Two married men, by the defintion of equality cannot be the same as two married women or a married heterosexual couple.
Equality under the law.
i've just read lola28's thread "for those against gay marriage".
i thought i should present a clear message on what i think the gay marriage issue is all about.
the trouble with most discussions on this issue is that it gets clouded by a plethora of side-issues, non-issues, cave-men chest-thumping and medieval puritanism.
Two married men, by the defintion of equality cannot be the same as two married women or a married heterosexual couple.
Equality under the law.
i've just read lola28's thread "for those against gay marriage".
i thought i should present a clear message on what i think the gay marriage issue is all about.
the trouble with most discussions on this issue is that it gets clouded by a plethora of side-issues, non-issues, cave-men chest-thumping and medieval puritanism.
Is changing the definition of marriage to include gay relationships considered "redefining" marriage? Yes. Don't pretend that marriage has always been the same and never has been redefined. The old English common law essentially made marriage into an arrangement where the man had all the rights to make decisions for the woman. In a way, a woman getting married gave up her individual rights. Do we still define marriage in that way? No. It has been redefined.
As it should be for gay people. There's not logical reason why gay people should be denied the same right as straight people to engage in a legally binding relationship.
As society changes, society's institutions change with it. The "traditional values" folks like to pretend that their way has ALWAYS been the right way, when really they only like to say that things were perfect at some specific period of time when they think that life was ideal and nothing was bad. That sort of thinking is mythical. Society constantly changes and these people just don't like change. Someone is "Moving Their Cheese," to reference a popular book on dealing with change.
Some say that we want "extra" or "special" rights. Nope. We just want EQUAL rights. The same rights as everyone else.
so who in your opinion is the worst-ever u.s. president and why do you say so?
FDR. Made the depression worse and prolonged it.
aside from their theological weirdities, i'm wondering about their function.
eg, if you had a personal problem who would you most likely trust for just resolution involving a confessional type situation?
Priests go through years of education, including counseling. I've met with a couple of priests to discuss theological and moral issues and I've always found them to be extremely professional. I even had a chat with a priest at my parents' request when they found out I was gay. They priest was completely non-judgmental and essentially told my parents to deal with it. I'm not a JW, but it sounds to me like JW elders are pretty much amateurs.
hi, just wanted to see if i have any "brothers" in the great state of california or anywhere for that matter.
it would be nice to have some support and help for each other!
Michigan here.
o. k. how do i start ?
i will preface the start of this first by saying this happened many years ago - in 1985 when i had just become a new father myself to my dear son flipper junior, i'll call him.
when i explain this to you, some of this may appear comical, in fact, now that i overcame it years ago, i can laugh at it, but when you see the totality of the story- when it happened then to me- it was no laughing matter.
Those guys were probably all latently gay, that's why their wives left them too. I bet they really got off at staring at your ass :)
$3.69 in oklahoma city, ok ... and going up!.
even though the new book study arrangement starts january 2009 - i wonder how many witnesses will begin to stop going this year to save on their gas budget?
.
$3.86 this morning in Michigan.
I remember the deligtful days of the summer of 1996.... I think I was paying $0.80 a gallon.
....like the one in myanmar now, will we not see the apocalyptic religions just explode in growth, including jw's?
even during relatively calm times, these groups can stir the 'sheep' to believe that the tribulation is just around the corner.
if we continue to see major disasters, what effect do you see in these groups?.
I think about other periods of time in history and realize that things aren't near as bad as they have been. Just look at what happened during the 70's with gas shortages and rationing, stagflation, high unemployment, 12% interest rates, etc. Things are bad now, but not even close to that. And what about the ultimate economic disaster - the depression, where unemployment rose as high as 25%. Whew, we're at about 5% now... not even close.
Even though it feels bad, remember that it's been a hell of a lot worse and civilization made it through.
san francisco is just one of many sanctuary cities in this country.
as a permanent residence to the usa having had to go through immigration meetings, medical tests, means tests and a pretty good dose of fear - it bothers me that the same city that i had to go to for my hearing, past armed guards to prove my worth, wants illegals to come out of the woodwork and take advantage of the services the city has to offer, with a promise that they won't be rounded up or harmed in any way.
i don't seem to understand this system at all - i feel penalized somehow for doing what was right yet, i can still feel badly for those who are scared while here illegally.
I think the deep-down reason for so much immigrant-hating is racism. It seems to go in cycles. 1850's was anti-chinese immigration, 1900's was anti-irish and anti-italian immigration, anti-jewish immigration, etc etc. I'm not particularly bothered by illegal immigration because I think it is a net positive effect on the ecomony. The one problem I have is free social services. I think it tends to delay integration with society. There were no free services for the immigrant populations previously mentioned, and they quickly assimilated with american society. When we give disincentives to integration (such as not having to learn the language), it prolongs the process. However, I think it is interesting to note that second and third generation hispanic immigrants tend to have very high education levels.
All in all, this situation will work itself out too. Let the anti-immigration people bluster and spew racism. People will continue to live their lives and our country will be better for it.
right now i am so furious and sick and i need some serious advice and help.
i got a call from my son at ft. hood, tx last night and we talked for an hour.
i noticed something in his voice, but i thought everything was cool.
Actually, it's the JAG office (Judge Advocate General). He should look at getting an attorney familiar with military criminal law.