InkTank

Does Marriage Matter?

For those who've followed the breakdowns of the Sanfords, the Edwards, the Gosselins -- well, need I go on?--marriage may seem a bit bleak. TIME takes the issue straight on in a compelling piece sure to draw flack: "Why Marriage Matters." (Although it seems a bit odd to follow that with "Top 10 Mistresses!") In the piece, Caitlin Flanagan notes a connection between one-parent marriages and poverty, drugs, jail time, etc. According to Flanagan, growing up in a two-parent marriage creates a better environment for raising a family.

In response to TMI reports on the Sanford affair, Flanagan quotes Leonard Michaels:

"Adultery is not about sex or romance. Ultimately, it is about how little we mean to one another."

Politics and Religion in the "Jezebel" State

I drove past Qualcomm Stadium every morning on my way to work  last summer. Home to the San Diego Chargers and the SDSU Aztecs, Qualcomm  is also the center for the biggest, most important, most popular events in San Diego.

And in some cases, the most controversial.

On Saturday, the stadium hosted TheCall California, the eighth in a series of national gatherings dedicated to fasting and praying for the nation. An estimated 33,000 traveled to San Diego to join other believers in 12 hours of praying, listening to speakers and worshiping to a soundtrack of what the San Diego Union-Tribune called "spiritual music."

The Union-Tribune covered the event, of course--nothing makes for a better story than religious people gathering in massive numbers, especially when they're gathered in direct opposition to another hot-topic issue the  "liberal news media" supports. (The San Francisco Chronicle had a field day in 2006 when Teen Mania's Ron Luce led 25,000 teens in condemning immorality in the media during Battle Cry, a two-day evangelical youth convention held at AT&T Park in the City of Sin itself.)