our 200 guests sipping fizz in a billowing, rosedecked white marquee, I was anticipating a fairytale future, complete with London pad, country house and 2.4 Boden-clad kiddies. What more could a nice middle-class girl wish for? . . . . .

  • Health & Parenting Issues: HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS
    Controversy Over Shot To Ward Off Cervical Cancer
      The Ledger, By Gary White, April 3, 2007
    . . . . Pharmaceutical giant Merck and Co. introduced Gardasil to the American market less than a year ago. The vaccine, given in a three-dose series over six months, protects against four prevalent strains of HPV, a common virus that can cause cervical cancer. The Food and Drug Administration approved Gardasil for girls and women ages 9 to 26, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended vaccinating girls at age 11 or 12.  Though health authorities hailed the vaccine's introduction, objections have arisen because of HPV's mode of transmission: sexual contact. Some parents and religious groups argue that vaccinating 12-year-old girls against a sexually transmitted disease implies tacit approval for sexual activity and might yield a false sense of invulnerability. . . . .Lawmakers in several states, including Florida, have considered making the HPV vaccination mandatory, but those efforts stalled amid a backlash against Merck's aggressive lobbying campaign. At this point, doctors and parents are left to decide about it. . . .
Controversy over shot to ward off cervical cancer

RELATED ARTICLE:  Some facts about HPV vaccine  The Modesto Bee, April 3, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: 
Cervical Cancer Vaccine To Be Studied  Washington Post Blog- Maryland Moment, April 3, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Quick Cancer Vaccine Mandate Stirs Controversy  Pew Research Center Publications, By Daniel C. Vock, April 2, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Generation Confused: Cancer vaccines, birth control, emergency contraception -- with all these options, are teens any sexually healthier?  San Francisco Chronicle, By Heather Boerner, February 11, 2007


Ex-Spice Girl Mel B gives birth to girl
  • Ex-Spice Girl Mel B Gives Birth to Girl  Chicago Tribune- AP, April 3, 2007
    -- Former Spice Girl Melanie Brown has given birth to a daughter in California, her publicist said Tuesday. The baby, who weighs 5 pounds, 4 ounces, was born just after midnight Tuesday at St. John's hospital in Santa Monica, said Nadine Bibi in an e-mail. "Baby is completely healthy with a good head of hair. Mother and baby are now resting," the statement said. "No name has been decided on as yet, and (she) is purely known as Baby Brown!" Brown has said ex-boyfriend Eddie Murphy is the father. The 46-year-old "Dreamgirls" star has said he's not sure. Brown has said there's "absolutely no question that Eddie is the father." . . . .

RELATED ARTICLE:  Melanie 'Scary Spice' Brown Welcomes a Girl  People magazine, By Pete Norman and Simon Perry,  April 3, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: 
Paternity tests loom for Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy; 'Grindhouse real life romance  Pittsburgh Post Gazette- The Good- The Bad and The Beautiful, By Monica Haynes, April 3, 2007

Enter Our Blog Spot!RELATED ARTICLE:  Hollywood Unhooked (Un-Glued more precise)   The Real Proposal magazine, December 11, 2007


  • Mass. Gov. Reverses Romney Gay Marriage Edict  365Gay.com, April 2, 2007
    Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) has reversed an order imposed by his Republican predecessor that saw the marriages of 26 out-of-state same-sex couples set aside.  After same-sex marriage became legal in Massachusetts then-Gov. Mitt Romney invoked a 1913 law that said marriage licenses could not be issued to couples whose weddings would be illegal in the states where they lived. Four counties refused to abide by the old law, enacted at a time when interracial marriage was illegal in most of the country and not used for decades.  Twenty-six gay couples were married in those jurisdictions before Romney ordered the attorney general to prosecute the local clerks.  Romney then ordered the marriages not to be registered in the state's vital records. . . . But it does not mean same-sex couples from across the country can immediately go to Massachusetts and obtain marriage licenses. "The 1913 law remains in effect," Sullivan told 365Gay.com. It would take passage of a repeal of the old law by the legislature for out of state gay marriages to be legal, with the exception of same-sex couples from Rhode Island. Meanwhile, a proposed amendment that would end same-sex marriage in Massachusetts is headed for a vote in a joint session of the legislature later this year. . . .


    RELATED ARTICLE:  New Senate President backs repeal of law banning nonresident marriages  Boston Globe, By Lisa Wangsness and Andrea Estes, April 3, 2007

  • Romney to the Rescue: Mitt Romney's Got the Right Stuff for 2008  NewsMax.com, By Ronald Kessler, April 2007 Issue
    . . . . . In December 2006, Bay Windows, a Boston-based gay and lesbian newspaper, republished excerpts from an interview it did with Romney in which he stated that the gay and lesbian community "needs more support from the Republican Party" and that it should be up to the states to decide whether to allow same-sex marriage. A letter he wrote to a pro-gay organization also surfaced, in which Romney said he supported "full equality for America's gay and lesbian citizens." When Romney made the comments in 1994, gay marriage had not yet become a serious issue. But in 2003, when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, in a 4-3 decision, ruled that marriage in the commonwealth would no longer be limited to unions between men and women, Romney pushed for an amendment to the state constitution that would outlaw gay marriage. . . . . Romney's position is the same one staked out by President Bush. "At the same time, I believe that marriage should be reserved for a relationship between one man and one woman. For me, that's not a matter of discrimination," Romney adds. . . . .

    RELATED ARTICLE:  Romney said the people, not courts, should define civil rights  Boston Globe.com, By Steve-LeBlanc- AP, June 28, 2006

Mitt Romney_News Max Cover: April 2007



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