In troubled times, vasectomies are on the rise

Children are a blessing from God;  debt is the curse, and yet again we have people who turn away from God’s blessings and dig their graves even faster.

The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives;  for those blessed by the LORD shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off.
The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand. I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing. Psalms 37:21-26

Source: CNN.com

Dr. J. Stephen Jones had seven vasectomies to perform in a day.

The schedule for Jones, a Cleveland, Ohio, urologist, has become more crowded during a recent boom in vasectomies.

“My staff came to me and said, what’s happening?” said Jones, the chairman of the Department of Regional Urology of Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. “Why are we suddenly having an explosion in guys asking for vasectomies?”

They looked at their statistics and realized the started around November as the economic crisis deepened. October went down in the history books as one of Wall Street’s worst months.

Since then, the Cleveland Clinic has seen a 50 percent increase in vasectomies, an outpatient surgery that is the cheapest form of permanent birth control. Vasectomies are less invasive and cheaper than tubal ligation, which involves blocking, tieing or cutting a woman’s fallopian tubes to prevent pregnancy.

“It’s unlikely that some guy read the Dow Jones numbers that day and said, ‘Why don’t we have a vasectomy?’ ” Jones said. “More likely, people have already been considering it and typically a guy and his wife have spoken a year or two about this.”

Jones was told by patients that they were getting vasectomies because they were losing their jobs and health insurance, or concerned about being out of work soon.

“They realize they don’t have the financial security long-term with what’s going on,” Jones said. “Several of them have mentioned, ‘We can’t afford to have any more children in this economy.’ My perception is that it’s more of the concept of raising children in an uncertain economic future.”

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EU bans use of ‘Miss’ and ‘Mrs’ (and sportsmen and statesmen) because it claims they are sexist

Will the ignorance ever cease?

Source:  Mail Online

Using ‘Miss’ and ‘Mrs’ has been banned by leaders of the European Union because they are not considered politically correct.

Brussels have decided the words are sexist and issued new guidelines in its bid to create ‘gender-neutral’ language.

The booklet warns European politicians they must avoid referring to a woman’s marital status.

This also means Madame and Mademoiselle, Frau and and Senora and Senorita are banned.

Instead of using the standard titles, it is asking MEPs to address women by their names.

And the rules have not stopped there – they also ban MEPs saying sportsmen and statesmen, advising athletes and political leaders should be used instead.

Man-made is also taboo – it should be artificial or synthetic, firemen is disallowed and air hostesses should be called flight attendants.

Headmasters and headmistresses must be heads or , laymen becomes layperson, and manageress or mayoress should be manager or mayor.

Police officers must be used instead of policeman and policewoman unless the officer’s sex is relevant.

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Number of households with kids hits new low

Source:  USATODAY.com

The percentage of with children under 18 living at home last year hit the lowest point — 46% — in half a century, government data reported Wednesday.

The trend reflects the aging of the Baby Boom generation and having fewer children, demographers say.

“Baby Boomers have been a big force in driving a lot of different population dynamics,” says Rose Kreider, a family demographer at the , which released the data.

In 2008, about 35.7 million families (46%) had children under 18 at home, the Census figures show, down from 52% in 1950. The percentage peaked in 1963, when about 57% of families had children under 18 at home.

… When cash-strapped workers have fewer dollars to feed another mouth, couples are likely to have fewer children, or none.

The data also show:

•About 5.3 million “stay-at-home” mothers and 140,000 such fathers.

•The median age at first marriage was 27.4 years for men and 25.6 for women.

•Fewer women in their mid- to early 40s had children in 2008 (20%), up from 10% in 1976.

•The percentage of children with two parents at home varies: 85% of Asian children have two parents at home vs. 78% of white, 70% of Hispanic and 38% of black children.

Full Story

Technorati Tags: Demographic Winter, birth rates

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