Yes... but... Mr. Taplin, in this country we openly debated the issue, decided to remedy the situation, and did so. Oddly, as we arced from one ethos to another, no one was stoned by angry mobs. We change, and, yes, sometimes we change by overcoming violent reaction; certainly, the American civil rights movement taught us that. But it's that process - change - and the fact it seems so agonizing and passionate in this case that's remarkable and sobering. I'm not clear how merely poring over our own past, and its rejected components, mitigates anything in Afghanistan today.

Control of conception is the underlying conflict in all cultures and it surfaces in many issues including abortion, rape and domestic violence. War between cultures reinforces patriarchal attempts to control conception on both sides by subjugating women with the politics of fear.

When did humans become conscious of causality in terms of reproduction? I think it is fair to assume that women were aware that intercourse resulted in pregnancy before men were, in fact some men apparently prefer to remain blissfully unaware. But what happened when men became at least unconsciously aware of the implications of planting a seed in the ground and reaping the resulting harvest. They were driven by biological imperatives to control it. And religion and warfare are the indirect cultural means to try to control conception for those who find this challenge daunting.

The primary difference in the experience of men and women is the certainty of their reproductive success. Women experience that success when they hold their child in their arms. Men don’t experience that level of certainty. Reproductive success is the root of emotional security, adolescent male rage is the unconscious realization of the uncertainty that confronts them. War and cultural conflict channels that rage against each other while attempting to enforce patriarchal privilege at home. Politics is just the cultural mediation of male insecurity.

Obama’s mother spent much of her life promoting microfinance in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim nation. Microfinance is usually targeted at women in developing nations. It has often succeeded in raising the standard of living in previously destitute regions by giving women a more central role in the economy. That is the cultural change that is needed in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The lunacy on the right is a direct result of a faltering economy, male insecurity and the greater role of women in our own economy. The same thing is happening over there on a tribal level

Taplin stretches to make a point about hypocrisy and the existence of spousal abuse in the USA. This rather abstract or intellectualized point has a little merit as presented. It's similar to the responses by some on the left to 9/11 -- a call for reflection and introspection. Of course Taplin isn't calling for us to examine our role in the context/circumstances of the new Afg. laws in a direct parallel to that of 2001. He's running on fumes to find something to write about.

The first problem he faces is that he doesn't critique actual punditry, he merely alleges "There is a great deal of posturing in the press recently" without citing specific instances worth challenging. So there is no evidence and thus no possibility of knowledge or proof of whatever point about the posturing.

It's true that the laws in Afg. are based on tradition and customs dating back to the 10th century (and earlier too). So what? I suppose Taplin thinks that some people believe that Karzai is living in the 10th century.

Does Taplin have a point besides a kind of non-sequitur approach to not discussing the actual posturing and not discussing the question of current US spousal abuse laws, customs, or practices?