I wish Barney Frank would return to politics. Never understood why Deval Patrick didn't give him the appointment. Miss him already.

'natural marriage'? no coupling (even same-sex) is natural but marriage is man-made, you do not see congregations of animals to confirm the partnership of their peers.

:afr2: I guess if such were true I would make my mission to get her head in a pole… tooth for tooth.

Most Americans believe marriage equality is inevitable, poll finds USA Today ~ Cathy Payne About 72% of Americans say legal recognition of same-sex marriage is "inevitable," according to a survey released today. Of those who support same-sex marriage, about 85% say it is inevitable, says the Pew Research Center's survey. About 59% of opponents also say it is inevitable. "As more states legalize gay marriage or give equal status, the question in our minds was how the public sees the trajectory on this issue," says Michael Dimock, the report's lead author and director of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. "Do they see a future in which gay marriage is going to be the rule, not the exception, in American society?" For the first time in Pew polling, just over half (51%) of Americans favor allowing same-sex couples to marry legally, the report says. The telephone survey was conducted May 1-5 among 1,504 U.S. adults. The margin of error was +/-2.9 percentage points. The survey found a strong link between personal experiences and attitudes about homosexuality. About 87% of Americans know someone who is gay or lesbian, compared with 61% in 1993. About 68% of those who know a lot of gays or lesbians favor same-sex marriage, compared with 32% of those who don't know anyone. "As for the gay marriage issue, it's not about whether we will have families. We already do. It's about whether we will enjoy the same protection as our siblings, neighbors and co-workers," says Rick Rosendall, president of the not-for-profit Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C. "The more people recognize that their siblings, neighbors and co-workers include gay men and lesbians, the clearer it is that those family members, neighbors and co-workers should be treated the same as they are." Same-sex marriage is or will be legal in 12 states and the District of Columbia. Several states also have domestic-partnership provisions for same-sex couples. "This poll should caution us to redouble our efforts in explaining to Americans what marriage is, why marriage matters, and what the consequences of redefining marriage are," says Ryan Anderson, a scholar at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Anderson, who promotes marriage between a man and woman, says it's not quite clear what Pew's poll question means, since same-sex marriage is legally recognized in 12 states. "The more important question is not what will happen – but what we should do." Thomas Peters, communications director of the not-for-profit National Organization for Marriage, which opposes same-sex marriage, says Pew's poll numbers are no surprise. "Gay marriage activists have spent a huge amount of money and cultural influence trying to convince Americans of the lie that redefining marriage is inevitable," he says in an e-mail. This survey is part of Pew's "LGBT in Changing Times" series, which is focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues ahead of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriage this month.

I would be not so sure about a frame for an answer rinsi. I don't know thoroughly the USA health care system but, as it often happens, we, the Europeans, tend to forget that the USA are, in fact, 50 States. With a much greater integration of course than EU but always 50 States. I remember a friend of mine from Virginia, for instance, once told me the health system of her residence State was quite different from the Texas or Florida ones. So said, once stated my ignorance about the topic, of course the health system problem, not only in Spain, forms a part of a wider picture which shows a multinational attack against the central sovereign authority of the states. This can be considered under a good number of different points of view. The ideological clash between different macroeconomics theories, the historical series etc.

Goto think what she would do to me if she knew I would even abolish the straight marriage  :crazy2: OK Christine a little indication for the force de frappe drones:  >:D don't kill my poor innocent and unaware neighbours  :cry2: I'm the one smiling to you from the left window  ^-^

ihihihihih myr agreed. After 4 years I've still to understand how and why did they allow the Lehman crisis to explode while a soft landing was absolutely possible with not negligeable advantages for the American taxpayers. Are you expert in economics?  :cheesy2: Anyway, concerning the European crisis, the Lehman affair was nothing more and nothing less than a simple detonator imo

hmmm  ??? [image: 60458_Gdp_versus_household_income.png]

eh how much patience one needs bears right? Seeing it from outside the task seems difficult though. You have made me remember for some reason that just before FDR it was still common to name the USA these United States of America

Rev. Phil Snider, Missouri Pastor, Responds To Viral Gay Rights Speech Reverend Phil Snider has been caught off-guard by the outpouring of support after a YouTube video of a speech he gave supporting gay rights went viral over the weekend. Snider, a pastor in Springfield, Mo., delivered his speech on gay rights to a Missouri City Council over the summer when the city was considering an LGBT ordinance that would have added homosexuals to a list of protected minorities, The Advocate reported. Snider began his gay rights speech by saying that "special rights for gays and lesbians" was in opposition to God's order and would lead to "destruction and trouble." What appeared to be a homophobic litany took a twist when Snider said, "I'm sorry, I've brought the wrong notes with me this evening. I've borrowed my argument from the wrong century. It turns out what I've been reading to you this whole time are direct quotes from white preachers from the 1950s and the 1960s all in support of racial segregation." The YouTube video of the reverend's speech has since received over 2 million views and counting. On Saturday, Snider took to his blog to thank those for their "kind words of affirmation and support." The last few hours have been a bit of a whirlwind for me, to say the least. I’m really heartened by all of the emails, Facebook messages, and kind words that I’ve received over the last 24 hours. As I read each one, I don’t see them simply as messages that seek to affirm a particular talk I gave on a particular night in Springfield, MO (as grateful as I am for such affirmations), but rather, I view them as a reflection of the thousands — indeed, the millions — of people who, on a daily basis, are journeying together because we believe that our world can be a better place, a fairer place, a more beautiful place — for all people and not just for some — and we won’t stop calling for a more beautiful world to be born. I’m also grateful for all of the people who have come before us — many whose names history won’t recall — who have allowed us to be where we are now, on whose shoulders we stand. These folks may not be famous — more times than not they are friends or family members who have bravely told their story, often in the face of major consequences. They are the ones who have brought us to this place, and we carry their stories with us as we try to build a a more just world. He goes on to say that there are countless pastors across the nation who support LGBT rights, "not in spite of their faith, but precisely because of it." Click here to read Snider's full blog post : hXXp://philsnider.wordpress.com/2012/10/20/city-council-speech/ The Missouri town has tabeled the LGBT ordinance, according to MSN. The bill would have secured sexual orientation and gender identity protections in the areas of employment, public housing and accommodations.