An Over the Top Wedding
My daughter has many Indian classmates at Berkeley. From her, I learned that many Indian girls fantasize about either the bride or groom arriving by elephant, the way American girls dream of a limo ride. So I wasn’t entirely surprised by this articlein the San Diego paper: “Oh, my God,” gasped Maryam Rahimian.
More on Porn: All men watch it…
Responding to the NRO story on pornography, Dr. Helen Smith seems to be missing the point. She quotes a single and truly lame news article claiming that porn isn’t so bad. Funny thing about this “study:” it is a series of subjective interviews with 20 heterosexual males. “We started our research seeking men in their […]
I dont’ even want to think about the incentive effects of this ruling…
A Wisconsin judge just ruled that denying prison inmates hormonal therapy constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. That is, the taxpayers are required to pay for hormonal therapy for inmates with gender identity disorder. As is their custom, the ACLU treats this potentially expensive entitlement as “common sense” and minimizes the potential cost and scope of […]
ON pornography
NRO has a very interesting anonymous article on the devastating impact of pornography on marriage. Even more interesting is the whole series of e-mail responses that KayLo posted here. The comments run the gamut from the obviously self-serving to the painfully poignant. Our panel discussion on pornography at last summer’s conferencewas one of the most […]
Good News on the Religious Freedom and Free Speech front
Over at NRO, David French reports a favorable ruling on the case of Julea Ward, a Eastern Michigan University graduate student in counseling. She was expelled from her graduate program because she felt she could not counsel a person with same sex attraction regarding relationship difficulties. She referred this individual to another counselor, in accordance […]
Obamacare and the Family
What else is buried in The Tomb of the Unknown Health Care Bill? Over at NRO, John Graham points out one of the implications for the family. Commenting on the fact that health insurers are now required to cover subscribers’ children until they turn 26: The idea of a 26-year old “child” is curious in […]
The Face of the Tea Party is Female
I’m waiting for someone in the MSM to get the message that the face of the pro-life, pro-marriage movement is female. But, hey, at least someone is noticing that conservative women are capable of running a grassroots movement: Politico has gotten the message that the Tea Party grassroots movement is largely female. “Most of the […]
WaPo article on Gays’ mixed feelings about marriage
The Washington Post reports on the reluctance of some gay couples to get married, even though it is now legal. On the same day, the Post reports on how the new law recognizing same sex marriage has been costly to others in the District of Columbia, including Catholic Charities, and the people they serve. So […]
Would Jesus Defend Marriage?
That’s the question Colleen Carroll Campbell asks. in reference to the recent story about a Catholic school in Colorado that denied readmission to the child of a lesbian couple. As she put it: Boulder’s vociferous gay-rights activists mobilized to protest the priest, the parish and the Archdiocese of Denver, brandishing signs outside the church that […]
California Human Rights Amendment
The California Human Rights Amendment would define personhood to include everyone, “no matter how small.” The spiritual dynamo behind this amendment is pro-life hero, Rev. Walter Hoye. An African American pastor in Oakland, Rev. Hoye spent time in jail, because he violated the Oakland City Council’s draconian “clinic bubble law.” Rev. Hoye makes the connection […]
Better Courts Now
San Diego County residents will have the chance to vote in better judges, meaning judges who will interpret the Constitution, rather than make up law as they go along. Visit Better Courts Now to find out how you can be involved. If you don’t live in San Diego County, forward this to someone who does! […]
Race and Abortion
Race and Abortion: a series of billboards in the Atlanta area call attention to the connection between abortion and race. I talk about those billboards in this interview on Issues Etc, on Lutheran Public Radio.
Where did the Stimulus Money go? The World needs the Ruth Institute!
Sean Hannity reports that #100 on his list of wasted stimulus money” $219,000 on an academic study of female hook-up patterns at Syracuse University. Note that the professor/principle investigator explains that hooking up is a public health problem, or at the very least, correlated with public health problems. Why, then, do we not discourage hooking […]
Why the world needs the Ruth Institute
People sometimes ask me why I founded the Ruth Institute. I always reply that young people who want lifelong married love need and deserve accurate information and adult support. People sometimes have a hard time believing me when I try to convey just how crazy campus life can be. But now, I don’t need to […]
Blinded by Scientism
Ed Feser has a provocative article about scientism, which he defines this way: Scientism is the view that all real knowledge is scientific knowledge—that there is no rational, objective form of inquiry that is not a branch of science. His critique is that Despite its adherents’ pose of rationality, scientism has a serious problem: it […]
Weak Tea or Strong Tea?
Social critic Lee Harris scores great points in his analysis of the Tea Party movement. Though his analysis is indirect: he is critiquing David Brooks’ analysis. But, Harris leaves no doubt where he stands. Here we come to the most puzzling aspect of David Brooks’s column. Why did he feel the need to make his […]
Civil Rights and The Sexual Revolution
I recently asked a black pastor friend of mine to consider this hypothetical question: Where do you think the black community would be today, if the Sexual Revolution had not happened at the same time as the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s? Think about it: a functioning African American family, black men inside the […]
I’ll be in Houston
at the end of March. I will be speaking at Houston Baptist University. My topic will be “What happened to the culture of marriage in the West?” The talk is open to the public. Tell your friends in the Houston area.
The Impact of No-Fault Divorce
Here is an article about Prof. Doug Allen’s talk at the BYU Symposium. Divorce is important to study, because no one fully anticipated how much changing divorce rules would change many other areas of society. I posted on this lecture, from the conference itself. see here. Allen said, it’s safe to say between 10 percent […]
Student Essays Posted!
The winning essays from the Stand for the Family Symposium are already posted! Great job to Jamie and Betsy for getting those 18 essays up so quickly! There were three categories, with separate judging and prizes: Undergraduate essays, Graduate student essays, and Law student essays. They are all posted at the Marriage Library. Students, you […]
The War on Intimacy
I recommend the book, The War on Intimacy. The subtitle tells the story, “How Comprehensive Sex Ed Sabotages Committed Relationships and Our Nation’s Health.” I met the author, Richard Panzer, Ph.D. at a meeting of the Abstinence Clearing House last year. He pressed this book into my hands, and I read it on the plane. […]
should sexual orientation be a protected class?
I take up that question in this podcast from Issues Etc, my weekly Lutheran Public Radio program. What kind of legal category is sexual orientation? How does it differ from race? Listen to the whole thing here.
From the BYU Symposium, Stand for the Family
The BYU symposium generated a bit of local publicity. Here is an article about my opening talk that kicked off the conference. The author did a reasonable job of identifying the important points of my talk. Americans are being taught to believe they’re generic humans, that “we’re not men and woman, we’re generic parents, we’re […]
Highlights from Dr. Doug Allen on no-fault divorce
Dr. Doug Allen is lecturing on “No-Fault Divorce: Unexpected Consequences and Long-Term Prospects.” No-fault caused an increase in divorce by 10% to 20%, depending on the study, (contra Nancy Cott in the Prop 8 trial.) More women enter the workplace and work longer than they otherwise would, due to no-fault. In states that are more […]
Student Essay Contest Winners
I have been in the student presentation sessions at the BYU Stand for the Family conference. The Ruth Institute sponsored the Call for Papers. We arranged for the judging and awarding of prizes. We had over 150 papers entered in our essay contest. The first place winner for undergraduate papers was Alyssa Brown. Her paper […]
Language Control is thought control
One of my facebook buddies (actually one of our Ruth Institute alumni) is going back and forth about my post on the Washington Archdiocese from a couple of days ago. I posted a reply to them, but thought regular ruth readers might be interested in this issue. Here is the quote from my original post: […]
The Pro-Life advantage
Susan B. Anthony List reports that the pro-life Democrats who are holding up health care over abortions are making the politically astute judgment. The public does not want federal funding of abortions. At least three-in-five voters in these eight congressional districts agreed that “Abortion and abortion funding have no place in healthcare legislation.” Additionally, more […]
A big deal, or not?
Yesterday, I posted about the impact of redefining marriage on the District of Columbia. Some of the comments about my post and others on this topic around the web, seem to say that if only the Catholic Church would stop being so stubborn and get with the program, they wouldn’t have these problems. These are […]
Are you really better off, Gay America?
Here is my NOM colleague and friend, Maggie Gallagher, referring to the unintended consequences of same sex marriage in DC. (I posted on this yesterday: the Catholic diocese discontinues health care for spouses; the words “bride” and “groom” are removed from the city’s marriage licenses; Catholic Charities out of foster and adoption city contracts.) What […]
Discount Sex?
People who have heard my lectures may remember me referring to Discount Sex. I explain the concept of Discount Sex, or WalMart Sex in this video clip.
Here’s the study on IVF and Stillbirths
Betsy linked to a story about a study showing that women using IVF have a 4 times greater chance of having a stillbirth than women who conceived naturally. Here is the link to that study. I’m continually amazed at how lightly people take these risks.
More unintended consequences of same sex marriage
In the wake of the District of Columbia’s new same sex marriage policy, these changes have happened. Item #1: In DC, the Catholic Archdiocese discontinued offering health care benefits to spouses.
For San Diego County only
Here is a little something for my readers in San Diego County. Better Courts Now is an innovative way to get better judges elected at the county level. If we could get good judges at the lower levels, we have a better chance of getting better judges for the higher courts, such as the 9th […]
Hazards of egg donation
My friend, and Ruth Institute Board member, Jennifer Lahl pointed me to this article by the mother of a woman who died of colon cancer at the age of 31. Colon cancer in a person this young, with no family history of colon cancer, is most unusual. The mother’s hypothesis? I’ll let her tell: As […]
Ruth Institute You-Tube channel
I’m excited: the Ruth Institute team is busily putting up videos on our new Ruth Institute You Tube channel! Check it out! There are clips from our same sex marriage affects everyone series, as well as from my Fox News program last week.
Regarding the CA Human Rights Amendment
I collected some signatures for the CHRA at a Tea Party last weekend. You can help too. Go here, for more info about the California Human Rights Amendment. “A person’s a person, no matter how small.” Thank you, Dr. Seuss. and, thanks to Ruth Eastwood Photography for the pictures!
Domestic partnerships do the job…
I am often told that we must redefine marriage to be the union of any two persons, in order to protect the interests of the children of same sex couples. Putting aside the important question of how a same sex couple acquires a child in the first place, my answer has always been that domestic […]
Introducing our newest guest blogger
Leland has been attending Ruth Institute since our founding. He came to our Same Sex Marriage Affects Everyone series (now up on our You-Tube channel, and available for sale.) I asked him to start posting for us, because he kept sending me interesting news clips, too many for me to post myself! So, he has […]
Quebec Policy Against Homophobia
I have blogged about this Quebec Policy Against Homophobia when the document first appeared. I pointed out that the Quebec government has written itself a blank check: they plan to wipe out homophobia and heterosexism. Now, heterosexism is the view that heterosexuality is normal. News flash: heterosexuality is normal for our species. It is simply […]
Dump the term Pro-Life? change it to Pro-Person?
This article in the New Oxford Review follows nicely on my posts about the CA Human Rights Amendment. After going on about the inconsistency of some people in the pro-life movement, (an argument I haven’t got time for, frankly), he makes this observation: It could be called the Personhood Movement. It would have a very […]
Catholic Mormon cooperation….
This recent clip from the Vatican news service reminds me of our Ruth Institute conference coming up next week at BYU. The president of the U.S. episcopal conference drew an unusually large crowd at the Mormon Brigham Young University, telling his audience that Catholics and Mormons have to unite to defend common values. Cardinal Francis […]
CA Human Rights Amendment
I am totally on-board with the CA Human Rights Amendment. I have been deeply influenced by the Rev Walter Hoye, African American pastor of Oakland, and tireless defender of the unborn. To me, in this essay, Rev Hoye sounds like William Lloyd Garrison, American abolitionist of the 19th century and editor of The Liberator. I […]
Is Christianity Compatible with Capitalism?
My debate at Stanford, with Yaron Brook, president of the Ayn Rand Institute, has just been put on our podcast page. Pretty fun debate, pretty friendly debate, too, especially compared with some of my encounters on same sex marriage. I especially like the Q&A at the end of this debate. Enjoy!
The Always Intelligent Lee Harris
has an intelligent and down to earth analysis of Joe Stack, the suicide flyer who flew his plane into a federal building. Lee Harris points out that the chattering classes have rushed to try to pin Mr. Stack on their ideological enemies. But Harris observes that this just betrays their own biases. Ordinary Americans by […]
Dr J explains the Ruth Institute on Fox News “God Talk” program.
Here is what I got to do while I was stuck due to the snow storm in NYC last week. I got to be a guest on the Fox New web TV program, God Talk. In this short clip, I explain the mission of the Ruth Institute.
Debate at Columbia Law School
Here is a podcast of my debate at Columbia Law School on same sex marriage. Listen for my opponent’s dismissal of the feelings of the Donor Conceived Persons. I can tell you: a chill went through the room when she said that. Even students who generally support ssm were surprised and I sensed, dismayed, by […]
British reports on why marriage matters
Writing at the Vatican News Service, Fr. John Flynn summarizes a series of recent reports from British think tanks on the benefits of marriage. On Feb 9th, the English think tank, the Relationships Foundation published “Counting the Cost of Family Failure,” and the following day “Why Does Marriage Matter?” In the first briefing the foundation […]
British Parents Nudged Out of Kids’ Education
There is more to this story from the UK than may first meet the eye. British religious schools receive some taxpayer funding. Therefore, this program will apply to all schools, including religious schools that have a very different view of human sexuality, and of the relationship between children, parents and the state. Britain’s House of […]
Why We Cannot Redefine Marriage
Further response to the Good As You readers: I suspect the issue that bothers you the most is why won’t the Church recognize a same sex union as a valid marriage? The answer is that we believe that we do not have the authority or power to redefine marriage. Some things can be defined and […]
Defending Bishop Cordileone
To readers from the Good As You blog, thanks for dropping in. I am responding to this post about Bishop Cordileone, originally posted over there. I thought this was a little much for the “comments” section. So thanks for coming over. In the first place: Bishop Cordileone has as much right to participate in the […]
Introducing a New Ruth Institute blogger:
Hi everyone. Let me introduce a friend, who will be posting on the ruthblog from time to time. Actually, I’ll let him introduce himself. Here is Arlemagne1, in his own words:
A response to Socrates in the City
One of my facebook friends is now a Real (not virtual) Friend: he came to Socrates in the City last night, and I got to actually shake his hand! Anyhow, he wrote me this thoughtful letter after the event. I thought I would share it with Ruth Readers, as it will give you an idea […]
Socrates in the City
Last night, I had a very successful event, lecturing at Socrates in the City. The event was very well attended, and we had a lively discussion after my talk. My talk was called, “Can We Talk? Why the Same Sex Marriage debate has become so toxic.” Regular Ruth Readers will be familiar with some of this […]
Trip to NYC: surprises!
My trip to NYC has been very successful, which I will tell about in a future post. However, for now, I have to tell you this: I’m stuck in the blizzard! I was supposed to leave early this morning, fly to St. Louis for an EWTN taping, and then fly home. Instead, I will be lucky to […]
The Saints dun won da Super bowl!
listen to my podcast from last week!! Come to think of it, looking at Washington DC, maybe Hell has frozen over!
Vatican news service discovers Pat Fagan
Regular Ruth readers already know about Pat Fagan’s article about the pernicious effects of pornography. Now, Legionary Father John Flynn summarizes his report. The impact on wives increases when the husbands become addicted to porn. One study cited by Fagan revealed that 40% of such sex addicts lose their spouses. There has not been a […]
Tim Tebow Ad
I just saw the (a?) Tim Tebow ad on the SuperBowl. What the heck is teh big deal? There was nothing there about abortion. You would have to know the back-=story to have a clue that that’s what they were talking about. NOW needs to get a life. But then, they have needed a life […]
Stunning Hypocrisy from the Princeton Administration
Regular Ruth Readers know that I have been supportive of the students of the Princeton University Anscombe Society, and their efforts to obtain a center to support abstinence and chastity on campus. Their efforts have been smacked down by the University adminstration, for a variety of extremely lame reasons. But now, the Christian Union, housed at […]
Maggie weighs in on the abstinence studies…
Maggie Gallagher did her syndicated column on the new abstinence studies. (Regular Ruth readers already know something about this controversy. See our posts here, here, and here and our podcasts here .) The release of this new study in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine this week is weirdly timely. …It’s just the gold standard for […]
Get Your Copy of the Fatal Conceit, by F A Hayek, here!
Fatal Conceit
Another reason to worry about IVF
Babies conceived through IVF are at higher risk for disorders. For my libertarian friends who read this blog, please notice the Hayekian strain to this issue. Not only are there unintended consequences of human action, as F.A. Hayek warned. First, look at the physical problems of IVF, that no one anticipated: Scientists have discovered that the […]
Donor conceived perspective
A donor conceived person tells her story. My comments are in italics. The concept of egg and sperm donation, donors procreating with the intention of not assuming any responsibility or feelings towards the person they have helped create, is a curiously artificial construct conjured by the infertility treatment industry. which has a financial stake in […]
Redefining parenthood
Readers interested in how accomodating lesbian parents will impact the definition of parenthood should take a careful look at this post, by Julie Shapiro and the discussion in the comments. She is referring to the Santa Cruz case, in which a woman who conceived twins with a known sperm donor, left the lesbian relationship
This is your brain. This is your Brain on Porn.
Pornography is addictive. I’ve been pretty sure of that for some time. Now there is neuroscience on this point: William M. Struthers of Wheaton College explains, “Men seem to be wired in such a way that pornography hijacks the proper functioning of their brains and has a long-lasting effect on their thoughts and lives.”Struthers is […]
Bump+
The Internet TV show, Bump+ is up and running. The Party reveals more about Hailey, Katie, and Denise, and follows their individual stories as they struggle to make a decision about their unintended pregnancies. New episodes will follow every Monday and Thursday through March 15, 2010. And of course, the conversation between viewers continues around the […]
German Homeschooling Family Granted Asylum in the US
A US judge granted political asylum to a German homeschooling family that is in danger of losing their children to the state. Immigration Judge Lawrence O. Burman, of Memphis, Tennessee, said: “We can’t expect every country to follow our constitution. The world might be a better place if it did. However, the rights being violated […]
Abstinence Only program, delays sexual activity
I wonder why we haven’t heard anything about this study from the University of Pennsylvania Med School? Sixth and seventh grade African American students were randomly sorted into a control group, an abstinence only class, a safer-sex class and a combined abstinence plus safer sex class. an abstinence-only intervention for pre-teens was more successful in […]
Speaking at Stanford tomorrow
On February 2, 2010, I will be at Stanford, debating the topic, “Is Christianity Compatible with Capitalism? Altruism v. Egoism.” My debate opponent will be Yaron Brook of the Ayn Rand Institute. The debate is jointly sponsored by the Objectivists of Stanford and the Catholic Community at Stanford. The debate will begin at 7:30, and […]
