I think you answered the “Do you believe homosexuals should have the right to marry?” question extrodinarily well considering the heated nature of the topic. I feel you “wisely” avoided sharing your personal moral beliefs as they do not apply to this blogs intent.

Anyway.. I am truly amazed and continually find myself shocked how people get offended so easily from time to time. It reminds me of this post on slactivist: http://slacktivist.typepad.com/slacktivist/2009/06/just-say-no.html

Anyway – I know this post is old – but thought I would comment anyhow.

-Ruby

I’m a 27 year old single woman trying to make some big life decisions. I grew up in Seattle, went to college in New York city and have lived in Washington DC for the past 4 years. When I was younger, I was thrilled to have the chance to live in the big eastern cities. Now, however, I’m feeling a bit burned out on those cities (particularly the unbearable summer weather!). Lately I’ve been intrigued by the possibility of living in Anchorage, AK. I’d even be willing to explore different kinds of jobs, since my editing job probably won’t exist up north. Here’s the catch: I know no one in Anchorage and I’m a bit afraid that if it doesn’t work out, it will end up being a big set back at a pivotal moment in my life. (For instance, I’d like to get married in the next 4-5 years, get my career on track, etc.) I’ve visited Anchorage, but have never lived in a city smaller than 500,000 (Anchorage is 270,000) — not to mention one so remote. Do you think I should pursue a move to Anchorage, even with so many unknowns in the equation?

Thanks so much,

Keelin

Shaun @ 11:30 am September 15th, 2008 (comment #22)

GOO TRENT! don’t be scare to answer loaded questions because it spawn interesting comments.

This is an honest question- I don’t understand the intent of your comment.

As for the flame war above, I’d rather see this blog stay away from non-PF hot button issues or be heavily moderated when it must go there–rather than have some nuts like Justin come in and ruin the usually good comments and community of this blog.

Try the Firefox add-on PicLens to browse through those Flikr images…you’ll find them 10 times faster.

They were not men, they were angels!

The story implies Lot was moral because he offered his virgin daughters to be raped by strangers, to keep the strangers from committing a sin. So, are we to infer that raping women is not a sin, and therefore we can do that with God’s blessing?

Neat. Where do I sign up?! Oh, wait, I’m a woman- probably doesn’t benefit me much.

sorry to contribute to the flamer, but this particular story infuriates me in it’s hypocrisy

1. “What I wouldn’t give to have a man like Goldwater in mainstream American politics today.”

2. “I am voting for Barrack Obama.”

Also in your explanation, perhaps you could throw John McCain in the mix and compare him to Goldwater.

In my personal opinion, if Goldwater politics are what you are looking for, the closest man is Ron Paul. Thanks!

But cv makes a good point with the tax free inheritance and social security with married couples. Although that’s not going to be an issue until we’re older anyway and actually have assets for the other person to inherit… And social security is probably a moot point anyway. I firmly believe that social security won’t be there when I’m old enough for it, which is why I’m taking advantage of living with my parents and my side job while I’m in school and putting 75% of my income into my Roth IRA.

I suppose if there are legal avenues in place so I can visit my boyfriend in the hospital and vice versa without being married, then I dunno if we need any of the other benefits of marriage until we’re a lot older. After all, I have a few family members who I’d want to leave my estate to if they were to outlive me before I’d leave it to my boyfriend, simply because they need it more than he does. But by the time they’re gone, I think my boyfriend and I will have been together long enough that I won’t be worried about him owning half my income and possibly comingling any inheritances I might get by then.

I was listening to an interview on NPR Marketplace with folks who were encountering financial problems during the evacuation for Hurricane Ike.

One woman said “Everyone around here lives from paycheck to paycheck” and the people around her agreed loudly. They were talking about how they couldn’t afford to evacuate because of the cost of hotels, gas, etc. All complained of having to spend money they didn’t have on gas cans, candles, batteries, and supplies.

I couldn’t believe they never kept any of these items at home for emergency or everyday use. No candles? No batteries? No flashlights? They live in a hurricane zone, I couldn’t imagine why they waited until a major storm was bearing down on them to go to the store and pick up supplies that had been jacked up double or triple in price.

I’m wondering if Trent and/or the Simpledollar community has given any thought to how to combine commonsense frugality with commonsense preparedness?

I think Trent addressed some of this when there were floods in Iowa, but this might be a good time to look at it again with an eye toward storm/power outage preparedness.

Of course, if these folks each had an emergency fund, they could have taken care of themselves without worrying about how they were going to afford some extra batteries and plywood.

Some people interviewed said they had stocked up on ramen noodles. I couldn’t believe what a dumb, overpriced, and useless item that is for hurricane preparedness, and I wondered how they didn’t understand this. Just because they are 99 cents doesn’t make them cheap or appropriate.

First off, ramen noodles require WATER and a HEAT SOURCE, two things in short supply when severe weather has disrupted drinking water, electricity, and gas supplies.

Second, ramen noodles are full of sodium and not very nutritious, nothing you’d want to be eating for days on end.

Third, if you’re in a car or an enclosed shelter where you can’t light a sterno or campstove, they are useless.

Some ideas from Trent and the SD community might be a good resource for folks in this situation.

My ideas…

My preparedness foodstock includes shelf-stable items that require no refrigeration, cooking, or special preparation. For the most part, they don’t require additional water for preparation, and I get most of them at Costco or Sam’s Club, so the prices are reasonable.

Peanut butter, crackers, tuna pouches (no can opener required!), granola bars, ready-to-eat soups in juicebox packages (again, no can opener required), canned veggies (corn and peas), etc.

I have a ziplock bag with a bunch of individual jams and preserves, saved from all those restaurant breakfasts.

I favor the granola bars, but you might prefer Pop-Tarts or energy bars. Dry cereal is good, make sure it’s well-sealed in ziplock bags. Milk or soymilk in individual juiceboxes is good if that’s your prefererence.

Kids like canned ravioli and Spaghetti-Os. Adults and kids might like canned beef stew.

All of these require no water to prepare, and heating is optional.

I have tea bags and instant coffee (can’t stand the stuff, but I figure I might be really desperate for coffee). Also water in both gallon jugs and individual bottles.

Red Cross says you should have a minimum gallon/day per person for a minimum three-day event, I keep about 1.5 gal/day (because I drink a lot of water), and I plan on a week.

Also disposable paper plates, bowls, cups, utensils (plan on no potable water or water at all to wash dishes).

Heatsources are sterno (gelled alcohol fuel), candles in glass, bare candles, and a small backpacking stove with fuel.

Of course, batteries, flashlights, radios, first aid kit, medications, instant hand sanitizer, toilet paper, hygiene supplies, etc. I have a small 4-cell AA/AAA battery charger that runs from both a car cigarette lighter and a wall AC outlet, along with some rechargable AA and AAA batteries.

And CASH. Plastic is useless when there’s no power or communication. Cash requirements vary depending on one’s circumstances, but I think at least $100/person is the minimum to get through an emergency, maybe a minimum of $200-300 dollars for a single person or couple.

Back to the ramen noodle thing… If you really want some kind of instant soup in a cup and have access to hot water, get a mug or disposable hot cup, put half a bouillon cube, a tablespoon or two of instant rice (I use instant brown rice), and some herbs/spices of your choice in the cup along with hot water. Let it sit for a few minutes, and you have a REALLY cheap substitute for the ramen noodles that costs mere pennies instead of 99 cents. If you’ve opened a can of veggies, put some veggies in the cup. You can substitute couscous or pastina for the instant rice, it also works.

With all these items, the key is to periodically use and replenish them so they are always fresh. Pick shelf-stable items you actually use on a regular basis, or would be willing to use (I never had canned veggies in the house, I eventually learned to use them in omelettes and soups).

Pile on with your suggestions!

Legally married couples can inherit property from each other with no tax implications, they receive social security survivor’s benefits, and they can transfer unlimited amounts of money between them without paying gift taxes. Legal marriage is necessary for immigration purposes when one partner is from a foreign country, and the Family Medical Leave Act grants people the right to take leave to care for a sick spouse, but not an unmarried partner. I’m sure there are plenty of other examples, too. I’ll take the full rights and responsibilities of marriage any day over the “legal avenues already in place”, which won’t get you anywhere in the above examples.