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ronbowlens

11 years ago

DOMA Ruling Prompts Change in Federal Student Aid Rules

By Philip Elliott Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Students in same-sex marriages will be treated the same as their straight married classmates when it comes to federal college loan applications, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Friday in a shift that reflects this year’s Supreme Court ruling that broadened gay rights.

“We must continue to ensure that every single American is treated equally in the eyes of the law, and this important guidance for students is another step forward in that effort,” Duncan said in a statement.

The Education Department also revised its required Free Application for Federal Student Aid to reflect more inclusive language about students and their parents. The department said it would recognize a student — and parents — as legally married if the couple was legally married in a state that permits same-sex marriages.

The new application forms do not distinguish between gay or straight marriages.

The department also said students’ eligibility for federal aid would be the same in all 50 states, regardless of where the student attends school.

For instance, a same-sex couple from Massachusetts, where gay marriage is legal, would be treated the same as a straight couple if one or both applied for a federal student loan to attend a school in one of the 34 states that do not permit gay marriage. The same standards would apply to parents in same-sex marriages.

“As students fill out their FAFSA this coming year, I’m thrilled they’ll be able to do so in a way that is more fair and just,” Duncan said, using the financial aid application’s acronym.

Before the Supreme Court ruled this summer, the Education Department was bound by the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibited all federal agencies from recognizing same-sex marriages. The Clinton-era law defined marriage as between one and one woman and hurt many applicants in same-sex marriages.

Friday’s move is the latest from the Education Department to be more helpful to students in same-sex marriages or with married gay parents.

Even before the ruling, Duncan instructed the department to collect information on both of the student’s legal parents, regardless of marital status. That meant children being raised by unmarried couples — regardless of sexual orientation — would have both adults’ incomes factored into financial aid eligibility.

That was an effort to reflect that same-sex couples share financial responsibilities for children, even if their state does not sanction gay marriages.

Kenneth Mehlman also talks about progress after DOMA

Security Founder John McAfee: "Obamacare is a Hacker’s Wet Dream"

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ronbowlens

11 years ago

Washington State tears off GMO label bill

Washington state experienced an expensive fight over the labeling of genetically modified foods or GMOs. The bill in question would have mandated that all foods containing GMOs are labeled clearly for consumers, including cereals, soft drinks chips and many other items. The bill was ultimately voted down by Washington voters by a 10 point margin.

The for labeling campaign calling for greater consumer transparency through labels of all products containing GMOs. The against labeling side claimed that labeling GMO foods would create an increased cost to consumers. The opposing side had a lot of large financial backers including the Grocery Manufacturers Association which represents big food corporations such as Campbell Foods, General Mills, Hillshire Brands, and PepsiCo. Together they raised contributed $1 million dollars to oppose the bill. Other donations against the bill came from big agricultural companies such as DuPont, Monsanto and Bayer CropScience. Their contributions totaled around $11 million. So now that the bill didn't pass and GMOs are not labeled we should ask ourselves, how much of our food is GMO and does this make a difference? If we look at the GMOs crops grown today, around 95% of U.S. commodity crops are GMO. This includes 94$ of sugar beets, 90% of soybeans, and 88% of cotton and feed corn. Papaya are an interesting case that demonstrates the benefits of GMOs. In the 1980s basically all papaya was wiped out of Hawaii due to a ringspot virus. Today papaya's grow again on the islands due to virus resistant GMO crops. In the actual stores GMO foods include basically any processed foods with sugar. For the most part non-processed foods are not GMO, for example tomatoes, potatoes, wheat and rice are not GMO in the U.S. Now there is a lot of talk about GMO foods being unhealthy. This for all intents and purposes is not true. If we look at sugar as a general example, by the time it is processed and put into your food the sugar has no chemical difference between non-GMO sugar. There are also claims that crops that are genetically modified with other animals DNA are some how bad for us. The idea that DNA is somehow owned by one animal or another is also absurd. DNA and RNA create the language or code that define life. Essentially all living things have this code and share similar parts of it. Taking code from a fish to create corn with protein may sound weird but it is just a length of code. Humans may share 99% of our DNA with apes but we also share 30% of our DNA with a potatoes. I think GMOs are a amazing step forward for science, being able to make crops resist viruses and grow more effectively with less water has huge agricultural advantages.

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More Posts from Ronbowlens and Others

DOMA Ruling Prompts Change in Federal Student Aid Rules

Security Founder John McAfee: "Obamacare is a Hacker’s Wet Dream"

Washington State tears off GMO label bill