Canadian Social Research Newsletter
August 5, 2007

Welcome to the weekly Canadian Social Research Newsletter,
a listing of the new links added to the Canadian Social Research Links website in the past week.

The e-mail version of this week's issue of the newsletter is going out to 1769 subscribers.

Scroll to the bottom of this newsletter to see some notes and a disclaimer.

IN THIS ISSUE:

Canadian Content

1. Enhancing GTA standard of living requires concerted effort: TD Economics (TD Economics) - July 17
2. Proposed Ontario poverty reduction strategy doomed to failure? (NOW Magazine - Toronto) - August 2
3. What's New - from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU- University of Toronto) - August 3

International Content

4. Poverty Dispatch: U.S. media coverage of social issues and programs
5. U.S. - What's new from The Urban Institute Low-Income Working Families Project:
--- Hard-to-Employ Parents: A Review of Their Characteristics and the Programs Designed to Serve Their Needs - June 2007
--- TANF Policies for the Hard-to-Employ: Understanding State Approaches and Future Directions - July 2007
--- Framework for a New Safety Net for Low-Income Working Families - June 2007
6. Investing in Our Children: The U.S. Can Learn From the U.K. (Center for American Progress) - July 30
7. U.S. - From Poverty to Prosperity : A National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half (Center for American Progress) - April 25, 2007
8. Policy Hub Bulletin (U.K.) - July 2007 issue (HM Treasury)
9. Costs of children - Australia (Australian Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs) - 2007
10. Australian Policy Online Weekly Briefing - recent content (various sources)
--- Australian social policy 2006
--- Approaches to evaluation of affordable housing initiatives in Australia
11. CRINMAIL #903 - August 2 (Child Rights Information Network)

Have a great week!

Enhancing GTA standard of living
requires concerted effort: TD Economics (PDF file - 19K, 3 pages)
July 17, 2007
Press release
(TORONTO) A report published today by TD Economics states the relative decline of the Greater Toronto Area’s standard of living against competing jurisdictions during the past five years poses a serious threat to the region’s future prosperity (www.td.com/economics). Cohesive and coordinated action is required by all regional players, but future policies must be underpinned by efficiency and innovation rather than public money.
Among the GTA’s challenges, co-authors Don Drummond and Derek Burleton cite:
· The region’s eroding competitive position due to economic forces such as the rising dollar;
· The limited flexibility of the City of Toronto due to its structural deficit; and
· The rising number of low-income families among newcomers and the self-perpetuating cycles of poverty.

Complete report:
An Update toTD Economics' 2002 Report on the Greater Toronto Area Economy (PDF file - 301K, 33 pages)

Executive summary (PDF file - 440K, 3 pages)

Link to the 2002 GTA Report:

Canada's Primary Economic Locomotive in Need of Repairs (PDF file - 673K, 37 pages)
May 2002

Source:
TD Economics (<=== this page includes links to more TD Economics reports)

Related link:

TD urges social investment for TO's "deep pools of poverty"
July 17, 2007
By Michael Shapcott
Toronto and the surrounding Greater Toronto Area (GTA) are "a powerful economic locomotive which produces nearly one-fifth of the entire nation's GDP", along with many other economic advantages, according to a new report from TD Economics called "Canada's Primary Economic Locomotive in Need of Repairs". But the economists working for one of Canada's largest banks warn that despite the economic good times, "deep pools of poverty persist - a problem that is exacerbated by an inadequate supply of social housing".
Source:
The Wellesley Institute Blog
[ The Wellesley Institute ]

- Go to the Ontario Municipal and Non-Governmental Sites (D-W) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/onbkmrk3.htm

Anti-poverty flame-out
Movement will get burned if it doesn't start hooking up with other social causes
August 2, 2007
By Wayne Roberts
The broken promise seems long ago, but Campaign 2000 is on the case, calling two weeks ago for all parties in the October Ontario election to update the commitment they made in the 80s to end child poverty by the new millennium the last one, that is. The Campaign's proposal has merit, ethics and logic on its side. But something in the strategy feels stale-dated. It's easy to imagine the project will be stuck on the remainder self with other single-interest group campaigns that made headway during the 20th century but are sputtering and stalling today.
Source:
NOW Magazine (Toronto)

NOTE: In the July 15/07 issue of the Canadian Social Research Newsletter, you'll find links to two Toronto Star articles about the Campaign 2000 initiative calling for all three provincial political parties to commit to developing a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy: the first article offers contextual information about the initiative, and the second contains reactions of each of the provincial parties. In the same section of the July 15 newsletter, you'll find links to the July 2007 Campaign 2000 Poverty Reduction Strategy Discussion Paper, along with links to 50+ Toronto Star articles in their recent War on Poverty series.

- Go to the Ontario Municipal and Non-Governmental Sites (A-C) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/onbkmrk2.htm

What's New - from the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU) - University of Toronto

The Childcare Resource and Research Unit offers a free weekly "e-mail news notifier" service.
Here's the content of the latest issue of this bulletin.

For more information about this service, including subscription information,
see http://www.childcarecanada.org

3-Aug-07

---------------------------------------------------
What's New
---------------------------------------------------

LISTENING TO FAMILIES RESEARCH PROJECT
Ongoing research project by the Daycare Trust (UK) “aims to explore the experiences of, views on, and needs for childcare among families in England today”. Three reports and a briefing paper are now available.

Available reports:

- Listening to parents of children with disabilities and special educational needs
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=106937

- Listening to black and minority ethnic parents about childcare
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=106934

- Listening to lone parents about childcare
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=106935

- Findings from Listening to Families research: October 2006-May 2007
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=106938

TEN POLICY PRINCIPLES FOR A NATIONAL SYSTEM OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE
Report from Australia's Work + Family Policy Roundtable documents a national workshop ‘Childcare: A Better Policy Framework for Australia’.
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=106942

ATTACHMENT RELATIONSHIPS: QUALITY OF CARE FOR YOUNG CHILDREN
First in the new Early Childhood in Focus series from the Bernard van Leer Foundation and the Child and Youth Studies Group at The Open University (UK) focuses on attachment relationships between infants and caregivers.
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=106941

CAN CHILD CARE IMPACT RISK OF DEPRESSION?
Research brief and author interview podcast highlight recent research from the FPG Child Development Institute’s Abecedarian Project.
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=106940

---------------------------------------------------
Child care in the news
---------------------------------------------------

£4 billion boost for children's services [GB]
Guardian, 2 Aug 07
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=106882

Lauzon defends child care benefit [CA]
Cornwall Standard-Freeholder, 31 Jul 07
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=106880

'Million Steps' organizers hope many child care centres will get involved [CA-BC]
Courier-Islander, 27 Jul 07
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=106879

How big is Taylor's heart? Share that $4.1 billion surplus with poor kids [CA-BC]
The Tyee, 23 Jul 07
http://action.web.ca/home/crru/rsrcs_crru_full.shtml?x=106881

---------------------------------------------------
Upcoming conference
---------------------------------------------------

The mixed economy of childcare: Risks and opportunities
Location: London, England
Description:
This international conference will address the risks and opportunities associated with mixed economies of public, private and voluntary childcare and early education. This conference marks the launch of a new research centre, the International Centre for the Study of the Mixed Economy of Childcare. Based in the School of Education at the University of East London, the Centre is led by Professor Helen Penn and Eva Lloyd.
http://www.uel.ac.uk/icmec/index.htm

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Early Years Specialization at University of Victoria
---------------------------------------------------

The School of Child and Youth Care (CYC) at the University of Victoria is now offering a Specialization in the Early Years with courses at the 3rd and 4th year level of the BA program in CYC.
http://www.cyc.uvic.ca/prospective/ba_cyc/early-years.php#

- Go to the Non-Governmental Early Learning and Child Care Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/ecd2.htm

Poverty Dispatch (U.S). ===> the content of this link changes each week
- links to news items from the American press about poverty, welfare reform, child welfare, education, health, hunger, Medicare and Medicaid, etc.

Source:
Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP)
[ University of Wisconsin-Madison ]

This week's issues of Poverty Dispatch:

August 2, 2007
* State Children's Health Insurance Program
* Opinions: State Children's Health Insurance Program
* Poverty and Unemployment - Milwaukee, WI
* Welfare-to-Work Programs - New York, California
* Job Training Program - Michigan
* Food Stamp Programs - Kansas, Maine
* Out-of-State Prisoner Transfers
* Home Foreclosures - Minnesota
* Early Childhood Education - Oregon
* States and High School Graduation Rates
* No Child Left Behind Reauthorization

July 30, 2007
* 2007 Kids Count Report and States' Child Poverty Rates
* Moving from Welfare to Self-sufficiency - Nebraska
* Suburban Poverty - Los Angeles, CA
* Commentary: Privatization of Social Services
* State Children's Health Insurance Program
* Opinions: State Children's Health Insurance Program
* Funding Increase for Food Stamp Program
* High School Dropout Rates - Louisiana
* Editorial: Affordable Housing
* Opinion: Minimum Wage
* Earned Income Tax Credit - Michigan
* Payday Lending, Banking, and the Working Poor
* Gender Wage Gap - Tennessee
* Income Inequality
* Commentary: Sex Education
* Poverty as a Political Campaign Issue

Search Poverty Dispatches

IRP compiles and distributes Poverty Dispatches, links to Web-based news items dealing with poverty, welfare reform, and related topics twice a week. Each Dispatch lists links to current news in popular print media. Persons wishing to receive Poverty Dispatches by e-mail should send a request to rsnell@ssc.wisc.edu.

Past Poverty Dispatches
- links to two dispatches a week back to June 2006

Poverty Dispatch Digest Archive - weekly digest of dispatches from August 2005 to May 2006
For a few years prior to the creation of this new web page for the Dispatch, I was compiling a weekly digest of the e-mails and redistributing the digest to my mailing list with IRP's permission.
This is my own archive of weekly issues of the digest back to August 2005, and most of them have 50+ links per issue. I'll be deleting this archive from my site gradually, as the links to older articles expire.

- Go to the Links to American Government Social Research page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us.htm
- Go to the Links to American Non-Governmental Social Research (A-J) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us2.htm
- Go to the Links to American Non-Governmental Social Research (M-Z) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us3.htm

What's new from the The Urban Institute:

Low-Income Working Families Project
This new Urban Institute project applies rigorous research methods to track families over time and to analyze the risks these families face.

Latest reports from this project:

Low-Income Parents with Work Barriers
Are Not Supported by a Comprehensive Service System
Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 26, 2007 -- Wide variation in states’ welfare policies and needy recipients’ access to local services pose special challenges to low-income parents who already have employment barriers, says a new Urban Institute report.

Hard-to-Employ Parents: A Review of Their Characteristics
and the Programs Designed to Serve Their Needs
June 2007
by Sheila Zedlewski, Pamela Holcomb, and Pamela Loprest
Abstract + Excerpt (HTML)
Complete report (PDF file - 171K, 40 pages)

Related links:

TANF Policies for the Hard-to-Employ:
Understanding State Approaches and Future Directions
July 2007
- summarizes how 15 states interact with hard-to-employ welfare recipients and new federal welfare requirements’ likely impacts on these state efforts.
Abstract + Excerpt (HTML)
Complete report (PDF file - 168K, 56 pages)

Framework for a New Safety Net for Low-Income Working Families
June 2007
- describes low-income working families’ circumstances and the gaps in current safety-net programs.
Abstract + Excerpt (HTML)
Complete report (PDF file - 279K, 56 pages)

More Urban Institute reports and related resources on work and income
More Urban Institute Reports - all topics, 4000+ reports

- Go to the Links to American Non-Governmental Social Research (M-Z) Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us3.htm

Investing in Our Children: The U.S. Can Learn From the U.K.
By Jane Waldfogel
July 30, 2007
The former and newly installed British prime ministers, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, are longstanding Labour Party rivals, yet they were able to unite in what history may one day view as their most important domestic achievement—a commitment to end child poverty in the United Kingdom.
(...)
Although most of the focus in the United Kingdom is on relative poverty, the government also tracks its progress using an absolute poverty line, similar to the one the United States uses. On this measure, the United Kingdom has reduced poverty by a stunning 50 percent since the start of its anti-poverty campaign—reducing the numbers of children in absolute poverty before housing costs from 3.4 million in 1999 to 1.6 million in 2006. From a U.S. vantage point, this is a remarkable achievement.
Source:
Center for American Progress

- Go to the International Children, Families and Youth Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chn2.htm
- Go to the Links to American Non-Governmental Social Research (A-J) Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us2.htm

Also from the Center for American Progress:

Poverty Task Force
The Task Force on Poverty of the Center for American Progress has identified new solutions to address the fact that too many Americans are living on the edge in today's economy. Thirty-seven million Americans are poor and millions more struggle each month to pay for basic necessities. The Task Force calls for a national goal to cut poverty in half in 10 years and proposes a strategy to reach the goal.

Task Force Report:

From Poverty to Prosperity:
A National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half
April 25, 2007
"(...)Consider the following facts:
* One in eight Americans now lives in poverty.
* Millions of Americans will spend at least one year in poverty at some point in their lives. One third of all Americans will experience poverty within a 13-year period.
* Poverty in the United States is far higher than in many other developed nations.
* Inequality has reached record highs.

A strategy to cut poverty in half should be guided by four principles:
* Promote Decent Work.
* Provide Opportunity for All.
* Ensure Economic Security.
* Help People Build Wealth.

Twelve key steps to cut poverty in half:
1. Raise and index the minimum wage to half the average hourly wage.
2. Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit.
3. Promote unionization by enacting the Employee Free Choice Act.
4. Guarantee child care assistance to low-income families and promote early education for all.
5. Create 2 million new “opportunity” housing vouchers, and promote equitable development in and around central cities.
6. Connect disadvantaged and disconnected youth with school and work.
7. Simplify and expand Pell Grants and make higher education accessible to residents of each state.
8. Help former prisoners find stable employment and reintegrate into their communities.
9. Ensure equity for low-wage workers in the Unemployment Insurance system.
10. Modernize means-tested benefits programs to develop a coordinated system that helps workers and families.
11. Reduce the high costs of being poor and increase access to financial services.
12. Expand and simplify the Saver’s Credit to encourage saving for education, homeownership, and retirement.

Our recommendations would cut poverty in half. "

Complete report (PDF file - 8.1MB, 80 pages)
Executive Summary (PDF file - 3.9MB, 8 pages)

Related links from the Center for American Progress:

Defining Poverty
By Mark Greenberg
August 1, 2007
Excerpt of the testimony of Mark Greenberg, Director of the Task Force on Poverty at the Center for American Progress,
to the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support of the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Complete transcript of the testimony of Mark Greenberg (PDF file - 70K, 11 pages)

Canadian context:
There are currently "official" strategies to reduce poverty (including targets and benchmarks and all that) in the following Canadian jurisdictions:
Newfoundland and Labrador Poverty Reduction Strategy
Québec Strategy to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion
In the United Kingdom:
Department for Work and Pensions - Child Poverty
(The U.K. Government is committed to halve child poverty by 2010 and eradicate it by 2020.)

- Go to the Links to American Non-Governmental Social Research (A-J) Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/us2.htm

Policy Hub Bulletin ===> the content of this link changes each month
News Archive - view the contents of previous Bulletins back to September 2002
Subscribe to this Bulletin - free, by email

Content from the latest issue of the Bulletin (July 2007):
Click the link above to access all of the items below - and be sure to visit the Home page for news items added since 30 July)

OECD health data 2007 (number of doctors in OECD countries)
Social marketing and climate change - Ipsos Mori report July
Public space and interaction between diverse communities - Demos report
Crime in England and Wales: 2006/07 - HO Bulletin
21st Century social evils - JRF research
Crime statistics in Canada: 2006 - Statistics Canada
Children and television - NCC report
European Happy Planet Index - NEF
Low income diet survey - FSA report
Cannabis and mental-health problems - IRS report
Road pricing debate - LGA report
Effects of sexual assault - AIFS report
Evaluating policy

Juvenile pre-court diversion - AIC report 25 July
Assessing the implementation of Agenda for Change - Kings Fund Report
Parliamentary report on climate change - EAC report
Neighbourhood policy - Policy Press
Service review of diabetes - DH report
Social policy analysis - Policy Press
Enforcement and street users - JRF report
Social, urban and crime policy and regeneration - Policy Press
Dementia services - NAO report
Free personal care in Scotland - JRF report
Benefits and costs of Head Start
Improving delivery

Reintegration of ex-prisoners - AIC report 18 July
Young people: ten year strategy - DCSF/HMT
30 year rail strategy - DfT White Paper
Older people in the community - ILC-UK report
Crime Strategy - HO
Telephony etc communications barriers - DWP report
Engaging parents in raising achievement - DCSF report
Air quality strategy - Defra
Public Health 2006 - DH Report
Government information and services online - NAO report
The work of Ofsted - ESC report
National Council for Educational Excellence - DCSF announcement
Heroin use - JRF report
Funding of long-term care - JRF report

Website of the Month:

OECD Family Database
www.oecd.org/els/social/family/database
- online database which brings together information from different OECD databases on family outcomes and family policies with indicators for all OECD countries. The first batch of indicators was released by the end of 2006, but work is ongoing on the preparation of new indicators for release throughout 2007.

---------------------------------------------

Evidence Hotlinks
This area of Policy Hub provides access to a wide range of organisations and resources that will help you find evidence on social and economic issues in the United Kingdom and Internationally.
* United Kingdom Evidence * International Evidence - including Country Resources - including Canada * Using Evidence
===> recommended reading - excellent collection of U.K. and international resources!

Source:
Policy Hub (U. K.)
"... a web-site developed by the Government Social Research Unit, which aims to improve the way public policy is shaped and delivered."
[ Government Social Research ]
[ HM Treasury website ]

Costs of children (Australia)
Paul Henman, Richard Percival and Ann Harding, Matthew Gray
Posted July 31, 2007
Commissioned by the Ministerial Taskforce on Child Support, this is a collection of three reports on the costs of children in Australian families: 'The estimated costs of children in Australian families in 2005–06'; 'Updated costs of children using Australian budget standards; and 'Costs of children and equivalence scales: a review of methodological issues and Australian estimates'.

Complete report:

HTML
PDF (753K, 122 pages)

Related link:

Ministerial Taskforce on Child Support

Source:
Occasional Paper Series <=== links to 18 papers
[ Department of Families,
Community Services and Indigenous Affairs - Australia ]

Find more from Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
Find more articles on the topic Families and households
Find more articles on the topic Income, poverty and wealth
Browse the complete departmental publications list

- Go to the International Children, Families and Youth Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chn2.htm
- Go to the Government Social Research Links in Other Countries page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/internat.htm

APO Weekly Briefing
The content of this page changes each week, and it includes links to a few book/report reviews, about two dozen new reports, a few job ads and 60+ events (mostly conferences) of interest to social researchers...
Source:
Australian Policy Online (APO)
With nearly 120 member centres and institutes, Australian Policy Online offers easy access to much of the best Australian social, economic, cultural and political research available online.
NOTE: the APO home page includes links to the five most popular reports on the APO website, and this list is updated each week.

Selected recent content from the APO Weekly Briefing:

Australian social policy 2006
Posted 31-07-2007
Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
The latest edition of this annual departmental includes articles on trends in wealth among aged pensioners; potential risk factors, pathways and processes associated with childhood injury; men's and women's fertility; and psychosocial factors and intergenerational transmission of welfare dependency.

Approaches to evaluation of affordable housing initiatives in Australia
Posted 27-07-2007
Vivienne Milligan, Peter Phibbs, Nicole Gurran, Kate Fagan / Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute
The release of the Framework for National Action on Affordable Housing (the Framework) in 2005 has provided an opportunity to consider how evaluation could be built from the outset into a major future initiative in the housing field. In response, this report first provides an overview of ideas and developments in evaluation theory and methods, drawing mainly on a recent proposal by two sociologists, Ray Pawson and Nick Tilley (1997).

APO Archive
The APO archive is grouped into 23 subject areas, with entries appearing in reverse chronological order.
* Ageing *Asia and the pacific * Citizenship and the law * Disability * Economics and trade * Education * Employment and workplace relations * The environment * Foreign policy and defence * Gender and sexuality * Health * Housing * Families and households * Immigration and refugees * Income, poverty and wealth * Indigenous * Media, communications and cultural policy * Politics and government * Population, multiculturalism and ethnicity * Religion and faith * Rural and regional * Science and technology * Social policy * Urban and regional planning * Youth

- Go to the Social Research Links in Other Countries (Non-Government) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/internatngo.htm

From the Child Rights Information Network (CRIN):

2 August 2007 - CRINMAIL 903
- AUSTRALIA: Stolen Aboriginal man wins payout [news]
- BUSINESS: Report for UN Special Representative on State responsibilities to regulate corporate activities under the CRC [publication]
- COTE D'IVOIRE: "My Heart Is Cut” - Sexual Violence by Rebels and Pro-Government Forces [publication]
- UNITED KINGDOM: A right to know - biological origins of IVF children to be stated on birth certificates [news]
- HEALTH: UN report highlights children's vulnerability to pollution [publication]
- EMPLOYMENT - ASEF - NGO Group for the CRC [job postings]
**NEWS IN BRIEF**
**QUIZ**

Earlier issues of CRINMAIL
- links to over 200 issues, many of which are special editions focusing on a particular theme, such as the 45th Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the launch of the EURONET (European Children's Network) Website.

Source:
CRINMAIL(incl. subscription info)
[ Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) ]

- Go to the Children's Rights Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/chnrights.htm

Disclaimer/Privacy Statement

Both Canadian Social Research Links (the site) and this Canadian Social Research Newsletter belong solely to me, Gilles Séguin.

I am solely accountable for the choice of links presented therein and for the occasional editorial comment - it's my time, my home computer, my experience, my biases, my Rogers Internet account and my web hosting service.

I administer the mailing list and distribute the weekly newsletter using software on the web server of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
Thanks, CUPE!

If you wish to subscribe to the e-mail version of newsletter, go to the Canadian Social Research Newsletter Online Subscription page:
http://lists.cupe.ca/mailman/listinfo/csrl-news

You can unsubscribe by going to the same page or by sending me an e-mail message [ gilseg@rogers.com ]

------------------------

The e-mail version of this newsletter is available only in plain text (no graphics, no hyperlinks, no fancy bolding or italics, etc.) to avoid security problems with government departments, universities and other networks with firewalls. The text-only version is also friendlier for people using older or lower-end technology.

Privacy Policy:
The Canadian Social Research Newsletter mailing list is not used for any purpose except to distribute each weekly issue.
I promise not share any information on this list, nor to send you any junk mail.

Links presented in the Canadian Social Research Newsletter point to different views about social policy and social programs.
There are some that I don't agree with, so don't get on my case, eh...

To access earlier online HTML issues of the Canadian Social Research Newsletter, go to the Newsletter page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/news.htm

Please feel free to distribute this newsletter as widely as you wish, but please remember to mention Canadian Social Research Links when you do.

Cheers!
Gilles

E-MAIL:
gilseg@rogers.com

Ten Reasons Gay Marriage is Un-American

1. Being gay is not natural. 
Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.

2. Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, 
in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.

3. Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. 
People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.

4. Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; 
women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.

5. Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; 
the sanctity of Britany Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.

6. Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. 
Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more children.

7. Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, 
since straight parents only raise straight children.

8. Gay marriage is not supported by religion. 
In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. 
That's why we have only one religion in America.

9. Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. 
That's why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.

10. Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. 
Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.