Woe unto them that call evil good (Isaiah 5:20)

Gossip Girl, an apparently over-sexed show about teenagers in high school, has taken the negative comments of critics and turned them into their media campaign for this coming season. The advertisements feature provocative poses of the the shows main characters with the captions, "Very Bad for You", "Every Parent's Nightmare", "A Nasty Piece of Work", and "Mind-Blowingly Inappropriate". ('Gossip Girl': A look at Season 2's ad campaign)

In 2004, the RAND institute reported that "heavy exposure to sexual content on television related strongly to teens' initiation of intercourse in the following year." (Does Watching Sex on Television Influence Teens’ Sexual Activity?)

That Gossip Girl flaunts the sexual nature of its show, and that its target audience is teenagers is indeed very concerning.

Gossip Girl is a product of The CW television network.

Thinking of Christmas in August

It may seem odd to be thinking of Christmas in August, but it is for more than just sentimental reasons. The holiday season, including Thanksgiving and Christmas, are a time of year when, as Dickens writes, “it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the Poor and destitute”. Typically, charitable organizations, and food banks endeavor “to raise a fund to buy the Poor some meat and drink, and means of warmth” for it is in the holiday season “when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices.”

This year, however, a confluence of events makes the outlook bleak for charitable giving.

The high price of crude oil has impacted the price of virtually all consumer good, the cost of commuting to work, or anywhere else, and will cause the price of heating oil this winter to be over 30% higher than last year.

Even while less discretionary income is available, the political campaigns of this presidential election cycle, and the anticipation of expensive and hotly contested initiative elections (such as Proposition 8 on Gay Marriage in California) are tapping into those ever dwindling financial reserves.

And so, I’m thinking of Christmas in August. With less discretionary income available, and with more people in need, what will happen to the “Poor and destitute” this coming holiday season?

California Supreme Court Legalizes Same-sex Marriages

(Over the next few days, there will be updates on this issue.)

Yesterday the California Supreme court issued a ruling effectively legalizing Same-sex marriage in California. Upon initial reading, the 120+ page decision appears to rely principally on California state law, and the California state constitution.

In the case, tentatively titled In re MARRIAGE CASES, the court interestingly concludes that 1) marriage is a fundamental right protected by the state constitution (p. 5), and 2) that marriage is so important it should not be denied to any loving couple (p. 120).

For those opposed to Gay Marriage, their work on an amendment to the California State Constitution becomes that much more critical. If this amendment had been in place prior to the California Supreme Court addressing this current case, the Court’s decision would likely have been different.

Read the Decision Here

See also:

ProtectMarriage.com