Free Republic

Stuart Bauer | The Flint JournalRebecca Witt (lower right) and Gary Johnson (standing) care for children Diesel (in Gary's arms), 2, JaeLyn (bottom), 4, and Gage, 5. Rebecca is upset because the state is trying to collect birthing costs from her fiance for their daughter. FLINT, Michigan -- Gary Johnson owes taxpayers nearly $3,800 for the birth of his daughter. The state will let him off the hook but there's a catch -- he has to marry the mom. But the mother doesn't believe her wedding should be any of the state's business. "I don't think anybody should tell me...

ROGERS — Nearly half of the babies delivered by Hispanic mothers in Benton County last year were born out of wedlock. That was double the rate for white, non-Hispanic mothers in the county. The statistics mirror national trends that have the attention of advocates of all persuasions. Immigration critics warn of looming consequences, from persistent poverty to welfare dependency. The Bush administration also makes the connection: Preventing out-of wedlock pregnancies is a key to its $ 100 million “healthy marriage” strategy for curbing welfare. But in Benton County, the state’s No. 1 home for Hispanic immigrants, health and welfare officials...

Former professional basketball player Jason Caffey had two children with his wife, and at least six other children with women in metro Atlanta, Alabama, Louisiana and Illinois. Professional football player Travis Henry, a Denver Broncos running back with a $25 million contract, has nine children by nine women in four Southern states, including a Lithonia boy fathered out of wedlock three years ago. Caffey, who earned as much as $5 million a season in a 10-year NBA career with the Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks, filed for bankruptcy in Alabama in August. His wife, who lives in...

Veteran actor Marlon Brando has been revealed as the unexpected grandfather of wild rocker Courtney Love in a new book. The singer's mother, psychologist Linda Carroll, claims she has taken DNA tests to confirm she is the Godfather star's daughter. Love, former wife of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, says, "I am incredibly shocked by this news. I have heard Mr. Brando has more than 30 children so I can't imagine how many cousins I have." The link is Linda's mother, novelist Paula Fox. She met Brando in the 1940's through famed drama teacher Stella Adler, and the two enjoyed a...

WHY WE CHEAT By SUSAN EDELMAN -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FORBIDDEN PLEASURES: Some researchers believe changes in gender roles are prompting more married women to sleep around. July 13, 2003 -- More women are cheating on their husbands - and doing it without remorse, sex researchers say. A stunning 90 percent of adulterous wives told one Manhattan researcher they suffered "no guilt," but rather felt "entitled" to the pleasure and excitement of their secret trysts, said Susan Shapiro Barash, a gender-studies professor and author. "Women feel entitled because they're not getting what they need in the marriage. That's why women today have affairs,"...

<p>Since fashions have been going retro -- from hip-huggers and halter tops to the recent '60s nostalgia hit ``Down With Love'' -- perhaps it was inevitable that ``Sex and the Single Girl'' would make a big comeback this summer. Barricade Books has dusted off Helen Gurley Brown's 1962 bestseller, given it a hot-pink cover and marketed it as ``A Cult Classic.''</p>