Marriage & Family Headlines

Ken Blackwell and Ken Klukowski writing at Fox News: "The Republican Party has an official position on same-sex marriage. It’s found in the 2008 GOP platform, which is the clear and uncontestable Republican position until the 2012 convention . . . The GOP platform could not be more explicit: Marriage is the union of one man and one woman. The fundamental institution of human civilization should be preserved as it has been known through the entirety of American history and Western civilization . . . You cannot have it both ways. Do you want to see Obamacare struck down as unconstitutional? Then you can’t have a constitutional right to same-sex marriage."

Las Vegas Sun: "Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto finds herself potentially stuck between the governing documents on the issue of gay marriage. And those on both sides of the volatile debate say she should wade into the legal fight in their favor."

ABC News: "In his days as a student at the University of Utah, Chase Kimball was known as number 007, donating his sperm at $20 a pop to help infertile couples . . . He estimates that over a seven-year period during the 1970s and 1980s, he likely sired 'hundreds of children' . . . Most children are never told they are the product of sperm donation, according to Kimball, 'so the vast majority of my children don't even know I exist.'"

CNSNews (AP): "Mehlman, who was campaign manager for President George W. Bush in 2004 and then RNC chairman after Bush's re-election, told The Atlantic in an interview published online Wednesday that he came to the conclusion he is gay recently and wanted to talk about it publicly because he wants to become an advocate for gay marriage."

Little Chicago Review: "The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit Monday put the brakes on an August 18 implementation date for U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker’s order overthrowing the will of 7 million California voters with regard to marriage. 'It made no sense to impose a radical change in marriage on the people of California before all appeals on their behalf are heard, so the 9th Circuit’s decision is clearly the right call,' said ADF Litigation Staff Counsel [Jim Campbell]."

OneNewsNow: "Dr. Vicki Murray is the associate director of education studies at the Pacific Research Institute (PJI) and director of the Women for School Choice project at the Independent Women's Forum (IWF). She reports that reading levels for fourth-graders in the Sunshine State were close to the bottom of the barrel a little over a decade ago, but one of the changes made during that time was to give parents the opportunity to choose the best school for their children."

ADF attorney Daniel Blomberg on KFUO with Roland Lettner to discuss some of the ramifications of the Proposition 8 marriage ruling.  | MP3 24:18 mins

Briefly put, marriage ― as conventionally understood ― is a bulwark of liberty. Here ― despite the bigotry of Iowa judges against the past ― I revert to history. The telling reality is that every modern totalitarian movement ― every enemy of a free society ― has moved early and aggressively to disrupt or destroy the institution of natural marriage."

365Gay.com: "The complaint in this case was filed pro se, meaning that the parties are representing themselves. Although information about the case (including the complaint itself) is hard to find, your intrepid columnist did finally track down this exclusive interview with one of the plaintiffs, David Shupe-Roderick . . . Of course, if the judge follows the full-trial route that Judge Walker took in the Prop 8 case, Shupe-Roderick and Dupree will be at a substantial disadvantage. But the judge, Alan B. Johnson (a Reagan appointee) might simply decide the case on pure legal grounds. In that case, the playing field would be much more level, as the judge can read the cases and decide based on precedent and his own sense of what the constitution requires."

"If the statements on which Judge Walker based his ruling are 'facts,' how do we explain what is happening educationally to boys in the black community where a large majority are growing up without fathers?"

Education Next: "Of all the innovations and policy reform proposals in education, it is online learning that is gathering public support most rapidly. In just one year—from 2009 to 2010—the percentage of Americans who think that high school students should be given credit for courses taken online has jumped from 42 percent to 52 percent."

New York Times: "Code words, secret societies, covert meetings, fake identities: these are tools that a certain set of cadets learn here at the United States Military Academy at West Point. These cadets are not spies or moles. They are gay, and they exist largely in the shadows of this granite institution known for producing presidents and generals, where staying closeted is essential to avoid discharge under the military’s 'don’t ask, don’t tell' policy."

Recognizing and Regulating Home Schooling in California: Balancing Parental and State Interests in Education Paul A. Alarcón, 13 Chap. L. Rev. 391 (2010) "Part I of this Comment summarizes the history of education in America discussing in particular the emergence of modern home schooling. Part II considers the conflict between the governmental and parental interests in education created by home schooling and provides an in-depth analysis of these dueling interests. Part III concludes with a proposal for enacting a home school exemption to California's compulsory school attendance statute, a consideration of limitations adopted by other states, and a proposal for adopting two specific home schooling restrictions."

Equality California press release: "August 23 - Today, the California State Senate approved a joint resolution, AJR 19, calling on the U.S. Congress and President Obama to immediately repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which explicitly forbids the federal government or any federal agency from recognizing state-sanctioned marriages between same-sex couples."

New York Daily News: "Huntley said she had no idea who might be making the threats. But some blame seems to be assigned in this latest mailer (which is marked 'Shirley Huntley for New York State Senate'). It says, among other things: 'There are forces that have invaded our community who: Have threatened Shirley Huntley, our hardworking state Senator; Have contributed more than $100,000 from outside the district to her opponent; Care about one issue only -- gay marriage.'"

San Francisco Chronicle (AP): "A gay couple has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Wyoming law that defines marriage as existing only between a man and a woman . . . They are asking U.S. District Judge Alan B. Johnson to block Wyoming from enforcing any laws that block gays and lesbians from access to civil marriage." | Shupe-Roderick v. Freudenthal, No. 2:2010-cv-166-F (D. Wyo. August 13, 2010)

Star-Ledger: "It appears Seton Hall University will offer a controversial course on gay marriage over the objections of Newark Archbishop John J. Myers, according to the professor scheduled to teach the class. The undergraduate seminar course — called 'The Politics of Gay Marriage' — is to begin Tuesday with about two dozen students, said W. King Mott, an associate professor of political science."

Attorneys for Wendell Loy Nielsen . . . said at a hearing Tuesday they intend to challenge the Texas bigamy laws their client is charged with violating under amended indictments."

Marybeth Hicks writing at Townhall: "Next year’s Academy Awards program ought to have a new category: Best Portrayal of a Sperm Donor. At least, that’s the role that’s being cast with increasing — and alarming — frequency."

Walter E. Williams writing at Townhall: "In my opinion, it takes a special form of callousness and disregard for the welfare of future generations of Americans for today's senior citizens to fight against [Social Security] reform. Nobody's talking about abolition of federal senior programs. We must accept that serious mistakes were made and we must take compassionate corrective action. But what the heck! As I said in my 'What Handouts to Cut?' column, 'Both today's politicians and seniors will be dead so why should they make sacrifices now to prevent an economic calamity decades off into the future?'"