Via the AP:
Minnesota for Marriage filed late last week with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board [to begin raising campaign donations].
The group includes the Minnesota Family Council and the Minnesota Catholic Conference and other religious and secular organizations.
The Legislature voted earlier this month to put the definition of marriage in Minnesota's Constitution to a statewide vote in November 2012.
Bloomberg doubles-down on the debunked claim that redefining marriage will stimulate state economies:
The billionaire mayor also made the case for cash when it comes to same-sex couples. "As other states recognize the rights of same-sex couples to marry, we cannot stand by and watch. To do so would be to betray our civic values and history – and it would harm our competitive edge in the global economy," he said. "This is an issue of democratic principles – but make no mistake, it carries economic consequences." -- WNYC
More and more public figures are scratching their head at such pronouncements:
... not everyone buys the same-sex marriage math in New York. State Senator John Bonacic of Mount Hope in Orange County told The Capitol Pressroom’s Susan Arbetter earlier this week that same-sex couples would ultimately be a drain on state resources.
“I think the gay-marriage advocates will say anything to propel this for approval, but in my mind, this is an economic issue, it’s not about allowing them to be together,” Bonacic was reported saying. He said the increased draws from unemployment, disability and inheritance benefits would be an “economic hit” on the state.
Make no mistake: if your elected officials or business leaders think gay marriage is the key to economic development - watch out. Your state economy is about to be in (more) trouble.
The New York Post, in fact, just published the results of a survey saying 36% of under-30 New Yorkers plan to flee the state:
More than one-third of young New Yorkers are packing their bags to escape crushing taxes, sky-high living costs and a deteriorating quality of life, according to an alarming new poll out yesterday.
The ominous NY1/YNN-Marist survey found that 36 percent of residents younger than 30 -- and 26 percent of all New Yorkers -- are planning their exit strategy...
Sixty-two percent of those planning to leave blame economic woes such as taxes, living costs or a lack of job opportunities, the poll found.
Meanwhile, foreclosures are up in New York while dropping in most the rest of the U.S.
Like we said, if your government or business leaders think gay marriage is the key to economic competitiveness, your economy is in trouble!
Congrats to Carrie and her family:
Former beauty queen Carrie Prejean and husband Kyle Boller have welcomed a daughter, San Diego Union Tribune reports.
The couple's first child arrived on May 11, two days shy of Carrie’s 24th birthday. Contrary to reports last fall that they were expecting a boy, the bundle of joy is a girl named Grace Christina. --CelebrityBabyScoop
Family pressures to get married are nothing new, but in the new evolving "blue" family regime, the family pressures are coming not from parents, but from one's own children:
Why do people get married after having children? BBC posed this question last week, in light of British Labour leader Ed Miliband's marriage to his long-time partner and mother of his children, Justine Thornton.
Now, it seems, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are mulling the same thing.
Mr. Pitt, who had previously declared that he and Ms. Jolie would not marry each other until the U.S. made gay marriage legal, said in a new interview their children are giving them reason to change their minds.
“The kids ask about marriage,” he told USA Weekend. “It’s meaning more and more to them. So it’s something we’ve got to look at.” --Globe and Mail
“Brad and Angie have always said they’d marry if the kids needed them to,” a source says. Angelina has admitted multiple times that she and Brad wouldn’t be able to resist their kids’ request. “I think it would be hard to say no to the kids,” she said on Good Morning America and told Vanity Fair, “I honestly think we will [get married], if the kids want us to.” --HollyBaby
Here's the story on UK Labor leader Ed Milliband marrying his long-term girlfriend:
Labour leader Ed Miliband and his long-term partner Justine Thornton are due to get married. They already have two children, so why get hitched?
... Psychologist Donna Dawson, who has specialised in sex and relationships, says it is often about making a public statement."Having the children take part is like a ceremonial creation of a family and a public statement that they are all in it together. It's very much a 21st Century ritual, which more and more people will be doing."
She says even when couples say there isn't a specific reason, there is "always something going on underneath".
"Sometimes it is about marking a different stage in a relationship, or they might have taken a long time because of the bad example they were set by their own parents. There is usually a reason, even if they are not fully aware of it."
Matthew Shaffer, a William F. Buckley Fellow at the National Review Institute, writes:
... the facts show [Chick-Fil-A founder Samuel] Cathy to be a generous philanthropist who devotes millions to uncontroversial education charity; who gives some thousands more to Christian groups; who admits that for theological reasons he opposes the legal institution of same-sex marriage, but isn’t preoccupied by it; and who doesn’t exclude from his charity socially conservative groups. Reasonable people can disagree with WinShape’s requirements for couples on its marriage retreats and dislike aspects of Focus on the Family’s research and advocacy. But no reasonable person can see proof of frothing anti-gay bigotry in Samuel Truett Cathy’s donations, especially when his own words convey “love and respect” for same-sex-marriage advocates.
Activists are obviously welcome to protest and withdraw their patronage from any business, especially one whose political advocacy they disagree with. That’s democracy. But if we really want to “stop the hate” — and we should stop hate where it actually exists — we should look elsewhere than Chick-fil-A and the aged philanthropist at its head.
In The Local (Sweden's news in English):
Health authorities in southern Sweden are launching a public awareness campaign to encourage couples to have children sooner to combat the trend of women having their first child at an increasingly older age.
According to statistics, 15 percent of all western couples are experiencing fertility problems, but Giwcerman said that the number is probably higher than that.
And according to him, the woman’s age is a crucial factor.
... The institutions behind the campaign also want to send a message to politicians that they need to make it more attractive for Swedes to have kids earlier on in life.
... "We have spent a lot of time informing the public on how not to get pregnant, and now it seems that most young people today think that once the time feels right it will just work itself out," Giwcerman told SR.
Chapman University Law Professor Ronald Rotunda said it was significant that Walker's ruling noted that marriage has financial benefits and that Walker applied the ruling to all Californians rather than just the two same-sex couples who challenged Proposition 8.He said Walker could have avoided any possible conflict by limiting the ruling to the couples or by disclosing early on that he was in a committed relationship.
"It certainly would have avoided a lot of questions at the end," said Rotunda, who teaches constitutional law and legal ethics.
Via the gay website The Edge:
Author Eric Ross visited an elementary school in San Francisco last week to read his new [same-sex marriage] children’s book, ’My Uncle’s Wedding’ to approximately 40 first grade students. The reading coincided with the celebration of Harvey Milk Day, a holiday celebrating the achievements of the late Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected into public office in California.
"It was an honor to read ’My Uncle’s Wedding’ to the kids," said Ross. "I wish all schools had a more inclusive curriculum that didn’t sensor [sic] history or current events."
... "I can’t wait for the day when our children get a complete picture of history instead of one-sided, fractioned pieces of information," said Ross.
Want to improve student education in your city? Consider donating a book to your local school or library. Sometimes donating books is the only way to get them into schools and libraries, and ’My Uncle’s Wedding’ would make an excellent gift.
In LifeSiteNews:
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has agreed to suspend a very explicit United Nations approved program designed to convince children and adolescents to accept homosexual behavior and transsexualism, following threats from Protestant and Catholic legislators to block new legislation in protest.
... Under massive pressure from a high-profile Internet campaign and from legislators, Rousseff capitulated, and one congressional ally reported that she regarded the program as “horrific” and “the end of the world.”
... Before retracting the materials, the government had boasted of the approval it had received for the program from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), which had judged the videos “suitable” for the target audience, which is reported to reach children as young as 11 years of age.
... The cancellation of the program, which has caused controversy in Brazil for over half a year, has made headlines across the country. Revelations that the government has spent over a million of dollars of public money on the program have also added fuel to the fire.
A NewsBusters column by Dan Gainor:
Books, newspapers, radio stations, TV stations, websites and cutting edge videos. The pieces of the George Soros media empire are as diverse as the nations of the world and just as widespread. From nakedly partisan left-wing media like Think Progress, the blog for the Center for American Progress, and a TV show on MSNBC, to the supposedly impartial National Public Radio, Soros has impact on the flow of information worldwide.
It gives him incredible influence. Every month, reporters, writers and bloggers at the many outlets he funds easily reach more than 330 million people around the globe.
Other well-funded operations include the investigative reporting operations at the Center for Public Integrity ($3.7 million) and Center for Investigative Reporting ($1.1 million), as well as Media Matters ($1.1 million) and the Sundance Institute ($1 million).
Right down to local media that deal with marriage-related news:
"Soros' foundations gave 34 grants from 1997 to 2010 to local NPR member stations and specific programs that have totaled nearly $3.4-million," said the foundations' [spokesperson Maria] Archuleta. Recipients included WNYC and Minnesota Public Radio,' wrote outgoing NPR ombudsman Alicia Shepard.
All of which serves to create the desired "echo chamber" effect:
A report by the Media Consortium detailed how progressives had created an "echo chamber" of outlets "in which a message pushes the larger public or the mainstream media to acknowledge, respond, and give airtime to progressive ideas because it is repeated many times." According to the report called "The Big Thaw," "if done well, the message within the echo chamber can become the accepted meme, impact political dynamics, shift public opinion and change public policy."
I thought it was just a dinner party at my old Yale classmate David Frum's house. But FrumForum insists it's a social occasion, complete with photos of conservative glitteratti, plus moi!
Who knew?
According to a survey by Gannett's Albany Bureau:
Eight senators — including the two who represent Dutchess County — indicated they are undecided on whether they would support same-sex marriage legislation if the bill comes to a vote, a survey of all 62 senators found.
The measure would need 32 votes for adoption in the Senate, and 26 senators, all Democrats, indicated they would back the bill. Twenty-eight senators expressed opposition — possibly leaving the measure's fate in the hands of the eight undecided lawmakers, five Republicans and three Democrats.
SurveyUSA has released its March 2011 poll, which showed Minnesotans approved a marriage amendment defining marriage as one man and one woman, 62 to 33 percent. Even 60 percent of 18-34 year olds said they would vote for it. These numbers seem a bit on the high side to us, but that's not the main point.
Why didn't KSTP, the ABC News affiliate, release this poll in March?
If KSTP/ABC News felt the March poll was inaccurate, why then did they refer to it as a benchmark when their latest poll showed Minnesotans approve a marriage amendment 51 to 40 percent?
How pervasive is the Minnesota media's bias on this issue?
Enquiring minds want to know.
Public opinion on whether or not people are "born gay" remains largely unchanged since 2001, Gallup reports:
Forty-two percent say being gay or lesbian is "due to factors such as upbringing and environment," while 40% believe it is "something a person is born with."
A revealing chart and article from Heritage:
A recent piece in The Wall Street Journal noted that “Unintended pregnancies likely cost the federal and state governments more than $11 billion a year,” based on research published by the Brookings Institution.
A major reason for the cost to government, notes the author, is that “women who unintentionally get pregnant are more likely to be low-income” and thus “are more likely to be eligible for government-financed medical care.” The Brookings report also notes that the majority (57 percent) of these births are to women who are unmarried: one of the greatest predictors of child poverty in the United States today. The strong link between unwed childbearing and poverty creates little wonder that the majority of births to unmarried women are financed by Medicaid.
