Sorry, honey, our marriage has expired.

It’s not often that politicians (of any ilk) come up with an idea that I can actually say I agree with… but German politician Gabriele Pauli has done just that. She has proposed that marriages should have an expiration date! She suggested that marriages have a 7-year lifespan, after which the couple must decide to re-marry or move on. The article on Yahoo! News is here.

Now, of course, religious folk around the world are going to decry this kind of idea as blasphemous, immoral, etc – but stop and truly think about it in terms of today’s society. We currently have a divorce rate in America of somewhere upwards of 55%. The institution of marriage is failing at an amazing rate. At the same time, we have this humongous debate country-wide about who exactly should permitted to marry. Gays marry? Hmph! The nerve! (/sarcasm)

A change to the basic idea of marriage may be in order. Marriages that expire would bring about it’s own set of problems, but these problems seem to be ones that could be easily and logically resolved. Separate things like child custody, ownership of property, etc from the institution itself. Put responsibility squarely where it belongs, and enforce that responsibility. Do away with pre-nuptial agreements, alimony/palimony, and put ownership of assets squarely where it belongs.

 ** NOTE **
This post has been sitting in my drafts for like 4 months, I finally decided to just post it as is, since I long ago lost the train of thought I was on when I wrote it…. still like the idea though!

And these are our allies?

Okay, what the FUCK is wrong with the people in Saudi Arabia??

 I read THIS article from the Associated Press, and was just sitting here speechless. This 19 year old girl is brutally gang-raped by 7 men, and her male friend is assaulted by the same group…. and the Saudi government has sentenced her to six months in prison and 200 lashes?

The reason for this punishment is because the young lady in question was in a vehicle, with a man that was not a family member, thus breaking the Saudi rules on segregation of the sexes.

Again… WHAT THE FUCK.

Like the girl hasn’t been traumatized enough by being kidnapped and gang-raped, now she gets to be imprisoned and beat by the very people that should be who she goes to for JUSTICE.

And these are our allies. YAY.

-B