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"MARRIAGE" In The News
(May 2007)

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"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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eHarmony, the matchmaking site founded by evangelical Christian Dr. Neil Clark Warren, sued for excluding gays.
  • eHarmony sued for excluding gays
    Matchmaking site founded by evangelical Christian Dr. Neil Clark Warren
      REUTERS, By Jill Serjeant, May 31, 2007

    - The popular online dating service eHarmony was sued on Thursday for refusing to offer its services to gays, lesbians and bisexuals.  A lawsuit alleging discrimination based on sexual orientation was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on behalf of Linda Carlson, who was denied access to eHarmony because she is gay.  Lawyers bringing the action said they believed it was the first lawsuit of its kind against eHarmony, which has long rankled the gay community with its failure to offer a “men seeking men” or “women seeking women” option. They were seeking to make it a class action lawsuit on behalf of gays and lesbians denied access to the dating service. eHarmony was founded in 2000 by evangelical Christian Dr. Neil Clark Warren and had strong early ties with the influential religious conservative group Focus on the Family. It has more than 12 million registered users, and heavy television advertising has made it one of the nation’s biggest Internet dating sites. .

    RELATED ARTICLE: 
    Gay couple barred from adoption site settle lawsuit  SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, By Henry K. Lee, May 22, 2007


  • Book Review: Forbidden Fruit: Sex & Religion in the Lives of American Teenagers 
    Even Evangelical Teens Do It: How religious beliefs do, and don't, influence sexual behavior
      SLATE, By Hanna Rosin, May 30, 2007

    A 19-year-old virgin walks into a bar. He's got his lucky cross in his pocket and his best jersey on. Please God, he says to himself, let this be the night. He spies a girl sitting at a table--blonde, wholesome-looking, just his type. He sidles up closer to the girl, who is chatting with some friends. Over the din, he can make out snippets of her conversation: at Bible study the other night...Pastor Ted says...saving it for marriage. Discouraged, he walks away in search of a more promising target.  Did he make the correct decision? Or did he make a hasty judgment and miss a chance for a possible love connection? The answer to such a question can be found in Forbidden Fruit: Sex & Religion in the Lives of American Teenagers by Mark Regnerus, a professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. The book is a serious work of sociology based on several comprehensive surveys of young adults, coupled with in-depth interviews. But it could also double as a guide for teenage boys on the prowl (who's easier, a Catholic girl or a Jew?) or for parents of teenage girls worrying about what will happen if their daughters keep skipping church. . . . Teenagers who identify as "evangelical" or "born again" are highly likely to sound like the girl at the bar; 80 percent think sex should be saved for marriage. But thinking is not the same as doing. . . .

RELATED ARTICLE:  Hormonographics: Red states, blue states, and sex before marriage  WEEKLY STANDARD, By W. Bradford Wilcox, May 28, 2007


Alpha vs. Beta Mums: Which side are you on?
  • Parenting Issues:  Alpha mums: The backlash The Daily Mail- UK, By Lauren Booth, May 30, 2007
    Battle lines are being drawn between mums who hothouse children - and the Beta mums who don't. So whose side are you on? . . . . A new Mummy War has broken out over the "best" way to bring up children - and it's causing a deep and rancorous gulf between two tribes of women who regard each other with disdain and dislike. But this time the battle for school gate superiority has less to do with whether or not women work full-time or stay at home, and everything to do with time management versus tree climbing. Step forward the Alpha and Beta mothers. The Alpha mother has reigned supreme for more than a decade. Held up as an aspirational role model for the rest of us, she never has a hair out of place and can be spotted tapping urgently into her Blackberry on the school run. This sort of woman treats parenthood as a project to be managed down to the last second. Fiercely organised, she's likely to be highpowered and well-educated. Aren't you feeling inferior already? But there's more to an Alpha mum than that. . . . But now, at last, there is a Beta backlash from the millions of mothers who cannot and will not see their children turned into little automatons with no aim in life but to strive relentlessly for as many accolades and achievements as possible. The battle has burst into life in the U.S. with the publication of a series of books aimed at persuading mothers that less is more when it comes to organising your family's lives. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: When Stay-at-home Moms Go Back to Work: Trying to Opt Back In: After decades of debating whether mothers should go back to work, now women are asking—can they?  Newsweek- MSNBC.com, By Eve Conant, May 28, 2007 Isssue 

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

RELATED ARTICLE:  Desperate Feminist Wives: Why wanting equality makes women unhappy    Slate.com- By Meghan O'Rourke, Mar 6, 2006


Irene-Kinnair_Alan-Brogan: Orphanage friends find love after 45 years apart
  • Orphanage friends find love after 45 years apart  Daily Mail- UK, By PAUL SIMS, May 30, 2007
    From their first shy glances across the orphanage, Alan Brogan and Irene Kinnair knew they would be friends.
    But forced apart by the authorities, who feared a budding romance, it has taken them almost 45 years to find each other again. This time, though, there won't be any more enforced separations. They married earlier this month. A chance meeting in a city street three years ago finally began the romance that was nipped in the bud. "I know it sounds strange, but I just knew it was her. I could never forget that smile," said Mr Brogan, 54. "And she was exactly the same. "She said she knew it was me the minute she saw me standing in the street." . . . . Both went on to brief marriages but divorced many years ago. Miss Kinnair, in fact, used to look out for Mr Brogan every time she visited Whitby. He was however, living a few streets from her in Sunderland. So perhaps it was merely a matter of time before they met up again. When she recognised him in the city centre in March 2004, she didn't hesitate to call out. "It was crazy," she said. "Staring back at me was the little boy I used to know. "He just held me in his arms and I thought he was never going to let go. He told the friend I was with: 'I've loved this lady all my life'. . . . . .

  • Don't teach that marriage is best say academics The Evening Standard- This is London, May 30, 2007
    Academics are calling for teachers to be banned from promoting marriage in the classroom. They say homosexuality must be given equal status to stop the spread of "bigoted" attitudes in schools and university campuses. Current Government guidance on sex education says children must be taught "the importance of marriage for family life". Teachers are also permitted to voice their opposition to homosexuality if it stems from personal or religious conviction. This allows faith schools to teach that same- sex relationships are at odds with their religion. But members of the University and College Union - representing 120,000 lecturers - are calling for a change in the law to stop teachers telling children that marriage is superior to gay partnerships. . . The call is certain to infuriate religious groups. The Church of England is among faiths which lobbied the Government for gay rights laws to continue to allow Anglican schools to teach that the Bible forbids homosexuality. But Stephen Desmond, from Thames Valley University, told delegates: "We must never allow freedom of religion to be hijacked and used as a pretext to discriminate against gay and lesbian teenagers in schools." . . . .
Academics are calling for teachers to be banned from promoting marriage in the classroom

RELATED ARTICLE:  UK: Religious Schools May Not Teach Christian Sexual Morals "As if They Were Objectively True"  LifeSiteNews.com, By Hilary White, March 5, 2007

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

RELATED ARTICLE:  The Meaning of Marriage (Part 2): Interview With Princeton's Robert George    Zenit News Agency- Italy, Mar 22, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: 
The Meaning of Marriage (Part 1): Interview with Princeton's Robert George   Zenit News Agency- Italy, Mar 20, 2006


RELATED ARTICLE:  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


  • Book Review: Forbidden Fruit: Sex & Religion in the Lives of American Teenagers
    Hormonographics: Red states, blue states, and sex before marriage
      WEEKLY STANDARD, By W. Bradford Wilcox, May 28, 2007
    Discussions and debates about teenage sex in America tend to generate more heat than light. Religious conservatives protest sex education programs that do not begin to influence our young people as much as the pornification of popular culture, even as secular progressives promote a Swedish-style model of adolescent "sexual health" that does not begin to reckon with the emotional import of teen sex, particularly for girls. Rarely do advocates on both sides of the issue--not to mention observers in the media--take a sober, honest look at what is really happening on the ground to our nation's teens in this domain of life.  Thankfully, Forbidden Fruit is that rare book that casts more light than heat. Indeed, Mark D. Regnerus's commitment to telling the truth about teenage sex in all of its gritty complexity leads him to a number of intriguing and surprising conclusions. In particular, his findings about religion, region, and sex are bound to surprise partisans, experts, and journalists alike. . . . Forbidden Fruit offers a number of sobering conclusions: The vast majority of teens engage in sex before they turn 20; most teens (including evangelicals from the South) who support virginity in theory don't manage to practice it in real life; and teenage sex seems to exact a serious emotional toll on a significant number of girls. . . .

  • Health Issues:  The Survivor Monologues: Life on the other side of (Cancer) diagnosis  New York magazine, May 28, 2007 Issue 
    Elizabeth Edwards. Tony Snow. Fred Thompson. The sudden commonplaceness of cancer in the political landscape—and the extent to which it is discussed as something to live with, rather than to succumb to—illustrates the degree to which our attitudes about cancer have changed in the past few years, helped along by a vast and growing medical armamentarium. Two decades ago, cancer was a sentence, with a period at the end. Now it’s rambling—discursive, ending uncertain. What follows are stories that attempt to convey the blunt reality of “living with cancer,” a phrase already ubiquitous and in danger of losing its specificity. No two cancers are alike; neither, as the following pages show, are the experiences of the diagnosed. . . .
New York Magazine: The Survivor Monologues: Life on the other side of a cancer diagnosis

RELATED ARTICLE:  A diagnosis of cancer is trying for any marriage  Boston Globe, By Judy Foreman, August 22, 2005

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Marriage tips from 1913: The do's and don't's are mostly still very relevant
  • Don't dare sneer at your wife's cooking (and other marriage tips from 1913)  Daily Mail-UK, By SIMON CABLE, May 28, 2007
    They are words of wisdom for a happy marriage from nearly a century ago. Husbands hoping for a quiet life are told not to sneer at their spouse's cooking or leave things lying around the house, while wives are warned never to utter the sanctimonious words "I told you so". The advice comes from a set of guidebooks on marriage written on the eve of the First World War which are about to be republished and are predicted to shoot to the top of the bestseller list. The somewhat old-fashioned "Don'ts for Husbands and Wives", penned by Blanche Ebbutt in 1913, were first published at a time when women stayed at home while their husbands went out to work. Times have changed since then, but the advice could be considered as relevant today as ever. . . . .The guides are being reprinted by A&C Black as part of the publisher's bicentenary celebrations. And in them, Ebbutt also offers readers a glimpse of her own marital struggles in the preface to "Don'ts for Wives". "Art is a hard mistress," she explains. "And there is no art quite so hard as that of being a wife. . . .

  • When Stay-at-home Moms Go Back to Work: Trying to Opt Back In
    After decades of debating whether mothers should go back to work, now women are asking—can they?
      Newsweek- MSNBC.com, By Eve Conant, May 28, 2007 Isssue
    - Renee Blasko, 33, is at loose ends. "I have been having an extremely difficult time finding a job after being at home with my children the past six years. My particular dilemma is that I hold a college degree and have years of managerial experience." She e-mailed her concerns to Leslie Morgan Steiner, who on her Washington Post parenting blog had asked moms to e-mail her their stories about getting back to work. "I think I am in some sort of 'job limbo'—too qualified for an entry-level position, but not able to work full time at a management-level position either," Blasko added. With two kids, ages 5 and 3, Blaskois is trying for a part-time job—and failing. Another mother, Ann Brandewiede of Cincinnati, took 12 years off. She's now divorced and hitting the pavement: "I am having the worst time finding a job that is more than answering the phone or data entry. And they don't pay well enough to live on." . . . . It has been one of the most contested questions of the feminist movement of the 1970s and '80s—should mothers work? But now, on blogs, in op-eds and a host of new books out this spring, women are arguing about the next question—can mothers get back to work if they want to? The debate has shifted from opting out to opting back in. . . .
When stay-at-home moms go back to work: Trying to opt back in

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

RELATED ARTICLE:  Desperate Feminist Wives: Why wanting equality makes women unhappy    Slate.com- By Meghan O'Rourke, Mar 6, 2006


America's best high schools- Why they are the best
  • Parenting Issues: America's Best High Schools: Why They Are the Best
    How we developed our own unique method for ranking America's top schools
      Newsweek- MSNBC.com, By Jay Mathews, May 28, 2007 Issue

    - NEWSWEEK's list of America's best high schools, this year with a record 1,258 names, began as a tale of just two schools. They were Garfield High School, full of children of Hispanic immigrants in East Los Angeles, and Mamaroneck High School, a much smaller campus serving very affluent families in Westchester County, N.Y. I had written a book about Garfield, and the success of its teachers like Jaime Escalante in giving low-income students the encouragement and extra time they needed to master college-level Advanced Placement courses and tests. . I was finishing a book about Mamaroneck, and was stunned to find it was barring from AP many middle-class students who were much better prepared for those classes than the impoverished students who were welcomed into AP at Garfield. That turns out to be the rule in most U.S. schools—average students are considered not ready for, or not deserving of, AP, even though many studies show that they need the challenge and that success in AP can lead to success in college. . . .

RELATED ARTICLE:   The Top of the Class: The complete list of the 1,200 top U.S. schools  Newsweek-MSNBC.com, May 28, 2007 Issue

RELATED ARTICLE:  How to Fix No Child Left Behind  Time magazine, By Claudia Wallis, Sonja Steptoe, May 24, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Young, Gifted, and Not Getting Into Harvard  New York Times, By Michael Winerip, April 29, 2007


  • Home wrecker or harmless fun?  The Daily Journal, By Antonio Young, May 26, 2007
    Jennifer will never forget the sunny Sunday afternoon in 1987 when she walked in on her husband looking at pornography. She had just finished making lunch, and walked downstairs to tell him to come up and eat. But what she walked in on made her stomach churn. She opened the door and found him with an open magazine, masturbating. "I walked out instantly. I was so angry," said Jennifer, 50. When she later confronted her husband, he turned it around on her. "He said, 'You're lucky I'm not having an affair' -- that I did everything to push him away," said Jennifer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Jennifer admits her marriage had been on the rocks for years, and the couple had sought counseling prior to the incident. But more trouble to her than her husband's controlling nature was his penchance for pornography. . . . Healthy or harmful?  For years, relationship experts and sex counselors have tried to determine the impact that X-rated materials have on relationships. Supporters of porn widely believe that it can add "variety and spice" to love lives. Others, like Jennifer, claim that when a partner watches erotica, it is damaging and should be viewed as cheating. So far, research mostly supports the latter opinion. . . . .
Porn: Home wrecker or harmless fun?

RELATED ARTICLE:  Austrailia: Record numbers visiting porn sites  Brisbane Times- Austrailia, By Adele Horin, May 26, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  How porn is wrecking relationships  Sydney Morning Herald, By Adele Horin, May 26 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:
 
The Girls Next Door are anything but reality!  Crosswalk.com, By David Burchett, May 21, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Porn in the pews - Churchmen wrestle with addiction The Jamaica Gleaner, By Dale McNish, November 25, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: 
Bottling Up Smut-- Cleaning Up the Public Square   Breakpoint.org- By Chuck Colson, June 27, 2005

RELATED ARTICLE:  The Porn Factor  TIME magazine, By Pamela Paul, January 11, 2004


  • Parenting Issues:  Pregnancy Schools  Townhall.com, By Mona Charen, May 25, 2007
    "Schools for Pregnant Girls, Relic of 1960s New York, Will Close." So announced a front-page headline in The New York Times. Well, if it's a relic, obviously it must be bad, right?  Right, says the Times. "Created in the 1960s, when pregnant girls were such pariahs that they were forced to leave school until their babies were born, the city school system's four pregnancy schools . . . have lived on . . ." Until now. They will close at the end of the school year "in recognition of their failure." The Times paints a grim picture of these schools, virtual warehouses where pregnant teens are given busy work like sewing quilts instead of studying the Pythagorean theorem or biology. "It's a separate but unequal program," says Cami Anderson, superintendent in charge of the pregnancy schools, which cost taxpayers $33,670 per pupil per year. There it is, in paragraph seven, the inevitable civil rights reference -- the most overused and misused comparison in American life. "Separate but equal" was delegitimized because it made invidious distinctions based upon nothing more than skin tone. But not every distinction is unlawful or even unfair. Schools used to separate pregnant girls from their classmates because it was deemed unseemly to have a pregnant high school student in the regular classroom. These days, we've largely removed the stigma. Which system was better? . . . .

    RELATED ARTICLE:  New York's Schools for Pregnant Girls Will Close  New York Times, By Julie Bosman, May 24, 2007

Here are two little words that need to be reintroduced to folks of every race: HOME TRAINING
  • Parenting Issues:  Here are Two Little Words That Need to Be Reintroduced to Folks of Every Race: Home Training  BlackAmericaWeb, By Gregory Kane, May 24, 2007
    It isn’t about race; it’s about “home training.”  I suspect any black person over the age of 40 is familiar with the phrase “home training.” Or, to be more specific, “no home training.” Black kids would say it all the time when I was growing up: Whenever somebody cut the fool, acted up or gave a display of inappropriate conduct, we’d look at that person, shake our heads and come to one conclusion. “No home training,” we’d say. Elizabeth Kandrac, a white teacher who taught at a predominantly black middle school in South Carolina several years ago, found out the hard way why a lot of American teachers of all races don’t want to teach in middle schools: Too many students who don’t seem to have any home training. Kandrac has been in the news lately. A federal judge ruled that school officials in the Charleston County school district created a racially hostile work environment for her by not disciplining the black students who assaulted her, cursed her and called her racial epithets. Conservative Web sites and bloggers had a field day with the news, of course. Kathleen Parker, a syndicated columnist, felt Kandrac’s saga was all about race. . .


RELATED ARTICLE:  The Black and White of 'Ho' Culture  Townhall.com, By Kathleen Parker, May 16, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Parenting Issues: Reviving middle-class values  Townhall.com, By Suzanne Fields, July 28, 2005


  • Readers respond to hand in marriage question: What did you think about it?  MSNBC, By Gail Saltz, May 24, 2007
    Dr. Gail Saltz shares letters she received. . . .   My column, “Is asking for her hand in marriage outdated?” drew so many interesting letters that I would like to share some here. . . . From Jane in Illinois: I disagree that nobody believes that a future husband must ask the bride's father for her hand in marriage. Some of us still believe in tradition, and the fact that my husband asked my father without my prompting made me even more sure he was the right guy for me. You may be speaking for some when you say nobody believes in asking for a hand in marriage, but you don't speak for all!. . . From Kristin in New York: I strongly disagree with your response. There are some fathers who see this tradition as their one contribution as a father, and therefore treasure the chance to honor their daughters’ union by keeping this secret. I think you did this mother a disservice by not offering alternative viewpoints such as this one. . . .
Is asking a girl's parents for her hand in marriage outdated?

RELATED ARTICLE:  Q & A: Is asking for her hand in marriage outdated?  MSNBC, By Dr. Gail Saltz, May 3, 2007


Vice President Dick Cheney, and wife, Lynne Cheney, holding their sixth grandchild Samuel David Cheney, Wednesday, May 23, 2007 in Washington. He was born to the Cheney's daughter Mary, and her partner, Heather Poe
  • Baby Cheney, Weighed on Political Scale, Too  Washington Post, By Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts, May 24, 2007
    Mary Cheney gave birth yesterday to perhaps the most anticipated baby in contemporary U.S. politics -- her first child, Samuel David Cheney, whom she will raise with her longtime partner, Heather Poe. The 8-pound 6-ounce boy is the sixth grandchild for Dick Cheney. The vice president and his wife, Lynne, both beaming, posed for a photo with him just hours after his 9:46 a.m. birth at Washington's Sibley Hospital. And that, it seems, will be that for now in terms of public comment from the family about the baby, who launched a lively debate when Cheney, 38, first discussed her pregnancy in December. . . . At an N.Y.C. forum sponsored by Glamour magazine last winter, Mary Cheney responded to questions, saying: "This is a baby. This is a blessing from God. It is not a political statement. It is not a prop to be used in a debate by people on either side of an issue. It is my child." But she also went on to declare that "every piece of remotely responsible research" had demonstrated "no difference between children who are raised by same-sex parents and children raised by opposite-sex parents.". . . .

RELATED ARTICLE:  Mary Cheney’s pregnancy is, indeed, political  PopMatters, By Andrea Lewis-Progressive Media Project, February 11, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Mary Cheney makes big news at Glamour’s event  Glamour magazine, February 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Mary Cheney defends same-sex parenthood: Vice president's lesbian daughter says baby not 'prop'  San Francisco Chronicle, By Katharine Q. Seelye- New York Times, February 2, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: 
Who's Your Daddy? My Father Was an Anonymous Sperm Donor  The Washington Post, By Katrina Clark, December 17, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: Two Mommies Is One Too Many. Mary Cheney is starting a family. Let's hope she doesn't start a trend   Time magazine, By JAMES C. DOBSON, December 10, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE:  It's a Cheney! Reality Is a Blessed Event   The Washington Post, By Ruth Marcus, December 8, 2006

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


  • New York Assembly Considers Legalizing Gay “Marriage”  LifesiteNews, May 24, 2007
    – The New York State Assembly will soon consider a bill that would legalize same-sex “marriage” in the Empire State. The state legislature has seen such bills for 5 years now. This time, however, backed by Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer and a record number of 53 cosponsors in the Assembly, homosexual activists have never been closer to imposing same-sex “marriage” on the state. Daniel O'Donnell, one of three openly homosexual lawmakers in the Assembly, introduced Gov. Spitzer's same-sex “marriage” bill in the chamber Monday. The proposed law would change standing marriage laws by removing gender from the legal definition of marriage and make denying a marriage license to homosexual couples illegal. Sources say Assemblyman O’Donnell hopes for a vote on the governor’s bill in the next few weeks, although he will not push for a vote until he is confident the measure has a chance of success. Spitzer’s bill needs 76 votes to pass in the Democrat-controlled Assembly. That cuts it close for pro-marriage advocates, since 69 members indicate some support for same-sex “marriage” while 48 remain undecided and 33 are opposed, according to a legislative scorecard kept by the Empire State Pride Agenda. . . . .
New York Assembly considers legalizing gay 'marriage'

RELATED ARTICLE:  Defining marriage  Washington Times, By Cheryl Wetzstein, May 10, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Gay-Wed Bid Splits NY Dems  NEW YORK POST, By Fredric U. Dicker, May 7, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  The Meaning of Marriage (Part 2): Interview With Princeton's Robert George    Zenit News Agency- Italy, Mar 22, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: 
The Meaning of Marriage (Part 1): Interview with Princeton's Robert George   Zenit News Agency- Italy, Mar 20, 2006


  • Marriage showdown looms in Massachusetts  Bay Area Reporter, By Lisa Keen, May 24, 2007
    Massachusetts is just three weeks away from a critical showdown over marriage in its state legislature. On June 14, the state Senate and House will meet to take a second and final vote on whether to put on the November 2008 ballot a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. Opponents of equal marriage rights for gay couples need just 50 votes – 25 percent of the legislature's 200 votes – to succeed. In January, following a surprise decision by the Senate president to vote on the measure, they got 62. But there's a new Senate president, a new Democratic governor, and fewer. Depending on who's talking and when, gay activists say they have changed the minds of between five and 10 of the 13 legislators they need to change their votes to vote "no" this time around. Supporters of the constitutional ban swear they have a rock solid 53 votes in favor. . . . .

Which one is too easy- Marriage, or Divorce?
  • A Helping Hand: Which One is Too Easy - Marriage or Divorce?  Blogcritics, By Diana Hartman, May 22, 2007
    The state of families in America today has me concerned about the future. Is divorce just too easy or is it that marriage is too easy?  The only people who think divorce is easy have never been divorced. The process itself can take anywhere from 24 hours to many years. Even then, it isn't the process that's particularly difficult - it's the aftermath. An 18-month waiting time for a marriage license is a good idea, and doing away with common law marriage is one step better. Studies of human biology back this up as it takes an average of 18 months from the time a (heterosexual and fertile) couple meets until they bring a child into the world. For many, it is at this point that the marriage/relationship begins to break down - not because a child has entered the picture, but because the attraction that brought them together in the first place has cooled. . . .

    RELATED ARTICLE:   The return of marriage  The Sunday Times- UK, January 14, 2007

    RELATED ARTICLE:  Mr and Mrs: the marriage report  The Sunday Times- UK, By Deirdre Fernand, January 14, 2007
     
    TO SEE RELATED SURVEY RESULTS:
    Click here


  • Depression risk higher for divorced men: Statistics Canada  CBC- Canada, May 22, 2007
    When a man's marriage breaks down, he may be at higher risk of depression than people who remain together and women who divorce or separate, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday. The study looked at the link between marriages that break down in separation or divorce and their effects on emotional health, using data from the National Population Health Survey. Overall, when a couple's marriage or common-law relationship ended, depression occurred in about 12 per cent of cases, compared with three per cent among people who remained in a relationship, two years after participants were first interviewed in 1994-1995. Men aged 20 to 64 who had divorced or separated were six times more likely to report an episode of depression than were men who remained married. The comparable depression figure for women left alone after broken marriages was 3.5 times more likely. . . . Considering that nearly 71,000 married couples divorced and thousands more separated in 2003 and the link between divorce and mental health problems, "these findings are relevant to population health," the study concluded. . . .

RELATED STUDY REPORT:  Marital breakdown and subsequent depression  Statistics Canada, By Michelle Rotermann, May 22, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  In Depth: Depression: An illness, not a weakness   CBC- Canada, January 12, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  In depth: Marriage: Marriage by the numbers  CBC- Canada, March 9, 2005

RELATED ARTICLE:  Fewer Canadian marriages end in divorce  CBC- Canada, May 4, 2004

RELATED ARTICLE: Splitting Up: Canadians Get Divorced   CBC- Canada


  • 'Bachelor' Andy Baldwin proposes to Tessa Horst, rejects Bevin Powers  RealityWorld, By Christopher Rocchio, May 22, 2007
    Tessa Horst, a 26-year-old San Francisco social worker, accepted the final rose --  and a marriage proposal -- from U.S. Navy Lieutenant Andy Baldwin during the final Rose Ceremony at the conclusion of last night's finale of ABC's The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman.  Baldwin's proposal to Horst and her acceptance of it marked the first time in four seasons and only the second in its last seven editions that The Bachelor ended with its bachelor proposing to his final bachelorette. . . . .

    RELATED SITE: 
    The Bachelor: An Officer and a Gentleman  ABC TV- Shows
And the final rose goes to Tessa!

RELATED ARTICLE:  The Bachelor: One Of the Bachelorettes Says She's the Winner  Buddy TV, May 12, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: 
Navy doc goes from magazine cutie to TV’s latest ‘Bachelor'  Marine Corp Times, By Mike Hughes, March 29, 2007


  • ABC to premiere new 'Ex-Wives Club' reality series on May 28  RealityWorld, By Christopher Rocchio, May 21, 2007
    ABC has announced that it will premiere Ex-Wives Club, a new reality series that will help recent divorcees rid themselves of everything reminiscent of their former significant other in an effort to move forward with their lives, on Monday, May 28 at 9PM ET/PT. Each one-hour episode of Ex-Wives Club will feature one man and one woman, with the only commonality being that each recently went through a difficult divorce, although not from one another. . . . .The five-episode series is hosted by three women who, according to ABC, "know all about breaking up" --   Angie Everhart, Shar Jackson and Marla Maples. Everhart, a model and actress, is no stranger reality TV.  In addition to participating in the second season of TBS' The Real Gilligan's Island reality show, Everhart, the former wife of Ashley Hamilton, also served as the secret saboteur of ABC's Celebrity Mole Yucatan.  Jackson, an actress who is also working on her debut solo album, is the former Mrs. Kevin Federline.  Maples is the former wife of The Apprentice star Donald Trump. . . .

    RELATED ARTICLE: 
    The nightmare of marrying a man with a bitter ex wife: Join The Second Wives Club  The Daily Mail- UK, By DIANA APPLEYARD, May 11, 2007

'The Girls Next Door' are anything but reality!  Pictured from left: Hugh Hefner, Kendra, Holly, and Bridget
  • The Girls Next Door are anything but reality!  Crosswalk.com, By David Burchett, May 21, 2007
    . . .  I rarely open the regret lock-box these days. But a recent news story about a reality TV show on the E! Network sent me there. The show is called the Girls Next Door and the premise is to look inside life at the Playboy mansion. Another sign of the apocalypse is that this is the third season of this show. I was blissfully unaware of the show until just recently. Here is why I opened the regret box. I am unlocking a personal regret to plead with any young man who might read this to not get hooked by the “playboy” lure. I did. I regret that. I used to read (?) the magazine on a regular basis when I was single. It is easy to rationalize that Playboy is “classier” than other men’s magazines. . . . Playboy may not be as graphic as other magazines. But it is just as insidious in creating an unrealistic expectation for men. Reality is not perfect bodies and insatiable sexual appetites. I wrote an article defending Baylor University for not allowing students to pose in the magazine. Here is a snippet of that post.

    I have “read” the magazine. I do know why men read the magazine. Incredibly, it is not for the articles! Any many who tries to rationalize that is disingenous at best and a liar at worst. . . .

RELATED ARTICLE:  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

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Husbands and Wife   CBS4.com,  By  Ileana Varela  November 15, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE:  Polyamory: A Twist On Polygamy  KUTV.com- Salt Lake City, Mark Koelbel reporting, April 30, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE:  Pandora and Polygamy  The Washington Post- By Charles Krauthammer, March 17, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE:  Fanatical Swedish Feminists   National Review Online, By Stanley Kurtz, February 22, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE:  The New Monogamy: Until death do us part—except every other Friday  New York magazine, By Em & Lo, 2005


  • USA's new 'Starter Wife' pokes fun at Hollywood divorce  Jackson Clarion Ledger, MS, By Mike Hughes, May 19, 2007
    It's time now for Hollywood to do what it's good at - making fun of itself. That's The Starter Wife, a six-hour cable miniseries. Alongside the beauty and glamour are layers of satire. Deborah Messing, who stars, says that's what drew her to the script about a woman who marries a Hollywood insider, only to be dumped and suddenly find herself on the outside looking in. "The comedy was subversive, a little perverse, a little mocking of the Hollywood culture." That can be expected when adapting a Gigi Levangie Grazer novel. . . . Co-starring is Joe Mantegna, a Chicago guy who says he stays distant from the Hollywood life. "Starter and 'trophy' (wife) were never (words) I used," Mantegna says "I've been on my starter wife for 32 years." . . . .
'The Starter Wife' pokes fun at Hollywood divorce- It debuts on the USA Network May 31, 2007 9/8 C

RELATED ARTICLE:  USA shows love for 'Wife'    Variety magazine, By John Dempsey, May 7, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Questions Couples Should Ask (Or Wish They Had) Before Marrying  The New York Times (Free Online Subscription), December 17, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE:  Marriage Is Not Built on Surprises  The New York Times (Free Online Subscription), By Eric V. Copage, December 17, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE:  Postnuptial depression: from white to blue  The Independent- UK, By Maxine Frith, August 29, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE:  For 'better' marriage, deal with its 'worse' Arizona Republic- AZ, By Lauri Githens, Aug 10, 2005


Signs he'll be good in bed, wow your folks and more
  • Signs He'll Be Good in Bed, Wow Your Folks and More!  ivillage, By Sherry Amatenstein
    . . . . You don't need to read tea leaves or see a psychic to gauge whether Mr. Looks Promising is a dream come true. According to author Howard Schiffer (HeartfulLoving.com), first impressions offer ample information. "If you're watching for the signs, you'll find out a lot right away. Will he be a good kisser or should you give him the kiss-off? All you need to do is pay attention." Your gut always knows which way to go -- it's ignoring the truth you feel deep down that can get you into trouble. . . . Body Language Leads: He may say one thing, but if his eyes or actions say another, don't disregard that disconnect. Laurie Bernstein, a 28-year-old physical therapist from New York City offers a cautionary tale. . . . Want more eye-opening truths to help you discern whether a new guy is worth your while? Caroline Presno, psychotherapist and author of Profiling Your Date: A Smart Woman's Guide to Evaluating a Man, says, "When he talks about his history, can he meet your eyes? If not, he might be lying. And be wary if he smiles with his lips and not with his eyes," . . . .

RELATED ARTICLE:  Body Language: 10 Celeb Couples Decoded  ivillage, By Tracey Cox


RELATED ARTICLE:  Why Guys Lose Interest: What's behind "Now you see him, now you don't"?    ivillage.com By  Daylle Deanna Schwartz

RELATED ARTICLE:  The 3 most common female sex problems...And fast fixes for them all   ivillage.com, By Tracey Cox

RELATED ARTICLE: SEXUAL HEALING: Scots experts say sex is good for stress but that's not all folks...  Glasgow Daily Record, UK - By Brian McIver, Jan 27, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE:  Spicing it up   TIME magazine, By Joel Stein, January 12, 2004

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  • Do men cheat for the thrill? Or the sex?
    If your partner has an affair, that doesn’t mean the end of your relationship
     
    MSNBC.com, Dr. Gail Saltz, May 15, 2007

    When men have affairs, they tend to be motivated by sex — new sex, more sex, different sex. Women cheat for many reasons: companionship, romance, more security, and, of course, sex. But are men’s motivations really that simple? No. Even for men, cheating is far more complex. Studies show most men who cheat want to experiment sexually and experience the rush associated with “new sex.” This is their way of prolonging indefinitely the early and intoxicating phase of infatuation in a relationship. But men also have affairs to either avoid intimacy, recover their lost youth, or escape an unhappy marriage. . . Adultery need not be the end of a marriage, though it certainly is one heck of a wake up call. If you are contemplating an affair, then there is no question you will be SORRY! Affairs hurt everyone, including you. You cannot keep both women, so you will be distressed at some point. Don’t leave yourself in susceptible situations, such as when alcohol is involved. How to save your marriage: . . . . For the cheater:  . . . For the betrayed: . . . . Women can be cheaters too. Men have not cornered the market when it comes to philandering. Women tend to be motivated to cheat by more emotional factors than men. . .
Do men cheat for the thrill? Or sex?


  • Dr. Phil Was Once My Guilty Pleasure, But He's Lost Me and His Moral Ground   AlterNet, By Elaine Corden, The Tyee, May 15, 2007.
    If there is any guilty pleasure more delightfully mundane than the double-dip of playing hooky from work and taking in an afternoon episode of Dr. Phil, I have yet to discover it. Truly, the man is all things too all people -- broad shouldered and overtly manly, charmingly southern yet somehow affably patrician, shockingly blunt yet delightfully helpful. Yes, the "tell-it-like-it-is," "get real" Doc is my favourite talking head, dropped in our living rooms by the golden talons of Oprah herself, his ring of receding hair a crown signifying both wisdom and omnipotence. . . . It would seem this doctor who earned a nation's trust with honesty and pragmatism has waded hip-deep into the mire of exploitation, and has become, in some ways, a symbol of the entire authoritative structure of Dubya-era America -- laying claim to righteousness without any demonstrated authority to do so. . . . . 

If This Were an Anti-War Rally, You’d Know About it: 1.5 Million Italians Rally against Homosexual 'Civil Unions'
  • 1.5 Million Italians Turn Out in Massive Rome Protest Against Homosexual Civil Unions- Organizers Were Expecting Only 100,000  Lifesite News, By Gudrun Schultz, LifeSiteNews.com, May 14, 2007
     - Italians from across the country poured into Rome May 12 to join in a demonstration against a law that would give legal recognition to homosexual couples--reports showed up to 1.7 million people overflowed the St. John Lateran piazza. Organizers initially expected to draw about 100,000. The proposed legislation would give homosexual couples--and unmarried heterosexual couples--similar rights to those of married couples, stopping just short of legalizing homosexual marriage. . . . . "The importance of this event is not merely that when left to their own devices the Italian people will support traditional values in great numbers, giving the lie to the script presented by the intellectuals in the press. It also means in concrete terms that the traditional values laity can organize and achieve results.""The success of "Family Day" also highlights a now deeply entrenched trend not only in Italy, but in the West: the marginalization of the Church from the public square," Fr. Zuhlsdorf said. "Nearly everywhere the Church's is being denied its right to speak freely. Committed Catholic and other religious politicians and public figures and are pressured never to make reference to their religious convictions. The constant mantra is that religion should be a purely private matter than has no influence on public policy. Be religious, fine. But you may never act outwardly on your interior opinions.". .

Twisted: Joey Buttafuoco with his ex-wife Mary Jo, before she was shot in the face, and (inset) Amy Fisher are back together.
  • GRRR! Joey Buttafuoco and Amy Fisher's Reality Show  FOX NEWS, By Mike Straka, May 14, 2007
    It's like deja vu all over again.  The world's first reality TV couple, "Long Island Lolita" Amy Fisher and the seriously questionable object of her desire, Joey Buttafuoco, captivated America with their sordid tale of statutory rape and attempted murder in the early 1990s.  It was "Blind Date" (teenage Amy meets middle-age Joey) meets "The Bachelor" (Joey promises to love her forever) meets "Survivor" (Joey's wife Mary Jo lives after being shot in the face by Amy).  Talk about a match made in hell. . . . .  I can't even believe I'm writing a column about these two losers. No, Amy Fisher and Joey Buttafuoco will not have their own reality show. Britney Spears and Kevin Federline's didn't survive a full season; I can't imagine this one would go beyond the pilot episode. Besides, what with so many shock-and-awe type shows already come and gone, like "Jackass," "Fear Factor" and countless others, even shooting each other in the face on their third date won't do anything to boost the ratings on this dud. There's nothing left to shock us. . . .


RELATED ARTICLE:  GRRR! Buttafuoco-Fisher Producer Another Hollywood Role Model  FOX NEWS,  By Mike Straka, May 21, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Fisher and Buttafuoco dating  The Daily Telegraph, May 21, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE & PHOTOS:  Joey and Amy Get Mushy. Talk of Marriage & Giggle: 'WE'RE FUN!'  NY Post, By Cathy Burke, May 20, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE & PHOTOS:  KI$$ OFF, JOEY. LECHER LOOKING TO CASH IN: MARY JO  NY Post, By Chuck Bennett, May 18, 2007

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Amy & Joey Set Date For Love: Will Wine & Dine in Tryst Overlooking Central Park  NY Post, By James Fanelli and David K. Li, May 13, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  I'd Do Anything for You, or to You:They Clicked, Then She Snapped  Washington Post, By Jennifer Frey, February 13, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Marriage problem? Yes, but it's not same-sex unions  The Hook, By John W. Whitehead (Rutherford Institute), June 22, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE:  Face it: Marriage is in trouble  Townhall.com- By Mike Gallagher, June 2, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE:  Mary Kay's crime pays   Townhall.com, By Brent Bozell, May  27, 2006


  • Unwed births for cohabiting couples on the rise Washington Times, By Cheryl Wetzstein, May 14, 2007
    The number of children born to parents who are unmarried but cohabiting is at a record level, says a study released today by a nonprofit research group. About one-third of all U.S. births in 2001 were out of wedlock, Child Trends researchers said in their new paper. Upon closer examination of National Center for Education Statistics data on more than 10,000 children and their parents, researchers found that more than half the children who were born outside marriage had both parents in the home. This marks a significant change in childbearing patterns: In the early 1980s, only about 30 percent of unwed births were to cohabiting couples. In the early 1990s, this jumped to about 40 percent, and in 2001, it reached 52 percent. .  . . ."The good news," said Jennifer Manlove, one of the authors of the Child Trends paper, is that more than half of children born to unwed parents are starting their lives with both of their biological parents. This also means that, in general, these children are better off economically than children born into single-mother households, she noted.  "The bad news," she said, is that