'MARRIAGE' NEWS- August 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.

There are STILL three people in this marriage

There are STILL three people in this marriage The Daily Mail-UK, By Amanda Platell, August 31, 2007
Looking back over the coverage of Princess Diana's death, reprinted by the Mail all this week, I was struck by one thing in particular: Prince Charles's reaction. You couldn't miss the shock that was etched into his careworn face; guilt, too, I suspect. But there was also a sense of relief that at last his battles were over. Once again, our future King's judgment could not have been more wrong. As this week has shown, the old battles are still raging as fiercely as ever. So what would Diana herself have made of the controversy surrounding yesterday's memorial?. . . . . Diana was no saint. She wasn't above a spot of revenge. That's one of the reasons so many of us identified with her - especially women. Does anyone seriously believe that Diana would be sad to think of Charles stamping his petulant little feet at the humiliation of his beloved Camilla? Not after the very public humiliation he subjected his young wife to. . . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Camilla's hair goes white ... Is it because of the 'third person' in HER marriage? The Daily Mail- UK, By Geoffrey Levy and Richard Kay, October 12, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Diana: 'Our guardian, friend and protector - quite simply the best mother in the world' The Daily Mail- UK, By Rebecca English and Paul Harris, September 1, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: By Charles's side, only an empty seat The Daily Mail-UK, By Rebecca English, August 31, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Princess Diana's Life and Legacy: Author of 'The Diana Chronicles' Calls Her 'The Greatest Thing to Happen to the Monarchy Since Queen Victoria' ABC News, By Cynthia McFadden and Melinda Arons, August 29, 2007
READ AN EXCERPT: 'The Diana Chronicles' By Tina Brown
RELATED ARTICLE: Ten years on, Prince Charles has found happiness with Camilla AFP, August 27, 2007

What Does Open Marriage Look Like to You? Feministing, Contributed by Jenny Block, author of Open: Love, Sex, and Life in an Open Marriage
If there were no Disney, would girls still spend their lives looking for Prince Charming? I read fashion magazines. I figure I better confess that up front. As I flip through the pages of the September issue of W, I am reminded of just how airbrushed that universe is, and how brainwashed a readership it leaves in its wake. If I’d never looked at those pictures, I wonder how I’d think I “should” look. By extension, I wonder if other people would care so much that my relationships---and most especially my marriage---don’t look like they “should.” What would my world look like today, I wonder, if I hadn’t grown up with the messaging that it was essential to find my Prince Charming and live Happily Ever After? . . . . . . People who read my article in Tango magazine, “Portrait of an Open Marriage,” had strong opinions about my choices---and my husband’s---but most people aren’t so willing to look at their own. For the past few months I’ve been working on my new book project, Open: Love, Sex, and Life in an Open Marriage, and I keep wondering why I don’t know more people in open marriages who aren’t part of the out poly community. . . . . .

What Does Open Marriage Look Like to You?

Renee Zellweger targets Sir Paul in her desperate hunt for a husband The Daily Mail-UK, By Alison Bowyer, August 31, 2007
She's nearing 40, desperate to start a family - and flirting wildly with Paul McCartney. But Renee Zellweger's rush to find a husband has put her on collision course with a dangerous rival. . . . . . Her summer vacation, she has told friends, will not be complete until she bags herself a suitable singleton. No wonder, then, given her avowed intent to snag Mr Right, that all eyes were on her fragile frame (her doll-like figure drew as many gasps of concern as admiration among the glitzy event's weight-obsessed females) as she set her sights on a likely target. That the object of her rather too eager attention should be none other than the newly single - and eminently eligible - Sir Paul McCartney has understandably made her the subject of the gossip du jour in the clapperboard salons of this upmarket seaside resort. At the same time, however, the Bridget Jones star is said to have incurred the not inconsiderable wrath of a worthy - and equally glamorous - adversary. Onlookers at the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers gig last Saturday say the 38-year-old Miss Zellweger's deeply flirtatious tete-a-tete with the former Beatle drew dagger looks from the ice blonde figure of one-time supermodel Christie Brinkley. The 53-year-old (and still stunning) former wife of singer Billy Joel is said to be furious that her younger rival has strayed on to territory where she has very much, or so she thought, planted her own flag. . . .

Demi Moore plays bodyguard while Ashton films 'What happens in Vegas' with stunning Cameron

Demi Moore plays bodyguard while Ashton films with stunning Cameron The Daily Mail-UK, By Donna McConnell, August 30, 2007
Hollywood marriages are notoriously fickle, and who can blame Demi Moore for feeling a little insecure as husband Ashton Kutcher filmed scenes with single blonde beauty Cameron Diaz. The actress looked a million dollars in a tight turquoise shift dress paired with killer heels, and stockings as she and Kutcher, chatted between takes on the pair's new movie 'What Happens in Vegas'. The premise of the film takes it cue from the saying common at hen and stag parties in the US, "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas". And with many an extra-curricular relationship started on film sets - just ask Jennifer Aniston - it's no wonder Demi breezed onto the set in New York to collect her man for some quality time. Not that Demi, 44 has anything to worry about, as the mother-of-three is clearly in great shape. . . . But with a husband 15 years younger, it's little wonder Demi is said to be sensitive about her age, which has prompted her to reportedly spend thousands on plastic surgery. . . . .

UK: Divorce rate drops to 30-year low as couples decide marriage is for life The Daily Mail-Uk, By Steve Doughty, August 30, 2007
Divorce rates fell to their lowest level in more than two decades last year amid growing signs that more married couples believe their commitment should be for life. The share of those who ended their marriages dropped dramatically for a second year running, according to official figures released today. The fall in divorce rates comes against a background of the plummeting popularity of marriage itself. Far fewer people are now choosing to tie the knot and the number of married people in the country has fallen to around half the population. Experts clashed over the reasons for the decline in divorce, with some lawyers pointing to the influence of highly-publicised big-money divorce settlements. But some analysts suggested that the simple decline in the numbers marrying was affecting divorce levels. The figures from the Office for National Statistics show that 12.2 of every 1,000 married people in England and Wales were divorced last year, a fall of seven per cent on the 2005 rate of 13.1. It was the lowest divorce rate since 1984. . . . . The 11.6 year average duration of a marriage compares with an average period of three years before a cohabitation breaks up or the couple marry. . . .

UK: Divorce rate drops to 30-year low as couples decide marriage is for life

Judge strikes down Iowa's same-sex marriage law

Judge strikes down Iowa's same-sex marriage law The Chicago Tribune, By Daid Pitt, August 30, 2007
DES MOINES, Iowa - A Polk County judge on Thursday struck down Iowa's law banning gay marriage. The ruling by Judge Robert Hanson concluded that the state's prohibition on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional and he ordered the Polk County recorder to issue marriage licenses to six gay couples. . . . . County Attorney John Sarcone said the county would immediately seek a stay from Hanson, which if granted would prevent anyone from seeking a marriage license until an appeal could be heard. The case will be appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court, which could refer it to the Iowa Court of Appeals, consider the case itself or decide not to hear the case. . . . . The judge said the state law banning same-sex marriage must be nullified, severed and stricken from the books and the marriage laws "must be read and applied in a gender neutral manner so as to permit same-sex couples to enter into a civil marriage..." State Sen. Ron Wieck, R-Sioux City, said he was surprised by the ruling and promised the Legislature would take another look at the issue. "We'll look at something we can do legislatively," Wieck said. House Minority Leader Christopher Rants, R-Sioux City, said the judge's ruling only illustrates the need for a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. . . .

'The Nest' Mag: The Horror of "The Marrieds" Gawker.com, Posted by Doree, August 29, 2007
The other day, a magazine arrived addressed to a former occupant of my apartment. It was a copy of The Nest magazine, which is published by theknot.com. The thinking seems to be that women go to theknot.com and buy The Knot magazine to prepare for their weddings, and then once they're married, they move on to The Nest. If there was ever a reason to want to avoid becoming a "married," as they refer to themselves, this would be it. First of all, they seem to be this secret little club that they're all so psyched and relieved to have joined! Ew. Also, it's totally this, like, "how do I get my DH [dear husband; they use the most idiotic acronyms for everything—more on that later] to wash the dishes, I don't want to feel like a nag?". . . . . . In the "life" section there's a couple pages about pregnancy. Just to, you know, prime the pump, we suppose! Including a "message board slang decoder," so when you're trolling UrbanBaby or whatever you'll know that BD means "baby dance" which means SEX. OMG SEX. SEX SEX SEX. Seriously, they can't say the word "sex"? Also SH means "stupid/silly husband." It's like every stereotype about relations between men and women was codified by a bunch of women at a Tupperware party in South Orange in 1957. . . . .

'The Nest' Mag: The Horror of The Marrieds

Essay: Bionormativity and the Construction of Parenthood Georgia Law Review (Forthcoming) By Katharine K. Baker
Abstract:
This piece explores the relationship between legal and biological parenthood. It examines how neither history, nor evolutionary biology nor moral philosophy dictate a legal regime in which parenthood must be based on biological connection, but that attraction to a biological (or "bionormative") regime remains strong. In explaining why, it suggests that much of what attracts people to bionormativity is not biology itself, but the way in which a biological regime constructs parenthood as a private, exclusive and binary enterprise. It is these ancillary qualities of bionormativity that people may care the most about. Today, a variety of forces put pressure on these ancillary qualities of bionormativity. The extent of child poverty, the rejection of (even the appearance of) monogamy and the use of donated gametes all, in different ways, bring into question the extent to which we may want parenthood to stay private, exclusive, binary and biological. The analysis presented here suggests that what is most destabilizing to a bionormative regime is not direct manipulation of biological material, but the fluid living patterns of contemporary adults. Because contemporary adult relationships are less likely to be permanently binary and exclusive, so is parenthood. When parenthood becomes less binary and exclusive, it becomes less private and less biological as well. The analysis presented also reveals that a construction of parenthood that is more public, more inclusive, less binary and less biological is a construction of hierarchical parenthood, or a parental regime in which some parents have substantially more parental rights and responsibilities than others. Recognizing degrees of parenthood may be an inevitable byproduct of a system that rejects bionormativity. . . . .

A grim-faced Craig, whose wife, Suzanne, stood silently by his side at the news conference, appeared defiant with respect to the charges against him

Craig: I'm Not Gay, Did Nothing Wrong
Idaho Republican Says He Was Hounded by Newspaper, Guilty Plea Was Mistake ABC News, By Marcus Baram, Emily Friedman, and Z. Byron Wolf, Aug. 28, 2007
Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, strongly asserted this afternoon that he is not gay and that his decision to plead guilty to disorderly conduct in a public men's room was a mistake. The conservative senator was arrested in June on charges of lewd and disorderly conduct in a men's restroom at the Minneapolis, Minn., airport. "Let me be clear, I am not gay. I never have been gay," Craig told reporters in Boise, Idaho. . . . ."I did nothing wrong at the Minneapolis airport. I regret my decision to plead guilty and the sadness that decision has brought to my wife, family, friends, staff and fellow Idahoans. For that I apologize," he said. "In June, I overreacted and made a poor decision. While I was not involved in any inappropriate conduct at the Minneapolis airport or anywhere else, I chose to plead guilty to a lesser charge in the hope of making it go away. I did not seek any counsel, either from an attorney, staff, friends or family. That was a mistake, and I deeply regret it. . . . .

Paula's Affair Shock New York Post, By Dareh Gregorian, August 28, 2007
Paula Zahn's teed-off hubby didn't know that steamy sex trysts between his wife and an old pal were par for the course for years. Maybe he should have. The illicit, years-long love affair between Zahn and business big Paul Fribourg was sizzling even as Fribourg hit the golf links with Zahn's real-estate magnate husband, Richard Cohen, sources told The Post yesterday. yesterday. "Richard feels betrayed," one pal said - and he only found out the truth from a tell-all manuscript Zahn wrote that documents her relationship with ContiGroup CEO Fribourg. "It's a lurid and shocking handwritten account of their relationship," said the friend, who asked not to be identified. Sources declined to discuss any details of Zahn's "love book" or where exactly it was found, except to say, "She was indiscreet.". . . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Oh, Leave Me Out of This Mess- Paula Zahn Rival Keeps Cool New York Post, By Jennifer Fermino, August 29, 2007

Of Mice and Mormons (Five Parts) TownHall.com, By Mike S. Adams, August 27, 2007
Once upon a time, there was a man named Darwin West who decided to enroll in the master's degree program at Purdue University Calumet so he could study Marriage and Family Therapy. Because he was a member of the LDS Church he subscribed to its belief that sex is to be confined to marriage, which is a lifetime commitment between one man and one woman. The year after he enrolled in the master's program, Mr. West worked for LDS Family Services. This was to fulfill some of the practicum hours required for the master's program. At least three other students in the program had worked for LDS Family Services before Mr. West. All were allowed to count their hours toward the practicum requirement. During Mr. West's first year at Purdue, no faculty member ever raised any concerns about his academic performance. No one expressed concerns over his ability to relate to other classmates or potential clients. He had a good year. But, then, the next summer, one Professor Trepper agreed to meet with the director of LDS Family Services. This was so they could formalize the relationship with the master's program so it would be an officially recognized training site for students. But, alas, the meeting never occurred. Later on that summer, Mr. West met with a young male who sought counseling from LDS Family Services. The teenager felt attracted to other men and wanted help so he could overcome those desires. . . . Mr. West did not hear anything more about being kicked out of the program that year. He continued earning straight "A"s and thinking all was well. But things were not well. Things were not well at all. . . . .

Bishop Thomas W. Weeks III is charged with aggravated assault and making terroristic threats against his wife, Prophetess Juanita Bynum, and some of her fans are being taught a lesson about fairy tales, some say.

For 'prophetess' of true romance, marriage a mess The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, By Rosalind Bently, August 26, 2007
With each sheet she wrapped around her body that day, the crowd roared for "Prophetess" Juanita Bynum. At the singles' conference, sponsored by fellow evangelist T.D. Jakes, Bynum spoke to her audience in plain, smoky-nightclub language about her battle with the flesh and her longing for a husband. The bedsheets represented all the empty sex she'd had with men. "Why am I not married?" she cried. "But I find it very difficult to listen to anybody preach to me about being single when they got a pair of thighs in [their] bed every night ... and you keep telling me to 'Hold on, honey, stay there by yourself' ... and you goin' home to big old muscles and thighs? ... I wanna hear 'hold on' from somebody that knows my struggle!" Her sermon that day in 1997 culminated with what she said was a dropping of the sheets, signaling that she was repentant, done with premarital sex and ready for a man delivered by none other than the Holy Ghost. "I don't wanna be disillusioned, I want a man of God, a praying man ... a man that loves his mama and respects his sisters. ... Say 'Yeah!' " she hollered. The predominantly female audience hollered back. . . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Bishop accused in beating blames Satan for his woes The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, By S. A. Reid, August 26, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Turmoil mounted for popular evangelist, husband: Police reports cite Bynum's, bishop's troubles The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, By D. Aileen Dodd, August 25, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Bynum's husband released The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, By D. Aileen Dodd, Mike Morris, August 22, 2007
RELATED PHOTOS: BYNUM-WEEKS SAGA The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Fallen Pastor Seeks Financial Support The Atlanta Journal-Constitution- AP, August 25, 2007
— The Rev. Ted Haggard, who left the megachurch he founded after admitting to "sexual immorality," has asked supporters for financial assistance while he and his wife pursue their studies. The former New Life Church pastor plans to seek a master's degree in counseling at the University of Phoenix while his wife studies psychology, he said in an e-mail sent this week to KRDO-TV in Colorado Springs. The couple and two of their sons planned to move Oct. 1 to the Phoenix Dream Center, a faith-based halfway house in Phoenix, where Haggard and his wife would provide counseling, the e-mail said. . . . Haggard left the 10,000-member New Life Church late last year and resigned as head of the National Association of Evangelicals after a former male escort accused Haggard of paying him for sex. . . .

Fallen Pastor Ted Haggard Seeks Financial Support

Bloodied and bruised Amy Winehouse stands by husband who 'saved her life'

Bloodied and bruised Amy Winehouse stands by husband who 'saved her life' The Daily Mail-UK, August 24, 2007
Singer Amy Winehouse has defended her husband in a series of texts after the couple were involved in a violent row which left them both bloodied and bruised. Amy denied Blake was the cause of the argument, 24 hours earlier after which the 23-year-old singer, who has spent most of the summer in and out of rehab for crack and heroin addiction, was seen with bandages covering her arm, blood-spattered shoes and a gashed knee. And in a series of texts between the Rehab singer and celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, she defended her husband who she claimed "saved my life". Amy told Perez: "Blake is the best man in the world. We would never ever harm each other... I was cutting myself after he found me in our room about to do drugs with a call girl and rightly said I wasn't good enough for him. I lost it and he saved my life.". . . . . Miss Winehouse, who has a history of self-harming, had asked for medical assistance to patch up cuts on her arm. At around 2.30am, said guests, the fight sounded like it had restarted - then Miss Winehouse was seen sprinting down the corridor to the lift, pursued by her badly bleeding husband. One guest who got into the lift to reception at the same time said they started shouting at each other. "Amy was in floods of tears. This guy was screaming at her. . . . .

The explosive rethinking of sex reassignment The Globe and Mail- CANADA, By Margaret Wente, August 24, 2007
. . . . In the prevailing narrative, people like Roy are essentially women trapped in the bodies of men. But there is another theory, one that's deeply unpopular, to say the least. It holds that they are really men with an unusual psychological quirk: a male deviation called autogynephilia. This theory is largely based on research studies conducted at Toronto's Clarke Institute during the 1980s and 90s. It found that some men who seek sex changes are driven mainly by an intense erotic fascination with dressing up as women. The researchers found that as they get older, these men (predominantly heterosexual) become increasingly eager to add more realism to their presentations through surgery. As women, they rhapsodize about being able to express their natural inclinations for shopping, makeup, domesticity and gentleness. But in other ways, they aren't womanly at all. They aren't interested in babies and children. And, like Deborah, they still find women sexually attractive. After their transition, they see themselves as lesbians. . . . . It's obvious why this theory is so inflammatory. It challenges the foundation of transgender identity politics. It implies that people like Deborah need therapy, not surgery. Paul McHugh, a psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins University, goes further. He believes that all the social, medical and psychiatric resources employed in turning men into women are “a misdirection of psychiatry.” He is even more reviled than Dr. Bailey. . . . . . . Partly at the urging of Dr. McHugh, Johns Hopkins no longer performs sex reassignment surgery. “I concluded,” he wrote, “that to provide a surgical alteration to the body of these unfortunate people was to collaborate with a mental disorder rather than to treat it.”. . . . .

RELATED ARTICLE & VIDEO: Freeing Up Deborah- Part 2 The Boston Globe, By Neil Swidey, August 19, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE & VIDEO: A Family Doctor's Journey From Man to Woman And what it means for his family of patients- Part 1 The Boston Globe, By Neil Swidey, August 12, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Two Brothers Share How They Coped With Their Dad's Decision To Become A Woman ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, By Lane DeGregory, May 1, 2007

Without Walls Founders Divorcing MSNBC.com, By Michelle Bearden and Baird Helgeson- The Tampa Tribune, August 23, 2007
- Randy and Paula White, the founders and co-pastors of what has been one of the nation's biggest and fastest-growing churches, plan to divorce. Members of Without Walls International Church reacted with tears and a chorus of "Oh, no's" after the Whites' announcement at Thursday night's service. Randy called Paula to the podium about an hour into the service. He was somber; Paula appeared choked up. "It's the most difficult decision I've ever had to make in my entire life," he told the congregation, describing Paula as an exceptional woman, mother and preacher. She pledged to return frequently to preach. Viewers who tuned in to a live webcast of the service missed the announcement; the video and audio were cut off for about 10 minutes. . . . The Whites, who've been married nearly 18 years, said in interviews that the split is amicable and comes after visits to counselors over several years. They blame two lives going in different directions. Randy, however, said he takes "100 percent responsibility" for the breakup. . . . . An Australian-born businessman, Clarke said he's given hundreds of thousands of dollars to the church since it was founded by the Whites in 1991 as the South Tampa Christian Center. He partially blamed the couple's breakup on their devotion to preaching a prosperity message, exhorting followers to give more money to the church in order to be blessed with greater wealth. "Too many ministries have become big business. . . .

Without Walls Church International Founders, Paula and Randy White, tell worshippers that they are divorcing at Thursday night's service.

RELATED ARTICLE: Are Mega-Preachers Scandal-Prone?   Time Magazine, By David Van Biema, September 28, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Without Walls Church Finally Delivers On Promise Of Home   By Baird Helgeson and Michelle Bearden- The Tampa Tribune, August 16, 2007

RELATED FORUM:  Forum: How much government oversight, if any, should church finances get?   TBO.com, Posted June 29, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Housing Agency Orders Neighborhood Clinic Closed   TBO.com, By John W. Allman- The Tampa Tribune, June 27, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Church Addresses Dispute   TBO.com, By Baird Helgeson and Michelle Bearden- The Tampa Tribune, June 15, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Without Walls Responds to Tribune Articles    TBO.com, June 14, 2007

RELATED FORUM: Forum: Without Walls TBO.com, Posted June 12, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Widow: Pastors Reneged On Deal To Care For Me TBO.com, By Michelle Bearden and Baird Helgeson- The Tampa Tribune, May 27, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Dream Home Win Proves Too Good To Be True   Forgotten Word Ministries, By Michelle Bearden and Baird Helgeson-The Tampa Tribune, May 25, 2007
RELATED ARTICLE: Of Faith, Fame & Fortune TBO.com-Tampa Bay, By Michelle Bearden and Baird Helgeson, May 20, 2007

RELATED VIDEO: Video: Interview With Randy And Paula White

RELATED PHOTOS: Without Walls Photo Gallery

RELATED ARTICLE: Read The Audit Paula White Ministries.org

Televangelist Juanita Bynum assaulted by estranged husband Bishop Thomas W. Weeks III

Televangelist Assaulted in Atlanta AOL NEWS- AP, August 23, 2007
- Police said Juanita Bynum, a televangelist who has won a national following with sermons about women's empowerment, was assaulted by her preacher husband in the parking lot of an Atlanta hotel early Wednesday. Bynum and her estranged husband, Thomas W. Weeks III, the founder of Global Destiny churches, met at Renaissance Concourse Hotel near Atlanta's airport to try to reconcile, police said. About 4 a.m., they fought in the parking lot until a hotel bellman pulled Weeks off, Officer Ronald Campbell said. "She was bruised up and battered," Campbell said. "She had purple bruising around her neck and upper torso." No charges had been filed by Wednesday night against Weeks, who left the scene according to police. . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Bynum's Husband Charged in Assault 11Alive.com August 23, 2007
RELATED ARTICLE: Holy War! When Televangelists Attack! TMZ.com, Posted by TMZ Staff, August 23, 2007

RELATED SITE: Juanita Bynum MySpace

RELATED ARTICLE:  AUSTRAILIA: Pastor had sex with daughters The Sydney Morning Herald, August 30, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: Pastor slain by husband, police say Boston Globe, By David Abel- Globe Staff, June 12, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:   Slain Pastor's Wife: 'My Ugly Came Out' Crime Library- Court TV, April 16, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: 10 Ways to Lift Yourself Up When a Spiritual Leader Lets You Down   Beliefnet.com- NY, By Valerie Reiss, Nov 9, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: Signs of a Restorable Spirit: What are the tangible evidences of repentance? Christianity Today, Posted by Marshall Shelley, Nov 8, 2006

Modern Girls and the Modesty Movement National Public Radio, August 23, 2007
There's a growing modesty movement among girls. The modern and modest clothing line is just one example. But skeptics wonder, why do we push boys toward adventure, but tell girls to cover up? Amy Dickinson, "Ask Amy" columnist for the Chicago Tribune, and Wendy Shalit, author of Girls Gone Mild talk about the new "modesty movement."

LISTEN TO: Talk of the Nation National Public Radio, August 23, 2007

RELATED BOOK EXCERPT: 'Girls Gone Mild' Chapter One, By Wendy Shalit

RELATED ARTICLE: 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

RELATED ARTICLE: Girls Gone Mild TownHall.com, By Mona Charen, July 27, 2007

'Girls Gone Mild' Author Wendy Shalit discusses Modern Girls and the Modesty Movement with Chicago Tribune columnist Amy Dickinson, author of the Ask Amy syndicated column

Will a $150 Fine Prod Folks to Pull Their Pants Up? Visit Mansfield, Louisiana and Find Out

Will a $150 Fine Prod Folks to Pull Their Pants Up? Visit Mansfield, Louisiana and Find Out Black America Web, By Gregory Kane, August 23, 2007
In about three weeks, the new law in Mansfield, La., will be “pull ‘em up or pay up.” At long last, there is finally a backlash against the pants-sagging-down-over-the-butt look, popularized among American youth for the past 15 to 20 years. Starting Sept. 15, anyone walking around Mansfield with his pants hanging down over his butt showing his drawers will be fined $150 plus court costs. Offenders could land in jail for as many as 15 days. And make that “pants hanging down over his or her butt.” The law applies to the fairer sex as well. . . . . For years, I heard that it came out of the prisons, that black youth copied the “fashion” from guys in lockdown who had to wear their pants sagging over their butts because they weren’t allowed to have belts. But the week this law was passed, I heard another version of how the trend started. . . . .

Beyond Foster Care: States Extend Help to 18-Year-Olds Facing Bleak Futures on Their Own Pew Research Center, By Christine Vestal- Stateline.org Staff Writer, August 23, 2007
In most states, youths in foster care are on their own when they turn 18. That's because federal funding for payments to foster parents and group homes is cut off when foster kids reach 18, leaving those who have not been adopted or returned to their families to fend for themselves, with little state support. Two states are footing the bill to help foster-care youths who turn 18. Vermont this year became the second state, after Illinois, to use state money to extend its foster-care services to age 21, if a youth chooses to remain in the program. While other states have adopted programs to help youths who are "emancipated" from foster care without permanent homes, states say their options are limited without federal funding. For those living in group homes, "kick out" happens within days of their 18th birthday, explained Robin Nixon of the National Foster Care Coalition, an advocacy group for children. "They sometimes end up sitting on a curb with their belongings in a black trash bag and nowhere to go," she said. . . . .

Former foster teen Lisa Dickson was honored to be chosen as one of the chapter designees for Foster Care Alumni of America. She discusses her experiences in foster care in an upcoming memoir, titled Sunshine Girl on a Rainy Day

Sexed-up seniors do it more than you'd think

Sexed-up seniors do it more than you'd think
Unprecedented U.S. survey finds older people lead steamy private lives MSNBC.com- AP, August 22, 2007
An unprecedented study of sex and seniors finds that many older people are surprisingly frisky - willing to do, and talk about, intimate acts that would make their grandchildren blush. That may be too much information for some folks. But it comes from the most comprehensive sex survey ever done among 57- to 85-year-olds in the United States. Sex and interest in it do fall off when people are in their 70s, but more than a quarter of those up to age 85 reported having sex in the previous year. And the drop-off has a lot to do with health or lack of a partner, especially for women, the survey found. The federally funded study, one by respected scientists and published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine, overturns some stereotypical notions that physical pleasure is just a young person's game. . . . . The survey involved two-hour face-to-face interviews with 3,005 men and women around the country. Researchers also took blood, saliva and other samples that will tell about hormone levels, sex-related infections and other health issues in future reports. They even tested how well seniors could see, taste, hear and smell - things that affect being able to have and enjoy sex. Some results:. . . . .

Boys, don't be jealous of her toys — play along!
How's a guy to compete with the wonders of electronics engineering? NBC.com, By Brian Alexander, August 16, 2007
About a year ago, I attended a sex toy exposition where manufacturers of “novelties” displayed their wares, hoping to entice retailers to buy boxes and boxes of mechanical satisfaction. Walking around the display halls, I realized that it is impossible for a man to feel good about himself when confronted with a few thousand wall-mounted penis replicas that look as if they had been exposed to radiation at a Nevada test site. A zucchini of such dimensions would win blue ribbons at every county fair. Not only were these contraptions enormous, but they buzzed and rotated, and some were even computer programmable to create a sort of vibrating symphony. I imagined women coming home with these things and their men whining, “It’s not fair! I don’t have a motor!” Can you blame us? In case you have been living in some undisclosed location, men now have a set of body insecurities — abs, hair, biceps, rear, teeth — that parallel the ones with which women have long been blessed. And now we have to compete with battery-operated boyfriends. Is it too skinny, too curved, too short? Does it look like Curly from the Three Stooges? Does the helmet remind you of Darth Vader? And we’re not even to the part about how well it works. (“The force is strong with this one.”) Battling envy. . . . . Chiropractors all over the country are just waiting for us to sprain something trying to contort ourselves into just the right positions to hit all the buttons during intercourse. But Davidson argues that sex toys can help us to be in two places at once. Better, she says, to see a sex toy “as an assistant rather than competition.” The device can be buzzing away while he is busy kissing and touching her, pretending to be the appliance repairman. . . . .

Boys, don't be jealous of her toys- play along...

Stanley Reimer, 51, allegedly threw his seriously ill wife four stories to her death because he could no longer afford to pay for her medical care.

Man Allegedly Throws Wife From Balcony AOL News-AP, August 17, 2007
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A man threw his seriously ill wife four stories to her death because he could no longer afford to pay for her medical care, prosecutors said in charging him with second-degree murder. According to court documents filed Wednesday in Jackson County Circuit Court, Stanley Reimer walked his wife to the balcony of their apartment and kissed her before throwing her over. . . . Stanley Reimer, 51, was charged Wednesday. He remained jailed on $250,000 bond and was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday. In the probable cause statement filed with the charges, police said Reimer was desperate because he could not pay the bills for his wife's treatment for neurological problems and uterine cancer. . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Jonathan Kay on the latest American health-care martyr: 'I guarantee the name Criste Reimer will soon be famous' National Post, Posted by Jonathan Kay, August 16, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: A Tragedy in Kansas City: Criste Reimer CrimeBlog.US
In 1998 a woman felt moved to write a message in an online guestbook. The guestbook was attached to a site telling the story of a man who lost his wife after a struggle with heart problems. The original site is no longer in existence, but the guestbook can still be read. The author of the message used the e-mail address cudlypoo@swbell.net. A portion of her message: . . .

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Is Having an Online Wife Adultery? Switched.com, Posted by Joshua Frulinger, August 15, 2007
It's Sunday morning at 6AM, and Dutch Hoorenbeek rolls out of bed to check on his strip club and do some renovations to an outside party deck. He then fires several tenants in his mall for not paying rent, signs up four new ones, and transports to his office to spend some time with his wife, Tenaj Jackelope. The thing is, in real life, Dutch Hoorenbeek is actually Ric Hoogestraat, a call-center operator making $14 an hour. He's also married to Sue Hoogestraat, not Tenaj Jackelope. Confusing? It should be. Turns out that Ric and Sue's marriage is on the rocks. She contends that he spends more time online in Second Life, a virtual universe currently home to 30 million players, with his online wife. Sue spends her days in front of the television, while Ric is in the other room running a virtual night club and consorting with his online wife, sometimes for as long as 14 hours at a time on weekends. . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Is This Man Cheating on His Wife? Wall Street Journal, By Alexandra Alter, August 10, 2007
Alexandra Alter on the toll one man's virtual marriage is taking on his real one and what researchers are discovering about the surprising power of synthetic identity.

RELATED ARTICLE: 'Second Life' avatar sued over virtual sex device USA Today, August 10, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: 'Second Life' Sexual Genitalia Spawns Lawsuit Switched.com, Posted by Terrence O'Brien, August 14, 2007

Second Life Gamer Rick Hoogestraat spends up to 14 hours a day online as his alter ego, Dutch Hoorenbeek, who has a virtual wife