Sunday, March 24, 2013

Green Bay Picture....(Not Shown on C.B.S. TV)

h/t BB






  Those who attended the game said it was extremely emotional to see the entire bowl of the stadium turn red, white and blue.
It took 90 workers two weeks to get all of the colored pages mounted under each seat.

 
Each piece of card board had eye slits in them so the fans could hold up the colored sheet and watch the proceedings through the eye slits.

 
Lambeau Field

This is what ESPN failed to show you.  Apparently, they thought their commercials were more important than showing this scene for about 5 seconds.

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16 best quotes from the retiring Gen. James Mattis

h/t BH





16 best quotes from the retiring USMC Gen. James Mattis
 
16 best quotes from the retiring Gen. James Mattis
http://freebeacon.com/the-best-from-mad-dog-mattis/
Gen. James Mattis / AP
BY: Washington Free Beacon Staff
March 18, 2013
Gen. James Mattis, known to his troops as “Mad Dog Mattis,” is retiring after 41 years of military service.
The Marine Corps Times is calling Mattis the “most revered Marine in a generation.
Mattis has been commander of the United States Central Command since 2010 and led the 1st Marine Division into Iraq in 2003.
According to reports, President Barack Obama decided to force the Marine Corps legend out early because he rubbed civilian officials the wrong way, and forced them to answer tough questions regarding Iran.
Mattis was an inspirational leader of men and his powerful words will go down in history.
Here are some of the best words that the “Mad Dog” has had to offer:

1. “I don’t lose any sleep at night over the potential for failure. I cannot even spell the word.”

http://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/James-Mattis-AP.jpg
AP

2. “The first time you blow someone away is not an insignificant event. That said, there are some assholes in the world that just need to be shot.”

3. “I come in peace. I didn’t bring artillery. But I’m pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you fuck with me, I’ll kill you all.”

4. “Find the enemy that wants to end this experiment (in American democracy) and kill every one of them until they’re so sick of the killing that they leave us and our freedoms intact.”

http://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Mattis-Speaking-Flickr.png
Flickr

5. “Marines don’t know how to spell the word defeat.”

6. “Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.”

7. “The most important six inches on the battlefield is between your ears.”

8. “You are part of the world’s most feared and trusted force. Engage your brain before you engage your weapon.”

http://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Mattis-2006-flickr.png
Gen. Mattis in 2006 / Flickr

9. “There are hunters and there are victims. By your discipline, cunning, obedience and alertness, you will decide if you are a hunter or a victim.”

10. “No war is over until the enemy says it’s over. We may think it over, we may declare it over, but in fact, the enemy gets a vote.”

11. “There is nothing better than getting shot at and missed. It’s really great.”(AMEN!)

12. “You cannot allow any of your people to avoid the brutal facts. If they start living in a dream world, it’s going to be bad.”

http://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Mattis-Dempsey-Flickr.png
Gen. Mattis and Gen. Dempsey / Flickr

13. “You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn’t wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain’t got no manhood left anyway. So it’s a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them. Actually it’s quite fun to fight them, you know. It’s a hell of a hoot. It’s fun to shoot some people. I’ll be right up there with you. I like brawling.”

(CNN)

14. “I’m going to plead with you, do not cross us. Because if you do, the survivors will write about what we do here for 10,000 years.”

15. “Demonstrate to the world there is ‘No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy’ than a U.S. Marine.”

16. “Fight with a happy heart and strong spirit”

http://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Mattis-Flickr.png
 

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Solar Golden Boy Gone Bankrupt!




http://www.uncommonwisdomdaily.com/solar-golden-boy-gone-bankrupt-15902


Solar Golden Boy Gone Bankrupt!

Brad Hoppman | March 21, 2013

  • Industry leader Suntech goes belly-up …
  • Housing stocks shift into overdrive …
  • Maybe money really does grow on trees …

Brad Hoppman
Suntech was probably the last, best hope for mainstream solar power in our generation.
And just yesterday, they filed for bankruptcy in court.
The massive Chinese company was always a bit of a Cinderella story, and definitely a darling of the media. Founded by Dr. Shi Zhengrong just over a decade ago, Suntech quickly grew to become a titan in the industry.
With such cheap labor and direct access to a wealth of raw materials, some analysts thought it was only a matter of time before Suntech’s panels would start going up all over the world. “If anyone can do it,” the old line of thinking went, “then Suntech can.”
They were even seen as a serious asset by the Chinese government. So much so that they were “allowed” to pay off all their debts to government-sponsored investors and even run their company independently. Consider that China’s the largest communist stronghold outside of the continental United States; they’re almost as confiscatory as we are.
Unfortunately for Suntech, that was not to last.
Because right around the time Dr. Zhengrong started appearing on magazine covers in 2008, Suntech’s business started slipping. Solar panel prices started plummeting, and the Chinese company couldn’t manage a turnaround in time.
Then — just a few days ago — Suntech defaulted on some $541 million in bond payments … making them the first company to do so in all of history. Their bankruptcy followed soon after.
Taken on its own, Suntech’s bankruptcy is hardly a death-knell. Some sources are even putting a positive spin on the story, but I have trouble agreeing with that. We aren’t talking about airlines after all, where the entire business model hinges on routine bankruptcies.
No, when you throw this new fuel on the fire lit by Obama’s Solyndra fiasco, you’ll probably come to a much different conclusion.
The reality is that investors will probably take a good long while before taking solar power seriously again. And while I don’t disagree that solar might be the “fuel of the future,” it’s probably going to stay in that undefinable “future” for many years to come.
Meanwhile, back down here on Earth, the news was a bit more pleasant for homeowners and investors everywhere.
That’s because the U.S. housing market is continuing to pick up strength, propelling markets higher and providing a relieving boost to homeowners devastated in the crash just a few years ago.
Home sales are now sitting at their highest levels in years, with the sale price of homes up over 10% from where it was just a year ago.
And as a result of the strengthening market, KB Home (KBH) jumped to a new 52-week high following better-than-expected first-quarter results.
Revenue and net orders rose 59% and 40%, respectively, from the same period a year ago. KBH is the best-performing homebuilder stock so far this year, jumping more than 40% year-to-date. The company’s goal is to return to profitability by the end of this year, and with numbers like these, it definitely seems possible.
Speaking from my heart and not my wallet for a moment, I’m really delighted to see this new growth in housing.
It’s a concrete reminder that regardless of what happens, life goes on. No matter how big the crash, how devious the banks or how complicated the leverage, life still goes on.
Kids grow up. They go to school and get married. And when they want to have kids of their own, they buy a house. The house becomes a home, and a new family starts within.
Then the kids grow up, and the cycle continues as it has for ages.
High tide comes, low tide comes. Market crashes, inflation, wild profit opportunities — but through it all life goes on, and these new home buyers still have the chance to enjoy all the amenities we’ve been blessed with in our own lives.
It’s a nice reminder … a relief — especially in such turbulent times — to see that Americans are that much-more-resilient than some would like to give us credit for.
Now back to the wallet.
The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB), the most popular ETF to play the housing sector, is up more than 41% over the last year.
The performance of XHB over the past year is quite impressive considering the S&P 500 is up a little more than 11% over the same period.
Meanwhile, as the housing recovery continues to pick up steam, the demand for the materials to build (or rebuild) those structures will continue to increase. One easy way to lay a strong profit foundation in your portfolio is to invest in lumber demand through an ETF.
Timber plays can be some of the greatest plays in your portfolio — providing far more value than you’ll pay with the up-front price.
Tony Sagami just took over our International ETF Trader service last week, and he’s playing this very trend right now with a fund that’s up more than 22% over the past year, about twice the return of the S&P 500 over the same period.
Stay tuned for what I expect will be some great success stories from Tony and his subscribers on this powerful trend, along with many others to come!
Good Luck and Happy Investing,
Brad Hoppman
Publisher
Uncommon Wisdom Daily

The Media






BigFun.be

Friday, March 22, 2013

All Hail Hillary!

h/t JO


http://www.freedomdies.com/2013/03/all-hail-hillary/


All Hail Hillary!

According to The New York Times, it’s official: Former Secretary of State and presumptive 2016 Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has flip-flopped on support for same-sex marriage. In the annals of staged campaign events disguising a lack of principle, Clinton’s policy reversal is no President Barack Obama debt ceiling turnaround (it’s “unpatriotic”); but it’s certainly a hall-of-fame pandering effort. To be honest, I had no idea Clinton was ever against same-sex marriage. She clearly had no issues with a no-sex marriage. (Not that I can blame her for that; her husband was having enough for both of them.)
Let’s be honest with each other, kiddies. Clinton’s announcing she is now for something that most Americans already assumed she supported is about as Earth-shattering as Michelle Obama coming out publicly in favor of junk food and the taxpayers’ American Express card. Clinton’s statement didn’t — couldn’t — deliver her any wavering support. And it’s difficult to imagine all that many conservatives saying: “I was pretty mad about that whole Benghazi nightmare. And I remember what a Lady MacBeth she played as a first lady. But if she thinks Steve and Frank can tie the knot, I guess I’m good.”
There is no doubt that same-sex marriage is one of the more bitterly contested issues in the country. While it doesn’t rise to the level of the debate over the government-subsidized genocide of abortion, it’s difficult to imagine many issues on which Americans disagree more sharply. My own attitude is based on my own experience: I’ve been divorced. I’m as useful in marital politics as I would be in outer space. Nonetheless, if Hillary feels a need to goose her base three years before the green flag, she’s welcome to it.
But, in watching her weirdly fireside-style address, I couldn’t keep the following thoughts at bay:
  • This is a campaign speech. Of all the issues pressing down on us as a Nation and a world, you’re yammering about same-sex marriage. Your former boss has shoveled so many IOU’s onto the national debt that it’s the size of a Martian volcano. Any thoughts, Madame Secretary?
  • Your tenure as the Nation’s chief diplomat has coincided with everything from a nuclear-ambitious Iran to a nuclear-accomplished North Korea. The Mideast is tearing at the seams. How will you steer the ship of state off the foreign rocks upon which Barack Obama has foundered it?
  • How about the resurgence of al-Qaida and the islamofascist terrorists who think Obama is about as scary as Winnie the Pooh?
  • Europe’s economy is plunging faster than Ashley Judd’s neckline. Our own is staggering like a punch-drunk prizefighter. Will your Presidency be as filled with monetary hijinks?
  • With apologies to Senator Howard Baker, what did you know about the events of Sept. 11 in Benghazi, Libya; and when did you know it? Your former boss’s Administration concocted no fewer than four different versions of the story, each radically different from the others. While the corporate media has covered up the cover-up and the liberal rank and file have swallowed each tale whole without complaint; you’re now running for President. How can we trust you, since we clearly can’t trust Obama?
There are other questions Clinton will need to answer — unless she plans tocontinue the Obama policy of obfuscation and outright dishonesty. As I mentioned in the wake of her staged policy reversal on same-sex marriage:
Whatever your opinion on the issue in question, have no doubt: Hillary Clinton’s… every move is dictated by raw ambition. For those who oppose it: This is just another example of the soullessness which has defined her career. For those who support it: She is no ally of yours. As always, she will reverse course again the moment she thinks it’s politically expedient to do so.
Reminds me of, well, pretty much every Democrat out there — although none of them can match Clinton’s look in a pantsuit.
–Ben Crystal

Polygamy Will be Next (And Much More)

h/t MK





http://politicaloutcast.com/2013/03/polygamy-will-be-next-and-much-more/



Polygamy Will be Next (And Much More)



There is nothing in our current legal system or  national moral climate that will stop polygamy from becoming the next liberal cause:polygamy_02
“Redefining marriage to include same-sex couples would jettison the rationale and logic behind prohibitions on polygamous marriages, according to several friend-of-the court briefs urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold the traditional definition of marriage.
“‘Ultimately, there is no principled basis for recognizing a legality of same-sex marriage without simultaneously providing a basis for the legality of consensual polygamy or certain adult incestuous relationships,’ reads one of the briefs, filed by the Christian legal group Liberty Counsel. ‘In fact, every argument for same-sex marriage is an argument for them as well.’”
The Netherlands is a microcosm of how the homosexual community hoodwinked this once-Christian nation into accepting a perversion. A former Dutch Member of Parliament “has admitted that polygamous marriage is the ‘next logical step’ following the introduction of same-sex marriages in the Netherlands.”
Serial polygamy is already accepted in America. People get married and divorced numerous times with little regard for marriage as a covenant bond. Hollywood types change wives like some people change shoes. Others don’t get married but live together, have children out of wedlock, and few people bat an eye.
Watch the Home and Garden Channel (HGTV) and note how many times non-married couples are living together and the number of homosexual couples that are featured.
In some respects, America is becoming a third-world nation. The cultural mores that made America great are quickly disappearing. Providentially there is a Christian and conservative counter culture that is quietly replacing the disintegrating secular worldview.
Abortion kills off future generations. Homosexuality is a sterile worldview. The only way homosexuality can flourish is by recruitment. I believe a good case can be made that homosexuality is the result of failed families, and that mostly means failed fathers.
The State has become the father figure to many young people. This is especially true in the Black community. The Welfare State made it financially easy for fathers to abandon their children and for the State to become a substitute parent.
Rulers have ever been tempted to play the role of father to their people. . . . When the provision of paternal security replaces the provision of justice as the function of the state, the state stops providing justice. . . . Those who are concerned about the chaos into which the criminal justice system has fallen should consider what the state’s function has become. Because the state can only be a bad imitation of a father, as a dancing bear act is of a ballerina, the protection of this Leviathan of a father turns out to be a bear hug.[1]
There’s something going on in the black community known as the Down Low.
“Ten years ago, the New York Times reported on a growing underground subculture in the black community known as Down Low, comprised largely of men who secretly engage in homosexual activity while living ‘straight’ lives in public.”
Why is this happening? Because a number of black men are looking for father figures, and they believe they can find it in other men.
The people who have gotten on the “gay train” don’t realize what it’s dragging behind it.

moose cakes' ''hubby''s Middle East policy in tatters: Column - U.S is now less popular in the region than at the end of the George W. Bush administration





http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/03/20/obamas-middle-east-policy-in-tatters-column/2004343/

Obama's Middle East policy in tatters: Column

U.S is now less popular in the region than at the end of the George W. Bush administration.

President Obama's first journey to Israel as president comes amid earth-shattering change in Middle East, much of it for the worse. The Arab Spring, which once raised hopes of freedom and dignity, has diverged onto the dark path of Islamist authoritarian rule. In Syria, tens of thousands of people have died in a bitter civil war that might have recently seen its first use of chemical weapons. And Iran continues its march toward nuclear weapons capability, heedless of international condemnation. Obama's effort to seek peace between Palestinians and Israelis is in tatters.
That's why the White House has been lowering expectations for Obama's trip to Israel all this week. He will announce no new peace plan, grand design or major foreign policy initiative. His advisers are calling the trip a "listening tour." That is what you call a state visit when you have little to say.
Failed beginning
Despite downgrading the trip, many see Obama's arrival as the sequel to his 2009 visit to Cairo, where he announced a "new beginning" with the Muslim world. Four years later, that doesn't auger well for renewed efforts in Israel and the West Bank. According to the latest survey by the Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project, confidence in Obama in Muslim countries dropped from 33% to 24% in his first term. Approval of Obama's policies declined even further, from 34% to 15%. And support for the United States in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Pakistan is lower today than it was in 2008 in the closing year of George W. Bush's administration. That collapse of support has not happened elsewhere.
In his Cairo speech, Obama pledged a relationship between America and Muslims around the world "based on mutual interest and mutual respect." But in 2013, interests are diverging, and respect is in short supply.
Of all the strained relationships in the Middle East, the partnership with Israel is the most important and potentially the most easily repaired. Obama is not popular in the country. A poll released last week showed he had a scant 10% approval rating in Israel, with an additional 32% saying they respect but don't like him. But the president is making significant symbolic gestures to heal the breach, such as visiting the grave site of Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism. It's being interpreted as showing support for the Jewish people's historic connection to the land of Israel, something Obama avoided in his first term.
Unpopular in Palestine
If Israelis don't like Obama, Palestinians are even less favorable.Washington's perceived failure to take a harder line with Israel over the final status of Jerusalem, and U.S. opposition to President Mahmoud Abbas' successful campaign for higher Palestinian status in the United Nations, have engendered a deep sense of frustration. Passions spilled over in Bethlehem this week, when young Palestinians defaced a billboard with Obama's image and burned pictures of him in the streets. Obama's symbolic nods to Israel's history are likely to raise Palestinian ire even further.
The hope that Obama will say the right things in Thursday's speech at Jerusalem's convention center is negated by doubts he will follow through. The president has to assure Israelis and Palestinians that he is still engaged if the peace process has any chance of moving forward. In part, this means convincing them that he still matters.
James S. Robbins is a senior fellow in national security affairs at the American Foreign Policy Council.
In addition to its own editorials, USA TODAY publishes diverse opinions from outside writers, including our 

'Most Palestinians hate moose cakes' ''hubby'''; US president gets heated reception in West Bank

Ed Note:  How can this be?  I thought the maahslime world loves us because of "his" mere presence.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/palestinianauthority/9946857/Most-Palestinians-hate-Obama-US-president-gets-heated-reception-in-West-Bank.html



'Most Palestinians hate Obama'; US president gets heated reception in West Bank

The two presidential choppers landed in the Palestinian presidential compound in Ramallah twenty minutes ahead of schedule. The force of their landing blew plumes of dust and litter over thin lines of ceremonial guards and bagpipers saluting the arrival.

Police block Palestinian protesters during a rally against Barack Obama
Police block Palestinian protesters during a rally against Barack Obama in the West Bank city of Ramallah Photo: AP
John Kerry, the US secretary of state, hit the red carpet first, followed byBarack Obama. The welcome ceremony lasted five minutes, with time for only solemn-faced handshakes and a reedy rendition of the Star Spangled banner before presidential entourage disappeared into Muqata'a building. The red carpet rolled up promptly behind them.
The pageant of love Mr Obama has engaged in with Benjamin Netanyahu may have won over several Israeli hearts, but it may have caused considerable damage to his relationship with the Palestinians.
The first 24-hours of Obama's visit was marked with early morning rocket fire from Gaza towards Sderot, violating ceasefire agreed with Israel in November.
In Ramallah, empty streets were dotted with truculent Palestinian soldiers deployed to prevent violent protest at the president's visit. Ramallah's major thoroughfare, running from the presidential compound to Qalandiya checkpoint, was lined with posters censored with black paint. Their slogans had read: "Mr President, don't bring your smart phone to Ramallah, there is no 3G in Palestine!"
Just 100 metres away from the Muqata'a, a small crowd of angry demonstrators gathered outside a Kentucky Fried Chicken, contained by flanks of riot police. "Obama get out", they chanted in the direction of the president.
"The right of return [for Palestinian refugees] is a red line," an old man swathed in a keffiyeh yelled passionately.
Ahmad, 27, was nursing a broken arm having been shot with a rubber bullet by Israeli soldiers during a protest at Qalandiya checkpoint last Friday but supported the demonstrators.
"When he got the presidency, he said he would do lots for Palestine but he did nothing," he explained. "Now Palestine is angry, as you can see. Most Palestinians hate Obama – he will only make more problems for us".
On his last visit to the Middle East in 2009, Mr Obama had made a soaring speech in Cairo saying that the suffering of the Palestinian people was intolerable. "America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own," he vowed then. But this is exactly what most Palestinians believe he has done.
Emerging from more than two hours of talks with the Palestinian leadership, Mr Obama squirmed on his podium next to Mahmoud Abbas when pressed on his position over Israeli settlements.
"Based on my conversations with both Mr Netanyahu and Mr Abbas, I believe the possibility exists for a two state solution," he equivocated. Settlement expansion was not "appropriate or constructive", he said, stopping short of stating the US government position that Israeli settlement construction is illegal.
"It's important to continue with negotiations even if there are irritants on both sides," he said.
"The core issue is how to get sovereignty for the Palestinian people and security for the Israeli people. That isn't to say settlements are not important. But … I don't want to put the cart before the horse."
Hassan Mousa, 47, whose export business was forced to close due to the presidential visit, had no interest in hearing what Mr Obama had to say.
"It's crazy this visit. All our business shut down for a whole day and for what? He may be the head of the most important country in the world but he is doing nothing for us as Palestinians," Mr Mousa said. "He is a man who offered a lot but has delivered nothing."

Report claims 48% of first children now born to unwed mothers




http://www.humanevents.com/2013/03/21/report-claims-48-percent-of-first-children-now-born-to-unwed-mothers/




Report claims 48 percent of first children now born to unwed mothers

Report claims 48 percent of first children now born to unwed mothers
CNS News reports on some astonishing, and ominous, statistics concerning marriage and child-rearing:
Calling it “The Great Crossover,” a report by academics and social activists shows that for the first time in history the median age of American women having babies is lower than the median age of marriage – 25.7 and 26.5, respectively.
These “dramatic changes in childbearing,” the report states, results in dramatic statistics about American children. Among them, 48 percent of first births are by unwed mothers, and by age 30 two-thirds of American women have had a child, typically out of wedlock.
Kay Hymowitz, an author of the report and a William E. Simon Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, said at an event to release the report on Wednesday at the Brookings Institution, that it reflects how the view of what marriage is about has changed.
This includes young adults who say marriage and children “are two separate things,” Hymowitz said.
And that is a very bad thing.  It might just be a fatal social toxin.
The connection between marriage and family is crucial for the survival of any civilization.  From that linkage flow countless benefits.  Children are far better off when born to a married couple; the social pathologies accompanying illegitimacy are so horrific that to deny this obvious truth borders on eye-rolling insanity.  This is not to say that a single mother or father cannot possibly do a good job of raising a child; obviously many of them do, and they deserve great respect for their efforts.  I am a child of divorce myself, raised by a miracle-working single mother.
But across a vast population, the disadvantages to birth out wedlock – economic hardship, the absence of a father (or, less commonly, mother) figure – are crushing, for both child and single parent.  The report, entitled “Knot Yet: The Benefits and Costs of Delayed Marriage in America,” counts this among the costs of what it terms “The Great Crossover.”
This crossover happened decades ago among the least economically privileged. The crossover among “Middle American” women—that is, women who have a high-school degree or some college—has been rapid and recent. By contrast, there has been no crossover for college-educated women, who typically have their first child more than two years after marrying.
The crossover is cause for concern primarily because children born outside of marriage—including to cohabiting couples—are much more likely to experience family instability, school failure, and emotional problems. In fact, children born to cohabiting couples are three times more likely to see their parents break up, compared to children born to married parents.
It sounds, from this assessment, like middle-class women are following the road to poverty.  Delaying marriage, as the report notes, includes significant income benefits, and helps to reduce the rate of divorce… but only if child-bearing is also delayed.  If young people are decoupling marriage from children, they aren’t learning this lesson.  (Actually, it is also noted that “twentysomethings who are unmarried, especially singles, are significantly more likely to drink to excess, to be depressed, and to report lower levels of satisfaction with their lives, compared to married twentysomethings,” so even if children are not involved, delayed marriage has its costs.)
This probably also has something to do with the increased support for same-sex marriage among young people.  If marriage is strongly associated with childbirth, participants of the opposite sex are obviously much more important.
The reasons for the rise of first children born out of wedlock are both intriguing and frustratingly vague:
“Culturally, young adults have increasingly come to see marriage as a ‘capstone’ rather than a ‘cornerstone’ – that is, something they do after they have all their ducks in a row, rather than a foundation for launching into adulthood and parenthood,” the report states.
The report cites two reasons – middle class American men having difficulty finding stable employment that allows them to support a family and “a less understood” reason about the disconnect between marriage and childbearing.
Perhaps the “Knot Yet” researchers will get cracking on that “less understood reason,” because it sounds like something we really ought to understand, pronto.  But the cultural conclusion they do make seems somewhat contradicted by their own report – young people might indeed view marriage as “something they do after they have all their ducks in a row,” but they clearly do not view “parenthood” that way, or we wouldn’t have this soaring illegitimacy rate.
The economic pressure against marriage cited by the report seems like a nasty vicious circle, because if men are holding off on marriage because they don’t think they can support a family, but they’re not holding off on siring children, they’re producing an even larger generation of young people who will hold off even longer on marriage because they don’t think they can afford it.  One of the great advantages to being raised in a stable family is that it provides an excellent launch pad for the young person’s independent life.  Education, the search for a first job, settling down into a home of your own… these things are all much easier with the emotional and practical support of a married mother and father, particularly in the lower income echelons.
Last year, the New York Times covered a report that “looked at the decline in marriage rates over the last 50 years and found a strong connection to income: Dwindling marriage rates are concentrated among the poor — the very people whose living standards would be most improved by having a second household income.”  A mindset among young people that views marriage as an expensive luxury, rather than a tremendous benefit to both married couples and their children, could be contributing to that unfortunate phenomenon.
Maintaining the population requires, as a simple matter of mathematics, that a great many people raise more than one child.  Actually, it is necessary for a great many couples to raise more than two children.  Those children will, on average, have vastly better lives if they are born to a married couple that stays together.  Anything that distracts our young people from appreciating these simple truths is inhumane, and dangerous.