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PUBLIC CONVERSATION Upcoming conversations at our Center for Public Conversation: May 29, 2012, "Religious Liberty and the Human Good" New York, NY A Conversation with Robert P. George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University. Hosted by David Blankenhorn, President of the Institute for American Values. Consulted by international leaders, awarded Presidential medals and academic prizes, Professor George is one of the nation's most influential thinkers. His books, lectures and arguments on law, ethics, and religion have challenged liberals and conservatives alike on the question of what constitutes the human good. Please join us for a far-ranging conversation and examination of religious liberty and civil society. MARRIAGE AND FAMILIES Sperm Banks Breed Dysfunction Alexandra Kukulka, Columbia (University) Chronicle, April 16, 2012 "A study conducted in early June 2010 by Karen Clark [My Daddy's Name is Donor co-author], whose father was a sperm donor, and Elizabeth Marquardt [Director, Center for Marriage and Families], who studies 'sperm donor babies,' proves that this form of conception has a negative effect on the child later in life. . . . There needs to be some sort of limit put on the number of times a man can donate his sperm. Otherwise, we may all be more interconnected than we think. Who knows? Maybe the person next to you is your half-sibling. All I can say is I am glad I know who my father is and that I am a product of my parents' love." Both Parties Disappoint Elizabeth Marquardt [Director, Center for Marriage and Families], New York Times "Room for Debate" blog, April 24, 2012 "For now, I beg both parties' candidates to engage the urgent social concern of the decline of marriage among the vast middle of America. How can we bring back jobs, a strong social safety net and marriage to ensure our next generation will thrive?" Elderly Murder-Suicide: Should We Praise Old Men Who Kill Their Wives and Themselves? Elizabeth Marquardt [Director, Center for Marriage and Families], Huffington Post, April 9, 2012 "At the very least, let's make a pledge to stop praising these killers as loving heroes. A hero is a man who asks for help, who admits feeling overwhelmed, who cries out for respite, or who simply cries. A man who murders his sick, innocent, helpless wife is no hero." Thoughts on Mercy and Suicide Amy Ziettlow [Institute Affiliate Scholar], Huffington Post, April 23, 2012 "Many have implied that a caregiver killing his wife and then himself is merciful. Euthanasia proponents will even use the term "mercy killing." But I take issue with that use of the word mercy. " A Silver Tide Behind Bars: The High Cost of Living and Dying in Prison Karin Drucker, California Progress Report, April 12, 2012 "[Institute Affiliate Scholar] Amy Ziettlow -- a minister volunteering in Angola's hospice program - who lost a close friend to homicide, framed it another way: 'If in our freedom we choose to treat prisoners with care and dignity, we are not imprisoned by the memories of what they have done.'" Marriage Amendment Goes Too Far David Blankenhorn [Institute President], and Elizabeth Marquardt [Director, Center for Marriage and Families], Raleigh News and Observer, April 11, 2012 The proposed amendment states that "marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state." That's a big mouthful, and it goes well beyond the issue of same-sex marriage. This piece was discussed widely on the web and in media outlets including the Washington Post and Huffington Post The Downside of Cohabitating Before Marriage Meg Jay, New York Times, April 14, 2012 "Cohabitation in the United States has increased by more than 1,500 percent in the past half century. In 1960, about 450,000 unmarried couples lived together. Now the number is more than 7.5 million. The majority of young adults in their 20s will live with a romantic partner at least once, and more than half of all marriages will be preceded by cohabitation. In a nationwide survey conducted in 2001 by the National Marriage Project, [Directed by Institute Senior Fellow W. Bradford Wilcox] nearly half of 20-somethings agreed with the statement, 'You would only marry someone if he or she agreed to live together with you first, so that you could find out whether you really get along.'" Cohabitating: Questioning the Decision to Move In Before Marriage Maura Judkis, Washington Post's The Style Blog, April 17, 2012 "Psychologist Meg Jay wrote about a nationwide survey conducted by the National Marriage Project [Directed by Institute Senior Fellow W. Bradford Wilcox] that confirmed what she was seeing in her practice: That couples who live together before marriage are more likely to be dissatisfied by that marriage, and divorce." Should Couples Live Together Before Marriage? Lily Altavena, Katherine Schulten, New York Times blog The Learning Network, April 17, 2012 "In a nationwide survey conducted in 2001 by the National Marriage Project [Directed by Institute Fellow W. Bradford Wilcox], then at Rutgers and now at the University of Virginia, nearly half of 20-somethings agreed with the statement, 'You would only marry someone if he or she agreed to live together with you first, so that you could find out whether you really get along.' About two-thirds said they believed that moving in together before marriage was a good way to avoid divorce?" Cohabitation and Happily Ever After: A Response to Meg Jay Meg McDonnell, International Business Times, April 18, 2012 "David and Amber Lapp, researchers at the Institute for American Values, a public policy think tank, have found that for working class young adults, divorce is not an option, but happiness and personal fulfillment are of the utmost importance." If Obama Had a Son Mona Charen, Real Clear Politics, April 3, 2012 "In the Atlantic Monthly, Barbara Dafoe Whitehead [Director, Center for Thrift and Generosity] wrote that the 'relationship (between single-parent families and crime) is so strong that controlling for family configuration erases the relationship between race and crime and between low income and crime. This conclusion shows up time and again in the literature.' President Obama offered that if he had a son, he would 'look like Trayvon.' That's not what matters. The much more important fact is that if Obama had a son, the boy would have married parents." Defining the Relationship Cassie Comeau, Quinnipiac (University) Chronicle, April 11, 2012 "A study done by the Institute for American Values' 16-member Courtship Research Team, which surveyed 1,000 college-aged women nationally over an 18-month period, agrees. 'Because they can hang out or hook up with a guy over a period of time and still not know if they are a couple, women often initiate "the talk" in which they ask, "Are we committed or not?" When she asks, he decides,' the study says." Ann Romney, Everywoman Kathryn J. Lopez, National Review Online, April 14, 2012 "Anyone wanting to have a constructive public-policy conversation today should be reading [Institute Senior Fellow] W. Bradford Wilcox, a scholar at the University of Virginia. He'll point out to you that 74 percent of married mothers working full-time outside the home would prefer not to be away from home so much -- or even at all." A Wedding for Brad, Angelina Betsy Hart, The Dickinson (College) Press, April 21, 2012 "The Center for Marriage and Families, at the Institute for American Values in New York City, has gathered reams of data from over decades showing that marriage increases the likelihood that fathers and mothers will have good relationships with their children. It's also the case that living together out of wedlock is not the same as marriage." THRIFT AND GENEROSITY Odds Improve for Internet Gambling in Atlantic City Suzette Parmley, Philadelphia Inquirer, April 10, 2012 "'The latest push for Internet gambling highlights how government casinos and lotteries represent one of the biggest policy failures of the last 40 years,' said [Institute partner] Les Bernal, executive director of the Washington-based Stop Predatory Gambling. 'Government is trying to open an Atlantic City casino in your home, at your work, and on your cell phone.'" The Decline and Rise of Thrift Andrew Kline, [Director of Thrift Education, Institute for American Values], Philadelphia Inquirer, April 17, 2012 "It's time for fresh thought and vision on our economy and personal finances. It's time to rediscover thrift. Thrift is the ethic of wise use. The words thrift and thrive are related for a good reason: Using what one has wisely helps one thrive." The Lottery: Who Wins, Who Loses? Staff, WGBH, April 17, 2012 "[Institute partner] Les Bernal of Stop Predatory Gambling agreed that the comparatively good odds kept the lottery in business. But the idea that it makes people richer is an illusion, he said: 'People take that money [they win], they plough it right back in. So having such a high payout rate, you're juicing the ticket. You're getting people to play more.'" Getting a Casino License Would Be Very, Very Hard for Bart Blatstein Paul Davies [Institute Fellow ], Philadelphia Magazine blog The Philly Post, April 18, 2012 "Bart Blatstein stirred up lots of buzz last week with his proposal to turn the iconic white tower that houses the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News into a casino and hotel complex. But right now the odds of a casino on North Broad Street are longer than hitting it big on the penny slot machines." Greedy Governments and Gambling Father John Flynn LC, ZENIT, April 20, 2012 "[Institute Fellow Paul Davies] pointed out that in comparison with a few decades ago, when gambling was limited to Las Vegas and Atlantic City, there has been a gambling explosion that has intensified in recent years. There are now 500 casinos in 27 states." The Decline and Rise of Thrift Gregg Fairbrothers, Carolina Gorla, Forbes blog, April 23, 2012 "Andrew Kline is the director of thrift education at the John Templeton Center for Thrift and Generosity, part of the Institute for American Values. He shared his thoughts with us recently on thrift, excerpts of which ran in an opinion piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer, April 17. We talked this week about entrepreneurs and thrift." |
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