If we think the taxbase for the boomers is small now,,,,just wait for the future generations and how they shrink-----'be fruitful and multiply...?'....maybe those girls in Mass are on the right track........
gotta fill the tax 'holes' somehow..........
here's an idea rob peter peter to pay mary mary.........
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Gay pride parade draws top politicos BY KAREN MATTHEWS The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Gay residents cheered Gov. David Paterson on Sunday as he joined the city’s annual gay pride march a month after he directed state agencies to provide full marriage benefits to same-sex couples who were legally married elsewhere. “What he did … sends a message that leadership isn’t about waiting. It’s about finding the opportunity. It’s about finding the way to move progress and civil rights forward,” said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the city’s most powerful openly gay elected official. Tens of thousands of gay people and their supporters marched down Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue in the always colorful celebration, which is officially called the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride March. A violent thunderstorm halfway through did not halt the parade. There were floats, marching bands, stilt walkers, motorcycle riders and bicycle riders wearing T-shirts that said “bike-sexual.” “I think it’s sensational,” said Dolores Stoia, who watched from behind police barricades. “I’m not really a big fan of parades, but it’s very entertaining.” Paterson, the first New York governor to march in the gay pride parade, took part even though he had cataract surgery to on Saturday. “The doctors told me I couldn’t 1 march today,” he said. “I ran 8 /2 miles Friday. I can march today. And I will.” Even though gay couples cannot legally marry in New York, Paterson said last month that the state must recognize marriages legally performed in other states and countries that allow gay marriage. California began recognizing same-sex marriage this month, joining Massachusetts as the only U.S. states granting full marriage rights to gays. Jim Saslow carried a bouquet to New York’s march and wore a wedding gown stamped with the words, “Coming Here Soon?” “Everyone here is thinking if California can do it then we should be able to do it here soon,” he said. Martin Leff-Cinthus marched in a purple tunic and a curly lavender wig, a costume meant to honor Hyacinthus, who in Greek mythology was the beloved of the god Apollo. CRAIG RUTTLE/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Motorcyclists ride on Eighth Street during the gay pride parade in New York on Sunday.
this was by chuck colson. I thought I would post it here for other people's views. Agree or disagree?
Quoted Text
How Same-Sex 'Marriage' Will Harm Christians
It is all about equal rights, the gay “marriage” lobby keeps telling us. We just want the right to marry, like everyone else.
That is what they are telling us. But that is not what they mean. If same-sex “marriage” becomes the law of the land, we can expect massive persecution of the Church.
As my friend Jennifer Roback Morse notes in the National Catholic Register, “Legalizing same-sex ‘marriage’ is not a stand-alone policy . . . Once governments assert that same-sex unions are the equivalent of marriage, those governments must defend and enforce a whole host of other social changes.”
The bad news is these changes affect other liberties we take for granted, such as religious freedom and private property rights. Several recent cases give us a sobering picture of what we can expect if we do not actively embrace—and even promote—same-sex “marriage.”
For instance, a Methodist retreat center recently refused to allow two lesbian couples to use a campground pavilion for a civil union ceremony. The state of New Jersey punished the Methodists by revoking the center’s tax-exempt status—a vindictive attack on the Methodists’ religious liberty.
In Massachusetts, where judges imposed gay marriage a few years ago, Catholic Charities was ordered to accept homosexual couples as candidates for adoption. Rather than comply with an order that would be harmful to children, Catholic Charities closed down its adoption program.
California public schools have been told they must be “gay friendly,” as Roback Morse notes. But it will not stop with public schools. Just north of the border in Quebec, the government told a Mennonite school that it must conform to provincial law regarding curriculum—a curriculum that teaches children that homosexuality is a valid lifestyle. How long will it be before the U.S. government goes after private schools?
Even speaking out against homosexuality can get you fired. Crystal Dixon, an associate vice president at the University of Toledo, was fired after writing an opinion piece in the Toledo Free Press in support of traditional marriage . . . Fired—for exercising her First Amendment rights!
Promoters of same-sex “marriage” seem to go out of their way to target Christian businesses and churches. Their goal, it seems, is not the right to “marry,” but to punish anyone who disagrees with them.
Clearly, there is a spiritual battle going on here: Christians are under attack because they are a public witness to the fact that a holy God created us male and female, and we will always put obedience to Him and His laws above obedience to any earthly demand for loyalty.
The coming persecution of Christians is one more reason why we need to get involved with efforts to pass laws at the state and federal level defining marriage as a legal relationship between one man and one woman. We must protect, not only genuine marriage, but also many of the freedoms we now take for granted: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of association, freedom to use private property the way we see fit—all are under threat.
And we must tell our friends and neighbors why gay “marriage” is not just about equality: It is about forcing religious believers to accept the validity of the homosexual lifestyle—or else.
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TITLE OF BILL : An act to amend the executive law, the civil rights law and the education law, in relation to prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity or expression; and to amend the penal law and the criminal procedure law, in relation to including offenses regarding gender identity or expression within the list of offenses subject to treatment as hate crimes
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF THE BILL : This bill would prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or expression, and includes offenses regarding gender identity or expression under the hate crimes statute.
Not only do we have last week’s gay marriage push, but now the State Assembly today voted 102-33 to green light the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, which adds sexuality and gender identity to the state’s human rights act. All this action’s almost too much for us to handle!
Some background from Empire State Pride Agenda’s gleeful press release:
Quoted Text
First introduced in 2003, GENDA has a record 74 co-sponsors this year in the Assembly, up from 69 last year. The Pride Agenda, the over 200 organizational members of the GENDA Coalition and the LGBT community have been working closely with Assemblymember Gottfried and other Assembly supporters to build the momentum for passage that resulted in today’s vote. … In the Senate, GENDA (S.3753a) is sponsored by Senator Tom Duane and has 17 cosponsors, up from 14 last year. While none of the cosponsors are members of the Republican Majority, the Pride Agenda’s legislative scorecard shows GENDA to have the support of 27 [out of 62] Senators, including three Republicans.
Read the rest of the orgasmic release, after the jump…
Albany, New York, June 3, 2008 – Today the New York State Assembly voted 102-33 to amend the state’s human rights law to include anti-discrimination protections based upon gender identity and expression. The bill (A.6584a), known as the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) bans discrimination against transgender people in housing, employment, credit, public accommodations, and other areas of everyday life.
“The Assembly has solidly demonstrated once again that it is the leader on civil rights and providing equality for our community where it didn’t exist before in New York,” said Empire State Pride Agenda Executive Director Alan Van Capelle. “We thank Assemblymember Richard Gottfried for his sponsorship and steadfast support of this bill. We also thank Speaker Silver and the Assembly Majority, the 74 cosponsors and the 102 Assemblymembers who passed this bill and understand the importance of providing an umbrella of anti-discrimination protection for all New Yorkers.”
First introduced in 2003, GENDA has a record 74 co-sponsors this year in the Assembly, up from 69 last year. The Pride Agenda, the over 200 organizational members of the GENDA Coalition and the LGBT community have been working closely with Assemblymember Gottfried and other Assembly supporters to build the momentum for passage that resulted in today’s vote.
“Transgender New Yorkers are in constant fear that they will lose their jobs, get kicked out of their home, or simply be denied service when they go into a restaurant. It goes without saying that these members of our community should be able to go about the business of living their lives openly and without fear,” said Pride Agenda Executive Director Alan Van Capelle.
Transgender activist Melissa Sklarz of New York City said about today’s vote, “Thank you New York State Assembly for standing up to say ‘no’ to discrimination against transgender New Yorkers. I can think of years of personal struggle in the job market and workplace without any legal protection and am now hopeful that there is a real chance that the next generation of transgender New Yorkers will not face these same difficulties.”
In terms of the Senate, the Pride Agenda’s Van Capelle said, “We now look to the New York State Senate to close this gaping hole in the New York State Human Rights Law. Governor Paterson has already said that he will sign this bill into law once the Senate acts.”
“My message to the Senate Majority is this: It’s now time to do what 78 percent of New York voters believe is the right thing to do and end this discrimination once and for all this year. Thirteen other states already have laws providing protections based upon gender identity and expression, along with 96 cities and counties. We also know that the private sector is far ahead of government with 153 Fortune 500 companies, including 26 based here in New York having policies in place that protect their transgender employees. Clearly, our state is lagging behind.”
In the Senate, GENDA (S.3753a) is sponsored by Senator Tom Duane and has 17 cosponsors, up from 14 last year. While none of the cosponsors are members of the Republican Majority, the Pride Agenda’s legislative scorecard shows GENDA to have the support of 27 Senators, including three Republicans.
This bill has been said by some to go as far as saying that if you are a male and you feel like you're a female today, you can go into the female's restroom and vice versa.
Well this will work right into the hands of pedophiles. When your daughter is in a 'girls' public bathroom, will it really be a female or a male dressed as a female in the stall next to her? And visa vera for a little boy.
And again...Christians or anyone else is expected to be tolerant of this behavior whether we like it or not. You don't dare speak out against this cause then you will be accused of a hate crime. So I guess it is, 'go along to get along'.
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the "Reproductive Health and Privacy Protection Act"
A bill to extend abortion rights. This removes an unborn child from the definition of homicides. Also removes 5 instances where an abortion would be considered a crime.
Also, this bill makes sure that it is legal for a person other than a Medical Doctor to perform the abortion.
"FETAL VIABILITY" MEANS THE POINT IN PREGNANCY WHEN, IN THE GOOD 39 FAITH MEDICAL JUDGMENT OF A PHYSICIAN, IN ACCORDANCE WITH GENERALLY 40 ACCEPTED MEDICAL STANDARDS APPLIED TO THE PARTICULAR FACTS OF THE CASE 41 BEFORE THAT PHYSICIAN, THERE IS A REASONABLE LIKELIHOOD OF THE FETUS`S 42 SUSTAINED SURVIVAL OUTSIDE THE UTERUS WITHOUT THE APPLICATION OF 43 EXTRAORDINARY MEDICAL MEASURES.
Extraordinary medical measures are done every single day to full term babies. Do they want to put a stop to that too? I thought that our medical profession was to sustain life at all costs with extraordinary measures if needed. Our society is becoming so hard hearted. They are really playing God now by deciding 'fetal viability' and what baby gets to live and who doesn't.
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New studies show that 1 in 4 teenage girls has a sexually transmitted infection (STI). In New York, 40,000 teens will become pregnant this year.
New York currently has no designated funding for comprehensive sex education in our schools, although New York’s rates of unintended teen pregnancy and STIs are among the highest in the country. We need to give our teens age-appropriate and accurate sex-ed so that they can make healthy decisions for themselves.
The Healthy Teens Act (S.1342) can make this happen.
If this bill is passed, school districts, BOCES, school-based health centers and community-based organizations would be able to apply for grants to create and implement programs that will give New York students real sex ed.
The New York State Assembly has passed the Healthy Teens Act four years in a row with strong bi-partisan support. It’s time to get our Senate on board. Send a letter to your senator today and urge them to support the Healthy Teens Act.
So, you ask what does the Healthy Teens Act actually have in it?
So, you ask what does the Healthy Teens Act actually have in it?
It has a ton of our wasted tax dollars in it!!!!
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I heard the same thing. I wonder if parents will have the right to have their children opt out of these discussions. Or if it will be mandated by the government.
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Judge dismisses same-sex marriage benefits challenge
By RICK KARLIN, Staff writer Click byline for more stories by writer. Last updated: 5:15 p.m., Tuesday, September 2, 2008
ALBANY -- Gov. David Paterson's order that state agencies recognize same-sex marriages from other states has withstood a challenge in State Supreme Court. The administrative move, made back in May, stemmed from a case in the Rochester area where a woman sued her employer, Monroe Community College, because it initially refused to grant benefits to her female spouse after they were married in Canada, which recognizes same-sex marriage.
Following Paterson's decision, the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative group that opposes same-sex marriage, joined Republican lawmakers including Sen. Martin Golden, R-Brooklyn, and Assembly Republican Minority Leader James Tedisco, R-Schenectady, in suing the administration to stop its recognition of same-sex marriages.
Their suit, in Bronx State Supreme Court, was dismissed today.
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