TAH DAH!! - And, it's FUN - ACT IMMEDIATELY - 1/14/08

[Smartmarriages]

This is huge.  And exciting.  Our chance to get the fact that Marriage
Education exists into public and political awareness - the fact that there
is an affordable, preventive, upstream approach to so many of the problems
that plague the country.  Please take ten minutes and do this TODAY. There
are presidential debates this week. I just voted and it's not only easy,
it's fun!  And, educational.  I had no idea this "feel good citizen"
opportunity existed!  Please also forward this to everyone you know.   -
diane 

 
> Dear Diane,
> 
> We have discovered a website, Politico.com, that gives us a way to put the
> topic of Marriage Education on the political agenda!
> 
> HOW: we submit questions on Marriage Education for inclusion in the
> nationally-televised presidential debates and we get the list to vote on
> (rank) the questions they think are important. The questions that receive the
> most votes will be considered for inclusion in the debates.
> 
> We have posted 5 Marriage Education questions (listed below). NOW we need
> members of the Smart Marriages listserv to vote.  This has the potential to
> put Marriage Education on radar screens all across the country!
> 
> Here's how to vote:  Visit http://www.politico.com. Scroll down to the
> "Upcoming Presidential Debates" banner in the middle of the screen.  Click on
> this and you'll get to "Vote for Questions Now" located in the middle of that
> page.  Then click on "Democratic" OR "Republican" and you will get to a list
> of questions.  Scroll through the questions and under header Social Issues,
> look for these five Marriage questions. Vote for all five of them (yes, you
> can do this!): 
> 
> 1)   It has been estimated that divorce in America today costs state and
> Federal governments more than $100 billion annually in an array of social
> services needed as a result of marital breakdown.  If you are elected
> President, what steps will you take to invest this money in preventive
> approaches for helping couples build healthy marriages and families?
> 
> 2)   Since marital success is correlated with many measures of social
> stability--such as better mental and physical health, higher productivity in
> the workplace, lower crime and less violent crime--and since Marriage
> Education skills are known to correlate with marital success, what
> innovative measures would you propose as President to make these
> relationship skills part of the birthright of every American?
> 
> 3)   In an attempt to address the decades-long breakdown of families and
> provide solutions to strengthen marriage and family relationships in our
> nation's poorest and most desperate communities, Presidents Clinton and Bush
> have supported back-to-back initiatives (Responsible Fatherhood Initiative
> and Healthy Marriage Initiative).  As President, how will you continue
> and/or expand upon these programs that break the cycle of poverty by
> strengthening marriages and families in impoverished communities?
> 
> 4)   Both parties speak about the importance of family values.  Yet, this
> often fails to result in action that benefits children and families.  Since
> we know the primary reason families break apart is that the relationship
> between the parents breaks apart, and we know that Marriage Education and
> Relationship Skills training helps couples build strong relationships, what
> will you do to increase access to these programs?
> 
> 5)   Data show that parents' marital stability is correlated with a variety
> of positive outcomes for their children--including higher academic
> achievement, lower teen pregnancy rates, lower rates of delinquency, drug
> and alcohol abuse, and better overall health.  We also know that Marriage
> Education fosters marital stability.  As President of the country, what
> initiatives would you propose to make Marriage Education readily available?
> _______
> 
> After you vote, go back and click the OTHER political affiliation that you
> didn't enter before, and vote for the five Marriage questions again!!!  This
> way, you will be able to cast your vote 10 times for Marriage Education.
> 
> There are hundreds of questions on dozens of topics, so it is very important
> that we get thousands to vote on Marriage Education so that our questions end
> up among the top 10 - 20 questions.
> 
> Please share this strategy with everyone you know, Healthy Marriage Education
> colleagues, friends, family ­ and pass along to email lists or blogs.  If
> we're successful, all Presidential candidate's staffs will become aware of
> our issues and the candidates will be briefed on Marriage Education and be
> forced to think through how they will address this issue in their campaigns.
> Just getting that far will be a huge success. If the moderators should ask a
> Healthy Marriage question on the televised debates, we'll have succeeded at an
> even higher level!
> 
> As the old adage goes, this is our chance to vote early and vote often!
> Please join us in bringing Marriage Education into the Presidential debates
> across the country.  And, enjoy exercising your political muscle at this key
> time in the course of our work to empower Americans with the skills for
> forming and sustaining Healthy Marriages and families.
> 
> Patty Howell, VP of Operations
> California Healthy Marriages Coalition
> www.CaMarriage.com


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