NYTimes at It Again

Once again the New York Times plays footloose and fancy free with the truth.

A few days ago, Sam Roberts wrote, “For what experts say is probably the first time, more American women are living without a husband than with one, according to a New York Times analysis of census results....In 2005, 51 percent of women said they were living without a spouse, up from 35 percent in 1950 and 49 percent in 2000......the trend could ultimately shape social and workplace policies, including the ways government and employers distribute benefits.”

One of my first thoughts upon reading the article was "Who are these women?" followed quickly by "How old are they? What are their circumstances?"

I wasn't the only one wondering. LifeSiteNews examined this issue and reveals that the New York Times was including all females over fifteen years of age. Well, I guess there are an awful lot of fifteen year old girls around without husbands! We certainly don't expect teenagers to be married--not in this country, at least-- especially since no state allows those under eighteen to marry without parental consent, many from both parents. Even most 19 and 20 year olds aren't expected to be married. Think including them in their little statistic might skew the results a little?

So why is this a big deal? For starters, we're supposed to be able to trust statistics and information given us by media leaders, not have to wonder how they manipulated the data or how incompetent they are each and every time we hear from them. But bigger than that is the implication that marriage is dead, that women no longer feel the need for husbands and are just as happy without them. Oh, and he suggests that we might need to alter our social and workplace policies to reflect that marriage is all but obsolete. This is a political philosophy he is pushing with deviously altered statistics to buttress his opinion.

Well, the state of marriage may be in trouble, but it's not obsolete. And we need front page news, not front page political commentary. That's what blogs are for.