Why Do Middle-Age Men Cheat?

From Andrew Sullivan here.

Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jethá continue to plug their book on the evolution of human sexuality. On infidelity:

With the caveat that every situation is different, one factor we think deserves more attention is the role of testosterone (T) in middle-aged men’s eroticism. In their twenties, men’s T levels begin a long decline, often experienced as diminished passion and appetite for life. Suppressed T levels are associated with depression, heart attacks, dementia, and overall mortality rates from 88 to 250 percent higher. One of the few things that can reliably and immediately revive a man’s sagging testosterone is exposure to a new woman. One researcher found that even a brief chat with an attractive woman raised men’s testosterone levels by fourteen percent within minutes. In Sex at Dawn, we suggest that many men may be confusing the hormonal changes triggered by an affair with actual “love,” thus leading them to make ill-advised decisions catastrophic to their families, their marriages, and eventually themselves.

BUSTED: The Economist Photoshops Obama To Make Him Look More Depressed And Alone

I wouldn't subscribe to this magazine in the first place, but this would be a good reason for canceling. From TPM here.

It's just not quite the same for a president to be glancing down at the water while chatting with others on the beach as it is for the president to be solemn and depressed and alone while contemplating oil-soaked sand.

But the Economist didn't have a picture of the latter. So they made one:

Baby zebra is born at Zoo Miami

From the Herald here (includes more pics).

Recently, the community at Zoo Miami celebrated the birth of a baby giraffe. On June 26, they added another cutie to their animal family: a baby zebra.

These photos of the baby zebra were taken Wednesday by Ron Magill, zoo spokesman.

According to Magill, the male foal was born to a 5-year-old female named Priscilla but had been kept in a holding pen until Wednesday when it got its first chance to run and explore its exhibit. The father is an 11-year-old stallion named Andy. . . .

(Click on photo to enlarge it.)

Chelsea Clinton's July 31 Wedding at Opulent Astor Courts

From Politics Daily here.

The closely held details of Chelsea Clinton's wedding have begun to leak out, and the first major morsel may well be the venue.

She will marry investment banker Marc Mezvinksy, 31, at Astor Courts, a Beaux-Arts masterpiece overlooking the Hudson River designed in 1902 by famed architect Stanford White for American oligarch John Jacob Astor IV. From the outside, it evokes Louis XIV's Grand Trianon at Versailles. And inside? It's straight out of an Edith Wharton novel.

Speculation about everything from Chelsea's wedding gown (Vera Wang? Oscar de la Renta?) to the officiant (a Protestant minister? A rabbi? Both? Neither? ) to the honeymoon destination (still a secret) have been swirling around the publicity-shy only child of former president Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton for months. . . .

[See Astor Courts here.]

Glenn Beck Starts His Own University

He didn't even go to college and now he's starting his own "university"? What a deluded crackpot. I still fail to understand how anyone can take him seriously. Like calling Obama a "racist," when he must know that Obama is half white and was raised by his white grandparents. It makes no sense. Is it enough just to be provocative, while ignoring reality?* (Same with the "birther" nonsense.) Maybe a "real" university education would have bestowed on him some intellectual honesty.** (Now I'll cease giving him the attention he apparently craves (yet doesn't merit).) (You'll note I usually have very little to say about him, since I myself don't take him seriously.) This is from The Daily Banter here.

No seriously. Glenn Beck is starting his own online university to counter all the 'liberal lies' about American history. From his website:

School may be out for the summer, but for Glenn Beck class is just starting.

This July, while others are relaxing poolside, head back to the classroom - from the comfort of your own home. That may sound like an oxymoron but Glenn’s new academic program is only available online.

Offered exclusively to Insider Extreme subscribers, Beck University is a unique academic experience bringing together experts in the fields of religion, American history and economics. Through captivating lectures and interactive online discussions, these experts will explore the concepts of Faith, Hope and Charity and show you how they influence America’s past, her present and most importantly her future.

Beck even has a spanking new emblem for his virtual school:

Does this man's ego know no bounds? I'm betting he will announce his deity within the next two years, start a church (available only to 'Insider Extreme' subscribers) and have a statue of himself carved out of gold where people bring their babies to be healed.

[See here too.]

_______________
*“Reality has a well-known liberal bias.” (Stephen Colbert)
**See "intellectual dishonesty" here.

GOPers in Florida Gov. race are fighting over a possible gay dating site

Again, homophobia rages in governor's race. From Americablog here.

In Florida, Republicans are engaging in a bitter intra-party cat fight for the GOP's gubernatorial nomination. And, whenever the GOPers are fighting amongst themselves, they often manage to bring it back to the gays. But, this Florida fight between Bill McCollum and Rick Scott is bizarre even by GOP standards:

Now McCollum’s campaign is pointing out that Scott is an investor in a social networking site that, among other things, features the profiles of gay men.

QuePasa.com bills itself as “one of the world’s largest trilingual Latino Social Networks online” serving users in the U.S., Mexico and Latin America. It features content on entertainment, sports and music.

But as McCollum’s campaign ties Scott to the site, it points out that gays also use the site for dating.

Kristy Campbell, communications director for McCollum, acknowledged to CNN the campaign is pointing out Scott’s ties to QuePasa.com. But Campbell said it was in response to the e-mail from Scott’s campaign.

“The hypocrisy and bizarre desperate attacks against Attorney General McCollum by Rick Scott in this campaign know no bounds,” Campbell told CNN.

America's Nastiest Primary? GOP's Florida Gov Race Takes It To The Next Level

Homophobia rages in governor's race. From TPM here.

You might not expect a race between the uber-boring Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum and the uber-rich former hospital exec Rick Scott to be a barn-burner. But the Florida Republican gubernatorial primary -- a race no one really expected to happen in the first place -- is making a strong claim for the title of nastiest primary race of the year.

Here's a quick overview of the past couple weeks. McCollum, trailing in the polls to the self-funded Scott, turned it up to 11 with a mailer that says Scott, who made his millions as the CEO of Columbia HCA, "profited from abortion," thanks to the fact that the procedure was performed at some Columbia-run hospitals. In response, Scott fired off a press release attacking McCollum for supporting Rudy Giuliani in the 2008 presidential race. How does a tie to America's Mayor hurt McCollum in Scott's eyes, you might ask? Like this: Scott says McCollum isn't conservative enough because he "endorsed pro-abortion and pro-homosexual rights candidate" Giuliani.

Like I said, nasty. . . .

Republicans would probably rather not have Scott -- who brings with him a ton of baggage -- as their nominee. But Scott seems to have caught fire with some voters down in Florida, and that means McCollum has to get scrappy to fight him off. Expect this race to stay nasty all the way to the finish line.

From a commenter on the story:

Geez. And McCollum's the one who may have broken the law by funneling money to George "Rentboy" Rekers to bash gay adoption. Florida doesn't seem like a state where two candidates preparing for the general election by trying to out-homophobe each other makes a lot of sense.