What's in a (Last) Name?
So observes Rich Lowry on the declining number of women who retain their maiden name after getting married. I for one would be interested in seeing what the divorce rate is among couples where the wife chose not to take her husband's last name. To some extent, I would understand if my (hopfully) future wife didn't want to take my last name, especially if her first name was Heidi.
The number of women in the New York Times's wedding announcements keeping their surnames was 2 percent in 1975 and had reached 20 percent by the mid-1980s, according to the Journal study. Then the trend stalled. Among women in the Harvard class of 1980, 44 percent retained their surname, but in the class of 1990, only 32 percent did. According to Massachusetts records, the percentage of surname keepers among college graduates in that state was 23 percent in 1990, 20 percent in 1995 and 17 percent in 2000.
Why? The study's authors write: "Perhaps some women who 'kept' their surnames in the 1980s, during the rapid increase in 'keeping,' did so because of peer pressure, and their counterparts today are freer to make their own choices. Perhaps surname-keeping seems less salient as a way of publicly supporting equality for women than it did in the late 1970s and 1980s. Perhaps a general drift to more conservative social values has made surname-keeping less attractive."
Friday, August 06, 2004
White House Promises Support to Maine Catholic Charities
Seems kind of ironic how a non-Catholic President seems to be much more open to defending the religious liberties of a Catholic institution from Secularist Fundamentalism than a certain alleged Catholic presidential candidate would probably be. (BTW, I don't believe the Catholic Charities CEO is the same John Kerry who is running for President. At least I hope not.)
President Bush's top adviser on faith-based programs assured Catholic Charities Maine Thursday that the White House is ready to battle local government when it comes to funding religious groups. Catholic Charities, the social-service arm of the Roman Catholic Church and one of Maine's largest such organizations, is barred from receiving certain federal funds from the city of Portland unless it provides some benefits to same-sex or unmarried partners of employees.
(...)
"We don't have to be concerned about the fairness with which we treat religious and religiously sponsored organizations. That's because we have one rule that applies to everybody: You can't practice discrimination," said Cloutier, who was mayor when Catholic Charities sued the city in March 2003, charging religious discrimination.
Sigh...we are inching ever closer to having government run churches, a-la-Communist China.
Seems kind of ironic how a non-Catholic President seems to be much more open to defending the religious liberties of a Catholic institution from Secularist Fundamentalism than a certain alleged Catholic presidential candidate would probably be. (BTW, I don't believe the Catholic Charities CEO is the same John Kerry who is running for President. At least I hope not.)
President Bush's top adviser on faith-based programs assured Catholic Charities Maine Thursday that the White House is ready to battle local government when it comes to funding religious groups. Catholic Charities, the social-service arm of the Roman Catholic Church and one of Maine's largest such organizations, is barred from receiving certain federal funds from the city of Portland unless it provides some benefits to same-sex or unmarried partners of employees.
(...)
"We don't have to be concerned about the fairness with which we treat religious and religiously sponsored organizations. That's because we have one rule that applies to everybody: You can't practice discrimination," said Cloutier, who was mayor when Catholic Charities sued the city in March 2003, charging religious discrimination.
Sigh...we are inching ever closer to having government run churches, a-la-Communist China.
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
Don't All Property Sellers Carry Them?
Remember: We will not racially profile Middle Eastern Muslim males carrying handguns, knives and syringes, even though they're the only ones who have committed acts of terrorism on airplanes. It just wouldn't be right to do so...
A man pleaded not guilty Monday to knowingly attempting to board a plane with a loaded handgun, folding knife, and 10 syringes in his carry-on bag.
Ali Reza Khatami, 65, was arrested June 24 when the .38-caliber pistol and 3.5-inch knife were found during a security screening, Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Staples said. He had been preparing to board a United Airlines flight to Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.
Defense attorney Ben Wasserman said at Khatami's bail hearing last month that his client had forgotten he was carrying the weapons. He said his client was on his way to Virginia to sell some property.
Khatami told authorities he had planned to put the gun and knife in his bag to take them to a safe in his garage, but didn't remember. Then he planned to leave them at his son's house, he said, but he was in such a rush that he forgot again.
(...)
Magistrate Judge Marc Goldman agreed to release Khatami on $100,000 bail, saying he was not convinced that Khatami intended to take the weapons on the plane.
Remember: We will not racially profile Middle Eastern Muslim males carrying handguns, knives and syringes, even though they're the only ones who have committed acts of terrorism on airplanes. It just wouldn't be right to do so...
A man pleaded not guilty Monday to knowingly attempting to board a plane with a loaded handgun, folding knife, and 10 syringes in his carry-on bag.
Ali Reza Khatami, 65, was arrested June 24 when the .38-caliber pistol and 3.5-inch knife were found during a security screening, Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Staples said. He had been preparing to board a United Airlines flight to Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.
Defense attorney Ben Wasserman said at Khatami's bail hearing last month that his client had forgotten he was carrying the weapons. He said his client was on his way to Virginia to sell some property.
Khatami told authorities he had planned to put the gun and knife in his bag to take them to a safe in his garage, but didn't remember. Then he planned to leave them at his son's house, he said, but he was in such a rush that he forgot again.
(...)
Magistrate Judge Marc Goldman agreed to release Khatami on $100,000 bail, saying he was not convinced that Khatami intended to take the weapons on the plane.
Thou Shall Not Eat The Other White Meat
Even though she should win, I've got the strangest feeling that she isn't.
A Central Florida woman was fired from her job after eating "unclean" meat and violating a reported company policy that pork and pork products are not permissible on company premises, according to Local 6 News.
Lina Morales was hired as an administrative assistant at Rising Star -- a Central Florida telecommunications company with strong Muslim ties, Local 6 News reported.
However, 10 months after being hired by Rising Star, religious differences led to her termination.
Morales, who is Catholic, was warned about eating pizza with meat the Muslim faith considered "unclean," Local 6 News reported. She was then fired for eating a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich, according to the report.
"Are you telling me they fired you because you had something with ham on it?" Local 6 News reporter Mike Holfeld asked.
"Yes," Morales said.
Holfeld asked, "A pizza and a BLT sandwich?"
"Yes," Morales said.
Local 6 News obtained the termination letter that states she was fired for refusing to comply with company policy that pork and pork products are not permissible on company premises.
However, by the company's own admission to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, that policy is not written, Local 6 News reported.
"Did you ever sign to or agree to anything that said I will not eat pork?" Holfeld asked Morales.
"Never," Morales said. "When I got hired there, they said we don't care what religion you are."
Even though she should win, I've got the strangest feeling that she isn't.
A Central Florida woman was fired from her job after eating "unclean" meat and violating a reported company policy that pork and pork products are not permissible on company premises, according to Local 6 News.
Lina Morales was hired as an administrative assistant at Rising Star -- a Central Florida telecommunications company with strong Muslim ties, Local 6 News reported.
However, 10 months after being hired by Rising Star, religious differences led to her termination.
Morales, who is Catholic, was warned about eating pizza with meat the Muslim faith considered "unclean," Local 6 News reported. She was then fired for eating a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich, according to the report.
"Are you telling me they fired you because you had something with ham on it?" Local 6 News reporter Mike Holfeld asked.
"Yes," Morales said.
Holfeld asked, "A pizza and a BLT sandwich?"
"Yes," Morales said.
Local 6 News obtained the termination letter that states she was fired for refusing to comply with company policy that pork and pork products are not permissible on company premises.
However, by the company's own admission to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, that policy is not written, Local 6 News reported.
"Did you ever sign to or agree to anything that said I will not eat pork?" Holfeld asked Morales.
"Never," Morales said. "When I got hired there, they said we don't care what religion you are."
Sunday, August 01, 2004
Boob Gets Bounced Off Plane
Leave it to the ACLU, of course, to argue that people have a "right" to wear obnoxious clothing on commercial flights.
A couple returning home from a Costa Rican vacation was ejected from an American Airlines flight because the man was wearing a T-shirt depicting a bare breast.
Oscar Arela and his girlfriend, Tala Tow, were removed from Flight 952 on Saturday after he refused to change the shirt or turn it inside out at Miami International Airport. The flight left 90 minutes late without them.
The couple, making a connecting flight from Costa Rica, said nobody on the earlier flight objected to the shirt and claimed the airline violated their constitutional right to free speech.
"It's a picture of a man and woman, and the woman's breast is showing," Tow said. "The flight attendant basically walked up to us and yelled, 'You have to take off that shirt right now.'"
American spokesman Tim Wagner said Sunday that crew members acted properly.
"The description I heard was a picture of a graphic of a naked man and woman performing a sexual act," he said. "We as an airline are in the service business, and we have the same latitude as a restaurant that says proper attire is required."
Leave it to the ACLU, of course, to argue that people have a "right" to wear obnoxious clothing on commercial flights.
A couple returning home from a Costa Rican vacation was ejected from an American Airlines flight because the man was wearing a T-shirt depicting a bare breast.
Oscar Arela and his girlfriend, Tala Tow, were removed from Flight 952 on Saturday after he refused to change the shirt or turn it inside out at Miami International Airport. The flight left 90 minutes late without them.
The couple, making a connecting flight from Costa Rica, said nobody on the earlier flight objected to the shirt and claimed the airline violated their constitutional right to free speech.
"It's a picture of a man and woman, and the woman's breast is showing," Tow said. "The flight attendant basically walked up to us and yelled, 'You have to take off that shirt right now.'"
American spokesman Tim Wagner said Sunday that crew members acted properly.
"The description I heard was a picture of a graphic of a naked man and woman performing a sexual act," he said. "We as an airline are in the service business, and we have the same latitude as a restaurant that says proper attire is required."
Tuh-rayza Wants to Be Andrew Sullivan's Mommie
Borrowing from Mark Shea, 'Rats affirm their belief that there is nothing more glorious and holy in this world than homosexuality. Plus, the actor formerly known as Bennifer confirms he has the intellectual capacity of a door knob.
"If nothing else, you will have a mom in the White House," Teresa Heinz Kerry said before the packed hotel room of homosexual delegates and advocates.
"You're pushing the envelope, and we, as a country, have to respond with policies and cultural acceptance," said Mrs. Kerry, wife of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry.
Dignity and respect are paramount qualities, she said. If any of the Kerry children were to say they were homosexual and wanted to marry their partner, she said, "I would ... share my joy and my pride with all my friends," just as if they were marrying someone of the opposite sex.
One of her better-known qualities, Mrs. Kerry added, is "that I like to nurture" people, and family members and friends sometimes call her "Dr. T" or "Momma T." As she departed, the crowd chanted, "Momma T, Momma T!"
Boston-born Mr. Affleck joked about his famous marriage woes, but quickly attacked political efforts to block same-sex "marriage." "As somebody, to be perfectly frank, who has enough trouble figuring out who to get married [to], I don't need the state or federal government telling me who I can or can't marry," said the star of "Good Will Hunting" and "Armageddon."
Borrowing from Mark Shea, 'Rats affirm their belief that there is nothing more glorious and holy in this world than homosexuality. Plus, the actor formerly known as Bennifer confirms he has the intellectual capacity of a door knob.
"If nothing else, you will have a mom in the White House," Teresa Heinz Kerry said before the packed hotel room of homosexual delegates and advocates.
"You're pushing the envelope, and we, as a country, have to respond with policies and cultural acceptance," said Mrs. Kerry, wife of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry.
Dignity and respect are paramount qualities, she said. If any of the Kerry children were to say they were homosexual and wanted to marry their partner, she said, "I would ... share my joy and my pride with all my friends," just as if they were marrying someone of the opposite sex.
One of her better-known qualities, Mrs. Kerry added, is "that I like to nurture" people, and family members and friends sometimes call her "Dr. T" or "Momma T." As she departed, the crowd chanted, "Momma T, Momma T!"
Boston-born Mr. Affleck joked about his famous marriage woes, but quickly attacked political efforts to block same-sex "marriage." "As somebody, to be perfectly frank, who has enough trouble figuring out who to get married [to], I don't need the state or federal government telling me who I can or can't marry," said the star of "Good Will Hunting" and "Armageddon."
No Pets, Food or Christians Allowed in the Library
I'd like to believe that this incident in the Bay Area is an aberration, but quite frankly, it's about par for the course here.
A Christian ministry filed a federal civil rights lawsuit after being barred from meeting at a library due to the facility's policy of forbidding use for "religious purposes."
"The library flagrantly violated the ministry's constitutional rights," said Joshua Carden, counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, which brought the suit against the Contra Costa County, Calif., Board of Supervisors and several library officials on behalf of Faith Center Church Evangelistic Ministries.
"It's unbelievable that, after years of equal access litigation in this country, a library would exclude Christians from a public forum," Carden said.
Hattie Hopkins, leader of Faith Center Church Evangelistic Ministries, a Christian outreach ministry based in Sacramento, asked her coordinator to reserve a free public meeting room at the library branch in Antioch for May 29 and July 31.
I'd like to believe that this incident in the Bay Area is an aberration, but quite frankly, it's about par for the course here.
A Christian ministry filed a federal civil rights lawsuit after being barred from meeting at a library due to the facility's policy of forbidding use for "religious purposes."
"The library flagrantly violated the ministry's constitutional rights," said Joshua Carden, counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, which brought the suit against the Contra Costa County, Calif., Board of Supervisors and several library officials on behalf of Faith Center Church Evangelistic Ministries.
"It's unbelievable that, after years of equal access litigation in this country, a library would exclude Christians from a public forum," Carden said.
Hattie Hopkins, leader of Faith Center Church Evangelistic Ministries, a Christian outreach ministry based in Sacramento, asked her coordinator to reserve a free public meeting room at the library branch in Antioch for May 29 and July 31.
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