Model Wars; July 29, 2010
Safe PICS For All Ages, Rated GConsider joining:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ObamaBiden2008/joinTake Action:
- We demand immediate end of DADT. It is out-right discrimination.
Diet & Fitness:
Are you guilty of following this unhealthy cycle of impromptu meals and snacks?
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and can set you up for an energy-driven, productive afternoon if you plan ahead and eat right. On the flipside, skipping breakfast or loading up on sugary foods can cause you to you plod through your day in a sluggish fog barely able to focus on your tasks. To fuel your life and get on the path toward success, start your day off right by eating a breakfast of whole grains, lean protein and vitamin-packed fruits or vegetables. You'll feel so good that you'll never turn your back on breakfast again.And Now, Model Wars!This group is called "Peckers PICS." The English - slang definition of "pecker" is to pluck at the truth. Therefore, we peck at items such as Gay Men's Health and Male Fitness, Gay (LGBT) Politics & Issues. In this section you may peck at each photo in order to decide the winner of the "war of the fittest!" Whereas, who is the model that may inspire you to exercise and "get fit?" Warning: This may stoke you!Remember your participation in discussion of health and news articles in this message is greatly appreciated!Nic LuhrsYou Decide!London Gay Pride; July 3, 2010Stoked?London Gay Pride; July 3, 2010An End to Gay Adoption Bans?
By Lisa Belkin / New York Times / July 28, 2010Data drives policy. Or, at least, it should. In recent months there have been several studies suggesting that children raised by same-sex couples are certainly no worse off (and in some ways are arguably better off) than children raised by heterosexual couples.
Now, in an article titled "Parenting and Child Development in Adoptive Families: Does Parental Sexual Orientation Matter?" in the August issue of the journal Applied Developmental Science, researchers go one incremental but important step further. Rather than simply letting the research speak for itself, they conclude that their new findings should lead to the end of existing bans on adoption by same-sex couples in the United States.
"From a policy perspective, our results provide no justification for denying lesbian and gay adults from adopting children," Rachel H. Farr and Charlotte H. Patterson, of the University of Virginia, and Stephen L. Forssell of George Washington University write.
At the moment, three states --- Florida, Mississippi and Utah --- explicitly prohibit gay couples from adopting, and a similar law is being challenged in the Arkansas courts. Twenty-nine states, plus the District of Columbia, on the other hand, explicitly permit such adoptions, and the remainder have imprecise language in their adoption statutes. The reason most often given by opponents of single-sex adoption is that children do best with a mother and a father.
Over the past year, a parade of studies have all set out to test that assumption. What makes this latest one different was that, for the first time, research on the social development and psychological health of children was not based on the opinions of their parents alone but also of outside observers (teachers and care givers.) And, also for the first time, a control group of heterosexual families was used. The University of Virginia and George Washington researchers studied preschoolers who were adopted at birth by 27 lesbian couples, 29 gay male couples and 50 heterosexual couples. (Yet another groundbreaking aspect to this study was the number of gay men who were included; to date most of the research has been on lesbian mothers.)
What did they find? That it's the quality of the parenting that creates a psychologically healthy child, not the sexual orientation of the parents.
The implication: From a public-policy stance, the study suggests there is "no justification for denying lesbian and gay prospective adoptive parents the opportunity to adopt children," Patterson, the lead researcher, said.
Which could, and should, but probably won't, put this question to rest.
"Every gay and lesbian person who has been lucky enough to survive the turmoil of growing up is a survivor. Survivors always have an obligation to those who will face the same challenges."
....Jake
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