'MARRIAGE' NEWS- July 2007: The REAL Proposal For Marriage magazine

"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.

The Whys of Mating: 237 Reasons and Counting. . .

The Whys of Mating: 237 Reasons and Counting The New York Times, By John Tierney, July 31, 2007
Scholars in antiquity began counting the ways that humans have sex, but they weren’t so diligent in cataloging the reasons humans wanted to get into all those positions. Darwin and his successors offered a few explanations of mating strategies — to find better genes, to gain status and resources — but they neglected to produce a Kama Sutra of sexual motivations. Perhaps you didn’t lament this omission. Perhaps you thought that the motivations for sex were pretty obvious. Or maybe you never really wanted to know what was going on inside other people’s minds, in which case you should stop reading immediately. For now, thanks to psychologists at the University of Texas at Austin, we can at last count the whys. After asking nearly 2,000 people why they’d had sex, the researchers have assembled and categorized a total of 237 reasons — everything from “I wanted to feel closer to God” to “I was drunk.” They even found a few people who claimed to have been motivated by the desire to have a child. . . .

SEE RELATED QUESTIONNAIRE: Why Have Sex? (YSEX?) Questionnaire Developed by Dr. Cindy Meston and Dr. David M. Buss

UK: Cohabiting law changes proposed   BBC NEWS, July 31, 2007
Couples who are living together should have more legal rights, according to a report by the Law Commission. It says the 2.2m cohabiting couples in England and Wales should have more protection if they split up. It does not suggest cohabiting couples get the same rights as married ones, but says they should be able to make a financial claim if they break up. Ministers are studying the proposals but some critics complain they amount to a "kind of marriage lite". The Law Commission suggests couples without children should have lived together for at least two years for them to be able to make a financial claim. Any financial compensation would be based on the contribution to the relationship, and the scheme would allow for couples to opt out. Unlike in divorce, there would be no principle for co-habiting couples that assets should be shared equally, and no ongoing maintenance payments. . . . But Jill Kirby of the Centre for Policy Studies criticised the plans as introducing a "kind of marriage lite". "If a man and a woman want to create a family together, then the most durable contract available to them is marriage," she said. "If they decide not to marry, then I think consequences must flow from that, and that if we introduce... a kind of substitute version, as the Law Commission proposes, then it does detract from that institution and I think will lead to more confusion.". . . The commission said many believed in the "common law" myth - the idea that partners would be entitled to a share of the assets when a relationship broke down. However, at present, cohabiting couples have very little legal protection. . . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: How we split: It's not just divorcing couples. Now even unmarried partners are heading for the courts   The Independent Online- Legal, UK, By Sophie Goodchild and Martin Hodgson, May 28, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: 'Cohabitation is replacing dating'   USA TODAY, By Sharon Jayson, July 18, 2005

RELATED ARTICLE: The Verdict on Cohabitation vs. Marriage   Marriage & Families, By Jeffry H. Larson, January 2001

RELATED ARTICLE: Reversing the Trend- Avoiding the Myths of Cohabitation Marriage & Families, By Thomas B. Holman, January 2001

Alan Jackson’s wife on saving their marriage
Denise Jackson says God helped her forgive her husband and get him back MSNBC.com- TODAY Show, By Mike Celizic, July 30, 2007
Denise Jackson had what seemed like a fairy-tale existence with her husband, country-music star Alan Jackson. But when her marriage — and her life — began to unravel, she found that life isn’t about money and big houses; it’s about surrendering to God’s love. “Life is not a fairy tale, and even the most perfect spouse can not be your all-in-all,” she told TODAY’s Ann Curry. “We all have our faults, and every adult alive has regrets.” In her new book, “It’s All About Him: Finding the Love of My Life,” Denise Jackson writes about what she went through and what she’s learned. The “Him” of the title isn’t her husband; it’s God. Ten years ago, regrets were all Denise Jackson had. The man she had married at 19 and lived with for 18 years while he became a superstar had told her he was moving out of the 19,000-square-foot dream house they had just built for themselves and their three young daughters in Tennessee. Her husband had been unfaithful and, according to media reports, had told her she was too controlling. They were separated for more than three months, which she said she spent “trying to manipulate and control and get Alan back, and I was so exhausted." One day, as she was driving her daughters home from dance practice, she simply broke down at the wheel and surrendered to God. . .

Country star Alan Jackson's wife Denise says God helped her forgive her husband and get back to him

Three sisters celebrate 185 years of marriage in style

Three sisters celebrate 185 years of marriage in style The Daily Mail-UK, July 30, 2007
According to the three Douglas sisters, there's nothing to beat a long and happy marriage. And they should know, since they have clocked up 185 years of wedded bliss between them. In an age when marriage is increasingly out of fashion and divorce rates are soaring, Agnes, Peggy and Mary have all reached their diamond wedding anniversaries. They have been congratulated by the Queen and Guinness World Records is investigating if their achievement is unique. . . . Agnes, of Woodbridge, Suffolk, said: "I would advise anyone thinking about marriage to think about it seriously. It isn't one long honeymoon. "You help each other through the hard times and you enjoy the good times. Things go wrong but you get through them together.". . . . The way it was when the Douglas girls wed: AGNES AND IDWAL HUMPHREY. . . . PEGGY AND PETER LEVETT . . . MARY AND DOUGLAS HUGGINS. . . .

Catholic Adoption Agency Will Close Before Giving Children to Homosexual Parents, Bishop States   LifeSiteNews.com, By Elizabeth O'Brien, July 30, 2007
- The Catholic Bishop of Motherwell, Scotland, Reverend Joseph Devine, stated that a Catholic adoption agency would close rather than comply with the recent UK Sexual Orientation Regulations (SOR) and allow children to be adopted by homosexual couples. . . . . .The highly controversial SOR's, which became law in the United Kingdom this March, are supposed to protect homosexuals from discrimination and give them equal access to goods and services, including adoption. Nevertheless, many people have expressed their fear that the SOR's will in effect be a means of trampling on people's freedom of speech and religion. For a brief period of time the government considered allowing a conscience clause in the new regulations that would give Catholic adoption agencies the ability to refrain from serving homosexual couples. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Tony Blair eventually rejected the notion on the basis that "there is no place in our society for discrimination." Last year when the Scottish government was discussing the possibility of homosexual adoption, Bishop Devine vehemently came down against the proposal as "yet another violation of family life."   "What started as a tolerance and compassion for gays had developed into the suppression of the majority heterosexual lifestyle," he continued. "Traditional family values are in the dock and the judge and jury are composed of politically correct extremists.". . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Evangelical leaders promote 'orphan care': Idea is to take positive steps beyond opposing abortion, same-sex adoption   MSNBC- AP, May 3, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Surprise! You Are Now a Bigot The Pilot, By Michael Pakaluk

RELATED ARTICLE: Oppressive Sexual Orientation Regs Pass in UK Parliament; House of Lords Tomorrow LifeSiteNews.com, By Hilary White, March 20, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: "Homosexuality Is Not Hardwired," Concludes Head of The Human Genome Project By A. Dean Byrd, Ph.D, MBA, MPH, LifeSiteNews.com, March 20, 2007

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: Scotland Bishop Says Homosexual Adoption Being Pushed by "Politically Correct Zealots" LifeSiteNews.com, By Gudrun Schultz, April 6, 2006

RELATED VIDEO:  Religious Liberty Under Fire

Sex for the Motherland: Russian youths encouraged to procreate at camp

Sex for the motherland: Russian youths encouraged to procreate at camp The Daily Mail-UK, By EDWARD LUCAS, July 29, 2007
Remember the mammoths, say the clean-cut organisers at the youth camp's mass wedding. "They became extinct because they did not have enough sex. That must not happen to Russia". Obediently, couples move to a special section of dormitory tents arranged in a heart-shape and called the Love Oasis, where they can start procreating for the motherland. With its relentlessly upbeat tone, bizarre ideas and tight control, it sounds like a weird indoctrination session for a phoney religious cult. But this organisation - known as "Nashi", meaning "Ours" - is youth movement run by Vladimir Putin's Kremlin that has become a central part of Russian political life. Nashi's annual camp, 200 miles outside Moscow, is attended by 10,000 uniformed youngsters and involves two weeks of lectures and physical fitness. Attendance is monitored via compulsory electronic badges and anyone who misses three events is expelled. So are drinkers; alcohol is banned. But sex is encouraged, and condoms are nowhere on sale. . . . . .Twenty-five couples marry at the start of the camp's first week and ten more at the start of the second. These mass weddings, the ultimate expression of devotion to the motherland, are legal and conducted by a civil official. . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: The End of Motherhood? But somehow the United States better mixes child rearing and the job market than do other advanced societies Newsweek- By Robert J. Samuelson, May 29, 2006 Issue

RELATED ARTICLE: Children for Sale: Would $36,000 convince you to have another kid? Slate.com, By Daniel Gross, May 24, 2006

MODERN LOVE: I made him what he is. But who is he?

MODERN LOVE: I Made Him What He Is, but Who Is He? New York Times, By Thomas Anthony Donahoe, July 29, 2007
LAST December I got a call from a health and fertility clinic in Cambridge, Mass., asking if I would be willing to respond to a male teenager inquiring about his sperm donor. I donated there in the late 80s, and it seemed any children I had helped create were just now becoming of legal age to contact me if I would allow it. At 50, I have never married, never raised any children. And about a month before the call, I had reached a point where I was feeling anxious and socially disconnected, no longer relaxed with my friends and sensing there had to be something more meaningful in my life. Perhaps this predisposed me to say yes, the boy could call me, and shortly thereafter I received the following message on my answering machine: "Hello, Anthony. I know this may come as ... a surprise. But I knew you might be waiting for it. But uh ... I, uh ... guess you're my ... sperm donor." . . . . I felt a little paranoid on my way to meet him, not knowing what to expect. We didn't tell each other what we look like, and I was still idly wondering if there might be a camera to take photos of me to account for some potential child support. Of course, he also could just have been a child wanting to meet his biological father. . . . .

RELATED ARTCLE: Sperm Donor Seen as Source of Disease in 5 Children New York Times Online (Free Subscription)- By Denise Grady, May 19, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: Who's your daddy? And does it really matter in the end? SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE- By Mark Morford, April 12, 2006

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

RELATED ARTICLE: Deleting Dad Townhall.com, By Kathleen Parker, Mar 22, 2006

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

Steve Martin Marries Girlfriend Anne Stringfield FOX News-AP, July 29, 2007
— Steve Martin married girlfriend Anne Stringfield during a ceremony at his Los Angeles home, his publicist said. Former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey, a friend of Martin's, presided over Saturday's ceremony, Alan Nierob said. "Saturday Night Live" creator Lorne Michaels was Martin's best man, he said. Most of the roughly 75 guests — who included Tom Hanks, Diane Keaton, Eugene Levy, Carl Reiner and Ricky Jay — were not told that he and Stringfield would wed when they were invited to his home for a "party," Nierob said. The ensuing nuptials were a surprise to them, he said. . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Steve Martin Gets Married at L.A. Home People magazine, By Stephen M. Silverman, July 29, 2007

Usher-Tameka Foster wedding is canceled USA Today, July 28, 2007
— The wedding between Usher and his pregnant fiance has been canceled, his publicist told The Associated Press on Saturday. The wedding between the multiplatinum singer and his longtime girlfriend, Tameka Foster, was scheduled for Saturday. The pair are expecting their first child together sometime this fall. However, a statement released by publicist Patti Webster exclusively to the AP read: "It was announced today that the wedding ceremony for Usher Raymond, IV and Tameka Foster was canceled. No additional information will be given regarding the circumstances of the cancellation, but we hope the privacy of this matter will be respected.". . . .

Usher and fiance Tameka Foster have cancelled their wedding plans

RELATED ARTICLE: Usher's Fiancée Speaks Out About Canceled Wedding People magazine, By Isoul H. Harris, July 30, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Usher's Canceled Wedding: What Happened? People magazine, By Stephen M. Silverman, July 29, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Usher Speaks Out on the Rumors About His Relationship People magazine, By Tiffany McGee, July 12, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:  Stork due at house of Usher New York Daily News, By Rush & Molloy, June 28, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Usher's Fiancee Tameka Foster Speaks Out on the Rumors, Romance and the Rock: Tameka's Turn - PART I     Essence.com, By Keyna N. Byrd, June 21, 2007
As rumors swirl around her engagement to R&B superstar Usher, celebrity stylist Tameka Foster shares a few confessions of her own with essence.com about the end of her marriage, her alleged pregnancy and being labeled a gold digger.

RELATED ARTICLE: Usher's Fiancee Tameka Foster Speaks Out on the Rumors, Romance and the Rock: Tameka's Turn - PART II Essence.com, By Kenya N. Byrd, June 21, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Usher, Stylist Girlfriend Are Engaged People magazine, February 23, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Marriage: if you don’t know, then don’t do it Times Online- UK, By Sandra Parsons, July 26, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: One woman too many? Trinidad & Tobago Express, Trinidad and Tobago, By The Man'hood- Sateesh, July 7, 2007

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

RELATED ARTICLE: GOT COLD FEET? What To Do When You Want To Say "I Don't"   Elegala.com,
RELATED ARTICLE: MIFFED BY HIS MOM? How to Make Amends With Your Mother-in-Law   Elegala.com

Parenting Issues: I’m single, I’m sexy, and I’m only 13
Teenage girls are strutting their stuff in the revealing styles of their pop idols. But such rampant sexualisation is taking its toll on their mental health Times Online- UK, July 28, 2007
In 2002 the Big Brother housemate Jade Goody stripped naked on primetime TV. The following year Paris Hilton starred in a sex tape posted on the internet that was viewed by millions. Last year Britney Spears flashed her genitalia to the paparazzi, setting off a string of celebrity copycats. And two weeks ago the singer Beth Ditto clambered out of her knickers live on stage, tossing her undies into the crowd. You’re nobody, it seems, until everybody has seen your never-nevers plastered across the cover of Heat magazine. And it’s not just show-biz exhibitionism that’s on the rise. Teenage girls are being swept up by reality TV-style tits-out culture, becoming more willing than ever to bare all. Log on to social networking websites such as MySpace or Facebook, view the videos on YouTube and you’ll find explicit photos of girls, as young as 14, posing in their underwear or flashing for the camera. It’s not only socially and morally worrying, but new research indicates that such practices may cause long-term damage to young women’s mental and physical health. . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Those Bawdy Bratz Babes Townhall.com, By Janice Shaw Crouse, Thursday, April 12, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Girls Gone Bad- Paris, Britney, Lindsay & Nicole: They seem to be everywhere and they may not be wearing underwear. Tweens adore them and teens envy them. But are we raising a generation of 'prosti-tots'? Newsweek- MSNBC.com, By Kathleen Deveny with Raina Kelley, February 12, 2007 Issue

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

Nicole Richie sentenced to 90 days for DUI. She is pictured here with boyfriend Joel Madden, by whom she is said to be pregnant.

Nicole Richie sentenced to 90 hours in jail CNN.com, July 27, 2007
-- Television personality Nicole Richie was sentenced Friday to serve 90 hours in jail for driving under the influence in December. Richie, 25, was sentenced to 96 hours, or four days, but was given credit for the six hours she has already served in jail. She will also be on probation for three years, and was fined $2,048. It was not immediately known where the time would be served. Richie entered the courtroom in Glendale, California, on the arm of her boyfriend, Good Charlotte band member Joel Madden. . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Nicole Richie: I'm Pregnant CNN.com, July 31, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Lionel Richie to Nicole: 'Baby, Call Me!' People magazine, July 9, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Parenting Issues: "Mom, It's Not Right" Huffington Post, By Jamie Lee Curtis, June 10, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: America’s Obsession with Stupid Sluts Townhall.com, By Doug Giles, Saturday, June 9, 2007

Girls Gone Mild TownHall.com, By Mona Charen, July 27, 2007
Wendy Shalit is loathed by a certain kind of feminist. When as a twentysomething college graduate she published her first book, "A Return to Modesty," she was scorned by The Nation's Katha Pollitt as a "twit," a "professional virgin" who should be given the task of designing "new spandex chadors for female Olympians." Others were less civil. Shalit, who had raised eyebrows even while at Williams College for opposing co-ed bathrooms in student dorms, has now probably put herself even further beyond the pale by marrying young, giving birth to a son, and looking radiantly happy on the jacket cover of her new book, "Girls Gone Mild." Her skepticism about the bacchanal we call modern sex is undiminished. The book opens with a discussion of Bratz dolls (sold by MGA Entertainment), apparently aimed at ages "four-plus.". . . . . . . American popular culture seems determined to obliterate innocence -- even in the crib! But Shalit's critique is not so much prudish as pitying. Her deepest insights concern the new repression that has been imposed on young women. Repression? In this "liberated" age? Read on. Consider the "hook-up" scene on college campuses (and many high schools). Under the new dispensation, with Ludacris providing the soundtrack, young women are expected to have casual sex with no strings attached. Some girls consent to be "friends with benefits" for their male friends. Magazines like Cosmo and Seventeen, cultural bellwethers, advise young women to "keep your heart under wraps." The very worst thing a woman can do, apparently, is to express a desire for some sort of emotional connection or (gasp) commitment from her sexual partner. That amounts to being "boring and clingy," declare the magazines. . . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Britney backlash? Author says girls have gone mild   Kansas City Star, By Cynthia Hubert- Scaramento Bee, July 25, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Girls Going Mild(er): A new 'modesty movement' aims to teach young women they don't have to be bad, or semiclad. MSNBC.com- Newsweek Society, By Jennie Yabroff, July 23, 2007 Issue

RELATED ARTICLE: Get Chaste: The Dawn and the Eden of a countercultural revolution National Review Online, By Kathryn Jean Lopez, December 5, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: The politics of the bedroom   RenewAmerica.org, By Christian Hartsock, July 2, 2006

RELATED SITES:  Pure Fashion: A Celebration of Style and Virtue

                         ModestApparelUSA.com   ModestByDesign.com    DressModestly.com

Parenting issues: The Myth About Boys Time magazine, By David Von Drehle, July 26, 2007
My son was born nearly 10 years ago, and I remember telling him that morning that he was one lucky baby. Forget Dr. Spock or Dr. Brazelton--I took my cue from Dr. Pangloss. If this was not the best of all possible worlds, it was certainly the best time and best place to be starting out healthy and free in a land of vast possibilities. In the months and years that followed, however, there came a steady stream of books and essays warning that I had missed something ominous: our little guy had entered a soul-crushing world of anti-boy influences. . . . The more I probed, the more I realized that the subject of boys is a bog of sociology in which a clever researcher, given a little time, can unearth evidence to support almost any point of view. I also came to the sad realization that this field, like so many others, has been infiltrated by our left-right political noise machine. Our boys have become cannon fodder in the unresolved culture wars waged by their parents and grandparents. On one side, concern for boys is waved off as a mere "backlash against the women's movement," as two writers declared dismissively in the Washington Post last year. The opposing side views any divergence from the crisis theme as male-bashing feminism. Then I came across a new report from the Federal Government: Uncle Sam's annual attempt to paint a broad statistical portrait of the nation's young people. In long rows of little numbers printed on page after page of tables, this report told a different story from that of either the woe bearers or the myth busters. WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY: "America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2007" is the work of many agencies, from the Department of Justice to the Department of Education to the Bureau of the Census and beyond. It gathers a trove of data, and as I made my way through it, I concluded that there's real substance to the boy crisis, and there have been good-faith reasons for sounding an alarm. . . .

Marriage: If you don't know, then don't do it

Marriage: if you don’t know, then don’t do it Times Online- UK, By Sandra Parsons, July 26, 2007
This summer of floods seems also to be shaping up as the summer of the reheat. Kate Middleton is, we are told, on course for a reunion with Prince William – the couple were last seen, apparently, draped around each other at Camilla’s 60th birthday bash. Then we have Amy Winehouse, who recently married Blake Fielder-Civil, her on/off boyfriend. And now – oh dear – I see that Kylie Minogue is reportedly hoping for a reunion with Oliver Martinez, the too-good-to-be-true Frenchman who stuck by her through breast cancer and chemo. The couple broke up in February amid reports – which Martinez denied – that he was having an affair with an Israeli model. Now, the thing about the reheat is that it rarely, if ever, ends happily. . . . I write as one who spent several years wondering whether to marry one particular boyfriend, who loved me and was lovely. Three or four years into our relationship he proposed to me, beautifully but unexpectedly, on a boat in the Ionian Sea. I haven’t been able to bring myself to return to Ithaca since. I can still remember the horrifying lurch as my stomach fell to the floor and my knees buckled. It always seems a miracle, in retrospect, that I didn’t fall overboard from the sheer awfulness of the shock. But because I didn’t want to hurt him, and because I really did care about him, I did the worst possible thing and stalled. I wore the diamond ring he gave me – just on the wrong finger. . . . . So here, for what it’s worth to anyone currently single, is what I learnt along the way. . . .

Adventures of the wife hunter The Daily Mail- UK, By NATALIE CLARKE, July 26, 2007
Longing for love, Allan sent out a worldwide plea: I want a wife! The response was staggering. So after 53 dates in 13 countries, has he finally found The One? There can be few men on Earth who have not, at some time, dreamed of devising a method of attracting women which was so ingenious it would lead to hundreds of offers from beautiful women all over the world. Women from whom he could pick and choose, dating one and then moving on to another as it suited him, with none of the fallout and recriminations that so often accompany such behaviour. Allan Wills is the man who devised just such a system - the man who hit the babe lottery when he dreamed up the website, areyoumywife.com. . . . By now, Allan was receiving e-mails critical of what some saw as his "cavalier behaviour". There were bitter women out there. Allan says, however, that while the impression he might have given was that he was going out with lots of different women, falling in and out of different beds, that was not the case. "I was very aware that I had to respect the women I met. Aside from anything else, I was terrified of women posting details on my website." . . .

Happily ever after? 'Wife Hunter' Allan Willis and Claire Marjoram are now sharing her flat in London

Melanie Brown pictured here with new beau Stephen Belafonte, who says he is no relation to Harry Belafonte

Mel B: Eddie Murphy and I Planned Baby, Marriage People magazine, By Sara Hammel, July 25, 2007
"Scary Spice" Melanie Brown says that when it came to her now-damaged relationship with Eddie Murphy, the original plan was to marry after the birth of their now 3-month-old daughter. "This was a completely planned pregnancy," Brown, 32, says in an interview that appears on Essence.com. "This wasn't some random, 'Oops I fell over and I'm pregnant.' I don't live my life like that," says Brown. "I'm a responsible parent and have been a responsible single parent since I got divorced" from Jimmy Gulzar, in 1999, after eight months of marriage. Referring to Murphy, she added, "As soon as I had my IUD removed we proceeded to get pregnant. It happened quicker than we expected but it was perfect timing.". . . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Eddie Murphy/Melanie Brown saga: Part 1 - Moving On: Melanie "Scary Spice" Brown Essence.com, By Kenya N. Byrd, July 24, 2007
In the first part of their exclusive interview, ESSENCE.com speaks to Mel B on her former flame Eddie Murphy and the DNA results.

RELATED ARTICLE: Eddie Murphy/Melanie Brown saga: Part 2 - Moving On: Melanie "Scary Spice" Brown Essence.com, By Kenya N. Byrd, July 25, 2007
In the second part of their exclusive two-part interview, ESSENCE.com speaks to Mel B about her new beau, her tough-as-nails attorney, and whether her daughter Angel will ever meet her famous father.

RELATED BLOG: Hollywood Unhooked (Unglued, more precise) The Real Proposal magazine BlogSpot, December 11, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: Melanie Brown: 'Eddie Is A Poor Role Model For Black Fathers'. Femailfirst-UK, May 3, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Don't Jump into bed before marriage Vanguard Online, Nigeria- By Folake Aina, May 27, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: Black Men and Child Support: Should Men Be Able to Opt Out of Parenthood? AOL Black Voices- By Angela Bronner, Updated Apr 19, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: Dads: No cash for unwanted children- In lawsuit, activists argue if women have right to decide fate of fetus, fathers can decline financial role The Detroit News- David Shepardson and Eric Lacy, Mar 9, 2006

When Sarah Gore married Bill Lee Taipei Times, By Dan Bloom, July 25, 2007
When the US media reported recently that former US vice president Al Gore's daughter Sarah Gore had married Taiwanese-American businessman Bill Lee in a California ceremony attended by both the Lee and Gore families, the local media in Taiwan took the news as a happy omen. However, a racist comment appeared on an Internet chatroom in the US just after the wedding that read: "Al Gore's daughter is marrying a chink? Boy, that is one Inconvenient Truth." For readers here who might not be familiar with the insult, "Chink" is a derogatory word for people of Chinese or Taiwanese origin. It is sad to see such racism in the US. But it's also interesting to note that none of the US news reports about the marriage mentioned that Lee's family was originally from Taiwan. This shows how multicultural the US has become, in that none of the wire services or gossip magazines felt the need to mention Lee's ethnicity. . . .

Where’s the Ring? WE TV Takes the Stigma Out of Shacking Up.
Is this any way to empower women? Culture and Media Institute, By Colleen Raezler and David Niedrauer, July 24, 2007
Pink curtains and closets full of empty beer cans just don’t seem to mix. Can slovenly men and obsessive-compulsive women ever get along? In the series She’s Moving In, which premiered on the Women’s Entertainment television channel on July 21, a team of interior decorators help young couples arrange living spaces both parties can live with. All very entertaining, but where’s the marriage license? She’s Moving In profiles cohabiting couples in their 20s. The couples are “hip” and funny, and they do finally learn to live together, but it’s a life where the traditional family has no place. The idea of marriage, or even long-term commitment, never comes up. WE’s Web site claims the company is trying to “empower” women to reach their “full potential.” Is living together a goal young women should be shooting for? Cohabitation is a poor bet for most women. . . As funny as it is to watch a “guy who won’t give up his drumming set and his girlfriend who will not let go of her bright pink sheer curtains, there’s also the depressing element of knowing their relationship might not make it. Doesn’t WE realize newly-married couples have to go through the same conflicts? She’s Moving In may have a droll twist, but the show turns what might have been a wry inquiry into gender differences into yet another media assault on the family. . .

Ali in the Family- Laila Weds New York Post, July 24, 2007
-- GIRL fighter Laila Ali, 29, married former football player Curtis Conway, 36, in L.A. on Sunday, according to reports. Ali, the daughter of boxing champ Muhammad Ali, turned heads last winter during a star turn as a competitor on “Dancing with the Stars.” Ali was wed in front of about 200 guests, including her dad, mom - Veronica Porsche Anderson - and bridesmaid sister Hana Ali, at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Marina Del Rey. “Laila’s approach to the wedding was simple but elegant,” wedding planner Juliet Ryan told People.com. “There were no lions and tigers and bears. It was about the love.”. . . .

Curtis Conway, Muhammad Ali, Laila Ali and her mom Veronica Porsche Anderson at the wedding

Lindsay Lohan's July 24 mug shot, after she was arrestes- again- for DUI. Photo by: Courtesy Santa Monica Police Department

Parenting Issues: INSIDE EDITION Breaks News of Arrest to Lindsay Lohan's Father Inside Edition, July 24, 2007
INSIDE EDITION spoke with Lindsay Lohan's father, Michael Lohan, about her DUI and possession of narcotics arrest. Lohan who has not spoken to his daughter since she last entered rehab said, "I was shocked. I tried to call Lindsay three times yesterday, three or four times and I just felt that I needed to speak to her and unfortunately she was in her tango lesson for her next movie I was blind-sided with this information. I don't know what to say." Lohan told INSIDE EDITION this second alleged DUI happened for a reason and that his daughter needs to get proper help. "Obviously it's a call for help," he said. "I mean come on things happen for a reason. And, I really feel that sometimes we have to be brought to our knees. And, I just think Lindsay needs both of her parents there by her side now as do all my children. But, right now Lindsay's the one in jeopardy and I just want this resolved. I want everything taken out of court. Dina and I have to put our differences aside and just be there for our kids.". . . .

RELATED VIDEO: Michael Lohan: Lindsay Lohan's dad goes 'On the Record Fox News

RELATED ARTICLE: Divorce Court Judge Chides Lohan's Dad AOL NEWS, By Frank Eltman, July 27, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Lindsay's Li'l Sis: Shut Up, Dad! E! Online, July 26, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Lindsay Lohan Arrested for DUI – Again People magazine, By Ken Lee, July 24, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Lindsay's Dad to TMZ: "I'm Partly Responsible" TMZ.com, July 24, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Lindsay's Mom: I Won't Give Up on My Daughter People Magazine, July 24, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE & STUDY: As Marriage and Parenthood Drift Apart, Public Is Concerned about Social Impact: Generation Gap in Values, Behaviors Pew Research Center, July 1, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Teaching Spiritual Values AOL Black Voices- Streaming Faith.com, By Dr. Kevin B. Lee, June 26, 2007

Tammy Faye Bakker, 65, Emotive Evangelist, Dies New York Times, By Anita Gates, July 22, 2007
Tammy Faye Bakker, the diminutive and elaborately coiffed gospel singer who, with her first husband, Jim Bakker, built a commercial empire around television evangelism only to see it collapse in sex and money scandals, died Friday at her home near Kansas City, Mo. She was 65. Her death was reported on her Web site and by her booking agent, Joe Spotts, The Associated Press said. She had been suffering from colon cancer, which had spread to her lungs. . . . In 1974, the Bakkers founded the Praise the Lord network, based in North Carolina, and achieved wide popularity as hosts of the syndicated “Jim and Tammy Show.” At its peak, in the ’80s, the PTL show reached as many as 13 million households, always to a drumbeat of appeals for donations. The Bakkers’ enterprises, including Heritage USA, a 2,300-acre religious theme park and resort in Fort Mill, S.C., grew in value to more than $125 million. Ms. Messner, who stood 4 feet 11 inches, was known for appearing on camera in overstated outfits and heavy makeup. . . . The Bakker business suffered a crippling blow in 1987, when it was revealed that Mr. Bakker had in 1980 had a sexual encounter with Jessica Hahn, a young church secretary from Massapequa, N.Y., and had paid her $265,000 to keep quiet. . . .

Tammy Faye Bakker, 65, Emotive Evangelist, Dies

The Absurdity of the Marriage Debates BlogCritics magazine, By John Bambenek, July 20, 2007
This week a study came out that shows how unilateral divorce laws make divorce more frequent. The empirical research shows what any sensible person would already guess — easy divorce laws make for more divorces. This is only magnified by the fact the divorcing party usually has great incentives to divorce and few incentives to stay (independent of whatever marital problems may exist). The fact that this is even a debate in academia shows how politicized and irrational the academy has become. Sure, there are plenty of other reasons to divorce that also drive the high rate of marriage failures, but government incentivizes failure, not success. That certainly doesn't help. Add into this debate on divorce law the current debate on gay marriage. With easy divorce, marriage has been demoted to the status of a contract. If it's just a meaningless contract, why can't any combination of participants enter into it? A good question that cannot be easily answered when framed that way. First off, marriage in this society (independent of its religious roots) is not even a contract. . . . . . . If there is going to be public recognition and support of marriage, there needs to be a corresponding public good and duty. Government shouldn't give out money simply because someone wants a paycheck. What public good is fostered by the recognition of gay marriage? The same could be asked of marriage in the way it is practiced here also. The fact is, until the promises made and the obligations uttered on the wedding day are actually binding in any real way, it's hard to find much of a public good. Instead of arguing the particulars of marriage and haggling over the petty details, it's time the question of marriage in its fundamentals enters the public discourse. What should marriage mean? Should its obligations be actually binding? What public good is to be fostered? These are the questions that really matter. . . .

Alimony provides a same-sex union test
An Orange County man appeals an order to pay spousal support to his ex-wife, who is in a domestic partnership Los Angeles Times, By Maura Dolan, July 22, 2007
Ron Garber knew his former wife was living with another woman — and had taken her last name — when he agreed to pay her $1,250 a month in alimony. What he didn't know was that the two women had registered with the state as domestic partners under a law that was supposed to mirror marriage law, Garber said. State marriage laws say that alimony ends when the former spouse remarries, and Garber reasons he should be off the hook, given that domestic partnership is akin to marriage. But an Orange County judge has decided that registered partnership is cohabitation, not marriage, and that Garber must pay. . . . The case, which Garber intends to appeal, highlights gaps between the legal status of domestic partners and of married couples, an issue the California Supreme Court is considering as it ponders whether to legalize same-sex marriage. Proponents of same-sex marriage typically argue that gay couples will not have the full rights of heterosexuals until they too can marry. The Orange County case, however, shows how heterosexuals can be the collateral damage of the lesser legal status of domestic partnership. . . . Lawyers in favor of same-sex marriage are watching the Orange County alimony case and say they will cite it to the state high court as an argument for uniting gay and heterosexual couples under one system: marriage. . . .

Alimony provides a same-sex union test. An Orange county (California) man appeals an order to pay spousal support to his ex-wife, who is in a domestic partnership

Modern Marriage: I Like Hugs. I Like Kisses. But What I Really Love is Help with the Dishes

Modern Marriage: "I Like Hugs. I Like Kisses. But What I Really Love is Help with the Dishes." Pew Research Center, July 18, 2007
For anyone trying to figure out what makes for a successful marriage nowadays, the scrap of doggerel in the title of this report isn't a bad place to start. According to a new Pew Research Center survey of American adults, "sharing household chores" now ranks third in importance on a list of nine items often associated with successful marriages – well ahead of such staples as adequate income, good housing, common interests and shared religious beliefs. Well ahead, even, of children. . . . Some 62% of adults say sharing household chores is very important to marital success. On this question, there's virtually no difference of opinion between men and women; or between older adults and younger adults; or between married people and singles. . . . In the public's ranking of keys to a successful marriage, "sharing household chores" still trails far behind the perennial leader -- "faithfulness" --which is rated as very important by 93% of survey respondents. But household chores are now nipping at the heels of the second-place item – "happy sexual relationship," which draws a very-important rating from 70% of survey respondents. . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Being Dad May Be Tougher These Days, but Working Moms are among Their Biggest Fans Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, by Kim Parker, Senior Researcher, June 13, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Fathers Are No Longer Glued to Their Recliners- Child-Care, Housework Hours Increase Washington Post, By Donna St. George, March 20, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Despite 'Mommy Guilt,' Time With Kids Increasing- Society's Pressures, Own Expectations Alter Priorities Washington Post, By Donna St. George, March 20, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: The artful dodge of housework Christian Science Monitor, By Marilyn Gardner, July 5, 2005

Welcome to the family, Mrs bin Laden The Telegraph- UK, By Olga Craig, July 16, 2007
When Jane Felix-Browne, a 51-year-old parish councillor, grandmother and housewife from Cheshire, became the besotted bride of Omar bin Laden recently, she could scarcely have been surprised at the amount of media interest her marriage and her new spouse attracted. Not so much her spouse, a 27-year-old Steptoe-style scrap dealer from Jeddah, but rather her newly acquired, infamous father-in-law: Osama bin Laden, the architect of the September 11 terrorist attacks and the man reviled world wide for his ruthless campaigns of terror. . . . .The latest Mrs bin Laden, who met her husband while riding around the Great Pyramid in Egypt, proposed to him within three weeks and married him in a low-key ceremony in April, was once the wife of a Hell's Angel. She married John G Metcalfe, an unemployed biker, when she was 30 and he 28 but, when she tired of him, she refused to have sex and then moved on to fresh pastures. In the past few days the new Mrs bin Laden's background has been trawled over in detail: her five former husbands (all, like her new one, married in haste, and several divorced within weeks) and her penchant for plastic surgery, tattoos and greasy bikers. She would seem an unlikely daughter-in-law for the austere, Koran-thumping man whose name she now bears - wildly out of place, it has been suggested, in this secretive and extensive family. (Osama has 25 half brothers and 29 half sisters, all the product of his father Mohammed's 22, one would assume exhausted, wives. The 55 step siblings have produced more than 300 children, with Osama himself fathering 20 by his five wives.). But nothing could be further from the truth. While Osama is the world's most wanted man, his clan is cluttered with colourful characters. And almost all have the wealth to ensure their private lives remain very much private. . . .

Welcome to the family, Mrs bin Laden- formerly Jane Felix-Browne

When 3 Really Is a Crowd New York Times, By Elizabeth Marquardt, July 16, 2007
Sometimes when the earth shudders it doesn't make a sound. That's what happened in Harrisburg, Pa., recently. On April 30, a state Superior Court panel ruled that a child can have three legal parents. The case, Jacob v. Shultz-Jacob, involved two lesbians who were the legal co-parents of two children conceived with sperm donated by a friend. The panel held that the sperm donor and both women were all liable for child support. . . . The case follows a similar decision handed down by a provincial court in Ontario in January. In what appeared to be the first such ruling in any Western nation, the court ruled that a boy can legally have three parents. In that case the biological mother and father had parental rights and wished for the biological mother's lesbian partner, who functions as the boy's second mother, to have such rights as well. The idea of assigning children three legal parents is not limited to North America. . . .

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

Meet. Marry. Move On. The Boston Globe, By Alison Lobron, July 15, 2007
When you're looking for a soul mate, why let a spouse slow you down? There's a new emphasis in marriages on emotional togetherness, a standard some relationships just cannot meet. Good thing nobody bats an eye anymore when young, childless couples divorce. . . . At 24, Kathryn Murphy had the life she thought she wanted: two Ivy League degrees, the beginnings of a promising career, and a marriage proposal from a man she adored. . . . . . But instead of the emotional security the energetic blonde says she was hoping for, once "the realities of life and marriage" set in, she found herself floundering. . . . . What the intention of marriage is has been a matter of national debate, especially since Massachusetts became the first state to offer marriage licenses to same-sex couples. But now the reasons that male-female couples marry are in flux - especially among Murphy's peers. Academics, therapists, and divorce attorneys say that for young, childless couples where both parties are educated, employed, and capable of financial independence, emotional fulfillment tends to outrank other reasons to get married to a degree that would have been almost unimaginable for their parents or grandparents. Today, emotional fulfillment may be the only reason to marry - and the lack of it can mean the end of a marriage. Divorce at 20 or 30 isn't new, and the numbers of failed first marriages have remained fairly constant for the last 30 years; about one in five couples will experience separation or divorce within five years of marriage. . . . What has also changed in the last 30 or 40 years is that many of the traditional perquisites of marriage - shared household expenses, children, sex - are no longer tied to a marriage license. So when young people, often already living together, decide to get that piece of paper, they expect it to transport them to a higher emotional plane. And when that doesn't happen, they leave - facing little stigma and with few regrets. . . .

Parenting Issues: Fewer high school students are having sex MSNBC.com- AP, July 13, 2007
More of those who do are using condoms and birth rate is lower, report says
- Fewer high school students are having sex these days, and more are using condoms. The teen birth rate has hit a record low. More young people are finishing high school, too, and more little kids are being read to, according to the latest government snapshot on the well-being of the nation’s children. It’s good news all around, experts said of the report being released Friday. . . . In 2005, 47 percent of high school students — 6.7 million — reported having had sexual intercourse, down from 54 percent in 1991. The rate of those who reported having had sex has remained the same since 2003. Thirty-four percent of the students reported having had sex during a three-month period in 2005. Of those, 63 percent — about 3 million — used condoms. That’s up from 46 percent in 1991. The teen birth rate, the report said, was 21 per 1,000 young women ages 15-17 in 2005 — an all-time low. It was down from 39 births per 1,000 teens in 1991. . . . Education campaigns that started years ago are having a significant effect, said James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth, a Washington-based nonprofit group that focuses on prevention of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. . . . .

RELATED REPORT: America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2007 ChildStats.gov-Forum on Child and Family Statistics

LIVE VOTE: How old were you when you first had sex? MSNBC.com

Posh talks about Becks' affair U-TV, July 12, 2007
Victoria Beckham said today claims that her football star husband David cheated on her made their marriage stronger. The Spice Girls` Posh spoke for the first time about Rebecca Loos, who claimed to have had an affair with the former England captain three years ago. Loos was Beckham`s personal assistant when he played for his former club Real Madrid. Her comments come as the couple jet off for a new life in Los Angeles, with David set to be unveiled as an LA Galaxy player today. Victoria, 33, told reporters: "I`m not going to lie. It was a really tough time. "David and I got through it together. No one said marriage was going to be easy. "But now we`ve come out stronger and happier. It`s even better now than when we were first married." Her comments came as she opened up to US fashion magazine W, announcing their arrival in the States with their raunchiest yet photoshoot. .

RELATED ARTICLE & PHOTOS: The Beckhams: American Idols W Feature Story on Style.com, July 11, 2007

The Beckhams posed for a racy photoshoot for W magazine ahead of their arrival in the States

The real turn-off is a lack of marriageable men The Telegraph-UK, By Boris Johnson, July 12, 2007
The other day, I was giving a lift to a group of 14-year-old girls and, as we waited at the traffic lights, I became dimly aware of something remarkable about their conversation. They were all bright sparks, in the process of being coached up by their schools to become captains of industry, Members of Parliament and all the rest of it. But as I inclined my ear, I realised that they weren't discussing their dotcoms; they weren't preparing for the time when they would be joining each other on the pages of Fortune magazine or Business Week. No, they were discussing marriage. They were planning their wedding days, down to the last sugared almond and the exact cut of their dresses. Not only were they consulting a magazine called Brides, these 14-year-olds, but they had a special supplement of Brides, featuring a hunk in morning dress. . . . . . The single most important thing we can do to encourage marriage is to increase the supply of marriageable men. The real challenge facing our society is the shocking growth in the number of underachieving white working-class boys. We now have an educational system in which girls are powering ahead of boys in every department, and in which disadvantaged white working-class boys are increasingly turned off academic competition. They have no male teachers in the classroom to inspire them and interest them and, for all their braggadocio they are, of course, lacking in intellectual confidence. They are the ones who get loaded, and wasted, and who turn into the Asbos and the hoodies; and they are frankly not good marriage prospects. . . .

Police name Craig Stebec 'Person of Interest' in wife's disappearance

Police Name Craig Stebic 'Person of Interest' in Wife's Disappearance FOX News.com- AP, July 12, 2007
— The estranged husband of a suburban Chicago woman missing for more than two months was named a "person of interest" Thursday by police investigating her disappearance. Police had previously been reluctant to name Craig Stebic as the subject of their investigation. He was the last person to report seeing Lisa Stebic on the evening of April 30; her credit cards and cell phone have not been used since. Plainfield Police Chief Donald Bennett said at a news conference that authorities fear that Lisa Stebic has been a victim of foul play. Police have narrowed the focus of their investigation and "now consider Craig Stebic to be a person of interest in the case," Bennett said. The couple were going through a divorce, but they still lived together with their two children in the family's home in Plainfield, about 35 miles southwest of Chicago. . . . The day Lisa Stebic disappeared, she had mailed off a petition seeking to remove her husband from their home. In the divorce case, she had accused him of being "unnecessarily relentless, cruel, inconsiderate, domineering and verbally abusive.". . .

Fewer Mothers Prefer Full-time Work: From 1997 to 2007 Pew Research Center, July 12, 2007
In the span of the past decade, full-time work outside the home has lost some of its appeal to mothers. This trend holds both for mothers who have such jobs and those who don't. Among working mothers with minor children (ages 17 and under), just one-in-five (21%) say full-time work is the ideal situation for them, down from the 32% who said this back in 1997, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Fully six-in-ten (up from 48% in 1997) of today's working mothers say part-time work would be their ideal, and another one-in-five (19%) say she would prefer not working at all outside the home. There's been a similar shift in preferences among at-home mothers with minor children. . . . The lack of enthusiasm that mothers of all stripes have for full-time work outside the home isn't shared by fathers – more than seven-in-ten (72%) fathers say the ideal situation for them is a full-time job. . . Meantime, even as mothers have grown less enamored with full-time work, a new division of opinion has opened up between working moms and at-home moms on the question of whether it's good or bad for society that more mothers are working outside the home. A decade ago, nearly identical pluralities of both groups (38% among at-home moms; 39% among working moms) said this trend was bad for society. Since then, more working mothers have come to see this trend as good for society, while slightly more at-home moms have come to see it as bad. There are also differences in the way working moms and at-home moms assess the job they're doing as parents. Mothers working full-time give themselves slightly lower ratings as parents, on average, than do at-home mothers or mothers employed part-time. . . .

Fewer mothers prefer full-time work: From 1997- 2007

The New Lone Rangers NEW YORK TIMES- David Brooks Blog, By David Brooks, July 10, 2007
If you've been driving around listening to pop radio stations this spring and summer, you'll have noticed three songs that are pretty much unavoidable, and each of them is a long way from puppy love. First, there's "Before He Cheats," by Carrie Underwood. This is a song about a woman who catches her boyfriend in a bar fooling around with someone else. . . . The second song is "U + Ur Hand," by Pink. This is about a woman out for a night on the town, very decidedly without men. . . . The third song is "Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne, which is done in the manner of an angry cheerleader chant, a sort of drill sergeant version of the '80s Toni Basil hit, "Mickey." It's about a woman who tells a guy to make his loser girlfriend disappear so she can show him what good sex is really like. . . When Americans face something that's psychologically traumatic, they invent an autonomous Lone Ranger fantasy hero who can deal with it. The closing of the frontier brought us the hard-drinking cowboy loner. Urbanization brought us the hard-drinking detective loner. Now young people face a social frontier of their own. They hit puberty around 13 and many don't get married until they're past 30. That's two decades of coupling, uncoupling, hooking up, relationships and shopping around. This period isn't a transition anymore. It's a sprawling life stage, and nobody knows the rules. . . .

Surprise! You Are Now a Bigot The Pilot, By Michael Pakaluk
In my last column, I argued in effect that Catholic parents should no longer send their children to public schools in Massachusetts. Seek a private or parochial school, instruct your child at home, or simply leave the state. Why? Because public schools are now required by law to be instruments of indoctrination in gay ideology. Few Catholic parents seem to grasp this point, because they do not yet appreciate the revolution that has been worked in our laws over the last four years. They think that when "same-sex marriage" was recognized legally, the only thing that changed was that tolerance was extended to a handful of people. Not so. What really happened, is that the apparatus of the state changed its direction of support. Those laws that used to support you (admittedly, only in a vestigial and minimal way) have now been turned against you. . . . "Same-sex marriage" is ultimately based on a misguided analogy with racism. It presupposes that, just as we shouldn't treat someone differently based on the color of his skin, so we shouldn't treat someone differently based on his sexual proclivities and patterns of sexual behavior. Don't get me wrong: I agree that the analogy rests on a hundred confusions. Skin color is irrelevant to our character (as Martin Luther King famously said), but how we act sexually is not irrelevant. There is no "natural" skin color, but there is a natural and right use of sex organs. Male and female are complementary, but it's nonsense to speak of complementary skin colors. . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Marriage is not a civil right The Pilot- A Pilot Editorial

RELATED ARTICLE: I’m not Homophobic; I’m Chick-O-Centric TownHall.com, By Doug Giles, February 24, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Are you a 'marriage biggot'? WorldNetDaily, By Daniel Avila, Esq., July 3, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: The Senator who cried 'bigot' Townhall.com- By Maggie Gallagher, June 6, 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

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 VIDEO: Religious Liberty Under Fire

Tori Spelling becomes minister online. Pictured here with the gay couple- Tony and Dex- whom she 'wed' recently at her B&B Chateau La Rue. CREDIT: Courtesy Oxygen.

Tori Spelling Becomes Minister Online Washington Post- AP, July 10, 2007
-- Tori Spelling is now available for weddings. "Yep, that's right. ... Reverend Tori Spelling! I did it last week online and my official certificate is in the mail. I'm so proud," the 34-year-old actress said in a posting Monday on the MySpace.com site she shares with her husband, Dean McDermott. Spelling officiated at a same-sex union last weekend at Chateau La Rue, the bed-and-breakfast that she and McDermott run in Fallbrook, Calif., on their Oxygen network unscripted series, "Tori & Dean: Inn Love," her spokeswoman, Meghan Prophet, said Tuesday. . . . It was so beautiful as I united Tony and Dex as life partners in love. They wrote their own beautiful vows and there was so much love surrounding them that there wasn't a dry eye in the driveway!" wrote Spelling, adding that she was "beyond nervous.". . . .

RELATED BLOG: Tori and Dean: Inn Love My Space Blog

RELATED ARTICLE: Meet Reverend Tori Spelling People magazine, By Emily Fromm, July 10, 2007
RELATED ARTICLE: Spelling's greatest test The Telegraph, By Stella, July 8, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Book Review: You’ll be seduced by ‘The Other Woman’ Boston Herald-AP, June 18, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Mary Jo was ‘Tori and Dean’s’ ‘Other Woman.’ When her husband left for Tori Spelling, Mary Jo Eustace was devastated MSNBC.com-Access Hollywood, June 15, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Who’s doing the most to attack marriage? The Clinton Herald, By Scott T. Holland, November 29, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: Media provides cover for assault on traditional marriage CNN.com, By James C. Dobson, June 28, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: Dean McDermott's Ex-Wife Blasts Him & Tori People Magazine -By Stephen M. Silverman, May 9, 2006

It's Official: Diddy, Girlfriend Split. Rap Mogul Confirms He's No Longer With Kim Porter The Show Buzz-CBS News, July 10, 2007
Just months after his longtime girlfriend gave birth to twin girls, Sean "Diddy" Combs announced Tuesday that the pair have split up. A publicist for the 37-year-old rap mogul confirmed that he and model Kim Porter were no longer together. On Dec. 21, Porter gave birth to daughters D'Lila Star and Jessie James; the couple also have a son together. The move comes a few months after the two publicly proclaimed their love for one another in a cover story for Essence magazine, which detailed their turbulent history: They already had a son, Christian, when Combs began his high-profile romance with Jennifer Lopez. That romance ended in 2001. . . .

Its Official: Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Girlfriend Kim Porter split.

RELATED ARTICLE: Diddy, Girlfriend Kim Porter Break Up People magazine, By Brian Orloff, July 10, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Did Sienna dally with Diddy The Daily Telegraph-AU, By Paula Froelich, July 6, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Diddy: 'I'm Just Not Ready' to Marry Kim People magazine, By Stephen M. Silverman, November 7, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: No Ordinary Love: Sean "Diddy" Combs and Kim Porter Essence magazine, By Jeannine Amber, December 2006 Issue

RELATED ARTICLE: It's a pity for a man to be a Diddy Newsday.com, By Katti Gray, November 20, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: Black Teens Disheartened Toward Marriage: Poor examples are making marriage elusive in their eyes Eurweb.com- Agape Press-CA, Sept 11, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: In Declining Black Families, Where Does the Buck Stop? At the Feet of Our Men BlackAmericaWeb.com, By Joseph C. Phillips, July 11, 2006

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

RELATED ARTICLE: The ‘Seven R’s Pledge’ Reminds Us What Kind of Men We Should Be BlackAmericaWeb.com, By Joseph C. Phillips, Feb 28, 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

Here Comes the Bride...Again And Again: Selling the White Wedding Fantasy is Big Business

Here Comes the Bride... Again and Again
Selling the white wedding fantasy is big business Pop Politics, By Jen Chaney, July 10, 2007
You in a creamy white organza gown, your hair done in ringlets bunched around a shimmering tiara. He in a crisp, black tuxedo, his rugged jaw quivering slightly as he watches you walk down the aisle. Together you stand beneath a crystal blue sky on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the ocean breeze gently blowing your hair. This is where you make your promises. There is a tasteful yet gleefully romantic kiss. And then the deal is sealed. . . . If you are a woman about to be married, this is what you want. Or, this is what all the magazines, television programs and movies about weddings tell you that you want. And, based on the increasing success of America’s wedding culture, women appear to be buying into this fantasy with every bridal magazine we skim, every episode of A Wedding Story we watch, and every ticket to see Jennifer Lopez play a wedding planner who falls in love we purchase. In the last decade, wedding-related products and entertainment have become increasingly popular. Bridal magazines, like Modern Bride and Martha Stewart Weddings, fly off the grocery store shelves. Internet sites like The Knot have turned into mini-media empires, selling books and other print publications in addition to their Web services. . . . So how can we explain this seemingly insatiable appetite for all things bridal? Just as there are many ways to pop the question, there are many theories that may shed some light upon the wedding culture boon. Take a walk down the aisle and let’s explore them. . . . Theory Number One: It’s All About the Benjamins. . . Theory Number Two: Supply and Demand. . . . Theory #3: We Are All Joan Rivers. . . Theory #4: The Circle of Life. . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding AlterNet, By Emily Wilson, June 15, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Lights, camera, nuptials! Celebrity weddings are big business for magazines - just ask Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes The Sydney Morning Herald, By Andrew Stephens, Nov 26, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: AMERICA’S IDOLS: Why the Obsession With the Rich and Famous? The Real Truth magazine, By Justin T. Palm, Nov-Dec 2006 Issue

RELATED ARTICLE: People who need People- Sucking up to celebs builds mag as TW money machine Variety magazine, By Jill Goldsmith, July 9, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: Don't Let Tom Cruise Ruin Your Marriage Easier- UK , Nov 29, 2006

RELATED SITES: Colin Cowie Preston Bailey

Wives Wield Decision Power in Marriage WebMD, By Jennifer Warner, July 9, 2007
-- Men may rule the world but women rule the roost, according a new study that shows women wield considerably more decision-making power than men within marriages. Researchers found that wives, on average, displayed more power than their husbands during problem-solving discussions, regardless of who brought up the topic of discussion. And it’s not simply a case of women talking more than men. “It wasn’t just that the women were bringing up issues that weren’t being responded to, but that the men were actually going along with what they said,” researcher Megan Murphy, assistant professor of human development and family studies at Iowa State University, says in a news release. “They were communicating more powerful messages, and men were responding to those messages by agreeing or giving in.” “There’s been research that suggests that’s a marker of a healthy marriage – that men accept influence from their wives,” Murphy says. . . .

UPS To Gays: No Marriage No Benefits 365Gay.com, July 9, 2007
Despite a New Jersey Supreme Court ruling that same-sex couples must have the same benefits as married couples, and a state law creating civil unions to comply with the ruling United Parcel Service says it will not provide health and insurance benefits to the civil unioned partners of its workers in the state. UPS says it isn't anti-gay, pointing out it already provides spousal benefits to same-sex couples in Massachusetts where gay marriage is legal. But the company says a civil union isn't marriage and under its union contracts benefits are available only to legally married couples who are in the bargaining units. The company, in a statement to 365gay.com, said that non union employees who are in same-sex civil unions are covered, however. . . The UPS statement went on to say that "the one area in which UPS does not have discretion involves the extension of health care benefits to hourly unionized employees with domestic partners, who are covered by a union contract. Absent a law that specifically categorizes same sex partners as married spouses, UPS cannot unilaterally change a union contract to offer same sex benefits. All such changes must be negotiated at the bargaining table when a new contract is being negotiated." . . .

It's Official: Eva & Tony Are Married!! OK! magazine, July 7, 2007
At 5:20pm on a perfect July afternoon in Paris, Eva Longoria and Tony Parker exchanged their vows in front of a crowd of family and friends inside the spectacular Church of Saint Germain l'Auxerrois in Paris' historic 1st Arrondissement. The blessed event, presided over by Pere Dominic Schubert, was in both English and French. And in a bit of twist, Tony, who was born in France, said his portion of the wedding vows in English, while Texas-native Eva recited hers in French — though she broke into giggles when she struggled to pronounce the word "poverte." Guests were awed by the scale and beauty of the event, many of them confessing to OK! that such an extraordinary wedding had them thinking about marriage. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Just married! Eva, Tony and her enormous ring jet off for honeymoon The Daily Mail-UK, July 10, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Eva: 'I Am Beyond Thrilled!' ET Online, July 7, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Eva Longoria and Tony Parker Marry in a French Church People magazine, By Sara Hammel, July 7, 2007

THE RECEPTION SITE: Vaux-le-Vicomte

RELATED ARTICLE: Eva Longoria, Tony Parker make it official, again USA Today, By Cesar G. Soriano, Special for USA TODAY, July 7, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Say hi to Mrs. Tony Parker USA Today, By Ann Oldenburg, July 6, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Eva and Tony's nuptials remain shrouded in mystery USA Today, July 5, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Eva Longoria and Tony Parker to Wed in a Civil Ceremony Friday People magazine, By Peter Mikellbank, July 5, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding AlterNet, By Emily Wilson, June 15, 2007

Eva Longoria and, inset, Tony Parker and the French chateau, Vaux-le-Vicomte, where the two will be wed on 07/07/07

Wedding rush on lucky number seven day News.com.au, By Mark Schliebs, July 6, 2007
SUPERSTITIOUS couples wanting to tie the knot on 07/07/07 are overwhelming marriage registries, with one registry having to cut the time allocated to each in-house ceremony by a third to meet demand. Registries along the east coast of Australia have been forced to extend trading hours on Saturday to accommodate the influx of weddings on a date some consider fortunate. While Australian couples tie the knot, Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria will also exchange vows with French basketball ace Tony Parker in Paris's celebrity wedding of the year. Preparations for Longoria's wedding have been moving along with military precision for the ceremony in Saint Germain l'Auxerrois, a former church of the kings of France, just across the road from the Louvre. . . .

One woman too many? Trinidad & Tobago Express, Trinidad and Tobago, By The Man'hood- Sateesh, July 7, 2007
. . . . I listened to the two men exchange comments on the drama that takes place when a wife and mother share the live together. On hearing that I also was to tie the knot in August, the elder of the guys held onto my arms as if trying to squeeze some prophecy of doom into my being. "Sateesh, whatever you do, NEVER, EVER, EVER, put your wife and mother in the same house to live. It is the second biggest mistake a man could make... marriage being the first." I don't know. Ever since I turned 20 people have been telling me it's time to settle down and get married. Now that I'm on the verge of that, those same people are trying to discourage me with all sorts of stories. My Mom and fiancé get along great, thankfully. They've shopped together, they sometimes talk for hours on the telephone and both are always on the lookout for gifts for each other. But then I hear that people change after marriage. I've heard of mothers who treated their future daughter-in-laws like gold, but suddenly morphed into the mother-in-law from hell when both of them started sharing a house. And I do know of girls who were all sweet and docile before the I do's then become that thing Stephen King and your mother warned you about. But I can see where conflict will arise. . . .

Blindsided by a Diaper: How Parenthood Changes Marriage

Parenting Issues: How parenthood changes marriage
A wife on how she had to manage her anger once children were born MSNBC- TODAY, July 6, 2007
Once the kids arrive, mom and dad may want to be more careful about where, when and how often they allow themselves to argue in the presence of their children. This is the focus of Ilene Rosenzweig's "Anger Management," which is featured in "Cookie" magazine and anthologized in “Blindsided by a Diaper," edited by Dana Bedford Hilmer. Here's her essay: . . . . That’s not to say we’d fight over everything. We never fought about traditional things. Like when I found boxes of slides of him and his ex-girlfriend on a romantic weekend in Nova Scotia chilling in our freezer, I didn’t clobber him with a frying pan. That I handled with cool ironic detachment, smoothly proffering the slide box and asking if that’s what broke the defrost. In general, Rick and I tend to get along well because we share a sense of humor and agree about big issues. Perceived slights and insults on minor issues are the things that get our Mr. and Mrs. Roper dynamic flaring. And we were fine with that. We accepted this about our relationship. Until I got pregnant. The pregnancy was only partially planned. Rick goaded me into “trying” because, based on his calculations of how many months of ovulation therapy and sperm spinning our friends had undergone, it would take years for us to conceive. Then we walked into the bedroom and moments later I walked out pregnant. I don’t think we even had sex. We weren’t ready. . . . .

News anchor Mirtha Salinas suspended after affair with Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa

News anchor suspended after affair with LA mayor Times Online, By Adam Fresco and agencies, July 6, 2007
A newsreader who told viewers that the mayor of Los Angeles was separating from his wife, but failed to inform them that she had been having an affair with him, has been placed on leave while the station investigates if she has breached journalistic ethics. The Spanish language network Telemundo announced the probe two days after Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, whose wife has filed for divorce, acknowledged he had been in an extramarital affair with newswoman Mirthala Salinas for about a year. . . . Salinas said in a statement that she would co-operate with the investigation. “I am confident that when all the facts are analyzed it will be clear that I conducted myself in an appropriate way.” Salinas once covered the mayor as a political reporter but Telemundo took her off the political beat about 11 months ago after she disclosed her relationship to station management. Still, as the station’s news anchor, Salinas read an on-air report last month on the mayor’s separation from his wife. At the time, Mr Villaraigosa declined to say whether he was involved with another woman. Since confirming his romantic relationship with Salinas at a news conference earlier this week, Mr Villaraigosa has all but disappeared. . . .

'Gays' don't want 'marriage' after all WorldNetDaily, By Matt Barber, July 6, 2007
. . . . But getting married isn't even on the radar screen for the vast majority of homosexuals who choose to engage in a lifestyle largely delineated by short-lived and unstable relationships at best – and more often by casual and promiscuous sexual encounters. Consider that according to the latest Massachusetts Department of Public Health statistics, there have been only 9,695 total "gay marriages" in Massachusetts since 2004 when then-Gov. Mitt Romney began issuing marriage licenses to homosexuals. Of those 9,000 plus, some 6,121 took place in just over the first six months while the "gay marriage" novelty toy still had its sheen. In 2005, only 2,060 same-sex couples took the "gay-pride" plunge; and in 2006 only 1,427 tied that queer little knot. By the end of April of this year, a mere 87 "gay" couples had "married" in Massachusetts. Even more telling – though not particularly surprising – are statistics coming out of Canada where "gay marriage" is now legal nationwide. For instance, in the city of Toronto – which boasts of having one of the world's largest homosexual populations –only one Canadian "gay" couple has "married" so far this year, according to a report by Reuters. . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: The Quiet Gay Revolution Time magazine, By Michael Kinsley, June 14, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: The Homosexual Assault On Traditional Marriage Townhall.com, By Ben Shapiro, February 07, 2007

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

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

RELATED ARTICLE: Proof There's No 'Gay Agenda': Not All of Us Want Gay Marriage Queerty.com, By David, July 31, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: For Some Gays, a Right They Can Forsake NEW YORK TIMES, By Anemona Hartocollis, July 30, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: The Myth of Monogamy: Why Gay marriage Won't Work Political Gateway- By Bud Beck, May 19, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: Don't be manipulated by the master marketers Townhall.com, By Rebecca Hagelin, Oct 4, 2005

RELATED ARTICLES & SPECIAL REPORTS: Uncovering America: Fighting For Acceptance. A focus on the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community CNN.com

Lesbian marriage falls apart in Punjab, one booked IBN LIVE- INDIA, July 5, 2007
A 'marriage' between two girls near this Punjab town went terribly wrong on Thursday with the 'boy' in the relationship slitting her wrists in an attempted suicide bid, but ending up being booked by the police. The drama' of this lesbian marriage — the second one to be highlighted in Punjab — unfolded on Thursday in the court of the sub-divisional magistrate when Rajwinder Kaur — the 'girl' in the marriage — gave a statement that she no longer wanted to live with the 'boy', Baljit Kaur. . . . Rajwinder's family members alleged that Baljit, who used to dress like men, had hoodwinked their daughter into this 'unholy' alliance by promising to take her to Canada. "She was cheated to get into this relationship by the promise of going to Canada," Rajwinder's father Bir Singh said. Police officials said they were investigating all angles of this 'unique' case. Another lesbian marriage between two girls in Amritsar city, 60 km from here, had ended earlier this year after two-and-a-half years of the marriage. . . .

Which is the Chattier Gender? The University of Arizona Press Release, By University Communications, July 5, 2007
New research challenges the notion – frequently communicated in major publications, broadcast media and popular entertainment – that women talk significantly more than men. The research, conducted by a professor at The University of Arizona and his colleagues, is reported in the July 6 issue of the Journal Science. Matthias R. Mehl, an assistant professor of psychology at the UA, and other researchers set out to challenge the findings in a recent book written by a noted neuropsychiatrist that "a woman uses about 20,000 words a day, while a man uses only about 7,000." In a series of studies conducted over six years, Mehl and the others recorded the conversations of nearly 400 U.S. and Mexican male and female university students. To catch all of this chit-chat, they developed an electronically-activated recorder (with the fortuitous acronym EAR) that digitally, and unobtrusively, logged the daily conversations of those who wore the device. . . .

Q & A: A marriage on the rocks -- but God has 'plans to give you hope and a future' Seattle Post Intelligencer, By Dr. Billy Graham, July 5, 2007
DEAR DR. GRAHAM: Our marriage is on the rocks, and I guess I'm to blame. My husband says he can never talk with me, and that I try to boss him whenever we do talk about anything serious. It seems as if no matter what I do, he reacts negatively. Now he's moved in with another woman and filed for divorce. I feel like such a failure. Where did I go wrong? -- Mrs. R.N.

DEAR MRS. R.N.: Like you, I don't know how or when your marriage began to fall apart -- and even if I did, I would still urge you not to spend all your time focused on the past. Don't misunderstand me; it's important to learn from our past and discover what we did wrong so we won't do it again. But your real focus needs to be on the future, and what God wants to do in your life in the months and years ahead. After all, you can't change the past; you can only change the future -- with God's help. . .

What Do Americans Think About Marriage? UExpress.com, By Maggie Gallagher, July 3, 2007
A new Pew poll was released this week to great fanfare and an Associated Press story that highlighted just one of its findings: a large drop since 1990 in the proportion of Americans who see children as "very important" to a "successful" marriage. The Pew study itself however has a very different headline: "As Marriage and Parenthood Drift Apart, Public Is Concerned about Social Impact." One key finding: Americans have a problem with unmarried childbearing. The Pew poll asked this question in a variety of ways: Seventy-one percent of Americans say the growth in births to unwed mothers is a "big problem" for society, while 69 percent agree "A child needs a home with both a mother and father to grow up happily." By a margin of 66 percent to 25 percent, Americans say that "single women having children" is a trend that is "bad for society," rather than "good." The breadth of this consensus across lines of age, race and education is striking. . . . . On gay marriage, Americans are against it 57 to 32 percent. Even young adults ages 18 to 29 oppose gay marriage 46 percent to 44 percent. . . . The next generation is persuaded that children need a mom and a dad. They are less convinced that marriage is the key to giving children that gift. Closing that loop in the mind of young adults is the key to marriage's -- and children's -- future. . .

RELATED STUDY & REPORT: As Marriage and Parenthood Drift Apart, Public Is Concerned about Social Impact. Generation Gap in Values, Behaviors Pew Research Center, July 1, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Media provides cover for assault on traditional marriage CNN.com, By James C. Dobson, June 28, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: NY Times Magazine's Radical 'Mash Note' For the Gay Vogue NewsBusters, By Tim Graham, Nov 20, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: Associated (With Liberals) Press Media Research Center, By L. Brent Bozell III, April 29, 2003

'Thrilled' Sophie is expecting her second child at 42 The Daily Mail-UK, By Fiona Barton, July 3, 2007
The Countess of Wessex was said to be "completely over the moon" yesterday as Buckingham Palace announced she is expecting her second child. Sophie, 42, and her husband Prince Edward had made no secret of their longing for another baby after the birth of their daughter Louise three years ago. But friends said that after undergoing unsuccessful fertility treatment, the couple had all but given up hope. Yesterday, the countess, who was carrying out an official engagement in the rain at the Royal Agricultural Show in Warwickshire, was said to be "smiling ear to ear" as the news of her pregnancy was made public. There was certainly no sign of her putting her feet up despite the difficulties she has experienced in previous pregnancies. The countess lost her first baby and almost died in 2001 when she suffered an ectopic pregnancy where the foetus grows outside the womb – and had to be airlifted to hospital. She spoke afterwards of her great sadness and said she would consider undergoing IVF treatment to conceive. . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: More Health Risks Found in IVF Babies - Scientist Suggests IVF Children Should be Monitored into Adulthood LifeSiteNews.com, By Hilary White, July 27, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Women 'less likely to conceive if they use alternative therapies' The Daily Mail-UK, July 4, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Tenfold increase in IVF for over-40s The Daily Mail-UK, By Daniel Martin, June 6, 2007

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

Prince Edward of England and wife Sophie have announced they are expecting their second child

Blue movies and casual flings - the amazing truth about Princess Margaret's marriage The Daily Mail-UK, By Tim Heald, July 3, 2007
At the age of 30, Princess Margaret was beautiful, lively, flirtatious - and still single. That she had star quality was not in doubt, but she was widely perceived as a tragic figure who had been denied the opportunity to marry the man she loved. The end of her love affair with Group Captain Peter Townsend had been played out in public, and even republicans could see that she had become an object of ghoulish fascination. Margaret nevertheless managed to enjoy a few dalliances, undetected by the Press. And, in February 1960, most people were taken by surprise when the Queen Mother announced the engagement of her 'beloved daughter' to society photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones. . . . Even in the early days, the marriage was never easy or straightforward. The Princess's staff, long accustomed to dealing with a single mistress, regarded her husband as an interloper. They talked about him "raiding the larder" or "making off with the car", as if he were not entitled to help himself to food in his own house or to drive the Rolls-Royce parked in his own garage. Snowdon had particular problems with Ruby MacDonald, the bossy termagant who was the Princess's dresser (her sister, Bobo, performed a similar service for the Queen). It was Ruby's custom to bring up an early-morning tray for her royal mistress. Even today, Snowdon looks back with disbelief on the tray routine. Each morning, it came; each morning it held just a single teacup and a single glass of orange juice. There was nothing for him. . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Princess Margaret: How she lost the will to live The Daily Mail-UK, By Tim Heald, July 3, 2007

Money struck? How to marry a billionaire

Money-Struck: How To Marry A Billionaire NBC-11- MSNBC.com, By Marlys Harris and Amanda Gengler, July 2, 2007
Are you looking to fall for someone tall, dark - but most importantly - very wealthy? Marlys Harris, Money Magazine Senior Editor, explains what it takes to snag your very own Richie Rich. . . Work hard, take risks, maybe build your own business. That's the traditional route to financial success. Of course, there's another highly traditional path to acquiring wealth that isn't talked about quite as much these days: Marry money. Real money. As in not a mere millionaire (a dime a dozen these days) but an honest-to-goodness billionaire - make that 10 figures after the dollar sign, please. True, it's not politically correct to go hunting for a marital meal ticket (or for that matter, to write about it). But just for a moment imagine the life that could be yours if you did. . . . . You will first need to identify the billionaires in your area (or their relatives) and learn their marital status. Then you'll have to study their businesses, hangouts, pets, favorite philanthropies, artists, music and vacation spots. (Google is a gold digger's best friend.) Also required: an investment in the type of home, clothing, grooming and charity events that will help you mix among the high and mighty hoity-toity. One cautionary note: Before you start making repeated visits to your target's golf club or home, remember that stalking is a crime in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. . . .

Working the Polls CBS News Blogs, By Matthew Felling, July 2, 2007
Polls are slippery little devils. There are so many working parts that it’s tough to weigh which detail is more interesting than another. Like a baseball box score, you can say “the pitcher cut his earned run average by a half run” while omitting the fact that, well, he lost. Or you can highlight the shortstop’s 3 for 4 day, and ignore the he is still batting way under .300. Polls often deal with hot-button third-rail issues like political candidates or Muslims in America or approval ratings – which means the business of parsing the data regularly gets criticized for being overly politicized. And that leads to charges of bias and mischief and shrieks that the media is carrying water for (A) big business, (B) environmentalists, (C) Democrats, (D) Republicans or (E) celebutantes. So it was with great fascination that I read numerous stories over the weekend that unveiled (drumroll, please) the secrets of love and bliss and long-term marital happiness. And no, it was not in Cosmopolitan or Oprah’s Magazine. It was the coverage of a Pew Research Center poll about marriage and parenthood. . . . Public Eye doesn’t take a stand on one story’s angle over another – hey, we’re just making it up as we go along in romance ourselves – but this is an excellent (and relatively safe) case study in the way in which one poll can generate a multitude of headlines. And no matter how or where you read this poll's Rashomon coverage, it’s a better source of love information than “Age of Love.”

Infertility breakthrough with first birth from lab-matured egg

Infertility breakthrough with first birth from lab-matured egg Breitbart.com, July 2, 2007
The first baby to be created from an egg matured in a laboratory, frozen, thawed and then fertilised, has been born in Canada, researchers told a medical conference on Monday. The baby girl was born to a woman diagnosed with advanced ovarian disease, and three other women in the 20-person trial group are pregnant by the same technique, researchers said. Doctors already collect and store eggs from women who face cancer treatment that could cause sterility. The eggs -- harvested after stimulating the ovaries with hormones -- are fertilised in-vitro with their partner's sperm, then frozen. After the cancer therapy, the eggs are then thawed and implanted.The Canadian team said the prototype technique took this fertility preservation a major step further. The eggs were recovered from unstimulated ovaries and in addition were fertilised after they had been frozen and then thawed, and not before. . . But he cautioned against giving rise to false hopes. The research is still in its preliminary stages and had not yet been proven in cancer patients, the biggest potential beneficiaries. Women who face chemotherapy or radiotherapy for cancer may not have time to undergo ovarian stimulation so that their oocytes can be harvested and stored. . .

Failed applicant sues Massachusetts bar examiners over test question on gay marriage National Law Journal, By Sheri Qualters, July 2, 2007
A Massachusetts bar examination applicant who claims he failed the test because he didn't answer a question about homosexual marriage and parenting is suing the test administration agency, the state Supreme Judicial Court and four individual justices for constitutional violations. In his pro se complaint, plaintiff Stephen Dunne seeks preliminary and permanent injunctions barring the defendants from considering the question in regard to his application to practice law and from enforcing the question in the current or future bar examinations. Dunne is also seeking a jury trial and unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. Stephen Dunne v. The Massachusetts Board of Bar Examiners, No. 07-11166 (D. Mass.) Dunne claims his score of 268.866 on the November 2006 bar exam just missed the passing score of 270 points because he didn't follow the proscribed format for an unlawful question about gay marriage. Dunne said the question required applicants to "affirmatively accept, support and promote homosexual marriage and homosexual parenting.". . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Boston man sues over gay marriage question on bar exam; says he failed for refusing to answer International Herald Tribune, July 6, 2007

Marriage Trademarked: How to Understand - And Answer - The Claim that Same-Sex Marriage Demeans the Institution Slate.com, By Kenji Yoshino, July 2, 2007
A week ago Sunday, Elizabeth Edwards kicked off the San Francisco gay pride parade by expressing support for same-sex marriage (taking a position that her husband John Edwards doesn't share, apparently without telling him first). "I don't know why somebody else's marriage has anything to do with me," she said. "I'm completely comfortable with gay marriage." Her stance is refreshing and laudable. But to persuade others to take it, we need to understand why many Americans think gay marriage has everything to do with straight marriage. Their intuition may be best understood through an obscure bit of intellectual property law. . . . Elizabeth Edwards is understandably puzzled by this formulation. After all, gay marriage does not take away any of the rights and duties attendant to straight marriage. Nor are gays intending to denigrate marriage. To the contrary, in seeking the right to marry, gays are asking to join an institution they would similarly honor. But the objection snaps into focus when you look at marriage as a form of intellectual property. . . . But the objection snaps into focus when you look at marriage as a form of intellectual property (as my colleague Carol Rose, an expert in property law, encouraged me to do). The law of trademark, particularly the doctrine of tarnishment, is particularly illuminating here. A trademark is a mark a person or business uses to brand its products or services. A "tarnishment" claim arises when a competitor uses that mark in a way that diminishes its cachet. . .

Marriage Trademarked: How to understand- and answer- the claim that same-sex marriage demeans the institution

RELATED ARTICLE: Gay marriage looms as 'battle of our times' Christian Science Monitor- By Jane Lampman, June 1, 2006 edition

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

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

RELATED ARTICLE: Uphold traditional marriage for a healthy nation Roanoke.com, By Misty Mealy, Mar 4, 2006

Citing Little-Known Law, Man Sues Over Lost Love Chicago Tribune- AP, July 1, 2007
-- Stealing someone's heart can land you in legal trouble: Just ask German Blinov. A Cook County jury ordered Blinov to shell out $4,802 last week after he was sued by a suburban Chicago husband for stealing the affections of the man's wife. Arthur Friedman used a little-known state law to mount the legal attack against Blinov. The alienation of affection law, one of eight across the country, lets spouses seek damages for the loss of love. But Natalie Friedman, the woman at the center of it all, claims her husband asked her to have sex with other men and women -- including Blinov -- to spice up their relationship. She supposedly began having feelings for Blinov, prompting her husband to file the lawsuit. . . . "This guy ruined my life -- he backstabbed me," Arthur Friedman told the Chicago Sun-Times. "What he did was wrong. And I did what I had to do to get my point across." Unsurprisingly, the Friedmans are divorcing after more than a decade of marriage. "German was not the cause of this," Natalie Friedman said. "I stopped loving Arthur. . . . If he'd been such a great husband, wouldn't he protect me instead of making me do these things.". . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: The New Monogamy: Marriage with Benefits New York Magazine, By Em & Lo, July 1, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Is Open Marriage the Modern Couple's Answer to Infidelity? AlterNet, By Joslyn Matthews, Sirens Magazine, June 14, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: The politics of the bedroom RenewAmerica.org, By Christian Hartsock, July 2, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: Beyond Gay Marriage: A circle of friends point toward the next battle for acceptance Village Voice- NY, By Corina Zappia, June 20, 2006 (Rated M: Mature Readers Only- Sexually Explicit Material)

RELATED ARTICLE: 'Mistress' pays wife for emotional trauma Independent Online- South Africa, By Monica Laganparsad, Nov 15, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: Wife sues 'mistress' Independent Online- South Africa, By Monica Laganparsad, Nov 14, 2006

Grace, to be launched next month, is an attempt by the church to appeal to a fresh audience as attendance figures fall. It will have its work cut out. Its launch coincides with the demise of the teen magazine CosmoGirl! in the UK and a teen spin-off from Elle.

Parenting Issues: No snogging, no celebrity gossip: church launches magazine for teenage girls The Independent- UK By Jonathan Owen and Sadie Gray, July 1, 2007
At first glance it looks like any other teen magazine, in a glossy colour cover and in a handbag size - aimed at "girls with spirit". But don't expect to find any tips on snogging techniques. Grace, to be launched next month, is an attempt by the church to appeal to a fresh audience as attendance figures fall. It will have its work cut out. Its launch coincides with the demise of the teen magazine CosmoGirl! and a teen spin-off from Elle. Grace is the brainchild of Paul Handley, the editor of the Church Times, who said: "It is for girls who have got a spirit as well as a body and who think there is more to life than shopping." One big difference, he says, is that the magazine will not contain articles about sex. "It's for 11- to 16-year-old girls, so the assumption is that they are not having sex. We say that the best place for sex is in a marriage, not in a magazine... The message of the magazine is that life at that age is about other things.". . . An independent focus group of 13-year-old girls from London took a look at Grace last Friday and was, broadly, in favour. Almost oblivious to the religious elements, they welcomed it as an antidote to existing fare aimed at their age group, which they felt is too sexually explicit and promotes super-thin bodies. . . Mr Handley denied that Grace is aimed at getting girls into church, but he admitted: "It's a way of saying you can be Christian and not weird." How the rivals line up on the big issues. . . .

The Shelf Life of Bliss New York Times, By SAM ROBERTS, July 1, 2007
FORGET the proverbial seven-year itch. Not to disillusion the half million or so June brides and bridegrooms who were just married, but new research suggests that the spark may fizzle within only three years. Researchers analyzed responses from two sets of married or cohabitating couples: one group was together for one to three years, the other for four to six years. While the researchers could not pinpoint a precise turning point — the seven-year itch, as popularized in the play and film about errant husbands, was largely a theory — they found distinct differences between the groups. Research also showed that the median duration of first marriages that end in divorce remains a little more than seven years, which means that those couples will likely spend more than half their married lives less happy than they were when they cut the first slice of wedding cake. “Some folks start getting less happy at the wedding reception,” said Larry Bumpass, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who wrote the study with Professor Musick. Is there a three-year itch? . . . .

RELATED ARTICLE & STUDY: As Marriage and Parenthood Drift Apart, Public Is Concerned about Social Impact: Generation Gap in Values, Behaviors Pew Research Center, July 1, 2007

Unwed births shift to older, cohabiting couples

Unwed births shift to older, cohabiting couples USA Today, By Sharon Jayson, July 1, 2007
The image of unwed mothers as troubled teens is shifting: Unwed mothers are now more likely to be women in their 20s or 30s who, more often than not, are living with the baby's father. Think Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Or maybe Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, or Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins — all celebrities who have had longtime live-in relationships and raised children together. Just how much these famous folks influence average couples is unclear. But a Pew Research Center survey on behaviors related to marriage, divorce, parenthood and cohabitation suggests increasing acceptance of out-of-wedlock births and cohabitation, reflecting what Pew calls a "generation gap" in values. . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Jenny McCarthy: Jim & I Want to Be Like Kurt and Goldie People Magazine, By Emily Fromm, June 22, 2007

Cohabitation, unwed motherhood soaring in younger generation USA Today, By Sharon Jayson, July 1, 2007
Younger adults tend to worry less about the stigma attached to having a child or living together without being married, finds new research that shows a generation gap in behaviors related to marriage, divorce, parenthood and cohabitation. A Pew Research Center survey released today, says these younger adults are driving higher rates of out-of-wedlock births and living together without marriage. Using U.S. Census data and the responses from a telephone survey of 2,020 adults conducted last spring, Feb. 16-March 14, Pew reports show that the rate of non-marital childbearing has ballooned to 36.8% of all births in 2005, from 5.3% in 1960. As recently as the early 1990s, only about a third of these non-marital births were to cohabiting women; now it's about half of all out-of-wedlock births. Nearly half of adults (47%) in their 30s and 40s have lived in a cohabiting relationship; among those ages 30-49, about one-third have. Paul Taylor, Pew's executive vice president, says unwed mothers in the past looked very different than their counterparts do today. . . ."Even though single motherhood is more common than in the past, the Pew study also found that public opinion about unmarried childbearing remains strongly negative. It is the one social change that "drew a thumbs-down from more than half of respondents," the survey says." The study found 71% of those surveyed believe more births to unwed women are a "big problem;" 44% believe unmarried women having children is "always or almost always wrong;" 66% say single women having children is bad for society; and 59% believe unmarried couples having children is bad for society. . .

RELATED STUDY & REPORT: As Marriage and Parenthood Drift Apart, Public Is Concerned about Social Impact. Generation Gap in Values, Behaviors Pew Research Center, July 1, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Halle Berry: "We'll Redefine What Marriage Is" Access Hollywood, April 5, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Declining Marriage Rates Aren’t Just a Black Family Thing – They're an American Thing BlackAmericaWeb.com, By Joseph C. Phillips, July 17, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: Unmarried Parents On Rise In Europe CBS News- Christian Science Monitor, By Peter Ford, Apr 17, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: Four Myths About Living Together Without Marriage Human Events -By Janice Shaw Crouse, Mar 1, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: Living Together Before Marriage Has Disastrous Results Study Finds LifesiteNews.com, Oct 3, 2005

RELATED ARTICLE: All In The Family Townhall.com, By John Leo, Sept 26, 2005

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

RELATED STUDY: Can Married Parents Prevent Crime? Recent Research on Family Structure and Crime iMAPP.org

To Be Happy In Marriage, Baby Carriage Not Required The Washington Post, By Donna St. George, July 1, 2007
Children rank as the highest source of personal fulfillment for their parents but have dropped to one of the least-cited factors in a successful marriage, according to a national survey to be released today. In a study that shows how separately marriage and children are viewed, Americans expressed great passion for their sons and daughters but clearly did not see them as the glue of their adult relationships. On a list of nine contributors to success in marriage, children were trumped by faithfulness, a happy sexual relationship, household chore-sharing, economic factors such as adequate income and good housing, common religious beliefs, and shared tastes and interests, the nonprofit Pew Research Center found. "Marriage today, like the rest of our lives, is about personal satisfaction," said Andrew J. Cherlin, a sociology and public policy professor at Johns Hopkins University, noting that there are mixed consequences for the changing views of marriage. . . .

Study: To be happy in marriage, baby carriage not required

RELATED REPORT: As Marriage and Parenthood Drift Apart, Public Is Concerned about Social Impact. Generation Gap in Values, Behaviors Pew Research Center, July 1, 2007

RELATED REPORT: The Revolution in Parenthood: The Emerging Global Clash Between Adult Rights and Children's Needs Institute for American Values, Institute for Marriage and Public Policy, Institute for the study of Marriage, Law and Culture, Institute for Marriage and Family Canada, September 25, 2006

RELATED REPORT: Life Without Children The State of Our Unions: The Social Health of Marriage in America 2006 National Marriage Project-Rutgers University, By Barbara Dafoe Whitehead & David Popenoe, August 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: New twist on Old World: Aging Italians rely on nuns, immigrants USA Today- AP, By Frances D'Emilio, July 7, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: As Europe Grows Grayer, France Devises a Baby Boom Washingtom Post, By Molly Moore, October 18, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: Sorry, but my children bore me to death! The Daily Mail, By Helen Kirwan-Taylor, July 26, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: The End of Motherhood? But somehow the United States better mixes child rearing and the job market than do other advanced societies Newsweek- By Robert J. Samuelson, May 29, 2006 Issue

RELATED ARTICLE: Children for Sale: Would $36,000 convince you to have another kid? Slate.com, By Daniel Gross, May 24, 2006

The Economist: Waking down an uneven aisle
As the divorce rate plummets at the top of U.S. society and rises at the bottom, the widening 'marriage gap' is breeding inequality The Dallas Morning News- The Economist, July 1, 2007
The students at West Virginia University in Morgantown don't want you to think they take life too seriously. It is the third-best "party school" in America, according to the Princeton Review's annual ranking of such things, and comes in fifth in the "lots of beer" category. Booze sometimes causes students' clothes to fall off. Those who wake up garmentless after a hook-up endure the "walk of shame," trudging back to their own dormitories in an obviously borrowed football shirt, stirring up gossip with every step. And yet, for all their protestations of wildness, the students are a serious-minded bunch. Yes, they have premarital sex. "I don't see how it's a bad thing," says Ashley, an 18-year-old studying criminology. But they are careful not to fall pregnant. It would be "a major disaster," says Ashley, who has big plans. She wants to finish her degree, go to the FBI academy in Virginia and then start a career as a "profiler," helping catch dangerous criminals. She wants to get married when she is about 24 and have children, perhaps at 26. She thinks having children out of wedlock is not wrong but unwise. A few blocks away, in a soup kitchen attached to a church, another 18-year-old balances a baby on her knee. Laura has a less planned approach to parenthood. "It just happened," she says. . . Does this matter? Kay Hymowitz of the conservative Manhattan Institute think tank, says it does. In her book Marriage and Caste in America , she argues that the "marriage gap" is the chief source of the country's notorious and widening inequality. . .

The New Monogamy: Marriage with Benefits

The New Monogamy: Marriage with Benefits New York Magazine, By Em & Lo, July 1, 2007
. . . . . The idea of jimmying the lock on monogamy is not new, of course. Even before marriage made the leap from an institution designed to protect property to something a bit more intimate (and in recent decades, with the changes wrought by feminism, to a freely chosen option for women), early American communes like the Oneida Community, founded in 1848, advocated nonpossessive love and “complex” (i.e., nonexclusive) marriage. In the fifties, Kinsey’s researchers swapped spouses. And by the seventies, the more daring members of the divorce-slash-therapy generation were experimenting with the form: key parties, organized swinger communities, and—inspired by the 1972 book Open Marriage, by George and Nena O’Neill—sanctioned slutting around. It never quite caught on, though, in part because the prospects of extramarital relationships (or even temptations) were so heavily skewed toward men, who had all the freedoms and fewer erotic prohibitions. These days, however, a woman is as likely as a man to attend a sales conference in Des Moines. E-mail, text messaging, and online porn and personals provide both men and women with privacy and virtual intimacy. Both sexes stay single longer, and variety is built into the way they think of their sex lives. The increasingly open gay community has dramatized the fact that there isn’t just one way to be two. . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Is Open Marriage the Modern Couple's Answer to Infidelity? AlterNet, By Joslyn Matthews, Sirens Magazine, June 14, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: The politics of the bedroom RenewAmerica.org, By Christian Hartsock, July 2, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE : Beyond Gay Marriage: A circle of friends point toward the next battle for acceptance Village Voice- NY, By Corina Zappia, June 20, 2006 (Rated M: Mature Readers Only- Sexually Explicit Material)

RELATED ARTICLE: 'Mistress' pays wife for emotional trauma Independent Online- South Africa, By Monica Laganparsad, Nov 15, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: Wife sues 'mistress' Independent Online- South Africa, By Monica Laganparsad, Nov 14, 2006

As Marriage and Parenthood Drift Apart, Public Is Concerned about Social Impact. Generation Gap in Values, Behaviors Pew Research Center, July 1, 2007
Executive Summary:
A Generation Gap in Behaviors and Values. Younger adults attach far less moral stigma than do their elders to out-of-wedlock births and cohabitation without marriage. They engage in these behaviors at rates unprecedented in U.S. history. Nearly four-in-ten (36.8%) births in this country are to an unmarried woman. Nearly half (47%) of adults in their 30s and 40s have spent a portion of their lives in a cohabiting relationship. . . . Public Concern over the Delinking of Marriage and Parenthood. Adults of all ages consider unwed parenting to be a big problem for society. At the same time, however, just four-in-ten (41%) say that children are very important to a successful marriage, compared with 65% of the public who felt this way as recently as 1990. . . . . Marriage Remains an Ideal, Albeit a More Elusive One. Even though a decreasing percentage of the adult population is married, most unmarried adults say they want to marry. Married adults are more satisfied with their lives than are unmarried adults. . . . Children Still Vital to Adult Happiness. . . .Cohabitation Becomes More Prevalent. . . . . Divorce Seen as Preferable to an Unhappy Marriage. . . . Racial Patterns are Complex. . . . Survey Sample and Methods. These findings are from a telephone survey conducted from February 16 through March 14, 2007 among a randomly-selected, nationally representative sample of 2,020 adults. . . . .

As Marriage and Parenthood Drift Apart, Public Is Concerned about Social Impact

MSNBC news anchor Mika Brzezinski screws up and sets fire to Paris Hilton story live on air. Click to view video.

TV presenter screws up and sets fire to Paris Hilton story live on air The Daily Mail-UK, July 1, 2007
To television bosses, it may have seemed a moment of onscreen madness. But to viewers fed up with the whole Paris Hilton saga, it was a long-awaited outbreak of sanity. American newsreader Mika Brzezinski, co-presenter of MSNBC's Morning Joe programme, refused to read out the story of the celebrity socialite's release from jail ahead of items on Iraq and developments at the White House. Miss Brzezinski then screwed up, shredded and attempted to set fire to the script on air. She told viewers: "I hate it and I don't think it should be our lead. I just don't believe in covering that story, at least not as the lead story on the newscast, when we have a day like today." She was referring to stories about Iraq and President George Bush's problems with his Republican party. Miss Brzezinski first screwed up the script and refused to read it. . . .

RELATED VIDEO: MSNBC anchor Mika Brzezinski tears up Paris script

RELATED ARTICLE: I have a new hero and her name is Mika Brzezinski The Guardian- UK, By Richard Adams, June 30, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Parenting Issues: "Mom, It's Not Right" Huffington Post, By Jamie Lee Curtis, June 10, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: America’s Obsession with Stupid Sluts Townhall.com, By Doug Giles, Saturday, June 9, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Celebrity Media, Heal Thyself Townhall.com, By Brent Bozell III, May 11, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: If My Parents had Raised Paris Hilton National Ledger, By Alan Burkhart, May 11, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Bette Midler slams 'wild and woolly slut' Britney The Daily Mail- UK, December 7, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: I (don't) want to be a Hilton Townhall.com, By Kathleen Parker, June 1, 2005

Parenting Issues: The Ten Commandments for My Daughter’s Potential Boyfriends TownHall.com, By Doug Giles, July 1, 2007
God, in His providence, has seen fit to bestow upon my wife and me two beautiful girls that we must steward into greatness. It has been a blast watching my daughters develop into righteous and rowdy, gorgeous girls. The thing that sucks with their metamorphosis into womanhood is the guys who’ve begun to buzz around our happy nest interested in my ladies. As much as I don’t like the idea of their dating, I have got to suck it up and accept it (bartender, I’ll have a shot of whiskey). All you dads who are worth your salt and give a crap about your kid . . . you know how hard it is to let your girls go (I’ll take another shot, please). Even though I’m slowly coming to grips with my kids growing up, I’m not throwing out my brain and becoming a hip and groovy dad who curls up in the corner in the fetal position without an opinion regarding their dating life. Not only do I have an opinion regarding wannabe suitors, I have 10 commandments for potential boyfriends. Yes, seeing that I’m still the Alpha dog of the Giles castle, that I still pay the bills, buy the SUVs, pay for College and secure their condos, then by God, I’m still makin’ the rules. I am Doug Almighty, got that Rico Suave? What I’m about to reveal unto you is an attitude-laden afflatus, so . . . be afraid. Herewith are my 10 commandments for my daughter’s potential boyfriends. Read them and weep. . . . . .

The ten commandments for my daughter's potential boyfriends

More Marriage News: June 2007