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"MARRIAGE" In The News
(June 2005) |
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The news articles and features presented below are simply an indication of how topical, controversial, and all-encompassing the issues surrounding marriage are throughout our society--and the world-- today. Some of the views and opinions expressed, and their respective web sites, do NOT reflect the views or opinions of The Real Proposal™ magazine. Many are highlighted largely to reiterate that the alarming statistical trends on the chaotic state of "Marriage" and "Family"--outlined in "A Mere Glimpse"--will continue unabated without a fundamental grasp and purposeful dissemination of TRUTH on the issues.
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- American Idol Runner-Up Bo Bice Marries
Yahoo News, June 30, 2005
NEW YORK - Bo Bice didn't win the
fourth season of "American Idol," but he did win his girlfriend's
hand in marriage — and the No. 1 spot on next week's Billboard hot
singles sales chart...Bice, 29, and Fisher, 24, met when he worked
as a guitar store clerk and frequented the Ragtime Cafe in Hoover,
where Fisher worked as a waitress. . .
RELATED ARTICLE: American
Idol's Bo Bice Gets
Married People Magazine, By
Nancy Wilstach, June 30, 2005
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- Affleck and Garner Wed, Expecting
Baby Yahoo News- AP, By Jake Coyle, June 30,
2005
NEW YORK After months of speculation,
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner have tied the knot--and she's
pregnant. Representatives for both actors confirmed the marriage to
The Associated Press on Thursday. Their publicists, Ken Sunshine
and Nicole King, also confirmed that Garner is pregnant with her
first child... The confirmation came after Us Weekly reported that
Affleck, 32, and Garner, 33, were wed Wednesday at the Parrot Cay
resort in the Caribbean islands of Turks and Caicos. . . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Ben
Affleck & Jennifer Garner
wed People Magazine, June 30,
2005
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- All You Need is Love
(and a Prenup) CBN.com, By Chuck Colson, June 30, 2005
--The
picture in the Washingtonian magazine perfectly symbolized a
nation with the highest divorce rate in the world. It featured a
wedding cake with a bride and groom on top. Lurking behind them
were two gloomy, dark-suited figures: two little lawyers, each one
holding a copy of the prenuptial agreement. “Love is all you need—unless the marriage ends in
divorce,” wrote Washingtonian editor Kim Eisler. “Then a
prenuptial agreement is the best defense.” He called the prenup “a
divorce insurance policy.” Well, that’s probably true—but wouldn’t
it be better for couples to have a marriage insurance
policy?. . . . . .
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- Parenting
Issues: Namby-pamby nation Townhall.com, By Michelle
Malkin, June 29, 2005
The left-wing Kumbaya crowd is quietly grooming a
generation of pushovers in the public schools. At a time of war,
when young Americans should be educated about this nation's
resilience and steely resolve, educators are indoctrinating
students with saccharine-sticky lessons on "non-violent conflict
resolution" and "promoting constructive dialogues."
Peaceniks are covering our kids from head to toe in
emotional bubble wrap. . . . . Just what we need to combat throat-slitting, suicide
plane-flying Islamists: young eunuchs swaying to moldy old folk
music while their "Peace Place" signs flap in the wind. . . .
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- Parenting Issues: As Young Black Girls
Continue to be Preyed Upon, Where Are Their Fathers?
BlackAmericaWeb.com, By Gregory Kane, June 29,
2005
A man, 31, convicted of statutory rape and sentenced
to prison for “consensual” sex with a 12-year-old girl, had teary
eyes as he told the judge he didn’t know that was illegal...My
daughter turned 12 over 20 years ago. Let me give the scenario of
what would have happened if someone like Raysor even thought about
having sex with her (You daddies of daughters who are or were once
12 might back me up on this.) . . . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Fatherless in
America The Patriot Post- By
Mark Alexander, June 17, 2005
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- Parenting Issues: Bill Cosby:
African-Americans 'Not Holding Up Their End of the
Deal' ABCNews.com, June 29, 2005
-- It came as a
shock to many last year when Bill Cosby, one of America's top TV
dads and comedians, strongly criticized low-income
African-Americans, and then took that message on the road. . . .
.He has lambasted "lower-economic people," parents who spend more
on athletic shoes than education, and children who use poor English
and curse constantly. He has said blacks need to stop blaming
whites and take control of their children and their communities. .
. . . Martin asked Cosby if his own failures
of judgment disqualify him from speaking about others. "No," Cosby
said flatly. "I couldn't care less what you think of me as long as
you begin to execute that which will save your children.". . .
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- Top Ten List Of What To Do And What Not To
Do In Relationships Exzibit.net, By Kim
Oliver, June 29, 2005
Most of us who have been intimately involved
with someone beyond the infatuation stage know that relationships
are like a rollercoaster ride. When things are good, they are very,
very good. When things are bad, they are very, very bad. . . .
. Learn the Top Ten Dos and Don'ts of relationships and take
charge and control of your life... don’t become one of the
statistics of divorce or perhaps worse, stay in a miserable
relationship to honor your marriage vows while having so many
regrets about your life as the time ticks away. . . .
- Bride calls off wedding, throws party for
the homeless Seattle Post Intelligencer-WA,
June 29, 2005
-- A young woman decided to call off her wedding 12
days before the event and her parents knew they'd be stuck with the
bill, so they decided to have a party anyway and invited the
homeless...Her mother said she was happy to demonstrate an
alternative to the case of Jennifer Wilbanks, 32, who got cold feet
and vanished shortly before a 600-guest wedding in Georgia. . . .
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- Your
house could be a parking lot Townhall.com-
By
John Stossel, June 29, 2005
--Think your house is your castle? Our country's
Founders thought so. They put three provisions into the Bill of
Rights to protect it. . . . .
- Confiscating property
Townhall.com-
By Walter E. Williams, June 29, 2005
--Last week's U.S. Supreme Court 5-4 ruling in Kelo
v. New London helps explain the socialist attack on President
Bush's nominees to the federal bench. First, let's look at the
case...The framers of our Constitution gave us the Fifth Amendment
in order to protect us from government property confiscation. The
Amendment reads in part: "[N]or shall private property be taken for
public use, without just compensation." Which one of those 12 words
is difficult to understand? . . . . . I think the
socialist attack on judicial nominees who'd use framer-intent in
their interpretation of the Constitution might also explain their
attack on our Second Amendment "right of the people to keep and
bear Arms." Why? Because when they come to take our property, they
don't want to risk buckshot in their butts. . . .
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- Why marriage today takes
more love, work - from both partners The Christian Science Monitor, By Stephanie Coontz,
June 28, 2005.
For hundreds of years, marital advice books have
been written for women rather than men, because women were
responsible for making a marriage work. And over all that time,
their advice to women could be summed up in a single word: submit.
. . . Yet many marriage-advice books still claim that the secret to
a successful marriage is for women to "surrender" to their
husbands' traditional views about gender roles. But recent research
shows that this is a bad idea. Today men with traditional ideas
about male and female roles are more likely to divorce than men
with non-traditional views. It's particularly bad advice to tell
women to play games to catch a man, because women tend to grow more
discontented with their marriages over time, while men grow more
content, even if they initially resisted pressure to change their
behavior. . . .
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- Canada Lawmakers OK Gay Marriage
Bill San Francisco Chronicle-CA, Beth
Duff-Brown, June 28, 2005
Canada's House of Commons voted Tuesday to
legalize gay marriage, passing landmark legislation that would
grant all same-sex couples in Canada the same
legal rights
as those in traditional unions between a man and a woman. . . . .
The bill passed as expected, despite opposition from Conservatives
and religious leaders. The legislation drafted by Prime Minister
Paul Martin's minority Liberal Party government was also expected
to easily pass the Senate and become federal law by the end of
July. . . . . The Netherlands and Belgium are the only other two
nations that allow gay marriage nationwide. . . . .
- Martin cabinet minister Joe Comuzzi
resigns over same-sex marriage National Post- CANADA, June 28,
2005
-- Prime Minister Paul
Martin has lost a cabinet minister over the controversial same-sex
marriage issue. Joe Comuzzi, minister of state for northern
Ontario's economic development, has told the prime minister he will
resign. Comuzzi will side against the federal government's same-sex
marriage bill in a landmark vote later today.
. .
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- The joy of divorce: The Newly Single are
celebrating with voodoo dolls and drinks all around Kansas City Star- By Rachel Dodes,
June 28, 2005
. . . .
Philip Tabor, a 30-year-old actor, gave himself a breakup
party in September. “My godmother said, ‘When life gives you
lemons, make lemonade,’ ” he said. “I added tequila.” Tabor, who
broke up with his male partner of eight years last summer, sent out
invitations with a script-written header, “El Divorcio,” for his
margarita-drenched party at a Mexican restaurant in New York City.
. . . . “Without sounding too Lifetime television, it was very
therapeutic,” he said. His friends gave him plenty of liquor,
erotic videos and a self-help book titled Finding the Boyfriend
Within. . . . . The divorce party, a hybrid of a
bachelor-bachelorette party and bacchanalian exorcism, is emerging
as a celebratory occasion, complete with gift registries and a set
of social protocols. Once a source of shame, divorce has become its
own peculiar rite of passage, so commonplace that more people are
looking to commemorate the occasion with friends — and in public. .
. . .
- Children of
Divorce More Likely to End Their Marriages Newswise (press release), June 27, 2005
Children of divorced parents often bitterly vow not
to repeat the same mistakes. They want to avoid putting themselves
and their own children through the pain that comes from the
dissolution of a marriage. But, according to University of Utah
researcher Nicholas H. Wolfinger, these children’s aspirations face
unfavorable odds. . . . . a phenomenon called the divorce cycle or the
intergenerational transmission of divorce,” says Wolfinger,
assistant professor in the University of Utah’s Department of
Family and Consumer Studies. . . . .
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- Being Bobby
Brown' the pit of trash TV Rocky Mount Telegram-Cox News
Service, By Diane Holloway, June 28, 2005
Let's stipulate, right here
and now, that some lives are more interesting than others.
Stephen Hawking is fascinating. So is Lance Armstrong. . . . .To go
one step further, let's also stipulate that some lives are so sad
and superficial they are best left private. They might not be
boring, but they're too painful to watch. Nobody has been
enlightened by "The Gastineau Girls," the spoiled-rotten ex-wife
and daughter of former pro-football player Mark Gastineau who have
their own E! Entertainment TV show. . . . . Ditto the daughter and
punk grandsons of the late mafia don John Gotti on "Growing up
Gotti" And has-been model Anna Nicole Smith or, heavens knows,
pregnant pop star Britney Spears and her new hubby, Kevin
Federline. But all of the aforementioned nauseating celebs,
including the sordid unraveling of Anna Nicole, pale next to
the tawdriness in Bravo's new show "Being Bobby Brown", which oozes
into Prime time Thursday at 9 p.m. . . . We've brought this trend
on ourselves, and we should have known better. . .
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- Epilogue For 'Stella' author: A Messy
Divorce San Francisco Chronicle- CA, By Phillip
Matier, Andrew Ross, June 27, 2005
--In a tale rich in lost love, closeted secrets and
acrimonious divorce, it turns out that famed local writer Terry
McMillan -- whose celebrated romance and subsequent marriage to a
man 23 years her junior became the subject of her fictionized
best-seller "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" -- actually got her
groove back with a man who now says he's gay. The story is spilling
out in made-for-Hollywood detail in Contra Costa County Superior
Court, where McMillan has filed for divorce from her Jamaican- born
husband of six years, Jonathan Plummer. . . . . "It was devastating
to discover that a relationship I had publicized to the world as
life-affirming and built on mutual love was actually based on
deceit,'' she wrote in her declaration. "I was humiliated. . . .
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- Author seeks divorce from gay
husband Gay.com- CA, By Christopher Curtis,
June 27, 2005
Author Terry McMillan has filed divorce from
the man who inspired her best-selling novel, "How Stella Got Got
Her Groove Back," claiming her Jamaican-born husband -- who is 23
years her junior -- is gay. . . . McMillan added Plummer revealed
his sexual orientation after she confronted him over several phone
calls to a male friend living in Jamaica. . . . Both parties have
filed restraining orders against each other. McMillan filed one to
keep Plummer from their Danville house in the San Francisco Bay
Area. Plummer filed a restraining order against McMillan, claiming
she walked into his dog-grooming business and tossed a ceramic
object across the room. He claims McMillan left him a bottle of
Jamaican hot pepper sauce with the writing, "Fag Juice Burn Baby
Burn.". . . . . Boykin said he would understand
why a gay man would want to escape Jamaica. "Jamaica is a very
homophobic place; I've been there before. So it's not at all
surprising that someone would want to escape the culture there.
(Homophobia) is accepted there in a way it would never be tolerated
in our country. I mean you hear music about beating up gay men in
department stores."...
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- Katie 'Home' Schooling in the
Future FOX News- By Roger
Friedman, June 27, 2005
. . . . I wonder how Cruise explained to Marty and
Kathy Holmes how he picked the famous Carlyle Hotel in Manhattan as
the place where the new families should get to know each other.
After all, the Carlyle is where Cruise lived with Nicole Kidman and
their children for months at a time during their marriage. . . . .
Indeed, Isabella and Connor Cruise, like John Travolta and Kelly
Preston's kids Jett and Ella, are home-schooled with an emphasis on
the works of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. . . . . Martin
Holmes, Katie's attorney father, may want to vet the Scientology
Code of Honor that his daughter will have to live by now that she's
converting as well...
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- Cruise should put marriage in dry dock for a
while Fort Wayne News Sentinel- IN, By
ERIC EDWARD(KRT), June 27, 2005
-- I generally pay about as much attention
to celebrity romances as I do to e-mails from millionaire African
dignitaries. But every so often, one of these relationships has
such gravitational pull that it demands the same attention given to
a Los Angeles car chase. . . . For those who confess to reading
romance novels, let me say I'm not opposed to lightning-fast
engagements. They're cute. But they are less cute when they are a
person's third engagement. In fact, they stay cute only as long as
the two people stay married. . . . .
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- Parenting Issues: Generation P
Townhall.com- By Mike S.
Adams, June 27, 2005
. . . . . For those who don’t know, Ben
(Shapiro) is an underachiever. At 21, he is a Harvard Law
Student, a nationally syndicated columnist, and now the author of
his second book, Porn Generation. . . . .
Porn Generation also deserves credit for criticizing
some of the “cultural icons” who have profited immensely from the
corruption of our children and our culture. For example, Shapiro
describes Madonna as “a fabulously successful musician, a failed
actress, and a cultural icon.” He goes on to say that “She is also
a whore, selling her promiscuity for power and financial gain.” And
that “She isn’t just any whore either. She’s a whore with a
microphone.” . . . . Sticking with
the most important theme of the book-the sexualization of
children-Shapiro correctly observes that TV portrayals of casual
sex itself are not the problem. It is the fact that TV depicts
these characters as having casual sex without experiencing negative
consequences that causes harm. . .
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- Parenting
Issues: Fighting the Michael Jackson Culture Townhall.com- By Ben Shapiro, June
27, 2005
Last week, Michael Jackson was
cleared of all charges in his child molestation case. As the
verdict was announced, Jackson's fans cheered. Four days later, 400
Jackson fans gathered at the Chumash Casino in California to
celebrate the pop star's acquittal. . . . Americans have always
been fascinated by celebrity, but it is only in the past few
decades that scandalous celebrity behavior has been accepted by a
willing public. For years, Hollywood covered up the private lives
of its biggest stars. . . . The Hays Code was voluntarily
implemented in 1934 by the movie industry in response to public
outcry over the antics of the sultry Mae West. The Code stated, "No
picture shall be produced that will lower the moral standards of
those who see it. Hence the sympathy of the audience should never
be thrown to the side of crime, wrongdoing, evil or sin." The Code
remained in force until the early 1960s. The Hays Code has been
derided since its demise as quaint and oppressive, but it is no
coincidence that the greatest movies ever made were filmed during
this period. . . .
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- Parenting Issues: Bottling
Up Smut-- Cleaning Up the Public Square
Breakpoint.org- By Chuck Colson, June 27, 2005
--We expect Christians to complain about our
sex-saturated culture. But when a self-described "sex-industry
insider" complains, people ought to take notice. . . According to a
new book, we have failed our children because we haven't fulfilled
"our function as guardians of their cultural environment." The
"American media's obsession with sex," says the author, "has gotten
so out of hand" that "even the provocateurs are being
provoked." Whose words are these? Chuck Colson? Jim Dobson?
No. They're the conclusions of a "provocateur" himself, a "staunch
believer in the First Amendment" and a "member of the American
Civil Liberties Union" -- someone who opposes "any element of
government control of human expression." That's how Gil
Reavill describes himself in his new book, Smut: A Sex-Industry
Insider (and Concerned Father) Says Enough is Enough. . .
Getting older made him “put away,” as he put it, the “arrogance
that delights in offending others.” And then he had kids, and
that’s when he really came to realize that smut is what he calls
the “cultural equivalent of second-hand smoke.”. . . .
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Parenting Issues: Why Virtues Still
Matter Townhall.com-
By Armstrong Williams, June 27, 2005
--From a young age our parents
teach us the difference between right and wrong. As we grow up and
our perspective broadens, we naturally question those early
lessons. We observe the all too human shortcomings of our parents
and wonder whether there truly exist moral absolutes to arbitrate
our lives. For a
teenager feeling those first twangs of shortcoming in his parents,
the world can seem like a meaningless universe. . . .
.For the better part of two thousand
years, religion helped fill that void. Still, every once in a
while, the elevated primate makes a power play and places himself
at the center of the universe. . . .
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- Leave all the worries of the big day to
wedding planners Greenville News-SC, By Kathy Spencer-Mention,
STAFF WRITER, Jun 26, 2005
-- It wasn't the
"luck" that came with slipping into something borrowed or tying on
something blue that made things run smoothly on Leslie Kouvolo's
wedding day last weekend. . . . . Over at the Ryan Nicholas Inn in
Simpsonville, Kim Becherer, the proprietor, was turning up the
romantic ambience — putting out fragrant rose petals and setting
crystal candelabras on tables — in the lilac-filled Southern
estate's reception hall. . . . .
- The Perfect Match: A Wedding of Hope to
Reality... Houston Chronicle-TX, By STEPHANI
COONTZ, June 26, 2005
-- We have great expectations for modern
marriage, and that's not a bad thing after all-- The problem with
modern marriage, according to conventional wisdom, is that today's
couples don't make marriage their top priority and put their
relationship above all else. As one of my students once wrote,
"People nowadays don't respect the marriage vowels." Perhaps she
meant IOU. But my research on the history of marriage convinces me
that people now place a higher value on marriage than ever before
in history. In fact, that's a big part of the problem. . . .
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- Marriage Penalty Washington Post, By Ruth Marcus,
June 25, 2005
--Remember the 1986 Newsweek cover warning that a
college-educated woman older than 40 had a better chance of being
killed by a terrorist than of finding a husband? (My mother does.)
Now National Journal magazine has come up with a 21st-century
corollary: Women who work in the top ranks of the Bush
administration are five times more likely to be single than their
male counterparts. Delving into the demographics of 367 top
administration officials, it found that a scant 7 percent of men
were single -- compared with 33 percent of the women. . . .
. Far better, for matrimonial purposes, to be Henry Kissinger
than Condoleezza Rice. . . .
- Economics of marriage Hindu Business Line- India, By B
Venkatesh, June 25, 2005
--My friend is
economically motivated to get married! No, he does not intend on
taking dowry. On the contrary, he strongly believes that marrying a
non-working girl can economically improve his life. . . . His
belief comes from a working paper published by the Institute of
Social and Economic Research, UK. . . . So, how is marriage linked
to economics?. . . .
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- Next up for MPs: same-sex
legislation Globe and Mail- Canada, June
25, 2005
-— Opponents of same-sex marriage effectively conceded
defeat yesterday on the government's bill to change the definition
of marriage, after the Conservatives' bitter loss in a
surprise budget vote Thursday night. "The fix is in to finish the
job, to ram this through at an unconscionable speed," said
independent MP Pat O'Brien, who quit the Liberal caucus three weeks
ago over his opposition to same-sex marriage. . . . .
- Dirty Tricks in
Parliament Pave Way for Gay 'Marriage' Bill
... Lifesite- Canada, June 24, 2005
(LifeSiteNews.com)
- The last hurdle standing in the way of passage of
the gay 'marriage' bill was swept away last night by
political manipulations that make the Canadian Parliament an
embarrassment to traditions of democratic process. . . .
.
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- Spain Same-Sex Marriage Law Delayed in
Senate after Massive Catholic Rally ChristianToday-UK, June 24,
2005
Spain's Senate
has rejected on Wednesday a bill on same-sex marriage proposed by
the liberal Socialist government. The upper house voted 131 to 119
to throw out the bill, according to BBC News. The massive rally
against the legalisation of same-sex union through central Madrid
sponsored by a Catholic pro-family group last Saturday is said to
have influenced the decision of the Senate. . . . .
.
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- Pope urges Italy to defend marriage, right
to life Swissinfo- Switzerland, June 24, 2005
In his first official foreign state visit, Pope Benedict
told Italy on Friday the separation of Church and state was
"legitimate," but urged lawmakers to defend traditional marriage
and the right to life. . . . . "My hope is that the Italian
people not only don't reject their Christian heritage which is part
of their story, but they look after it with particular care," he
said...He has also condemned same-sex unions as expressions of
"anarchic freedom" that threatened the future of the family. . .
.
- Pope Defends Speaking Out on Ethics
Issues Guardian
Unlimited- UK- By DANIELA PETROFF. ROME
(AP), June 24, 2005
Pope Benedict XVI
visited Italy's president Friday and acknowledged the secular
nature of the Italian state, but said that won't stop the Roman
Catholic Church from intervening in ethical matters or issues that
deal with man's "eternal destiny.'' . . .
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- In reversal, NBC's 'Today' accepts gay
couples in wedding contest Sovo.com
(Southern Voice)-By Steve Koval, June 24, 2005
GLAAD welcomes change but fine print excludes all
but Mass. gays...NBC announced on Wednesday that the "Today" show
will accept submissions for its "Hometown Wedding" contest from
eligible gay couples — rejecting earlier rules that limited entries
to "currently engaged couples consisting of a male and female.". .
. . . The Gay and Lesbian Alliance against
Defamation said the network made the decision after consulations
with the gay media watchdog group. . . .
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- Homosexuals Challenge Jerusalem for
Refusing 'Gay Pride' Parade CNSNews.com- By Julie Stahl- Bureau
Chief, June 23, 2005
Jerusalem's
homosexual community on Thursday challenged the city's decision to
cancel this year's "Gay Pride"parade because it might offend city
residents and disrupt the public order, the city's general manager
said in a letter. . . . . In a rare show of solidarity, Jews,
Christians and Muslims from Israel and the U.S. launched at least
two initiatives calling on the government to ban the international
event for religious reasons. . . . .
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- Bush calls for gay-marriage amendment MSNBC, By Alex Johnson, June
21, 2005
Reviving a major plank of his re-election campaign,
President Bush called for a constitutional amendment banning
same-sex marriage Tuesday. The president’s address to the annual
meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention — the fourth year in a
row he has spoken to the conservative evangelical gathering — was
crafted to rally the social religious conservatives who make up a
crucial part of Bush’s governing coalition. . .
.
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- International Media
Massively Under-Report Numbers at 1,000,000
... Lifesite
(LifeSiteNews.com)-Canada, June 20, 2005
MADRID: Given massive discrepancies in
numbers reported for Saturday's demonstration for traditional
marriage in Spain, LifeSiteNews.com directly contacted sources in
Spain to determine what the real numbers were for the event
that received huge advance international support.
Organizers of the event insist that actual attendance was
between 1.5 and 2 million, making it by far the largest protest
ever against attempts to impose same-sex marriage. . . .
.
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- Marriage brings financial
changes Metro Toronto-Canada, June 21,
2005
Tie the
knot, but not around your necks. Discuss your current and future
financial goals with each other. He may want to drive a Porsche but
may have to settle for a Mazda sport. She wants that $10,000
diamond ring but may have to settle for the $9,999 diamond ring. .
. . A bride or bridegroom's bad credit before marriage
will affect the other's credit after the wedding because lenders
base their loans on both credit ratings. . .
.
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- 9 reasons why people have sex before
marriage Daily Express- Malaysia, June 21,
2005
President of The Society for Caring Youths,
Kota Kinabalu (CARYS), Josephine Wan-Wen Hadikusumo, said many of
the incidences of sexual activity which result in unplanned
pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) occur in the
heat of the moment when one thing leads to another. . . . .
Premarital abstinence will also spare your spouse of insecurities
based on wondering if you are really satisfied with him sexually.
These insecurities over time can erode a marriage. . . . . "Also, a
partner who finds himself or herself frequently remembering past
partners, who may have been better in bed, can cause guilt or
conflicting emotions which will erode a marriage,". . .
.
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Sunday, June 19, 2005 Happy Fathers' Day to every strong man who is operating
within the foundational principles of TRUTH within his
home to ensure a blessed future for all of us
through the lives of his children! |
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- Dad, we need
you Townhall.com, By Rebecca
Hagelin, June 17, 2005
It's a simple message, but one rarely heard in
today’s culture. The sad reality is that we live in a society where
the message to fathers is, 'You’re irrelevant. You’re useless. You
are a loser.' Just flip on the television: commercials and sitcoms
portray fathers as wimpy and ignorant. Men are depicted as
lazy, uninvolved, unwanted, and/or impotent. Dads, I’ve got news. Your family needs you.
Society needs you. Your sons and daughters need you.
Good dads have been the backbone of strong families, the secret
behind happy children, and the zing in the step of satisfied wives
throughout history. So dear dads, this Father's
Day, I honor all of you who have rejected the messages of a crazy
culture that seeks to devalue you. . . . .
- Cinderella Man: A Father's
Day Message Breakpoint.org- By Chuck Colson, June 17,
2005
The
children are huddled together in one bed, trying to keep warm. The
gas and electricity have been turned off; the last of the milk is
gone. What stands between these children and complete disaster?
Their father. . . .
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- Father
Is the Best Townhall.com-
By Rich Lowry, June 17, 2005
Dad is countercultural. If
he is responsible, loving, and married, he might seem boring and a
constant provocation to his eye-rolling teenage children, but he
stands at the ramparts of a movement to save the country from the
most destructive trend of the past 30 years: father absence. . . .
. . The proportion of out-of-wedlock births rose 600 percent from
1960 to 2000, and the divorce rate more than doubled between 1965
and 1980. Roughly 24 million children now live in homes where the
biological father is absent — about one out of every three
children. This is a social disaster. Children need their fathers,
and they need them in the home, which, as a practical matter, means
their fathers have to be married to their mothers. . . . . .
- Fatherless in America The Patriot Post- By Mark Alexander, June 17, 2005
Many families will celebrate
Father's Day this Sunday, but the tragic reality is that some
24-million children live absent or apart from their biological
fathers. One in three children -- and only one in five inner-city
children -- are in homes with their fathers. Of course, any
assertion that fathers are critical to the well-being of children
will undoubtedly offend the PC NOW crowd -- you know, those
enlightened liberals who have, for the past four decades, insisted
that mothers can do it all. Indeed, they've dismissed men as little
more than a nuisance -- one necessary for procreation but
detrimental to proper parenting. . . .
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- Ooh La La! Tom
Proposes Sky News.com- UK, June 17, 2005
Actor Tom Cruise is to marry his
girlfriend Katie Holmes. The star popped the question at the Eiffel
Tower in Paris. The couple have been dating snce April- but have
constantly had to deny reports that it was all a publicity stunt.
Speaking at a Paris news conference alongside Katie, who was
wearing an outsized ring, Tom said: "Yes, I proposed to her. It was
early this morning at the Eiffel Tower, so I haven't slept at
all. "Today is a magnificent day for me, I'm engaged to a
magnificent woman," he added. . . . . At the world premiere of her
new film Batman Begins recently in Tokyo, the 26-year-old actress
gushed: "I couldn't be happier. I'm so happy. "He's the most
amazing man in the whole world." The twice-married actor recently
told chat show host Oprah Winfrey: "Honestly, I haven't had this
kind of experience before." This will be Tom's third wedding, he
was married to actress Mimi Rogers from 1987 to 1990, then Nicole
Kidman from 1990 to 2001. . .
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- Liz Plans Giant
Wedding Sky
News- UK, Jun 16, 2005
It seems Nicole Richie isn't the only celeb
who wants elephants at her upcoming wedding. Liz Hurley's getting
hitched to her current beau Arun Nayer next year - and she's also
planning to invite some jumbo guests. According to The Mirror Liz,
who turned 40 lastweek, wants a traditional Hindu ceremony in
keeping with her fiance's religion. And that means she'll be
ditching the white wedding frock in favour of a red sari, and - if
she gets her wish - turning up to the ceremony on an
elephant. In fact, Liz's plans are so lavish that she's
reportedly told family and friends to keep an entire month free for
the celebration - set to take place in North-east India next
February. . . .
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- Humanist wedding is
legal first BBC
News- UK, June 17, 2005
Britain's first legally recognised humanist
wedding has taken place in Edinburgh, at the city's zoo. Karen
Watts and Martin Reijns were united by a humanist celebrant after
it was agreed that previous rules were restrictive and
discriminatory. . . Humanists believe that
people can live ethical lives without religious beliefs. . . . . Mr
Reijns, 27, from the Netherlands, and Ms Watts, 29, from County
Clare in Ireland, live in Polwarth, Edinburgh. Ms Watts, a
community development worker, said: "Neither of us are religious
and it would have felt hypocritical to get married in a church. . .
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- Divorce may affect health, study
says Pittsburgh Post
Gazette-PA, By Sue Shellenbarger (The Wall Street Journal), June
17, 2005
When my creaky joints ache in the morning, I blame a
lot of things -- too hard a workout at the gym, drizzly weather,
advancing age. It never occurred to me to blame my divorce -- until
now. The breakup of my marriage five years ago could actually be
fueling my persistent aches, new research suggests. . . . .
Coining a new term, "marital biography," to denote your entire
lifelong experience with marriage, divorce and remarriage, the
study's co-authors, University of Chicago's Linda Waite and Duke
University's Mary Elizabeth Hughes, will show how that history has
a cumulative effect on health. Indeed, your marital biography has
an even bigger impact on long-term health than whether you are
married or divorced at any particular time. . .
.
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- Rocker Lewis divorces sixth
wife BBC News- UK, June 17, 2005
A judge in Mississippi has approved a
divorce settlement between rocker Jerry Lee Lewis and his sixth
wife. . . . Lewis had accused his wife of adultery. . . .
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- Strong marriages, the biblical
way Townhall.com, By Marvin
Olasky, June 16, 2005
This is marriage month, but leading academic and media
institutions, captive to feminism, are not about to provide much
guidance on how to build strong marriages. Nor will most people,
even those wed in a church, take the time to see what the Bible
says about marriage. That's a shame, because the Bible clearly
shows the error both of feminists who claim no differences between
men and women, and of sexual segregationists who argue that women
are to be concerned only with marriage and motherhood. . . .
.
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- Estranged wife sues King Fahd in London
for share of $22bn fortune Independent-UK, By Jonathan
Brown, June 14, 2005
--The ailing King Fahd, one of the world's richest
and most powerful men, is facing an embarrassing public showdown in
a British court later this year with a woman who claims to be his
estranged wife...Her action, if successful, could prove to be the
most lucrative maintenance settlement awarded by a British court. .
. . . "What she is doing is without precedence in the Middle East,
for a wife of a ruler to sue him for maintenance, but she wants to
see justice done." . . . .
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- Dating after divorce Morgan
Hill Times (Subscription) CA, June 13, 2005
When
38-year-old Brian Snyder got divorced after eight years of
marriage, a sense of freedom washed over him... He frequented
singles hot spots, joined online dating groups and attended
get-togethers organized by friends. At first, the singles scene was
new and exciting. But for Snyder - and countless others who have been
divorced - the thrill began evaporating once the fear of dating
edged its way in. . . . . delving back into the dating scene too
quickly is one of the biggest and most common mistakes divorced
people make, she said, and the key to successful dating has much
more to do with yourself than other people. . . .
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- Alicia Silverstone weds in Lake
Tahoe AZ
Central.com- AZ, June 13, 2005
The 28-year-old "Clueless" star wed longtime
boyfriend Christopher Jarecki at Lake Tahoe on Saturday, said
Silverstone's publicist, Elizabeth Much, confirming . . . . .
- King marries for 12th time - two weeks
after 11th wedding Telegraph.co.uk- UK,
June 13, 2005
King Mswati III, the ruler of Swaziland,
has taken an 18-year-old as his 12th wife - barely two weeks after
his 11th marriage. Nothando . . . . . The 37-year-old has drawn
criticism for spending money on luxury cars while many of his 1.1
million subjects struggle by on food aid, ravaged
by the world's highest rate of HIV/Aids which affects around two in
five adults. . . . .
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- Teens Report
Surge in Dating Abuse CNSNews.com, June 10, 2005
-- A new
survey on teen dating indicates that a quarter of all girls who are
in a relationship have been pressured to perform oral sex or engage
in intercourse. Thirteen percent of the teenaged girls surveyed
said they had also been physically hurt or hit by their
dates. The survey, commissioned by Liz Claiborne, Inc. and
conducted by Teenage Research Unlimited (TRU), questioned 337 boys
and 346 girls aged 13 to 18. Verbal, physical, and sexual abuse,
the poll results showed, is not limited by race or geographic
location. ..This rise in teen dating violence can be
attributed to a generational cycle. . . . . This surge in teenage
domestic violence has motivated fashion label, Liz Claiborne, Inc,
to develop Love Is Not Abuse, an educational curriculum designed to
reverse the trend. Claiborne has enlisted the help of several
programs and organizations, including Break the Cycle and the
Empower Program. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: The abusive date. Why are we
surprised? Townhall.com, By Cal Thomas, August 9, 2001
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- Ruling convinces Neb. senator to support
marriage amendment
BP News-TN, By Michael Foust,
June 10, 2005
--A federal judge's ruling in May striking down
Nebraska's marriage amendment has persuaded one of the state's
senators, Democrat Ben Nelson, to support a marriage amendment to
the U.S. Constitution. . . . As late as last summer, Nelson said he
opposed an amendment, believing it was best to leave the issue of
"gay marriage" up to the states. . . . Nebraska's amendment is
not the only one being challenged in federal court. A federal
lawsuit was filed June 8 against Michigan's marriage amendment.
Oklahoma's amendment also is being challenged in federal court. . .
.
- Latinos played
key role in California marriage
defeat Houstonvoice.com- TX,
June 10, 2005
After a close vote on a bill that would have legalized
same-sex marriage in California, advocates on both sides of the
issue are examining the role of Latino lawmakers and religion in
dooming the measure. . . . Five of the nine Democrats who abstained
or voted no were members of the Latino Caucus, prompting some
observers to blame Latinos for the bill’s failure. . . .
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- 100 Couples to Tie the Knot as Part of
Centennial's 'Once Upon 100 ... PR
Newswire (PRNewswire/press
release) -LAS VEGAS, June 10, 2005
-- The Las Vegas Centennial partnered with Southwest
Airlines to pay tribute to the "Wedding Capital of the World" by
marrying 100 couples, two from Las Vegas and 98 from around the
world, in a joint ceremony under the canopy of the Fremont Street
Experience on Thursday, June 9. . . .
- Viva Las Weddings Chicago Daily Southtown, IL - Jun 9,
2005
. . . . A hundred couples — picked from around the
country, Germany, England and Korea — will descend on the gambling
mecca for a group wedding Thursday under the canopy at the Fremont
Street Experience. The five-day vacation to Sin City includes a
suite at the Golden Nugget, gift certificates for wedding dresses
and tuxedos, bachelor and bachelorette parties, hairstyling and
make-up application for the bride, and seats in a poker tournament.
. .
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- J. Lo engaged — after being married MSNBC - June 8, 2005
“It
sounds a little odd, but Marc and Jennifer were never really
engaged — they just got married. So, to mark their first
anniversary, Marc officially proposed, this time presenting
Jennifer with an engagement ring from exclusive
jeweler-to-the-stars Neil Lane. . . . .
- Who is the
marrying kind? Globe and
Mail, Canada - June 8,
2005
Susan Crompton is a self-described older,
single woman not interested in marriage but curious about other
women her age and their attitudes towards marriage. . . . What she
learned is that how people feel about tying the knot can make or
break their expectation of doing so. . . .
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- Brides and Grooms -- Test Your Financial
Compatibility Yahoo News (press release),
June
8, 2005
. . . . Talking
about money matters can be awkward, but an open, honest discussion
before you begin life together can resolve differences before they
become disagreements. "Think of it as relationship insurance,". . .
.The Illinois CPA Society recommends that all engaged couples take
this financial compatibility quiz before heading to the alter.
Answer "true" or "false" to each of the following statements in our
financial compatibility quiz. . . .
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- Canadian Bishop Proposes Solution to
Same-Sex “Marriage” Lifesite-
Canada, June 8, 2005
In the House of Commons committee hearings on the
same-sex ‘marriage’ Bill C-38 Monday, Calgary Bishop Fred Henry was
asked by Liberal MP Anita Neville for suggestions on possible
action by government on the issue. . . . Bishop Henry, a man very
attuned to human suffering proposed a solution which, while being
consistent with Catholic teaching, would also accommodate the basic
needs of any adults in interdependent relationships. Thus
homosexual couples would fall under this category of interdependent
relationships along with, for instance, two adult siblings who live
together with one looking after another with a disability. His
basic message: no gay ‘marriage’, no civil unions, but adult
interdependent relationships. . . .
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- Midtown Bridal Insanity
Extravaganza Gothamist- NY, Jun 7,
2005
Gawker reported this brides gone even more
bridezilla-y PR stunt for the new WE show, Bridezillas, this
morning in Times Square. . . . The promotion was to (1) dress up in
a bridal gown and (2) hunt for a $50,000 check in a wedding cake.
Upon seeing even more pictures from the WE site (and there's
video), Gothamist wondered the following things:
- Did the brides get their dresses at Kleinfeld's?
- Is $50,000 even going to cover a decent NYC wedding for at least
100 guests?
- Did they take off their engagements rings while in the
tussle?
- Was Martha Stewart Weddings editorial director Darcy Miller
shuddering in disgust?. . . .
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- Victoria
Beckham: The Big Interview... Mirror.co.uk- UK, From Caroline
Hedley in LA, June 6, 2005
VICTORIA Beckham yesterday defended her husband David
against new claims of straying - then candidly disclosed she feared
she was losing her figure. After new pictures emerged of Becks
apparently kissing a mini-skirted brunette, the former Spice Girl
told a friend: "It's a pathetic joke. Fans come up to him all the
time. It's as if it's part of his job." Speaking exclusively to the
Mirror in her most revealing interview ever, she then made it clear
that she was more worried about her looks after recently giving
birth than with yet more gossip about the Real Madrid star.
.
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- Parenting dreams come true for South Texas
couple
Fort
Worth Star Telegram-TX, June 6, 2005
LA VERNIA, Texas - After four failed pregnancies,
Dana Cleveland worried she'd never bring home a healthy baby. Now
she has three. Cleveland gave birth to a baby girl Thursday, five
weeks after she and her husband welcomed fraternal twin girls born
to a surrogate mother. . . .
- Opening hearts to foster
kids Akron Beacon Journal- OH, June 6,
2005
. . . .Many foster children are shuffled from family
to family because their birth parents cannot provide for them.
Whether their parents are going through addiction problems, mental
or health issues, are incarcerated, or have neglected or abused
them, these children are placed elsewhere. . . . Nationwide
there are 588,000 in need of foster care, but only 133,000 foster
homes. . . .
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- Parenting Issues: Searching for accurate
information in sex education Townhall.com- By Diana West,
June 6, 2005
Last month, a federal judge found the Montgomery
County School Board's sex-education pilot plan in Maryland so
flagrantly in violation of the First Amendment that he had to hand
down a restraining order. . . . the new curriculum for 10th graders
was supposed to teach that "homosexuality is a natural and morally
correct lifestyle -- to the exclusion of other perspectives.". . .
.
- First Baptist to teach 'Effective
Parenting... Northeast Mississippi Daily
Journal -MS, June 5, 2005
First Baptist Church's new class for people with
children has a title just begging for fulfillment: "Effective
Parenting in a Defective World.". . . . "This is for parents
looking for a methodology of effective parenting in a culture that
is seeing parenting as too much of a difficulty. . .
. We've always had peer pressure,
but today it is not to do something because everyone else is
doing it' but let's do this because no one else is doing it.'" He
cites high-profile school shootings, often perpetrated by students
whose looks and mannerisms are "Goth" or other drastically
different identities. . . .
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- Dating Is Not
About Marriage ChristianityToday.com- USA, June 4,
2005
From Dr. Henry Cloud's How to Get a
Date Worth Keeping. . . . The real issue here is what is the
purpose of dating. One of the first steps people need is to be
cured of the thinking that the purpose of dating is to find a
marriage partner. This is often a result, obviously. But here is
what I'm trying to say: Dating is as much about learning what
you need and want, and how you need to grow and change, as it is
about finding the "right" person. . . .Some people approach dating
like that. They think they know what they need, what they want, or
who they need to be. We will see specific reasons why this is not
true in upcoming chapters, but for now I want you to join me in
taking a hard look at your dating philosophy. If you have seen it
as only a search for the love of your life, then I want you to make
some shifts in your thinking. I want you to see dating in a very,
very different way.
1. See dating as a wonderful time to find out about
other people and what they are like.
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- Divorce At Last
For Rod
Daily
Record- By David Leigh, June 4, 2005
Dad-to-be makes break. . .
. ROD Stewart has finally filed for divorce from Rachel Hunter -
just days after revealing he is to be a dad again at 60. The
Scots singer - whose fiancee Penny Lancaster, 34, is expecting
their first child in December - turned the tables on Rachel, who
has repeatedly threatened to divorce him for a share of his
estimated £100million fortune. A pal said: 'Rod wants to move on
with life. He wants to be clear of the divorce before the baby is
born. 'He knows the divorce will cost him a fortune but he sees
Penny's happiness as far more important.' . . . Irreconcilable
differences are cited as the reason for the breakdown of the
eight-year marriage. New Zealand supermodel Rachel, 34, walked out
on Rod in 1999 with their children Renee,12, and Liam, 10, saying
she needed to 'find herself'. Already a father-of-six, Rod
proposed to Penny in March. They are due to wed next spring. .
.
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- Bond girl Richards has baby girl BBC News- UK,
Jun 3, 2005
Actress Denise Richards has given
birth to her second child, three months after filing for divorce
from her husband Charlie Sheen. . . .The baby girl, named Lola, was
born in Los Angeles on Wednesday, with Sheen present in the
delivery room. "We're thrilled to finally meet our beautiful
daughter," Sheen and Richards said in a joint statement. Richards,
34, filed for divorce after less than three years of marriage,
citing "irreconcilable differences". Her film credits include
1999 Bond film The World Is Not Enough, Wild Things, and Scary
Movie 3. . .
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- Anglican leaders in Arctic condemn same-sex
unions Nunatsiaq News-Canada, By Greg Younger-Lewis, Jun 3, 2005
"Any union outside of marriage is
un-Biblical". . . . Anglican church leaders in the Arctic have
cemented their stance on same-sex unions, condemning homosexual
relationships and demanding that all employees do the same. . .
.
- California: Gay marriage bill dies in
state Assembly San Diego Union Tribune-CA,
June 2,
2005
– An effort to legalize gay marriage in California
died Thursday after supporters could not find the votes to make the
state Assembly the first legislative chamber in the nation to give
same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexuals. . . .The bill's
Republican opponents argued that legislators had no business making
gay marriage legal when California voters approved a ballot
initiative five years ago prohibiting the state from recognizing
same-sex marriages. . . .
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- Canada: Liberals to Fast-Track
Gay Marriage Bill Lifesite.com- Canada, June 2,
2005
Liberal MP Pat O'Brien, a staunch defender of real
marriage has revealed that to his dismay his party intends to
fast-track the Liberal gay marriage Bill, C-38. . . . "They want it
out of the House and over to the Senate, which is prepared to do
the damn thing. I don't support that, there's a whole lot of us
that don't support fast-tracking it.". . . .
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- Ford Motor Company Supports Homosexual
'Marriage' Movement LifesiteNews.com-Canada, June 2,
2005
The Ford Motor Company has been singled out for its
support of same-sex marriage and a boycott of the car. . .
. “From
redefining family to include homosexual marriage, to giving
hundreds of thousands of dollars to support homosexual groups and
their agenda, to forcing managers to attend diversity training on
how to promote the acceptance of homosexuality, to sponsoring a
“commitment (marriage) ceremony”, to sponsoring Gay Pride Parades,
Ford leads the way.”. . . .
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- Lleyton Hewitt & Bec Name Wedding
Date Sky News-UK, June 2,
2005
Home and Away star Bec Cartright will
reportedly walk down the aisle six months pregnant with tennis ace
Lleyton Hewitt's child. . . . The couple have sent out invites for
the Sydney wedding this week - and the date is July 21, claims the
Sydney Morning Herald. . . .
- Renee
Who? Jack White Weds E!
Online News- By Charlie Amter, June 2, 2005
The White Stripes frontman is apparently wasting no time
getting over ex-girlfriend Renee Zellweger's out-of-the-blue wedding to
country star Kenny Chesney--he's gone
and tied the knot in eyebrow-raising fashion himself. . . . White
married British model Karen Elson in Brazil on Wednesday, less than
a month after the Zellweger-Chesney nuptials went down. .
.
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- Wedding-cake toppers make break with cookie-cutter
past MSNBC, June 2, 2005
Entrepreneurs' products a sign of
changing times. . .
. Thanks to some young, venturesome companies capitalizing on
the permutations of modern love, many of those keepsake bridal
figurines that grace wedding cakes everywhere this time of year
look strikingly different. While love may be blind, these
companies’ racially interchangeable wedding toppers show that the
opportunistic entrepreneur sees very well. . .
RELATED SITE: Wedding
gate.com (Renellie
International)
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- Couple's secrets for long marriage Daily
Telegraph- Sydney, New South Wales, Australia- June 1, 2005
A BRITISH couple recognised as having had the
world's longest marriage recorded were celebrating their 80th
anniversary today, and revealed the secret to wedded bliss. . .
.The Arrowsmiths have been certified as record-holders by the
Guinness Book of World Records, the reports added, beating a
Japanese couple who stayed together for 78 years and 296 days from
1926. . . .
- Advice:
Find out what's good enough before marriage
Arizona Republic- AZ, June 1,
2005
QUESTION: I've noticed many of my friends date
wonderful men who will make faithful husbands and good fathers, yet
it's not enough for us. . . . In the end, is it better to be with a
good, financially stable, faithful husband and father, or wait for
someone who might light more of that "spark" - even if they lack in
other stability areas?. . . .
- Couple Marries
After Dating in 1934 WIBW -Topeka, KS, June 1, 2005
A couple who first dated in Hope, Kansas, in 1934 are
enjoying married life together now, after tying the knot a month
ago. Fred . . . .
- LifeFiles: Diamond Ring
Doesn't Make Wearer Wiser More TV 32.com- Tampa, Fl, By Laura Lewis, June 2, 2005
. . . . "Here's what you do" is not something an
engaged person -- or even a married one -- has the right to say. .
. . I'm getting tired of wives-in-waiting acting as if they
know it all, that that ring on the finger gives them authority to
dispense relationship advice and look down below with pity at the
still-single ones. . . .
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- I (don't) want to be a
Hilton Townhall.com, By Kathleen Parker, June 1,
2005
Nostalgia is probably premature for
times as recent as 2003. Still, it is easy to miss the days when
Hilton meant a second-rate hotel and Paris was a city of slender
women and tiny dogs...It isn't clear whether the show, which
premiers June 21, also will include lessons on the virtues of
modesty and humility, which we once associated with "class." Or
whether Paris' mother will teach these money-hungry hicks that
ostentation is a sign of poor breeding and that flaunting wealth,
especially the inherited/married variety, is the worst kind of faux
pas. . . .
RELATED ARTICLE: Paris Hilton Engaged to Shipping
Heir ABC
News.com, May 31, 2005
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