The state of the culture

Gun-control advocates sometimes ask if the NRA will always have a "never give an inch" attitude or whether there is something so extreme even that group would speak out. Well, now we know: Asking gun owners to show a little restraint does not violate the spirit of the Second Amendment:

I know I've called attention to a lot of frivolous research here, but this just may be the silliest study yet:

People don’t take hurricanes as seriously if they have a feminine name and the consequences are deadly, finds a new groundbreaking study.

If you think your job sucks, you're far from alone:

Most studies need to be taken with a grain of salt. This one needs a whole shaker full:

The Daily Beast, of all places, asks the most interesting question of the day: Were Christians right about gay marriage all along?

What if gay marriage really will change the institution of marriage, shifting conceptions around monogamy and intimacy? On the other hand, what if the domesticating institution of marriage changes—and even erases—the more libertine tendencies of gay culture?

Is it getting easier to fake cultural literacy?

How about a little old-fashioned battle of the sexes?

Remember the main reason given for the proposed amendment to the Indiana constitution banning gay marriage? It was that it would bebetter than the state's a;ready-existing law banning same because a judge could come along and invalidate the law. A constitutional ban would be more permanent.

Well, tell that to the good citizens of Oregon:

OK, this whole "Oooh, look at us, we're so proud to be open-minded" stuff has officially gotten completely out of hand:

NEW YORK (CBSMiami/AP) — After 40-years of the slogan “Have It Your Way,” Burger King is scrapping it in favor of the more personal “Be Your Way.”

I used to compulsively keep up with the news while I was on vacation -- it's in the nature of a journalist to try to avoid missing out on anything. But in recent years, I go out of my way to avoid the news because, well, because it's usually "same story, different names." When I left for vacation last week, for example, the big news was over Condi Rice withdrawing as a commencement speaker because or protests. So what was one of the first stories I saw this morning?