Posted on 11/06/2011 2:21:00 PM PST by NYer
Microsoft and Starbucks are among 70 corporations, financial institutions, medical centers, and other major organizations that have signed on to a friend-of-the-court brief in support of a challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
The organizations are, or represent, major employers who argue that DOMA imposes significant administrative costs, and that it harms their ability to attract and retain talent.
"Microsoft has joined dozens of corporations, organizations and governments in support of a challenge on constitutionality grounds to the federal Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA," the company said in a statement. The amicus brief "points out the significant costs and administrative burdens DOMA imposes on employers as well as the ways DOMA interferes with employers' efforts to promote diversity and equal opportunity in the workplace."
The organizations -- which also include Google, CBS, Time Warner Cable, Nike, and the cities of Boston, Cambridge and New York -- filed the brief Thursday in the case of Commonwealth of Massachusetts vs. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, one of two consolidated cases from Massachusetts challenging the constitutionality of DOMA.
DOMA, passed by Congress in 1996, defines marriage as between one man and one woman. It bars the federal government from treating same-sex marriages as legal or granting gay couples federal benefits. That means, for instance, that same-sex couples who married in states such as Massachusetts, where gay marriage is legal, aren't eligible for the benefits that come with federally recognized marriage, such as filing joint federal tax returns or Social Security and immigration-law benefits.
There are about a dozen cases around the country challenging DOMA.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
it’s getting easier and easier to envision that time when you can’t buy or sell without being approved by the Beast, isn’t is?
ABT Associates
Aetna, Inc.
Akamai Technologies, Inc.
Alere Inc.
Bank of New York Mellon
Corporation
Biogen Idec, Inc.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mass., Inc.
Boston Community Capital, Inc.
Boston Medical Center Corp.
Bright Horizons Children’s Centers
LLC
Calvert Investments, Inc.
CBS Corporation
The Chubb Corporation
Communispace Corp.
Constellation Energy Group, Inc.
Diageo North America, Inc.
Eastern Bank Corp.
Exelon Corp.
FitCorp Healthcare Centers, Inc.
Gammelgården, LLC
Google Inc.
Integrated Archive Systems, Inc.
Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group,
LLC
Levi Strauss & Co.
Loring, Wolcott & Coolidge Trust,
LLC
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance
Co.
Massachusetts Envelope Company,
Inc.
Massachusetts Financial Services
Company
Microsoft Corp.
National Grid USA, Inc.
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.
New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc.
New England Cryogenic Center, Inc.
NIKE, Inc.
The Ogilvy Group, Inc.
Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Partners HealthCare System, Inc.
Reproductive Science Center of New
England
Skyworks Solutions, Inc.
Starbucks Corp.
State Street Bank and Trust Co.
Stonyfield Farm, Inc.
Sun Life Financial (U.S.) Services
Co., Inc.
Time Warner Cable, Inc.
Trillium Asset Management Corp.
W/S Development Associates LLC
Xerox Corp.
Zipcar, Inc.
Yeah, FF as it was was a great program. The add-ons, not so much.
Hint: "Having" to wipe the HDD is not the sign of a "hopelessly broken" application.
Were you there?
I managed to clean the machine off so that it was at least usable. Then when I attempted to update the XP box to the latest update, I would get BSODs, every time.
So I would install what I could, until the BSODs wouldn’t let me install anything anymore. This was all in safe mode.
So I did some digging, and the corrupted FF install was preventing the update. Bad FF plugins that were infected.
So I had to wipe the machine and now it works fine, but she doesn’t use FF anymore. No problems since.
You can get Folgers cappucino or Maxwell House lattes for a lot less than a Starbucks coffee and they taste just as good,if not better
Okay, this one’s going to hurt me. Not because of Charbux’s coffee, but the SALTED CARAMEL HOT CHOCOLATE to which I’m hopelessly addicted. I MUST find a recipe to make my own! Especially now.
Somehow “salt” and “Coffee” don’t go together in the same sentence.
>> “Somehow “salt” and “Coffee” don’t go together in the same sentence.” <<
.
They do if its StarPuke coffee.
StarPuke. That’s funny. Their coffee is so-so. It’s not worth the price.
>>> I think we all need to start writing to Mickeysoft and telling them we don’t appreciate MSNBC and their propoganda and all the other libtard positions they take.
You’re not very up to date. Microsoft dumped it’s ownership share of the MSNBC network about five years ago. NBC bought them out. Microsoft retains only a share of msnbc.com.
“Mystic Monk” looks interesting but I’m interested in gift cards for poor relatives who could use the ability to pick up a coffee or a treat once in a while.
I will probably get Peet’s cards.
Depends on which desktop shell you use. I’m a Gnome fan myself, but KDE is equally functional and attractive.
The greatest part of Linux is that it’s supported by the community at large. There are no software engineers burning the midnight oil at the Apple or M$ megaplexes. These are enthusiasts who love the project and what they do, and given the evolution of Linux from clunky terminal to functional GUI’d desktop, I’d say there’s a lot of love for the Pingoo!
to all those who said “I have a friend and they are nice they just want to be married” and all that crap , well thank you for never speaking up, never being a conservative when claiming to be one and for those who said it’s just about civil unions , well you helped them to get this far because if they overturn DOMA then you can expect to see this perverted crap in the school, private schools, will be forced to teach it, all our laws will be focused on helping them.
As for those who couldn’t be bothered shopping at other places or never sending mail, calling them then you too helped them.
There are lists out there with companies giving money to the homo agenda, home depot is a massive one.
Ban the likes of home depot and tell them why you are banning them.
went to starbucks once and that was it and that was years ago.
Hate the place, the overpriced coffee, the snotty little urchin serving, the snobby customers who think they’re special because they have a starbucks coffee, hate seeing the NY Times rag headlines.
Why anyone ever goes there is beyond me.
There is a whole list of companies there and maybe we need to do what the left does and get this list, and then mass mail these companies.
Also maybe we need to all call the talk radio phony’s like Hannity and tell him no more taking conservative money until you start telling your listeners about conservative social issues are.
I’m fed up of being told off liberals who say do not mention social issues because no one wants to know . well they do want to know and states voting have proven that
homo depot is not mentioned but they are a massive money giver and even gives money to their freak parades.
Most of those companies are from the north east I see, maybe we need to build a wall along VA’s northern border instead of our southerner border
“The organizations are, or represent, major employers who argue that DOMA imposes significant administrative costs, and that it harms their ability to attract and retain talent.”
This makes absolutely no sense to me.....Can someone help me understand.
None of their coffee tastes like coffee.
They buy the cheap, low flavor beans, and over-roast them to produce a flavor, and then charge extra to boot.
Its called the “Seattle taste,” and if you’ve ever seen the shoreline area of Seattle, you know its appropriate. :o)
>> “Charbux’s coffee” <<
.
Fits!
“Microsoft and Starbucks are among 70 corporations, financial institutions, medical centers, and other major organizations that have signed on to a friend-of-the-court brief in support of a challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).”
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