For the First Time Ever, Less than Half of U.S. Households are Married Couples

News sources are reporting that Census figures show that only 48% of U.S. households are made up of married couples. Further, only a fifth of households were married couples with children, down form 43% in 1950. The New York Times states that the "iconic image of the American family continues to break apart."

CNN reports that the percent of married households tends to increase in border states "where large Hispanic households represent a growing portion of the population."

Utah has the highest number of married households with 61%. New York has the lowest with approximately 44%.

To read the New York Times story, click here.

To read the CNN story, click here.

Church of England Offers Combined Wedding and Baptism of Children Service

Realizing that one of every five couples who marries in the church already have children, the Church of England is introducing what is being referred to as a "two-in-one" marriage and baptism ceremony in which a couple who already has children can marry, and have those children baptized into the Church of England at the same time.

These services are being touted as "Family-friendly weddings", and are seen as an attempt to make the church more relevant for the 21st century.

The joint ceremony will cost approximately 300 pounds ($500), which is about what the two ceremonies would cost seperately. Cost saving to the families would come in not having to plan multiple celebrations.

Read the ABC News report of this story by clicking here.

Read the ABC News blog of this story by clicking here.

Spanish-surnamed Yankee Doodle Dandy not a legitimate American?

Ruben Navarrette Jr., member of the San Diego Union-Tribune editorial board and national syndicated columnist, wrote an insightful commentary for CNN entitled, "I'm a Spanish-surnamed Yankee Doodle Dandy."

Navarrette states that he was born in the U.S., as were his parents, 3 of his grandparents, and a "handful" of his great-grandparents.

Because Navarrette identifies himself as a Mexican-American, he has received comments such as, "Why don't you try being a real American" from his readers.

He notes that he has friends who, although they do not use hyphens, call themselves Irish, Jewish, Italian, or German.

Navarrette is very articulate in describing that he is an American because of what he believes, including loving freedom and democracy, and believing that with sacred rights come equally sacred responsibilities to self, family, community and country.

This compelling article was met, however, with some rather disturbing comments posted to the story by readers (which are unfortunately no longer available online). The comments immediately bypassed his description of being American, or anything else he said, and immediately went after the issue of illegal-immigration.

This was a very clear example of how in the minds of some there can be no discussion of Hispanic in the U.S. without it being connected to a discussion of illegal-immigration. It actually seemed that for those posting the comments, that although some of Mr. Navarrette's family has been in the U.S. for 4 generations, and Navarrette himself has a clear understanding of what it means to be an American, he is not not legitimate, simply because he identifies himself as a Mexican-American.

To read the CNN commentary, click here.

Are America's Best Days Behind Us Or In Our Future?

A recent Rasmussen Reports poll found that 44% of likely voters felt that the nation's best days were in the past, while 38% felt that America's best days were yet to come.

The more startling difference comes when looking at the difference of opinion among Democrats and Republicans.

Among Democrats 54% believe that the nation's best days are yet to come.

Among Republicans 61% believe that America's best days are in the past.

One is left to wonder how much the rhetoric of conservative pundits and talk show commentators may be affecting Republican opinions on this question.

To read the Rasmussen Reports story, click here.

The Wisom of Solomon, the Patience of Job: The Governor Sanford Affair

In a tearful press conference today, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford admitted that his disappearance over the weekend was not because he was hiking the Appalachian Trail, as first reported by his staff, but because he was in Argentina presumably ending an extra-marital affair.

Sanford had been viewed as a rising star in the Republican party, and held the position of chairman of the Republican Governors Association. He has now resigned from that position, and there are some calling for him to step down from the governorship.

Additionally, many are noting the irony of the Republican party touting itself as the party of "Family Values."

In the midst of this mire, Mrs. Sanford issued what TwoMinuteBriefing reviewers feel is an absolutely incredibly coherent, intelligent, and frankly Christian statement. The statement reads in part:

Psalm 127 states that sons are a gift from the Lord and children a reward from Him. I will continue to pour my energy into raising our sons to be honorable young men. I remain willing to forgive Mark completely for his indiscretions and to welcome him back, in time, if he continues to work toward reconciliation with a true spirit of humility and repentance.

This is a very painful time for us and I would humbly request now that members of the media respect the privacy of my boys and me as we struggle together to continue on with our lives and as I seek the wisdom of Solomon, the strength and patience of Job and the grace of God in helping to heal my family.

To read the complete statement, click here.
To read the MSNBC story, click here.

High school dropout rate climbs to 34.9% in Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that the high school dropout rate for the Los Angeles Unified School District was 34.9% last year, up 3 percentage points from the year before.

For the state overall, the dropout rate went down 1 percentage point from the previous year to 20.1%.

Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell is quoted as saying that the rates are "unacceptably high" and that they are "alarmingly high" among Hispanic and African American students.

With many now saying that even a high school education is insufficient to obtain an adequate paying job, the implications of over a third of the high school students in Los Angeles Unified not even graduating from high school are very concerning indeed.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-briefs13-2009may13,0,4472466.story

65% Say Daily Papers Will Be Gone In Ten Years

In a posting dated May 12th, Rasmussen Reports notes that 65% of their survey respondents believe that the daily newspaper will be gone in ten years.

They also noted that 56% of Americans buy a newspaper once a week or less. This includes 37% who rarely or never buy a copy of their local newspaper.

Curiously, 69% of Rasmussen's respondents prefer reading a printed copy of a newspaper as compared to reading it online.

Read the complete article by Rasmussen here:

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/general_lifestyle/65_say_daily_papers_will_be_gone_in_ten_years

More cell phone users dropping landlines

A CDC survey released May 6th, reports that 20% of the homes in the U.S. have cellphones only, and no landline phones.

Seventeen percent of homes in the U.S. have landlines only, and no cell phones.

Approximately 2% have no phone service at all.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hy364yHuEwLK2alU6lD7DOoYhWtgD98122LO1