The Case for Marriage: Why Married People Are Happier, Healthier, and Better Off Financially

Rating:
Summary: An amazing book for research!
Review: There's all kinds of data floating around the internet and media right now on the state of the family in America. When you're trying to pull that data together to analyze it or write about it, knowing what to trust and what not to trust can be difficult.

Linda Waite and Maggie Gallagher put it all at your fingertips. How does marriage affect kids? The pocketbook? Your sex life? Your health? Even your happiness is covered. And it's all backed up with study after study, so you can know authoritatively that what you've always believed is right, after all.

The most interesting part of their study, to me, was the statistic that those who remain in unhappy marriages are twice as likely to be happy five years down the road as those who leave. I had suspected that, but it's great to see the proof. This book is easy to read, encouraging, and very scholarly. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Money talks, propaganda walks
Review: This may well be the morality play for the 21st century, no, not this ridiculous book which tells us nothing of note, or the craven political pandering that tries to make marriage a party issue, but the fact that so many supposed conservatives, who like to have us believe they are involved in a just and divinely sanctioned culture war to preserve our values, are willing to sell themselves to the highest bidder. We've all seen the Christian rock bands smoking joints out back at their latest church-sponsored gig, but it's rock and roll, which has been all about hypocrisy since it sold its soul decades ago. But what we haven't seen are supposed columnists, supposed pundits, purporting to present a viewpoint as if it is their own, when in fact their opinions are bought and paid for. All along Gallagher has been pretending that her views were motivated solely by good intentions and an objective striving after the truth as she perceived it. She is a shill, a paid hack, a propagandist. A pusher.

Rating:
Summary: Maggie Gallagher is a paid shill for Bush
Review: This woman accepted bribe money from BushCo to sell his regressive policies. And when asked was that appropriate, she said, "I don't know, you tell me." Her statement shows that she has no morals whatsoever. Of course it is not appropriate! It is a misuse of public funds and she should be indicted!