Changes

President George W. Bush appointed two strong conservatives to the Supreme Court during his presidency:  Chief Justice John Roberts and Samuel Alito, who is from New Jersey.  The liberal Justices tend to be older, while the more conservative Justices are younger.  But after 2008, President Obama nominated two young liberals to the Supreme Court, ensuring that this Court would be almost equally divided between conservatives and liberals for the foreseeable future.  Perhaps because it is nearly equally divided, the Supreme Court accepting fewer cases for its review (i.e., the Court is "denying cert." more often).

President George W. Bush appointed two strong conservatives to the Supreme Court during his presidency:  Chief Justice John Roberts and Samuel Alito, who is from New Jersey.  The liberal Justices tend to be older, while the more conservative Justices are younger.  But after 2008, President Obama nominated two young liberals to the Supreme Court, ensuring that this Court would be almost equally divided between conservatives and liberals for the foreseeable future.  Perhaps because it is nearly equally divided, the Supreme Court accepting fewer cases for its review (i.e., the Court is "denying cert." more often).

State supreme courts have been deciding the issue of same-sex marriage.  In 2003, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled by a 4-3 margin, in ''Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health'', that its state Constitution required issuing same-sex marriage licenses.  In 2008, a 4-3 vote of the California Supreme Court mandated marriage licenses for homosexual couples, but in November California voters overturned that decision by adding a provision ("Proposition 8") to the California Constitution specifying that marriage is between only a man and woman.  Most states have banned same-sex marriage.

State supreme courts have been deciding the issue of same-sex marriage.  In 2003, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruled by a 4-3 margin, in ''Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health'', that its state Constitution required issuing same-sex marriage licenses.  In 2008, a 4-3 vote of the California Supreme Court mandated marriage licenses for homosexual couples, but in November California voters overturned that decision by adding a provision ("Proposition 8") to the California Constitution specifying that marriage is between only a man and woman.  Most states have banned same-sex marriage, but the homosexual movement keeps pushing its agenda.  By 2013 about one-third of the states -- 16 out of 50 -- had imposed same-sex marriage, typically by judicial activism rather than legislation.

== A Very Brief History of America ==

== A Very Brief History of America ==