Free speech taking a hit in Maine...

Found this on www.alliancedefensefund.org

AUGUSTA, Maine — A high school counselor who supports marriage between one man and one woman has been reported to a Maine licensing board because of his views. Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund represent Donald Mendell, the subject of a complaint filed with the Board of Social Worker Licensure by a co-worker because he expressed support for marriage and the "Vote Yes on One" campaign.

"No one should have their livelihood placed in jeopardy because they believe marriage is the union of a man and a woman," said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Austin R. Nimocks. "This threat to Don, his family, and his career makes clear that those in favor of redefining marriage also want to penalize and silence those who don't agree with them. So, the definition of marriage is not the only thing at issue here. Free speech, freedom of conscience, and religious liberty are also in danger."

The complaint attacking Mendell, a licensed counselor at Nokomis Regional High School, accuses him of violating the state's code of ethics for social workers because of his expressed position on marriage.

The complaint cites his appearance in a "Vote Yes on One" television ad that encourages citizens to vote in favor of Ballot Question 1, which would allow Mainers to repeal a recent law that imposed a redefinition of marriage on the people. The complaint fails to mention that the ad was created in response to a "Vote No on One" ad that featured a Nokomis teacher encouraging a "no" vote on Question 1 from a classroom at the high school itself. The complaint is not critical of that ad or the teacher featured in it.

Mendell has 30 days from the date he received a copy of the complaint to respond to it.

So it appears that the Board of Social Worker Licensure doesn't really give a hoot if some fudgepacking adovcate who teaches high school makes a political statement, but the roof just might fall in on a believer in traditional morality & values.

All animals are equal, some are more equal than others.

Don't be late getting out of bed...

"Fuzzy language" and government funded abortions

(H/T to Cookie for this one)

Message from the Bishop of Dallas:

Urgent Message from Bishop Farrell:

Congress is preparing to debate health care reform legislation. The Catholic bishops of the United States strongly support genuine health care reform that protects the life and dignity of all, from the moment of conception until natural death. However, all current bills are seriously deficient on abortion and conscience rights, and do not yet provide adequate access to health care for immigrants and the poor.

I and my brother bishops in the U.S. Bishops Conference ask you to please contact your Representative and Senators immediately and urge them to fix these bills with pro-life amendments. Please click here for information and a web address that allows you to send an email message to Congress with a click of a button. Para español presione aqui. I along with all bishops in the USCCB ask for your swift action and the commitment of your prayers for this critical effort. Thank you for your help. We can help make sure that health care reform will be about saving lives, not destroying them.

Suggested Prayer of the Faithful:

That Congress will act to ensure that needed health care reform will truly protect the life, dignity and health care of all and that we will raise our voices to protect the unborn and the most vulnerable and to preserve our freedom of conscience. We pray to the Lord.

Plegaria de Intercesión Sugerida:

Que el Congreso actúe para asegurar que la reforma al sistema de salud proteja la vida, la dignidad y la salud de todos y que nosotros alcemos nuestras voces para proteger la vida de los niños por nacer y de los más vulnerables y para preservar nuestra libertad de conciencia. Roguemos al Señor.

When will B.O. & Co. support the military?

Found this via Lucianne.com on commentarymagazine.com:

The Price of Those Seminars

Posted By Jennifer Rubin On October 31, 2009 @ 9:15 AM

This sobering report comes from the Washington Post:

More than 1,000 American troops have been wounded in battle over the past three months in Afghanistan, accounting for one-fourth of all those injured in combat since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001. The dramatic increase has filled military hospitals with more amputees and other seriously injured service members and comes as October marks the deadliest month for American troops in Afghanistan.

How many were killed or lost a limb, I wonder, while the president dithered and delayed implementing the recommendations of his hand-picked general? It is not an inconsequential question. The president acts as though there were no downside to the lethargic pace of his decision-making. He would have us believe that there is no price to be paid as he micromanages, province-by-province, the number of troops he’ll dispense. He seems content to entertain the recommendations of Gens. Joe Biden and John Kerry – drawing on their years of experience (in assessing nearly every national-security challenge incorrectly) while discarding that of the real experts.

What’s a few more weeks? Or months? Well, we know there is indeed a price to allowing our current approach to languish. There is a very real cost to delaying implementation of the new plan that is the best available to achieve victory as quickly as possible. The enemy is emboldened. More civilians die. The political and security situation in Pakistan worsens. And more brave Americans are asked to sacrifice themselves while Obama considers and reconsiders whether there isn’t any way to shave some money off the tab and reduce the number of troops his commanders say are needed. After all, health care is going to cost an awful lot.

The horrid reality of war is that parents send their children to die or to return in a condition they could not possibly have envisioned. But to sacrifice even a single American who was engaged in a fruitless exercise or an understaffed operation so the president can conduct a seminar and postpone a confrontation with his own party (which no longer can stomach the “good war”) is reprehensible.

Every damned one of the casualties is someones son, brother, husband, father or friend. They aren't all just names on a list. Lately I've started looking for more in depth information on the names I put up every week. It's sobering to say the least.

One man was leading efforts to provide water supplies in drought-stricken Africa before he went on active duty, yet another was a full-blooded Navajo active in tribal affairs, another hadn't seen his mother in seven years because of her antipathy towards his military service, many were fresh out of high school and looking to provide a meaningful contribution to their nation, it goes on and on...

They were all SOMEBODY, not just warm bodies wearing a uniform. The men and women serving deserve our support to the max, because they themselves may be giving their all sometime soon.

And the present Administration is contemptible in it's treatment of them.

R.I.P. Spc. Kevin O. Hill

Name: Army Spc. Kevin O. Hill

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Age: 23

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From: Brooklyn, N.Y.

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Assigned to the 576th Mobility Augmentation Company, Fort Carson, Colo.

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Incident: Army Spc. Kevin O. Hill died Oct. 4 at Contingency Outpost Dehanna, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit using small arms and indirect fires.

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Died: October 04, 2009

(The following was taken from www.newsday.com)A 23-year-old Army soldier from Brooklyn died earlier this week in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense said Wednesday.

Spc. Kevin O. Hill, of East New York, died Sunday at Contingency Outpost Dehanna when enemy forces attacked his unit using small arms and indirect fires, the Department of Defense said in a news release. He was assigned to the 576th Mobility Augmentation Company, Fort Carson, Colo.

Hill enlisted in the Army last year to follow in his father's footsteps, his sister, Chinyere Hill, said Wednesday. Their father, Oslen Hill, 52, served in Operation Desert Storm during the 1991 Persian Gulf conflict, she said.

Kevin Hill was born in Fayetteville, N.C., and spent his early childhood at Fort Bragg, his sister said, until the family moved to Bushwick when he was 5.

He graduated from John Dewey High School and received a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Monroe College, his sister said.

Last Friday, he called home and spoke to their mother, Mahalia Hill. "He said he was doing OK," recalled Chinyere Hill, 26, adding that he also expressed worry over friends who had died in the war.

"My mom said, 'Be focused and try not to think about it too much,' " his sister said.

Hill was quiet, enjoyed playing video games and visiting museums, his favorite being the Brooklyn Museum, his sister said.

"He was really determined and goal-focused," she said, adding that he had aspirations of moving up in the military.

Hill had been in Afghanistan only a few months, his sister said. Because he was a prison guard, his family hoped that would mean he would be safer, she said: "He told us he was going to be OK because he wouldn't be out in the field."

His tour was set to end in February, his sister said, and he had been home for two weeks in August.

"We're still in disbelief," his sister said. "We're hoping it's a mistake. We don't even know the details of what happened. It's surreal."

He is also survived by another sister, Shantel Hill, 17. Funeral arrangements are pending, his family said.

R.I.P. Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth W. Westbrook

Name: Army Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth W. Westbrook

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Age: 41

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From: Shiprock, N.M.

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Assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.

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Incident: Army Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth W. Westbrook died Oct. 7 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C., of wounds suffered Sept. 8 when insurgents attacked his unit in Ganjigal Valley, Afghanistan, using small arms and indirect fire.

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Died: October 07, 2009

(The following was taken from navajotimes.com)Under a clear blue autumn sky the family of Army Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth W. Westbrook said their farewells in a service filled with memories and spirituality.

Family, friends and community members gathered Oct. 16 at the Farmington Civic Center to commemorate his life.

The service began with music playing in the background while pictures from Kenneth's life flashed onto a large screen.

Here he was as a child standing next to his mom on a beach, there he is eating a Popsicle, with family and at work.

Lt. Col. William Flournoy read the eulogy from the flower-filled stage while Kenneth's flag-draped casket rested at center stage. The eulogy focused on his love for family, his faith and his military service.

Flournoy said the Westbrook family moved to Shiprock in 1975 to live near Kenneth's grandmother, Evelyn Kitty.

As a child growing up in Shiprock, Kenneth's love for the outdoors grew as he explored the land and learned to hunt and fish from his father and older brothers.

But this outdoorsman showed a softer side, too, as his grandmother's protector and by teasing his mother, Flournoy said.

When Kenneth joined the military after graduating from Shiprock High School in 1987, it was no surprise to the Westbrook family.

"It was early in life that he showed his desire to be in the Army," Flournoy said. "We (the family) could tell at an early age that it would be infantry because of the large amount of toy soldiers he went through and the MREs he would eat."

Kenneth, 41, served 22 years and was a month away from retirement when he died Oct. 7 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., of wounds suffered Sept. 8 when insurgents attacked his unit in Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division.

He is Kinlichíi'nii (Red House Clan), born for Bilagáana (Anglo) and is the son of Marshall and Ruth A. Westbrook of Farmington.

Kenneth met his wife, Charlene, when they were children. The Westbrook family became accustomed to Charlene's presence within the family.

Kenneth and Charlene, 40, were married in October 1987. They have three sons - Zachary, 20, Joshua, 18, and Joseph, 14.

Kenneth took seriously his responsibility to provide for his family, which did not end at Charlene and the boys. His love included the family dog, Baby Girl.

Baby Girl, a black longhaired Chihuahua, followed the boys home from school one day and adopted the family as her own. It was common to see Kenneth and Baby Girl at the grocery store and or home where he would carry her on his shoulders. The two also took afternoon naps together.

"They were joined at the hip," Flournoy said.

Spirituality played an important role throughout Kenneth's life. Wherever his family moved, he asked Charlene to find a church to attend and to teach their sons about religion. One of his last requests was asking his mother for a copy of the Lord's Prayer.

"He wanted it posted so he could see it and Char said he seemed to meditate on it when he was hurting," Flournoy said. "Our prayers for healing were answered, not the way we would have chosen, but our heavenly father was in control."

Kenneth is the second son the Westbrook family has lost to war. His brother, Army Sgt. Marshall Alan Westbrook, 43, of Farmington, was killed Oct. 1, 2005, in Iraq. Marshall was assigned to the 126th Military Police Co. of the New Mexico Army National Guard.

Capt. Brian Finch, a Navy chaplain, elaborated on Kenneth's spiritual devotion. During Finch's message he quoted James 4:13-15, which contains the passage, "You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."

Finch said Kenneth understood that life is brief but God's message is eternal.

The chaplain and the soldier became friends in Germany. One day Kenneth asked Finch for guidance when his unit was waiting deployment during the Persian Gulf War.

"I told him, 'Keep doing what you're doing, you'll live to fight another day,'" Finch said.

Vice President Ben Shelly spoke about the loss felt by Kenneth's fellow tribal members. Shelly presented the family with an official proclamation honoring Kenneth's service and ordering all flags on the Navajo Nation be lowered to half-staff.

The family was also presented with the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star, awarded posthumously to Kenneth by the Army.

Karen Stevens, a member of the Farmington-Four Corners Chapter of Blue Star Mothers, spoke about the tremendous loss felt by the family.

"I hope you can find comfort in knowing that God has both Kenneth and Alan together now and they are in a far better place than you and I are," Stevens said. "The days and nights ahead are going to be extremely difficult and I hope your healing will begin today."

Kenneth was laid to rest in Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Shiprock.

R.I.P. Staff Sgt. Aaron J. Taylor

Name: Marine Staff Sgt. Aaron J. Taylor

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Age: 27

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From: Bovey, Minn.

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Assigned to Marine Wing Support Squadron 372, Marine Wing Support Group 37, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

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Incident: Marine Staff Sgt. Aaron J. Taylor died Oct. 9 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

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Died: October 09, 2009

(The following came from minnesota.radio.org)St. Paul, Minn. — A Marine from Two Harbors, Minn., who was killed last week in Afghanistan, is being remembered as a warm and dedicated soldier and friend.

Staff Sgt. Aaron J. Taylor, 27, was killed Friday by a homemade bomb while on foot patrol in Helmand province, said his father, Clifford Taylor, of rural Two Harbors.

"Everybody that knew him just loved him," said Taylor's father, Clifford. "He just connected with everybody. I think if the Taliban met him, they'd have liked him, too."

Clifford Taylor said the Marine Corps told him Aaron had been checking out a bridge when he apparently stepped on a hidden explosive.

Taylor had been in the country about six weeks, and had done a six-month tour of duty in Iraq earlier. Taylor had joined a veteran unit as an ordnance disposal specialist.

"We were really worried about him," Clifford Taylor said in an interview on Monday night. He said he'd last talked to his son about a week ago.

"He said he was going to be fine, that this unit he joined was really good, that they really knew how to watch out for themselves."

Aaron Taylor had been in the Marines since shortly after graduating from Greenway High School in Coleraine in 2000. After a year of studying for a law enforcement degree in Hibbing, Taylor joined the Marines.

"When he joined up, I told him it was kind of dangerous," his father recalled. "And he said 'No, Dad, I want to be the best.'"

The elder Taylor said his son served in a counterterrorism unit in Europe, and a unit that recovered the remains of missing airmen in Vietnam. He served several years in Okinawa, as well.

Aaron Taylor was based at Camp Pendleton, Calif., and recently bought a house in Temecula, Calif., near the base, his father said.

Taylor's body was flown to Dover Air Force base in Delaware on Monday. He is survived by his father and stepmother, Cindy, as well as a brother Kyle. Funeral arrangements are pending.

It's almost Halloween...

...and the anti-Harry Potter fans are coming out of the woodwork on other Catholic blogs.

If any practicing Catholics know why the hell these books should be avoided, I'd appreciate some feedback. I've read all of them and don't see anything to get my undies in a twist about.

Yes, I know that J.K. Rowling said that one of the main characters (Dumbledore) was gay. That doesn't come through ANYWHERE in the book. Personally, I've always thought she was P.O.ed about having to answer stupid questions regarding the love interests of her characters. I mean c'mon, the woman has more money than the Queen of England yet still finds herself fielding dumb queries like that!

I admire her restraint, had it been me I'd probably have said Dumbledore gets into a menage-a-trois with Professors Snape and McGonagall, with Buckbeak the hypogriff joining in on occasion.

Anyway, anybody having some insight on this would be welcome to enlighten yours truly. Thanks.

This says it all...

What's next, soap and lampshades?

This sounds bizarre but the source is reliable;

TENNESSEE, Oct. 27, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Children of God for Life announced today that Neocutis, a bio-pharmaceutical company focused on dermatology and skin care, is using aborted fetal cell lines to produce several of their anti-aging skin creams.

For years Children of God for Life has been a watchdog on pharmaceutical companies using aborted fetal cell lines in medical products and they have received thousands of inquiries from the public on the use of aborted fetal material in cosmetics.

However, the group says that this is the first time they have encountered any company bold enough to put the information right on their own website and product literature.

"It is absolutely deplorable that Neocutis would resort to exploiting the remains of a deliberately slaughtered baby for nothing other than pure vanity and financial gain," stated Executive Director Debi Vinnedge. "There is simply no moral justification for this."

Neocutis' key ingredient, known as "Processed Skin Proteins," was developed at the University of Luasanne from the skin tissue of a 14-week gestation electively-aborted male baby donated by the University Hospital in Switzerland. Subsequently, a working cell bank was established, containing several billion cultured skin cells to produce the human growth factor needed to restore aging skin. The list of products using the cell line include: Bio-Gel, Journee, Bio-Serum, Prevedem, Bio Restorative Skin Cream and Lumiere.

Vinnedge is calling for a full boycott of all Neocutis products, regardless of their source.

"There is absolutely no reason to use aborted babies for such selfish motives," Vinnedge said. "It is anti-life, anti-woman and counter-productive as Neocutis is about to find out!"

Children of God for Life is advising women who are using Neocutis products to throw them in the garbage and to contact the company to express their concerns.

The pro-life group has also said that they will give free publicity to cosmetic companies who are not using immoral ingredients in their products.

"We know there are companies using moral sources for collagen and skin proteins. We intend to publicly promote these other cosmetic companies competing with Neocutis that are willing to step forward and contact us."

Contact Neocutis:
Neocutis Inc.
3053 Fillmore Street # 140
San Francisco CA 94123
Phone: 1-866-636-2884

To a lot of people it would seem like small potatoes, one child aborted maybe over a decade ago who was the origin of a cell bank now used by this company.

Prolifers are reputed by some to have an extreme "all or nothing" view on this sort of thing. I'll gladly take that label, IMHO there is absolutely no justification for this. Period.

Pontius Pilate is alive and well....

...wearing a Roman collar and heading up a "Catholic" university;

Denver, Colo., Oct 27, 2009 / 04:49 pm (CNA).- A Denver mother who is one of the 88 pro-life protestors arrested for trespassing on the University of Notre Dame's campus during President Obama's appearance last May, has decided that if charges are not dropped soon, she will have to plead guilty.

Laura Rohling, a mother of three young children, told CNA on Monday that the burden on her family and the financial cost of traveling from Denver to South Bend, Ind. are key factors she is considering as the legal proceedings continue. (And this is how the new persecution will be conducted, a financial death of a thousand cuts performed on any and all who stand up for whats right.)

The saga involving the 88 pro-life protestors began at Notre Dame on May 8, 2009 when the Catholic university decided to confer an honorary degree on the pro-abortion President Barack Obama and allow him to deliver the commencement address.

As Rohling explained to CNA, “the primary reason for going out to South Bend was to tell my story of choosing abortion years before and how it did not 'fix' my problem.”

Rohling said that her abortion “was not the right choice in the long term. The decision haunted me for years, and I wanted to tell the students especially that abortion is not a good option.” (God forbid they should hear a story such as hers, it might actually lead the students to support Church teaching.)

When she went to Notre Dame last Spring, Rohling explained that she had no idea that it would “turn into such a big mess.” (Whenever we stand up for our beliefs, we should all be prepared for the worst from now on.)

Recalling the day, she said, “the vision that sticks most in my mind is that while we were saying the Rosary, I was holding my 'I Regret My Abortion' sign, there were other groups with pro-Obama shirts on that were allowed to stand aside and watch us get arrested.” (Yep, all animals are equal. Just some are more equal than others.)

Now, along with 87 other protesters, she is faced with charges in St. Joseph County Court that require each defendant to appear for every hearing. Proxies are not allowed, which makes the uncertain defense process expensive and time consuming, especially for those who do not live near South Bend, Indiana.

On October 20, a motion was filed on behalf of the “Notre Dame 88” requesting that all charges be dropped. However, Rohling noted, the judge appointed to the case is the wife of a retired pro-abortion Notre Dame professor and is markedly pro-abortion herself. (Who the hell saw fit to appoint such a judge to this particular case anyway?)

Attorney Thomas Dixon, who is representing the protesters, filed another motion for a change of judge in the case, arguing that St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Jenny Pitts Manier is biased. Judge Manier denied any personal or judicial bias in the case. (Big surprise there, or not.)

The “Defendants' Motion to Dismiss” filed by Dixon in South Bend states that “defendants assert that their constitutionally protected rights of freedom of speech and equal protection under the law were violated by these arrests and criminal charges.” Dixon said that the prosecutor has until November 23 to respond.

The hearing for the motion is set for Dec. 3.

In response to various pleas to the university to drop the charges, Father Jenkins, the school's president, sent out a form letter explaining that the matter is out of his hands. Despite the fact that the arrests were made by the Notre Dame Security Police, St. Joseph County, Indiana is the prosecuting party. (Did Fr. Jenkins wash his hands in public while saying this? C'mon, even if the University is completely out of the loop now they could still issue a statement asking for dismissal of the charges.)

Stating that others have also taken pretrial diversions or plead guilty on account of school schedules and other conflicts, Rohling added, “My job first is to raise my children. I cannot continue to travel to Notre Dame for hearings. They will not allow a proxy, so I have to go for every appearance.”

If Rohling pleads guilty to the charges, she will be fined $250, have to pay another $160 in court costs, perform 20 hours of community service, receive one year of unsupervised probation, and have a 10-day jail sentence suspended. “All this,” she says, “for a Rosary, a protest for Orthodox Catholicism, and my free speech rights.”

Despite the cost, the hassle, and the discouragement, she still says, “I'd do it all over again!” (Good for her, that's the important thing.)

R.I.P. Lance Cpl. Alfonso Ochoa

Name: Marine Lance Cpl. Alfonso Ochoa Jr.

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Age: 20

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From: Armona, Calif.

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Assigned to 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay

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Incident: Marine Lance Cpl. Alfonso Ochoa Jr. died Oct. 10 while supporting combat operations in Farah province, Afghanistan.

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Died: October 10, 2009

(Taken from the Oct. 13th edition of www.fresnobee.com)Alfonso Ochoa Jr. was so eager to join the Marine Corps, he decided to transfer from Hanford West High School to Hanford Adult School so he could graduate early in December 2007.

But Ochoa's military career ended Saturday when he was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, about a week before he was to be reassigned to a base in Hawaii.

Ochoa, 20, was a lance corporal who was married about six months ago while on furlough.

Bobby Peters, Hanford West's principal, said Ochoa was on track to graduate with the class of 2008 but chose instead to graduate in December 2007 and join the Marines.

"I want to see our kids achieve everything in life, and when it's cut short like this, it's hard for me to understand," he said.

Ochoa joined the Marine Corps on Jan. 13, 2008, Marine spokesman Sgt. Macario Mora said.

A relative said Ochoa's parents are Alfonso Sr. and Ramona Ochoa of Armona, an unincorporated community of about 4,000 residents west of Hanford. They could not be reached to comment Tuesday.

Ochoa's friend, 19-year-old Armona resident Nohelia Cordova, said he "couldn't wait" to join the Marines. She called him a good and honest person, who loved soccer and Mexican rock music.

"He was real motivated," Cordova said. "He tried to motivate others."

Joining the Marines became Ochoa's goal during his junior year at Hanford West, said Peters, who was an assistant principal at the time.

Peters said he remembers Ochoa always having a smile on his face during their many conversations when the teenager sought Peters' advice.

"I was proud of him being a student from our school," he said. "It's hard for me right now. I'm getting a little choked up."

Dave Danielson, a hardware store owner in Armona, did not know Ochoa but learned of his death during a Sunday morning service at the First Christian Reformed Church in Hanford.

Pastor Lambert Sikkema made the announcement of Ochoa's death because his parents attend another church that uses the First Christian Reformed Church for its services.

Sikkema said Ochoa's parents received word that he died in a roadside bombing and told his parishioners that he was only about a week away from leaving Afghanistan.

"You definitely feel for the whole family," Danielson said. "There are a lot of sacrifices made [for our freedom]. People just take it for granted."

Ochoa was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, based out of Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, Mora said.

His awards include the Purple Heart, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a statement on Ochoa's death, calling him "a brave young man whose commitment to serving his country will always be remembered."

Capitol flags will be flown at half-staff in honor of Ochoa, the statement said.

Mike Maccagno, owner of Frank's Market in Armona, said he did not know Ochoa, but such a death is sad for the entire community. "It hurts when you lose somebody, especially when someone's fighting for our country," he said.

Home Depot bans God...

Found this via Lucianne.com. FWIW, I believe Home Depot was entirely within their rights on this one;

OKEECHOBEE - Trevor Keezer didn't start working at The Home Depot to make a religious statement. He just wanted to earn money for college.

"I want to go to school to become a nurse," said the 20-year-old Okeechobee resident.

Keezer says for 19 months, ever since he started working as a cashier at The Home Depot in Okeechobee, he's worn a button with an American flag on it that reads: "One nation under God, indivisible."

Keezer sees the quotation, taken from the pledge of allegiance, as his way of supporting American troops at war, and of expressing his Christian faith.

In December, his older brother Army Spc. Steven Keezer Jr., is scheduled to deploy to Iraq for his second tour of duty.

For more than a year, Keezer says none of his managers mentioned the button on his Home Depot apron, except one supervisor who commented she liked it.

"She actually wanted to wear it," Keezer said.

Then, last month, when he started bringing his Bible to work, Keezer says his manager confronted him about the button.

"That's when I was told it had to come off, or I would be sent home. So they sent me home for six straight days without pay. And then today they terminated me," he said.

Craig Fishel, a spokesman for The Home Depot, said he could not comment on specific personnel issues, but added, "The company's dress code policy states that we do not allow noncompany buttons, regardless of their message or content."

Fishel says Home Depot has a "proud history" of supporting the military, and that it sanctions several of its own buttons for employees to wear, including one that reads: "United We Stand."

Keezer said he preferred to wear his button because "you can't have country without God. Every pin they showed me had no 'God' on it or anything."

Fishel says the company gives employees several warnings when they violate the dress policy before terminating them.

But Keezer says, "It never crossed my mind to take off the button because I'm standing for something that's bigger than I am. They kept telling me the severity of what you're doing and I just let God be in control and went with His plan."

Keezer says he was a model employee at Home Depot and he liked his job.

"I was cashier of the month and I've won six 'Homer' awards -- that's the highest award you can get at Home Depot."

Keezer has the support of his family. "I'm so proud of him," said his mother, Francine.

Local business owners are rallying to his cause, too.

Jim McCoin, owner of Cowboy's Barbecue and Steak Co., said, "Amen. I am proud of him. If you can't stand for what you believe in, then why be there."

McCoin says he'd like to order some of the "One nation under God" buttons for the employees of his two local restaurants.

As for Keezer, he says he didn't set out to make a religious statement, but now that he has, he believes he's done the right thing.

"I want to be a voice for the rest of the Christians and for the citizens of this country to stand up for the country. You know, quit being told to sit down. Say what you want to say and don't be afraid of the consequences," he said.

Yep, they are entirely within their rights to do what they've done. God bless 'em.

I'm also entirely within my rights to shop where I prefer. That would be any competitor of Home Depot.

Screw 'em.

R.I.P. Spc George W. Cauley

Name: Army Spc. George W. Cauley

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Age: 24

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From: Walker, Minn.

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Assigned to the 114th Truck Company, Minnesota National Guard, Duluth, Minn.

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Incident: Army Spc. George W. Cauley died Oct. 10 in Bagram, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an IED on Oct. 7 in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

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Died: October 10, 2009

(The following was taken from wwco.com)Minnesota National Guard Spc. George W. Cauley, 24, of Walker, died Saturday after being wounded when insurgents attacked his vehicle with a homemade bomb on Oct. 7 in Helmand province, according to the Defense Department.

Cauley graduated from Northland High School in 2003 and was a member of the football team. He got along with everybody and always had a smile on his face, Principal Joe Akre said Tuesday.

Standing about 5 feet 3 inches tall, Cauley "wasn't exactly the biggest guy out there," football coach Shem Daugherty said.

"But he had heart. He wasn't afraid to go out and try to hit," Daugherty said. "He was one of those likable young men you enjoyed having around because he was always there for the right reasons."

Daugherty said that after graduation, Cauley came back in uniform and "was pretty darn proud. You could see it in his face." Daugherty said Cauley also had served in Iraq.

I.R. on the Apostolic Constitution for the Anglicans...

The Ignorant Redneck does a great job of answering all naysayers concerning the recent Apostolic Constitution for the Anglicans promulgated by the Pope. I recommend reading it; http://sadcatholic.blogspot.com/2009/10/o-ye-of-little-faith.html

This Pope must be doing something right, he keeps pissing everyone off with no regard to political leanings or other temporal nonsense.

Law & Order presents credible prolife arguments.

Well, maybe Hollyweird isn't completely filled with Kool-Aid drinkers;

WASHINGTON, DC, October 26, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) -- Last Friday's episode of Law & Order on NBC, entitled "Dignity," has infuriated pro-abortionists while pleasantly surprising pro-lifers with an unexpectedly even-handed treatment of the issue of abortion.

Ripping its plot from recent headlines, "Dignity" begins with the murder of late-term abortionist Dr. Walter Benning (Matthew Boston) during a church service. Although the episode has a disclaimer stating that the story is fictional, its initial outline closely matches the case of the late-term abortionist Dr. George Tiller, who was shot and killed in a church in Wichita, Kansas, on May 31st.

After the murderer, Wayne Grogan is captured and confesses to the crime, while his defense attorney, Roger Jenkins (Richard Thomas), argues that the killing was justified because Grogan was acting in defense of someone else - namely, an unborn infant whom Benning was going to abort.

In the end Grogan is found guilty of the murder; but over the course of the episode a host of the arguments and issues surrounding abortion are covered in a manner unusually sympathetic to the pro-life cause.

As Dave Andrusko writes on the NRLC's website: "What makes the Law & Order episode so riveting is that virtually every pro-life argument you knew you would never hear on a network program is a part of 'Dignity.'"

"More important, it occurred to me as I listened in utter astonishment that each of these observations could have been presented in a way that was artificial, forced, or (as so often is the case with network portraits of pro-lifers) something that you would expect from an idiot. None of that was the case. These were real flesh-and-blood people, not caricatures."

Early in the episode, for instance, Detectives Lupo and Bernard argue with each other over abortion. Lupo says that forcing an 11-year old rape victim to give birth is unthinkable, to which Bernard responds: "You got it backwards, man! The horrible thing is the rape! Not the bringing of a life into the world."

He continues by pointing out that he himself was born to an unwed mother, and that Lupo very nearly had another partner.

Similarly, when Executive Assistant District Attorney, Michael Cutter argues with District Attorney Jack McCoy about whether they should give Grogan a plea bargain, Cutter compares abortion to slavery and Grogan to John Brown. He continues by arguing that Roe v. Wade conformed but to the science of its day, and that it deserves another look.

When witnesses begin to take the stand, however, the contrast between the pro-abortion and pro-life position only grows.

One abortionist, called as witness for the prosecution, says that the life of the disabled child Benning was going to abort would be without dignity. He continues to say that even if politicians make abortion illegal and "bow to the hypocrites and fools" of the pro-life movement, he would continue to perform abortions despite the law.

Perhaps the most surprising issue the episode raised is the connection of abortion with infanticide. Over the course of the case, the defense, desiring to show that Benning was a murderer, calls a witness to testify how a breathing, born-alive infant was killed by Dr. Benning.

"The boy was crying a little cry, moving his arms and legs," she says. "Dr. Benning cut the umbilical cord; then he took the surgical scissors and inserted it into the base of the baby's skull."

Several similarly gruesome, real-life cases of infanticide involving abortionists have occurred in recent years. In one case that drives close to home, an abortionist working for George Tiller, Shelley Sella, was accused of stabbing a born-alive infant in the ribcage until the baby died. In addition, former nurse turned pro-life activist Jill Stanek has also related that while working at a hospital in Illinois, numerous babies born alive after failed abortions were simply left to die in the "soiled utility room."

Pro-abortion groups have responded to the Law & Order episode with outrage that the show would feature an abortionist modeled on Dr. Tiller in a less than beatific light.

Charlotte Taft writes that "NBC cannot hide behind the words" by stating that the story is fictitious. For the media to make a negative story so blatantly ripped off the death of "St. George," as she dubs Tiller, is to murder him again. "There is no balance here," she says.

Kate Harding complained on Salon.com that the episode features only two groups: "Anti-choicers, who believe fetuses' rights trump women's, and the pseudo-pro-choicers, who are conveniently persuaded to agree with them by the end of the episode."

"Dignity" may be watched on iTunes.

R.I.P., Maj. Tad T. Hervas

Name: Army Maj. Tad T. Hervas

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Age: 48

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From: Coon Rapids, Minn.

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Assigned to the 34th Infantry Division, Minnesota National Guard, Rosemont, Minn.

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Incident: Army Maj. Tad T. Hervas died Oct. 6 at Contingency Operating Base Basra, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a noncombat-related incident.

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Died: October 06, 2009

(Taken from wcco.com) The Department of Defense announced Wednesday that 48-year-old Maj. Tad. T. Hervas of Coon Rapids died Tuesday at Contingency Operating Base in Basra.

Lt. John Hobot, with the Minnesota National Guard, says authorities are relying on military reports and the details are still under investigation.

"Yesterday morning, they showed up about 10 o'clock," recalled Ned Hervas, Tad's father. "When you see two soldiers at your door, you don't have to ask. You know what that is."

Hervas is the latest casualty in the War on Terror.

Ned knows his son was healthy and strong, and that's why he just doesn't understand how he died.

Ned and his wife have a Blue Star hanging on their front window. It's a symbol of pride for families of those in America's military, and that's especially true for the Hervas family.

"His mother displayed that proudly," recalled Ned.

Now that star also stands for sadness since learning about their son's death.

Ned recalls the great time he had with Tad, including trips to the cabin and long days hunting and fishing. But as great as those times were, he knows his son's love was military, the time he spent representing and fighting for his country.

Tad was out of the military when 9/11 happened but got right back in to serve soon after. He was on this third tour of duty when he died. He was stationed at the U.S. Command Center in Iraq, where he monitored patrols in the area.

"They'd patrol the area and talk to the locals, it was not a rich area, it was poor neighborhoods. They'd give them water and candy," Ned said about his son's time in Iraq.

The U.S. Military will only say that Tad died of "non-combat related injuries." His body will be flown back to the U.S. in a couple days and then the autopsy will happen.

"Good solider, good soldier and a fine person," Ned said about his son.

He and his wife will continue to display their Blue Star flag in their home, but the Blue Star will soon turn to gold to symbolize Tad's death.

"We're just proud of what he did," Ned said, as he choked up.

R.I.P.

KILLED IN ACTION: OCTOBER 4 - 10, 2009

Please pray for the peaceful repose of the souls of those who served our nation with honor, and remember also those who mourn their loss.

Maj. Tad T. Hervas, 48, MN
Spc. George W. Cauley, 24, MN
Lance Cpl. Alfonso Ochoa Jr. 20 CA
Staff Sgt. Aaron J. Taylor, 27, MN
Lance Cpl. James Hill, 23, England
Sgt. Johann Hivin-Gerard, 29, France
Cpl. Cristo A. Cabello Santana, 24, Spain
Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth W. Westbrook, 41, NM
Guardsman Jamie Janes, 20, England
Spc. Kevin O. Hill, 23, NY
Cpl. Patric Sauer, 24, Germany

May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Business 101; always engage your brain...

I have no particular love for our southern neighbors. As far as I'm concerned Mexico is a Third World toilet that is backing up and overflowing the border. Speaking of the border, we should fence the sucker and mine the perimeters. That isn't just a lot of hype, it's what I believe. Finally, we should start rounding up the illegals and send 'em back where they came from (that applies to non Hispanics also). Let's start with the violent felons, they'll keep the authorities busy for a few years. By that time "Juan & Maria" will have smelled the coffee and either got themselves legal or headed back home. Hasta luego and sionara sweetheart!

But some things are wrong no matter who they're directed at. This falls under that heading. Found this at Drudge. FWIW I think the hotel owner is an idiot;

Hotel owner tells Hispanic workers to change names

By MELANIE DABOVICH

TAOS, N.M. (AP) - Larry Whitten marched into this northern New Mexico town in late July on a mission: resurrect a failing hotel.

The tough-talking former Marine immediately laid down some new rules. Among them, he forbade the Hispanic workers at the run-down, Southwestern adobe-style hotel from speaking Spanish in his presence (he thought they'd be talking about him), and ordered some to Anglicize their names.

No more Martin (Mahr-TEEN). It was plain-old Martin. No more Marcos. Now it would be Mark. (No more brains either, evidently.)

Whitten's management style had worked for him as he's turned around other distressed hotels he bought in recent years across the country. (Yep, so did the "management style" of Attila the Hun. But it isn't taught in to many business schools.)

The 63-year-old Texan, however, wasn't prepared for what followed.

His rules and his firing of several Hispanic employees angered his employees and many in this liberal enclave of 5,000 residents at the base of the Sangre de Cristo mountains, where the most alternative of lifestyles can find a home and where Spanish language, culture and traditions have a long and revered history. (Ever notice how bleeding heart libs ALWAYS make that point?)

"I came into this landmine of Anglos versus Spanish versus Mexicans versus Indians versus everybody up here. I'm just doing what I've always done," he says. (Sounds like he stepped on said landmine, actually more like a flying knee drop on the sucker.)

Former workers, their relatives and some town residents picketed across the street from the hotel.

"I do feel he's a racist, but he's a racist out of ignorance. He doesn't know that what he's doing is wrong," says protester Juanito Burns Jr., who identified himself as prime minister of an activist group called Los Brown Berets de Nuevo Mexico. (Well, stupid is as stupid does. No argument there.)

The Virginia-born Whitten had spent 40 years in the hotel business, turning around more than 20 hotels in Texas, Oklahoma, Florida and South Carolina, before moving with his wife to Taos from Abilene, Texas. He had visited Taos before, and liked its beauty. When Whitten saw that the Paragon Inn was up for sale, he jumped at it.

The hotel sits along narrow, two-lane Paseo del Pueblo, where souped-up lowriders radiate a just-waxed gleam in the soft sunshine as they cruise past centuries-old adobe buildings. One recent afternoon, a woman slowly rode her fat-tire bicycle along a cracked sidewalk, oversized purple butterfly wings on her back and a breeze blowing her long, blonde dreadlocks.

The community includes Taos Pueblo, an American Indian dwelling inhabited for over 1,000 years, and an adobe Catholic church made famous in a Georgia O'Keeffe painting.

After he arrived, Whitten met with the employees. He says he immediately noticed that they were hostile to his management style and worried they might start talking about him in Spanish.(Can you say "insecure and paranoid"? Does speaking English insure they won't badmouth him or just that they won't do it in his hearing?)

"Because of that, I asked the people in my presence to speak only English because I do not understand Spanish," Whitten says. "I've been working 24 years in Texas and we have a lot of Spanish people there. I've never had to ask anyone to speak only English in front of me because I've never had a reason to."

Some employees were fired, Whitten says, because they were hostile and insubordinate. He says they called him "a white (N-word)." (Shoulda documented it. But "hostile and insubordinate" is justifiable grounds for firing by themselves. Trying to gussy it up with an unsubstantiated accusation won't help. If they actually said that and he can't prove it, he should just let it ride.)

Fired hotel manager Kathy Archuleta says the workers initially tried to adjust to his style. "We had already gone through four or five owners before him, so we knew what to expect," Archuleta says. "I told (the workers) we needed to give him a chance."

Then Whitten told some employees he was changing their Spanish first names. (This is asinine) Whitten says it's a routine practice at his hotels to change first names of employees who work the front desk phones or deal directly with guests if their names are difficult to understand or pronounce.

"It has nothing to do with racism. I'm not doing it for any reason other than for the satisfaction of my guests, because people calling from all over America don't know the Spanish accents or the Spanish culture or Spanish anything," Whitten says. (Wait a second. While what he says might be true, how likely is it that a hotel in a town of 5,000, sitting on a two-lane road, is going to get a large amount of clientele from out of town?)

Martin Gutierrez, another fired employee, says he felt disrespected when he was told to use the unaccented Martin as his name. He says he told Whitten that Spanish was spoken in New Mexico before English. "He told me he didn't care what I thought because this was his business," Gutierrez says. (Sounds like both of them were proving their stupidity here.)

"I don't have to change my name and language or heritage," he says. "I'm professional the way I am." (True enough.)

After the firings, the New Mexico chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens, a national civil rights group, sent Whitten a letter, raising concerns about treatment of Hispanic workers. Whitten says he sent them a letter and posted messages on the hotel marquee, alleging that the group referred to him with a racial slur. LULAC denied the charge. (Again, he should be able to show some sort of objective proof if he makes these charges.)

The messages and comments he made in interviews with local media, including referring to townsfolk as "mountain people" and "potheads who escaped society," further enflamed tensions. (Not really trying to fit in, is he? Not a smart move for a businessman.)

Taos Mayor Darren Cordova says Whitten wasn't doing anything illegal.(Just stupid.) But he says Whitten failed to better familiarize himself with the town and its culture before deciding to buy the hotel for $2 million. "Taos is so unique that you would not do anything in Taos that you would do elsewhere," he says.

Whitten grew subdued as a two-hour interview with The Associated Press progressed. He said he was sorry for the misunderstanding and insisted he has never been against any culture.

"What kind of fool or idiot or poor businessman would I be to orchestrate this whole crazy thing that's costed me a lot of time, money and aggravation?" Whitten said. (Ding! The little light is going on upstairs.)

Whitten should have dealt with the situation differently, especially in a majority Hispanic town, said 71-year-old Taos artist Ken O'Neil, while sipping his afternoon coffee on the town's historic plaza.

"To make demands like he did just seems over the top," he says. "Nobody won here. It's not always about winning. Sometimes, it's about what you learn." (True enough)

I used to hear the charge of, "they're just talking about us and don't want us to know it) concerning Filipinos when I was in the Navy. Might have been true for all I know. But my take has always been that if someone is badmouthing me yet insuring I'm unaware of it in this fashion, that person only proves their own cowardice. It's proven to everyone who knows what the Hell is going on and reflects badly only on the fool speaking a language I don't understand.

As far as speaking to another native of their home country, why the hell not talk in a manner you both find comfortable?

And the change of first names is just idiotic. I say this as someone who has fought all his life for people to properly pronounce my last name. I've plenty of extended family that just gave up and tolerate the mispronunciations that occur. Whatever. My name is a part of me and will be used properly. Therefore I kinda identify with the workers who got their backs up over that one.

Ain't no "nun" here...just a feminazi in a habit.

This is pure evil. It beats "Tiller the Killer" IMHO, he at least could claim ignorance.

HINSDALE, Illinois, October 23, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A Dominican nun has been seen frequenting an abortion facility in Illinois recently - but not, as one might expect, to pray for an end to abortion or to counsel women seeking abortions, but to volunteer as a clinic escort.

Local pro-life activists say that they recognized the escort at the ACU Health Center as Sr. Donna Quinn, a nun outspokenly in favor of legalized abortion, after seeing her photo in a Chicago Tribune article.

"I've called her sister several times, and she never responded," local pro-lifer John Bray told LifeSiteNews.com (LSN). "But it's her."

Amy Keane, a pro-life witness for 11 years, says Quinn has acted as escort for "six years, at least." Keane described one incident in which Quinn began shouting at the pro-lifers as they spoke to a woman about to enter the abortion facility.

"[Quinn] was so angry, and burst out very loudly so everyone could hear: 'Look at these men, telling these women what to do with their bodies!'" said Keane. "She was so angry, that it really took all of us aback." Keane says that the group was peaceful, and that the men present were not among those engaging the woman.

"For those of us who are Catholic, to have a member of a religious order so blatantly - it is so disheartening. It really is," said Keane. "She's participating actively in abortion. That is what is so disturbing for us."

Sr. Donna Quinn, OP, is renowned in the Chicago area as an advocate for legalized abortion and other liberal issues.

In 1974 she co-founded the organization Chicago Catholic Women, which lobbied the USCCB on a feminist platform before it dissolved in 2000. She is now a coordinator of the radically liberal National Coalition of American Nuns (NCAN), which stands in opposition against the Catholic Church's position on abortion, homosexuality, contraception, and the male priesthood.

While LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) was unable to reach Sr. Quinn for comment, NCAN's Sr. Beth Rindler confirmed to LSN that Quinn is still a member of their group, which favors unrestricted legalized abortion and disagrees with the teaching that abortion is intrinsically evil. "We respect women, and believe that they make moral decision, and so we respect their decisions," Rindler explained.

In a 2002 address to the Women's Studies in Religion Program at Harvard Divinity School, Sr. Quinn described how she came to view the teachings of her Church as "immoral": "I used to say: 'This is my Church, and I will work to change it, because I love it,'" she said. "Then later I said, 'This church is immoral, and if I am to identify with it I'd better work to change it.' More recently, I am saying, 'All organized religions are immoral in their gender discriminations.'"

Quinn called gender discrimination "the root cause of evil in the Church, and thus in the world," and said she remained in the Dominican community simply for "the sisterhood."

Sr. Patricia Mulcahey, OP, Quinn's Prioress at the Sinsinawa Dominican community, said in an email response to LSN that the nun sees her volunteer activity as "accompanying women who are verbally abused by protestors. Her stance is that if the protestors were not abusive, she would not be there."

Though Sr. Mulcahey claimed that her sisters "support the teachings of the Catholic Church," she declined to comment on Quinn's public protest of Catholic Church teaching.

Joe Scheidler of the Pro-Life Action League says Quinn came in contact with his own office in 1982, when she and a group of other pro-aborts picketed his building on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

"She figures it's part of her religion to take these women in and protect them, and get them abortions," said Scheidler of Quinn's recent activity. "Something dreadful has happened to make a Catholic nun become an escort at an abortion clinic - that's the lowest form you can reach, where you escort a woman with a living child in her into a place to have the child killed, and to ruin that woman's soul."

"If I didn't even believe in the humanity of the child - which of course would be crazy - even if I didn't, I would fight abortion for the sake of the women," Scheidler added. "They miss that baby, and they can't get it back. They never can."

To respectfully express concern (See: LSN Guidelines for Effective Communication):

Sr. Patricia Mulcahey, OP
Prioress - Sinsinawa Dominicans
E-mail: Spatmul@aol.com

Newest craft to join the fleet...

Proving the USN has a sense of propriety regarding former Chief Executives, Sig94 has posted information on the newest craft to join the fleet.

Check it out here; http://signal94.blogspot.com/2009/10/us-navy-honors-our-presidents.html

Lack of a conscience clause affects us all.

Found at www.usatoday.com vis Lucianne.com ;

WASHINGTON — Faced with a request to give an unmarried female patient a prescription for birth control pills, Dr. Michele Phillips looked to her conscience for the answer.

"I'm not going to give any kind of medication I see as harmful," said Phillips of San Antonio. The drugs would not protect her patient from "emotional trauma from multiple partners," Phillips reasoned, or sexually transmitted diseases. "I could not ethically give that type of medication to a single woman." (Note this medication is for possible consequences of a personal choice, not a drug to treat an existing condition. Unless promiscuity can be classified as a medical condition.)

After the evangelical Christian refused to write the prescription, she resigned her position. She now does contract work at a faith-based practice that permits her to "prescribe according to my ethical values."

Medical technology has surged forward in recent years, leading to many life-saving and life-giving procedures. At the same time, legal and ethical remedies haven't kept pace, and officials at the state and federal level are still working out how to address the sometimes competing needs and values of doctors and patients. (Note the implication that "legal and ethical remedies" are stuck in the past, therefore outdated.)

For example, the Obama administration announced last February that it plans to rescind regulations enacted at the end of President Bush's term that permit health care workers to abstain from performing procedures they oppose for moral or religious reasons. Eight months later, the administration has still not announced new rules. (Why should they? It works against their own interests.)

FAITH & REASON: Do you want the last word on medical care in your last days?
Often, experts say, the debate boils down to a question of convenience versus conscience, of personal choices affected by medical personnel.

" Do we really want co-workers deciding if our religious motivations and reasons are correct?" asked Joan Henriksen Hellyer, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. (I'd guess a response might be, "Should medical workers park their personal beliefs at the door, regardless of the consequences those beliefs cite?")

For example, at the annual meeting of the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities here this month, a panel including Hellyer discussed the disparate dilemmas facing health care workers today, such as:

• A housekeeper who refuses to clean an embryonic stem cell lab. (At one time I considered that same scenario as applied to myself, building engineers/maintenance techs/handymen are needed everywhere. That includes abortion clinics. My decision was that if faced with performing work there or living under a bridge I knew several overpasses that were fairly nice.)

• An ultrasound technologist who doesn't want to work on Saturday.

• A respiratory tech who refuses to turn off a ventilator. (This seems to be a red herring. What could be involved with shutting off power and removing tubes that an LVN or nursing tech couldn't do?)

Bioethicist Holly Fernandez Lynch said consistency is crucial to prevent patients from facing discrimination based on race, religion or sexual orientation. (Bullcrap.)

"A consistent objection to a service, I think, is totally appropriate as long as there is someone available to provide that service at a reasonable distance," said Lynch, author of Conflicts of Conscience in Health Care: An Institutional Compromise. (And if there isn't? Are we back to medical professionals parking their beliefs at the door?)

But, she acknowledged, "the phrase 'reasonable distance' is really a difficult one to figure out."

While larger communities and hospitals have the luxury of a range of practitioners, conscience quandaries are trickier in smaller communities, said Leslie LeBlanc, managing editor of The Journal of Clinical Ethics.

"It's a very difficult question because you can't compel someone to do something they think is morally wrong and, by the same token, clinicians make a promise to help people in need," said LeBlanc, who attended the bioethicists' meeting. (Wait a second. What "need" are we talking about here? Abortion, euthanasia, birth control are all ELECTIVE in nature. Even euthanasia requires a judgement call, not like chemo for cancer. So where is the "need" she speaks of?)

State legislatures have passed a plethora of legislation on the issue, with most permitting health care providers to shun abortion services, the Washington-based Guttmacher Institute reports. Some states, including Louisiana, have passed broader laws that protect health care workers who object to procedures such as cloning, stem cell research, euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. (All elective, nothing like the treatment of a disease/medical condition in anything listed.)

Rob Vischer, associate professor of law at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, argues for letting the free market determine access to all health care services.

"I think people want to have a space to live what they believe," said Vischer, author of the forthcoming Conscience and the Common Good: Reclaiming the Space Between Person and State. "I think that's more consistent with the common good than everybody grabbing for the reins of state power." (No kidding.)

Luke Vander Bleek, a Morrison, Ill., pharmacist is fighting in court against an Illinois regulation that requires him to dispense Plan B and other emergency contraception.

"I wanted to be able to practice pharmacy in this small town that I live in where I raised my family and I wanted to be able to do it with a good, clear conscience and sleep well at night," said Vander Bleek, a Roman Catholic.

He said other pharmacies within 12 miles could provide those services instead.

Elizabeth Nash, a public policy associate at the Guttmacher Institute, counters that patients should be able to access drugs if they are legal.

"Putting barriers in their way to access those medications only hurts public health," she said. (How does this "...hurt public health"? Aren't Plan B and other methods of contraception only "needed" when someone engages in sexual activity? Please don't cite rape to me, THAT isn't addressed at a local pharmacy such as this guy operates. Even rape shouldn't entail the use of contraceptives, but that can be addressed in another post. This article is talking about Joe Schmuckatelli, the local pill pusher, denying contraceptives to some broad that chooses to sleep around. )

As the arguments continue, Dr. David Stevens, CEO of the Christian Medical Association, said physicians like Phillips are "a growing reality" and he worries that other physicians might quit permanently. (Better to be working the fryolator at McDonalds than the forges of Hell.) In an April poll, his organization found that an overwhelming percentage of faith-based physicians preferred ending their medical practice to violating their conscience.

"This is the most urgent issue for our membership," he said. "Because they realize that if they lose this battle, they will no longer be practicing medicine." (And the public health will suffer then because these professionals, whose practice would entail MUCH more than anything their conscience prohibits, would NOT be addressing those other issues. The same pharmacist that leaves his job rather than dispense Plan B is the same guy that dispenses insulin to the diabetics in his area.)

Spc. Russell S. Hercules Jr, R.I.P.

Name: Army Spc. Russell S. Hercules Jr.

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Died: October 01, 2009

(The following is taken from www.examiner.com)Monday, Gov. Steve Beshear recognized the sacrifice of a Fort Campbell soldier who died while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

According to the Department of Defense, Spc. Russell S. Hercules Jr., 22, of Murfreesboro, Tenn., died Oct. 1, 2009 in Wardak Province, Afghanistan of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire. He was assigned to the Pathfinder Company, 4th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 159th Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

He is the first 159th CAB soldier to be killed in combat since the brigade deployed last December.

A native of Murfreesboro, he is survived by his wife and son, Victoria and Christopher; stepdaughter Candence; mother and stepfather, Cheryl and Denver Tipton, also of Murfreesboro; and father, Russell Hercules Sr. of Winchester. His son, Christopher, was born in July, while Spc. Hercules was home on leave.

Hercules was a 2006 graduate of Blackman High School. "We're just devastated," Blackman Principal Gail Vick told The Tennessean. "We just found out about it around 4 p.m. (Friday). We're proud of what he did for his country. "As the Blackman family, we're deeply saddened, and our hearts go out to his family and friends." Players, fans and others held a moment of silence for Hercules prior to Friday night's football game.

Gov. Beshear will order that flags at all state office buildings be lowered to half-staff from sunrise to sunset on the day of Spc. Hercules's interment for which arrangements are still pending.

Capt. Benjamin A. Sklaver, R.I.P.

Name: Army Capt. Benjamin A. Sklaver

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Age: 32

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From: Medford, Mass.

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Assigned to the 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion, U.S. Army Reserve, Greensboro, N.C.

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Incident: Army Capt. Benjamin A. Sklaver died Oct. 2 in Murcheh, Afghanistan, from wounds sustained when he was attacked by a suicide bomber. Also killed was Pfc. Alan H. Newton Jr.

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Died: October 02, 2009

(The following was taken from the Hartford Courant) When the flag-draped casket of U.S. Army Capt. Benjamin A. Sklaver arrived at Dover Air Force Base Saturday, he was not only mourned by his parents and fiancée, but will be by thousands of people in Uganda who simply knew him as "Moses Ben," the man who brought them clean and sustainable drinking water.

Sklaver, a 32-year-old Hamden native, was killed in an ambush, possibly by a suicide bomber, while on patrol Friday in Muscheh, Afghanistan, near the Pakistan border.

Major Charlie Jaworski, a spokesman for the Army, declined comment on how Sklaver, who was in the 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division, was killed. The Department of Defense had not officially released details of Sklaver's death by Sunday afternoon.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell ordered the state's flags to be flown at half staff until Sklaver's funeral.

In Hamden, Sklaver's father, Gary Sklaver, was awaiting the arrival of relatives and friends from across the world who are coming for his son's funeral. The funeral has tentatively been scheduled for Tuesday. He said his son was a "very bright and ethical man" and was preparing to marry Beth Segaloff in June.

"He certainly touched a lot of people with his work," Gary Sklaver said Sunday. "He was certainly special to us. Every soldier over there is a hero. And everyone over there has someone back home who grieves for them. All soldiers families are worried and all of us have to pray for those who are still over there."

Benjamin Sklaver, who has a brother and sister, was the director and founder of ClearWater Initiative, a New Haven-based nonprofit organization dedicated to providing clean water to populations affected by humanitarian emergencies. The projects were focused on conflict-affected areas of northern Uganda.

The company had brought clean drinking water in the form of wells to more than 6,500 people since 2007. The organization's goal was to "directly impact the lives of more than 10,000 people by 2012.

"It's a sad day for Hamden," said Hamden Mayor Craig Henrici, a family friend. "He's kind of like the all-American boy who grew up to be a hero and a humanitarian."

According to the ClearWater website, Sklaver served in the military's Combined Joint Task Force — Horn of Africa in 2006 and 2007, with a mission to mentor Ugandan military units. While in Uganda, he was struck by the high rates of child mortality linked to dirty drinking water. When he returned home, he began ClearWater, linking donors with Ugandan partners to bring clean water infrastructure projects in remote villages.

Gary Sklaver said his son's faith in Judaism was important to him.

"Our Jewish faith teaches us to do good deeds and do what we can to make the world a better place. This was a young man determined to make the world a better place," he said.

According to Gary Sklaver, his son expected to be home last May. But the "stop-loss" policy of keeping troops past their enlistment dates led to Sklaver's staying in Afghanistan until the end of his tour. Earlier this year, the Obama administration put an end to the policy.

"There are soldiers making great sacrifices for this country, but it's not making the front pages," Gary Sklaver said, noting he viewed the caskets of 10 bodies coming off the plane during the transfer ceremony at Dover. "There are still soldiers dying out there. And they deserve our respect."

While in the United States, Sklaver was an international emergency and refugee health analyst at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

He relocated to Westchester County, N.Y., to take a job with the Federal Emergency Management Agency so he would be closer to his fiancée. He graduated from Hamden High School in 1995, was a graduate of Tufts University and had a master's degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

About that wayward airplane...

By now most people are aware of this story; Pilots missed Twin Cities by 150 miles - but how?

My guess in a nutshell is that somebody was getting laid. Period. What else could distract the pilot & copilot to such a degree and still not be detectable via breathalyzer/drug testing?

A question of Presidential protocol...

"We call the wife of any male President the First Lady. So if we had a woman as President, what would we call her husband?"--a recent question from the War Department.

That got me thinking, "First Gentleman" sounds stilted and ridiculous. Ditto for "First Husband", forget about "First Man". "Best Man" gets used whenever theres a traditional wedding. That leave us with.....what?

The best I can come up with is, "Him Thats Got It Going On". But I suspect that doesn't play well either.

I dunno.

B.O. & Fox News...

Seems the present Administration did a good job of shooting themselves in the foot when they tried banning Fox News from the White House press pool. The other networks nixed that PDQ.

I'll note that as encouraging as the outcome of this was, if this incident had happened in the past eight years the MSM would be singing like the Temptations right now. We'd have 24/7 coverage of how freedom of the press was in peril. Still, it's a start in getting off the Kool-Aid.

More and more what many feared was a police state in the making is turning into a Keystone Kops skit. Something along these lines;

Pfc. Alan H. Newton Jr., R.I.P.

Name: Army Pfc. Alan H. Newton Jr.

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Age: 26

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From: Asheboro, N.C.

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Assigned to the 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion, U.S. Army Reserve, Greensboro, N.C.

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Incident: Army Pfc. Alan H. Newton Jr. died Oct. 2 in Murcheh, Afghanistan, from wounds sustained when he was attacked by a suicide bomber.
Newton was a civil affairs specialist with five years of military experience.

The News & Record of Greensboro reported that Newton was a 2002 graduate of Southwestern Randolph High School in Asheboro, where he was a member of the football team and JROTC.

Wayne Thrift, Newton's former high school principal, said he did not know Newton well, but he knew that his classmates and teachers liked him very much.

He said Newton's death evokes mixed emotions.

"Of course, I'm greatly saddened to hear about what happened to him. My heart goes out to his family and to his friends," Thrift said.

"But I'm proud of the fact that he did pursue the military as a career and that he fought for our freedom."

Newton is survived by his wife, Lisa, and daughter, Riley, and his mother, Joyce Woodell, all of North Carolina.

Sgt. Ryan C. Adams, R.I.P.

Name: Army Sgt. Ryan C. Adams

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Age: 26 of Rhinelander

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From: Rhinelander, Wis.

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Assigned to the 951st Engineer Company (Sapper), Wisconsin Army National Guard, Rhinelander, Wis.

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Incident: Army Sgt. Ryan C. Adams died Oct. 2 in Logar province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle using rocket-propelled grenade fire.

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Died: October 02, 2009

(Taken from www.rhinelanderdailynews.com) Sgt. Ryan C. Adams, age 26, died a hero defending our country and our freedom in Logar Province, Afghanistan, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom on Oct. 2, 2009. He was born on Dec. 7, 1982, in Brookfield, the beloved son of Peter and Jalane Adams.

Ryan graduated from Rhinelander High School in 2001 where he is remembered as a star quarterback, baseball player, and golfer. He proudly joined the military shortly after graduation and served his first tour of duty in Iraq May 2003 to April 2004. He was an exceptional soldier who particularly valued his role in rebuilding the infrastructure of Iraq and loved nothing more than serving his country.

Ryan was a community and family man, treasuring the community of Rhinelander, brotherhood with his fellow soldiers, and the love of his many family members. He was most at peace spending time with friends and family and being in the outdoors while hunting, fishing and simply celebrating life.

Ryan truly loved family and friends and time spent together was precious. His compassion for others was infectious and he will be fondly remembered for his support and commitment to the Angel on My Shoulder cancer patient support program.

Sadly, Ryan will never again see the land he helped keep free. We may all find peace knowing that our fallen son, brother, nephew, and friend has found heaven. With Ryan's vision of heaven, he may even now be hunting and fishing and telling stories of his time in Rhinelander.

Ryan is survived by his parents, Peter and Jalane Adams of Rhinelander; his loving sister, Amanda Adams of Rhinelander; aunts and uncles, John (Sally), Joe (Jane), Tom (Nancy), Barb (Scott), Tim (Mary), Annie (Jeff), Mary Jo (Scott), Margaret (Bill), Sue (Steve), Nancy (Bryce), Kathy (Todd), Jane (Dave), Pat (Kris), Judy (LaVerne), Kevin (Janet), Marge (Gene), and Vicky (Joe); and cousins, Matthew, Elizabeth, Jason, Jill, Kris, Julie, Tommy, Melissa, Charlie, Toby, David, Lindsay, Stephanie, Aimee, Sarah, Ben, Heidi, Eric, DJ, Billy, Annie Marie, Danny, Stevie, Mike, Maggie, Jenny, Katie, Kari, Molly, Erin, Christopher, Jamie, Megan, Michelle, Kelly, Allie, Jack, Tammy, Mark, Glen, Jessica, Bradley, LeeAnn, Jodi, Carl, Christine, Michael, and Stephanie. He is further survived by many friends and his fellow soldiers.

Ryan was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Jack and Mickey Adams; maternal grandparents, Arthur (Irma) Grochowski and Lorraine Grochowski; his uncle, Paul; and cousins, Melissa and Christopher.