The Death of the West

The New York Times reports a majority of women now with without spouses:

In 2005, 51 percent of women said they were living without a spouse, up from 35 percent in 1950 and 49 percent in 2000.

Coupled with the fact that in 2005 married couples became a minority of all American households for the first time, the trend could ultimately shape social and workplace policies, including the ways government and employers distribute benefits.

Several factors are driving the statistical shift. At one end of the age spectrum, women are marrying later or living with unmarried partners more often and for longer periods. At the other end, women are living longer as widows and, after a divorce, are more likely than men to delay remarriage, sometimes delighting in their newfound freedom.

In addition, marriage rates among black women remain low. Only about 30 percent of black women are living with a spouse, according to the Census Bureau, compared with about 49 percent of Hispanic women, 55 percent of non-Hispanic white women and more than 60 percent of Asian women.

Polipundit's Ace sarcastically adds, "Oh what benefits feminism has wrought."

Guy with Big Ears Makes it Official!

Today, Senator Barack Hussein Obama posted a video on his website to announce he is launching exploratory committee.

Blogs of War opines, "I imagine that the media will be in frenzy mode all day."

And Obama did not take Mary Katharine Ham's advice to announce tomorrow when he is on Oprah.

Mitt Romney Update

Yesterday in Human Events online, Hugh Hewitt defended Mitt Romney against those who criticize his faith:

”(I)f he gets anywhere in the primaries,” Weisberg declared, “Romney's religion will become an issue with moderate and secular voters—and rightly so.” And as if realizing that he has just declared open season on religious belief, Weisberg quickly added: "Objecting to someone because of his religious beliefs is not the same thing as prejudice based on religious heritage, race, or gender."

Thus does the left casually open the door to the baldest sort of bigotry, a first cousin of the anti-Catholicism thought buried in 1960, or the anti-Semitism that continues to plague Europe and of course the Middle East. The not-so-deft substitution of "religious heritage" for "religion" is supposed, I guess, to protect Jews willing to abandon the outward display of their faith, but for anyone believing in the miraculous of any sort, well, those days of the great tolerance in American politics are over.

Illinois Review notes that social conservatives may be more concerned with his actions: "Someone should point out to Hewitt that there's an array of social conservatives who are also very upset with Mitt Romney, including Paul Weyrich, Brian Camenker's MassResistance.org, along with Illinois-based Americans for Truth Pete LaBarbera and Illinois Family Institute's David Smith, who joined several other national leaders in publicly denouncing Romney yesterday as the one who created gay marriage."

Townhall.com's Matt Lewis agrees with Hewitt that an attack on Romney's faith opens the door to an attack on all religion. But Lewis questions if it's always wrong to consider a candidate's faith, since religion would naturally influence their political philosophy.

In other news, Mitt Romney won GOP Bloggers.org's straw poll.

Right Angle's Robert Bluey opines, "While Romney appears to be making strides -- although 27.6% isn't anywhere near a majority -- Sen. John McCain is losing ground. Romney's decision to invest heavily in his online operation should send McCain a message: It's time to overhaul the black-and-white website with something more substantive and hire a full-time person to deal with bloggers."

Right Wing News John Hawkins adds, "Mitt Romney has really rocketed up the charts in the last few months. For example, if you look back to July of last year, he was sitting at only 17.9%. Back then, the number one candidate was George Allen at 48.9%. After Allen went down in flames, it looks as if most of his support went to Romney with a little spillover going to Gingrich while Rudy has stayed in about the same spot (he was +30.6% back then)."

Charlie Rangel has Lost His Mind

Hotair's Allahpundit has video of Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-NY) on Fox News ruing Saddam's "lynching" on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Unbelievable.

Editor's Note

Have a suggestion, comment, complaint, or an interesting link I missed? Please email me at matthewnaugle@gmail.com.