Peter Coles (who is himself gay) looked at the story Gay men and heterosexual women have similarly shaped brains, research shows, going back to the actual research paper.
In Cerebral Asymmetry: is it all in the Mind? he argues that the statistics behind the conclusion are suspect:
From Be Careful What You Wish For Department: Federal District Court Strikes Down DOMA
Judge Tauro’s attempt to limit federal power through the Tenth Amendment so that it does not interfere with state prerogatives might delight members of the contemporary Tea Party movement (at least if it wasn’t aimed at DOMA), but it should give most Americans pause. The modern state depends heavily on the federal government’s taxing and spending powers for many of the benefits that citizens hold dear, including Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and the newly passed provisions of the Affordable Care Act. These programs have regulatory effects on state family policies just as much as DOMA does. If DOMA’s direct interference with state prerogatives is beyond federal power, then perhaps any or all of these programs are vulnerable– and unconstitutional– to the extent they interfere with state policies regarding family formation as well. Put differently, Judge Tauro has offered a road map to attack a wide range of federal welfare programs, including health care reform. No matter how much they might like the result in this particular case, this is not a road that liberals want to travel.
Via Ann Althouse
St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral, Minneapolis, Sunday, June 27, 2010. Across the street from Loring Park, where the Twin Cities Pride festival was taking place.
Rowan Williams and Katharine Jefferts Schori: Anglican Smack-Down
I hesitated slightly about the title I chose, but only slightly. Sometimes these arguments do seem like something in a zoo.
From my parish e-mail list.
Divorce Rates Higher in States with Gay Marriage Bans
The author quite properly notes:
The differences are highly statistically significant. Nevertheless, they do not necessarily imply causation. The decision to ban same-sex marriage does not occur randomly throughout the states, but instead is strongly correlated with other factors, such as religiosity and political ideology, which we have made no attempt to account for. Nor do we know in which way the causal arrow might point.
Lots of comments, a few of which are helpful.
From Skepchick
Treatment of Alan Turing was “appalling” – PM
Via Slashdot.
The technology for linking internet ads to content still has some way to go. When I first saw this it was linked to an ad for Ann Coulter. The thought of how she would react to this news was good for a chuckle.
Turing’s work on math and computers is part of the permanent record of human achievement. It will be recalled as fundamental when all of our current political and social controversies are mere historical curiosities.
Treatment of Alan Turing was “appalling” – PM
Via Slashdot.
The technology for linking internet ads to content still has some way to go. When I first saw this it was linked to an ad for Ann Coulter. The thought of how she would react to this news was good for a chuckle.
Turing’s work on math and computers is part of the permanent record of human achievement. It will be recalled as fundamental when all of our current political and social controversies are mere historical curiosities.
Demographics: who are these Episcopalians?. This Episcopalian is not surprised by the results about his church, but interested to see that we really are different from the “mainline Protestants” with which we are so often grouped. Another interesting statistic is about Roman Catholic attitudes toward gay people. What you hear from the pew may not be what you hear from the bishops.
Via the Episcopal Café.
