Category: News

Pray the Rosary daily with Pope Benedict xvi

http://us.mg4.mail.yahoo.com/neo/launch?.rand=1382689498&action=showLetter&umid=2_0_0_1_23478741_AMANw0MAAN29T9UgIwhRVRhxHMM&box=Inbox  In these our times of stress, uncertainty and turmoil, this is an invitation to meditation and prayer with the spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic church.  The writer of this blog is a Lutheran but he has found that praying the Rosary is a powerful method of focused spiritual prayer.

Media Undermines Supreme Court

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/only-44-percent-americans-approve-supreme-court-143823818.html  I can only come to one conclusion, namely that the writer and her parent organization intend to undermine the authority of the Supreme Court.  It is sad that in our day we are seeing the major vehicles for democracy instead undermining the very democracy that allows them to flourish.  The writer of this blog is a product of 1960’s and 70’s American education and popular culture.  Reflecting on it, I see that the key theme of that education and culture was to debunk the very society that was the foundation of freedom.  Lately, I am seeing a resurgence of that debunking, only this time, it is not the hippies and yuppies.  It is the main stream public press that has decided to hold American political and public institutions up for ridicule.  This, of itself,  might be seen as a core part of a free press, however, the free press is revealing itself to be extremely partisan and supportive of one political party over another.  I believe that the public media is constantly attempting to undermine anything in our society that could unseat Barrack Obama.  Not a conspiracy, indeed.  But, it is a culture of selective reporting and deep editing that allows the news organizations to portray, for instance, the US Congress as a blocker of the progressive Obama agenda.  However, the broad brushed phrase, “the US Congress” is an editorial against the House of Representatives while subtly excusing the Senate.  A cursory read would have us believe that the whole Congress is a do nothing institution.  However, the House of Representatives has worked very hard to make budgets and pass them, to formulate legislation and pass it and to attempt every day to act in response to the needs of the nation.  But each effort is stopped, stonewalled or declared “dead on arrival” by the Senate.  Significance?  House =Republicans.  Senate = Democrats.  Therefore the broad brush of the Press organizations blames everything on the Congress, seldom mentioning the achievements of the House and the total dereliction of duty by the Senate.  The cited article above in another form of main line Press and Internet attempts to influence public opinion against a branch of government, namely, the Supreme Court.  Why?  Because of the perception that the Court may find ObamaCare unconstitutional.  Therefore, let’s publish derogatory articles depicting the court as unfavored and out of touch so that people can ridicule the soon to be announced decision on the President’s “signature” legislation.  Now, even this would not be too bad, if like Fox network and others, the press explained that its reporting was actually propaganda and talk radio like opinions.  But when the media portrays its articles as factual and worthy of the title News, this writer feels they are being disingenuous. And that’s a memo!!

George W. Bush is not President

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/george-w-bush-favorable-rating-lowest-living-president-100010623.html  A piece of true trivia.  He is not President any longer.  He is retired and although I am sure he has influence, he has decided that the most important thing now is his Presidential Library.  I liked the man and I approved of his Presidency and under normal circumstances I would enumerate why I feel that way, I will not.  Why?, because the writers of articles like this and the survey behind them do not care to analyze the reasons for the respondent’s opinions.  What do you like and what do you not like?  Why do you like this or that?  What actions or inactions did you approve or disapprove?  All of these things are lost in this kind of report because CNN and the surveyors just measure popularity.  Do you like him or not like him?  Hey, let’s all be fair and admit that in our job or family or community or even church, that there are people who simply do not like us.  They may not know us.  They may not ever have spoken to us.  They may not know anything about what we think and why we think it.  But they do not like us.  It is like when we were children and there were kids on the block that everybody knew were not likeable.  And there were kids in the school playground that everybody knew were not to be played with.  And in the classroom, everybody knew not to talk to this person or sit at the same table with that person.  Childish? Obviously!  Sadly, such things among children can lead to abuse and bullying.  The young girl in South Hadley, Massachusetts, who committed suicide was a victim or being disliked because everybody knew that she was not to be liked.  We reject such thinking as dangerous for children.  Is it dangerous for a nation.

Snotty Washington Post Writer

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/mitt-romneys-faith-is-his-business/2012/06/04/gJQAdpGMEV_story.html?wpisrc=nl_opinions_Tue  Although I agree relative to Mitt Romney’s religion being his own business and it was written by me on this blog months ago, I really dislike snots.  This writer revels in his odious arrogance and is proud to stereotype, name call, and with a real intolerant attitude, to denigrate Mr. Romney.  However, I believe that it is just this kind of elitist attitude that makes writers like him and papers like the Washington Post representatives not of journalism but of intolerance and priggishness.

More USA Terror Killing?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-strike-said-to-target-al-qaedas-no-2/2012/06/04/gJQAyVeNEV_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines_Tue  Seems like the Obama Administration and the US military are becoming used to killing dozens of people in Pakistan every week.  No outcry from the UN or the Hague or anybody.  Seems to be terrible for Al Quaeda to attack USA but okay for USA to attack Pakistan everyday.  Look, I hate terrorists too.  I Love America.  But killing is killing.  That’s just a fact.

New Taxes Coming?

https://www.forefieldkt.com/kt/htmlnl.aspx?type=fca&id=28&mid=134251&iplf=tv&ciid=512454&emailid=c7aa898d-9722-4276-8e48-258adaf1e5be  I guess the 1% starts with a married couple who earn $250,000  I put this up for your info, if you think others may be interested in this information, pass it on.  I am not making a political statement here, I am just passing on information that I think other people may be interested in having.

Paul Krugman’s Comments A Fraud?

http://news.yahoo.com/paul-krugman-paul-ryan-budget-romney-supports-fraud-181245136–abc-news-politics.html  Maybe it is not Mr. Krugman’s analysis that is fraud.  Maybe it is the reporting.  What this article says is that Mr. Krugman’s opinion is that Representative Ryan’s plan is not a plan and that President Obama’s plan is a plan.  Now to say that Rep. Ryan’s plan is a fraud is to say that the Ryan plan is based on lies.  Mr. Krugman tried to disarm his own biting criticism by saying that he is not personally attacking Mr. Ryan, but that he is just saying that the plan Mr. Ryan put forward is a fraud.  I think a fraud is a lie and therefore a person who puts forth a fraud is a liar.  Is that reasoning flawed?  I am just trying to get to the facts and not the spin.  Then we read that Mr. Krugman is in favor of the Obama plan.  He says that is a plan he understands.  He does not comment on the validity of the Obama plans numbers, approach or process.  So, I take it he likes the plan.  So, what we have here is a report about Mr. Krugman saying he doesn’t like the Ryan plan and therefore Mr. Ryan’s plan is a fraud and by inference, Mr. Representative Ryan is a liar.  And that Krugman likes the President’s plan and therefore Mr. Obama is not a liar.  Seems to me that the liar and fraud here is Mr. Krugman, who makes broad accusations against a U.S. Congressman and excuses the President.  How to solve this?  Take Mr. Obama’s own words to heart and instead of name calling and innuendo just say plainly, I, (Mr. Klugman) do not agreed with the Ryan plan for this and that (specific) reason and I agree with the Obama plan for this and that reason.

Obama Administration and US Military Engage in Terrorism-Repeatedly

http://news.yahoo.com/u-drone-strike-kills-15-northwest-pakistan-officials-033713485.html  Amazing, no screams of outrage by the Left.  No Washington Post, New York Times outrage. No Chris Matthews and Obermann rants against the Obama White House.  All of this silence displays the mainstream media’s murderous complicity in acts of international murder against innocent foreign nationals.  These same media and this administration were highly indignant when GW Bush agreed to allow waterboarding interrogation of known terrorist prisoners. All of whom are alive today.  But when the Obama administration repeatedly allows the murder of what now amounts to well over fifty innocent “suspects” there is no protest and even open praise of the activity.  Maybe it is true that there is no morality anymore.  But for this writer, murder is murder.  Also for this writer, the actions of our nation must not imitate the actions of the september 11th terrorists.   I am not for the jurisdiction of International Courts.  But I am amazed that the much praised International Criminal Court at the Hague does not indict the Obama Administration for criminal aggression and terrorism.  Pakistan is a sovereign nation and our drones illegally transgress their national borders, and kill its citizens. Basically, these actions are the actions of a rogue State that condones and fosters international terrorism.  The USA and NATO with United Nations sanctions just completed a very bloody and illegal war against the legal government of Gaddafi in Libya.  The excuse for that war?  We were told that they committed acts of murder against their own people.  The end of that war?  We toppled the Libyan central government, installed the NTC which is a French puppet regime groomed by French and British intelligence agencies and at the last, murdered the Head of State.  All along we were told to remember Locerbie and the airliner bombing that killed people.  Now the Obama government and the US military are killing people weekly and we are told that it is okay because the US military and the Obama government think that the people we kill are really terrorists.  Amazing arrogance but much worse, these are the actions of a government that is morally bankrupt by the false notion that individual acts of terror against suspected terrorists and their families, children and neighbors resulting in their wholesale slaughter is okay because we are protecting America.

Paying Medical Bills In Cash

4. Paying Medical Bills in Cash Slashes Costs

Most Americans are unaware that many hospitals and doctors offer deep discounts for patients who pay in cash — as long as they don’t use their health insurance.

One hospital in California lists the price of a CT scan of the abdomen on its website at $4,423. Blue Shield of California says it negotiated a rate at the hospital of about $2,400 for patients with coverage.

But when the Los Angeles Times asked for the cash price, the hospital said it was $250.

The newspaper cited the case of a woman who was charged $6,707 for a CT scan of her abdomen. Blue Shield said she needed to pay just $2,336. She later discovered that if she had not gone through her insurance plan and paid cash, the cost would have been $1,054.

David Belk, an internist in Alameda, Calif., who launched a website about medical costs, pointed to the vast differences in costs for routine blood work. He said a local hospital charged a patient $782, and her insurer said she owed $414.

“She could have gotten it for $95 in cash,” Belk said. “How does that make sense? The last thing the insurance companies want you to know is how inexpensive this stuff really is.”

Hospitals have been trying to increase revenue by encouraging patients to pay upfront so the hospital can avoid an uncertain collections process, the Times reported.

“Cash prices — typically available for hundreds of common outpatient services and tests — have a real appeal to millions of consumers who are on the hook for a growing share of their medical costs as employers and insurers cut back on coverage and push more high-deductible plans,” the paper observed.

The California Hospital Association asserted that discounted cash prices are intended for patients without insurance, not those with coverage, but added that most hospitals offer a different discount to insured patients who are willing to pay their bill upfront.

I copied this from Newsmax, Is it True?