From ProudAtheist, find out what the “Pear of Anguish” was used for.
Dawkins has covered this in his book The God Delusion, but this 10 year study has concurred that the more religious a region is, the higher its social ills and immoral behaviors will be.
What do you think of when you hear the word “marriage”? Happy couples, cake, rings, wedding bells and day to celebrate? Young couples today are beginning to think beyond the wedding day, considering the financial implications of combining taxes and sharing debt obligations. There are many alternatives to getting legally married. The easiest one is co-habitation, but this carries with it some disadvantages when you want to be tied legally to your partner. What are the pros and cons of marriage?
Wedding Bills : The average US wedding costs about $35,000. If a new couple invested that money in IRA with an annual rate of 9%, they would have 1.26 million dollars by the time they reached 65.
Marriage Tax Penalty: When married couples both earn income, this places them in a higher tax bracket. They can end up paying more taxes, often negating the income of one working parent especially if the cost of childcare is considered. Avoiding marriage if both persons are earning income lets you file taxes separately and potentially keep more of your income. If however, one partner will not be earning income, claiming two deductions (claiming the non working person as a dependent) benefits a married couple on their tax filings. Monetary gifts between legally married couples are also exempt from tax.
Emotional Stress: Most couples go through emotional stresses as they plan their weddings, straining their relationship as they bring in extended family to help fund or make decisions regarding the wedding day. Consider a cruise vacation where you spend less than on a traditional wedding. You can simply enjoy your partner while on a stress free vacation.
Home Buying: Married couples who file jointly can keep up to $500,000 on the sale of a home without paying capital gains tax, whereas an individual homeowner can keep only $250,000.
Illness: Non married couples may have difficulty receiving visitation rights when one of them is hospitalized. This can be solved by having a lawyer draw up a visitation rights agreement between you and your partner. Power of attorney gives full rights to your partner to make decisions on your behalf.
Healthcare: Being on the same healthcare plan can be convenient and sometimes cheaper, however if one family member on the plan develops a serious illness, everyone else on the plan can be negatively effected by cost or the inability to get a low rate on a new plan. Keep in mind that if you are considering having children, it is best for both parents to get on their own healthcare plan prior to conceiving a child, as most insurance policies have a clause that excludes them from paying for labor and delivery costs if a baby is born prior to 12 or 18 months of the plan’s initiation. Fathers may also find it difficult to get a good rate on healthcare if they have fathered a child prior to applying for individual healthcare. When you have children, also consider which parent’s healthcare plan the new baby will be added to or if the baby will be on it’s own healthcare plan.
Loans and Bankruptcy: By getting legally married, couples are automatically joining their credit ratings and debt responsibilities. By keeping your credit ratings and monetary lending legally separate, you will not compromise your partner’s ability to operate financially. This is especially beneficial if either person owns a business as you can keep your assets in one person’s name and the business in the other’s name. Should the business run into trouble, your assets can be kept safe if each person is not legally attached through marriage.
Social Security: Legally married couples are able to receive each other’s social security benefits after death. Social Security benefits are so nominal that neither of you should plan on relying on it as income in either case. If you both reach the age of retirement, you may wish to get legally married at that point to receive each other’s SS upon death. It is also likely that SS will not be worth anything or phased out by the times you retire. Use the tools of legal partnership and legal marriage when and how they suit you and your partner best.
So how can you “get hitched” without all the downsides? Think of legal marriage as a package deal, granted by the government to recognize two individuals as one unit. This effects everything a married couple does, sometimes positively, sometimes negatively. Assess what tools of legal marriage you and your partner would like to benefit from and hire a lawyer to set up a legal agreement between the two of you that will take advantage of only the positives. These may include:
- Legal visitation rights in a medical emergency
- Granting your partner the power of attorney
- Setting up a will for each of you
- Agreeing on what will happen should you decide to separate: children, assets, etc.
- Agreeing on who legally owns any assets or businesses that may currently be owned by both of you.
- Legally changing of last names and deciding what sur name your children will take.
- Setting up life insurance policies and ensuring that the surviving partner is the benefactor of such policies.
Hiring a good lawyer may cost between $1000-$2000, but this pales compared to the financial benefits down the road when setting up your tailor made partnership agreement. You may also find that websites like legalzoom.com with DIY legal documents may suit your needs for general items like name change, wills, etc.
Marriage isn’t what it used to be. The tradition of the dolled up bride in white, who’s parents throw an expensive party is borrowed from the days of kings and queens. The “princess” was the star of the day and no expense was too great to make her wedding day as lavish as possible. Today this medieval tradition can be too costly and unnecessary. Focusing on your future as a couple both financially and emotionally should be more important than putting on a show and party for your friends and family. Consider tailoring your legal partnership to best suit your needs, then take a long romantic vacation to celebrate each other. You’ll save money and enjoy yourselves much better than putting on a show.
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Resources: Financial Advantages and Disadvantages of Marriage
EWG performed a study on chemicals found in newborn’s umbilical chords. 
Among the compounds found in the tissues samples were BPA, Teflon, flame retardant found in couches and bedding, the total number of toxic chemicals was 232. Many of the chemicals found in the babies umbilical chords were components of make up and personal products that women continue to use throughout pregnancy.
The EWG put out a list of ways to avoid the most harmful toxins during pregnancy (as always).
From MNN:
“A two-year study, commissioned by eco-nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG) and Rachel’s Network, studied the umbilical cord blood of 10 American babies of African-American, Asian, and Hispanic heritage born between 2007 and 2008 — to find 232 toxic chemicals. According to Alex Formuzis, EWG’s director of communications:
Among the substances newly discovered, in addition to BPA, included a toxic flame retardant chemical (tetrabromobisphenol A) designed for computer circuit boards, chemicals used in synthetic fragrances (galaxolide and tonalide) for common cosmetics and detergents, and a member of the notorious Teflon chemical family (perfluorobutanoic acid) that helps make non-stick, and grease, stain and water-resistant coatings for a number of everyday consumer products.”
Today you can learn how to do just about anything by using the internet, even how to become Atheist. On WikiHow, you can DIY yourself to Atheism by challenging your superstious notions.
To introduce the topic, WikiHow provides an excellent explanation of what an Atheist is. Clarified here is the true meaning of atheism, which is a basic rejection of god-claims. Some atheists take this a step further and claim definitely that “there is no god or gods”. I fall somewhere in between. I reject the claims about gods, and given the body of evidence in nature, science and my own experiences I am more confident that there are no gods than I am that there might be gods. In the same way that I cannot disprove the claim that Leprechauns exist, I cannot disprove the claim that god exists. However, the likelihood of god existing is on par with the likelihood of Leprechauns existing. I am willing to change my position if provable, repeatable evidence was provided for a supernatural entity.
When a women is pregnant, the makeup she wears, the deoderant she uses and the lotions she uses may effect her baby’s behavior later down the road. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that high levels of phthalates found in a women’s blood
during pregnancy directly correlate with behavioral issues in their child at ages 4-9 years.
Phthalates are non-organic chemicals used in lotions, makeup products, soaps, nail polish, perfumes and shampoos. “Phthalates are part of a group of chemicals known as endocrine disruptors, that interfere with the body’s endocrine, or hormone system.”1 Phthalates is also known as BPA when used in plastics.
Children whose mothers tested with a high level of Phthalates in their blood during pregnancy consistently reported behavioral issues in their 4-9 year olds associated with Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Conduct Disorder and ADHD.
To avoid phthalates in personal care products, buy only all natural products and read the ingredients. If you can’t pronounce an ingredient or have never heard of it, look it up on the EWG website before buying. Most Phthalates in personal products are called one of the following:
BzBP (benzylbutyl phthalate)
DBP (di-n-butyl phthalate) and DEP (diethyl phthalate)
“fragrance” is another ingredient to avoid. If a chemical blend is a trade secret, manufactures are not legally required to disclose the contents on the lable. They simply denote this as “fragrance”, which likely contains parabens or phthalates.
The best paraben free products to replace your most common personal care products are:
Deoderant: Crystal Salt
Toothpaste: PerioBrite
Shampoo and Conditioner: Hugo Naturals
Lipgloss, cosmetics: Honeybee gardens
Lotion: Hugo Naturals
Hand and Body soap:Dr. Bronners or find home made soaps from your local farmer’s market.
Nail polish: just don’t use it! Nail polish is basically paint that you absorb through your skin.
Learn more: The Do-Nothing Method to Healthier Skin :: BPA powder on your receipts?!
References:
Antarctica’s mountain ranges have been digitally scanned! If the ice were to melt away, they would look very similar to the Cascade Range in the USA, home of Mnt. Rainer.
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