Hi there,

MercatorNet is a fan of marriage, the traditional kind, that is, but there are limits. This week Carolyn Moynihan recalls the bizarre photographs of Moonie weddings –thousands of couples in tuxedos and wedding gowns in a stadium waiting for a blessing from the Reverend Sun Myung Moon. Some of those were rededicating themselves, but the newlyweds were often chosen for each other by Rev. Moon. This is definitely beyond the limits.

Also beyond the limits is same-sex marriage. This is a familiar topic for MercatorNet readers, but not everyone is so well informed. I have written a piece about Tasmania, which could become the first Australian jurisdiction to legalise it. What struck me is the glib and brainless way that politicians and the media have burbled on about the issue.

Hopefully history is not repeating itself. The one thing for which Tasmania is famed all over the world is the extinction of the native population within about 40 years after white settlement. (I once discovered a passing reference to it in a Russian novel written in the Stalinist era.) The generally well-intentioned colonists paid little attention to the disaster until it was too late. Ever since, a cloud of shame has hung over the state.  

In other articles this week, Robert Hutchinson tells us to beware of fact-checkers in the US presidential election. Francis Phillips reviews a book about a man who resisted the Nazis. And Andrew Mullins gives us a lightweight introduction to the heavy topic of analytical philosophical philosophy.

Finally, in a couple of days we will be wrapping up our reader survey. This is your last chance to give us some feedback! Click here -- it will only take 3 or 4 minutes. 

Cheers,

Michael Cook,
Editor,
MercatorNet