From Raw Story:
Utah state Rep. Jim Nielson (R) says that he is sponsoring a bill to force divorcing couples to take classes because he says that men are often “surprised” when women want to end the marriage.
The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that Nielson had filed a bill that would require couples to take part of mandatory divorces classes even sooner than the law required when Utah became the first state with the mandate in 1994. Nielson would like to see couples take at least half of the $55 two-hour classes at the beginning of divorce process.
While Nielson told The AP that he hoped the classes would reduce the divorce rate in Utah, he was even more specific about his goals earlier this month on an Internet show called DadsDivorce.com.
“The friends that I have that have gone through a divorce, most of the people that I know personally that have gone through that personally are men,” Nielson explained to host Matt Allen. “And my sense, at least from the men that I interact with, is that they’ve usually been surprised by the divorce request, by the filing.”
The women I know who have “surprised” men with divorces or break-ups had consistently made clear the problems in their relationships… but their spouses/boyfriends never listened or didn’t take it seriously until she — to quote the Gap Band — “burned rubber” on them.
Now, many of these men had every intention of seriously working through the issue in their relationships… as part of a formalized process with a clear end result (she comes back). They however either lacked the inclination or the ability to become more empathetic or engaged in the relationship on a consistent basis.
I call this the Romantic Comedy Myth. Vince Vaughn or Owen Wilson or Ben Stiller or some other overpaid man child has spent the past 90 minutes demonstrating to their partner and the audience that they shouldn’t be in a relationship with anyone but during the final 10 minutes of the movie, they make some grand declaration of love (showing up unannounced at her place of business with a mariachi band or rushing past security to board her flight out of town and tell her how he can’t live without her — failing to realize that his codependency is not her problem), and the credits roll as the couple kiss and make up. Fortunately, fiction and Fox News don’t have to reflect reality, so we don’t see the couple spiral back into the same problems.
serhasacomplaint 
Now she knows how Joan of Arc felt…
Paula Deen compares her recent outing as a racist to football player Michael Sam’s announcement that he’s gay.
“I feel like ‘embattled’ or ‘disgraced’ will always follow my name. It’s like that black football player who recently came out,” Deen told People Magazine in an interview hitting newsstands Friday, as quoted by The Wrap. “He said, ‘I just want to be known as a football player. I don’t want to be known as a gay football player.’ I know exactly what he’s saying.”
I’m not sure if I believe that Deen knows “exactly” what Sam is saying when she doesn’t seem to know his name. Was it that hard for her to Google? And I don’t think “embattled” or “disgraced” will always follow Sam’s name because the weird, alternative lifestyle here is Deen’s ignorance.
Deen continues to whine about her “embattled” life as a wealthy woman who is interviewed by national publications.
The celebrity chef also said her public fall from grace has made her feel “empathy” for others who have been vilified in the media, like “Duck Dynasty” patriarch Phil Robertson. Robertson was heavily criticized and temporarily suspended from his reality show for comments he made about gays and blacks in a GQ interview.
Let me see here: Deen’s post-scandal plan for letting the world know she’s not a racist is to express her “empathy” for one (Phil Robertson) and to refer to Michael Sam as that “black football player.” In the context of her attempt to co-opt his personal experiences for her own use, Sam’s race was irrelevant but yet she still led with it as his most defining characteristic. Wow. Who’s handling her PR? Bialystock and Bloom?
“It’s amazing that some people are given passes and some people are crucified,” Deen told People, as quoted by The Wrap. ”I have new empathy for these situations, though. My dad always told me, ‘Believe half of what you see and none of what you hear.’”
Can Deen pause her plantation-style pity party long enough to name one person who received a “pass” for racist statements? Or offensive statements to any group? I’m not claiming they don’t exist but I just think that Deen might take the time to do her research (even learn Michael Sam’s name). It’s not like she’s that busy these days.
And no one — neither her nor Robertson — has been “crucified.” People said “mean” things about you. You lost your job. That’s the beginning of Stripes not a crucifixion.
Quick Comparison.
Stripes:
Crucifixion:
The guy in the second clip doesn’t look in any condition for an interview with People Magazine.
Posted by Stephen Robinson on February 27, 2014 in Social Commentary
Tags: Michael Sam, Paula Deen