Marriage...and there are those still fighting to stop it.

A friend brought my attention to an interesting editorial article this morning, about the end of marriage. The direction this article takes is that the ones who need marriage are kids. The article is in rebuttal to Time magazine's statement that marriage is on the verge of extinction. The article is well-written and explores the issue of unwed mothers in depth. The article does not touch upon several points directly, but alludes to them.

Is welfare a cause of this epidemic?
Are minorities at a greater risk for being unwed parents?

What about those who are fighting to get married? The article speaks only to the traditional idea of marriage, of a man and a woman, not those that are fighting to be able to marry their same-sex partner. This issue for me comes close to home because of the activities of the predominant religion in this area and its financial support and condemnation of same sex-marriage and gays in the recent past. I have already posted a blog on that topic.

This is not just an issue in this country. If you are in Kenya, the Prime Minister thinks you should be arrested for same-sex attraction. His spokesperson was quick to say that his speech was at a rally and it was taken out of context. The spokesperson said that he was only referring to the nation's constitution that forbids same-sex marriage.

I think when we read between the lines of these articles, it would seem that the issue reverts back to marriage not being a state-sanctioned contract so much as a religious ideal. That once again there is a shift in the beliefs concerning organized religion worldwide.

And just a reminder, be careful what you post on facebook...some have a hard time determining what is personal and what is acceptable behavior. There should be contractual separation of work and private life.

Birds: It's that time! If you want to have babies ready to band on the first of the year, you need to have your pairs together now. As previously mentioned, if you haven't taken the time to prep your breeders with 4 in 1 or 5 in 1 solutions...wait and take the time. Your young birds will come out the better for it, and your fertility rates will be up. Also consider a teaspoon of iodine per gallon of water to increase fertility in your older birds. Calcium is a key factor in making your hens produce good eggs, so increase the amount of grit with oyster shell this month.

Honey: We had a delightful night of wine drinking the other night--a bottle of mead, a late harvest reisling and of course a dip into the private stock of Backyard Blonde. Even my oldest daughter enjoyed the homemade wine.