The American Spectator

The Bishop| 7.22.11 @ 6:53AM

Really? In the American Spectator? C'mon!

Ed White| 7.22.11 @ 9:52AM

Sixteen-year-old Courtney is not a slut; she just looks like one.

As for her marriage to a man thirty-five years older than she, I have this question:

What interest could a 51-year-old man have in a 16-year-old girl, other than . . . well, I'm sure you get my drift.

california dreamin'| 7.22.11 @ 10:09AM

Ha!

You nailed it, Ed.

Kingofthenet| 7.22.11 @ 10:12AM

I wish I did!

Le Cracquere| 7.22.11 @ 11:01AM

/mcmahon
HEYOOOOOOOOOH!
/mcmahon off

If You Wanna see a Slut| 7.22.11 @ 5:28PM

Go to YouTube and type

Courtney Stodden- Car Candy

Slutty! And take a look at those boobs!

Judy G| 7.25.11 @ 2:57AM

Congratulations to the bride and groom...May they have many happy years together andmany children to share their happiness...What a lucky guy to have such a beautiful wife,and what a lucky girl to marry a man instead of marrying a boy like so many girls do...

Cindy| 7.22.11 @ 10:17AM

What other interest would he need? ;-)

FRAN| 7.22.11 @ 11:04AM

Perhaps he would want to have something in common with her interests. Her personality. Her intellect (what a laugh).

After she's been deflowered, a divorce will soon follow.

Seek| 7.22.11 @ 12:30PM

Don't count on it, especially if a baby comes along. She's gorgeous, young and talented. Mr. Hutchinson's a lucky guy and knows it.

Sheila| 7.22.11 @ 1:57PM

A little jealousy with that snark, Fran? I have never even heard of the girl, or seen her picture, but it does not axiomatically follow that she has neither personality nor intellect because she has beauty. While I never dated anyone quite that much older than I (and my husband is actually 2 years younger than I am), I dated almost exclusively older guys (and not the doctor/lawyer type either) because they weren't the least bit intimidated by my brains or abilities, but were sufficiently confident in their own. The age difference here between the Hutchinsons is a bit extreme, but I wish them well.

Redstateboy| 7.22.11 @ 3:23PM

well put Sheila... personally I'd add.. 16? 51? whew... could be pretty challenging but who knows and regardless - God'll see her through.

FRAN| 7.22.11 @ 4:10PM

She's 16, Sheila. Sixteen!

How many intellectual 16-year-olds do you know, Sheila? And while I'm at it, she and her mother may be Christians. Perhaps. But there's one thing for sure: the mother's an idiot.

WayneFarmer| 7.22.11 @ 5:31PM

If the mother were a Christian as she claims, she wouldn't be profaning the name of God by swearing, 'My God!' Christians show reverence for the Creator's holy name.

mike w| 7.23.11 @ 4:17PM

Agree. It's a stupid column that doesn't belong here.

All that aside, the trashy young girl and the weird old perv (watch an interview) will last about a year.

Judy G| 7.25.11 @ 2:56AM

Congratulations to the bride and groom...
May they have many happy years together and
many children to share their happiness...
What a lucky guy to have such a beautiful wife,
and what a lucky girl to marry a man instead of marrying a boy like so many girls do...

Paul| 7.22.11 @ 6:55AM

Why is this in AS? Should be in People Magazine and the husband and parents should be in jail.

Redstateboy| 7.22.11 @ 3:27PM

Paul.. you're missing the point - in my opinion. TAS is simply trying to point out Liber-ul outrage at a nice Christian/Republican girl in Hollywood and basically degenerate Hollywood getting all sanctimonious about it. Yeah... she's 16.. we get that.

Darin| 7.22.11 @ 7:00AM

I thought TAS had more class than printing tabloid stories like this. Come on, guys!

unger| 7.22.11 @ 7:26AM

I think you might be on the wrong side here. This story may turn out well, but it is troubling. (Please stick to real political issues in the future. )

Herb| 7.22.11 @ 7:26AM

Doesn't belong on American Spectator. Nope, not a bit, sorry. Too Hollywoody.

Now, my grandmother was sixteen when she was married to a 29 year old soldier, my grandfather, and they stayed married until his death (Grandma survived him by thirty years).

Their 1918 wedding portrait shows a man in uniform and a bride who looked womanly not childlike.

But a thirty-five year age difference? Please, an uplifting story this isn't. This actor couldn't find a woman in her thirties or forties?

Appleby| 7.22.11 @ 3:56PM

My Jewish Grandma said quite wisely, "After a woman is 40, the men she attracts want either a Nurse or a Purse." (Being from New York, of course, she said "A noice or a poice.")

The love of my life was 20 years younger than I am; his father and I were the same age, and his father drove me away with some of the same kind of crapola y'all are spewing above. His son never spoke to him or his mother again, and in fact has been happily married to a woman 25 years his senior, and is a loving father to her two children. The father, I am sad to report, was hit in the face by every one of the curses he hurled, and died in misery of three different kinds of cancer. His mother, who had no objection and who told me her husband attempted the same kind of jihad on her son's current wife, still writes to me.

There is absolutely no reason that a large age difference between spouses should occasion filthy speculation and ugly behaviour. Sometimes the folks are actually in love. And God bless them, every one.

Margie| 7.22.11 @ 4:13PM

Spare me, Appleby.

So, the man died of "THREE different kinds of Cancer", not just ONE!

According to you, a punishment from God?
That IS what you're insinuating.

If you cannot tell the difference between a healthy relationship and that of a predator wanting to marry a child, I pity you~ and all those who agree with you.

PaulyD| 7.22.11 @ 7:57AM

The author is holding her out as a model of Christian virtue but there is a problem there.

Now I realize I am about to create a wrathful response comment stream, but I still have to state that Christians are not supposed to get divorced nor are they to marry someone who is divorced.

Mr. Hutchinson was previously married.

Although Bo Derek also married someone who was divorced, she did not by any standard hold herself up as a model of Christian virtue. That marriage seemed to work out, like Stacy said, but it was exceptional.

Anyway, what's done is done. I hope it works out well for this couple. I'm just not sure it was the wisest thing for this young lady to have done.

PaulyD| 7.22.11 @ 8:10AM

One more thing. I had never heard of this couple so I went and Googled them. I watched one of their television interviews and it is clearly obvious to me now that this marriage is nothing but a publicity stunt for both of them. They are both very strange people. But this stunt is working.

I have to concur with the previous comments now. This article has no business in AS.

What were you thinking Robert Stacy McCain?

Seek| 7.22.11 @ 12:32PM

So these are strange people. Big deal. This great country was settled by strange people. Wish the bride and groom well.

PolishKnight| 7.22.11 @ 10:30AM

Hello PaulyD,

One of the reasons why I'm no longer a Christian is that all the stuff sold to me when I was young: That believers got to instantly go to heaven when they died and that it was about forgiveness and kindness, are simply not true.

The old testament is full of stuff that, if followed literally and especially cherry picked out, has Christians behaving like Muslim theocracies. It's no accident that the puritans were a bunch of witch burning, fascist jerks. That's their loving Jewish God from the old testament and Paul telling them to engage in it.

Die and go to heaven? Sure, after Revelations says that the world goes through misery and torment and wraps the whole thing up. So why develop scientifically and improve our standard of living when God will just come on down and do it all for us? That's the Amish way of thinking.

Both Judaism and Christianity go around the problems of their brutal God by basically shoving the uncomfortable scriptures under the bed and then secularizing society.

I have to hand it to Muslims, they believe their religion is good enough to run their state by. OK, if we're going to base our country on the 10 commandments and post them outside of the courthouse, let's do it. People who don't go to church on Sunday? Arrest them and throw them into jail. Since it's one of the first few commandments, make it a felony: 6 months. If someone commits blasphemy and says they're the son of God, crucify them. Make sure first born high priests make the decision since the loving Jewish God and his priests would NEVER make a mistake like that!

FRAN| 7.22.11 @ 11:58AM

PolishKnight,

Like you, I am puzzled by Christians' refusal to face up to the fact that the god of the bible is a brutal, immoral tyrant who, in fits of anger, slaughters the innocent.

How anyone could claim he is a "loving god" is beyond my comprehension. The bible is filled with hatred and drenched in blood.

There are lots of beautiful passages, but the immorality of so much of the bible must be confonted.

Glad to see someone else thinks like I do.

uyula| 7.22.11 @ 12:00PM

Ditto, FRAN!

PolishKnight| 7.22.11 @ 1:00PM

Not just that, but the whole notion of how heaven and human civilization works as well.

Christianity is, at it's core, an apocalyptic religion. It states that humanity cannot solve it's problems and that the only solution will be to "default" and have God clean up the mess. Just as Christianity reformed it's theocratic ways by secularizing, many well-meaning Christians go and help build schools in third world countries because they don't think Christ will be coming back anytime soon. That leads to death and heaven:

You can't judge people on judgment day if they go to hell or heaven the moment they die. Kind of spoils the news, doesn't it? Nope. Most Christians, except for exceptional saints perhaps, sit in the ground and sleep until judgment day. That means no reunion with your beloved family members and pets on the day you die.

And then what? The Bible says that Christ will rule over a peaceful earth for a thousand years or so but what's the point? If people on Earth know they're dying and going to heaven if they basically follow the law of the a very nice land (it's the ultimate theocracy), then what's the point of living? Isn't heaven supposed to be basically a similar place? And what do you do for a billion years? How many family reunions can you attend? What "work" do you do? Do you sit in a magical sandals resort for all that time?

Humanity has been evolving for millions of years including the time during Christianity where the very religion has evolved and sought ways to reinterpret the Bible to make it more useful in modern times similar to the left rewriting the Constitution for theirs. But in heaven, there is no evolution, growth, or progress. You get the best resort in the universe and that's it. Forever. And what is the news like?

It just doesn't make sense for me.

Purple Lips| 7.22.11 @ 1:36PM

"Christianity is, at it's core, an apocalyptic religion. It states that humanity cannot solve it's problems and that the only solution will be to "default" and have God clean up the mess"

You are so correct!!! Why turn to some abstract God when Man can be run by.... well other men!! Constantine and Charmlamagne were pikers when compared to Napoleon, Lennin, Hitler, Stalin, and Mao. Now there's some real problem solvers!! They all knew how to knock heads together and get things done. Why have cruel Gods when cruel humans can fit the bill?

And of course, today we have the ultimate Leader; a real Fuerher - The Anointed One Barry (Check my pecs!!) Sareto. Why turn to some God when we have Barry?

Sheila| 7.22.11 @ 2:01PM

You beat me to it, Purple Lips. My best wishes to you, PolishKnight, on masterfully solving all of humanity's problems with other elites, and standing before God (perhaps you'd prefer the more generic "Creator") as your own advocate relying on your own accomplishments and attributes to qualify as holy and righteous. Personally, I need a Savior and I'm eternally grateful to have one.

Stuart Koehl| 7.22.11 @ 3:08PM

"One of the reasons why I'm no longer a Christian is that all the stuff sold to me when I was young: That believers got to instantly go to heaven when they died and that it was about forgiveness and kindness, are simply not true."

You needed better teachers. Someone like me, for instance. Let's hope at some point in the future, you have the opportunity to rethink your choices.

Margie| 7.22.11 @ 4:36PM

"You needed better teachers. Someone like me, for instance."

Run the other way, PolishKight! Run!!

Popsicle| 7.22.11 @ 5:25PM

Margie,

What's all this acrimony between you and Ken (Old Texican) about?

SF_Exile| 7.22.11 @ 1:16PM

And John Derek was no paragon, either. He left a trail of devastation behind him, starting with the wife who gave him two children, when he chose to take up with Ursula Andress. Once he'd had enough of her, along came Linda Evans. Bo was practically in pig tails when John started up with her. Yes, their marriage lasted a long time, but with his reputation, did he remain her one and only? Survey says?!

Quartermaster| 7.22.11 @ 3:43PM

Biblically, the ground for voluntary divorce is "porneia," or unrepentant sexual immorality on the part of the spouse. I have no knowledge of why Hutchison is divorced, but it probably was a standard Hollywood divorce which would have rendered him ineligible for remarriage.

Nancy| 7.23.11 @ 3:45AM

Thanks for bringing this up. The groom's previous marriage actually bothers me more than the age difference.
My grandma married at 16 & my grandpa was 37. But they were brought up to truly believe Christ's command "What God has joined together, let no man put asunder."
Clearly not the case, here, unfortunately.

JimP| 7.22.11 @ 8:35AM

'Funny', no one says anything about Rupert Murdoch's 35 year age difference with his wife Wendi. But she, and he, were older than these two when they got together.

This story has a very Old Testament aura to it.

As for the complaints about this story being at TAS, I've read other columns here that were more incongruous and then there are the regular columns by Ben Stein that are appropos of nothing particularly conservative or political. They are just his daily journal musings. I love Ben, but be honest folks.

MikeBee| 7.22.11 @ 8:53AM

Robert, thank you for your article. Many posters don't believe that covering Hollywood belongs here at AS. But, I beg to differ. We regularly receive articles on baseball by Goldstein. Why not Hollywood? In my experience, conservatives tend to be more well-rounded than non-conservatives; understanding politics is just one of the areas in which they have both interest and understanding. As one who has a good appreciation for the arts, I find myself in good company among conservatives, usually.

A 16-year-old marrying a 51-year-old? As conservatives, we really don't try to get into the private decisions of other people too much. It is said that the mother of Jesus Christ was 14 when she had Him; the Bible doesn't mention Joseph's age. If it works for them, who are we to bother?

Finally, Robert points out the difference between the good looks of Republican-leaning women and liberal-leaning women. Seems to be a trend -- Derek, Palin, Bachmann, conservative-leaning Stodden, Prejean vs. Reno, Albright, Clinton, Pelosi. Hmmmmm. I'll stay on the conservative side; the view is much better over here.........

JP| 7.22.11 @ 9:33AM

MikeBee,
Our Holy Mother wasn't dancing to Lady GaGa on You Tube. This is the first time I read about a teenage girl marrying a man who is almost old enough to be her grandfather that didn't involve Islamic concubinage.

MikeBee| 7.22.11 @ 11:58AM

JP,
I absolutely agree with you that this is creepy. In fact, most 16-year-old girls think a 40-year-old guy is an old man (wish I were that young!). This is also why most school districts have ethics rules against this type of thing, too. School administrators know that some high school girls become smitten with the idea of courting their male professor. This may have happened a bit with Courtney. All I'm sayin', though, is that, if they really want to do this, all right. The legal age of consent for marriage in, I think, Alabama, is 16, also.

Sheila| 7.22.11 @ 2:06PM

MikeBee, well stated. On the face of it, it is rather "creepy," but I'd rather it work out (for whatever reason) than root for yet another divorce.

Sparky| 7.22.11 @ 10:03AM

Take a moment to check out this girl-child's videos on YouTube and you will be thoroughly creeped out. Her mother tries to depict her as some icon of Christian purity, but the girl presents herself entirely as a sexual object. It is very sad and it has nothing to do with her political leanings.

Purple Lips| 7.22.11 @ 9:05AM

Somehow I don't believe anything these people say. Pure publicity stunt. Other than that, this whole thing is California Creepy. Reminds me of an old Red Hot Chili Pepper's Song, Californication:

"Marry me girl be the fairy to my world
be my very won constellation....
... and buy me a star on the boulevard
Its Californication"

Bob Grant| 7.22.11 @ 9:36AM

McCain, I can't believe you spent time on this story. Disappointing.

Purple,

It's probably the first and last time I will agree with you. This clearly is some publicity stunt.

She seems to mock Christianity the way she conducts herself all for the purpose of exposure; her 15 minutes. I won't judge on her alleged talent or what's in her heart but this doesn't appear to be the most effective way to bring people closer to Christ.

This seems to be just a unique way for a teen to gain exposure in an increasingly narcissistic society.

James Pawlak| 7.22.11 @ 9:38AM

Be charitable: Perhaps she had a migraine or it was "that time of the month" or she is in menopause.

Kingofthenet| 7.22.11 @ 9:43AM

This chick is 16 than I am 900.

http://cdn03.cdnwp.celebuzz.co.....dden-2.jpg

Quartermaster| 7.22.11 @ 3:46PM

She looks like she's in her late 20s. I have no idea why someone would want to give up their childhood.

Petronius| 7.22.11 @ 9:43AM

Conservatives have been catching hell since the Liberals claimed they took over the world in 1968. Besides pedophilia and cannibalism they claim they have the right to do anything from the slightly aberrant to the criminally perverse without criticism from any quarter. The elimination of traditional morality is their ultimate goal. So why are they squealing about this? Because that sweet young thing does not identify with Them.
We have our standards and they have none. Hollywood will go on being a depraved Roman circus until it collapses from exhaustion. And nothing they do can force any of us to accept it.

Bob Grant| 7.22.11 @ 9:49AM

Go to ABC and watch the "couple"'s interview. By what standard is she abiding when giving her best porn face as she watches her beloved hubby speak?

Come on.

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 7.22.11 @ 10:10AM

Wasn't Monica Lewinsky much younger than Bill Clinton? And wasn't Bill married? At least these two have a twinge of honesty in their relationship.

Troy Riser| 7.22.11 @ 10:25AM

Well, that was...creepy. Maybe it wouldn't have been so creepy if the author didn't sound so disturbingly enthusiastic about teenage girls hooking up with middle-aged men. As it happens, I have a 19-year-old daughter, and if a man my age was showing up at my doorstep 3 years or so ago seeking her out, I would give him a running start and then hunt him with hounds.

Insofar as Courtney's politics are concerned, it should be pointed out that she is not old enough to vote yet.

What is wrong with you, man?

PolishKnight| 7.22.11 @ 10:42AM

One of the victories of the left has been the subconscious effect on our culture that even conservatives accept it.

Why sick the hounds on him? Why not just raise your daughter, by the age of 19, to be confident enough in herself and your shared values to choose, and find, eligible, sensible men? And most important, what are those values?

The United States is full of clockticking career women, golddiggers, sluts, bimbos, and all other manner of creatures raised by fathers who put them on a pedestal and spoil them. That's when the fathers are even around at all, of course. Even worse, the modern notion of traditional values is that women treat marriage to good men as an entitlement and men as plowhorses.

Men are expected to jump through hoops to land the hand of a so-called "traditional" woman. If a man takes the risk of a sexual harassment charge in asking them out and going to her parents' home, the father can then grill him.

Then when the "traditional" girl is either a biological clock ticker or shacks up with a biker gang, the father is surprised about it.

Let's look at the scenario: Girl brings home 51 year old guy whose nice and and well-to-do OR she brings home some guy who has a nice car and takes her out on dates and expects third-date-nookie. Sadly, most fathers prefer the latter guy.

Troy Riser| 7.22.11 @ 11:04AM

My daughter is 19 now and technically an adult, as I wrote, so I have to trust she'll make the right life-choices. But the article concerns Courtney, a 16-year-old girl, a child by any defintion of the term, and if Courtney had a parent truly concerned with her daughter's well-being, none of this would've happened.

So yeah, I think 50-odd year-old men who chase after teenage girls are fetishists and pedophiles, and found the cheerleading tone of this article glaringly inappropriate and disturbing, especially given American Spectator's focus and reputation.

PolishKnight| 7.22.11 @ 11:21AM

As another commenter pointed out above, the Virgin Mary was probably 14 when she married Joseph. Does that make Jesus the child of a pedophile? You did say _any_ definition of the term!

While 16 is young to get married especially in this day and age, the clock starts ticking for women at the age of 18 or so. Another modern feminist myth that the right bought into is the notion that women should have plenty of time to shop around (or more like slut around) and "date" which is usually meal whoring.

While women are marrying older due to this behavior, they are also marrying less often.

Fathers have a legitimate concern about the quality of the men dating their daughters perhaps because society hasn't been concerned about investing in men. As little as 40 years ago, it was common for men in their early to mid 20's to be ready for marriage both economically and in terms of maturity. Today, that rarely happens and then what? A lot of these guys by their 30's will have children out of wedlock or won't have a good job. What then?

Back in the civil war era, a woman in her late 20's was an old maid. It's only a myth that's no longer true.

Kingofthenet| 7.22.11 @ 11:35AM

Well that is what happens when your Religion is developed by a bunch of LATE first century Jews, looking to rebel.Actually they should have been arrested for plagiarism.

Troy Riser| 7.22.11 @ 11:55AM

In Jesus' time, life expectancy for lower classes and slaves was probably at or around 40 or 45 or thereabouts, but no matter: that isn't my point and--given your staunch support of young girl/insecure and immature middle-age guy relationships, that isn't really your point, either. There's a reason why 16-year-olds are nicknamed 'jailbait', and there are very valid reasons for laws discouraging legal adults from fooling around with adolescents.

Seems like you've been giving a lot of thought to this particular topic, 'PolishKnight'. Think about it often? Incessantly, maybe? My suggestion? Stop obsessively watching 'Hannah Montana' re-runs and get out more, seek out adult women your own age, women who have actually experienced life, women who can actually carry on a conversation.

I didn't expect to be defending age of consent laws while posting on a politically conservative website, and it's off-putting, to say the least.

PolishKnight| 7.22.11 @ 12:13PM

Troy, you made a broad generalization and now you're weaseling around saying, hey, if someone is going to die in their 40's then jailbaiting is ok.

Regarding myself: I married a woman who was 10 years younger than me when I was 37. I dated women my own age, but they were often messed up. I wish they could carry on a conversation. I was born in the older Gen-X group and these women were usually little different in thinking than when they were in their teens. Men who mature are expected to be stable providers and leaders. What do most single women do today but just get older? At least a nerdy guy brings something to the table as a provider. I don't think a 10 year age difference with the woman being 27 is that controversial. But nice try.

The angle to this story is that modern sexual mores are so messed up that it makes the outrage over this strange. It's like protesting gay marriage while half of all children are born out of wedlock.

Finally, many jailbait cases involve situations where the girl was 17 and he's 21 and met her at a bar where the bar owners let in underage girls because it's good for business. Ruining such a young man's life is a travesty of justice but, hey, simple minded morality is really doing wonders for our society now, isn't it?

Troy Riser| 7.22.11 @ 1:17PM

Morality isn't so simple-minded, but I'll let that pass. Bringing up borderline cases of, say, 21-year-olds mistakenly picking up underage girls muddies the waters and introduces a fallacy; that is, if it seems intuitively wrong for a 21-year-old to be prosecuted for sleeping with a 16-year-old, then it follows it is an injustice for a 25-year-old, as well. And if an injustice for a 25-year-old...

Nonsense. Adults have no business hanging around informally with teenagers to whom they are not related, much less attempting to establish some kind of romantic relationship with them. The only way predatory adults can get away with such a 'relationship' in the first place is if the parent(s) was uninformed, disinterested in the welfare of their child, or morally bankrupt themselves. The mother in this article, for example, allowed her daughter to communicate with (mostly anonymous) adults online, and stood passively (or actively, for all I know) while her daughter sexualized her image in order to attract attention and further her 'show-business' career ideas. No Mother Of The Year award for Ms. Stodden.

This whole deal leaves a bad smell and a sour taste. As a thought experiment, invert the genders: would you want your teenage son marrying a woman nearly old enough to be his grandmother? Wouldn't you think something was profoundly wrong with a woman who would seek out an underage boy? I would, and I'd do everything I could to get and keep her away from my son. Same thing here.

Stuart Koehl| 7.22.11 @ 10:56AM

Mr.McCain apparently has never done any genealogy. If he pried into his family's background, I'm sure he would find more than a few similar unions. While, historically, men married for the first time at 25-26 to women of about 22-23, because of the high mortality of childbirth, it was not unusual for second wives to be in their later teens, when husbands were in their thirties (a century ago, that would be equivalent to marrying a man in his fifties today). If a man should be so unfortunate to lose his second wife, it would not be unusual for him to wed a girl in her late teens when he himself was in his fifties (approaching decrepitude).

Such men were considered to be good matches--they were generally financially established (and many of them had Civil War pensions), with property and standing in the community. Since the husband was, by standards of the time, in late middle age, there was a good chance that he would die while the wife was still in her middle twenties, leaving her with an estate and excellent prospects for a second marriage herself--or for financial independence, if she desired it.

In short, Mr. McCain should worry less about the age of the husband and more about the suitability of the match. Our problem in this country is not teen pregnancy, it's unwed motherhood. I don't care if a girl gets pregnant at sixteen, provided she has a husband who can look after her. Another sixteen year old isn't likely to do that, but a man in his twenties, thirties or even older, can.

PolishKnight| 7.22.11 @ 11:02AM

Bravo Stuart!

Indeed. Imagine if instead of getting married to the 51 year old guy, she instead waited until she was 18 or so, shagged him, and then had a baby as an unwed celebrity mother with an unnamed father.

It would barely make tabloid headlines because it's so common in Hollywood and even in mainstream America.

MikeBee| 7.22.11 @ 12:06PM

Stuart,
Once, I was eating my lunch while enjoying the shade in a cemetery, when I noticed a rather large tombstone. It was for a guy who, judging from the size of the tombstone, was probably rather well off. He had died in the early 1900s. Buried around him were each of his seven wives. He was married to each successively, a couple of them dying pretty young of a disease. You're right; things were more common in other times.

Conservative Bob| 7.22.11 @ 11:01AM

If a 51 year old came any where near my then 16 year old daughter, I would tell him the same thing I told a 23 year old that called to aske her out.

First I told him to loose the nebmer and never call again. He informed me that it was her decision and if she wanted to go out with him there was nothing I could do to stop them.

I told him if I caught him even speaking to my daughter or standing within shouting distance again I would shoot him and burry him in the front yard as a warning to those that might follow. Never heard from him again. My guess like all preditors he decided the risk vs the rewards just were not worth it.

Mr McCain I am really puzzled as to how there is anything positive in this.

This is just another story of a sick hollywood preditor/child molester getting his trophy, the difference being that the parents were supportive and the girl was a christian.

Nothing at all to celebrate here.

PolishKnight| 7.22.11 @ 11:09AM

Conservative Bob, even though I disagree with you about the larger issue, I agree and support your actions in regards to your daughter.

She's still a minor and you're responsible for her. If she wanted to date an older man (or even date at all for that matter), she should have cleared it with you first. And this guy should have asked for permission from you. If you disapprove, you have an absolute right to defend your home and family.

I think your classification of him as a predator is false, though. Consider: Real predators don't just walk up to the house and ring the doorbell or call on the phone. He was just some stupid punk.

Conservative Bob| 7.22.11 @ 2:02PM

We may have a different definition of predator. In mine a 20 something chasing teenage girls fits very well they are seeking easy conquest. They are able to use their somewhat greater experience to exploit a more impressionable less experienced child.

Actually I have seen real predators in action. They gain access by a variety of means... as in date the single mother of an innocent young girl. Become a metering friend to an older bother... Sports coach or youth advisor.

I was raised to understand that I have a responsibility to protect my family, whether it is my sisters, and younger brothers when I was a kid (sisters even now): My wife, my daughter, my grand kids, and my nieces. Their safety and protection is my primary responsibility.

I have read and believe that the majority of predators are known to the family/ victim.

I make it a point to let anyone who comes near those precious to me especially the most vulnerable that the consequences of harming them physically or emotionally will be dealt with swiftly and severely.

God have mercy on anyone who would steal the innocence of a child under my protection.

Margie| 7.22.11 @ 4:00PM

Thank God for real conservative men.

Occam's Tool| 7.25.11 @ 7:54PM

You know, psychologically, there's a huge difference between a 20 year old and a 16 year old. It's called a developed dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and it's responsible for abstract thought. If it was true love, they could have waited until age 18.

Margie| 7.26.11 @ 12:48AM

Well said. The man's sick. end of story!
Oh, and the girl's parents are, too. They are delivering their daughter to the Devil.

Bob Grant| 7.22.11 @ 11:45AM

Nice post!!

What's even more sick is the "father" of the poor child sought out and encouraged this relationship.

To make it even more of a freak-show story, the father is considerably younger than the 51 year old. It's as though the father - and mother - were looking for another couple to hang out with.

The whole story is a freak show.

Narcissism, Arrested Development, Twisted Morality, and a General Lack of Common Sense.

Welcome to 21st Century America!

PolishKnight| 7.22.11 @ 12:17PM

No Bob.

21st century America is half of all mothers being unwed at the time of the child's birth either having shagged some loser "baby daddy" or winding up paying for sperm because she's scared all the suitors away.

THAT has been going on for decades and barely anything has been said about it other than to usually feel sorry for the women as victims.

Margie| 7.23.11 @ 10:10PM

It takes two, sir.

Conservative Bob| 7.22.11 @ 11:02AM

oops number

Dotty| 7.22.11 @ 11:11AM

Courtney never won a contest to qualify for Miss WA, there were no other girls in Oceans Shores who were interested so all her mom did was pay the entry fee. I'm not sure why you're all backing up this little girl who has been trained to act like a (awkward) porn star, and use her looks to get ahead. Just because she hides behind claims of being a good Christian does not make it true. It insults me that she brings Christianity up at all. She married Doug because she, and her parents, were infatuated with his "fame", and he took advantage of her impressionable mind. It is despicably sick. Her parents did nothing to protect her innocence, who care if she and doug had "feelings"? What are "feelings" when you are 16, when you should be developing as a human being, not an old sicko's housepet. And her mom claiming everyone's just jealous? That's just juvenile, and laughable. I cannot believe an adult would react like that. She needs her head checked for letting (probably encouraging her to) her little girl strut around like a cheap prostitute. It is not moral, and her daughter is not pretty. She looks like beat up crack whore. GET REAL PEOPLE.

Slacker| 7.22.11 @ 12:55PM

You have a point regarding the Christianity celebration and it seems the mother was obsessed with the daughter’s virginity? As if that proves she was/is a good Christian girl. So what if she’s a virgin at 16? Keeping it until 21 would be noteworthy. But 16?

She does not look like a beat up crack whore. She is beautiful.

Dotty| 7.22.11 @ 10:13PM

She could be beautiful if she weren't trying so clumsily to look like a porn star at every moment. I'm sorry, I don't find horny+caked on makeup+young child "beautiful"

Dotty| 7.22.11 @ 11:17AM

And another thing, the "dress" she wore on Father Albert shows exactly how much respect she has for religion. She sat there wearing nothing but a napkin, and stripper shoes.... Being so arrogant that she is above all her criticizers because God is so interested in her. She is totally clueless, and so is the author of this blog.

MTB| 7.22.11 @ 11:47AM

Republican or not, Christian or not, a 51 year old man should not be marrying a 16 year old girl. It's just . . . wrong!

Stuart Koehl| 7.22.11 @ 3:12PM

Why? Be specific, cite sources. You will be graded.

Margie| 7.22.11 @ 4:01PM

And YOU are being graded by God.

Blake R.L. Coryn| 7.24.11 @ 5:50AM

Mercifully, that grade will not be coming to him through you.

Margie| 7.24.11 @ 3:18PM

He'd better hope and pray for mercy, Blakey.
Do you know what God does with liars and perverts?
Do you know what He does with those who pervert the Scriptures?

"Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.

Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and every one who loves and practices falsehood." Rev. 22:14 & 15.

Blake R.L. Coryn| 7.26.11 @ 11:43AM

You'd better pray for mercy yourself, Margie. You've already demonstrated you're in several of those categories in this discussion alone.

Occam's Tool| 7.25.11 @ 8:02PM

Stuart:

My Dear Sir, this is MY field. Let me know when you've had enough sources. Let's start with two: 1)role, and 2) maturation time.

Display Settings:AbstractFormatSummarySummary (text)AbstractAbstract (text)MEDLINEXMLPMID ListApply
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Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Dec 14;107(50):21767-72. Epub 2010 Nov 30.
How the brain integrates costs and benefits during decision making.
Basten U, Biele G, Heekeren HR, Fiebach CJ.
SourceDepartment of Psychology, Goethe University Frankfurt, D-60325 Frankfurt, Germany.

Abstract
When we make decisions, the benefits of an option often need to be weighed against accompanying costs. Little is known, however, about the neural systems underlying such cost-benefit computations. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and choice modeling, we show that decision making based on cost-benefit comparison can be explained as a stochastic accumulation of cost-benefit difference. Model-driven functional MRI shows that ventromedial and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex compare costs and benefits by computing the difference between neural signatures of anticipated benefits and costs from the ventral striatum and amygdala, respectively. Moreover, changes in blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal in the bilateral middle intraparietal sulcus reflect the accumulation of the difference signal from ventromedial prefrontal cortex. In sum, we show that a neurophysiological mechanism previously established for perceptual decision making, that is, the difference-based accumulation of evidence, is fundamental also in value-based decisions. The brain, thus, weighs costs against benefits by combining neural benefit and cost signals into a single, difference-based neural representation of net value, which is accumulated over time until the individual decides to accept or reject an option.

PMID:21118983[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] PMCID: PMC3003102Free PMC Article

Maturation of Left Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex is therefore key. Let's look at this: Display Settings:AbstractFormatSummarySummary (text)AbstractAbstract (text)MEDLINEXMLPMID ListApply
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Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002 Oct 1;99(20):13336-41. Epub 2002 Sep 20.
Neural basis of protracted developmental changes in visuo-spatial working memory.
Kwon H, Reiss AL, Menon V.
SourceDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Program in Neuroscience, and Stanford Brain Research Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.

Abstract
Developmental studies have shown that visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM) performance improves throughout childhood and adolescence into young adulthood. The neural basis of this protracted development is poorly understood. In this study, we used functional MRI (fMRI) to examine VSWM function in children, adolescents, and young adults, ages 7-22. Subjects performed a 2-back VSWM experiment that required dynamic storage and manipulation of spatial information. Accuracy and response latency on the VSWM task improved gradually, extending into young adulthood. Age-related increases in brain activation were observed in focal regions of the left and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (including Broca's area), left premotor cortex, and left and right posterior parietal cortex. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the relative contributions of age, accuracy, and response latency on activation. Our analysis showed that age was the most significant predictor of activation in these brain regions. These findings provide strong evidence for a process of protracted functional maturation of bilateral fronto-parietal neural networks involved in VSWM development. At least two neural systems involved in VSWM mature together: (i) a right hemisphere visuo-spatial attentional system, and (ii) a left hemisphere phonological storage and rehearsal system. These observations suggest that visually and verbally mediated mnemonic processes, and their neural representations, develop concurrently during childhood and adolescence and into young adulthood.

PMID:12244209[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] PMCID: PMC130634Free PMC Article.

Both articles are free. Happy reading. Let me know if you have problems.

Occam's Tool| 7.25.11 @ 9:33PM

Stuart, my dear man, I have skunked you below. As you know a lot of Byzantine history and history of military science and scriptures, I know a teeny bit of neuroscience (in addition, my job is to screen for decision making capacity and testify in court on same). I have brought a bit of my sources below. You really don't want the full firepower on this. Nothing subjective, all objective.

Margie| 7.26.11 @ 12:54AM

Heh, you ought to have stopped at Military Science. He doesn't know much about the Scriptures, he's spiritually blind.
Otherwise, he wouldn't hate Christians. You see, there's all the difference in the world between Christians and those who are Religious and do not possess the Spirit of God.
Religious people believe they're better than born again Christians. They think that knowledge alone place them above us lowly Christians.
Yet The Lord says that knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. (1 Cor. 8:1).
Stuart has knowledge, but despises Christians.

Blake R.L. Coryn| 7.26.11 @ 11:46AM

You're awfully puffed up, and I don't see you building up anyone on here, Margie.

Al Adab| 7.22.11 @ 12:02PM

Never heard of her. Why do we continue to confuse celebrity with either virtue or wisdom?

Seek| 7.22.11 @ 12:37PM

Unless there was coercion or blackmail -- there appears to be neither in this case -- I say bless the marriage. As the song goes, "love is strange." So this one is a little stranger than most.

Purple Lips| 7.22.11 @ 1:55PM

Especially if you consider that the 51 year old groom was a star on the hit series Lost.

John II| 7.24.11 @ 11:14PM

That's true. He played the singularly unattractive character Horace Goodspeed.

And now back to "State Fair" (the superior 1945 version). These are deep waters, and one needs to clear one's mind with indisputably wholesome entertainment before passing judgment--on the situation, not the principals.

Seek| 7.25.11 @ 3:02PM

"Wholesome" doesn't necessarily mean significant or even interesting. Today's films are better.

Reagan Loyalist| 7.22.11 @ 1:14PM

I'm a life long Christian who was redeemed from sin, but not relieved of my humanity - the point being that I and my faith-mates aren't sitting on THE moral high ground exhorting others to be like us, so stop assigning behavioral "shoulds" on us based on bar room generalizations, ignorance and spite.

Now, I think this story is creepy, the video interviews bare this out. I'm disappointed in myself for being drawn into it and in TAS for publishing it. I am a regular reader and avoid trashy stories and websites who flourish because of them. TAS, please don't pander for site hits - it's creepy!

Kingofthenet| 7.22.11 @ 1:25PM

Looks like some Christians are taking after Mohammad.

Occam's Tool| 7.22.11 @ 1:49PM

Perhaps, but the other Christians think it's creepy, King.

And that makes all the difference.

Margie| 7.22.11 @ 4:02PM

They're not Christian, that's why, KOTN.
They're perverts.

Gary Rumain| 7.24.11 @ 11:27PM

Not quite. Mahound was 53 when he married Aisha. She was 6 at the time. Naturally, you see no problem with that, do you?

Occam's Tool| 7.26.11 @ 1:33AM

Gary, I believe he had knowledge of her at age 9, right?

Stuart Koehl| 7.22.11 @ 1:45PM

"Looks like some Christians are taking after Mohammad."

I guess you never read much about the history of the Middle Ages, aka the heyday of Christendom?

Occam's Tool| 7.22.11 @ 1:50PM

Indeed, Stuart. Romeo and Juliet were supposed to be around age 14, right?

Stuart Koehl| 7.22.11 @ 3:15PM

As Tradition tells us, the Virgin Mary was in her late teens, when she was betrothed to St. Joseph, a much older man. The Tradition of the Eastern Churches, as expressed by the 4th century historian Epiphanius, says Joseph was a widower, with children from his first marriage. Given how quickly he disappears from the Gospel narratives, he was probably in his late forties or early fifties at the time--equivalent to marrying a man in his seventies today.

Margie| 7.22.11 @ 4:04PM

"As Tradition tells us,"

That says it all.

That's shorthand for ~ you won't find it in the Bible.
Because if it was, you'd be able to cite chapter and verse.

Blake RL Coryn| 7.24.11 @ 4:12AM

Margie, you have not answered the argument according to Scripture, and you have no Biblical justification for the self-righteous judgments you are so brazenly passing on others. You cannot cite a Bible verse which forbids marriage on the grounds of age difference because there is none. Neither can you cite a Bible verse which sets a minimum age for people to be married because there is none of that in the Bible either. You reject Koehl's historical argument on the grounds that it is not in the Bible, yet you have no Biblical foundation for any of your contentions against him.

Since you have no argument from the Bible, your argument can only have come from a secondary source. That source is not history, which records a good many successful marriages in Christendom between young teen women and older men--sometimes much older--and especially during the Middle Ages. Neither can it be from tradition, since one will note that many Christians were getting married at a young age, some even to those much older than themselves, right up to the middle of the twentieth century.

The only possible source for your dubious mores, in fact, is a modern idea which only truly began to gain traction a few decades ago that all people below an arbitrary age set by the government were children regardless of circumstance and could not--regardless of any factor--have any sexual maturity at all until the moment they reached that age. Even leaving aside the fact that the modern laws governing marriage vary from state to state and therefore do not set anything like a consistent standard, this means that the entire foundation of your contention comes from government, not God, and that you are speaking as if government could stand in the place of God and issue decrees in His name and have these be accepted as holy writ.

This puts you in the position of having violated the first of the Ten Commandments, as you have taken up with a substitute for God in His presence. You are also in danger of violating another Commandment, having taken up God's name to lend legitimacy to a dubious claim. May I remind you that some of the same state governments that made these laws are now lending their support to the sodomy and other perversions by pretending that two people of the same sex can possibly be married in the way that a man and a woman can? Might I also remind you that in some states, the government you have accepted in place of God has indeed permitted marriage between this 51-year-old man and 16-year-old woman, meaning that even your false god has not granted you any basis for condemning this couple? Your foundation is shifting sand, and you are far adrift from the God you profess to serve. You are judging people you don't even know and rebuking them for what God has not declared to be a sin, overstepping your authority and bringing disgrace to the faith you profess.

As you measure out judgment to others, so shall it be measured to you. Since your self-righteous condemnations of this husband and wife have no Biblical foundation and God clearly has not told you to condemn this couple as you have just done, ostensibly in service to Him, you will not be blessed, your hypocritical prayers for God to set others straight (while seeking no correction for yourself) will be rejected, and you will receive no reward except for the fleeting social esteem of your ignorant peers. In the words of the world's very first Christian, cast the beam from your own eye before seeking to remove the specks from others'.

Margie| 7.24.11 @ 3:22PM

You want an argument from the Bible, pervert?

"But Jesus said, "Let the children come to Me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the Kingdom of Heaven." Mt. 19:14.

Now, go crawl back under you self-righteous rock.

Blake R.L. Coryn| 7.26.11 @ 11:25AM

Speak for yourself, Margie. By quoting a completely irrelevant Bible passage, you just demonstrated that I'm right, and you're a self-righteous busybody and hypocrite who ought to clap her hands over her mouth (and get off the internet) before she disgraces herself and her professed faith further.

You obviously prefer hitting people over the head with your Bible rather than actually reading it. As our Lord & Savior said of vipers like you: "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. '" (Mark 7:6)

Now go slither back into your nest, you self-righteous hussy. People like you are tearing down the church.

Margie| 7.22.11 @ 4:06PM

O.T.~

Both of them were younger, so that is no comparison to a child female at the age of 16, and an old man.

Occam's Tool| 7.25.11 @ 8:16PM

I agree, Margie. See my later posts. There's an argument I'm setting up that you will like.

RCV| 7.22.11 @ 11:41PM

We're not in the Middle Ages, Stuart. Any parents who would marry their 16 year old daughter off to some 51 year old man should be ashamed of themselves. Period.

Stuart Koehl| 7.23.11 @ 1:11PM

Why, precisely--other than aesthetics? Let's try to be precise here.

As I said, it was not unusual, even in the first decades of the 20th century, for rather mature widowers to remarry to girls in their teens. Older men were considered to be a good catch for a young girl, and depending upon circumstances, he could be one today, too.

This is not an area where one can make blanket condemnations, because there are too many variables.

Margie| 7.23.11 @ 2:13PM

The only "variable" is your perverted mind.

Stuart Koehl| 7.23.11 @ 6:01PM

Marge, have you ever read the history of the Patriarchs in Genesis?

Margie| 7.23.11 @ 8:59PM

Have you ever truly repented from your perversion?

Stuart Koehl| 7.23.11 @ 9:34PM

Do you still have carnal knowledge of your barnyard animals, Marge?

Margie| 7.23.11 @ 10:09PM

That answers my question.

Stuart Koehl| 7.24.11 @ 8:25PM

And you have answered mine.

Margie| 7.24.11 @ 9:17PM

No, I didn't, because I don't answer perverted questions from perverts.
Sicko.

Blake R.L. Coryn| 7.26.11 @ 11:39AM

Nice excuse you've got for not having any answer to the truth, Margie. Seeing as you've perverted the truth with your self-righteous attacks on others, I guess no one needs to listen to a pervert like you either.

Occam's Tool| 7.25.11 @ 8:10PM

No name calling, Stuart.

The reason it is a bad idea is that children were forced to marry young in the olden days because of uncertain life expectancies. Nowadays, the average is much longer. The dorsolateral pre-frontal cortex is critical in abstract decision making, and doesn't mature until early adulthood. 18 is actually on the early side. HIS had matured, HERS had not. Therefore, there is a power differential due to decision making capacity based on organic factors that militates against her making decisions to marry on her own. Daddy and Mommy dropped ball. Knowing what I know about maturation, I would not have made this decision in this fashion. You have two neuroscience articles for review above, Stuart. In addition, may I recommend the Early Chapters of Kaplan and Sadock's CTP, available in your city's medical library?

I careth not about aesthetics; I care about power differentials in decision making. She's not ready, yet. Most people should wait until at least age 20. 18 is a useful compromise based on modern neural science, but 16 is too young.

Perversion, I'll not accuse you of. Ignorance on Neuroscience, sure.

Margie| 7.26.11 @ 12:58AM

The reason I can say he's perverted is because he really does know better. Especially if he's "supposed" to be a Christian.

Thanks for your contribution. What's that old saying~ "We're all entitled to our own opinions, but not to our own facts".

Occam's Tool| 7.26.11 @ 1:40AM

Hey, Margie, I think you're sweet. Stuart bothers me less than he does you, for obvious reasons---i think differently. But I can understand how and why he would be annoying to you.

But people need to be careful when they try to go "objective" on decision making. Particularly if they DON'T spend their time trying to figure out if a recently suicidal fellow hearing voices is OK to go home.

Honestly, unless she's a genius, there's no one really there to talk to. And you can only screw so long before you MUST talk.

Blake R.L. Coryn| 7.26.11 @ 4:27PM

Now this is a more reasoned argument, Occam's Tool, but I should point out that all of the neurological observations are not enough on their own to prove the parents "dropped the ball" on this marriage. Teens are indeed reckless and prone to making poor decisions; so are a great many "grown-ups" in our culture, as one can observe simply from looking at Hollywood and our country's government. Clearly, maturity is not all dependent on neurological development, but must also depend somewhat on one's intelligence, upbringing, and environment among other factors.

Historically speaking, power differentials have not always been an overriding factor in determining whether a marriage should take place. Sociologically speaking, they are not always overriding now. Need I repeat what many others have already said in pointing out that teen marriage and inter-generational marriage were once more common and socially approved in our culture, and still are in many others? While I reject multiculturalism and believe some cultures are indeed superior to others, I do not necessarily believe our decadent and sexually obsessed American culture is at the top of that heap.

In sociological terms, how much support one's culture gives to any given marriage is surely a factor in whether it will succeed as well. In this regard, I concede that Mr. and Mrs. Hutchinson are swimming against the tide. I do have to ask, though, how exactly that is their fault? Moreover, does this neurological research prove that all the cultures that preceded ours must have "dropped the ball" in marrying their children off to others at so young an age? Surely not. Various social and economic factors have certainly eliminated some of the advantages that once attended these marriages since then, but arguably the advantages at the time might justify them.

To get back to the example at hand, what do we know about this couple and their families and social environment? At best, very little. We are told that Courtney is very outgoing and popular at school. She does seem to have some plans for a career in show business, and her husband is already reasonably well-off from his career in the same field. We know that some of his past decisions have not been the best (e.g. his previous marriage). We also know they live in a culture hostile to their marriage, and have decided to marry nonetheless. They do have the support of her parents.

Is this marriage, in view of these and many other factors, advantageous? Maybe not. Hollywood certainly does not strike me as a marriage-friendly environment. Choosing to draw attention to this marriage rather than deflect it is not my idea of a good decision. (On the other hand, I'm an introvert who loathes the spotlight, whereas others thrive on public attention, so what do I know?) Others have criticized Courtney's body language and the way she dresses, neither of which are likely to stand out much at all against the backdrop of Hollywood's sexual degeneracy.

In the end, though, there are simply too many unknowns. Maybe Courtney is one of the statistical outliers among her peers. Maybe she's really smart; social intelligence goes along with book smarts a lot more than one would think from watching movies. She probably hasn't had the kind of hard-knock life that forces people in other cultures (such as Brazil's) to mature earlier than most American teens, but maybe her parents do know something about raising a kid if she's managed to remain a virgin for this long. (She's doing better than a lot of other kids her age for that alone.)

Maybe Stuart knows about the neuroscience and maybe not, but either way, it's only evidence to support one's doubting that this marriage will be successful, not absolute proof that it was morally wrong for Courtney to marry a man so much older, or for her parents to give their permission. Prudence dictates that we not condemn their decision prematurely.

Purple Lips| 7.22.11 @ 1:57PM

But Mercutio had both thier numbers.

I think a better analogy is Nabakov's Lolita. If you switch around the roles of seducer and seducee, it might fit.

Delta Zelda| 7.22.11 @ 2:13PM

If the couple involved were gays or lesbians, the age difference wouldn't matter. But the couple are are Christians and conservatives, so all the tolerant liberals denigrate them.

NotALibertarian| 7.22.11 @ 2:38PM

This is not a liberal/conservative issue. These people have set everyone's teeth on edge because they are so utterly unconvincing. Mr. McCain, along with Mrs. Stodden, seem completely oblivious to the fact that:
1. This girl is not that attractive, let alone anything that warrants Bo Derek comparisons.
2. Her attempts to strike sexy expressions and poses are creepy and comical.
3. They are all making a mockery of Christianity, which teaches that Christian women are to be modest in their dress ("in modest apparel", I Tim. 2:9) and behavior. Trumpeting that you are a virgin while presenting yourself as a trollop means you are a hypocrite, not a Christian.

Seek| 7.22.11 @ 3:18PM

I know any number of attractive Christian women who are proud of their sexy bodies. Timothy's advocacy of constant self-censorship, especially for females, is falling on mostly deaf ears these days. That's not a bad thing.

Bob Grant| 7.22.11 @ 3:29PM

Not sure how "proud" fits into the equation as a Christian. Women are blessed with the bodies they are given and should conduct themselves accordingly.

Have you seen interviews of the blessed couple? Watch the ABC interview and tell me your not totally creeped out by both her appearance, but also her demeanor. Tell me you are not completely creeped out by the total story and arrangement.

I'm far from a puritan but come on!

NotALibertarian| 7.22.11 @ 4:16PM

Respectfully, Timothy was the recipient of the letter I quoted written by apostle Paul that is part of the New Testament scriptures.
Second, the women you know are probably not actual Christians, regardless of what they claim. (The mark of an actual Christian is reading the scriptures with great interest and following their teachings with simplicity.)
From a non-religious perspective, I think attractive women who are constantly showing off their bodies come across as rather desperate and boring, actually. But I realize not everyone agrees.

Bob Grant| 7.22.11 @ 4:54PM

It makes you wonder if she is not some plant by Jerry Springer/Hollywood/Bill Maher types to cast Christians in a bad light. It just seems way too stereotypical and absurd not to be.

I will, however, stick with my original theory that this is some scheme by the parents and daughter to gain a little exposure.

The freakish world we live in people have no humility or shame and have no problem humiliating themselves for a little exposure. After all, that poor girl - and probably parents - grew up on Jerry Springer and Sally Jessie Raphael.

David| 7.22.11 @ 3:39PM

Polish Knight, I seriously doubt that you were ever a true Christian - you were probably just a churchgoer like I was when I was reared a Catholic.

. I actually claimed I quit believing in God when I was 12, and when I was 21, a special lady introduced me to the real Jesus and God of the Bible. She answered all of the questions my parents could not answer when I was younger. Only then did I come to know the real Jesus and the Holy Spirit revealed the scriptures - the Word of God.

That said, at 16, she is not mature enough to make such decisions. I may have missed it, but I did not see any mention of her father. If she grew up without one, I suspect that is a big reason this marriage was allowed.

David Shoup| 7.22.11 @ 4:00PM

If Miss Courtney were merely f****** a 51 year old, no one in Hollyweird would bat an eye.

Dotty| 7.22.11 @ 10:17PM

No one would bat an eye because those people acknowledge what they are doing is shameful. They don't use (and blaspheme) Christianity to justify their creepiness, and they certainly are never so arrogant as to claim what they are doing is a "blessing from God".

somnolence| 7.22.11 @ 4:22PM

I still believe to this day that it was a very weird situation when 14 year old Priscilla's parents let the famous Elvis Presley squire their adolescent daughter and take her to Memphis with him to live at Graceland.

Naturalborn Texican| 7.22.11 @ 4:35PM

Whether this child is a Christian or not is for God to judge,

BUT......
I watched her and her "husband" in an interview the other night on TV. All I can say is her mannerisms and the way she dresses say a lot about her personality, even though she was fairly well spoken. She reminds me of a young Marilyn Monroe on steroids, to put it nicely.

I'll leave her judgement up to God.

Naturalborn Texican| 7.22.11 @ 4:37PM

I agree with Bob G.

Texas Momma| 7.22.11 @ 7:01PM

I tried to assume the best between these two people but now I can't. Daily Mail had a video of a interview with Mr & Mrs H. Something is creepy about it all. She sat there posing as if she was doing a bikini shoot or something. It was gross and I would expect someone who thought they were old enough to marry could be a little more mature as well as intelligent. I think it is a stunt to draw attention to her as a person. I will be greatly surprised if they last more than a year or two.

As a side note - her parents should be ashamed. Their daughter is not mature enough to be married. They should have been looking out for her interest when it seems they were looking out for their daughters pocketbook. Shame on them.

Seek| 7.22.11 @ 7:31PM

Younger women have looked up to guys with the juice for millennia. Enough, by the way, with "Hollyweird" -- is this the Red State astroturf crowd's idea of Bloomsbury wit?

Funeral Guy| 7.24.11 @ 8:29PM

Thank you for bringing that up, Seek. "Hollyweird should die a much needed death along with "Lamestream Media".

Nice| 7.22.11 @ 10:25PM

This girl is not that attractive, let alone anything that warrants Bo Derek comparisons.

Occam's Tool| 7.25.11 @ 8:11PM

Nice,

I worked as a movie usher, watching Tarzan the Ape Man 50 TIMES! Bo Derek wasn't that much. Now Diana Rigg--a different story.

Nice| 7.22.11 @ 10:29PM

http://www.summer-products.com
http://www.ainibag.com
It is very great, my friend.

Tina B| 7.23.11 @ 8:21AM

Ok I watched, for as long as I could, Courtney's two videos and an interview.

This girl appears possessed, the guy, typical Hollywood, can't believe his good fortune and doesn't want to spoil anything. . .yet.

She has some very witchy mannerisms, not attractive at all. There is something here that reminds me of the little pageant vixens, tots and tiaras type-thing.

The term Christian refers to Christ's true followers. Going to church doesn't make one a Christian, even if it's a Baptist Church. Being in my garage doesn't make me a car, either.

One look at the Candyman video and you know this is not ministry. It looks like soft-porn, or child sexuality, especially the Aguillera video, with Courtney's sockies on with her F-me shoes.

The mother is the adult (dad? too) Sick people, if you ask me. I know, I know, you didn't ask me.

Margie| 7.23.11 @ 2:19PM

Tina,

Truthful post. And no one ever asks me for my voice either, and it is despised probably by most here, but too bad. If the perverts and anti-Christs can post their perverted drivel here daily, so can I.

Unless they see fit to excommunicate a Bible believing Christian again, because my mouth speaks the truth to their lies.

You are right, this girl is no Christian, and neither is the man who is "marrying" her, nor are those who defend this sickness.

I for one, always appreciate your posts, they're so truthful and excellent.

I'm praying for this girl, that she comes to her right mind. And the man~ that God prevents him from devouring her.

God bless you.

Tina B| 7.23.11 @ 7:21PM

And may He richly bless you, my friend.

Blake R.L. Coryn| 7.24.11 @ 5:44AM

I'm seeing an awful lot of subjective judgments here on a couple whose situation, unusual as it may be, isn't really anyone else's business. Hollywood's opinions, in view of the rousing (and thoroughly disgusting) defense its cesspool of a culture made for Roman Polanski's anal rape of a 13-year-old, are best dismissed right out of hand as hypocrisy.

Judgments of the relative attractiveness of the husband and wife in question are also irrelevant; even leaving aside that a great many others would strongly disagree with some of the assessments I'm seeing here, this odd couple do apparently find each other attractive in some manner. They have no reason to care about your opinions.

As for arguments concerning the wife's maturity, people who do not know the families involved do not have the facts and cannot accurately judge such things from a few paltry interviews and musical performances. In some parts of the world to this day, females much younger than this one are considered women, are permitted to marry, and quite often have very successful marriages. What determines marital success is not age, but rather how much maturity the local culture has instilled in these wives and their husbands and how supportive it is of their marriages.

I concede that American culture, particularly here in the U.S.A. and in Canada, is not very supportive of either maturity or marriage. Indeed, much of the culture, especially on the left side of the political spectrum, is openly hostile to both. While the right is ostensibly friendlier to maturity and marriage, its support for them strikes me as rather half-hearted and increasingly feeble. Too many who are denouncing this marriage are carelessly sending their children to hellish public schools which actively promote perversion and perpetual adolescence, and allowing them to watch a lot of TV, which attacks and denigrates marriage in addition to reinforcing the public schools' morally corrosive influence on their maturity and sexuality. Now they are also turning them loose into the total anarchy of the internet, which is certain to find and exploit every sexual vulnerability the scho0ls and television programming might have missed.

In view of this depraved social environment, the mere fact that anyone is getting married at all these days is rather surprising. My generation (now in its thirties) is delaying marriage longer and longer, yet not delaying having sex. I, who am unmarried, have no girlfriend, and see little prospect of ever finding a wife of any age for myself, have little sympathy for all you do-gooders and busybodies I see condemning this couple now.

For my part, I took to heart the lessons my church taught me on abstaining from sex until marriage while I was growing up, but I cannot recall ever having received so much as a single lesson from any of you churchgoers--our supposed moral guardians--on actually finding and attracting a mate and getting married. All the advice I ever got on these things came from decidedly depraved sources (i.e. Hollywood and the internet), and I could not stomach the sheer depravity of our increasingly secularized culture's mating rituals. You who neglected to raise my generation and are now neglecting the next generation as well have no excuse for condemning this youngster, her husband, or the parents; she has a better shot at escaping the cesspool of this culture and finding happiness in marriage than your own children do.

R.S. McCain appears to be one of the very few level-headed people following this story. If you close ranks with the culture in attacking this peculiar marriage, you are yoking yourselves together with the damned in their hypocritical crusade, and will be most deservedly dragged down with them in this accursed culture's inevitable collapse.

Bob Grant| 7.24.11 @ 1:01PM

"..I'm seeing an awful lot of subjective judgments here on a couple whose situation, unusual as it may be, isn't really anyone else's business..."

Unfortunately, American Spectator kinda-sorta made it my business. You see, I escape the cultural cesspool by going this and other websites who, at least before this absurd article, abstain from sleaze that is destroying our country. So when Mr. McCain makes the ill-advised decision to write this article, I feel it's my duty to demonstrate my disapproval

Margie| 7.24.11 @ 3:25PM

Yep. And for someone who sits on his perch accusing us of making it our business when it's none of our business sure is making it his own!!
The hypocrisy.. they are sooo blind!

Blake R.L. Coryn| 7.26.11 @ 1:23PM

What I make my business is that a self-righteous busybody do-gooder and hypocrite is going around screaming about how the Bible condemns this marriage (when it doesn't) and pretending God has given her some mandate (which He most assuredly has not) to attack and smear the article writer, the husband and wife, the parents of the wife, and anyone who disagrees with her in this comments section. The way Margie is playing the hysterical-prude-who-hits-people-over-the-head-with-her-Bible stereotype to a tee is enough to make me wonder whether she's actually some kind of atheist troll seeking to discredit Christianity. If so, she's certainly being a lot more effective at it than Purple Knight or any of the other openly anti-Christian blowhards on here. Satan can quote Scripture too, you know, and he's certainly making good use of Margie here in perverting its meaning and purpose to ensnare the rest of you in her hypocrisy.

As to avoiding the sleaze that's destroying our country by visiting conservative news and commentary sites, Bob, about all I can say is that this was a pretty forlorn hope from the start. Even on our side of the political and religious spectrum, you're bound to come across some of that sleaze whenever people engage with the culture that produced it. Considering that R.S. McCain is also the guy who brought the David Epstein incest story to our attention and wrote a good bit on Polanski's perversions, I'd say he's just doing his job. You can dispute his conclusion all you want, but disagreeing with it is no basis for saying he shouldn't have stated it in the first place. I, for one, appreciate the occasional challenge to my opinions from professed fellow Christians and conservatives; it keeps me on my toes.

Moreover, whatever duty you imagine you have to, as you put it, demonstrate your disapproval, you're not really answering McCain by attacking the article, and you're certainly not making your case very well if, like holier-than-thou Margie here, you engage in ad hominems against people and appeal to authority rather than stating logical reasons why this marriage is wrong.

Dennis| 7.24.11 @ 1:40PM

Look, if this were liberals getting married the age difference wouldn't even be an issue. After all, libs want two guys to get "married", so in this warped crazy world what is wrong with a 16 year old & a 51 year old? It might help though if she didn't dress up in trashy outfits and expose herself as she does on her website...

Tina B| 7.24.11 @ 2:23PM

The opinions expressed above are every bit as valid as yours, Mr. Coryn.

We respond here when we have an opinion, but judging we do not. A judge judges, and I, for one, am no judge. I resonate with what some folks write, and say so. I don't resonate with everyone, duh! Who does?

Too many sanctimonious people call anyone who expresses an opinion different from their own judgemental. Not true.

I thought the young woman had some very unattractive mannerisms, especially during the interview. Did you watch it? She did some strange things with her face and I thought she looked stupid.. Not a judgement, an opinion.

Christ says you know a tree by its fruit. If someone bears fruit that borders on kiddie porn, we are inclined to think they aren't following the Christ revealed in Scripture. An opinion, not a judgement of any sort. I can't see the heart, God can and does. Not my job. But I am allowed opinions. (and boy do I have a bunch)

As to saying her parents are sickos, unless you have a child, particularly a daughter, you, Mr. Coryn have no clue what is a sign of a sick mother. To read her mom's blabbering on about her fabulous daughter, who if she were a comedian I might actually find funny, I think she lives in an alternate universe. Just MHO.

Blake R.L. Coryn| 7.26.11 @ 3:15PM

Let us recall first that "valid" is not the same thing as "sound" logically speaking. "Valid" simply means that the conclusion follows from the premises, not that the premises are true. A lot of the arguments I'm hearing here don't even measure up to that standard. Intuitive claims that something seems "creepy" about this particular marriage are no basis for declaring the husband a predator, the wife jailbait, and the parents sickos for signing off on this marriage. It's circular reasoning: these people are creepy to you because they're perverts, and they're perverts because they're creepy to you. Mercifully, not everyone is being this absurd, but many are. You and Occam's Tool here really should not be encouraging Margie.

Too many sanctimonious people loudly denounce other people in the name of God and Scripture in order to excuse themselves from having to make any logical arguments and (quite often) so that they can be held in high esteem for how righteous they look. Jesus' famous passage on judging others never said we were not to have any discernment, but it did forbid us to go around judging others by any standard we weren't ready to face ourselves. Margie (among others) has been tried by her own standard and found wanting, as she has demonstrated she obviously does not know her Bible and can only spew non sequiturs and ad hominems.

Attractiveness, in both mannerism and physical appearance, remains very much in the eye of the beholder. I do not find the (plump) appearance and (implied) mannerisms of women in Renaissance paintings especially attractive, but the very existence of those paintings shows that obviously somebody must have liked it, and wanted to marry women who looked and acted that way. Nowadays, most of us would find it very strange, if not downright laughable if a woman acted and looked like that and expected to attract a mate. Just to heighten the potential irony, someone might take her up on the offer all the same; there are whole webrings devoted to historical reenactment and BBW ("Big Beautiful Women") on the internet. Technically, you are judging Mrs. Hutchinson not to be very attractive, but that's irrelevant. The only reasonable response to your opinion is "So what?" Her attractiveness has no relevance to whether she was right to marry Mr. Hutchinson or not.

Christ does indeed say we'll know a tree by its fruit. He did not say you will know it by a tiny sampling from afar. You've been presented with the tiniest imaginable slice of the Stoddens' lives, filtered and pre-selected for you through media hype. Contrary to what you suppose, you are granted both opinions and judgment, insofar as this marriage has any real effect on you. However, your opinions are irrelevant, and you lack sufficient knowledge of and involvement in this marriage to make any credible judgment. Others who've gotten this insufficient sample have expressed their disbelief that Courtney is really 16. They are no better informed than you, and you have no more credibility than they do.

Likewise, your judgment on the mental health of her parents has no credibility. Vague intuitions and speculations based on your own situation, which you have all but admitted may be completely different from Mrs. Stodden's, are not a sound argument that there is anything wrong with her. By your own absurd appeal to experience, unless you live in the very same situation as Mrs. Stodden, you have no clue what would be a sign that she's sick. You don't know any more than I do, and would therefore do best to admit your ignorance, keep your uninformed speculations to yourself, and stop praising self-righteous self-appointed moralists for joining our decadent secular culture in piling on this family.

Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees!

matthew s harrison| 7.24.11 @ 11:08PM

This is the same Hollywood who protect Roman Pulanski, after he drugged and raped a 16 year old right? Am I missing something here? Clooney dates women a decade younger than him at least-most of the time younger than that. Harrison Ford/Calista Flockhart(he's old enough to have sired her), etc.
The Hollywood hypocrisy is evident in everything they do and say-and it is disturbing-moreso than this codger marrying this young "model".

Seek| 7.25.11 @ 6:07PM

If Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart are happy together, why should you care one way or the other? They're talented and likable people and they probably don't care about social disapproval. And bully for them. The tyranny of public opinion is worse than State tyranny.

Occam's Tool| 7.25.11 @ 8:14PM

Calista was old enough to make fully mature decisions when Harrison married her. There's a difference, folks. Before age 20, every year counts like a decade after age 20.

Occam's Tool| 7.25.11 @ 9:28PM

Polanski anally raped a 13 year old.

Blake R.L. Coryn| 7.26.11 @ 4:39PM

Yeah, she was thirteen. Also--and I believe this may explain why the judge presiding over the case handled it the way he did--I notice she testified that she was not a virgin at the time and had tried doing drugs before. That should tell you how much Hollywood knows about how to raise children.

John II| 7.24.11 @ 11:57PM

Although reluctant to comment on so delicate a topic, I have now given this matter deep and sustained thought, stretching to as many as 32 seconds, and I should like to share my thoughts with my fellow TAS cranks.

1. From my vantage point into my seventh decade on this troubled planet, the age of 51 strikes me as rather young. It availeth not to refer to Assistant Professor Hutchinson as a "codger."

2. From my other vantage point as a movie buff and expert on the history of filmmaking and, withal, the denizens of that profession, I note that Hutchinson was first married at the age of 43 and that the marriage lasted approximately two years.

3. So that, from my most elevated vantage point as an obedient husband for nearly 40 years, the father of five (including a 21-year-old daughter who I am happy to report would not be romantically attracted to a man three decades her chronological senior), the grandfather of six (and counting), I say that, from this lofty vantage point, I am authorized by gobs of relevant experience to report that the issue is not properly defined.

4. The issue is not that a 16-year-old child-woman has married a 51-year-old codger. If that were the case, there might be hope. The issue, rather, is that a 16-year-old girl has married a 51-year-old child-man.

5. Like so many of the late boomers in our culture, and particularly in the oft-degenerate culture of the entertainment world, Assistant Professor Hutchinson has never quite grown up.

And marriage is for grown-ups. Emotionally mature grown-ups.

End of argument. And now back to "Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars" (1936), the second of three serials filmed in a bygone era in which adults knew when they were acting like children, and children knew when they were only pretending to be adults.

POST American| 7.25.11 @ 2:50AM

----Rockefeller/Tavistock sourced degradation
programming ALERT!----

As Milner/Rockefeller/Ford et al come round
the FINAL bend of American cultural
takedown ---some FINAL nails in the coffin.

All this, not incidentally, set against the backdrop
of sodom nuptials in New York.

Meanwhile. ALAN WATT is now reporting the
beloved Tavistock-Chatham House crowd,
with all their arsenals of behavioural trickery,
acquired their 'cutting edge' with experiments
NOT just on mice and lab rats as reported
----BUT on prisoners, the insane and the orphaned.

Much like Eleanor Roosevelt's 'fave' behaviorist
pioneer, Ivan Pavlov in Russia.

SO -----let's just keep letting them thar
AT LARGE capstone EUGENISTS
call the shots while roaming their ever
more disfigured world.

----------------JUST KEEP A GOIN' KIDS

--------------FEMA camps n' chopsticks---------------

JUST KEEP A GOIN'--------------------------------

shipley130| 7.25.11 @ 11:54PM

I would say the comments from mommy dearest about her town would solicit anger. You can't fix stupid.

shipley130| 7.25.11 @ 11:56PM

She's not all that pretty. Average, really. She gets attention because she seeks attention.

Where is real journalism?| 7.26.11 @ 1:51AM

Mr. McCain (the author of the article above):

You need your head checked.

Have no idea why this article appeared here.

There is nothing at all to admire or like or extoll about this slutty teen masquerading as a Christian and the predator male who is 51 years old. As to the teen's parents? Morally bankrupt.

However, this article is helpful. It helps to inform as to the editorial standards at American Spectator.

It helps inform why I shouldn't waste money purchasing an American Spectator from the local bookstore and why I should ignore the pesky, childish pop ups to donate.

BILL| 7.27.11 @ 5:48AM

What in the heck is wrong with American Spectator running a long article on an obvious tramp. I find it hard to believe she's worth writing about. I don't beleive she's 16. she looks 25, at least.

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