Pimping for Tickets Pays Off -- Maybe

A woman said her internet attempt to obtain tickets to the World Series was prompted by her Philadelphia Phillies fever – but police said it was ‘fever’ all right, and arrested her on prostitution charges.

Susan Finkelstein, a 43-year-old Southwest Philadelphia woman, who was allegedly willing to trade sex for Phillies tickets, is now getting her tickets without having to come across.

On Friday, Finkelstein, the assistant PR director of Penn's Wistar Institute, will receive two tickets for Saturday's Phillies-Yankees game, the first one to be played in Philadelphia and the third in the World Series.

Chio, of Chio in the Morning on WIRED 96.5-FM, and the Northeast Philly car dealer Gary Barbera will present the tickets to her at Barbera's car dealership on Roosevelt Boulevard.

Asked yesterday if she would accept the tickets, Finkelstein replied, “Yeah – as long as there’s no strings attached.”

Last night, Finkelstein, also a University of Pennsylvania master's-degree candidate in liberal arts, said that she never intended to offer sex for tickets in an internet advertisement she had placed on Craigslist that read:

"DESPERATE BLONDE NEEDS WS TIX (Philadelphia)”

"Diehard Phillies fan – gorgeous tall buxom blonde – in desperate need of two World Series Tickets. Price negotiable – I'm the creative type! Maybe we can help each other!"

"I was looking for a way to get reduced World Series tickets," she said. "If I can flirt with someone and maybe get cheap tickets, more power to me."

But police said that Finkelstein wasn't merely flirting with the undercover cop posing as a ticketholder at a Bensalem bar (tavern) on Monday night, even though a source familiar with the case described the cop as "a stud of studs."

Law enforcement officers routinely scour Craigslist for alleged prostitutes and suspected child molesters. Finkelstein’s suspicious ad caught the attention of the Bensalem Police and an undercover officer set up a meeting with her at a local bar (tavern.)

According to police, Finkelstein offered to perform sex acts in return for a ticket that the undercover officer told her he had to sell.

Finkelstein, a former PR director at University of Pennsylvania, then allegedly asked if the 'fan' had a second ticket.

The officer told her that he and his brother had tickets to sell, according to police.

Finkelstein offered to perform sex acts on both of them, allegedly saying, "Well, I'd rather have two tickets, and I could take care of both of you."

Finkelstein was arrested, handcuffed, and taken to jail on prostitution charges. “I didn't do anything wrong, so I'm not embarrassed about my actions. I'm embarrassed about how I was arrested,” Finkelstein told reporters.

“I was hoping to maybe meet someone, and talk, and bat my eyelashes and maybe get some tickets,” she said, adding that she is very worried that she will never be able to regain her reputation.

The news stories surrounding the case have exploded on the web, some suggesting that Finkelstein and her husband, Jack, are “swingers,” meaning that they swap spouses with other couples.

"I really don't know where they get that from," she said. "The only swinging he's interested in is Chase Utley swinging that bat," said Brennan, referring to the two home runs the second baseman hit last night, leading the Phillies to 6-1 victory over the Yankees in Game One of the World Series.

She said the whole experience is like a “really vivid dream.” It was unclear what she meant.

According to her lawyer, William Brennan, “She was overcome with Phillies fever. She and her husband were looking for a chance to go to the World Series and she wound up in handcuffs. She might have dropped double entendres in her Craigslist ad but never explicitly offered sex.”

“This is ridiculous, the police have been far too overzealous – if she’s a hooker then I am a lounge singer," Brennan said. “We are talking about a married professional 43-year-old woman here and there was no smoking-gun with her advertisement. She was not advertising in any women for men section. She simply wanted to get tickets for herself and her husband."

Since the scandal erupted, Brennan said his client has gotten "hundreds of calls of support" from across the country, and even internationally.

“The police have charged her with soliciting prostitution and now they have a case to prove and I will take my chances in court over a crime that could potentially end-up with a two year sentence," he added. “I have no problem with the police cracking down on protecting minors and on prostitution but this was not that kind of case."

Brennan also said, “Both she and her husband are doing well under the circumstances and we are confident what the final outcome will be.”

Finkelstein is a graduate student at the University Of Pennsylvania and works at the Wistar Institute that specializes in biomedical research. On her Facebook page, she says she dreams of being “a Phillies groupie.”

She also questioned the integrity of the Bensalem police who have a hard-line reputation when it comes to tackling prostitution. A friend of Finkelstein’s replied on the Facebook site: “I share that thought with you Susan. But on the bright side it’s good to know they have completely eliminated all of the violent crime in Philly and now have the time to focus on insignificant issues.”

Finkelstein faces a preliminary hearing on Dec. 3.

(FYI: For all my friends in the UK, the World Series is the baseball equivalent of the FA Cup final. It is a best of seven series, which is played half the time in one of the team’s city, then changes to the other team’s home stadium. The Philadelphia Phillies are playing the New York Yankees for the baseball title. Some folks are calling the current spectacle ‘the Turnpike Tussle’ because of the road connecting the two cities — The Curator)

Breasts Already Removed in Bono Transgender Operation

Chastity Bono was the blonde haired little girl who stole America's hearts in the 1970’s when she appeared on stage with her famous parents, the iconic musical duo Sonny and Cher.

That little girl is no more. Now emerging in her place is a strong and well adjusted adult who has gone through a lot emotionally and physically to embrace her true nature: that of a man.

As Chastity has gradually transformed into Chaz, he still has years before the gender reassignment (sex-change) procedures that he began in late 2008 will be completed.

In a candid new TV interview, Chaz revealed for the first time that he has already had his “female” breasts surgically removed as part of the gender reassignment.

He said it was easy to have them removed, and actually a "huge relief," because he had hated goning through puberty as a girl when his breasts had begun to grow.

"I'm going through another puberty right now -- the way it should have been," he said.

He laughed happily saying he "finally" feels like the male he has always been inside.

"I'm one of those who believes gender is between the ears, not between the legs," he said.

Chaz, 40, has is also writing a memoir about his transgender experiences, and has been photographed throughout the process to document the physical changes as they occurred.

The new interview, which will aired on Entertainment Tonight, is his first since the medical gender reassignment procedure began. In the interview, Chaz also acknowledged that he speaks in a deeper tone, adding that is a continuing process because hormones are changing his body.

"It happens in stages," Chaz said of his voice.

It takes about five years for all of the changes in his body to end, including the hormone treatment. There also may be additional surgery he will undergo for the reassignment to male.

Chaz tells ET that he felt like a male from, "the time I was a child."

The gender reassignment procedure is a long one by design, to ensure that the radical procedure is the right decision for each person who elects to undergo it. Doctors and therapists also work to help patients accept and understand the overt and subtle changes occurring over time in their bodies. It is also painful, patients not only enduring various surgical procedures both minor and major, but also recovering and adapting to the changes that are happening to their bodies.

Chaz acknowledged the changes, including beginning to grow facial hair.

 "I shave about once a week now,” describing the hair as "peach fuzz."

"It's great, I've always wanted to shave," he added, laughing.

The hormone treatments also have numerous drawbacks, leaving most looking quite bloated until their “new” bodies adjust to the gender reassignment.

Chaz publicly announced his decision to undergo gender reassignment in June 2009. “After many years of consideration, Chaz has made the courageous decision to honor his true identity,” said publicist Howard Bragman at the time. “He is proud of his decision and grateful for the support and respect that has already been shown by his loved ones.”

Chaz’ life-partner Jennifer Elia, and her famous mother, Cher, 63, are supporting him with the decision. Once the sex-change is fully completed, it is expected that the couple will exchange vows in a commitment ceremony.

Chastity had endured a life-long struggle with her identity, and only came-out as a lesbian in 1995 when she graced the cover of The Advocate magazine, which was just one year before her then-partner Joan had died of lymphoma.

Both her parents had trouble recognizing their child's sexuality. Her father, Sonny, who was a Congressman at the time, actually voted to deny same sex marriages before he died tragically in a skiing accident.

However, after Chaz announced the transgender procedure, superstar Cher publicly backed the decision made by her daughter to become a man.

On June 12, 2009 Chastity/Chaz announced in an interview with ABC's Good Morning America, that she would be undergoing a sex change operation to become a man. Even then, Chastity was already referring to herself, as male. Chastity Bono said she would forever be known as Chaz Bono.

During the Good Morning America interview, Chaz said that Cher was lugubrious when she learned that he preferred the company of females. "Cher went ballistic," Chaz said.

“You have to remember that Cher was thinking of her cute little blond haired baby girl, when hearing this information,” Chaz explained.

Reportedly, Chaz and his mother are already planning to launch a reality show after the gender transition process is completed.

When then-Chastity told Sonny about her plans to become a man, he was a little more tolerant, but sadly their relationship eventually became strained.

At the time of the interview with ABC's Good Morning America, Chaz had yet to undergone an operation to further her transition toward being a male, but had been undergoing counseling and was beginning drug therapy to begin the change.

In the pivotal 1995 interview in The Advocate, the leading American gay and lesbian news-magazine, Chaz first publicly identified herself as a lesbian, and on June this year it was publicly announced that Chaz would undergo the gender reassignment, after years of anguish as to whether she should actually go ahead with the procedure.

Chaz initiated the procedure by taking hormone injections around June 2008. The gender reassignment is scheduled to be completed sometime this year. Reportedly, Chaz also underwent an invasive gastric “band” lapro-scopic operation to limit food intake and ensure the final steps of his gender transition.

After the completion of the entire procedure, Chaz is expected to publicly highlight the issues confronted by the transgender community. Thursday’s interview is a step toward that goal. As the most famous celebrity in the US to have undergone the procedure, Chaz is expected to be able to provide encouragement to other people struggling with the same decision.

The terminology surrounding gender issues can be confusing. "Transgender man,", "transmale," and "affirmed male" have all been used to refer to a biological female who transitions to a male.

What exactly does transitioning mean? It's the period during which somebody starts to live as his/her new gender. It can include changing a name or legal documents, taking hormones, and getting surgery. One misconception is that transitioning requires surgery. It doesn't. As Mara Keisling, the Executive Director for the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) told CBS News, "Most transsexuals don't get surgery. This is about gender identity, not about genitals."

There's a lot of controversy and confusion but experts agree on two crucial concepts:

1) Being transgender is not a choice.

2) Biological sex and gender identity are two different things.

There are people whose external appearance is female but who have felt they were male since they were toddlers - and vice-versa. Norman P. Spack, M.D., an endocrinologist at Children's Hospital in Boston, Dept. of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, has been treating transgender patients since 1985 and significant numbers of teenagers since 1998.

Most of his patients have told him "as far back as they can really remember that they were in the wrong body." Dr. Spack said, "there's a heavy skew to under 6 years."

Sexual Health, Part II

What are your favorite things? What is your favorite TV program? Your favorite musical genre or group? How about your favorite sport, or sport’s team? What is your favorite food? Do you have a special place to sit, think and read, or would you rather run a marathon? What is your favorite color? Your favorite Season of the year? Do you like a variety of clothing and shoes, or have you carved out a unique style that is all of your own? What do you like best in bed?

Is that a deafening silence I hear to the last question, or do you have just as ready a response as you did to the others?

Research indicates that if you’re a guy, you probably have a complete – albeit rudimentary – answer, while if you’re a gal, you may not. Many women, (most who are from my generation – I’m 53) are almost totally unable to answer the question with any specificity.

Women of my generation were raised with THE RULES regarding sex. You know the ones: Good Girls never, ever touch themselves “down there,” in their “nether regions,” no exceptions. Good Girls (the marrying kind) who want to be respected by boys (who are all sexed-crazed) do not give in – ever! Once those aforementioned Good Girls are married, they become Ladies, and Ladies must never, ever feel lust, appear to enjoy sex, but must instead endure “it” for the sake of her brutish Husbands.

We were told (quite smugly, actually) by our Good-Long-Suffering-Sexually-Repressed-Mother-Role-Models that Men are so very different (worse) than we Women (good) because Men need “it” and we don’t. Nonetheless, Wives should be careful to fulfill their Husbands’ unsavory appetites, while Wives must pretend that they have none of their own. And, for God’s sake, Wives must try to force their Husbands to strictly adhere to the approved of Missionary Position. If possible, Wives should also withhold their “favors” so that intercourse occurs as infrequently as possible.

The English Baroness, the Lady Alice Hillingdon (1857-1940) said it best. She wrote about her dreaded wifely duties in her Journal from 1912:

“I am happy now that George (husband) calls on my bedchamber less frequently than of old. As it is, I now endure but two calls a week, and when I hear his steps outside my door I lie down on my bed, close my eyes, open my legs and think of England.”

Men were taught the mirror opposite: Masturbation is OK and expected of Good Boys, but mainly in private. It’s even OK for Good Boys to participate in masturbation contests with other Good Boys to see who can ejaculate the farthest (Severe caveat: Absolutely NO touching of each other.) Good Boys should sow their wild oats (sexual encounters) when they’re young. In fact, Good Boys should amass as many sexual conquests as possible, always competing with other Good Boys.

Good Boys must be good at sports, and are expected to take their pent up energies out on Bad Girl cheerleaders under the bleachers. Good Boys never express their true feelings about anything, since Good Boys don’t cry.

Actually, Gentlemen (the marrying kind) may screw Bad Girls whenever they want, but must only marry Good Girls. Their Repressed-Cynical-Sex-Starved-Father-Role-Models tell their sons to try to be faithful Gentlemen, but it’s perfectly OK to go outside the marriage bed to get sexual satisfaction provided you never get caught.

Always remember, Men are superior to Women in all areas, but especially in matters of sex. Husbands should introduce their Wives to sex gradually, to be sure the Wives are trained to give their Husbands the strongest possible orgasms.

The arousal of Wives is important only in providing their Husbands with a better sexual experience. Husbands should wait to climax until their Wives tell them they have come, then they may go ahead and bang away until ejaculation. Husbands should endure some measure of “cuddling” afterward, but they would much prefer to role over and go immediately to sleep.

Husbands must earn the highest possible living wage in exchange of receiving sex from their Wives, which remains the most basic, strongest and sacrosanct marital understanding that there is.

Most couples do not know if the woman in the relationship is capable of having multiple climaxes, or can achieve female ejaculation. Most Wives admit to having faked orgasms at least once in their married lives. Couples also acknowledge that men often feel free to masturbate even when they’re in a monogamous relationship, sometimes in front of their partner, while that is generally very untrue for women.

Good Girls are expected to "take care" of unwanted pregnancies, while Wives are still expected to take care of the children, as the primary care givers.

Good Girls never get the clap, while Gentlemen never get AIDS. If they do, NO ONE MUST EVER KNOW.

In addition, both sexes were taught, in no uncertain terms, that homosexuality is evil, sinful, etc, you fill in the pejorative. Whatever you do, remember this young Ladies and Gentlemen: You must never embarrass your families with inappropriate sexual behavior. NO ONE MUST EVER KNOW.

To keep the lid on natural and healthy sexuality, this potent dynamic accepts and even encourages pretense, lies, repression, egocentrism and abject cruelty as effective coping methods. This type of ingrained Puritanical teaching not only fosters perversion, pain, abortions, and a variety of STD's, and AIDS. It also ensures utter, life-long desolation and misery. Such hateful, vile, hurtful crap, I can hardly stand it!

You’ll know if this training is within the psyche of a female partner, if when asked what she likes in bed quickly responds without even thinking, “Whatever you like, babe,” or “I like everything you do, hon,” embarrassed, because we have absolutely NO FUCKING CLUE!

You’ll know your female partner is glowing with sexual health if she gets a very happy gleam in her eye, and just as quickly enthuses, “Thank God, you asked! I love a lot of heavy breast caressing, followed by tons of cunnilingus (my clit is REALLY, REALLY sensitive in the upper left quadrant – by the way) until I come at least once. Then, I’ll give you a blow job and then some. Maybe, after an hour of so, we’ll get to really slow penetration. I love lots of positions – don’t you? Just remember to keep rubbing my clit. Do you have a condom? If you don’t, I have a fresh box in the night stand. Oh, there’s a full bottle of lube there, too.”

(The above examples are true whether the female's partner is a male, or another female.)

Why is all of this important anyway, it’s just sex, isn’t it? No, no, NO, NOT JUST SEX! There is undisputed and increasing medical evidence that is unambiguous: Men and women need sex, good sex, and on a fairly frequent basis.

Without real sexual health, it is unlikely that anyone can achieve overall physical and/or mental health. Let me repeat that: Sex isn’t just something to make dirty jokes about around the water cooler at work, or fantasize about the perfect orgasm – it’s vital to every human being’s healthy, happy, and long life!

Plus, a sexually healthy adult means that their children will learn sex-positive traditions instead of ugly ones that will be passed on to future generations.

For a moment, let’s consider what constitutes a healthy sex life, and whether or not it is even achievable in this day and age. After reading a lot of recently published research, along with my own personal experience, I believe that these are some of components that comprise sexual health:

• It’s Safe – ALWAYS!
• May (May Not) Involve Procreation
• May Be Traditional or VERY Non-Traditional
• Freely Hetero-Homo-Bi or Other-Sexual
• Joyous and Pleasurable, Laughter
• Builds Intimacy, Both Physically AND Emotionally
• Flexible, Open and Not Static
• Adventuresome, and Fun
• Romantic, Life-Altering, Unforgettable
• Non-Judgmental
• Builds Trust/Encourages Honesty Between Partners
• Fosters Understanding, Acceptance of Needs
• Spontaneous, or it Might be Happily Planned
• Totally Ageless – Spanning One’s Entire Life
• Life-Affirming
• Releases Stress and Anxiety
• Strengthens, Deepens the Bond Between Partners
• Orgasm is NOT Required
• Contributes to Making More Positive People Overall
• Improves Muscle Tone and Overall Body Awareness
• Improves Sleep
• Does Not Require a Partner
• Can Literally Be a Portal to the Divine

I deliberately omitted the word “love” from the above list, because it deserves more discussion. Obviously, love is an intangible. Some people will tell you that it’s a “know it when you feel it” type of emotion. However, I believe that too simplistic. It can just as frequently be incredibly confusing, and sometimes a different emotion entirely masquerading as love.

For my purposes, I want to consider love very narrowly, related only to recent biological brain research. This research has found that men are generally able to have casual sex, while women are generally unable to do so. I believe this is because of cultural conditioning, but the “why” of it must wait for another day.

Fundamentally, this information is equally important to both sexes! It means that if a woman sleeps with you, fellas, she’s apt to become attached, so if you end the “relationship” she is just as likely to become emotionally hurt.

Women should especially be forewarned with this research. It means, you’d better be damned careful with whom you sleep! Even if the guy is an enormous ass, if you are sexually intimate with him, you may find yourself falling in love with the jerk!

Whether or not the goal of sexual health is attainable in this day and age, along with the divine aspects of sex, will be addressed in the Part III of this series.

To Be Continued...Sexual Health, Part III

As American as Apple Pie, Baseball and...Babies?

It seems that sex-and-baseball go together like, “love-and-marriage, just like a horse-and-carriage, this I tell you brother, you can’t have one without the other!” (Just imagine the musical accompaniment.)

Apparently, the National Pastime has met the OTHER National Pastime in Pennsylvania. It wasn’t just baseball players hitting home runs last October, just ask folks who support the Philadelphia Phillies.

A recent news account reported an apparent link between an increase in births at a hospital near Philadelphia nine months after their team made it to the playoffs, then went on to win the World Series last year.

The Bucks County Courier Times has reported that members of the St. Mary Medical Center maternity unit are convinced that they have a baseball baby boom on their hands.

St. Mary Medical Center, in Middletown, Pa., made 172 deliveries in July – the bottom of the ninth (month) after Phillies fever gripped the region. That's more babies than any of the previous 12 months, when the average was 148 deliveries, according to the newspaper.

Supporting the theory, some of the newborns were given the first names of the most popular Phillies’ players, many of whom have names that are either unusual, or are spelled unusually: there were five Chases, three Jimmys, two Bens, two Ryans, one Jayson, one Shane and one Cole in July alone, according to the newspaper.

The maternity unit staff noticed the Phillies players pattern among the babies – especially when it continued into August when three more Chases, two Coles, and one Ryan, one Shane and one more Jayson were added to the hospital’s newborn roster.

Phillies players coinciding with those names are: Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Ben Francisco, Cole Hamels, Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino, and Jayson Werth.

In comparison, the hospital had only two baby boys named Chase, and a single Cole the previous July, the newspaper said.

St. Mary nurse manager Patricia Crocker couldn't help noticing that July was an unusually busy month in the maternity unit. Last Thursday alone, she had 10 babies discharged and nine more admitted. The next day, 11 babies were born and 10 went home, according to the newspaper.

She told the newspaper that she recalled standing in the diamond-shaped maternity unit (obviously ironic, since baseball is played on a ‘diamond’) wondering aloud, what had been going on nine months ago. A new mom – (who the newspaper said stopped where first-base would be) – provided the answer.

"It was the World Series," she reportedly told Crocker, according to the newspaper.

At that moment, the light went on for Crocker. She checked the birth certificate log book for July 2008 and 2009, which confirmed her hunch.

"Holy cow," Crocker said, describing her reaction to the newspaper.

She said she even found a newborn girl named Chayse. She was born June 23, a little too early to be a playoffs-series baby, but the mom did find out she was pregnant at a Phillies game, Crocker told the newspaper.

Crocker recalled one new dad exclaiming, his baby, "Wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the World Series," she said.

The newspaper also interviewed Phillies fans and parents whose first child – Chase – was born July 24. They confirmed their little slugger was indeed named after Chase Utley, adding that he was conceived during either Game 2 or 3 of the World Series.

Interestingly, the 172 deliveries in one month wasn't a St. Mary record. That happened in July 2008, when there were 182 babies born, breaking the previous 20-year record, according to the newspaper.

Guess what? The Phillies played in the 2007 National League Division Series, which was the team’s first trip to the postseason since 1993. And while the hometown team didn't go all the way that year, apparently many local couples did, the newspaper quipped.

But will another Red October (the Phillies’ team color) this year lead to a pink and blue July sequel?

Crocker's holding her breath. The Phillies are poised to repeat, since they just clinched a slot to play again in this year’s World Series.

This time, they face the New York Yankees, in a series that's been dubbed, "The Turnpike Tussle." If last year is any indication, it's the fans who will end up performing the horizontal tussle.

Crocker told the newspaper that she is also rooting for another Philadelphia team – football.

I'm hoping the Eagles make it to the Super Bowl. It will give me a busy October," she told the newspaper.

(Note: A friend from the UK posted a comment that he is gracing our world because his folks had a one-off following a football (as in soccer here) championship derby. No doubt, we would find it equally true throughout the 'sporting' (sexual) world --- The Curator)

Female Saudi Journalist Sentenced to 60 Lashes in Sex Case

In Saudi Arabia, which enforces absolute adherence to Islamic Law and strictly segregates the sexes, it is verboten to discuss sexual matters openly, or especially in public.

That unforgiving taboo has been underscored this month in Riyadh when the goverment handed down strict punishment, which included suffering lashes and/or imprisonment, to five men and a female journalist allegedly involved in a provocative TV talk show interview that aired in July.

On Saturday, the female journalist was sentenced to receive 60 lashes for her links to a Saudi-owned Lebanese TV station that broadcast the show in which a Saudi man appeared to boast about his sex life, outraging Saudi conservatives and leading to the his Oct. 7 imprisonment.

The female journalist, Rosanna al-Yami said Saturday that a Jeddah judge dropped all charges that she had been directly involved with the program, on the Beirut-based network LBC. However, al-Yami said the judge sentenced her to receive 60 lashes for having been a part-time employee for LBC's Saudi operations. The judge said that LBC had lacked the appropriate operating license.

"It's a punishment for all journalists through me," al-Yami told Associated Press by telephone Saturday.

"They just said the channel was illegal. But the Saudi minister of information himself appeared on LBC a couple week ago," she said.

al-Yami is believed to be the first Saudi woman journalist to be given such a punishment. The charges against her included involvement in the preparation of the program, and advertising the segment on the Internet.

Her sentencing comes after a sales clerk with Saudi Arabian Airlines, Mazen Abdul Jawad was convicted Oct. 7 of offensive behavior. He was sentenced to five years in prison and is to receive 1,000 lashes.

His sentencing stemmed from his appearance on the LBC weekly talk show "Bold Red Line," in which he talked about picking up girls and having sex with them.

In the program, which aired July on the Lebanese LBC satellite channel, Abdul Jawad, 32, describes an active sex life, and even displays sex toys that were blurred by the station.

The divorced man with four children talked about the first time he had sex, and explained how he met women in Jeddah on the Red Sea coast. He also showed sexual aids he employed.

Extra-marital sex is illegal in Saudi Arabia, one of the most conservative societies in the Arab world.

“Abdul-Jawad was referring to other people’s sexual experiences and the aids were provided by LBC,” according to his attorney, Sulaiman al-Jumeii. “He wasn’t talking about himself.”

The attorney maintains that his client was duped by the TV station, and was even unaware in many cases he was being recorded.

The same court that sentenced al-Yami on Saturday had also sentenced Abdul-Jawad.

The content of the program violated the country’s media policy, Information Ministry spokesman Abdul Rahman al-Hazza said in a telephone interview in Riyadh in August. Saudi Arabia prohibits the use of sexual content on TV, in newspapers, or in books and magazines.

On Saturday, al-Jumeii told The Associated Press that not trying his client or al-Yami before a court that specialized in media matters at the Ministry of Culture and Information was a violation of Saudi law.

"It is a precedent to try a journalist before a summary court for an issue that concerns the nature of his (her) job," he said.

Three friends who appeared on the show with Abdul Jawad were sentenced to two-year terms in prison, and ordered to receive 300 lashes each; while a cameraman who helped film the episode was sentenced to two months in jail.

al-Hazza told The Associated Press on Saturday that he had no details of al-Yami’s sentencing, and could not comment.

When it aired in July, the interview spurred more than 200 people to file legal complaints against Abdul-Jawad, who was dubbed a “sex braggart” and the “Saudi Casanova” by the Saudi media, which cited many people in the kingdom as saying he should be punished. The Jeddah and Riyadh offices of LBC, which is controlled by Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, were forced to suspend operations after the program aired.

Abdul Jawad later apologized, saying producers at the TV station had tricked him into some of his accounts.

"My client has been presented to the people as a scapegoat to cover up the real culprit LBC," al-Jumeii said.

Saudi Arabia enforces a strict version of Islam, requiring people to pray five times a day, banning women from driving and denying them work or travel without a male relative’s permission. Cinemas are prohibited, and religious police patrol shopping centers enforcing Islamic law, including preventing unmarried men and women from mingling.

(It is impossible for a westerner like me to relate to such strict behavioral standards. Even from a religious perspective, it is very, very difficult if not impossible for me to understand such requirements. It is, however, vital to remain respectful of other cultures and religions, and to strive to refrain from passing judgment.

It is essential that cultural patterns are reported, and that information runs freely between all societies regardless of religious or political beliefs, especially including societies that do not mirror our own. Understanding should be a universal goal if there is ever to be true peace between disparate countries. Information and communication is THE key to making that goal a reality.

I strongly believe that each US citizen has an ethical and moral duty to ensure our culture remains free, but it is NOT our job to impose those Democratic principals and values, or to force the religious freedoms that we enjoy upon the rest of the world. If any society wishes to embrace a broader view, their members must make an informed decision to do so. Change must come from within ---The Curator)

Mother Wants Death Penalty for Daughter's Killer

Authorities suspect that a 7-year-old missing north Florida girl, whose body was found by police beneath trash in a landfill Wednesday, may have been sexually assaulted before being slain.

The killer of the child, Somer Thompson, remains at large. An autopsy has been completed and investigators now know how she, died but they declined to disclose their findings, or to provide any details regarding the body’s condition. They also declined on Friday to confirm that she was sexually assaulted. The autopsy was performed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in Savannah, because the girl’s remains were found near the Florida state line.

Somer vanished on her mile-long walk home from school in Orange Park on Monday. She had been squabbling with another child, and her sister had told her to stop. The girl got upset, walked ahead of the group and was never seen by her family again.

The girl’s mother, Diena Thompson, believes her daughter's killer will be caught, and that whoever is responsible should face the death penalty. Mrs. Thompson appeared on the three main morning television shows in the US on Thursday.

Speaking on The Early Show on CBS, Mrs Thompson said of the killer: "I hate him. I hate him."

She added: "He needs the death penalty. And I hope they put him in a cell with someone who absolutely can't stand a child predator and let them have fun with him."

On ABC's Good Morning America she added: "We're coming for you. We'll get you, and hopefully justice will be served."

Mrs. Thompson appeared red-eyed and struggled to maintain her composure during the interviews, just a day after Somer's body was formally identified.

She said she has been told little about the investigation into the murder of Somer, only that authorities are searching a vacant house near where the girl was last seen.

"I feel responsible," she said. "If I could have just, I don't know, left work or something and been able to pick her up, this wouldn't have happened."

Orange Park is a suburb of Jacksonville with about 9,000 people, just south of Jacksonville Naval Air Station. The area where the girl disappeared is a heavily populated residential area with homes, apartment complexes and condominiums.

On Thursday, a Clay County Sheriff's spokeswoman called the girl's death a homicide, though she refused to elaborate. Authorities have not said whether investigators believe the crime was committed by one or more people. Police have questioned all of the registered sex offenders in the area.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement records show a shocking number – 161 – sex offenders live near Somer's home. Florida's sexual offenders and predators registry, which is updated daily, shows 88 registered offenders live in Orange Park, while the remaining offenders live within a five-mile radius of her home.

Investigators finished interviewing all of them on Friday, saying that they don't believe there is a suspect in that group.

The victim’s identity was confirmed a short time after authorities said clothing and a birthmark on her left shin found on the body they discovered in the landfill led them to believe they had found the missing girl.

On Monday, authorities had immediately launched a countywide search involving helicopters, dogs and volunteers walking arm-to-arm through wooded areas.

Investigators had followed nine garbage trucks – lorries – leaving the neighborhood where the child disappeared to the Chesser Island Road Landfill, near Folkston, Ga., about 50 miles from where Somer was last seen.

On Wednesday, detectives were combing the landfill when they spotted the poor child’s legs first, then the body, which had been partially covered by garbage.

Clay County Sheriff Rick Beseler said he told the girl's mother to prepare for the worst, and called her after receiving the tragic information confirming her identity Wednesday night.

"Needless to say, she was absolutely devastated," he said. "It was the hardest phone call I've ever had to make in my life, and I hope I never have to make another one like that."

Beseler credited one of his detectives with suggesting on Tuesday that the landfill be checked. Trucks were scheduled to pick up garbage in Orange Park on Tuesday morning. He said detectives were told to go through the debris looking for evidence as the trucks brought it in. Investigators sorted through more than 100,000 tons of garbage.

"Had we not done this tactic, I believe that body would have been buried beneath hundreds of tons of debris, probably would have gone undiscovered forever," he said. Even if the body had been found later, key evidence could have been destroyed or degraded, the sheriff added. An FBI forensic unit is helping process evidence from the landfill.

The girl's father, Sam Thompson, lives in Graham, N.C. He and other family members were "torn up" after hearing the news, aunt Laura Holt said. She hopes authorities will find her niece's killer.

"I don't think they deserve to live," Holt said. "I don't think there's anything worse that a person can do – to kill a child and dump her in the dump like a piece of trash?"

"I fear for our community until we bring this person in. This is a heinous crime that's been committed," Beseler said. "And we're going to work as hard as we can to make this community safe."

Two deputies stood guard at mother Diena Thompson's home early Thursday morning. It appeared to be full of supporters. An oak tree across the street was decorated with flowers, candles and pictures of Somer.

"This has been so unreal for the neighborhood," said Sharon Galloway, who lives across the street from the Thompsons. "I just hope they get that son of a gun."

At a nearby shrine formed by flowers and dozens of teddy bears. Somer's family was making funeral arrangements Friday.

Female Teacher Found Not Guilty of Sex With Male Student

The sad case of a former female teacher wrongfully accused by a male student of sexual misconduct begs the question: how do we protect our children, while ensuring the innocent are not prosecuted.

In America, once sex charges are leveled and made public against anyone – especially a teacher – the outcome may not matter, the harm has already been done to their reputations and lives. In the past, male teachers wrongfully accused of having sexual relations with female students have seen their lives and careers destroyed, despite the allegations being found baseless.

In sex cases involving minors who are the alleged victims, it more often appears that the accused are guilty and must prove their innocence, rather than the Constitutional presumption of innocence that every American enjoys.

Last week, former teacher Nicole Howell was found not guilty of having had a sexual relationship with a male student, but that did not stop the allegation result in her dismissal and eventual arrest.

"My life is ruined. Completely," Howell told "Good Morning America" in an exclusive interview on Wednesday. "My name has been dragged through the mud. I won't be able to teach again. Not because I did anything – I did not – but because of the situation."

It began in December, when Howell was suspended from her job as a teacher and assistant cheerleading coach at a Kentucky high school after one of the male students, a 16-year-old football player, claimed the two had once had a sexual relationship.

Howell, 26, of Florence, Kentucky, denied that the encounters ever happened, and argued that the only evidence against her were the “ramblings” of a high school youth who, at first, claimed the two had been involved in a threesome with another male student.

Nonetheless, investigators arrested Howell the next month on felony sex abuse charges.

"I think, honestly, it started because people overreacted," Howell said in the Good Morning America interview. "They took something that they thought looked like what they wanted it to look like – like a stereotype, 'a teacher is accused by a student,' and automatically, it happened... That's why I went to trial."

The bulk of the prosecution’s case presented at last week's trial focused on more than 800 text messages exchanged between Howell and the student, spanning about a month and a half.

But Howell discounted the number of those messages, claiming she "texts like that to everyone – students, teachers, cheerleaders" and compared the number to the nearly 2,000 messages she'd exchanged with her boyfriend in similar time periods.

Howell said she did not send the student any sexually explicit text messages, although he did send her some. She admitted that she should have stopped the messaging altogether.

Clearly, Howell exercised poor judgment in maintaining text message relationships with students – especially a male teen who had sent sexually suggestive messages to her.

"I should've said, 'That's inappropriate.' I blew it off. It was something I dealt with on a daily basis with other students, other male students," she said.

The school district had no policy against text messaging, Howell's attorney, Eric Deters, noted.

Howell, now working at a bank, said she would love to return to teaching but believes the scandal of the trial will follow her everywhere.

"It's what I've always wanted to do," she said of teaching. "I don't think I'll get that opportunity again."

Although it's unlikely anything will happen to her accuser, Howell plans to file civil litigation against unspecified targets.

Howell was a first-year English teacher finishing up a lesson on Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" when she was pulled out of her Dayton High School classroom in December and told she was being suspended.

"I thought it was preposterous," she said in July.

She was also an assistant cheerleading coach, putting her right in the middle of a throng of cheerleaders and football players who practiced, and socialized side by side.

Howell said the beginning of her first year as a teacher was going well until early December, when she started hearing rumors in the hallway.

"There were a couple of students snickering about a teacher involved in a threesome," she said.

Then, the second boy, who was supposedly involved, then a senior, told her the rumors were about him, her and the accuser.

"I'm a first-year teacher," Howell said. "I didn't know what to do."

So she sought the advice of a fellow teacher, who told her to speak to the principal to get ahead of the rumor mill.

According to Howell, the principal told her "that usually these things die out. We'll look into it.'"

For a few days, it seemed like the matter had ended, Howell said. She was told that both boys told the principal there was no sexual contact. Other rumors that followed, including that the accuser's father drove his son to her apartment for sex, were also disproved, Howell said.

But on Dec. 15, when she was suspended, Howell said the principal told her that the accuser, who had been threatened with possible expulsion for lying about such a serious allegation, had recanted his denial and was now accusing Howell of having had sex with him.

Howell said she left school in disbelief and hired a lawyer.

Howell said that while she knew who her accuser was and had interacted with him as part of the football-cheerleading team dynamic, she never once had laid a hand on him or any other student, nor had she even been alone with him in school or any where else.

Somehow, she said, the boy had gotten her cell phone number, and the two had begun a series of text messages in October and November. But Howell didn't think anything of it, since 25 cheerleaders on the team had her number and also text-messaged her. And she knew of other teachers who texted their students.

But Howell, whose apartment was photographed by Covington police, learned in early January that there was a warrant out for her arrest. She said a detective told her that she could come in and take a polygraph test that might clear the matter up.

So she did, but not before submitting to a private polygraph, which Howell said she "passed with flying colors."

When Howell got to the police station Jan. 8, she was told she could not take a polygraph test. After being placed in the waiting room for more than an hour, she was arrested on one count of first-degree sexual abuse.

Her parents bailed her out of jail a few hours later.

"I want to be exonerated," she said before the trial. "I want this case to be dismissed."

During the trial, the 16-year-old football player said they had sex four times in her apartment and that she gave him vodka, and they exchanged hundreds of text messages. The phone company deleted copies of the text messages, so they were never seen.

The jury deliberated for less than two hours before acquitting her in the four-day Kenton County trial.

Had she been convicted, Howell could have faced one to 5 years in prison, county Commonwealth Assistant Attorney Stefanie Kastner said in July. She would have also had to register as a sex offender for 20 years.

Phillips Now Fired in Fatal Attraction-Like Scandal

The salacious sex scandal that has enveloped ESPN sportscaster Steve Phillips and rocked the network, has resulted in his dismissal.

Phillips, who had been a baseball analyst for ESPN, publicly acknowledged Oct. 21 of having a torrid sexual affair with an assistant half his age who also worked at the cable sports network.

It is not the first time that Phillips has been embroiled in a sex scandal. Prior to his job as a broadcaster beginning in 2005, Phillips had been the General Manager of the New York Mets. During that time, Phillips admitted having sex with a team employee, Rosa Rodriguez, who sued him and the Mets for sexual harassment. The case was settled out of court.

Sadly, Phillips did not learn from his past mis-behavior. Even sadder, the current scandal, involving ESPN production assistant Brooke Hundley, appears to be far worse, having become a nightmarish “Fatal Attraction” sex scandal that has even touched his family.

After a week of battering news accounts, Phillips was fired from the network Oct. 26, an ESPN statement saying, "It was time to part ways," because the analyst was no longer able to do his job because of the scandal. Hundley was also dismissed from her job, the sports network confirmed.

For his part, Phillips voluntarily entered a sexual rehab center the same day he was fired for treatment of "his issues," his representative announced.

According to the 46-year-old Phillips, he began an affair in July with Hundley, 22. After three sexual encounters, Phillips told police, he had tried to end the affair.

Phillips was forced to confess the affair after a "911" emergency police call placed on Aug. 5 by his wife, Marni, was released to the public.

A distraught Marni Phillips had called police to their Wilton, Conn., home in August seeking help because a "crazy" woman was there making threats.

Mrs. Phillips told police that she did not know who the woman was, but that she was threatening her family, and knew her husband.

After giving the information to the police dispatcher, she said she was going to call her husband, who was not home, to find out the woman's name so she could provide it to police when they arrived.

Phillips told police that Hundley had threatened him and his wife in numerous calls and text messages prior to her coming to their family home, at one time texting, "We both can't have him."

In August, Hundley left a letter at the home containing graphic descriptions of their sexual relationship, along with Phillips' purported birthmarks. In the letter, Hundley said she was not just some "random" woman who had sex in a car with Phillips.

After storming the home, Hundley smashed her car into a stone column while speeding away, according to police.

"I have extreme concerns about the health and safety of my kids and myself," Phillips said in a police statement, alleging that the woman had become "obsessive and delusional" after he ended the relationship.

Thus far, Phillips has declined to pursue criminal charges against Hundley. Sources have speculated that could be because Hundley could retaliate against ESPN and Phillips with a sexual harassment lawsuit of her own.

The police are investigating claims that Hundley used an ESPN computer to contact Phillips' 16-year-old son numerous times on Facebook, posing as a high-school classmate.

ESPN had initially suspended Phillips for only a week in August because of the scandal, and Phillips had simply taken a voluntary leave of absence. His firing was quite abrupt, and occurred after literally thousands of news outlets and bloggers took up the sensational story. Phillips had been hired as a baseball analyst in 2005.

In its original statement released by ESPN announcing the leave of absence, Phillips said he was, "deeply sorry that I have put my family and colleagues through this. It is a personal matter that I will not comment on further."

Phillips said in that statement that he had requested the leave to, "address this with my family and to avoid any unnecessary distractions through the balance of the baseball playoffs."

Phillips did not address the scandal again on Oct. 26, but merely had his representative announce that he had now voluntarily checked himself into an undisclosed sexual rehabilitation center to address, "his issues."

Few commentators believed Phillips' move was sincere, but conjectured rather that it was a public relations move to save his crashing career.

Phillips is being sued for divorce by his 40-year-old wife. The couple has four sons, and Phillips recently turned over the family's five-bedroom, multimillion-dollar Wilton home to her, according to the New York Post.

Hundley has yet to publicly comment, but she wrote on her Facebook page that she had seen the face of "evil," and that he wore chakki pants and blue polo shirts, which Phillips often wears.

"Fatal Attraction" is a 1987 fictional movie, in which a married New York lawyer has an weekend affair with a colleague, who will not let go of him, and stops at nothing to have him – including terrorizing him and his family.

ESPN has been in the news for all of the wrong reasons the past few months. The Phillips episode comes only weeks after a man was arrested for secretly videotaping ESPN reporter Erin Andrews in September.

The sportscaster, who was nude inside her hotel room, was videotaped through a peep hole in the door that had been altered to fit a small camera. The tape made its way to the Internet. Michael David Barrett,49, was arrested and charged in the case.

Sexual Health, Part I

Sex – can’t live with it, can’t live without it.

In America, we do an amazing amount of talking and writing about sex, but in odd, off-point ways. Sometimes we talk very clinically, you know what I mean: Insert Part A into Slot A, and agitate; or Insert Part A into Slot C, and agitate; or a variation on the theme, depending on your sexual orientation, or personal sexual preferences.

Or, we talk in terms of romantic, virginal blushes, you know what I mean: I ache for him, to penetrate me completely with his throbbing member; or I long for his manhood but in a secret place; or a variation on the theme, depending upon your sexual orientation, or personal preferences.

Or, we talk in terms of submission, domination, you know what I mean: There was only one way to tame the wild vixen, by taking her roughly; or she will learn what happens when she refuses me; or a variation on the theme, depending upon your sexual orientation, or personal preferences.

Or, we talk in terms of classic smut, you know what I mean: I’m slamming my rod into her warm, wet pussy; or I’m slamming my cock into her waiting shiny, lubricated ass; or a variation on the theme, depending upon your sexual orientation, or personal preferences.

Or, we talk in terms of betrayal, you know what I mean: I have just been with my mistress, but I will still pound my wife; or my lover makes me want to take my girlfriend in the ass; or a variation on the theme, depending on your sexual orientation, or personal preferences.

Or, we talk in terms of love and loss, you know what I mean: It was so poignant, that moment, I didn’t want to climax, because it would be over, truly over; or my life force was draining out of my body, even as I filled every part of her with my seed; or a variation on the theme, depending upon your sexual orientation, or personal preferences.

How does any of the above help us understand genuine sex, sensuality and sexuality? Read my lips, honey -- NOT ONE DAMN BIT! Knowing the traditional mechanics of intercourse-in-the-missionary position hardly qualifies as a sexual epiphany. It is well past time that we move beyond prepubescent groping and trial-and-error experimentation, and enter the realm of grown-up sex.

I warn you now, there is a learning curve, or, to be more precise, an un-learning curve to reach this goal. But, the returns are incalculable, and they pay huge dividends.

Every adult needs sex. It’s called a drive for a reason: It’s as fundamental to maintaining optimal health as is taking in air, water and food. It is such a strong drive, that scientists have found that when a person stops having sex, their physical and emotional health steadily deteriorates.

There have been a lot of theories about this, but the one that rings true to me is that without a strong sex drive, all species would literally cease to exist. Since procreation is fundamental to survival, nature seduced us into performing “the act” by developing a brilliant one-two punch: a tremendous drive to mate, coupled with the intoxicating elixir of physical and emotional pleasure when we do. Bravo!

Okay, so now what?

Well, we are not mindless slugs. We should pay as much attention to our sexual health and well being, as we give to our physical and mental health. In fact, I strongly believe that these aspects are beautifully, intricately connected, woven magically into who we each are: A whole and complete sacred human being. To think of ourselves instead as fragmented or abstracted parts, is not only harmful and disrespectful to ourselves, but also sends a very strong, and very wrong message to our children.

To be continued...

Ralph Lauren Deserves a Consumer Boycott

A stunning Ralph Lauren model was fired after her agency was told the Size 2 woman was unable to fit into their sample clothes.

That was in April, two weeks ago a “photo-shopped” advertisement featuring the beautiful model, Filippa Hamilton, suddenly appeared in Japan. The photograph was so grossly distorted that the woman appeared unreal, emaciated and even ill.

On Wednesday, a Ralph Lauren spokesman issued the following statement related to the advertisement debacle: “For over 42 years, we have built a brand based on quality and integrity. After further investigation, we have learned that we are responsible for the poor imaging and retouching that resulted in a very distorted image of a woman's body. We have addressed the problem and going forward will take every precaution to ensure that the calibre of our artwork represents our brand appropriately.”

The Ralph Lauren spokesman has denied that Hamilton was fired because of her weight. Polo Ralph Lauren said in a statement that Hamilton is a "beautiful and healthy" woman but their relationship ended "as a result of her inability to meet the obligations under her contract with us."

"The image in question was mistakenly released and used in a department store in Japan and was not the approved image which ran in the U.S. We take full responsibility," the statement said. "This error has absolutely no connection to our relationship with Filippa Hamilton."

The 5-foot-10, 120-pound Hamilton told the Today Show’s Ann Curry that she was amazed to see her body digitally distorted for Ralph Lauren Blue Label, and was also personally hurt.

"It's very sad," said an emotional Hamilton, 23, who has worked for Ralph Lauren since about 2002. “They were like my second family.”

Hamilton's lawyer, Geoffrey Menin, said the advertising image is "a gross distortion of how she really looks and which we fear will be extremely damaging to her...who would want to hire a woman who looks like that?"

Menin added that the advertisement also harms all women who might aspire to look like that impossible image. Hamilton agreed, saying she is also concerned about its impact on the public.

"I think they owe American women an apology, a big apology," she said. "I'm very proud of what I look like, and I think a role model should look healthy.”

(This is a perfect example of why so many women have body image problems, and girls and young women develop anorexia. Shame on Ralph Lauren! Women across the nation should BOYCOTT this brand!)

California Gay-Marriage Ban Challenged

In a victory for same-sex marriage backers, a federal judge in California cleared the way for a January trial surrounding the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage that garnered international attention.

On Wednesday, the judge ordered a trial on whether the measure denies fundamental rights to gays and lesbians, and is therefore unconstitutional and should be struck down. Specifically, the suit alleges that the measure violates the federal Constitution's guarantees of equal protection and due process.

U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker refused to dismiss the constitutional challenge to Proposition 8 by gay rights advocates, ruling instead that a trial was required to resolve legal and factual disputes.

While the ruling was expected based on prior remarks by the judge, the breadth of his decision was a boost for gay rights advocates, who argue that Proposition 8 unconstitutionally discriminates against gays; is rooted in anti-homosexual bias; and violates the right to marry the partner of one's choice.

Walker left all those issues on the table, rejecting arguments by Proposition 8's sponsors that higher courts had already resolved them. Among the questions to be answered, he said from the bench, is "whether Proposition 8 was passed with discriminatory intent."

Lawyers for Protect Marriage, the religious conservative coalition that campaigned for the November constitutional amendment, say the measure had a clear purpose – to restore the traditional male-female definition of marriage. They say opponents' claims of a hidden anti-gay agenda are both unfounded and legally irrelevant.

"Voters who passed Prop. 8 are essentially on trial in this case, accused of being irrational and bigoted," Andrew Pugno, a lawyer for the sponsors, said after the hearing.

Protect Marriage is challenging Walker's order that the sponsors must disclose internal campaign strategy documents, which opponents hope will reveal plans to appeal to voter prejudice against gays.

A federal appeals court's decision to review that order would delay this trial, now scheduled to start Jan. 11. It will be the nation's first trial on the validity of a law against same-sex marriage.

Proposition 8, passed by 52.3% of voters, amended the California Constitution to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman, overturning a May 2008 state Supreme Court ruling that allowed gay and lesbian couples to marry. The state's high court upheld the measure in May while allowing 18,000 same-sex couples who married before the election to remain legally wed.

The court's ruling Wednesday was based on state law and did not address any U.S. constitutional issues. Plaintiffs in the federal case – two same-sex couples, a gay-rights group and the city of San Francisco – claim Proposition 8 discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation and gender and interferes with the right to marry one's chosen partner.

The initiative's sponsors argued that the U.S. Supreme Court validated bans on same-sex unions in 1972 by rejecting a challenge to a Minnesota law defining marriage as being between a man and a woman. The court did not spell out its reasoning but issued a brief order that said opponents had not raised any substantial federal questions.

But Walker said prevailing legal doctrine has changed since 1972. He cited Supreme Court rulings since then that condemned discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender and overturned state laws against homosexual conduct.

Another central issue is whether Proposition 8 should be judged like laws that discriminate against historically persecuted groups. Courts generally overturn such laws unless government can show a compelling need for them.

Walker ruled after nearly two hours of argument in San Francisco, rejecting arguments by Proposition 8 proponents that precedent and tradition clearly showed last November's ballot measure was permissible under the U.S. Constitution.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Charles Cooper, representing the Proposition 8 campaign, argued that marriage historically has been reserved for unions between a man and a woman because only opposite-sex couples can procreate "naturally."

Walker, however, noted that not all married couples can procreate.

"Just last month," Walker said, "I performed a wedding in which the groom was 95 and the bride was 83. I did not demand that they prove they would engage in procreation."

Cooper, lead attorney for Protect Marriage, noted that the Supreme Court has never categorized gays and lesbians as a persecuted group, entitled to the same legal protection as racial and religious minorities. That means Propostion 8 must be upheld if voters had any rational basis for approving it, he said.

In addition to the ability of men and women couples to “naturally” conceive, Cooper cited two other grounds for such a finding – the traditional definition of marriage, and the voters' decision to wait and see how same-sex marriages work out in other states before allowing them in California.

But Walker said federal courts haven't resolved the standard for judging laws that treat heterosexuals and homosexuals differently. The answer, he said, could be determined by testimony on such topics as how much political power gays and lesbians hold and to what degree they are discriminated against.

Even if it's rational for the state to promote marriage among opposite-sex couples, the judge asked Cooper, how would that goal be impeded by allowing same-sex couples to wed?

"The answer is, I don't know," the attorney replied. But he said it doesn't matter, because it's up to Proposition 8's opponents to show that the law is irrational.

Proposition 8 backers also argued that precedent required Walker to uphold the measure as constitutional. They cited a 1972 case involving a Minnesota law that limited marriage to unions between a man and a woman.

The Minnesota Supreme Court had rejected an equal protection challenge of that law, and the U.S. Supreme Court, without issuing a full-blown opinion, declined to hear an appeal.

"We can't put much stock in that case, can we?" Walker told the lawyers. He described the case as "old," "very limited" and "not a considered decision of the Supreme Court."

In his ruling, Walker also noted that Proposition 8 stripped gays and lesbians of the right to marry, which they had been given six months earlier in a historic 4-3 ruling by the California Supreme Court.

"Potentially, Proposition 8 may be invalid given the history in California, while similar actions in another state...may not be constitutionally infirm," Walker said.

The judge previously ordered the Proposition 8 campaign to disclose its internal strategy memorandums and communications, an order the campaign is appealing to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on 1st Amendment grounds.

Theodore Olson, representing same-sex couples in the case, told Walker that if the appeal delays the trial, he may ask for a preliminary injunction to suspend Proposition 8.

"If the case should hang up on a discovery (the information disclosures) issue," Walker acknowledged, "that does change the equation."

A ruling on a preliminary injunction could be appealed, and higher courts could resolve Proposition 8's constitutionality without a trial. Walker said he thought it would be "unfortunate to short-circuit the process" that way.

Walker also ordered written arguments on a request by the Proposition 8 campaign to remove Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown as a defendant and make him a plaintiff in the case. Brown, who was sued in his position as the state's chief law enforcement officer, has said in court papers that he agrees with plaintiffs that the ballot measure was unconstitutional.

Brown, a former California governor, and the plaintiffs oppose the potential realignment.

(I emphatically believe that Preposition 8 in California should be struck down on constitutional grounds. It is also the only ethical, moral choice to be made. Each human being has the inherent right to love and link their life with another person of their choice. To deny that, hurts each and every member of this society and has the effect, intended or unintended, of promoting homophobia nationwide. Proposition 8 passed because members of the right waged a terror and hate campaign against gays. In an age when a country with a very near-history of slavery can evolve enough to elect a president of color, then we can certainly embrace the rainbow and ensure people who are not heterosexual have basic human rights.)