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One of the many unjust results of a state legal system that refuses to recognize and validate a same-sex marriage or civil union is the absence of a binding structure and system for dissolving a fractured same-sex couple. LGBT couples typically have many, if not all, of the same legal issues to confront. How is custody of their children shared? How is their shared property divided? Who must help to support whom when the union ends? As a practicing family lawyer who has been married for 36 years, I have often reflected on how legally imposed rules and structure can support and preserve a marriage. And those of us active in the legal world of family law are constantly reminded that “the law” significantly lags behind the realities of modern human

On arrival at Davos I wrote about how appropriate the “transformation and new models” theme of this year’s World Economic Forum is for framing what needs to happen in education. What I’m realizing a few days into the Forum however is that the topic of education really isn’t on the agenda at all!
We’ve addressed everything but — the threats to our economic strength, our environment, our public safety, our health. We’ve addressed youth unemployment and the need for international cooperation and collaboration. But we just aren’t focusing on education or on the need to address the enormous educational disparities that persist in countries all around the world.
How can this be?
Maybe the world’s leaders have thrown up their hands about the possibility of change in education? And yet as I said in my last blog, there is plenty of evidence around the world that we can have not only incremental change but truly transformational change in education if we channel our leadership energy against it.
Perhaps the issue is that the world’s leaders believe that education is the one issue that is intensely local? What I’ve seen in our own work at Teach For All, however, is that educational disparities are universal in their

A furor is obviously escalating as to who gets diagnosed for what, psychiatrically speaking. In particular, the New York Times on Jan. 25, 2012 had a front page article by Benedict Carey, entitled “Grief Could Join List of Disorders,” which includes the current discussion of whether grief and its agony could and should be considered a part of depression and thus be funded by insurances for medical and therapeutic treatment.
It seems noteworthy that the anguish and utter despair which are often a part of bereftness do not currently qualify for insurance benefits unless they are part of a disorder. This means that in order to account for funding possibilities, the only way presently open is to further pathologize one more human condition which simply and not, at times requires professional

A paper just published in the journal History of Psychology provides a fresh look at one of the most often-discussed early studies of human behavior.
The study, referred to as the “Little Albert Experiment” was performed by John B. Watson and Rosalie Rayner in 1920 while they were with Johns Hopkins University. Watson took 9-month-old baby Albert

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), delivered an impressive speech today on what is, or what surely will be one of the hot-button issues in this year’s presidential election — immigration. The speech, at the Hispanic Leadership Network, did not start easily for what many believe is on a short list for the eventual Republican nominee’s pick to be the vice-presidential running mate. Senator Rubio did little to disappoint the party’s

Davos — Precisely one year ago, during the annual conference of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, the participants, major intellectual and political leaders and businessmen, were caught by surprise by the developments in Egypt. They followed them from the Alps with both amazement and questions. At the time, a Tunisian delegation that included young people and modernists had come to the forum. Its members were enthusiastically welcomed when they spoke at a seminar that praised the change that had taken place in Tunisia without prior

What makes social media an interesting field to study and follow is that you simply can’t predict what will happen next; it’s a world where things change every moment, where a simple ‘tweet’ could reach millions with a press of a button and a Facebook page could help bring down governments.
The one thing that was always constant was that most people believed that humanity has finally developed a medium that is truly democratic, in the sense that is it is free from any means of control or influence which could prevent a message from reaching the masses as it was intended by the sender.
People, including yours truly, often ridiculed those who spoke of conspiracy theories that there is a person or an organization which pushes a certain agenda across sites like Twitter or Facebook.
Of course, there were always the ‘acceptable’ measures which very of us ever complained about, such as the removal of graphic or obscene content (e.g., pornography or France and Germany banning Nazi content — an example used by Twitter to justify their policy). Every now and then, there would be a particular page or tweet removed but this just didn’t occur enough to become an

There has been a great deal written recently about the now-banned silicone breast implants made by Poly Implant Prothse (PIP), a French company which has since closed down. In 2008, French plastic surgeons reported an unusually high rate of rupture — over five times the expected rate — for breast implants manufactured by PIP. The high rupture rate prompted French authorities to inspect the PIP manufacturing facility. It was found that PIP substituted industrial grade silicone for medical grade silicone, which led to the closing of PIP’s manufacturing facility in the spring of 2010.
Who is at risk?
Women around the world have reported the rupturing of their PIP breast

The Shelly Palmer School of Connected Living has one primary thesis: “Technology is good.” I believe that all technological progress is good and that the story of the evolution of mankind is inextricably linked to the story of the evolution of our technology. We are tool builders, and we are tool users. It is, in large measure, what separates us from virtually every other species in the known universe.
I also acknowledge “Technology is good” is an optimistic point of view. I am, by nature, an

How does that go again, be careful what you wish for? Something along those lines must be going through the head of our esteemed mayor. That temporary position was such an apparently easy gig, the full-time one would be just as fun, right?
Oops.
Let’s see now, we have had Occupy, the increasingly complicated America’s Cup, the lights going out in Candlestick Park on national television, Occupy again, trying to get Lee’s 17-point plan for the city underway, and of course, Occupy again. Finally, just to make sure there are enough balls being juggled in Room 200, there is that small dust-up with the sheriff.
Having fun yet Mister Mayor? Somewhere along the line, you must have realized that there is no grace period for this job. And worse, that there is no place to

The perpetual rabble-rousing issue of Republican politics — illegal immigration — is making its way through the primary season. In largely predictable ways, candidates mold their view to the particular contours of each primary state — vicious toward undocumented workers in places like South Carolina, more nuanced in Hispanic-rich Florida.
Mostly, Romney, Gingrich and Santorum pile on the old tropes about job-stealing Mexicans, criminal gangs of Latinos, the porous border that may be infiltrated by no less than al Qaeda, and, of course, President Obama’s craven incompetence in securing America from all these terrible things.
What is striking about the rote denunciations of the “illegals” and the federal government is how completely fact-free the campaign rhetoric has become. It’s not only detached from what we know about immigration, but is counter-productive with respect to the two putative goals of the GOP’s fire-and-brimstone — economic growth and the sizable number of illegal immigrants who have settled in the United

Last week I saw a link to a website that listed “10 Handsome Men (Who Were Born Female).” I reposted it to Facebook with the commentary, “Of course trans guys are hot.” I was just excited that we, trans males, were being seen as attractive. However, the longer I thought about the list, the more troubled I became.
This list favors specific types of trans men: well-known trans guys (including Chaz Bono), white trans men, “passing” trans men, and those who display a very stereotypical type of masculinity, the kind seen in magazines such as GQ. What does this mean? It means that the type of trans male being seen as good-looking is a famous, white, masculine, passing trans guy.
As the trans community comes into its own, we need to resist giving into the assimilationist mindset. We need to make sure that we don’t leave any of our own behind as we fight for trans

Over a century ago, Dr. Maria Montessori discovered through scientific observations of children that they are not empty vessels to be filled — they are intrinsically motivated doers. She saw that providing a hands-on learning environment that valued choice, concentration, collaboration, community, curiosity, and real-world application produced lifelong learners who viewed “work” as something interesting
and fulfilling instead of drudgery to be avoided. Now, research in psychology and neuroscience continually validates

This video is an update of my eighth week on testosterone. I’ve been noticing a little facial hair growth and also some increase in muscle mass.
This week I would like to tell you about a movie I watched at the Berkshire Museum that has to do with confusion about ones gender. It is a French independent film called Tomboy. It is about a 10-year-old who moves to a new town and begins presenting as a boy named

Don’t bet on Newt if beating Obama is the goal.
Just recently I made up my mind to vote for Mitt Romney for president. In assessing the rather weak field of GOP candidates, I believe Romney is the only one who has the experience, temperament, steady hand and enough appeal to independents and swing voters to beat Barack Obama.
Newt Gingrich’s potential jackpot victory in Florida on Tuesday will only come at the behest of conservative Republican voters who don’t like Romney. Gingrich is betting they will leave their conscience at the door and forget about all the things they claim they value (morality, smaller government, no amnesty for illegals) roll the dice and vote for him. It’s an election strategy most Vegas odds-makers called a long-shot just weeks ago.
But Newt’s silver tongue, intellect and remarkable recollection of history have served him well.
He’s wagering voters’ memories aren’t as remarkable as his own.
Gingrich would rather voters forget about the strangeness surrounding his marital affairs and extramarital

Forty-eight years after President Lyndon Baines Johnson handed the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. the pen he’d just used to sign the Civil Rights Act in 1964 at the White House, the Civil Rights Movement has a new infusion of tangible hope from the 99 percent in Los Angeles.
Mid afternoon on Monday, January 16 as the annual Kingdom Day Parade embarked from Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, LAPD officers blocked a group of 50 predominantly college-aged activists from Occupy LA from joining the procession. A crowd spontaneously formed around the officers chanting, “Let them march!” Cops went into retreat mode and allowed the occupiers to join the

President Obama, the constant campaigner, continues to campaign instead of reporting the State of the Union. As headlined in The Wall Street Journal: “Obama Makes His Case” — instead of the Union’s. The nation needs the president to campaign on three problems: deficit and debt, trade war, and foreign policy.
Given a balanced budget in 2001, Presidents Bush and Obama refuse to pay for tax cuts, wars, and prescription drugs, adding $9 trillion to the debt and running trillion dollar deficits. The country is on

While President Obama’s State of the Union address did not focus on immigration, his few statements on that issue sent out conflicting signals. The president pushed for a comprehensive immigration reform plan that includes letting foreign businessmen and entrepreneurs immigrate to the U.S.
It’s a great idea, but it’s hard to take Obama’s commitment to it seriously, since in the same speech he touted his increased enforcement policies — record deportations up by over 400 percent since 1996, workplace raids, stricter work permit rules, and the deputizing of thousands of local police departments as immigration agents.
If the president is serious about immigration reform, he should be looking for ways to end the failed policies of the past, rather than double up on their increasingly draconian enforcement. And it is especially crucial he do so

Two years ago I stepped into the office of a colleague and found her on Myspace. “It’s not what you think,” she told me. “I’m reaching out to a client.”
That was my introduction to a girl I’ll call Charline. Charline’s father died when she was

Just over a week ago, a group of students and I who are part of the Coalition for a Conflict-Free Duke sent a video message to Tim Cook, Apple CEO and fellow Dukie, imploring him to create a conflict-free product by the end of 2013.
The conflict I am referring to is in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where the death toll has reached nearly six million Congolese, earning the violence in Congo the title of the worst conflict since WWII. Other notable titles for Congo include the “rape capital of the world” and the “worst place in the world to be a woman.” The worst part? The mining of Conflict Minerals that power our beloved iPhones, iPods, and all other electronics products–gold, tin, tantalum, and tungsten–are subsidizing the armed militias that commit these atrocities.
This is not a new problem, and it is finally getting the attention it deserves. Congress has called for action; Hillary Clinton has called for action; the state of California has called for action; and students at over 70 college campuses, including Duke, have called for action on behalf of electronics companies who need to commit to investing in conflict-free mines in eastern Congo to ensure the development of a legitimate mining sector in Congo — one where the profits benefit the Congolese people instead of lining the pockets of militias who rape, kill, and enslave populations.
In conjunction with the Change.org petition by Congolese activist Delly Mawazo Sesete, we hoped the video would pique Tim Cook’s attention and help build a constituency demanding change, but we never guessed that Apple would publicly acknowledge our call to action. After all, we are just a bunch of college students.
But a few days ago, I received a call on my iPhone from San Jose,

The exhibition Backyard Oasis: The Swimming Pool in Southern California Photography, 1945-1982, examines swimming pools in photographs from 1945 to 1982 as representations of the ideals and expectations associated with Southern California.
These images of individual water-based environs in the arid landscape are an integral part of Southern California’s identity, a microcosm of the hopes and disillusions of the country’s post-World War II ethos. As a private setting, the backyard pool became a stage for everything from sub-culture rituals to clandestine desires. As a medium, photography became the primary vehicle for embodying the polar emotions of consumer optimism and Cold War fears.
For the first time, this exhibition, its catalogue and accompanying programs trace the integrated histories of photography and the iconography of the swimming pool, bringing new light to aspects of this complex interaction.
– Bob Bogard, Director of Marketing Communications, Palm Springs Art Museum
Backyard Oasis is currently on view at Palm Springs Art Museum.
Backyard Oasis: The Swimming Pool in Southern California Photography, 1945-1982
Bill Owens, Hockney Painted This Pool, 1980, Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Bill Owens
Michael Childers, The Hockney Swimmer, 1978
Courtesy of Michael Childers Michael Childers
Bill Anderson, Edris House, ca. 1954
Collection Palm Springs Art Museum Palm Springs Art Museum
Anthony Friedkin, Woman by the Pool, Beverly Hills Hotel, CA, 1975
Courtesy of the artist and Gallery Luisotti Anthony Friedkin
David Hockney, John

Mitt Romney has released some information on his income taxes over the past two years. Turns out he’s paid less than 14 percent on more than $40 million in income. He makes more in one day than most American makes all year, yet he pays a tax rate that is far less than what the vast majority of Americans pay. Keep in mind that Romney’s income rolled in while he did nothing but clip coupons and hit the campaign

Mitt Romney’s tax returns and financial disclosures reveal that Romney has millions of dollars stashed in Cayman Islands funds. According to ABC News, Romney has as much as $8 million invested in at least 12 Cayman Islands funds, and another investment worth between $5 million-$25 million domiciled in the Caymans.
There are many places in the world — including the United States — to safely park millions of dollars in assets. People don’t seek out a

I’ve just returned from the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, where I serve as a board member. I met daily with directors, talent, and supporters. As always, it was dynamic and exciting. And, as always, the festival showcased scores of extraordinary