Religion And Birth Control: Not Just A GOP Fight

Posted by DewRoc | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 22-02-2012-05-2008

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Story By: by David Welna

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, a Catholic up for re-election this year, was one of the Democrats who spoke out against the White House birth control policy before it was altered.

President Obama moved swiftly Friday to quell a politically perilous uproar involving two hot-button issues: birth control and religious institutions.

In January, the Obama administration announced that under its health care law, religiously affiliated institutions such as hospitals and schools would have to include birth control in their employees’ health coverage.

All this week, Republicans on Capitol Hill bashed that policy as a violation of religious freedom, and some of the president’s fellow Democrats added to the heat.

‘An Accommodation’

When the White House first announced its birth control coverage policy, it said it would wait 18 months before making a final ruling on the issue. But by Friday, it was clear that issue had turned into a political brush fire that could do a lot of damage if not doused quickly.

So Obama stepped into the White House briefing room and announced what senior White House officials are calling “an accommodation.” Obama acknowledged everything was happening faster than planned.

“After the many genuine concerns that have been raised over the last few weeks, as well, frankly, the more cynical desire on the part of some to make this into a political football,” he said, “it became clear that spending months hammering out a solution was not going to be an option.”

Under the revised policy, religiously linked institutions will no longer have to directly provide birth control coverage. Instead, insurance companies themselves will have to offer such coverage free of charge.

Is It About Religion Or Contraception?

The timing of the president’s policy shift suggested damage control. It came less than 48 hours after House Speaker John Boehner strode out onto the House floor and denounced the decision to mandate birth control coverage by religiously affiliated institutions.

“This attack by the federal government on religious freedom in our country must not stand and will not stand,” Boehner said.

The GOP offensive continued at the annual meeting in Washington of the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell addressed that group on Thursday.

“The Obama administration has crossed a dangerous line, and we will fight this attack on the fundamental right to religious freedom until the courts overturn it or until we have a president who will reverse it,” he said.

Some of the fiercest criticism has come from Catholic Church leaders. Senate Republican leaders tapped New Hampshire freshman Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who happens to be Catholic, to state the gist of their argument.

“This is not a women’s rights issue, this is a religious liberty issue,” she said.

That prompted a swift response from another Catholic lawmaker, Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state.

“Well, we have news for Republicans: This is about contraception,” she said.

Murray has nearly five years left in her term, unlike New York Senate Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, who’s seeking re-election this year. Still, like Murray, Gillibrand has been an enthusiastic supporter of the White House’s original birth control mandate.

“I think the president made the right decision in ensuring that all America’s women have access to affordable contraception,” Gillibrand says.

Democrats In Opposition

Other Catholic senators facing voters next fall have been openly critical of the original policy. One of them is Democrat Bob Casey, whose state of Pennsylvania is home to many Catholic voters.

“I’ve said very clearly that I oppose the White House decision,” Casey said Thursday.

Another vulnerable Catholic Senate Democrat up for re-election this year is West Virginia’s Joe Manchin. He, too, spoke out against the policy hours before it was altered.

“I feel it’s wrong, the direction and the position that the administration is taking and [Health and Human Services] has taken. I think it needs to be repealed, overturned, and let’s go back to where we were,” he said.

Some Democrats say privately they felt blindsided by the policy the White House has now altered. Wendy Schiller, associate professor of political science at Brown University, closely follows the Senate. She says this issue could affect which party controls the Senate next year.

“I mean, there’s no question the Catholics remain a stalwart of the Democrats, particularly in some very key states and districts in the country,” she says. “So I think this was an issue that Democrats firmly believed had to be addressed as quickly as possible.”

The White House’s shift in birth control policy was enough to quiet earlier criticism from Tim Kaine, a Catholic Democrat running for an open Senate seat in Virginia.

“My only concern was that a church or a church-affiliated institution not be required to do something or to purchase the coverage that violated religious doctrine,” Kaine said on MSNBC after the president’s announcement. “That concern has been conclusively solved by this compromise.”

Republicans, however, are showing no signs of letting up on their criticism: GOP Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri called Friday’s policy shift “an accounting gimmick.”

The HHS Mandate: Protect Conscience. Protect Humanity.

Posted by DewRoc | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 21-02-2012-05-2008

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WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) – Conscience is a funny thing. Sometimes it pricks you. Other times it perches on your shoulder like a cricket. In serious cases, it shows up in the form of two cartoon mice-one dressed as an angel and the other as a devil. According to pop culture, conscience is a shape-shifting part of the human psyche. It shows up mostly when we’re about to do bad things-and even celebrities have (and like to talk about) it.

What conscience does is pretty clear. The Disney images we have of conscience-at-work are, strangely enough, pretty accurate. Our experience tells us so.

But what conscience actually is takes more than cartoons to grasp. How can the same thing be a beacon of wisdom, a guide, and totally ambivalent all at once? After all, conscience is above all a personal phenomenon. How can it really, then, be reliable? It’s the million-dollar question.

One thing we know for certain: recent months have been some of the worst for conscience in the history of our nation. The Obama administration’s decision to force citizens to violate their consciences through healthcare mandates and semantic manipulation has been the object of widespread public outcry. True, many Americans might not know exactly what conscience is, but they certainly know that it should be protected.

With the government-forged blade of social progress cleaving civic requirements from moral obligations, the need to educate on the meaning and importance of conscience is greater than ever. To aid in this effort, the Center for Morality in Public Life has launched Protect Conscience-a digital resource for Americans wanting to inform themselves, and their family and friends, about the role and meaning of conscience in the public square.

Know Thyself

The Delphic oracle preached a simple truth: gnothi seauton-”know thyself.” This pithy dictum was at the heart of ancient wisdom: Plato employed it in his dialogues, where it represented the deepest purposes of philosophy and the “good life.” Self-knowledge showed the humble, like Socrates, to be heroes. And it betrayed the proud as fools.

Conscience, as we understand it today, is an application of this very principle-con from the Latin “with,” and scientia from “knowledge.” The type of understanding required for conscience isn’t supernatural or inspired, but natural and scientific. It’s based in an appreciation of our humanity-not only as a gift from God, but more simply as something fundamentally good in itself.

The reason we understand so well how conscience works is the same reason we understand how breathing or walking work: they’re basic human acts that just come with the territory. We breathe and walk every day, and we could give an account at the drop of a hat. The very same goes for conscience. (That’s why you don’t have to be a faith-filled or God-fearing person to be conscientious. The two aren’t related any more than faith to breathing or walking.)

As we saw, though, things get tough when we ask why conscience is important-in other words, just what it actually is. This takes some deeper reflection, since conscience is tied at bottom to the meaning and identity of our very selves. Sure, we know that we breathe, but can we explain just what breathing is; or better yet, why humans have lungs rather than gills? In other words, we can give an account of our human activity, but it’s not so easy to give a similar account of our most basic nature.

Happiness is an Individual Thing

Humans are communal creatures. We thrive in company-and by Catholic teaching, we’re created in the image of a God who is “company” in himself. But seeking out that destiny-what will make us happiest and most fulfilled-is a radically individual pursuit. “Know thyself” is a singular command. (Can you imagine if we had to “Know thyself and everyone else”?)

Conscience, because it’s linked so closely to our human nature, is also singular. There’s no such thing as a “collective conscience.” Thus, we’re left with an individual conscience-our own-to make judgments for ourselves about what’s right and wrong, good and bad, moral and immoral. When it comes to our own personal actions, the dictates of conscience are absolute. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “man is obliged to follow faithfully what he knows to be right and just [i.e., his conscience]” (1778). Of course, we have an obligation also to form our consciences according to what’s truly right and just-by study, practice, and prayer. In the end, though, a “human being must always obey the certain judgment of his conscience. If he were deliberately to act against it, he would condemn himself” (CCC 1790).

Conscience: A Basic Human Right

The Department of Health and Human ...

Published by: Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Hoffenheim, Mainz play out a draw

Posted by DewRoc | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 21-02-2012-05-2008

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Berlin: Hoffenheim’s new coach Markus Babbel was unable to mark his home debut with a win on Friday as Mainz came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw in the Bundesliga.

The home side went ahead in the ninth minute when the unfortunate Nikolce Noveski deflected Boris Vukcevic’s cross into his own net for his sixth ever own goal — a Bundesliga joint record. Noveski also scored an own goal when Mainz hosted Hoffenheim earlier this season.

Mohammad Zidan scored in the third consecutive game following his winter transfer from Borussia Dortmund when the Hoffenheim defence left him completely free to volley in Radoslav Zabavnik’s cross in the 29th minute.

Both mid-table sides found it hard to control the ball or dictate play in a scrappy second half.

Article continues below

© 2011 Gulf News (www.gulfnews.com)

Beachfront Homes

Posted by DewRoc | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 20-02-2012-05-2008

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Beachfront homes $6 million and under, in Dana Point, Calif., Osterville, Mass., and Loveladies, N.J. Juliet Chung has details on The News Hub.

DANA POINT, Calif. $5 Million

A 4,000-square-foot home, with four bedrooms and five bathrooms, on a 0.2-acre lot

DETAILS: This two-story, Cape Cod-style home has a master suite that runs the length of the house and has a double-sided fireplace and a terrace. The property also has a fire pit, outdoor fireplace, lawn and patio. 2011 property taxes are about $88,700.

Jeri Koegel

Dana Point, Calif.

BY THE SEA: The beach is sandy and is near Dana Point Harbor.

HANG TEN: Stewart Surfboards, six miles away in San Clemente, offers handmade custom surfboards and also rents out boards.

FRIDAY’S FORECAST: Chance of rain, high 67 degrees.

SOURCE: Doug Echelberger, Echelberger Group, 949-498-7711, doug@echelberger.com; Realtor.com

OSTERVILLE, Mass. $5.5 Million

A 3,400-square-foot home with seven bedrooms and four bathrooms, on 2.2 acres in Cape Cod

DETAILS: This beachfront Colonial was built in 1935 and renovated over the years. The L-shaped property fronts a saltwater pond and also has a tennis court. It’s about a mile away from the center of the village. 2011 property taxes are nearly $46,000.

BY THE SEA: The private beach fronts Nantucket Sound. The area is popular for biking and walking.

HANG TEN: Boarding House Surf Shop is eight miles away in Hyannis.

FRIDAY’S FORECAST: Windy, high 52 degrees.

SOURCE: Jack Cotton, Sotheby’s International Realty, 508-957-5500, jack@jackcotton.com; Realtor.com

LOVELADIES, N.J. $6 Million

A 4,300-square-foot home with five bedrooms and five bathrooms, on 0.7-acre on Long Beach Island

DETAILS: The home has a double-height family room, an elevator, plus a screened porch and several ipe decks. There’s also a pool. The home is being sold furnished; 2011 property taxes are $34,000.

BY THE SEA: The property has 125 feet of beach frontage. Grassy dunes lead to a sandy beach.

HANG TEN: Ron Jon Surf Shop, seven miles away in Ship Bottom, offers surfboards and apparel.

FRIDAY’S FORECAST: Clear, high 52 degrees.

SOURCE: Benée Scola, Benée Scola & Company, 609-494-0077,

benee@beneescola.com.


Juliet Chung


© 2011 Wall Street Journal (www.wsj.com)

Great Game Fish Like MahiMahi Going Out On Key West Fishing Charters For Key West Deep Sea Fishing

Posted by DewRoc | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 20-02-2012-05-2008

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To catch mahimahi you will want a rather sturdy rod plus a reel using the capability to hold a reasonably stiff drag. Use 30 to 50 lb. test line having a smaller egg weight on the finish to pull the bait fish down just a bit below the surface. You need a leader that connects towards the line on a swivel plus a 5/0 to 8/0 hook. The size from the fish in the school identify the size from the tackle and bait.

To catch them, locate a school of fish and slowly troll draggging reside ballyhoo, sardines or mackerel at or just below the surface. When the fish hits the line don’t attempt to set the hook appropriate away. Wait till he swallows the bait. A good rule of thumb could be to count to five, then give a great yank to set the hook. As soon as you set the hook be ready for a sporting fight. They’ll fly out from the water, rapidly altering colors from greens to blues to yellows when fishing charters reeling via the air.

As with anything, if you are not seasoned at fishing around Key West for mahimahi, depend on the expertise and equipment provided by the expert captains operating the Key West fishing charters . Mahimahi are a massive favorite among anglers. They’re a entire lot of fun to catch and they’re outstanding to eat.

How To Fish For Grouper With Key West Fishing Charters Around The Gulf Reefs Off Key West

Posted by DewRoc | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 19-02-2012-05-2008

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Find out how to catch a grouper on Key West fishing charters

The perfect spot to fish for grouper are the Florida Keys, specifically Key West, the Bahamas and down by way of the Caribbean Islands. Grouper are regarded as bottom fish. They like to remain closer to the bottom and close to rocks and solid structures so they are able to hide or escape into them. You’re able to find grouper in water as shallow as 10′ but they nonetheless like to remain closer to the bottom. Ship wrecks are an excellent spot to locate grouper. Grouper are a white meat fish and they are rather tasty to eat.

Goliath grouper are protected in Florida waters. That is certainly, it’s illegal to catch goliath grouper jew fish and not release them. Grouper commonly like warmer water. Gag grouper, red grouper and Nassau grouper in certain like water temperatures 65 to75 degrees.

As mentioned, grouper are commonly a bottom fish. They will on the other fishing charters hand come close to the surface for a tasty smaller fish. Often, if you fish for grouper you are going to use fairly heavy tackle and you are going to prefer to drop it to the bottom. They like reside bait but will strike on cut bait. Yet another solution to fish for grouper, specifically in shallow water, around ten to 15 feet is always to by ‘trolling’ which implies cruising at a very low speed whilst dragging your line behind the boat. Grouper, specifically smaller grouper in shallow water will come up and strike the bait.

The general rule with grouper is rather intuitive. Smaller grouper reside in shallow water and take smaller bait. You’re able to fish for grouper in water as shallow as 10′. Bigger grouper for example the huge Warsaw grouper are in deeper water, as deep as many hundred feet deep. Ship wrecks are outstanding for deep grouper fishing.

Australians edge past Azkals in friendly

Posted by DewRoc | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 18-02-2012-05-2008

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Dubai: Australia’s Olympic team survived a resilient Philippine Azkals and held on for a 1-0 win in a friendly that capped the south-east Asian national side’s ten-day Middle East training camp at the Al Maktoum Stadium on Thursday evening.

An 11th-minute goal from striker Jason Hoffman, who plays for the Melbourne Heart in the A-League, was all the Olyroos needed to stave off a late scare from the Azkals, who played without their star striker Phil Younghusband.

The Olyroos, who needed a win to boost their morale going into this week’s London Olympics group stage qualifier against the UAE, stepped on the gas early in the match as the Filipinos put up a deep defensive line.

A cross by Aziz Behich enabled his Melbourne teammate Hoffman to head one over Fulham goalkeeper Neil Etheridge to break the deadlock in the 11th minute.

Article continues below

© 2011 Gulf News (www.gulfnews.com)

Approaches To Help Catch Red Fish When On Key West Fishing Charters Throughout The Backcountry

Posted by DewRoc | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 18-02-2012-05-2008

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Red fish will bite on cut bait but realize that they prefer reside bait. Typically, reside pinfish, shrimp, mud minnows, little mullet and menhaden shad make excellent bait for red fish. There are Key West fishing various lures and plugs that happen fishing charters to be fairly wellknown for catching red fish. It is possible to commonly use the exact same lures you would use to catch fresh water black bass. Attempt to use swimtails and grubs on jigs skimmed across or just below the surface. You would like your bait or lure to remain a bit beneath the surface.

It is possible to bottom fish for red fish also, using cut bait. Attempt using a side of a mullet, croaker or a complete or half crab. At times using cut bait as opposed to reside bait works greater. If you’re not getting any luck with reside bait, try using cut bait.

For your tackle you need to remain fairly light. A light rod having a little reel should really be fine for many applications. Use a 15 to 20 lb. test line and a 5/0 hook on a leader. The weight you use will depend on the current. Stronger current calls for significantly more weight.

The easisest approach to insure that you catch redfish would be to employ a specialist captain operating one of the backwater Key West fishing charters . Be sure to let them know you’d like to catch some red fish or red drum fish. They’re able to take you to the optimum spots with out spending all day hunting for them and they are able to coach you on tips on how to set up your tackle.

When the Admission Decision Is … Maybe

Posted by DewRoc | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 18-02-2012-05-2008

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Late December brings thoughts of Santa and snowmen. And for many M.B.A. hopefuls, significant stress

[Tuck]

Tuck School of Business

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Harvard Business School, University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and other top business schools in coming days will inform applicants of their first-round admissions decisions. A lucky few (roughly 14%-20% for Wharton and 12% for HBS, based on last year’s numbers) will receive letters of acceptance, but others who are waitlisted or rejected must scramble to meet later deadlines at other schools or gear up to try again next year.

Dawna Clarke, director of admissions at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business in Hanover, N.H., spoke with The Wall Street Journal about her school’s admissions process and what waitlisted or rejected applicants can do to better their chances next time around, just minutes before the school sent out its admission decisions last Friday.

(Ms. Clarke declined to say just how many were accepted in this round, but said the school ultimately admits 450 to 500 students – 17% to 20% of the applicant pool – with about 270 enrolling.)

Edited excerpts:

WSJ: How was this round’s application volume compared with prior years?

Ms. Clarke: Our applications were down about 7% [this year], but we had a big year last year – up about 7.5%. Last year, we marketed in a more personalized, efficient way, and we did a lot more summer visitation days.

WSJ: How does your waitlist system work?

Ms. Clarke: We usually put a couple hundred [applicants] on the waitlist, but not everyone will opt in. The number that we admit varies considerably, from four one year to 60 one year, depending on how generous we [are] with offers, what our yield [is].

We put somebody on the waitlist if there’s something they can do to improve their chances in the next couple of months. We may advise them to come for an interview, or take a couple of quantitative classes, or re-take the GMAT.

WSJ: Do you tell rejected applicants why they were rejected?

Ms. Clarke: We don’t have the time to do that in the midst of the admissions season, but we have several months in the spring in which we provide feedback to applicants who were denied. Generally, 150 people a year [ask for feedback].

It’s important for us to be honest with people as to whether we think they have a viable chance of being admitted in the future or there are just so many weaknesses in the application that it would behoove them to look at alternative [schools].

WSJ: Who should write an applicant’s recommendation?

Ms. Clarke: The best recommendations come from people who directly supervise and really know the applicant, give anecdotes and bring some color to the applicant’s file.

I read a recommendation once from somebody at an investment bank, talking about the extent to which this applicant was an incredible team player. This woman stayed up all night with a team that wasn’t even her own because she had a skill-set that nobody in the other team had. Anecdotes like that are very memorable.

WSJ: When assessing an application, do you care how long candidates stay at an individual job? Is it OK if they bounce around?

Ms. Clarke: It depends on why they’re jumping around. Sometimes people have very good reasons – the other organization offered them an opportunity to manage people or projects, or there was some level of progression that was afforded in the next opportunity. It’s very important for people to explain their transitions.

WSJ: What’s the most memorable essay you’ve ever received – good or bad?

Ms. Clarke: There was a great essay I read recently about a person who was proud of the progression in his management skills because of the extent to which he took a problem employee and made that [individual] into a rising star.

Sometimes people talk about personal challenges that they’ve gone through that show resiliency and persistence. You have to balance [when] writing an essay that’s appropriate for a business school. Sometimes personal challenges really help illuminate the nature of the person, and sometimes people can share too much.

Write to Melissa Korn at melissa.korn@wsj.com

© 2011 Wall Street Journal (www.wsj.com)

‘Chimichanga’ slam on GOP tough to swallow

Posted by DewRoc | Posted in Uncategorized | Posted on 17-02-2012-05-2008

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Editor’s note: Ruben Navarrette Jr. is a CNN.com contributor and a nationally syndicated columnist.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ruben Navarrette Jr.