CNN reports that thousands of brides are ticked off at mother nature for having hurricane Irene throw a wrench in their wedding plans. The first question that popped into my mind was that the thousands of grooms that were similarly affected were not credited by the article as going through similar emotions as the brides. So the article makes the assumption that males are not as emotionally committed to marriage as females are, which to me appears as clear bias on the part of the writer. It is the same bias that shows up in a lot of family courts where, despite the fact that the law on the books no longer favors mothers to the detriment of fathers when custody of the children is awarded, in practice mothers enjoys an unwritten advantage that tips the scale in their favor.

The second question that I pose to the reader is regarding the wisdom of spending thousands of dollars on a wedding ceremony when not only statistics (roughly 50% of weddings end up in divorce) but also the weather conspire against the wedding being a success. Isn't it time that America embarks on a new tradition, of small and modest weddings and a big bash for, say, the 15-year anniversary, when at least there is something substantial to celebrate, i.e. that the marriage has lasted as long as it has? Think about it....

Read the whole story on CNN  Money at http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/29/pf/hurricane_impact_wedding/index.htm?hpt=hp_bn8

According to Yahoo, a 35-year-old California man was arrested for throwing his crying 7-year-old son into the water from a sightseeing cruise boat after first hitting the kid several times and threatening to throw the child overboard if he wouldn't stop crying. The man was on the boat with his girlfriend and his two sons from a previous marriage and appears to have been drinking before the incident.

Both the 7-year-old and his brother were returned to the care of their mother. The couple was married in 2002 and separated in 2006 after having two children. They divorced in 2007.

Family court filings showed the father lost his job in the mortgage industry in 2007 and got another job, but was injured and drew workers compensation. He successfully petitioned to get his child support obligation reduced and tried for a second reduction, which his ex-wife opposed.

The father had also pleaded guilty in February 2009 to being in contempt for not paying child support and was sentenced to three years of probation.

Guess what's going to happen to this guy who was brave enough to tough it out with a 7-year-old?

a) He's headed for jail. As he was still probably under probation from his 2009 sentence, I'm guessing he'll spend a cool 6 months minimum behind bars;

b) When he gets out, at most he'll get supervised visitation with his kids, perhaps two hours a month with child services looking on;

c) All the time he spends in jail he'll accumulate arrears in child support that he'll have to make good when he gets out;

d) Last on the list but most important, whatever relationship he had with the children before this incident, it will likely be severely and permanently scarred for the rest of his life.

Never, ever allow for violence into your life absent the imperative of self defense when life and limb are in peril. Always think of yourself as a civilized man where violence is not part of proving your manhood. Otherwise, the costs will be almost too much to bear.

Read the whole story on Yahoo at http://news.yahoo.com/calif-man-accused-throwing-son-off-cruise-boat-170614399.html