response 22 of 79:

Jul 31 16:30 UTC 2003

Re 20> When you say 50% of all marriages end in divorces, it should 
include repeat marriages. Doesn't matter if it's the 1st marriage or 
the 6th marriage of the bride or groom in concern. It is a unique 
marriage, irrespective of past marital status of either partner. I 
don't see how multiple marriages skews results in this case.

response 24 of 79:

Jul 31 16:40 UTC 2003

Re #22:  But it isn't a unique marriage independent of the past marital
         status of the two partners.  This isn't like a coin toss: the
         divorce history of the partners influences the chance that the
         current marriage will last.  For some people, the chance that a
         given marriage will end in divorce is far higher than it is for
         the general population.

         These tend to be people who either have a personal problem that
         causes failed marriages, or a pattern of picking spouses who do.
         For example, an alcoholic who becomes abusive when drunk will
         often go through a series of marriages and divorces because he/she
         can behave for long enough to catch a spouse, but will eventually
         fall off the wagon and get dumped.  Similarly, a woman who picks
         abusive husbands (this is more frequent than you might think, and
         usually a result of being raised in an abusive household) but has
         the sense to divorce them when she figures it out could rack up
         quite a list.  Or someone who has affairs.  There are a lot of
         patterns that lead to multiple divorces and make it very likely
         that subsequent marriages will end in divorce too.

         Since these people are included in the statistic, it skews things.
         Unfortunately, I don't remember by how much.

response 26 of 79:

Jul 31 17:42 UTC 2003

when referring to someone from the continent, you would prefix it 
with "North" or "South". Anyone from Mexico, Canada or the US is 
a "North American". Any one from Brazil, Argentina, or the like is 
a "South American". There is not continent "America". There is 
a "North America" and a "South America" (and even "Central America", 
though that's not recognised as a separate continent). So it's 
perfectly acceptable to call some one from the USA to call themselves 
American, there's nothing to be confused about.

response 28 of 79:

Jul 31 17:44 UTC 2003

the 50% is a statistic about marriages, not people who get married.  

If there were only 20 people in the world, and they all married each other
, there would be 10 marriages.  

If four of those people divorced and remarried, 20% of the marriages would
have ended in divorce. And 20% of the people would have gotten divorces.

The, those four people proceed to marry and divorce until they have all been
married and divorced in all possible combinations.  

The percentage of _people_ who divorced would not change.  80% remain married,
20% got divorced.

The percentage of _marriages_ that ended in divorce would change dramatically.
67% of the marriages were stable, 33% ended in divorce.  

response 30 of 79:

Jul 31 18:18 UTC 2003

Re 28> Agreed. I think what Joe was trying to say was that while 50% 
of all marriages end in divorce, one needs to keep in mind that that 
percentage is skewed to some degree by a relatively small number of 
people who have a tendency to repeatedly get into marriages that will 
end in divorce.

Did I get that right, Joe?

response 34 of 79:

Jul 31 20:43 UTC 2003

We can all agree divorce is pretty common, whatever the statistics 
actually are.  As a divorcee myself, I think it's very unfortunate it 
happens so often.  

response 36 of 79:

Aug 1 04:07 UTC 2003

Re #5:  What's WRONG is defining the public face of the office of
POTUS as an explicitly Christian one.  Government officials should
not act in any sectarian capacity while exercising their office.

Re #21:  Sounds like the way officially Catholic countries handle it.

response 38 of 79:

Aug 1 13:52 UTC 2003

re resp:35: I wasn't speaking of my divorce, in particular, either, 
though of course it has affected my perceptions of divorce.  As a 
general case, though, I bet we all know someone who has had 4 or more 
marriages.  I knew a guy in college who had had 5 stepdads before he 
graduated from high school.  He was fortunate in that his maternal 
grandfather was a stable influence in his life.  He certainly didn't 
have any other male role models he could count on.  I'm sure his mother 
was unhappy with all of her various husbands, once she married them... 
but at some point, this guy and his two sisters, the children, ought to 
have received some consideration as well.

The American characteristic of driving on the right instead of the left 
originated in the 18th century.

Santa Claus wasn't a big deal anywhere until the late 1800's in 
America.  I don't belive our mass giving of presents occurred until 
after the Great Depression.

response 40 of 79:

Aug 1 20:26 UTC 2003

Thanks!!

What myths/images/impressions created by Hollywood movies, usually, 
would you like to dispel about the US? 

response 42 of 79:

Aug 2 03:51 UTC 2003

In real life America, there are toddlers.

As a parent of a toddler, I'm struck by the fact that the only movie that
contains a toddler in a significant roles is "Monsters, Inc" where they
computer generated the toddler.  Apparantly getting a toddler into a movie
is harder than an alien, a talking pig, or a dinosaur.

response 44 of 79:

Aug 2 04:11 UTC 2003

resp:41 Indeed, many of us have traveled to other countries: and many 
of us even appreciate the mix of culture here in our own backyard.