CathySMC. My reply to your comment to me was a little to long. So, I deleted some and tried to respond again, but, the responce was logged as a comment. It's on down the line a bit. I appreciate your comments to me. Those kind words were hard to find when I got back from Vietnam in nineteen seventy-two. I imagine you'll be hearing more from me in the future and I'll be interested to see what you have to say as well.
Take care

CathySMC. After I retired, I considered teaching as a second career. I decided to do some substitute teaching to get a feel for the classroom, students, and teacher attitudes. Five years later, I found myself two steps down the isle with violence in mind due to continued student behaviour. That was my last day in a classroom.____If we as a people cannot generate enough interest to insure our children receive a good education, if we continue to allow teacher unions to set the agendia, allow the degradation of our history, how can we expect those same children to preserve a nation as unique as our own?____I have children, a son in the 1st CAV at Fort Hood, a duaghter, a program manager at a defense contract company, I have grandchildren, I have hope, but, I'm afraid I have little conviction a turn around is in their future. __

objective12,
Excuse me? What tax breaks? There's something out there called the marriage penality tax, thanks to the Clinton Presidency. If my wife and I divorced, we would get a substancial tax break.

The Vermont Legislature just overturned the Governor's veto and legalized gay marriage, that's marriage, the religous ceremony. What is government doing judicating religious matters??

CathySMC, your post was interesting and verifys something I discovered blogging for Blogging Network a couple years ago. The purpose for many was exactly as you describe, to create an emotional responce, not a rational one. I discovered during the year I was a Network member, the truth, backed up by facts, seldom changed anyone's mind, conservitive or liberal. My last post was comprised of all the source web sites i used, from the U. S.State Department to the International Atomic Energy Agency. When faced with source documents, folks refused to changed their opinion. I got tired of all the crap and dropped out of the net. I haven't written a comment to anything until now.

I would like to think this will be different, but, I have my doubts.

Yeah, well, every movement has a beggining. The deal is, even though the media isn't reporting crowd size, you can bet your USMC behind the local politicos don't know exactly how many folks are showing up. The tea party is symbolism, no doubt about it, but, the number of people who attend mean something to the bean counters.
Over the years, the politicians have made sure a true tax revolt is near impossible to stage. The money is taken, by law, by employers before the checks go out. Believe it, if fifty, a hundred thousand folks start showing up at a symbolistic tea party, again and again, the people we hire to represent us, will listen.

Here's one for separation of church and state. Conventional marriage is composed of two parts. One, a civil component (marriage license) and two, the spiritual (the church ceremony). Now, my question is, what is the judicial branch of our country, at any level, doing violating the separation of church and state comment, rendering
decisions on the spiritual component, a religious ceremony conducted in a church?
Civil unions, okay. But, the intrusion of the judicial branch into what is a spiritual domain is clearly in violation of not only the seperation of church and state comment, the U. S. Constitution as well.