'MARRIAGE' In The NEWS- April 2009: The REAL Proposal For Marriage magazine

Ruth Madoff’s Duty New York Times By Randy Cohen, April 28, 2009
These are dark days for Bernard and Ruth Madoff. His Mets tickets were sold on eBay; she was banned from the Pierre Michel Salon. Through it all, this question persists: did she know about his $65 billion Ponzi scheme? Regardless of the answer, should she have? Did she have an ethical obligation to understand the source of the fortune she long enjoyed? Here’s a guideline: around the time you acquire your third house (the one in Palm Beach), you must enquire, How are we paying for this? When selecting your second yacht (Little Bull, recently seized by the courts), you must pose the question: Where is the money coming from? Having benefited from a husband’s activities — for decades, not days — a spouse may not remain willfully ignorant. Adults must have some grasp of their impact upon other people, including financially. The greater your wealth, the greater your impact on others, the greater your responsibility not to be conveniently oblivious. Marriage is a partnership. If you reap its rewards, you bear some responsibility for the way they accrue. This does not make you equally culpable for your partner’s misdeeds or immune to deception, but it is does deny you the joys of spending actual loot and the comforts of ignoring that you’re doing so. The Madoffs’ marriage might reflect the conventions of their generation. Half a century ago, when they wed, many wives knew little about their husband’s business activities (as some discovered to their lament during divorce proceedings). But it is also true that Ruth Madoff worked at her husband’s company for a while and after that continued to steer customers (suckers? prey?) his way. She seems bright; she seems capable; she seems to have transferred millions of dollars just before his arrest. She was not entirely detached from his affairs. There were things she might have noticed without being a forensic accountant:. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: The conman who duped the world: The rise and fall of Wall Street legend Bernie Madoff The Daily Mail- UK, By Philip Delves Broughton, December 16, 2008
He was a multi-millionaire Wall Street titan regarded by investors as a pillar of the financial community and the ultimate safe pair of hands. His clients were some of the richest individuals and institutions on the planet and they trusted him with billions. He entertained them on America’s best golf courses and in its finest restaurants, and promised he could gain them steady and attractive returns on any investments they made with him. Their wealth was safe with him, he would assure them. He was a man who understood money, a man they could trust. . .

RELATED COVERAGE: Complete Coverage: Wall Street of Shame ABC News

RELATED ARTICLE: Does Money Really Wreck a Marriage? Boston Globe, By Alison Lobron, January 18, 2009
Actually, no. It may cause arguments; it certainly causes tension. But even in these gloomy financial times, there is no evidence that money dooms relationships, even when one partner is the financial opposite of the other.

RELATED ARTICLE: Madoff-Swindled Kevin Bacon Admits 'I Need To Work' FOX News, January 15, 2009
Kevin Bacon doesn't have any projects lined up at the moment. And that may be a problem. The actor, who was taken to the cleaners in Bernie Madoff's alleged Ponzi scheme, is coming to terms with his and wife Kyra Sedgwick's new, more modest financial situation. "There are a lot of things I'm grateful for: my health, my family, my career, my family's health," he told Life & Style magazine last Friday. "We'll march on. We have to. There's nothing you can do about it." And that may be a problem. The actor, who was taken to the cleaners in Bernie Madoff's alleged Ponzi scheme, is coming to terms with his and wife Kyra Sedgwick's new, more modest financial situation. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Charles Ponzi: The Italian who gave his name to the famous scam The Daily Mail- UK, December 16, 2009
Named after one of the most notorious conmen in US history, the Ponzi scheme is an elaborate version of the oldest scam of them all - pyramid selling. In its classic form, a Ponzi fraudster sets up a fund with a 'fail-safe' business plan. Investors join in their droves, lured by the huge returns on offer. But when the profits prove illusory, the fraudster will pay off old investors with the new money that comes into the fund. This creates a halo effect, attracting yet more gullible investors. All Ponzi schemes are doomed to collapse under the weight of new money flooding in. . .

Courts tip scale on gay marriage Washington Times, By Cheryl Wetzstein, April 28, 2009
On Monday, gay couples flocked to Iowa state offices to pick up their marriage licenses. The mood is especially celebratory because Vermont lawmakers recently legalized gay marriage, and state leaders in New York and Maine are calling for it, too. Iowa's Varnum v. Brien is the last of 14 lawsuits filed by gay couples seeking state-sanctioned marriage. Because the parade of "freedom-to-marry" lawsuits appears to have come to an end, it's time for a post-mortem. . . . . . . Throughout this process, the American judiciary was assailed. If jurists didn't rule for gay marriage, they were accused of being "homophobes." If they ruled for it, they were "black-robed activists." In the end, 120 American jurists had a chance to weigh in on these "freedom-to-marry" lawsuits, and more than half of them - 72 - said "no." Of the rest, 47 judges said "yes" to gay marriage, and one judge in Hawaii was inconclusive - he sent the case back to a lower court for more evidence. I bring up these numbers because they show that gay marriage is not the fait accompli that people such as Hollywood celebrity and pageant judge Perez Hilton seem to think it is. These 120 learned jurists were presented with well-prepared arguments by seasoned gay-rights attorneys on behalf of model gay couples, who were backed up by dozens of amicus briefs from groups representing the nation's intelligentsia. But more than half the jurists, like the lovely Miss California, just couldn't buy it. . . . . . Gay marriage lawsuits aren't over - there's a big case in Boston aimed at taking down the federal Defense of Marriage Act. But for now, the lawsuit tally is 10-4, in favor of keeping marriage as it is. . .

RELATED BLOG: Judge waives waiting period for gay marriages
USA Today, ‎April 27, 2009‎
Gay and lesbian couples flocked to county buildings throughout Iowa today to marry legally for the first time in the wake of the state supreme court’s landmark same-sex marriage decision April 3. The first lesbian couple in Des Moines exchanged their vows outside the Polk County Administration building before a swarm of friends, family and news crews. . .

Courts tip scale on gay marriage (Click for Related Video)

RELATED VIDEO: Same-Sex Couples Wed in Iowa The Associated Press, April 27, 2009
A lesbian couple has apparently become the first same-sex couple to legally wed in Iowa since a court ruling took effect legalizing gay marriage.

RELATED ARTICLE: The Institution Formerly Known As "Marriage" Catholic Online, By Jennifer Roback Morse, April 30, 2009
The Iowa Supreme Court recently proved we are not being urged to make marriage more inclusive, but to radically redefine the nature of marriage itself. The Iowa court’s recent decision does not simply broaden marriage, it radically changes its nature. While marriage previously served public purposes of attaching mothers and fathers to their children and one another, now marriage merely serves as affirmation of adult feelings. . . . . The Court had to come up with a very limited understanding of the purposes of marriage in order to maintain that opposite-sex and same-sex couples are in fact similarly situated. The Court enumerated several purposes directly. Marriage provides an institutional basis for defining relational rights and responsibilities; marriage allows people to pool their resources; marriage recognizes people’s commitments; marriage provides comfort and happiness; marriage is a status, not a contract. But these reasons do not explain why we need marriage in particular. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Numbers: Gay Marriage And Public Opinion: Legislatures and courts are liberalizing faster than the American people Forbes.com, By Karlyn Bowman, April 27, 2009
In recent weeks, there has been flurry of activity on the same sex marriage front. Iowa (in a ruling by that state's Supreme Court) and Vermont (by a vote of the legislature) have legalized gay marriage. Other states are also in line to do so. Legislatures and courts have moved on the issue, but has public opinion?. . . . . . Answers to other survey questions about homosexuality do show greater acceptance. For example, should homosexuality be legal? Forty-three percent gave that response to Gallup in 1977; 55% did in 2008. Should homosexuality be considered an acceptable alternative life style? Again from Gallup, 34% agreed in 1982, 57% do today. Should homosexuals have equal rights in terms of job opportunities? Fifty-five percent said yes in 1977, 89% in 2008. And what about gays in the military? Two-thirds support it, up about 10 percentage points from a decade ago. . . . . What accounts for the growing acceptance? Six in 10 people polled told Gallup last year that a friend, family or co-worker had told them he or she was gay--and familiarity fosters acceptance. We have also seen dramatic changes in views about the nature of homosexuality. Twelve percent said it was something you are born with in 1977; now 39% believe that is the case. Finally, as older generations are replaced by younger ones, attitudes on this issue nationally have shifted in the liberal direction. Interestingly, young people are more likely than people in other age groups to see homosexuality as a lifestyle choice and not something people are born with, but, at the same time, they are also more likely to believe it cannot be changed. . . . . . . But while Americans' opinions on gay marriage have become more liberal, courts and legislatures remain ahead of them. Majorities continue to oppose it. In 1988, in answer to NORC's question, only 12% agreed with the statement: "Homosexual couples should have the right to marry one another." In 2008, responding to Gallup and Newsweek polls, around 40% said they should have the right--but around 55% were opposed. In the Newsweek poll, 51% of 18- to 34-year-olds supported gay marriage; 22% of those 65 or older did. Yes, public opinion on gay marriage has shifted in a more liberal direction, but a majority of Americans still stop short of unconditional acceptance. . .

Miss USA controversy: Carrie Prejean says gay marriage answer cost crown, but she'd say it again NY Daily News, By Lauren Johnston, April 21st 2009
Miss California Carrie Prejean is disappointed she didn't win the Miss USA pageant after her answer to question on gay marriage from blogger Perez Hilton sparked controversy, but says she's proud she stayed true to her beliefs and wouldn't change the response – even though she believes it cost her the crown. Prejean, who was first runner up, appeared Tuesday morning on NBC's "Today" show and when host Matt Lauer asked if she'd alter her answer if given a "do-over," she said no. "I did not want to offend anybody, but I think with that question specifically, it's not about being politically correct, for me it was being biblically correct," she told Lauer. During Sunday night's competition, Hilton asked Prejean if she felt all states should move toward allowing same-sex marriage - to mirror the efforts of states like Vermont and California. She said, "I think it's great that Americans are able to choose one or the other ... same sex marriage or opposite marriage," then added, "I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman ... that's how I was raised." Hilton later ranted about Prejean on his celebrity blog and called her some nasty names. Hilton went on CNN's Larry King Live Monday night while Prejean spoke about the incident the same night to Fox News - fielding questions on whether she thought her answer cost her the crown. "Out of all the topics I studied up on, I dreaded that one. I prayed I would not be asked about gay marriage. If I had any other question, I know I would have won," she said in the Fox News interview. Hilton told King he hadn't bashed Prejean for her beliefs, but felt a candidate for Miss USA should offer more inclusive answers. Hilton has extended Prejean an invitation to discuss the matter over coffee, but she has not accepted. Prejean appeared at peace with the outcome Monday in her chat with Lauer - again referencing her faith and saying she was proud of herself for advancing so far in the competition. And as for her close brush with taking the crown? "It wasn't what God wanted for my life that night," she told Lauer.

RELATED ARTICLE: Refuse to Be Bullied Townhall.com, By Harry R. Jackson, Jr., April 27, 2009
To add insult to injury Keith Lewis, co-director of the Miss California USA and who runs the Miss California competition, attempted to moralize about the “right to marry.” I found it ironic that a man who runs a competition that parades women around in scanty clothing could attempt to speak out about gender prejudice and stereotypes. Both Perez and Lewis believe that their opinions would not be challenged. They were wrong. In fact, they overplayed their hands this time. Their remarks were just like the intimidation I faced as a child from bullies in the schoolyard. In my experience, the only way to make bullies be quiet is to stand up to them. Just one brave person on the playground can stand down the school bully and break free from their tyranny. In our adult world, however, we need the strength of numbers. When one person stands alone, he can feel overwhelmed. In contrast, when thousands of people stand up for what they believe, they become a force to be reckoned with. Gay marriage is not an inevitability in our nation. It can still be halted and turned around. The institution of marriage can be protected, but we need the collective voice. Let me remind you that marriage is worth fighting for. Those of us in the biblical marriage movement are not fighting because we dislike gays. We are fighting for marriage because we realize that whoever’s values shape this law will shape the practices of the next few generations. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Intolerable intolerance The Gleaner- Jamaica, By Andre Wright, April 23, 2009
The modern world's lust for political correctness has so relativised every concept that nearly every commentator tiptoes daintily for fear of stepping on anyone's corns. Nothing is absolute - except for relativism, of course. Yet, with all the talk there seems only to be tolerance for the tolerable. The ability to offend - even intellectually - is blunted by the desire not to hurt anyone's feelings. This burgeoning culture of wimpishness has trespassed on the fundamentals of freedom of expression, where every person who defends marriage as a union between a man and a woman is caricatured by the gay lobby and their sympathisers as an oafish neanderthal, a dim-witted dweeb whose opinions must be disregarded, swept aside as anti-intellectual excreta. As a former colleague of mine often said, "let's call a spade a shovel". . . . . . Promulgators of gay rights have, wittingly or unwittingly, become the very bigots they have decried, launching every weapon in their arsenal - whether through economic arm-twisting or abject scorn. Instead of trying to eyeball proponents of heterosexual marriage, they have taken the easy route - labelling all opponents brainless, antediluvian Bible-thumpers. Maybe some are. But the knee-jerk willingness to broadbrush must be checked. Those detractors, just as the homosexual lobby, have a right (without being overwhelmingly offensive) to reject the gathering storm of opinion. What is abhorrent is the clamorous crescendo for newspeak - a language, as in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, in which all have a unidimensional viewpoint: Conservatism be damned! Long live liberalism! . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Pro-Gay Marriage Hollywood Piles on Miss California FOX News, By Hollie McKay, April 22, 2009
With the way some in Hollywood have piled on Miss California Carrie Prejean since Sunday's Miss USA pageant, one might think the 21-year-old college student had called for a tax on botox, instead of speaking out against gay marriage. . . . . On Tuesday celebrity comedy site FunnyorDie.com released a celebrity-laden web video spoofing America's so-called fear of "the gay marriage storm." A slew of stars including Alicia Silverstone, Lance Bass, George Takei and Sophia Bush came together to parody "The Gathering Storm Ad," made by the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), which is against same-sex unions. . . . . . Representatives for NOM responded to the ad Wednesday, telling FOXNews.com: "While I haven't seen this particular parody, I have seen and enjoyed others; it’s important not to take yourself so seriously you can't take a good joke, and we appreciate how the controversy has helped spread our message." said Maggie Gallagher, President of the National Organization for Marriage. "On a more serious note: the vitriolic response by Joe Solomonese and others mischaracterizing the millions of people who have these concerns expressed in our ad as ‘liars and bigots’ only tends to confirm our main message: same-sex marriage is not about tolerance, it’s about using the power of law to impose a new morality on an unwilling American people." But the tide of public opinion may be turning in Prejean's favor. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Exclusive: Carrie Prejean Says 'God Was Testing My Faith' With Gay Marriage Question FOX News, April 20, 2009
Carrie Prejean is the most famous runner-up in Miss USA history. In an exclusive interview with FOXNews.com's Courtney Friel, Miss California says her phone has been ringing off the hook with people offering her support after she took on a question about gay marriage on Sunday night's Miss USA telecast. . .

RELATED POLL & COMMENTS: What do you think of the Miss California controversy? MSNBC.com, April 21, 2009
During the Miss USA pageant Sunday, finalist Carrie Prejean, Miss California, was asked about gay marriage by Perez Hilton, the openly gay celebrity blogger who was serving as a pageant judge. She replied that she believed that marriage should be between a man and a woman. The next day, Hilton criticized her for the remark, and pageant organizer Donald Trump suggested that her answer may have cost her the crown. Do you feel her answer was appropriate? Should she have remained neutral? What about Perez Hilton’s criticism of her? Did he go too far? What do you think?

RELATED ARTICLE: Why We’re Losing Our Right to Speak Out Townhall.com, By Chuck Colson, May 1, 2008
David Woodward is a political science professor at Clemson University—one who has first-hand experience on how dangerous it can be to speak out in favor of traditional values: He almost lost his job over it. In 1993, Woodward was asked to testify about the political power of homosexual groups in American life. He agreed to serve as an expert witness for the state of Colorado, which was fighting to defend the recently passed Amendment Two, which made it illegal to give protected status based on sexual orientation. In his new book, Why We Whisper: Restoring Our Right to Say It’s Wrong, co-authored by my friend, the able South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint, Woodward writes, “In that one decision, I unexpectedly jeopardized my academic career and entered . . . into the fiercest battle of the emergent culture wars.” To publicly oppose the campaign for same-sex “marriage” and gay rights was, he writes, “the equivalent to being sent to the university Gulag.” He was denied an administrative position on the grounds that he was “ideologically incompatible” with the values of the university. He often found the word homophobe scribbled on his office door. The press viciously attacked him for his views. But in private, Woodward was hearing a different message. People would call to whisper encouragement. So did parents and university staffers. Some students came into his office, carefully closed the door, and whispered their support. “The one thing they all had in common is that they were all scared, and they all spoke in whispers,” Woodward writes. Homosexuality is not the only issue Americans can no longer speak freely about. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Don't be manipulated by the master marketers Townhall.com, By Rebecca Hagelin, Oct 4, 2005
Few people realize it, but the same marketing techniques that companies use to induce us to buy a particular product are just as useful when it comes to selling us an idea. . . We’re bamboozled daily on a wide variety of subjects, from abortion on demand for any reason to same-sex “marriage.” As David [Kupelian] notes in his new book, The Marketing of Evil: How Radicals, Elitists and Pseudo-Experts Sell Us Corruption Disguised as Freedom: “The plain truth is, within the space of our lifetimes, much of what Americans once almost universally abhorred has been packaged, perfumed, gift-wrapped and sold to us as though it had great value. By skillfully playing on our deeply felt national values of fairness, generosity and tolerance, these marketers have persuaded us to embrace as enlightened and noble that which all previous generations since America’s founding regarded as grossly self-destructive -- in a word, evil.” . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Same-Sex “Marriage,” “Hate Crimes,” and the New Totalitarianism LifeSite Special Report, By Michael D. O’Brien, February 28, 2005
Is it so far-fetched to consider the possibility that we are in a downward slide toward totalitarianism? Few people would go so far as to maintain that we are living in the early phase of an Orwellian 1984 or alternatively a softer form of totalitarian government such as Huxley’s Brave New World, yet the elements of State-enforced social reconstruction are now in operation. We should also consider the fact that in just over one generation we have been shifted from a society in which homosexual acts were a crime under the then existing law, to a society in which homosexual acts have become a government-protected and fostered activity, while voicing criticism of it “publicly” has become the crime. Call it by any name you like, but this is Thought Crime. As Orwell predicted, we have arrived at a situation in which “some of us are more equal than others.” . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Political bullying works Jewish World Review, By Cal Thomas, April 5, 2001
Gay rights groups are experienced intimidators. Add to that the effective infiltration of the media, academia, religion and psychiatry by gay rights activists and their sympathizers and you see how this issue has been turned around in a single generation. . .

The Bigots' Last Hurrah New York Times, By Frank Rich, April 19, 2009
What would happen if you crossed that creepy 1960s horror classic “The Village of the Damned” with the Broadway staple “A Chorus Line”? You don’t need to use your imagination. It’s there waiting for you on YouTube under the title “Gathering Storm”: a 60-second ad presenting homosexuality as a national threat second only to terrorism. . . . . . Far from terrifying anyone, “Gathering Storm” has become, unsurprisingly, an Internet camp classic. On YouTube the original video must compete with countless homemade parodies it has inspired since first turning up some 10 days ago. None may top Stephen Colbert’s on Thursday night, in which lightning from “the homo storm” strikes an Arkansas teacher, turning him gay. A “New Jersey pastor” whose church has been “turned into an Abercrombie & Fitch” declares that he likes gay people, “but only as hilarious best friends in TV and movies.” Yet easy to mock as “Gathering Storm” may be, it nonetheless bookmarks a historic turning point in the demise of America’s anti-gay movement. What gives the ad its symbolic significance is not just that it’s idiotic but that its release was the only loud protest anywhere in America to the news that same-sex marriage had been legalized in Iowa and Vermont. If it advances any message, it’s mainly that homophobic activism is ever more depopulated and isolated as well as brain-dead. . . . . . . As the case against equal rights for gay families gets harder and harder to argue on any nonreligious or legal grounds, no wonder so many conservatives are dropping the cause. And if Fox News and Rick Warren won’t lead the charge on same-sex marriage, who on the national stage will take their place?. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Political Memo: Same-Sex Marriage Holds Peril for G.O.P. New York Times, By Adam Nagourney, April 28, 2009
It was only five years ago that opposition to same-sex marriage was so strong that Republicans explicitly turned to the issue as a way to energize conservative voters. Yet today, as the party contemplates the task of rebuilding itself, some Republicans say the marriage issue may be turning into more of a hindrance than a help. . .

The bigots' last hurrah (Click for Related Video)

RELATED VIDEO: NOM - Gathering Storm, April 7, 2009
The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to protect marriage and the faith communities that sustain it.

RELATED ARTICLE: Surprise! You Are Now a Bigot The Pilot, By Michael Pakaluk, June 29, 2007
In order to see how the schools must now act, it helps to reflect carefully on the civil rights movement of the ‘60s. Think first about the long decades of segregation in the South and “separate but equal.” Think about the absurdity of a black-skinned man not being able to use the same water fountain or restaurant as a white-skinned man, because his skin was a different color. When you recall these things, are you feeling angry again? Now think of that righteous anger as expressed in the zealous efforts of the civil rights activists. Think of all the righteousness and moral fervor that was directed by those activists in the North against any bigots and white supremacists in the South who defended segregation. Think next about how the public schools became enlisted in efforts to combat racism. I do not mean desegregation and busing. I mean: Black History Month; textbooks which prominently displayed interracial couples; films about how wrong prejudice is; discussions about the importance of accepting different people regardless of their appearance. The schools, rightly so, saw it as their solemn duty to educate children against racism. They aimed to eliminate racism, and the entire curriculum in the school was adapted to this goal. I am asking you to contemplate these things because, as a Catholic parent, you won’t have the slightest idea what you are up against unless you appreciate that now you are on the receiving end of a similar assurance of moral righteousness. “Same-sex marriage” is ultimately based on a misguided analogy with racism. It presupposes that, just as we shouldn’t treat someone differently based on the color of his skin, so we shouldn’t treat someone differently based on his sexual proclivities and patterns of sexual behavior. Don’t get me wrong: I agree that the analogy rests on a hundred confusions. Skin color is irrelevant to our character (as Martin Luther King famously said), but how we act sexually is not irrelevant. There is no “natural” skin color, but there is a natural and right use of sex organs. Male and female are complementary, but it’s nonsense to speak of complementary skin colors. Again, the fact that some men desire to have relations with other men no more inevitably settles their identity as “gay,” than the fact that most men desire to have relations with all other attractive women inevitably settles their identity as “promiscuous.”. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Thought Reform And The Psychology of Homosexual Advocacy Leadership U, By Charles W. Socarides, M.D., (Source: Collected Papers from the NARTH Annual Conference, Saturday, 29 July 1995.)
Those who wished to retain homosexuality as a valid diagnosis had been essentially silenced at meetings, lectures, and publications--a silencing that originates both from within our organizations and from other sources. Political parties and religious leaders have been utilized to reinforce this silence. The press was thoroughly influenced; the electronic media, television, and movies began to promote homosexuality as an alternative lifestyle and censored all information that might show homosexuality as a disorder. Movies have been routinely censored by a gay Hollywood review board for the last 7 to 8 years; other films critical of homosexuality have been boycotted at the box-office; books which portray homosexuality in any unfavorable way have not been published, and many books have been removed from library shelves in universities and public libraries. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: The dark, intolerant, and abusive nature of the gay agenda RenewAmerica.org, By Fred Hutchinson, April 28, 2004
Over twenty years ago, I had an intermittent conversation about homosexuality with an (sic) gay man at work. Although he persistently brought up the subject, he would periodically fly into a rage and call me a bigot when I disagreed with him. That man went on to become a key homosexual organizer in my city. . . . . Are gays inherently hysterical, hateful, and intolerant of disagreement, I wondered, or are they reading off the same script? Are they systematically organized to strike out at opponents, and to silence them through intimidation? The answer is that no, homosexuals are not necessarily hysterical, hateful, or intolerant by nature — but yes, this is something they have learned. It is a technique called "jamming" which is part of an elaborate program to further the gay agenda. . .

Recklessly Seeking Sex on Craigslist New York Times, By Douglas Quenqua, April 17, 2009
THIS is it, Melvin thought: Craigslist is about to get me killed. A recent divorcé who lacked the money and confidence for a conventional date, Melvin, 35, had been lured to a stranger's apartment by the promise of anonymous sex. He had already done this at least a dozen times, using classified ads he had placed on the Casual Encounters section of Craigslist.com, with no problems. But this time, all he found was a dark, scary room. "I was like, 'Oh no, this is it -- this woman is going to kill me,'" he recalled. Luckily for Melvin, what he had wandered into was something a bit more poignant: the woman who had answered his ad was obese and didn't want Melvin to see her body. "It was sad, very sad," he said, "but she was a nice girl and we talked for two hours before we went in the bedroom and did what we did." This is probably not the hedonistic situation most people envision when they think about Internet hookups. Nor was it a violent encounter that makes headlines, like the murder on April 14 in a Boston hotel room of a 26-year-old woman, Julissa Brisman, who had placed an ad for masseuse services on Craigslist, or the killing last month of George Weber, a radio news reporter who was stabbed in his Brooklyn home, police say, by a teenager who apparently answered a Craigslist ad seeking a sexual partner. . . . . Erick Janssen, a researcher and associate scientist at the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, said that some need sex and sexual novelty more than others. "We know from basic sex research that anonymity can augment satisfaction in sexual arousal," he said. As for Casual Encounters, he said, "What's going on isn't that different from years ago when people would go to different cities and nightclubs, and of course they still do." Tom Brady, chief medical officer at the CRC Health Group in Cupertino, Calif., an addiction-treatment center, said there is no single personality type that is drawn to sites like Casual Encounters, but there are common denominators, like a penchant for risk- seeking. "A lot of these people have a narcissistic, sociopathic side where they don't have a lot of empathy for other people," he said. "The Internet is fabulous for these people." Casual Encounters is also a haven for people with sex addictions. "They're like a kid in a candy store," Dr. Brady said. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Alleged 'Craigslist killer' Philip Markoff's fiancée stands by betrothed New York Daily News, By Henrick Karoliszyn and Bill Hutchinson, April 28, 2009
The fiancée of accused "Craigslist killer" Philip Markoff professed her love and support for him Monday even as a new twist was revealed: He trolled for men as well as women online. Megan McAllister blasted the media and cops for rushing to judge the man she plans to marry this summer. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Web full of dangerous liaisons - but many continue to use Craigslist following George Weber's murder    New York Daly News, By Tracy Connor, March 26, 2009
The fact that radio reporter George Weber met his alleged killer on craigslist didn't weigh heavily on the minds of some New Yorkers looking for lust there Wednesday. "Enjoy light bondage?" one person wrote in the Casual Encounters section of the online classified site. "Why don't we have a drink and discuss." The craigslist personals were rife with postings from people seeking just the kind of kinky, anonymous, no-strings hookup that left Weber dead. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: How the faceless and amoral world of cyberspace has created a deeply disturbing... generation SEX   The Daily Mail- UK, By Olivia Lichtenstein, January 27, 2009
Remember that Hilaire Belloc cautionary tale - Matilda told such dreadful lies, it made one gasp and stretch one’s eyes? I used to love it as a child when telling lies was one of the naughtiest things you could do: Matilda ended up getting burned to death. These days, however, everything has changed and it’s the truths that children tell that make one gasp and stretch one’s eyes. A couple of years ago, my daughter Francesca, then aged 13, told me about a party she had been to one Saturday night. In the course of the evening, she came upon one of her friends, also aged 13, performing oral sex on a boy in the garden. The boy was standing and videoing the event on his mobile phone. My daughter, in whom the feisty gene has always found strong expression, pulled her friend off the boy, knocked the phone out of his hand and slapped him round the face. I apologise for shocking you, but then there are a number of things shocking about this event: the casual nature in which such an intimate act is performed in public, the young age of the participants and last, but by no means least, the fact that it is being filmed. This not only signals the boy’s disassociation from the physical experience, it also indicates his intention to replay the event and, no doubt, to share his triumph with his friends as one might brandish a trophy above one’s head for all to see. Nor was this the only such event on this particular evening. I am no prude, but Francesca painted a picture of Bacchanalia that certainly made me gasp. That week at school, when conducting a post mortem of their weekend as teenagers do (and always have done), the girls at her then school (she’s since moved), a private girls’ school in London, exclaimed: ‘Hurrah, now we’re more slutty than Slutney’, the affectionate nickname of another school. Call me old-fashioned, but when I was a gal, sluttishness was not a condition one aspired to. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: As Prostitutes Turn to Craigslist, Law Takes Notice    New York Times, By Bruce Lambert, September 5, 2007

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'Why my marriage is a daily challenge,' Nicole Kidman reveals the strain her husband's addiction has put on their relationship The Daily Mail, April 17, 2009
Nicole Kidman, 41, is one of Hollywood's leading ladies. She has appeared in films such as Cold Mountain, The Others and Moulin Rouge!, and, in 2003, she won an Oscar for her portrayal of the writer Virginia Woolf in The Hours. In 1990, she married Tom Cruise, with whom she adopted two children, Isabella, 16, and Connor, 14, but the marriage broke up after ten years. In 2006, she tied the knot for the second time with country singer-songwriter Keith Urban, who is also Australian and with whom she has a nine-month-old daughter, Sunday Rose.

Q: You didn't give birth until your 40s. How do you feel now?

A: It's bittersweet. I want to be around to see Sunday Rose's 21st birthday and I want to see her get married. My relationship with death used to be far more ambivalent, whereas now it feels much more important for me to stay in the world. That's why, in the past, I was able to jump out of planes and take more risks. When you have children at the age of 25, you still have that 'whatever will be, will be' attitude. It's such a different way of parenting. Bella and Connor had a very free and easy childhood, probably because they had parents who were very young,and were always flying off around the world –and were pretty easygoing, too. . .

'Why my marriage is a daily challenge,' Nicole Kidman reveals the strain her husband's addiction has put on their relationship

RELATED ARTICLE: Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban Welcome a Baby Girl People magazine, By Brenda Rodriguez and Stephen M. Silverman, July 7, 2008

RELATED ARTICLE: Days of Heaven Vogue Feature Story, By John Powers, July 2008 Issue
"We were just two lonely people who went, 'Ah, there you are.' " . . . These days, she and Urban are never apart for more than five days at a time. "I'm so committed to this relationship, and so is he," she says. "I don't have addiction problems, but love is a very powerful force in my life. It's my fatal flaw and my virtue." And now there's the baby. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Nicole Kidman is deeply in love, but not happy The Daily Mail- UK, October 23, 2007
Nicole Kidman says she's "deeply in love" with her new husband country music star Keith Urban, but stops short of describing their marriage as "happy". The pair married in Sydney in June of last year but their newlywed bliss was short lived, with Urban checking into rehab for a 90 day stint just four months later. The actress says that despite her strong feelings, love is no guarantee that the relationship will last. She told US magazine Interview: "You never know where something's going. "My husband and I are committed to each other and deeply in love. That's how I would put it. We are working on staying in that place and hopefully we will for the rest of our lives.". . .

RELATED ARTICLE: How Nicole's new husband cheated on her with a party girl The Daily Mail- UK, By Caroline Graham, December 24, 2007

Karine Steffans: From Video Vixen to Real Housewife

Karrine Steffans: From Video Vixen To Real Housewife AOL BlackVoices Blog, By Jawn Murray, April 16, 2009
Karrine Steffans has been called a lot of things – though she's particular about what she answers to and that infamous nickname "Superhead" doesn't work. Notoriously controversial, regardless of what one thinks of the Caribbean-born beauty, one can not deny her brilliance. The one-time music video vixen blew the bed sheets off the entertainment industry when her New York Times bestselling tome 'Confessions of a Video Vixen' (Amistad) hit stores in June 2005. The tell-all sold more than a half-million copies and spawned numerous copycat books. The 30-year-old, mother of one had high-profile appearances on 'Oprah,' 'Bill O'Reilly,' 'Geraldo Rivera' and even became a peer counselor on NBC's daytime reality series 'Starting Over' after the book was released. Her follow-up 'The Vixen Diaries' (Grand Central Publishing) bowed in September 2007 and while it was successful, the sophomore tell-all didn't move units like its predecessor. Instead, Steffans made headlines for her confirmed romances with comedian Bill Maher and actor Darius McCrary ('Family Matters') and rumored trysts with rappers Lil' Wayne and Bow Wow. With her new book 'The Vixen Manual' (Grand Central Publishing) preparing to hit bookshelves on July 13, 2009, BV Buzz sat down with the ex-wife of rapper Kool G Rap to separate fact from fiction and find out what's really been going on in her life over the last couple of years. As only she could, Steffans breaks news on her current relationship status, shares a recent run-in with Essence magazine and opens up about her newfound faith and joining a church.

Q: You mentioned before we got going that you had to change your telephone number because of Essence magazine. Explain to me what happened. . .

Q: Okay, you've mentioned "husband" a few times. I had already heard that you and Darius McCrary had quietly reconciled, but is there something else you need to tell?. . .

Q: So the new book isn't a tell-all. You've ended that aspect of your writing career. What is 'The Vixen Manual' all about?

A: 'The Vixen Manual' is completely different because the first two books were a set of memoirs and what I wanted to do with the memoirs was to get all of me out and done so there would be nothing new that anyone could come up with. I wanted to move forward from the life I had. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: The cheek of it: Lady GaGa goes for the sheer look in London The Daily Mail- UK, April 17, 2009
Lady GaGa has given new meaning to the term 'bottoms up' following a night out in the capital. The New Yorker was spotted leaving trendy London nightspot Bungalow 8 in a see-through chiffon catsuit. To spare her blushes, the 23-year-old resorted to placing black duct tape across her nipples. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Parenting Issues: Raising Girls That Pimps and Thugs will Hate TownHall.com, By Doug Giles, September 30, 2006
I was channel surfing the other day when I landed on an idiotic Reggaeton music video. It was your emblematic Stooge-a-Palooza reel. The scene was typical: the “musicians” and their homies were wearing T-shirts that would be too large for Sasquatch, they sported baseball caps pull downed over their ears like some Fat Albert character. In addition, they all had the prerequisite teeth “grill” needed now to be in The Cult of the Absurd. . . . . The thing that floored me was not the musical gruel these dasypygals peddled, but all the gorgeous girls that were a part of the helix-missing miscreants’ music video. Yeah, dozens of beautiful teens and twenty-something girls were wearing Victoria Secret boy shorts and tiny tube tops as they writhed on the ground and upon the hoods of cars as these “artists” poured beer on them, slapped their butts and simulated sex acts with somebody’s daughter. Which left me thinking, “Where the heck are these girls’ parents?” In particular, where are their dads? . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: A Father's Presence Helps Young Girls Resist Shallow, Sexualized Self-Images By Tonyaa Weathersbee, June 20, 2006
I think about my father -- who's still very much alive, by the way -- when I think of the scores of young black girls who are growing up without a strong father or no father in their lives. While there's a saying that it takes a father to teach his son to be a man, I believe that an addendum ought to be that it takes a father to teach his daughter to love herself for what's inside, not for what's on the outside. Unfortunately, the outside seems to be getting all the attention these days. So much so that it tends to shout down everything else. Look at the teen magazine racks these days, and you'll find not only pouty, sexualized teen models gracing the covers, but teaser articles that tend to be more about how girls can make boys like them than how to prepare for college. There's Lil' Kim, who has found lewdness and lawbreaking to be lucrative, and Kim Roberts, the second stripper and convicted embezzler who e-mailed the public relations firm that represented Lilâ€™ Kim for advice on how she could market the Duke lacrosse team rape scandal to her advantage. We're talking rape allegations here. And who can forget Karrine Steffans, the video vixen whose sexual prowess with assorted rappers earned her the nickname "Superhead." You'd think she would have cringed in shame at a nickname that, in another time, would be fodder for locker room obnoxiousness. But not Steffans. She wears it on a shirt. . .

The beauty that matters is always on the inside The Herald- UK, By Colette Douglas, April 14, 2009
Susan Boyle's story is a parable of our age. She is a singer of enormous talent, who cared for her widowed mother until she died two years ago. Susan's is a combination of ability and virtue that deserves congratulation. So how come she was treated as a laughing stock when she walked on stage for the opening heat of Britain's Got Talent 2009 on Saturday night? The moment the reality show's audience and judging panel saw the small, shy, middle-aged woman, they started to smirk. When she said she wanted a professional singing career to equal that of Elaine Paige, the camera showed audience members rolling their eyes in disbelief. They scoffed when she told Simon Cowell, one of the judges, how she'd reached her forties without managing to develop a singing career because she hadn't had the opportunity. Another judge, Piers Morgan, later wrote on his blog that, just before she launched into I Dreamed a Dream, the 3000-strong audience in Glasgow was laughing and the three judges were suppressing chuckles. It was rude and cruel and arrogant. Susan Boyle from Blackburn, West Lothian, was presumed to be a buffoon. But why? Britain's Got Talent isn't a beauty pageant. It isn't a youth opportunity scheme. It is surely about discovering untapped and unrecognised raw talent from all sections of society. And Susan Boyle has talent to burn. Such is the beauty of her voice that she had barely sung the opening bars when the applause started. She rounded off to a standing ovation and - in her naivety - began walking off the stage and had to be recalled. Susan, now a bankable discovery, was then roundly patronised by such mega-talents as Amanda Holden and the aforementioned Morgan, who told her: "Everyone laughed at you but no-one is laughing now. I'm reeling with shock." Holden added: "It's the biggest wake-up call ever." Again, why? The answer is that only the pretty are expected to achieve. Not only do you have to be physically appealing to deserve fame; it seems you now have to be good-looking to merit everyday common respect. If, like Susan (and like millions more), you are plump, middle-aged and too poor or too unworldly to follow fashion or have a good hairdresser, you are a non-person. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Boyle Tells Oprah Singing Helped Her Cope With the Loss of Her Mom PopEater.com, May 11, 2009
In the beginning of April, not many people knew who Susan Boyle was. Fast forward to May and 100 million YouTube views later and she's arguably the most popular woman on the planet. Think that she'd be overwhelmed by all that attention? Susan Boyle told Oprah Winfrey she's loving every minute of it. . .

RELATED BLOG & COMMENTS: The Susan Boyle Bubble The Wall Street Journal, By Andrew LaVallee, April 16, 2009
Susan Boyle's sudden popularity has reality-show watchers, bloggers and marketers parsing What It All Means. . .

'Britain's Got Talent' competitor, Susan Boyle, shows powerfully that the beauty that matters is always on the inside (Click for Related Video)

RELATED VIDEO: Susan Boyle - Singer - Britains Got Talent 2009 (With Lyrics) YouTube-BritainsSoTalented, April 11, 2009

RELATED ARTICLE & VIDEO: Susan Boyle recording of Cry Me A River uncovered Times Online- UK, April 17, 2009
A recording made ten years ago by the unlikely Britain’s Got Talent sensation Susan Boyle has been uncovered. The sudden singing star’s spokeswoman confirmed this morning that an emotional recording of Cry Me A River which hit YouTube late last night is the 48-year-old Scot. She reportedly covered the blues ballad for a charity album in 1999, partly funded by the tiny Whitburn Community Council in West Lothian, where she lives. Only 1,000 copies of the CD were pressed. . .

RELATED VIDEO: Susan Boyle Wows B'way Star Patti Lupone CBS-The Early Show, April 16, 2009

RELATED ARTICLE: Susan Boyle 'has been kissed', neighbour claims The Telegraph- UK, April 18, 2009
The only man ever to have kissed Susan Boyle, the singer who has shot to fame on Britain's Got Talent, has said that the Scottish spinster would "make a great catch for any man". . .

RELATED ARTICLE & COMMENTS: 'They called me Susie Simple', but singing superstar Susan Boyle is the one laughing now The Daily Mail- UK, By Natalie Clarke, April 17, 2009
Despite the common perception that she sprang from nowhere, Susan Boyle is not entirely unused to fame. She was well known in the village where she has lived all her life as the slightly batty spinster who lived alone with her cat, Pebbles. Every village has one, and 48-year-old Susan Boyle, who was born with minor brain damage and has learning difficulties, obligingly played the role to which she had been cast. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Britain's Got Talent finds an unlikely superstar: She is 48 and never been kissed, but a mild-mannered church worker is being hailed as Britain's next singing superstar The Telegraph- UK, By Anita Singh, Showbusiness Editor , April 10, 2009
Susan Boyle astonished the judges at the auditions for ITV1 show Britain's Got Talent with her rendition of I Dreamed A Dream from Les Miserables. Her eccentric ways and less than polished appearance drew sniggers from the audience when she first appeared on the stage, but they were mesmerised from the moment she broke into song and gave her a standing ovation. Simon Cowell pronounced her voice "extraordinary" and Amanda Holden was reduced to tears by hearing her sing. Fellow judge Piers Morgan said the performance was "without a doubt the biggest surprise I have had in three years of this show". . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Obsessed With Beauty: The Rush To Cosmetic Surgery Aphrodite Women's Health, By Angie Rankman, October 7, 2005
If the multitude of television shows touting the benefits of extreme makeovers is anything to go by, then it seems that cosmetic surgery has secured a firm foothold in the collective consciousness of those seeking eternal youth and beauty. Is it possible that the increased focus on cosmetic surgery has finally revealed how self-obsessed many of us really are? Incredibly, in just 10 years, cosmetic surgery in the United States has increased by more than 700 percent. And it’s not just Americans who are choosing to go under the knife. According to the British Medical Journal, Britons spend over 400 million dollars a year on cosmetic surgery, and it’s one of the most common reasons women give for non-property loans. Just what has caused cosmetic surgery’s rapidly increasing popularity?

RELATED ARTICLE: Is Feminine Beauty Dangerous? A Brief Look at Our Theological Legacy Leadership U, By Karen Lee Thorp
Beauty is trivial, even though it is intertwined with money, sex, power, pride, fear, love, respect, race, and class. I believe theologians have treated beauty as trivial precisely because it affects them and those around them so powerfully that it makes them uncomfortable. They don't know what to do with it, so they pretend it doesn't matter and urge anyone who asks to do the same. Like money, like sex, like alcohol, beauty is potent enough to be dangerous. I would like to trace the doctrine that beauty is dangerous along two lines. I'll look first at theology written by men, then at the experience of women. After examining the sources of this doctrine, I'll assess how well it serves us. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Proverbs 31: Portrait of a Godly Woman WCG.org
"Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." Here is the key to this woman’s effectiveness. Her priorities are determined by God’s will, not her own. She is concerned about what God thinks, rather than with what other people think. Physical beauty and clever conversation are admirable qualities. But if a woman’s beauty and charm are the extent of her virtues, what happens when time and the trials of life take their toll? This woman does not depend on beauty and charm for her success. She recognizes her need for God.

RELATED PHOTO BLOG: Beauty is Fleeting The Scripturist, September 20, 2005
Marry a girl for her godliness not her looks because if you marry a woman with only outer beauty and not inner beauty soon you will be bound to a woman with neither.

Yes, Marriage Can Be Saved From the Gay Lobby

Yes, Marriage Can Be Saved From the Gay Lobby Townhall.com, By Phyllis Schlafly, April 14, 2009
Since the April defeats for traditional marriage in the Iowa Supreme Court, the Vermont Legislature and the Washington, D.C., City Council, Americans in the other 48 states are quietly stress-testing their legal defenses against the spread of legalized same-sex marriage. . . . . .However, a much more critical legal drama began last month in a federal court in Boston. The same law firm that brought gay marriage to Massachusetts is trying to overturn the federal law that protects the traditional definition of marriage in all federal departments, agencies and programs. Left-wing Harvard professor Laurence Tribe praises this lawsuit as a "surgical attack on DOMA," a law he calls "particularly invidious." The federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) -- signed by President Bill Clinton in 1996 after an overwhelming bipartisan vote in Congress (342-67 and 85-14) -- provides that federal laws must be interpreted in accord with the traditional definition of marriage as the union of husband and wife. . . . . .If judges overrule Congress and the majority of the American people by striking down DOMA, it would be the same type of judicial supremacy that occurred 152 years ago in the famous Dred Scott case. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that once a slave became "property" under the laws of a slave state, that legal status had to be maintained and respected even after the slave was taken to a free state, or even to a U.S. territory where slavery was specifically forbidden by Congress. . . . .Will the Obama Justice Department do its duty and defend federal law? Seventy-seven members of Congress wrote to Attorney General Eric Holder on March 24 requesting assurances by April 1 "that you plan to defend vigorously this law in its entirety." We're still waiting for Holder's response. Americans must preserve DOMA at any cost.

RELATED ARTICLE: Politically Correct or Biblically Courageous Townhall.com, By Harry R. Jackson, Jr. , April 13, 2009
The day after the Larry King interview I sat in the DC City Council chambers observing an unintended consequence of Pastor Warren’s statements – emboldened gay marriage advocates. Perceiving that evangelicals are weakening and that their side is turning around, gay activists are putting forth their best efforts to attempt to win their war for marriage this year. Although Warren’s statements are only one of several factors that have moved gay activists, I maintain that they are still a factor in this battle. Let me explain. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Gov. David Paterson to introduce gay marriage bill to New York state legislature this week NY Daily News, By Glenn Blain, April 14th 2009
Gov. Paterson will introduce a bill to legalize gay marriage Thursday despite strong opposition in the state Senate. "I think it is - as some other states are showing - the only ethical way to treat the people who want to live together in peace under the civil law," Paterson said on Long Island Tuesday. The measure revives legislation that died in 2007. Despite a slim Democratic majority in the Senate, the bill faces an uphill battle. Republicans and several Democrats oppose it. Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, a Queens Democrat, said he will not schedule a vote until it has enough support to pass. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Dumbing Down Marriage Townhall.com, By Allen Hunt, March 23, 2009
Marriage is a gift, something to be cherished and nurtured. Marriage and family are among God's greatest gifts to us. Marriage provides a bedrock for our society, an underlying foundation of stability for children. However, marriage is not a right, something to which each of us is entitled, any more than home-ownership is a right. Not everyone is designed for marriage. Marriage may be a gift, but it is not the only gift, nor is it a gift absolutely intended for everyone. The total union, commitment, and fidelity of a marriage between a man and a woman is a beautiful thing when done well. Is it always done well? Of course not. But that does not mean that the government or our society should therefore dumb down the definition of marriage to bless any configuration an individual might desire. Nor should we continue to stand and applaud the trend toward incomplete homes and fatherless children in the name of feminism and women's rights. The stakes simply are too high, for all of us. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: An Ethical Checkup for the CDC and Massachusetts Department of Public Health NARTH.com, March 27, 2009
The US Center for Disease Control CDC and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health MDPH has recently released the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).Researchers conducted an "in depth" survey that screened for health disparities among heterosexual/straight, gay/lesbian/homosexual, and bisexual adults. The survey sampled individuals from 2001 to 2006 and included data from 38,910 individuals, including 1.9% who identified as gay/lesbians/homosexual and 1.0% who identified as bisexual. The report suggested that differences in health exist, based on data collected from this "population based" estimate of sexual orientation. . . . . . What the report doesn't elaborate on is why the CDC and Massachusetts Department of Health leads readers to believe that these results are just "coming out" or are that they are being reported "for the first time.". . .

RELATED ARTICLE: The Preposterous Premise for Gay Marriage Townhall.com, By Frank Turek, November 26, 2008
After the passage of Prop 8 in California, homosexuals are still howling that they don’t have “equal rights.” Hopefully, the California Supreme Court will respect the equal rights of voters by affirming Prop 8 because the howls of homosexuals are false. The truth is every person in America already has equal marriage rights! We’re all playing by the same rules—we all have the same right to marry any non-related adult of the opposite sex. Those rules do not deny anyone “equal protection of the laws” because the qualifications to enter a marriage apply equally to everyone—every adult person has the same right to marry. Homosexuals want the court to believe that because of their sexual desires they are a special class of persons that is being discriminated against. In other words, they think that sexual desires guarantee people special legal rights. That’s a preposterous premise! . . . . . . Gay complaints of “discrimination” are bogus as well. Marriage laws do not discriminate against persons, they discriminate against behavior. That’s true of most laws. . . . The nonsensical comparisons to interracial marriage don’t work either. Race is irrelevant to marriage while gender is essential to it. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Born Gay or a Gay Basher? No Excuse Townhall.com, By Frank Turek November 1, 2008
This “born that way” argument is fueling the case for same-sex marriage in California. Is it a good argument? I know this is a difficult and emotional issue for many people, but I think the reasonable answer is no. Not only is the evidence for being “born that way” questionable, even if it were true, it should have no impact on our marriage laws. . . . . . How would a homosexual “gene” be passed on? Homosexuals don’t pass on anything because they don’t reproduce. . . . . Second, the “born-that-way” claim is an argument from design— “since God designed me with these desires, I ought to act on them.” But the people who say this overlook something more obvious— they were also born with a specific gender. This raises the question: Why are you following your desires but not your gender? . . . .Third, even if desires are not a choice, sexual behavior always is. . . . . Fourth, being born a certain way is irrelevant to what the law should be. Laws are concerned with behaviors not desires, and we all have desires we ought not act on. In fact, all of us were born with an “orientation” to bad behavior, but those desires don’t justify the behaviors. . . . Some will say, “But homosexual sex is about love.” One can say that, but what’s loving about sexual activity that creates numerous health problems, increases medical costs to everyone, and reduces the lifespan of homosexuals by 8-20 years? (A homosexual friend of mine fared even worse—he died at age 36 from AIDS.). . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage Will Increase Prevalence of Homosexuality: Research Provides Significant Evidence NARTH.com, By Trayce Hansen, Ph.D.
An accumulation of research from around the world finds that societies which endorse homosexual behavior increase the prevalence of homosexuality in those societies. The legalization of same-sex marriage--which is being considered by voters in several U.S. states--is the ultimate in societal endorsement and will result in more individuals living a homosexual lifestyle. Extensive research from Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and the United States reveals that homosexuality is primarily environmentally induced. Specifically, social and/or family factors, as well as permissive environments which affirm homosexuality, play major environmental roles in the development of homosexual behavior. A closer look at the research:. . .

£640m divorce for Mel Gibson as he splits from wife of 28 years The Daily Mail- UK, By Richard Simpson, April 13, 2009
Mel Gibson's wife of 28 years has filed for divorce, setting the stage for one of most expensive splits in legal history. It emerged tonight that Robyn Gibson lodged legal papers in Los Angeles Superior Court just weeks after the actor was snapped frolicking on a beach in Costa Rica with another woman. Under Californian law, Robyn could take half of her husband's £640million fortune. The legal action comes as rumours abound that the Australian-born actor became close to a musician simply named Oksana on the set of his most recent film. In court papers, filed at the end of last week, Robyn, 52, has cited 'irreconcilable differences' as the reason of the split. She has also listed the couple's separation date as 'to be confirmed'. The couple, who have seven children, asked for privacy in a joint statement. . . . . .Despite citing irreconcilable differences, many in Hollywood believe the real reason behind the couple's separation in Gibson's close relationship with Oksana. Gibson himself denies that he has had an affair with Oksana or that she is anything more than a colleague. But the pair have been snapped coming out his trailer on the set of his latest movie The Edge of Darkness, where they reportedly became close. Oksana, a Russian brunette, is one of the artists on the actor's recording label Icon and has been in the US recording a new album. Gibson, 53, a staunch Catholic, was one of the highest paid and most popular actors in the world in the 1990s, winning a best director and best picture Oscars for his 1995 movie Braveheart. He has adopted a lower public profile since his controversial 2004 hit movie The Passion of the Christ and his 2006 drunk driving arrest in Malibu when he launched into an alcohol-fueled tirade against Jews. At the time, Gibson was photographed flirting with young women then making inappropriate and lewd comments to a police officer. 'The incident definitely took a toll on his marriage,' an acquaintance of the actor told the Mail. 'Robyn was humiliated by the fall-out from that incident, as was his entire family. Mel never thought there was anything inappropriate about his relationships with other women.In his mind, it was perfectly natural to have female friends - even if they were beautiful and often far younger than him. It was something his wife needed to deal with as far as he was concerned.' . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Mel Gibson Steps Out with New Girlfriend People magazine, By Eunice Oh and Elizabeth Leonard, April 29, 2009
More than two weeks after his wife filed for divorce, a smiling Mel Gibson made a rare public appearance with his girlfriend Tuesday night at the L.A. industry screening of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. "Mel has been single for almost three years and it's nice to see him getting out and enjoying himself," his rep tells PEOPLE exclusively. The actor, 53, dressed in a black suit with a dark gray shirt, stepped out with Oksana Grigorieva, a 39-year-old Russian singer signed to his record label, Icon Records. The couple held hands as they walked the carpet before taking a seat at the screening at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. . .

£640m divorce for Mel Gibson as he splits from wife of 28 years, Robyn Moore (Click for Related Video)

RELATED VIDEO: Mel Gibson's Costly Divorce CBS- The Early Show, April 14, 2009

RELATED ARTICLE: Mel Gibson's Girlfriend: Mystery Solved? People magazine, By Sara Hammel, April 18, 2009
Shortly after Mel Gibson's wife Robyn filed for divorce last week, details emerged about a woman the actor-filmmaker has been spending a lot of time with – even taking her on a family vacation to Costa Rica – named Oksana. She is, sources tell PEOPLE, a Russian singer signed to Mel Gibson's record label, Icon Records. Now the identity of his mystery girlfriend may be revealed: Public records suggest Oksana Grigorieva, 39, an ex of former James Bond star Timothy Dalton, has lived in a house linked to Gibson, 53. The home, purchased in Sherman Oaks, Calif., in December 2008, has an ownership trust administered by the CFO of Mel Gibson's production company, Icon. While neither Grigorieva nor Gibson have commented, Grigorieva certainly resembles the leggy brunette photographed with Gibson on the Boston set of his upcoming film, Edge of Darkness, and seen frolicking in the surf with the star in Costa Rica. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: INSIDE STORY: Mel Gibson Confides Divorce News at Church People magazine, By Oliver Jones, April 13, 2009
On Easter Sunday, Mel Gibson attended Mass at the Roman Catholic church he had built in 2005. His wife wasn't with him. And after the service, he quietly spoke to some parishioners. "Well," he was overheard saying, "she's filed for divorce." Last Thursday – the day before Good Friday – Robyn Gibson, 53, his wife of 28 years, signed divorce papers, seeking joint custody over their minor child, Thomas, 9, and spousal support. That wasn't the only surprising news. According to a response that Gibson's lawyer filed Monday afternoon, the couple have been officially separated since August 26, 2006, almost a month after Gibson had reached a personal nadir when he was pulled over for a DUI in Malibu. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Side Dish: Mel Gibson denies marriage on the rocks The NY Daily News- Rush & Molloy, November 20, 2008
Mel Gibson's camp is brushing off talk that his marriage is in trouble. Two months ago, sources on his movie "Edge of Darkness" told us about a dark-haired beauty named Oksana he'd invited to the set. "No one is quite sure what her role is," said one insider, "but Mel seems to value her opinion." It later emerged that director Martin Campbell had hired the 28-year-old Russian singer to write some music for the film. Now the National Enquirer alleges that Gibson's wife, Robyn, has grown suspicious. "It may turn out that Mel's friendship with the woman is innocent, but Robyn warned him that if he embarrassed her one more time, their marriage is dead and buried," a source tells the tab, which says that, without a prenup, Mel's $900 million fortune could be in play. Gibson's rep tells us the divorce rumors "are 100% untrue.". . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Tragically Widening the Grounds of Legitimate Divorce DesiringGod.org, By John Piper, October 17, 2007
The October issue of Christianity Today carried an astonishing article on divorce and remarriage by David Instone-Brewer. What makes it especially amazing is that CT simply published it as if it were faithful to Scripture, with no counterpoint, and used the phrase on the cover “when to separate,” not “whether to separate”—even though Jesus said, “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” (Mark 10:9). To put it bluntly, the implication of this article is that every marriage I am aware of could already have legitimately ended in divorce. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: What God Has Joined: What does the Bible really teach about divorce? Christianity Today, By David Instone-Brewer, October 5, 2007

	Captain Richard Phillip's wife: He says Navy Seals were the real heroes in Somali pirate standoff NY Daily News, By Sam Goldsmith in Burlington, Vt. and Helen Kennedy in New York, April 13th 2009 The wife of the ship captain rescued from pirates said Monday her husband is in fine spirits - even ribbing her for losing her voice just before holding a press conference. "He was kind of funny when I told him I was preparing a press statement and that I have laryngitis," Andrea Phillips croaked to a room in Vermont packed with reporters. She relayed Capt. Richard Phillips' thanks to the crack military team that saved him, and said he once again shrugged off the mantle of hero. "He wanted me to tell you, 'I'm just a small part in this. The real heroes of the story are the U.S. military.'" She said she was looking forward to their reunion, though she didn't say when that would be. "We're all looking forward to Richard's return, when the family will get a chance to tell their story together," she said. Andrea Phillips said the five days that her husband spent in the clutches of Somali pirates were "extremely difficult" and that the hardest part was "the wondering." But she and her two kids kept their spirits up, confident the captain would come home. "At times we smiled when we thought of how Richard would tell the story with his trademark sense of humor," she said. . . . . . In Kenya, where Capt. Phillips' crew was docked with his cargo ship, the Maersk Alabama, the first mate pleaded with the President to take the fight to the buccaneers. "We'd like to implore President Obama to use all of his resources to increase the commitment to end the Somali pirate scourge," said Capt. Shane Murphy, Phillips' No. 2. "It is a crisis. Wake up!" he said. "America has got to be at the forefront of this. It's time for us to step up and put an end to this crisis." Even as the world watched the riveting Phillips drama playing out on the high seas, Somali pirates were boarding other ships. On Saturday, an Italian ship with a crew of 16 was taken hostage. It is estimated that as many as 270 seafarers, many of them Filipino, are being held hostage for ransom by pirates. . . RELATED ARTICLE: Who is Richard Phillips? Captain of the Maersk Alabama and a hero on the high seas NY Daily News, By Helen Kennedy, April 9th 2009 In the fine tradition of high-seas heroism, Capt. Richard Phillips traded his safety to save his crew from the buccaneers roaming his ship. "He offered himself as the hostage," said his sister-in-law, Gina Coggio. "That is what he would do. It's just who he is and his response as a captain." Though he was still held by pirates in a drifting lifeboat Thursday night, his wife, Andrea, said she was sure he'd come out okay. "I have faith in my husband," she told WCAX-TV. "He's a smart man and I know he'll be all right.". .
RELATED VIDEO: Captain Richard Phillips rescued from imminent danger from Somali pirates April 12, 2009

RELATED ARTICLE: Pirates vow to avenge deaths after U.S. Navy Seals free Captain Richard Phillips NY Daily News, By Helen Kennedy, April 12th 2009
A great cry of anger, coupled with vows of vengeance, rose up from the pirate lairs hidden around the Horn of Africa after Capt. Richard Phillips' rescue. "Our friends should have done more to kill the captain before they were killed. This will be a good lesson for us," Jamac Habeb, a 30-year-old pirate, told The Associated Press in the port of Eyl, a Somali pirate hub. "From now on, if we capture foreign ships and their respective countries try to attack us, we will kill [the hostages]." Somali pirates generally treat their hostages well to ensure they get their ransom. Some warned that would change after the U.S. Navy killed three Somali pirates and Friday’s French commando raid on a captured yacht killed two others. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: American captain Richard Phillips taken hostage freed from Somali pirates NY Daily News, By Helen Kennedy, April 13th 2009
U.S. Navy Seals freed heroic Capt. Richard Phillips Sunday by killing the pirates holding him hostage in a dramatic end to the five-day high seas standoff that riveted the world. One of the four pirates, reportedly just 16 years old, gave himself up before the shooting started and could face the first American piracy trial in two centuries. . .

Goodbye skinny metrosexuals, the beefcake is back
Metrosexual twigmen who admire your shoes are all very well in good times, but when the going gets tough, what you actually want is a REAL man The Daily Mail- Uk, By Tanya Gold, April 13, 2009
As I stick my head out of my window, I smell a change in the evening air. Everywhere I look big, dark, hairy, slightly fat men are staring at me - from advertising billboards, cinema screens and the pages of glossy magazines. They growl, they glower, they exude menace and demonic sex appeal. I wonder, could it be - could it really be - that the beefcake is back? Every credit crunch cloud has a silver lining. We are already saying goodbye to haute cuisine, ugly, overpriced handbags and £60 knickers. Why did we ever pay so much for a bit of ribbon and a label? What was wrong with us? Were we mad? We are kissing hello to supermarket own brands, holidays in Cornwall, making do and mending, and knitting. Even Scrabble is making a comeback. And, best of all things - better than Christmas every day, better than a pay rise, better than me - men who look as if they might actually be men are back. Goodbye metrosexual twigman with your sad little manbag - you never did it for me - and hello beefcake beast. Where have you been? It should come as no surprise. Economic depressions have always walked hand in hand with the worship of raw machismo. That is just the way it goes. Ask Hollywood, if you don't believe me. . . . . .Who needs a sensitive accountant when all the money is going? Who needs a man to talk shoes when all the shoes have gone? It is better to have a man who can mend things for you. And butcher sheep. And build houses and grow vegetables and make things out of bits of wood. Won't you feel safer? Won't you feel better, knowing that there is a serious lump of muscle between you and the cold, cruel world outside? Then there is sex. Shopping may be dead, but sex is one of the few commodities that is booming. All the supermarkets are reporting increased condom sales. Because sex is a cheap form of entertainment and it is also comforting. I believe the boom and all the aspirational rubbish that went with it was essentially about denying who we were. . .

Goodbye skinny metrosexuals, the beefcake is back

RELATED ARTICLE: A Real Man's Responsibilities Townhall.com, By John Hawkins, May 16, 2008
You can scarcely pick up a paper these days without reading about someone talking about "rights." However, the word "responsibilities" doesn't seem to come up as often. That's a shame because our "responsibilities" are every bit as important as our "rights." In fact, the "responsibilities" are more important in some ways because of our nature. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Love Story: Romance Novel Continues to Sell in Down Economy: Harlequin, World's Leading Romance Publisher, Celebrates 60 Years ABC News- Nightline, By John Berman and Ted Gerstein, April 13, 2009
Homes aren't selling the way they used to. Cars? Not so much. So, what is selling these days in the depths of the recession? Love. Hot, steamy, bosom-heaving love. This year, Harlequin Enterprises, the world's leading romance publisher, is celebrating 60 years of "pure reading pleasure," and doing it in style. The company, based near Toronto, had fourth quarter earnings up 32 percent from a year ago. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: What Girls Want: An Edward Cullen to Love Them Townhall.com, By Dr. Miriam Grossman, M.D., December 8, 2008
American girls have a new heartthrob: a tall, gorgeous vampire who is in the eleventh grade. He thirsts for the blood of Bella, his human girlfriend, but learns to “just say no.” What is it about Edward Cullen, the male protagonist of the blockbuster Twilight series, that sends girls from Atlanta to Anchorage swooning? I asked three teen girls I know.
Nava is 14. “He’s cute, and he’s really nice to Bella.”
Kayla is 16. “He’s caring, and genuine. He expresses his love, and risks his life to protect her. And he’s handsome.”
Tanya is 19. “Edward loves Bella and wants to be with her forever, so he controls himself. The self-discipline is very hard on him, but seeing her hurt would be even worse.”
Not bad, huh? Now if only the professionals running our country’s sex education could figure that out. Because that’s what the Twilight craze is about: a guy who adores his girl so much, he’ll do anything to protect her. A guy who won’t allow his girl to get hurt, even if it means saying “no” to himself. That’s what girls want. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Feminists created Mr Sensitive, but what we REALLY want is a man to fix the car The Daily Mail- UK, By Lowri Turner, May 15, 2008
Picture the scene: I am standing in front of my car, fingers hooked under the edge of the bonnet, trying to free it so I can lift it. I need to put water in the engine, but first I have to get the bonnet open. As the woman who once responded to a puncture by turning the radio up and driving until smoke billowed from the shredded tyre, I am far from adept when it comes to solving car problems. Still, as I attempt grimly to manipulate the locking mechanism under the bonnet, I hear a male voice. "Can I help you?"
I look sideways. A dark-haired man has put down a briefcase on the pavement (a risky manoeuvre where I live, but from his accent he sounds foreign, so maybe he doesn't know that yet) and is advancing toward me.With an accent I now realise is Italian, he declares: "I don't like to see a woman do this alone. This is man's work!". . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Why women are to blame for killing off real men The Daily Mail- UK, By Carol Sandler, May 7, 2008
After all these years of our efforts to "retrain" men, up to and including ridiculing them, what have we really achieved? We have achieved a generation of women who still earn, as a national average, only 70 per cent of men's wages, and who still do five hours of housework to every measly hour's contribution from the man of the house. Yet we have also achieved a new generation of men who, worrying signs suggest, are turning into a bunch of sissies. So well done, ladies. Take a look at your handiwork now. . . . And worse is on the way. The latest casualty of our well-meaning efforts, research says, is a huge decline in male libido. It's not that they can't have sex (we've got Viagra for that). No, it's that they won't have sex. Not interested. Can't be bothered. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Why marriage is more than just a piece of paper The Independent- Ireland, By Mary Kenny, February 4, 2008
The President of France, Nicholas Sarkozy, is said to have speeded up his wedding to the stunning Ms Carla Bruni so as to spare Queen Elizabeth any embarrassment next month when he pays a state visit to Britain. A certain amount of speculation had been gathering as to whether the queen might have to offer Mr Sarkozy and girlfriend a double bed at Windsor Castle while the couple were not yet legally wed. I dare say the queen has faced greater crises -- Suez, the Cuba missile affair, the prospect of civil war in Northern Ireland come to mind -- but some of the stuffier courtiers will be relieved that correct form has been observed. Some of them still remember that until 1968, divorced persons were barred from entering the royal enclosure at Ascot. De Valera only omitted divorce from his Constitution. He never stopped divorcees going to the races. But Sarkozy's decision to bring forward his nuptials shows that, when all is said and done, there still is a difference between cohabiting partners and legally wed spouses. That 'piece of paper' scorned by cohabitees may only be a piece of paper, but it is as significant as the piece of paper which grants you the deeds to your house, or the piece of paper which licenses you to drive a motor vehicle. Bits of paper matter in custom and law, for they signify the legality of contract. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Does Marriage Matter? Albert Mohler.com, By Albert Mohler, January 15, 2008
Marriage is not primarily about what we as individuals think we want or need. It is about a central public commitment that the society needs, that couples need, that children need, and yes, that the spouses need. Marriage is a public institution, not merely a private commitment. It identifies the couple as a pair committed to lifelong marriage and thus to be respected in this commitment. The fact that our society has weakened marriage offers only further incentive to get it right and to strengthen this vital institution. The traditions of the wedding ceremony are important as a part of solemnizing and recognizing this covenanted relationship -- but the traditions are expendable. Marriage is not. There is a universe of difference between a private promise and a public pledge. Marriage is about a public vow made by the man to the woman and the woman to the man whereby they become now husband and wife. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Yes To Love, No To Marriage Newsweek, By Bonnie Eslinger, January 14, 2008 Issue

RELATED ARTICLE: Old Fashioned Marriage: Marriage for Children Joseph C. Phillips.com, December 3, 2007
Over the last 40 years or so, the message our culture has delivered to women is that having a baby is not a good reason to get married. We have eschewed the shotgun in favor of psycho-babble about personal fulfillment and worries of unstable marriages. This latter based on very little evidence as it turns out. In fact, what evidence there is suggests that women that marry in order to legitimate a pregnancy are at no higher risk of divorce than women of similar age that became pregnant after marriage. Moreover, studies also show that giving birth out of wedlock reduces the likelihood that a woman will ever marry. This is important, of course, because every bit of scientific study shows that children raised in a two parent home are healthier, happier and wealthier (as are the mothers that raise their children within a stable two-parent home) than are those in single parent homes. This is all the proof we need to answer-- yes! -- to the question: "Is having a baby a good reason to get married?" And it is this answer that will be the greatest help in moving us back toward the old school idea of child centered marriage. . .

Rick Warren disavows support for Prop. 8 OneNewsNow, By Jim Brown, April 8, 2009
California mega-church pastor and author of The Purpose Driven Life Rick Warren says he apologized to his homosexual friends for making comments in support of California's Proposition 8, and now claims he "never once even gave an endorsement" of the marriage amendment. Monday night on CNN's Larry King Live, Pastor Rick Warren apologized for his support of Prop. 8, California's voter-approved marriage protection amendment, saying he has "never been and never will be" an "anti-gay or anti-gay marriage activist." "During the whole Proposition 8 thing, I never once went to a meeting, never once issued a statement, never -- never once even gave an endorsement in the two years Prop. 8 was going," Warren told the CNN audience on Monday. . . . . .However, just two weeks before the November 4 Prop. 8 vote, Pastor Warren issued a clear endorsement of the marriage amendment while speaking to church members. "We support Proposition 8 -- and if you believe what the Bible says about marriage, you need to support Proposition 8," he said. The following is a complete transcript of Warren's comments just weeks before the Prop. 8 election:

"The election's coming just in a couple of weeks, and I hope you're praying about your vote. One of the propositions, of course, that I want to mention is Proposition 8, which is the proposition that had to be instituted because the courts threw out the will of the people. And a court of four guys actually voted to change a definition of marriage that has been going for 5,000 years. "Now let me say this really clearly: we support Proposition 8 -- and if you believe what the Bible says about marriage, you need to support Proposition 8. I never support a candidate, but on moral issues I come out very clear. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Rick Warren’s Holy Week Crisis Townhall.com, By Sandy Rios, April 10, 2009
“Even if others do, I will never deny you,” declared the Apostle Peter some 2000 years ago just hours before he did exactly that, three times, when the heat was on. Ten others boasted the same, but when the risk was more than theoretical, all deserted Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Only one was seen at the cross. A fascinating story … the “old story” as the secularists like to call it. Barack Obama alluded to this in his speech in France. We need a new story, a discovery of “new ways” of thinking. We must throw off the old and embrace a much more enlightened, intelligent point of view. By doing so, we remove inconvenient barriers, umbersome moral values and achieve self-determination with our new understanding of the world guiding the way. Surely we cannot be bound in this advanced new age by the old moral codes or put plainly, by what Jesus taught. Certainly not if we are to curry favor with the world in which we live. . .

Pastor Rick Warren disavows support for Proposition 8 (Click for Related Video)

RELATED VIDEO: Pastor Rick Warren: "I am not Anti-Gay Marriage"   April 6, 2009

RELATED VIDEO: BeliefNet Rick Warren Interview: On Gay Marriage and Divorce December 12, 2008

RELATED VIDEO:   Rick Warren Endorses Proposition 8 October 24, 2008

RELATED RESOURCE: Rick Warren   Christianity Today
Christianity Today has covered Rick Warren closely during this decade, tracking his growth from a megachurch pastor and popular author to the pastor chosen to pray at Barack Obama's inauguration. . .

RELATED INTERVIEW: Q & A: Rick Warren   Christianity Today, Interview by Sarah Pulliam, April 8, 2009
The megachurch pastor who faced backlash for praying at the President's inauguration talks to CT about politics, a new magazine, and the economy. . . .
Q: You told Larry King last night, "During the whole Proposition 8 thing, I never once went to a meeting, never once issued a statement, never — never once even gave an endorsement in the two years Prop. 8 was going." But just before the election, you filmed a video for your congregation and said, "If you believe what the Bible says about marriage, you need to support Proposition 8."
A: What I was trying to say is, those who obviously opposed my viewpoint on the biblical definition or the historical definition of marriage were trying to turn me into an anti-gay activist. The truth is, Proposition 8 was a two-year campaign in the state, and during those two years, I never said a word about it until the eight days before the election, and then I did make a video for my own people when they asked, "How should we vote on this?" It was a pastor talking to his own people. I've never said anything about it since. I don't know how you take one video newsletter to your own church ad turn that into, all of a sudden I'm the poster boy for anti-gay marriage. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Warren's 'backsliding' on marriage damages church OneNewsNow, By Jim Brown , April 9, 2009
A Washington, DC, pastor and outspoken opponent of same-sex "marriage" says California mega-church pastor Rick Warren has done "tremendous damage" by apologizing for his support last fall of California's marriage protection amendment. . . . . . Bishop Harry Jackson, Jr., with the High Impact Leadership Coalition says he was very disappointed with Warren's statements on CNN. "This man who's been called the next Billy Graham, who I really respect with all my heart and love what he's doing in Africa, is falling into a trap that is emblematic of the problem that the entire church is facing in this generation," Jackson states. "And that is that we love the applause of men more than we love the work of God and the gospel. Jesus...told us that we are to honor God first, and that we are not to fear men but we're to fear God.". . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Why Rick Warren's Controversial Words on Gay Marriage Are Entirely My Fault   BeliefNet.com, By Steven Waldman- Editor-in-Chief, April 9, 2009
After Rick Warren was selected by Barack Obama to give a prayer at the inauguration, attention turned to comments he made to me during an interview for Beliefnet and WSJ.com in which he appeared to equate homosexual relationships with relationships between siblings or pedophilia. A firestorm erupted. Warren now claims that he got into hot water because of the way I phrased the question. "I was asked a question that made it sound like I equated gay marriage with pedophilia or incest, which I absolutely do not believe," he told Larry King on April 6. (In a subsequent interview with Sarah Pulliam at Chirstianity Today he made clear he was referring to me). Judge for yourself. Here's the full exchange:. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Rick Warren: Stopping Gay Marriage 'Very Low' on Priority List US News & World Report, By Dan Gilgoff, April 7, 2009
Has Rick Warren changed his tune on gay marriage? In an appearance last night with Larry King—his first TV interview since delivering the invocation at Barack Obama's inauguration (full transcript here)—Warren reaffirmed his opposition to same-sex marriage. But he also stressed that he's not an antigay-marriage activist and that the issue is in fact very far down on his priority list. That seems to me a turnabout from 2004, when Warren included gay marriage among five "nonnegotiable" issues in a letter he sent to his Saddleback Church congregants before the presidential election. Yesterday, the megapastor put stopping gay marriage "very low" on his to-do list. Here's the exchange, which mentions Warren's stance on Proposition 8, California's recently adopted gay marriage ban:. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: The silent, spineless clergy OneNewsNow, By James L. Lambert - Guest Columnist, April 3, 2009
Across America you will find thousands of courageous ministers and priests who regularly stand strong for moral and biblical positions against the tide of public opinion. These folks take a stand for biblically-based positions on moral issues -- no matter the cost. I admire both their courage and their integrity. At the same time, however, it is appropriate to confront the thousands of pastors and priests across the nation who, by their silence, refuse to address the moral issues of our times -- issues like pornography, abortion, and homosexuality. Here are just a few examples of what I consider to be moral cowardice among our clergy. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Pro-Gay Revisionist Theology Focus on the Family, By Focus on the Family Issue Analysts
The pro-gay revisionist theology threatens to substantially alter the Christian church and biblical doctrine. When God is said to sanction what He plainly forbids, then a serious heresy is unfolding before us in bold fashion. Confronting this false doctrine lovingly – but firmly – is necessary because this revisionist theology demands that we confirm professing Christians in their sin, when we are biblically commanded to do just the opposite. . .

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

Vermont lawmakers legalize gay marriage Boston Globe, By David Abel, April 07, 2009
The roll call came to the end and Jeff Young, a gardener and freshman Democrat, switched his vote. His simple “yes” tipped the balance today in the state House of Representatives, making Vermont the fourth state in the country to legalize marriage between same-sex couples. Young’s move ensured that lawmakers had 100 votes – the minimum needed in the heavily Democratic 150-member legislature to override Monday’s veto by Governor Jim Douglas. The House’s 100-49 vote came about an hour after the state Senate voted 23-5 to override the Republican governor. The new law takes effect on Sept. 1. . . . Representative Joseph Krawczyk, a Republican from Bennington who voted against the override, said he hopes the new law inspires residents to vote out many of those who supported it. A majority of new lawmakers could vote to repeal the law, unlike in those states where courts changed the law. “They’re going to have to live with the consequences,” he said. “This does not reflect the true values of Vermonters. It does not reflect my values nor does it reflect those of my constituents.”. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Vermont legalizes same-sex 'marriage' with veto override OneNewsNow, By Charlie Butts, April 07, 2009
The way has been paved for Vermont homosexuals to legally "marry" -- another indication, says one Christian activist, of the current political climate in Washington, DC. Vermont has become the fourth state to legalize homosexual marriage -- and the first to do so with a legislature's vote. The Legislature voted Tuesday to override Gov. Jim Douglas' veto of a bill allowing homosexuals to marry. The vote was 23-5 to override in the state Senate and 100-49 to override in the House. Under Vermont law, two-thirds of each chamber had to vote for override. The vote came nine years after Vermont adopted its first-in-the-nation civil unions law. Matt Barber, director of cultural affairs for Liberty Counsel, poses this question: "How long can a nation founded on the laws of nature and nature's God expect to find favor in his eyes when we continue to mock God?". . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Vt. Legislature says OK to imposing system that deprives children of mom, dad. Washington DC officials signal they also support the same Alliance Defense Fund- Press Release, April 07, 2009
The Vermont Legislature Tuesday overrode Gov. Jim Douglas’s veto of legislation that fabricates same-sex “marriage” in the state, which was the first state to implement “civil unions” in 2000. Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund say that the legislation is a textbook rebuttal of the argument that “civil unions” are a satisfactory compromise to protect marriage. "Politicians should never impose a system that intentionally deprives a child of a mother and father. The state should do everything necessary to ensure that children aren’t denied their most important birthright: a mom and a dad,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Austin R. Nimocks. “This move also demonstrates without question that ‘civil unions’ are never acceptable middle ground. Instead, they are the groundwork used to pave the way toward what you see today. Other states should not be naïve,” Nimocks added. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: In Vermont gay marriage law, a hidden victory for religious freedom NY Daily News, By David Benkof, April 14th 2009
A little-noticed clause in the gay marriage bill recently passed in Vermont offers hope that the gay marriage trend may finally be starting to incorporate some of the concerns and needs of traditionally religious Americans as it spreads across the country. Echoing the names of gay marriage bills in other states, the Vermont law is entitled "An Act to Protect Religious Freedom and Recognize Equality in Civil Marriage." Such titles in other states are Orwellian - those acts only purport to protect churches from having to marry same-sex couples, which is unconstitutional anyway. So far, same-sex marriage has had no regard for actual religious freedom. Until Vermont. The Green Mountain State's new law says in its "Public Accommodations" section that religious groups "shall not be required to provide services, accommodations, advantages, facilities, goods or privileges to an individual if the request . . . is related to the solemnization of a marriage or celebration of a marriage." It also bars civil lawsuits against religious groups that refuse to provide goods or services to same-sex weddings. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: A Vote Against Gay Marriage is a Vote FOR Tolerance Townhall.com, By Frank Turek, October 26, 2008
Twenty years ago, a group of prominent homosexuals got together in Warrentown, Virginia to map out their plan to get homosexuality accepted by the general public. In the book [After the Ball] that resulted from their meeting, they revealed a strategy that achieves its effect "without reference to facts, logic or proof ... the person's beliefs can be altered whether he is conscious of the attack or not." In other words, their strategy was pure propaganda. That propaganda campaign has many people today believing that denying same-sex marriage involves denying rights to a victimized minority. That belief could not be further from the truth. . . . . Greg Koukl puts this very well: “Same-sex marriage is not about civil rights. It is about validation and social respect. It is a radical attempt at civil engineering using government muscle to strong-arm the people into accommodating a lifestyle many find deeply offensive, contrary to nature, socially destructive, and morally repugnant.”. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: So, What's Really at Stake in the Gay Marriage Debate? Part One AlbertMohler.com, October 17, 2008
Human society is a complex reality, but certain constants have framed that reality for human beings. One of those constants has been the institution of marriage. The respected status of the heterosexual pairing, set apart for exclusive rights and respected for its functions for the society, is among the most important of those constants. Even where deviations from this pattern occur, they are of interest merely for the fact that they are deviations from this norm. The legalization and normalization of same-sex marriage undermine that constant. What had been a clear picture now becomes confusing. Marriage had been universally understood to be heterosexual. Now, it is something else. The picture is further confused by alienating the heterosexual breeding and parenting function from marriage. Not only does marriage appear now to be what it never was before, the essential functions of marriage are up for grabs. The pictures in the mind change. The pictures in books for children change. Mommy and Daddy give way to Mommy and Mommy, Daddy and Daddy, or any number of variations on the relationship theme. Marriage is dethroned as a cultural constant and even as a predictable reality. The institution of marriage is destabilized and transformed before our eyes -- and especially in the eyes of the young. . . Part Two

‘I’d trade my husband for a housekeeper’
New book examines the odd, humorous challenges of modern parenthood MSNBC.com- TODAY, April 3, 2009
Modern parenthood is anything but simple. But that doesn't mean it has to be incompatible with conjugal bliss. In “I’d Trade My Husband for a Housekeeper: Loving Your Marriage After the Baby Carriage,” authors Trisha Ashworth and Amy Nobile take an honest, humorous approach to the obstacles and benefits of marriage — targeting everything from balancing housework to trying to keeping the romance alive. An excerpt:

Chapter 2: Why Don’t We Have One of Those Hollywood Marriages (Expectations vs. Reality)
We realize that you might not be in dire crisis mode in your marriage right now, but if you’re like most women, you probably could be happier. In fact, of the over 300 married women with kids we interviewed, 240 said they could be happier. And nearly all thought they were the minority in their feelings. What’s more, they thought their unhappiness was their fault. But after talking — and talking, and talking — to so many women, we noticed a trend: Of the 80 percent of women who wished they were happier in marriage, most started out with an unrealistic vision of what married life would look like. Particularly married life with kids. As we wrote in our first book, when our expectations aren’t met, unhappiness ensues. Never mind that our expectations were unrealistic in the first place and are never going to happen in a million years. We had a vision. We didn’t attain it. We feel like we failed. . .

RELATED SITE: I was a really good mom before I had kids
Reinventing Modern Motherhood and Marriage (After the Baby Carriage)

New book: 'I¿d trade my husband for a housekeeper' (Click for Related Video)

RELATED LINK: I'd Trade My Husband for a Housekeeper: Loving Your Marriage after the Baby Carriage

RELATED ARTICLE: The secret life of us: When the hard yards of parenting are over, many couples face a stark question: why stay together? Others never forget why they fell in love. The Austrailian, By Kate Legge, March 28, 2009
The prospect of the children leaving home is a hairpin bend for every partnership. Many couples count the sleeps until the youngest child’s Year 12 exams finish. Women are most likely to bolt after the hard yards of family and for the past decade divorce rates for the over-45s have been creeping upwards. Now it seems as if the global financial crisis might sandbag this exodus. Who can afford a second home or child support payments with job insecurity or a super fund scraping on empty? Marriage counsellors around the country predict a slowdown in divorce. They are seeing couples living separately under the same roof. Situation normal, you might shrug wryly. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Why do women feel useless? High-flying career? Tick. Baby? Tick. World travel? Tick? But crazy benchmarks and checklists won't make us happy Times Online, By Shane Watson, March 8, 2009
It starts early. You have a part-time job in the university holidays, but some of your friends are travelling and working, or signed up as film extras. Then you get a full-time job, but a few of your contemporaries have set up businesses, moved in with boyfriends and started writing on the side. You get a promotion; they get a promotion and they get pregnant. Meanwhile, they get a half share in a weekend cottage by the sea and a film deal. You are 35 and you feel the low hum of anxiety, because you still have six significant achievement boxes to tick before you hit 40. There’s a lot of talk about women’s ticking clocks, but the biological one is just the tip of the iceberg. . .

Iowa Court: Ban on same-sex 'marriage' unconstitutional (Click for Related Video)

Iowa court: Ban on same-sex 'marriage' unconstitutional OneNewsNow, By AP and Charlie Butts, April 3, 2009
- The Iowa Supreme Court says the state's same-sex "marriage" ban violates the constitutional rights of homosexual couples, making it the third state where same-sex marriage is legal. In a unanimous ruling issued Friday, the court upheld a 2007 Polk County District Court judge's ruling that the law was unconstitutional. The case stems from a 2005 lawsuit filed by Lambda Legal, a New York-based homosexula rights organization. The group filed a lawsuit on behalf of six homosexual Iowa couples who were denied marriage licenses. The suit named then-Polk County recorder and registrar Timothy Brien. The Polk County attorney's office claimed that Hanson's ruling violated the separation of powers and the issue should be left to the Legislature. Iowa judges 'crossed the line' : Douglas Napier, senior counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, explains to OneNewsNow that the court overturned the state's Defense of Marriage Act. "The Iowa marriage law was simple, settled, and overwhelming supported by Iowans for 170 years in the history of Iowa," he notes. "There was simply no legitimate reason for this court to redefine marriage." Napier asserts that the justices stepped out of their proper role of interpreting the law and have instead created new law. A recent poll, which compares to others, indicates 62 percent of Iowans are against homosexual marriage. "And it's astounding the Supreme Court would usurp the role of the legislature, put a choke hold on the democratic process, and take that from the people of Iowa and claim to know better," the attorney exclaims. "They don't know better -- and the people of Iowa need to vote on a marriage amendment and put it in place and let the Supreme Court know that they can't speak for them." . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Iowa Supreme Court: Same-Sex Marriage Ban Is Unconstitutional FOX News- AP, April 3, 2009
Court rules dictate that the decision will take about 21 days to be considered final, and a request for a rehearing could be filed within that period. That means it will be at least several weeks before gay and lesbian couples can seek marriage licenses. . .

RELATED BLOG: ABC Cheers Iowa's Supreme Court Decision To Legalize Same-Sex Marriages Townhall.com Blog, Posted by Greg Hengler, April 3, 2009
Considering Iowa's same-sex marriage approval was decided like it always is--by a few unelected judges--I am curious how Iowan's feel about McCoy's invitation. Who is "redefining the old cliche about Middle-American values" ABC?

RELATED ARTICLE: How Gays Won a Marriage Victory: For 7 Years, Activists Eyed a Seemingly Unlikely Target: Iowa Washington Post, By Keith B. Richburg, April 15, 2009

RELATED ARTICLE: Iowa same-sex marriage ruling spurs activists Associated Press, By Melanie S. Welte, April 4, 2009
Gay couples will likely be getting married soon in Iowa, and activists on both sides of the issue claim the sight of same-sex unions in the nation's heartland will spur other states to take action. What's less clear is whether the action taken will result in legislation to legalize gay marriage or constitutional amendments to outlaw it. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: The poster child for marriage amends. Baptist Press, By Richard Land, April 13, 2009
Iowa is now the poster child for why it is important to have constitutional amendments that decree that marriage is only between one man and one woman. It has been my contention for some time that each state needs to have a constitutional amendment defining marriage as only between one man and one woman. Without such an amendment, a state's activist Supreme Court can overturn a law adopted by the legislature, declaring it to be unconstitutional. That is what happened in Iowa, Connecticut and Massachusetts. In passing Proposition 8 in referendum last November, voters reversed a similar move by the California Supreme Court the previous May. . . . . With no residency requirements, the court's opinion means at the end of April when the order goes into effect, same-sex couples will be free to travel from other states to exchange "vows" in the Iowa heartland. This ruling turns Iowa into a destination for "same-sex marriages." No doubt, there are weekend travel packages already being planned. Iowa will soon be the Las Vegas of "same-sex marriage" for America. And you know those folks won't be resettling in the Hawkeye state, but will be heading back home -- perhaps to your state to sue for recognition there. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Gay marriage opponents rally at Iowa Capitol   Quad City Times, By Rod Boshart, April 13, 2009
Same-sex marriage opponents vowed Monday to "turn up the heat" on state elected officials in hopes of pressuring action to undo a controversial April 3 Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage. More than 300 rain-soaked Iowans rallied outside the Capitol before flooding the rotunda to call out their local lawmakers and urge them to support a constitutional amendment so people can vote whether to restore marriage as only between one man and one woman in Iowa. . .

RELATED ARTICLE & COMMENTS: Same-Sex Marriage Comes to America's Front Yard   Townhall.com, By Ken Klukowski, April 06, 2009
Iowa’s Supreme Court has now declared a constitutional right to same-sex marriage. The court’s claim to have dispassionately arrived at this decision is undermined by its comparison of this decision to prior cases about slavery and discrimination and by the Iowa court’s breaking with the U.S. Supreme Court while claiming to follow precedent. It will now be difficult for Iowa voters to ever decide this issue for themselves. Same-sex marriage has come to the Midwest by judicial decree. . . . .The Iowa Supreme Court’s decision is the final word on Iowa law. It can define Iowa’s Constitution however it pleases and cannot be reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court because there is no federal jurisdiction in this case. The only recourse Iowans hve is amending their state constitution, but this might be difficult. Iowa’s constitution requires that an amendment must be passed by two consecutive legislatures and then go to a vote by the people. That means the earliest that Iowans could finalize a constitutional amendment would be November of 2012. . .

RELATED COMMENT: No pot of gold at the end of Iowa's 'rainbow'  By Douglas Napier, Senior Legal Counsel, Alliance Defense Fund, April 6, 2009
Evan Wolfson naively proclaims the arrival of "a rainbow over Iowa," but the funny thing about rainbows is that they are an illusion that appear for a moment and then quickly vanish. The handful of advocates of homosexual behavior who have been searching in all the wrong places for that elusive "pot of gold," only to come up empty, in truth have nothing to celebrate. For despite the action of the court in Iowa, they have not really obtained marriage, as marriage can only mean -- as it has for thousands of years -- one thing: the union of one man and one woman. Calling a relationship marriage doesn't make it marriage. The rest of Iowa is certainly is not joining in this short-lived celebration because the renegade ruling of seven unelected judges does not represent the majority of Iowans. Iowa did not grow more accepting of same-sex "marriage," only seven judges did. . .

How long after giving birth should a woman wait to make love?

How long after giving birth should a woman wait to make love?
It's an issue all parents face - but rarely talk about. Now, one mother dares to ask that important question... The Daily Mail- UK, By Helena Frith Powell, April 02, 2009
After giving birth, a woman thinks of many things; chocolate, baby names, how soon she can go home, how soon she can sit down without the help of an inflatable rubber ring, and which breastfeeding bras are the most practical. The last thing on her mind is sex. Possibly ever again. This is in stark contrast to her husband, who has probably thought of little else for the previous three months. It might be a subject few women are willing to talk about, even with their closest friends, but the issue of when you should resume marital relations is something all new parents will have to face at some point or other. So how long should you wait? . . . . . . In my experience, the decision a woman makes will in no small way be affected by the advice her doctor gives her. I experienced the joys of giving birth in both England and France. My daughter, Olivia, who's nine, was born in England, and my two youngest, Bea, eight, and Leo, five, were born in France. The difference is like the difference between buying your clothes from Camden Market as opposed to Harvey Nichols. . . . I have given birth twice under French care, to Bea and Leo. Right from the beginning, I realised the French have a different attitude to childbirth. Whereas in England, childbirth is all about what is best for the child, in France there is much more emphasis on the mother. And by default, the father - or at least his carnal desires. Returning to a normal sex life is seen of paramount importance. . . COMMENTS: My son is now 10 months old - I made love to my partner when the baby was six weeks old, and would have loved to carry on doing so - but it hasn't happened since. My partner seems to have lost all interest in me - despite the fact that I am now slimmer than my pre pregnancy weight (size 8-10) and try really hard to be attractive for him. I think having his baby changed his perception of me from 'lover' to 'mother' I've no idea how to change it back. - Melia, Devizes, UK, 02/4/2009 16:24. . .

Sweden passes same-sex marriage law CNN International, April 01, 2009
Story Highlights:
* Sweden's parliament approves legislation allowing same-sex marriage
* Legislation was passed by strong majority in parliament
* Christian Democrats was only party opposed to measure

Sweden's parliament on Wednesday approved same-sex marriage legislation, according to the parliament's Web site. Previously, two people of the same sex could register their partnership, but with this vote, sex will no longer matter when two people want to get married. The new "sex-neutral" law will take effect on May 1. Couples who already had a registered partnership can now either stay in that union or transform it into a marriage if they wish, the Web site said. The "yes" votes numbered 261, while 22 members of parliament voted "no" and 16 chose not to vote. The Christian Democrats was the only party opposed to the new law. "Unfortunately this is not an April Fool's Day joke, this is reality," Yvonne Andersson, member of the Swedish parliament for the Christian Democrats, wrote on the party's Web site following the vote. The party had instead proposed a law that would remove the word "marriage" from Swedish law and replace it with a legally binding union between two persons, thus separating it from the Christian ceremony that the church conducts. Asa Regner, secretary general of the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education, told CNN that Wednesday's vote meant a very important change in Swedish law. "This was the last area where same sex couples were treated differently," she said. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Sweden allows same-sex marriage BBC News- UK, April 01, 2009
Sweden has become the fifth European country, after the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Norway, to recognise same-sex marriage.

RELATED ARTICLE: No Nordic Bliss: There’s no refuting the claim that same-sex partnerships harm marriage. National Review Online, By Stanley Kurtz, February 28, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: Here Comes The Brides: Plural marriage is waiting in the wings The Weekly Standard-Volume 011, Issue 15- By Stanley Kurtz, December 26, 2005
On September 23, 2005, the 46-year-old Victor de Bruijn and his 31-year-old wife of eight years, Bianca, presented themselves to a notary public in the small Dutch border town of Roosendaal. And they brought a friend. Dressed in wedding clothes, Victor and Bianca de Bruijn were formally united with a bridally bedecked Mirjam Geven, a recently divorced 35-year-old whom they'd met several years previously through an Internet chatroom. . . . In short, while the Dutch triple wedding set the conservative blogosphere ablaze with warnings, same-sex marriage advocates dismissed the story as a silly stunt with absolutely no implications for the gay marriage debate. And how did America's mainstream media adjudicate the radically different responses of same-sex marriage advocates and opponents to events in the Netherlands? By ignoring the entire affair. Yet there is a story here. And it's bigger than even those chortling conservative websites claim. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Deathblow to Marriage: Gay marriage has real implications. National Review Online, By Stanley Kurtz, February 5, 2004
At issue in the gay-marriage controversy is nothing less than the existence of marriage itself. This point is vehemently denied by the proponents of gay marriage, who speak endlessly of marriage's adaptability and "resilience." But if there is one thing I think I've established in my recent writing on Scandinavia, it is that marriage can die — and is in fact dying — somewhere in the world. In fact, marriage is dying in the very the same place that first recognized gay marriage. . . . .The "discrimination" inherent in the legal institution of marriage is relatively minor. Single people are "discriminated against" by the benefits granted to married couples. Those who prefer to live with multiple lovers are also "discriminated against" by the institution of marriage. So, too, are same-sex couples "discriminated against" by marriage. Each of these groups is now demanding redress from this "discrimination." Such redress will spell the end of marriage. The difficulties and challenges of gays are special precisely because they do not derive from the "discrimination" of marriage. The real source of the challenges of gay life is the problem of sexual difference. It is terribly difficult to grow up with a different sort of sexuality than most of the world around you. Marriage does not cause this problem, and it cannot solve it. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: The End of Marriage in Scandinavia: The "conservative case" for same-sex marriage collapses. National Review Online, By Stanley Kurtz, February 2, 2004- Volume 009, Issue 20
Marriage is slowly dying in Scandinavia. A majority of children in Sweden and Norway are born out of wedlock. Sixty percent of first-born children in Denmark have unmarried parents. Not coincidentally, these countries have had something close to full gay marriage for a decade or more. Same-sex marriage has locked in and reinforced an existing Scandinavian trend toward the separation of marriage and parenthood. The Nordic family pattern--including gay marriage--is spreading across Europe. And by looking closely at it we can answer the key empirical question underlying the gay marriage debate. Will same-sex marriage undermine the institution of marriage? It already has. More precisely, it has further undermined the institution. The separation of marriage from parenthood was increasing; gay marriage has widened the separation. Out-of-wedlock birthrates were rising; gay marriage has added to the factors pushing those rates higher. Instead of encouraging a society-wide return to marriage, Scandinavian gay marriage has driven home the message that marriage itself is outdated, and that virtually any family form, including out-of-wedlock parenthood, is acceptable. . .

The first ladies of fashion: Michelle Obama and Sarah Brown set the style standard for the G20 wives

The first ladies of fashion: Michelle Obama and Sarah Brown set the style standard for the G20 wives The Daily Mail- UK, By Tamara Abraham, April 01, 2009
Dressed in a cream embellished cardigan and green gingham skirt, Michelle Obama practically shimmered in the early morning sunlight today as she and her husband arrived at 10 Downing Street. The Prime Minister was meeting US President Barack Obama for a morning meeting ahead of the G20 summit. But the while the men were discussing the global economy, the women had their own agenda. The itinerary included a visit to a cancer charity before Mrs Obama joins her husband at Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen this afternoon. The US First Lady, who has been hailed by the fashion press as a modern-day Jackie O, was not clad in high-end designer labels as one might expect someone of her position to wear. Instead, the glamorous 45-year-old opted for a spring-like ensemble from American high-street favourite J Crew. Classic pearls and elegant bracelets were the only accessories, the choice of low-heeled court shoes both appropriate for the formal occasions to come, while practical enough for all day wear. By contrast, Sarah Brown's choice of attire seemed somewhat more austere as she greeted her American counterpart - a navy ensemble perhaps a reflection of the gloomy economic climate, and the serious matters to be covered. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: A Fawning Frenzy For Michelle Townhall.com, By Brent Bozell, April 8, 2009
Imagine being Laura Bush and turning on the television and watching the absolute deluge of sticky-sweet syrup being poured all over Michelle Obama during her European debut as first lady. It is as if every TV reporter was handed a pamphlet of talking points and ordered to compare Mrs. Obama to Jackie Kennedy. NBC's Dawna Friesen gushed: "Though Harvard-educated Michelle Obama has substance, not just style, and that's what sets her apart." Apart from … whom? Unspoken, but unmistakeable, NBC's saying Michelle has more substance than Laura and more style than Hillary. Everyone expects the press to be polite and gentle with the First Lady, but this is ridiculous. The official "news" media line now is that Michelle is the most smashing and fashionable and intelligent first lady in recent history, maybe ever. . .

RELATED ARTICLE & VIDEO: First Lady moved by school visit BBC News, April 02, 2009
The world needs strong young women to pave the way for the future, an emotional US First Lady Michelle Obama has told schoolgirls in London. Mrs Obama was close to tears as she addressed the excited crowd at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School in Islington, north London. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Michelle Obama breaks royal protocol by giving the Queen a hug The Daily Mail- UK, By Rebecca English, April 02, 2009
America's First Lady Michelle Obama broke royal protocol during a reception at Buckingham Palace when she placed her arm around the Queen. But rather than take offence, Her Majesty took the unusual step of returning the gesture by putting her arm round Mrs Obama's waist - almost as if to confirm the special relationship the politicians are so keen to play up. The extraordinary scenes took place yesterday as Barack Obama made his first visit to Britain as U.S. President. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Responding to My Critics   Townhall.com, By Burt Prelutsky, March 30, 2009
Recently, I posted a piece at Townhall in which I suggested that Mrs. Obama is not, to put it mildly, my ideal. I stated that so long as the president and the first lady are Democrats, the media can’t stop rhapsodizing about them. So it was that John Kennedy, who had huge jowls, Bill Clinton, who looked like a taller version of W.C. Fields, and Barack Obama, who has Dumbo’s ears, have all been described in terms that would have made Cary Grant blush. Hillary Clinton, so far as the media was concerned, was nothing less than the most brilliant woman in America. Now we have Mrs. Obama, a rather plain woman, being passed off as a movie queen. I did go on to admit that the First Lady was not my ideal representative of American womanhood. And, yes, I used the b---h word. Intemperate? Perhaps. But with all the kissing-up she gets from the MSM, I felt someone should use honest language when pointing out that the empress is naked. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Let Us Not Praise Famous Men - Or Women Townhall.com, By Burt Prelutsky, March 22, 2009
Speaking of appearances, I can see the attraction of politics. In no other field, except perhaps for rock and roll, are so many homely people described as highly photogenic sex symbols. . . . It’s not just the politicians, but also their mates, so long as they’re Democrats, who get the star treatment. Take Michelle Obama…please. Every time I turn around, there she is on a magazine cover. . .

RELATED ARTICLE:   Leading Lady   Vogue.com, By Andre Leon Tally, March 2009 Issue
From envisioning a more inclusive White House to embracing fearless fashion, Michelle Obama is poised to become the most transformative First Lady in history.

Should I tell my husband I helped our 15-year-old daughter have an abortion?

Should I tell my husband I helped our 15-year-old daughter have an abortion? The Daily Mail- UK. By Clare Campbell, April 1, 2009
Three months ago, Louise Johnson, a 45-year-old health administrator, discovered her 15-year-old daughter, Chloe, was pregnant. Chloe begged her mother to help and made her promise not to tell her father, Richard, a solicitor. Louise agreed and arranged a termination. Now her daughter is struggling with the consequences, while Louise remains unable to tell her husband what's wrong. Here, Louise - who lives in South-West London - tells her disturbing story. . . . . Later that day, when I went back to collect her, she was white and shaking. She looked at least ten years older than when she'd got up that morning. Although I had been warned by the doctor that she might be very tearful, emotional and tired in the first few hours and days after the termination, I didn't expect that Chloe would seem quite so different. She didn't cry at all. She hardly spoke, picking at her food and spending most of her time upstairs in her bedroom alone. I began to feel more and more worried about her. After taking her back to the clinic three weeks later for a post operative check-up, Chloe was told she was physically recovered. But in herself she didn't seem well to me at all. Always an outgoing, talkative girl, she seemed to have turned in on herself, staring silently out of the car window on the way to school, and refusing to take phone calls from her friends. When I asked her what she'd told Josh, she just said: 'I told him I had a miscarriage. It's easier than explaining. I'm not seeing him any more anyway.' Trying to give her every opportunity to talk about how she was feeling, I went in to see her each night after she went to bed. But she just turned her back to the wall and pretended to be asleep. About a month after the termination, Chloe received an invitation to go to a Valentine's disco. Usually my daughter would have been the first to buy a ticket, but she just threw the card in the bin. And when I tentatively asked her about using contraception in any future relationships she might have, she told me: 'Look, Mum, I don't intend to have sex with anyone, ever again.' Now becoming really concerned about my daughter, I telephoned the clinic and spoke to a doctor, who suggested that I bring Chloe back to talk to a counsellor. At first, when I mentioned this to Chloe, she told me she was OK. Then one night, as I was leaving her room, she called me back. Crying her pillow, she finally confessed to how she was feeling terribly guilty about the termination, and ashamed of herself for having 'killed a baby as a result of having sex'. . .

RELATED BROADCAST: Life: An inalienable right
Near 50 millions babies have died in an "American holocaust." How could we have allowed such a thing to happen? It begins, as always, with semantic manipulation.

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

RELATED ARTICLE: Massive German Study Confirms Abortion Significantly Increases Premature Birth Risk LifesiteNews.com, By Kathleen Gilbert, February 11, 2009
A huge German study has further substantiated the link between abortion history and an increased risk of future premature births. Dr. Manfred Voigt and his German colleagues evaluated over two million pregnancies between 1995 and 2000, making the 2008 study the most massive AVP (Abortion Very Preterm Birth) study in the last 30 years.

RELATED ARTICLE: I had one of Britain's first legal abortions ... 40 years on, I'm still torn apart by guilt The Daily Mail- UK, By Natasha Courtenay-Smith, March 5, 2008
We're always told time is a great healer, but for me - at least when it comes to the termination I had - it has proved to be the opposite. I had an abortion believing it was the right thing to do, and I presumed I would move on from the procedure without so much as a backward glance. But I was wrong in thinking abortion was the easy way out of what, at the time, felt like an intolerable situation. With hindsight and maturity, I now know that I could have coped, and with each year that has passed I've only felt a growing sense of guilt and regret over my actions. It makes my blood run cold when I hear of the many young women today who see abortion as little more than a form of contraception. No doubt many of them go into it, just as I did, thinking little beyond their desire to get rid of the baby that, for whatever reason, they don't feel they are ready for. I wonder how many stop to think that perhaps they, too, in 40 years' time will still be feeling the ramifications of their actions. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: The 'afterwards' of abortion The Jamaica Gleaner, By Esther Tyson, March 2, 2008
Amid the debate that is raging concerning the rights of the child as against the rights of the mother and on whether life begins at conception or after 12 weeks, I want to introduce a story - the story of women who have faced the choice of abortion and what they went through afterwards. . .

RELATED ARTICLE & COMMENTS: The Suicide of Emma Beck and Silence No More Townhall.com, By Michelle Malkin, February 27, 2008
It's not just jaded abortion providers and medical assistants, AWOL counselors and MIA parents who need to look in the mirror. We have tolerated a culture of callousness and nurtured an entitlement to convenience for decades. Feminists shush women with post-abortion regrets. Population control zealots and Planned Parenthood drum it into the heads of young women around the world: "The fewer, the merrier" and "Why carry more burdens?" their T-shirts and bumper stickers proclaim. . . . . What you rarely hear are the voices telling you that such self-indulgence is wrong. What you rarely read are the stories of untold women (and men) around the world who know the vaunted choice they made was wrong and need help. What you rarely see are the studies showing that with abortion come lifelong costs and consequences -- high levels of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, grief, ostracism, guilt and, in at least one study in Finland, higher suicide rates. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Artist hanged herself after aborting her twins The Telegraph, February 26, 2008
An artist killed herself after aborting her twins when she was eight weeks pregnant, leaving a note saying: "I should never have had an abortion. I see now I would have been a good mum." Emma Beck was found hanging at her home in Helston, Cornwall, on Feb 1 2007. She was declared dead early the following day - her 31st birthday. Her suicide note read: "I told everyone I didn't want to do it, even at the hospital. I was frightened, now it is too late. I died when my babies died. I want to be with my babies: they need me, no-one else does.". . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Abortion: An "inconvenient truth" within Marriage The Real Proposal Magazine, January 26, 2008
There is a proverb that says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." Indeed, the human heart can be deceptively wicked, and it is amazing the kinds of compromises in integrity and moral character that seared consciences can justify, and even "bond" over. . .

RELATED RESOURCE: The Case For Life
Only One Issue. The abortion controversy is not a debate between those who are pro-choice and those who are anti-choice. It’s not about privacy or trusting women. To the contrary, the debate turns on one key question. What is the Unborn?

… And God Created Gisele Vanity Fair, By Leslie Bennetts, May 2009 Issue
How does the world’s most successful supermodel—darling of the cameras, advertisers, and tabloids, and worth an estimated $150 million—make her life even more fabulous? By marrying star quarterback Tom Brady, then setting her sights on a higher consciousness. As Gisele Bündchen embarks on her next chapter, the exuberant 28-year-old beauty tells about her secret engagement, the shock of finding out Brady’s ex-girlfriend was pregnant with his baby, and how they’re working out the bi-coastal routine of a new family. . . . . . Bounding down the stairs of her Greenwich Village town house to greet a visitor, Gisele Bündchen commands the shock value of a close encounter with a giraffe: you can hardly believe an earthly creature is built this way. Everything about her is so elongated and slender—those impossibly attenuated limbs! the swanlike neck!—that she seems almost preposterous, like a cartoon figure. Nearly six feet tall by the age of 13, she spent her childhood being teased by classmates who called her Olive Oyl. But Popeye’s rail-thin girlfriend never tantalized anyone with the luscious curves that catapulted Gisele to stardom in her late teens, replacing the pale, wasted “heroin chic” of that era with “the return of the sexy model.”. . . .At 28, Gisele has already spent 14 years in front of the cameras, not to mention in the gossip columns—and now she’s begun a whole new chapter of her life. On February 26, seven days after our cover was shot, she married New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in a private twilight ceremony at a Catholic church in Santa Monica that was followed by a small gathering at the couple’s home in Brentwood. Although the union had the iconic inevitability of typecasting, all-American-style—“the jock marries the prom queen,” as one Web site put it—the news surprised even their friends. Earlier the same week, Gisele had been partying at Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, where she made an appearance for Pantene hair-care products that was widely photographed—and then she suddenly turned up married in Los Angeles. But Gisele, who once described her ideal wedding as “a simple ceremony,” always knew she didn’t want an enormous extravaganza. . . .

RELATED PHOTOS: Gisele Sells! Vanity Fair.com
People can't seem to get enough of supermodel, humanitarian, quarterback’s wife, and Vanity Fair May cover girl Gisele Bündchen. In case you can’t either, here are some of her, um, unbridled appearances in Vanity Fair's pages.

RELATED ARTICLE: Gisele Bündchen & Tom Brady Tie the Knot – Again! People magazine, By Alex Tresniowski and Charlotte Triggs, April 04, 2009

RELATED ARTICLE: Gisele Bündchen Calls Tom Brady's Love Child a 'Wake-up Call' People magazine, By Stephen M. Silverman, March 30, 2009
Marriage and step-motherhood have come naturally to Gisele Bündchen – who in February wed New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, 18 months after his former girlfriend, model-actress Bridget Moynahan, gave birth to Brady's child, John Edward Thomas Moynahan. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Bridget's Camp Blasts Gisele New York Post- Page Six, April 01, 2009
Bridget Moynahan is furious with Gisele Bundchen after Bundchen boldly bragged to Vanity Fair about being mommy to Moynahan and Tom Brady's son, John. But while Moynahan is taking the high road and keeping quiet, her friends are not. One close pal told Page Six, "If Gisele loved Bridget's child like he was '100 percent her own,' then she would not talk about him in the press. Discretion and respect are not either of Gisele or Tom's virtues, as was evidenced even when the child was still unborn and they publicly flaunted their relationship without any discretion whatsoever.". .

RELATED ARTICLE: Bridget Who? Stepma Gisele Says Tom's Tot is 'Mine - 100%': Battle of Beauties Brewing as Supermodel Plays Parent New York Post, By David K. Li, March 30, 2009
Supermodel Gisele Bundchen says she feels that Tom Brady's love child with actress Bridget Moynahan is "100 percent" hers and, "It's not like because somebody else delivered him, that's not my child." "I want him to have a great relationship with his mom, because that's important, but I love him the same way as if he were mine. I already feel like he's my son, from the first day," Bundchen tells Vanity Fair in a re vealing interview appearing in its upcoming issue. Bundchen's feelings toward her stepson could be news to her new hubby's baby mama, Moynahan, whom she has never met. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Mama's Boy: Bridget Moynahan, Tom Brady's ex, on being in love with a younger man — her son, Jack Harper's Bazaar, By Marshall Heyman, June 2008
The first thing Bridget Moynahan did when she returned home from the hospital last August with her newborn son, John, was cry. Uncontrollably. “Everyone says, ‘You give birth, you go home, and you have this amazing baby and it’s just beautiful,’” says the 37-year-old Massachusetts-raised model turned actress. “And I walked in and I just started sobbing.” It wasn’t postpartum depression, which fortunately Moynahan never suffered from. It was more of an overwhelming (potentially hormonal) anxiety about raising a child. “All of a sudden, you have this newborn you have no training for. It’s frightening.” . . . . Moynahan never imagined that she’d wind up a yummy mummy without a hubby. “I’m not sure anyone — and I could be wrong in this — grows up thinking, I want to be a single mom,” she says. She had dated Brady for three years, but in February 2007 she found herself in a complicated situation. She was three months pregnant with his child but no longer in a relationship with him. . .

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