January 11, 2012USA Today’s Ask Stacy reminds us of the three elements of a true apology: “sorry,” responsibility for the choice taken, and promise for the future.
Stacy Kaiser writes (excerpt):
A true apology should consist of three elements: taking responsibility for your mistake, saying you’re sorry and a commitment to never do what hurt that person again. . [...]
Posted in Families/Children, General, Relationships 
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January 1, 2012CNN and Parenting.com give us the “Top 10 Parenting Fails of 2011.” If you didn’t make the list, rejoice! Sasha Emmons of Parenting.com includes items on:
Mom Uses Hot Sauce as Punishment
Moms Selling Babies
Girl Brings Dad’s Cocaine to School
Mom Gets 7-Year-Old a Boob Job
Mom Dresses Daughter Like a Prostitute
Dad Throws Son Off Cruise Ship
Drunk [...]
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December 1, 2011CNN includes tips on what to do if you want more sex in your life. It’s the same secret to a lasting relationship and marriage: be nice.
Ian Kerner, the Good in Bed counselor, quotes Emily Nagoski, the self-proclaimed Sex Nerd, commenting on John Gottman’s book “The Science of Trust: Emotional Attunement for Couples” (excerpt):
“Boiling [...]
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November 29, 2011The Love and Logic newsletter encourages parents to avoid the tendency of kids to throw one parent’s house rules against the other. L&L also reassures us that children can have two homes and still grow into healthy adults.
Dr. Charles Fay writes (excerpt):
Smart parents know that kids are capable of adjusting to different styles of [...]
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March 3, 2011CNN covers Facebook’s facilitation of emotional affairs and infidelity.
Ian Kerner writes (excerpt):
[W]hile feeling attraction is unavoidable, acting on it crosses the line. Attraction is one ingredient of an emotional affair. In order for attraction to launch into an emotional affair, a person has to also develop intimacy and, eventually, a feeling of connection with that [...]
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January 7, 2011The New York Times highlights the role of self-expansion in marriages and relationships: how helping your partner become a better person, makes the relationship happier and more satisfied. The article includes a link to the “sustainable-marriage quiz”
Tara Parker-Pope writes (excerpt):
“If you’re seeking self-growth and obtain it from your partner, then that puts your partner in [...]
Posted in General, Relationships No Comments »
September 30, 2010USA Today reminds us that imperfections can “bring life together perfectly.”
Craig Wilson writes (excerpt):
But what I was most pleased to learn is that wabi sabi pertains to people, too — that you accept each other, even when they are “imperfect, unfinished and mortal.” It says so right here in the article.
I like the word “unfinished.” [...]
Posted in Families/Children, General, Relationships, Something Different No Comments »
August 24, 2010The ABA Journal reports on dress codes for courtrooms and bans on: pajamas, saggy pants, exposed undergarments, bare feet, curlers, gang clothes, muscle shirts, tank tops, halters, bare midriffs, miniskirts (hemlines more than 4 inches above the knee),
excessive, uncovered body piercings and tattoos, flip-flops, T-shirts with inappropriate messages and clown suits.
Debra Cassens Weiss writes (excerpt):
The [...]
Posted in General, Something Different No Comments »
July 23, 2010The Grand Rapids Press notes the passing of attorney Bob Dugan.
Heidi Fenton writes (excerpt):
Robert Dugan loved being involved with his community, a trait he built on for decades since signing onto the downtown law firm Rhoades McKee in the 1970s.
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He noted that Mr. Dugan’s compassion for clients and for the community as a whole will [...]
Posted in General, The Practice No Comments »
June 16, 2010USA Today shows how “non-resident” dads who don’t live with their children are staying involved with them. Half of all children will spend part of their lives living apart from their fathers.
Sharon Jayson writes (excerpt):
“The point isn’t what fathers do; it’s whether the kid thinks or believes the father cares about them,” says Philip Cowan, [...]
Posted in Families/Children, General, Relationships No Comments »
June 11, 2010The Love and Logic Institute issued its weekly email newsletter with help for stepparents feeling the need to discipline stepchildren. The four tips flow from the Love and Logic consultant style of parenting (fully documented in the many resources available at and through the website).
Dr. Charles Fay writes (excerpt) that consultant parents and [...]
Posted in Families/Children, General No Comments »
June 10, 2010CNNasked if your marriage was making you sick and then provided tips for getting better.
Elizabeth Cohen writes (excerpt):
1. Argue well ["What really matters is the quality of your arguments."]
2. Your spouse is annoying — accept it! ["[W]hen people get along, they just accept something annoying about their partner. They don’t try to alter it . [...]
Posted in General, Relationships 1 Comment »
July 3, 2009The New York Times adds a little context to the looming custody issues following Michael Jackson’s death and the apparent change of heart by Debbie Rowe toward 12-year-old Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. and 11-year-old Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, 11. [An unidentified surrogate mother gave birth to 7-year-old Prince Michael Jackson II.]
Jonathan Glater and Liz Robbins [...]
Posted in General, Law: Cases/Statutes, Something Different No Comments »
June 21, 2009Parade Magazine shares some fatherly advice from our President.
President Barack Obama writes (excerpt):
. . . When we work hard, treat others with respect, spend within our means, and contribute to our communities, those are the lessons our children learn. And that is what so many fathers are doing every day—coaching soccer and Little League, [...]
Posted in Families/Children, General 1 Comment »
June 9, 2009CNN shows us the difference between controlling the outcome and controlling how we face the outcome.
Peter Bregman writes (excerpt):
So here’s the good news: You can change your results by changing your mind-set. When Dweck trained children to view themselves as capable of growing their intelligence, they worked harder, more persistently, and with greater success on [...]
Posted in General, Relationships, Something Different No Comments »
June 2, 2009The Grand Rapids Press reports on the passing of Judge Michael Smolenski, 64, who died from a rare neurological disease.
Nardy Baeza Bickel writes (excerpt):
Rretired Michigan Appeals Court Judge Michael Smolenski passed away Saturday night after battling a rare neurological disease in recent years and five months after voluntarily retiring because of his debilitating condition.
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Sara Smolenski [...]
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August 15, 2008The New York Times reminds us that trial is inherently uncertain, a gamble that often does not payoff. The study to be published in September’s Journal of Empirical Legal Studies showed that 61 percent of plaintiffs who rejected settlement offers got less at trial and 24 percent of defendants who rejected offers paid more, [...]
Posted in General, Persuasion/Advocacy, The Practice No Comments »
April 23, 2008I keep finding news of males acting out sexually and violently. It seems that guys get bad news for such behavior. The news gets degendered and reported as criminal behavior by offenders. Men aren’t born to commit such acts, but the male socialization process conditions men for this type of acting out. Unfortunately, a great number [...]
Posted in General 2 Comments »
October 10, 2007 Obituary for Judge Stephen Karr
Judge Stephen W. Karr, died on September 28, 2007. He was born on the Island of Samos, Greece on June 20, 1919, and emigrated to the United States with his parents, William and Angeline Karr, at the age of 13 months. He graduated from the University of Michigan Literary College [...]
Posted in General 1 Comment »
August 22, 2007The Grand Rapids Press reports on the death of Leontyne “Tina” Partee-Elder, a lawyer with “’such a big heart.’”
Barton Deiters writes (excerpt):
As an attorney, Leontyne “Tina” Partee-Elder represented some of the most hardened criminal offenders in the system.
But the man she feared enough to seek a restraining order against was her estranged husband.
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“She was just [...]
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