A recent op-ed piece in the New York Times is a good example of the dangers of breaking down the wall of separation between religion and state. In their proposal of a compromise on gay marriage, David Blankenhorn and Jonathan Rauch, suggest that civil unions for same-sex couples “should appeal to cooler heads on both sides.” Especially, because they throw in a bizarre religious exemption: Basically, if a church doesn’t want to recognize the civil union, they don’t have to.
Feb 252009
The Chicago Sun Times commissioned an online survey to find out what younger adults think of marriage. What did they find? “Marriage? Most believe in it.” Their findings in detail (and a bit more information on the survey). The National Healthy Marriage Resource Center commissioned the Chicago youth-research firm TRU to get inside the heads of 18- to 30-year-olds. Through online surveys of 3,672 men and women over the summer, its researchers identified five groups: 14 percent who express strong sentiments against marriage. 22 percent who aren’t ready but say they eventually plan to wed. 23 percent who have a … Continue reading »
Thanks to Bella DePaulo, I learned that the federal government is funding an ad campaign to promote marriage because it makes people healthier, happier, and wealthier. Or so they claim. Read how DePaulo takes those claims apart. They’re myths. And then contact your Congressperson and send them something like this: I was appalled to find out that the federal government is founding an ad campaign to promote marriage. What a waste of $5 million! Almost all the claims of marriage promoters are based on faulty research: There is no evidence that marriage makes people healthier or happier, though thanks to … Continue reading »
Feb 142009
I’ve been trying various running programs for a while. I love to walk and somehow running just doesn’t seem to fit my body. Plus, I don’t like the idea of “pounding the pavement.” So, a couple years ago, after yet another unsuccessful attempt at running, I decided that in order to get my heart rate up, I’d just needed to learn to walk faster! That’s how I stumbled onto race walking. Since it avoids the pounding, it has a much lower injury rate than running. I loved the way it felt: There’s nothing like gliding along fast! I was hooked. … Continue reading »
Here’s a letter that I just sent to the Washington Post’s health desk: I found Bob Brody’s “prescription to marry” offensive. It perpetuates the myth that marriage makes people healthier and happier. There is no scientific research to support that claim. Yes, there is plenty of research that seems to indicate that married folks are happier and healthier than unmarried but all of that research is highly flawed. Most importantly, it fails to show causation, something that can only be shown scientifically with properly designed experiments, which would not be ethical in the case of marriage. However, a close approximation … Continue reading »
Can’t resist… I received an email from Unifem about their Say no to Violence against Women campaign. I wouldn’t have known about the email, though, if I didn’t have the habit of checking my spam filter. Apparently, fighting violence against women is considered spam…
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