Archive for Archive for February, 2009
The Name Game
I recently spoke to my colleagues about some of the research, writing and thinking I’ve been doing on the issue of marriage equality. Inevitably, some portion of the discussion turns to the civil union and whether it’s an adequate substitute for marriage.* In incisive academic fashion, someone suggested that the state has limited power here, [...]
Bracket [This]!
I was intrigued by the proposal for “federal civil unions” by the unlikely Wonder Twins of Jonathan Rauch and David Blankenhorn (see my post: “The Worst Op-Ed, Ever“). After all, Rauch is a committed advocate for marriage equality, while Blankenhorn is an equally committed (although unusually thoughtful) opponent. So I did some further digging. It [...]
Acid Test
Recently, a story out of Iran stoked the indignation of people world-wide. A crazed man blinded a woman whom he’d been stalking — because she rejected his advances. To make sure she wouldn’t be able to look at anyone else, he hurled acid into her eyes.
What’s to be his punishment in draconian Iran? The woman has [...]
The Worst Op-Ed, Ever
OK, probably not the worst, but pretty bad: This piece, which appeared in the Sunday (2/22) NY Times. Two well-respected think-tankers — one a marriage equality advocate and one an opponent — called for a compromise that would take some of the heat out of the marriage controversy. I’m all for reconciliation, but “A Reconciliation [...]
Stop.
“Stop.”
This was the simple but powerful reaction of an old friend when I described the effort to overthrow California’s guarantee of marriage equality through Proposition 8.
After almost twenty years, Annie and I saw each other this past summer at the funeral service of one of the fathers of a group of childhood friends, an assortment of families [...]
Serves them Right
Recently, the two women who gave their surname to the Massachusetts case recognizing marriage equality, filed for divorce. Although it’s useless to assay general conclusions from any one case, the sad end to the marriage of Julie and Hillary Goodridge reflects the pressure of the spotlight. There’s a poignancy to the divide between their public success and [...]
Progress Forgotten
Here’s a description of a deadly disorder that once afflicted children:
“At first children undergo subtle personality changes, their handwriting deteriorates, and they seem to forget things. Later, when the horror of the disease fully emerges, children are progressively less able to walk, stand, or talk; then they become combative, have seizures, lapse into a coma, [...]
The Third Chimpanzee, The Winter’s Tale, and the Imperatives of Biology
How important is the biology of parenting?
Here’s an example from Shakespeare: Audiences and critical scholars have long struggled to understand the insane rage that suddenly overcomes King Leontes in “The Winter’s Tale.” At first, the king is good-naturedly encouraging his queen, Hermione, to beg their mutual friend, Polixenes, the King of Bohemia, to stay another week.
She does [...]
Biology Uber Alles
Here’s an interesting story, loosely based on a real set of events I recently learned about:
A stable male couple, working through a private adoption agency, completes the required family profile. They then wait for a new mother to choose them as the best family in which to raise the child that she’s decided she cannot raise on her [...]
The Ghosts of I-95
I’ve been at my job for…many years. And for most of those years, I enjoyed the blissful life of the reverse commuter; working in Wilmington, Delaware, but living in Philadelphia, I rarely encountered any impediments to my smooth sail down I-95.
That changed a few years ago. Suddenly, if I left work any time after 4 [...]