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05/13/2010
IconWhen I was a kid, all the sitcoms showed married couples sleeping in separate beds.' Evidently, it was unseemly to show married couples sharing the same mattress, lest the idea of "sex" pop into anybody's mind!These days, it appears that TV finds marriage unseemly - but not the sex.A recent study by the Parents Television Council shows that marriage gets little respect on network television.' Instead, extra-marital, kinky sex, partner-swapping, and pedophilia are more likely to get center screen.The report said that visual references to practices such as voyeurism and sado-masochistic sex outnumbered married sex references by a ratio approaching 3 to 1.' The report contends "Behavior that once was seen as fringe, immoral, or socially destructive has been given the imprimatur of acceptability by the television industry and children are absorbing or even imitating it." When parents want to identify and block such programs via the V-Chip, they're lulled into complacency by the inaccurate and inconsistent designations, such as "S," signaling sexual content.The programs the Parents Television Council included in their report were from four weeks of scripted shows on the major networks at the start of the 2007-2008 season.' ABC, CBS, CW, Fox, and NBC, the networks in the study, all declined to comment.It's disgusting that the so-called "family hour," the first hour of prime-time TV, which draws the most young viewers, contains the highest ratio of references to non-married sex vs. married sex. More >>

Tags: Internet-MediaInternet/MediaMarriageSexSexualityTelevision
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05/13/2010
IconBoy, oh boy, talk about a feminista double standard!' There are big problems for men who try to impose a dress code for women.' The subhead of a Wall Street Journal article from June 19 read "When a Man Regulates Attire At Work, Women Often See an Oppressor, Not a Mentor."' The ultimate suggestion is to have a woman boss lay down the wardrobe law.Oh, please.Tom Mills, Managing Partner of a Washington DC law office, was asked to make a firm-wide apology for complaining to the Wall Street Journal's "On Style" column that the work attire of some young female law associates was based on the "TV-woman lawyer look with skirts 12 inches above the knee and very tight blouses." Evidently, the attire seen in many law offices and courtrooms reaffirms the accuracy of his statement.Mr. Jim Holt, president of the Mid-American Credit Union in Wichita, Kansas, has become a target since he expressed his view publicly that panty hose are more professional than bare legs for working women.' That relatively benign statement got him lots of actual hate mail - hate mail!! Gee, it doesn't take much for feministas to start spewing hate, does it?The rage seems to be centered on the concept that men should not be able to comment, criticize, suggest, offer an opinion, have a preference - nada - towards a woman without being accused of oppression.' What would female bosses do with male associates who came in with muscle shirts and low, baggy pants revealing skin really low on the abdomen?If women wish to be taken seriously (for their minds, and not their bodies), then they shouldn't be using professional circumstances to dress as they might if they were looking for casual sex. More >>

Tags: griefHealthMental HealthSexSexualitySocial Issues
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05/13/2010
IconJ.C. Penney officials are upset about a racy, fake advertisement on YouTube, in which the retailer appears to be endorsing teen sex.' The "fake" ad'was not done with their knowledge or permission.The video, called "Speed Dressing," ends with teens telling the girls' mother that they're heading down to the basement to watch TV.' As they head toward the basement door, the words "Today's the day to get away with it" flash on the screen, echoing Penney's use of the phrase "Today's the day to..." in a series of ads it launched last year.' Penney's logo and slogan then appear on the screen.The title refers to the beginning of the video which shows two teenagers in their own respective bedrooms stripping down to their underwear and then timing themselves as they race to put their clothes back on.'The amoral part of this story is the response of Alan Siegel, chief executive of New York strategic-branding company Siegel + Gale. "It's not going to reflect well on the brand in Middle America, but the ad is nicely done and the people in it are attractive; young people in New York and LA will get a kick out of it," he said.The potential impact on young people is irrelevant, however, as long as it's clever and attractive?' Amoral thinking at best. More >>

Tags: AttitudeFamily/Relationships - TeensSexSexualitySocial IssuesTeensValues
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05/13/2010
IconThe Center for Disease Control calculates that high-school kids are having more sex, and more unprotected intercourse, when compared to the behavior of their older siblings.' Condom use is down, as kids have become more complacent about herpes and AIDS.' Maybe it's also that the total swing of society in support of teenage sex and babies born out of wedlock is working - a photograph of Britney Spears' 17 year old sister Jamie's new baby is worth $1 million.' Hmmmmm. More >>

Tags: Family/Relationships - TeensParentingSexTeens
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05/13/2010
IconCalifornia's Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute has found out some fascinating things about the mating behaviors of octopuses.First, some general information:' these particular octopuses are about as big as a human hand, and most of that size is in their sucker-covered tentacles.' Their bodies are just walnut-sized.' To procreate, the males deposit "sperm packets" in the female's body through a specialized tentacle.Second:' this particular species (aculeatus octopu) is normally yellow with dapples of brown, tan, and grey.' But when a male sees another octopus, he puts on his fighting and flirting colors (both of which look the same), turning nearly white with dark stripes.' That signals that he's a male, and is ready to fight OR mate.'Third:' the females will mate with any male octopus that wanders by.' The males are more selective and are more enthralled with the more voluptuous females - skinny girls need not apply.Fourth:' the little itty-bitty guys don't want to fight the regulation-size guys, so they crawl along the ocean floor to one of the voluptuous females in a den guarded by the larger male.' These clever smaller dudes remain brown and yellow (typical female behavior).' By hiding and "cross-dressing," these little guys often manage to get close enough to the female to mate....and, as I reported, she'll mate with anybody, anytime, anywhere.Moral to this story?? More >>

Tags: ChildrenParentingSex
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05/13/2010
IconOver a decade ago, as a guest on the Donahue television show, while I was attempting to explain the concepts of "Ten Stupid Things Women Do To Mess Up Their Lives" (my current book at the time) to a pre-arranged hostile audience, I was inundated with bitter challenges on the issue of day care, which, interestingly, wasn't even an issue in the book.Fed up with the nonsense, I took control from Donahue (no simple task) and challenged the audience members to stand up if, after dying and coming back a second time, they would actually choose to be raised by a nanny, baby-sitter, or day care center.' Funny thing....nobody got up.As I have pointed out numerous times here, in my book "Stupid Things Parents Do To Mess Up Their Kids," and on my radio program, adults have become so self-serving that the well-being and appropriate needs of children have been ferociously ignored or dismissed.' I've recently read national reports demonstrating that parents - even before they have children - are fighting for spots in day care centers!' I figure, if they can plan that far ahead, they certainly can plan to have a parent at home, or to wait to have children until they are able and willing to do the right thing for their family.I have been thoroughly amazed at how the injuries, abuse, and deaths of children in day care centers has left many attending families angry - but angry with the authorities for closing them down!' Can you imagine that?State auditors reviewing the California Department of Social Services compared the addresses of the state's licensed facilities (including foster family homes and day care centers) with the state's database of registered sex offenders, and found that the addresses of 49 sex offenders matched those of 46 child care facilities.' It should go without saying that convicted sex offenders shouldn't be employed in a facility for children.Nonetheless, of the 46 address matches, 25 were in Los Angeles, 8 in the Central California Valley, 7 in the San Francisco Bay area, 4 in San Diego, and 1 each in San Bernardino and Sacramento.' The verification process is under way - children are being interviewed, and some licenses are being suspended.' This "match up" procedure will surely miss the folks who got jobs under assumed names just to be nearer to children.It would seem that some people go to great lengths to be close to our kids...maybe we should be holding our kids even closer. More >>

Tags: AbuseChild AbuseMarriageSexSexuality
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05/13/2010
IconWith all the controversy about inappropriate sex (single women having babies out-of-wedlock on purpose, child sexual abuse in various religious orders, kids performing oral sex in middle school classrooms, etc.), it's nice to know that I can share with you a positive, healthy, and utterly lovely sexual story.Nancy K (I'm protecting her privacy!) wrote: I'd like to respond to your radio program caller who, sadly, had sex with his wife about once every three to six months due to an over-packed lifestyle.' I've been married for 27 years to a great guy.' We've had our ups and downs-family troubles, kid troubles, you name it - some of them pretty devastating,' but our marriage has survived due to commitment, faith in God, and the intimacy that holds us together when the storms hit. Since I can remember, we have sex every other day...yes, you read correctly.' Barring serious illness or surgery, even during the early years when our kids were young, through the teen years when we had kids all over the house, and now through the college years when my kids come home to visit, we have kept this pattern.' It has not always been easy!' Sometimes, we need to be creative.We have a lock on our door, and a television in the bedroom as a sound buffer.' We have even "snuck" away from our home for a quick evening in a local, cheap hotel, and returned before bedtime, all for the price of a dinner and a movie out.' Sometimes, he drops by at lunch, if he's out on a customer call, or I meet him. I estimate that to be approximately 4,914 sessions!' Mind you, not all of these times are steamy hours of sex.' Some last only minutes, but the connection is there, and I can say with confidence that I challenge anything or anyone to come between us, because we are truly one. When marriages allow all the intimacy to be sucked out of their lives, they will not have anything to cling to when trouble comes, and it will come in some form during your marriage.' I don't always feel like having sex, but I always feel like being close to him, and by seeing the best in my man, respecting him and his needs, and honoring him.' I find that I can almost always get "in the mood" because he values me. My hubby bought me "The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands" as a little gift one day - and I read it and loved it.' I picked up some new pointers, and used it as a refresher course to jump-start an already-good marriage. I quoted this letter in full because I believe that the most devastating aspect of a marriage is one in which the spouses take each other for granted, serve their own moods or desires, and don't wake up every day wondering what they can do to make the other's life worth living. More >>

Tags: MarriageSexSexuality
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05/13/2010
IconSenator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) is adamant in his support for abortion on demand.' Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) is as adamant in his support for the illegalization of abortion.' However, as odd as it may seem, they have joined forces in a bill (S1810), the "Prenatally and Postnatally Diagnosed Condition Awareness Act."' Their bill would require parents faced with pre- and post-natal diagnoses of disability to receive "timely, scientific, and nondirective counseling about the conditions" as well as "up-to-date, comprehensive information about life expectancy, development potential, and quality of life" for a child born with Down syndrome or any other genetic disability, as well as "referrals to providers of key support services." Their hope is that when parents receive a more complete picture, more of them will welcome their disabled babies into the world, instead of choosing termination.' Nice bedfellows. More >>

Tags: BudgetChildrenEconomyFamily/Relationships - ChildrenParentingSex
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05/13/2010
IconThe GfK Group ( www.gfk.com ) is one of the largest market research companies in the world.' They recently released the results of a study commissioned by the Wall Street Journal Europe, in which they surveyed the sexual attitudes of 19,100 people in 20 countries: www.gfk.com/group/press_information/press_releases/00715/index.en.html One third of Americans and one third of Europeans believe that their countries have the best lovers.' The Greeks are the most confident - 77% rated their own country "tops" in matters of sex.' The exceptions are Belgians, Germans and the Dutch who assume that the best lovers aren't in their own countries, but in....Italy.' And 69% of Italians agree with them!The Greeks are also at the front of the class when it comes to frequency of lovemaking.' One quarter of Greeks say that "at least five times a week" is appropriate, while only 10% of Europeans and 16% of Americans feel the same way.'Adultery in marriage is also regarded very differently in various countries:' 90% of Turks thought adultery was intolerable; 40% of Americans agree with the Turkish viewpoint, and in all countries, women are more unforgiving of extra-marital sex than men. More >>

Tags: Sex
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05/13/2010
IconThe results of the first national study to measure the most common sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) found in young women were released recently by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.According to the report, 3.2 million teenage girls between the ages of 14 and 19 were found to have the human papillovirus (HPV), chlamydia, genital herpes or trichomoniasis.' The study did not determine the number of girls who had HIV/AIDS, syphilis or gonorrhea.I don't know what qualifies as an epidemic here, but clearly, these numbers represent a crisis of monstrous proportions.' Responsible adults forming public should be figuring out how we can reverse the direction of these horrifying statistics.' The wholesale distribution of condoms and consensual counseling at the high school level has not dampened the levels of risky behavior among the nation's teens.' Sex education has apparently been successful at teaching our children how to do it...often, and clearly, not safely. More >>

Tags: Family/Relationships - TeensParentingSexTeens
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