Originally Posted by Jeffro
Now, follow this pretzel logic:

There was a letter to the editor of the SF Chronicle prior to the election from a woman named Muriel who said she had gone to lunch with her lesbian niece and her niece's current partner. A friend of Muriel's saw her and approached. Muriel was flummoxed as to how to introduce her niece's friend. Should she refer to her as a girlfriend? Partner? Significant other? What word should she use? This caused her so much anxiety, that she decided she was going to vote to support Prop 8, and eliminate the right for her niece to marry.
Pretzels are more astute. Indeed, it would have been simpler for Muriel's simple mind if her niece were allowed to marry, then she could have simply introduced her friend as her "spouse." Fiancee should suffice until the nuptials.

A well reasoned argument is like a diamond: impervious to corruption and crystal clear - and infinitely rarer.

Here, as elsewhere, people are outraged at what feels like a rigged game -- an economy that won't respond, a democracy that won't listen, and a financial sector that holds all the cards. - Robert Reich