Gays are leaving their ghettoes; The real problem with electing another Clinton; Is pornography a catalyst of sexual violence?

Gays are leaving their ghettoes

Gregory Rodriguez

Los Angeles Times

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Gay neighborhoods in New York City and San Francisco are slowly dissolving, with straight couples with young children moving in next door to male couples. In small towns in Montana and Mississippi, lesbian couples are openly buying homes, and their neighbors don’t seem to care. As more Americans come out of the closet, said Gregory Rodriguez, it’s not queer to be gay anymore. Since 1990, a new study by the UCLA Law School has found, the number of openly gay couples in the U.S. has quadrupled. The biggest increases are in socially conservative areas such as Utah; only 23 percent of gay couples now live in big cities. This may seem surprising, given the virulence of the backlash against gay marriage in red states. Slowly but surely, though, most Americans are coming to accept gays. In 1998, just 33 percent of Americans thought homosexual acts between consenting adults should be legal; today, 59 percent do. For gays, ironically, the rapid progress is bittersweet. Like many other minority groups, they have fought against discrimination, moved beyond their enclaves—and feel a pang of sadness as a once-distinct community blends into the mainstream.

The real problem with electing another Clinton

Charles Krauthammer

The Washington Post

Regardless of what you think of Hillary Clinton, said Charles Krauthammer, something about her becoming president makes a lot of people deeply uneasy. The problem is Bill. If Hillary is elected president, a former president would move back in to the White House for the first time in history. All ex-presidents have a certain stature, and with Bill’s outsize personality, he’d be a distracting presence. From Day One of Hillary’s inauguration, Bill will have had more experience than she at everything she touches. So no matter what official role Bill takes on, the press and public alike will be left wondering about his influence on virtually every decision Hillary makes. Do Americans really want a two-headed presidency —especially one buffeted by the dynamics of this particular marriage? Hillary’s best move, if she is elected, is to immediately name Bill an ambassador and send him packing to Beijing or Buenos Aires.

Is pornography a catalyst of sexual violence?

Steve Chapman

Chicago Tribune

The rise of the Internet has been a vast experiment on the social consequences of pornography, said Steve Chapman. Nearly everyone is now just a few keystrokes away from sexually explicit material, thus testing the feminist theory that men steeped in pornographic images are more likely to commit rape or other sexual violence. That theory, apparently, is wrong. As raunch has waxed, rape has waned.’’ Since 1993, rape is down 72 percent, substantially more than the 58 percent drop in violent crime overall. In fact, a Clemson University study found that states where Internet access expanded the fastest saw rape decline the most. That finding suggests that rather than turn men into sex-crazed rapists, porn sites—which are frequented by 25 percent of Internet users—actually provide a harmless way for potential predators to satisfy those desires.’’ The decline in sexual attacks may also be partly explained by better DNA analysis, which helps police catch serial rapists, and greater awareness among young people that no means no.’’ But regardless of whether you think porn is a social blight or constitutionally protected free expression, you can no longer blame it for causing assaults on women.

Words alone cannot repair the U.S. image

Fred Kaplan

Slate.com

Talk about impossible missions, said Fred Kaplan. Two years ago, President Bush named his longtime communications guru, Karen Hughes, to the State Department post of public diplomat. Her job: to use the same skills she developed as a political spinner to communicate the goodness of America abroad, especially to the Muslim world. Hughes last week announced that she was quitting, and by all accounts, our image— already bleak—has deteriorated to new lows. But though Hughes came to the job with little Middle East expertise, the failure really wasn’t hers. You can craft a fine message and recite it with a smile, but the reception will be determined by what a country does. After a rough start, Hughes actually made some smart moves, such as hiring more Arabic speakers to give the U.S. perspective on Middle Eastern TV networks. But actions really do speak louder than words, and America’s actions have included the war in Iraq, our ineffectual role in the Palestinian crisis, and continuing outrages such as the Blackwater guards’ killing of Iraqi civilians. A non-Arabic speaking Texan from Bush’s inner circle may not have been the best choice for the job, but there was really nothing anyone in her position could do. Some problems are beyond spin.