Jun 07

He SHAMES the christ of the far right every time he opens his fat, hate-spewing mouth and flaps his jaws in a vain attempt to justify his SINS. MURDERERS should not get a pulpit. Will any on the far right denounce this MURDERER? Or will they make posters of the man and turn him into some sort of sick celebrity for their twisted agenda?

Suspect in Kan. doctor’s death warns of violence
By ROXANA HEGEMAN, Associated Press Writer – June 7, 2009

WICHITA, Kan. – The man charged with killing abortion provider Dr. George Tiller [b]claimed Sunday that more violence is possible while the medical procedure is allowed to continue[/b], giving his warning in calls that also focused on complaints about his treatment in jail. Scott Roeder, being held on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated assault in Tiller’s killing one week ago, called The Associated Press from the Sedgwick County jail. Tiller, whose Wichita clinic was among only a few in the U.S. performing third-trimester abortions, was shot while serving as an usher at the Lutheran church he attended. “I know there are many other similar events planned around the country as long as abortion remains legal,” Roeder said. He would not elaborate.

Tiller’s clinic in Wichita had been a target of regular demonstrations by abortion opponents. Most were peaceful, but his clinic was bombed in 1986 and he was shot in both arms in 1993. In 1991, a 45-day “Summer of Mercy” campaign organized by Operation Rescue drew thousands of abortion opponents to Wichita, and there were more than 2,700 arrests. Jim Cross, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office, did not have an immediate comment Sunday on Roeder’s statement. The Justice Department opened an investigation Friday to see if the gunman who killed Tiller had accomplices. The DOJ said its Civil Rights Division and the U.S. attorney’s office in Kansas will seek to determine if the killing violated a 1994 law creating criminal penalties for violent or damaging conduct toward abortion providers and their patients.

An attorney for the Tiller family, Dan Monnat, said he wasn’t sure they should be dignifying Roeder’s actions and threats with a response “every time he makes a hare-brained phone call.” “I am hopeful that state and federal authorities, including homeland security, will give Mr. Roeder and his information a deserving response,” Monnat said, declining to elaborate. A funeral was held Saturday for Tiller. Most anti-abortion groups avoided the service, having denounced Tiller’s shooting. Roeder, a 51-year-old abortion opponent, was arrested a few hours after the shooting just outside Kansas City. He told the AP he refused to talk to investigators when he was arrested, and has made no statements to police since then. “I just told them I needed to talk to my lawyer,” Roeder said.

Asked if he shot Tiller, Roeder replied that he could not comment about that and said he needed to clear everything with his lawyer. In two separate calls to AP on Sunday morning, Roeder was far more talkative about his treatment at the Sedgwick County jail, complaining about “deplorable conditions in solitary” where he was kept during his first three days there. Roeder said it was freezing in his cell. “I started having a bad cough. I thought I was going to have pneumonia,” he said. He said he called AP because he wanted to emphasize the conditions in the jail so that in the future suspects would not have to endure the same conditions. Roeder also said also wanted the public to know he has been denied phone privileges for the past two days, and needed his sleep apnea machine.

written by admin

Jun 04

Only in America and only in the bible belt. Praise the Lord and pass the ammo!

Gun-loving pastor to his flock: Piece be with you
By DYLAN T. LOVAN, Associated Press Writer – Thu Jun 4, 5:50 pm ET

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A Kentucky pastor is inviting his flock to bring guns to church to celebrate the Fourth of July and the Second Amendment. New Bethel Church is welcoming “responsible handgun owners” to wear their firearms inside the church June 27, a Saturday. An ad says there will be a handgun raffle, patriotic music and information on gun safety. “We’re just going to celebrate the upcoming theme of the birth of our nation,” said pastor Ken Pagano. “And we’re not ashamed to say that there was a strong belief in God and firearms — without that this country wouldn’t be here.” The guns must be unloaded and private security will check visitors at the door, Pagano said. He said recent church shootings, including the killing Sunday of a late-term abortion provider in Kansas, which he condemned, highlight the need to promote safe gun ownership. The New Bethel Church event was planned months before Dr. George Tiller was shot to death in a Wichita church.

Kentucky allows residents to openly carry guns in public with some restrictions. Gun owners carrying concealed weapons must have state-issued permits and can’t take them to schools, jails or bars, among other exceptions. Pagano’s Protestant church, which attracts up to 150 people to Sunday services, is a member of the Assemblies of God. The former Marine and handgun instructor said he expected some backlash, but has heard only a “little bit” of criticism of the gun event. John Phillips, an Arkansas pastor who was shot twice while leading a service at his former church in 1986, said a house of worship is no place for firearms. “A church is designated as a safe haven, it’s a place of worship,” said Phillips, who was shot by a church member’s relative for an unknown reason and still has a bullet lodged in his spine. “It is unconscionable to me to think that a church would be a place that you would even want to bring a weapon.”

Phillips spoke out against a bill before the Arkansas General Assembly that would have permitted the carrying of guns in that state’s churches. The bill failed in February. Pagano, 50, said some members of his church were concerned that President Obama’s administration could restrict gun ownership, and they supported the plan for the event when Pagano asked their opinion. Marian McClure Taylor, executive director of the Kentucky Council of Churches, an umbrella organization for 11 Christian denominations in Kentucky, said Christian churches are promoters of peace, but “most allow for arms to be taken up under certain conditions.”

Taylor said Pagano assured her the event would focus on promoting responsible gun ownership and any proceeds would go to charity. “Those two commitments are consistent with the high value the Assemblies of God churches place on human life,” she said in an e-mail message. Pagano is encouraging church members to bring a canned good and a friend to the event. He said guns must be unloaded for insurance purposes and safety reasons. He said the point was not to mix worship with guns, though he may reference some passages from the Bible. “Firearms can be evil and they can be useful,” he said. “We’re just trying to promote responsible gun ownership and gun safety.”

written by admin

Jun 03

Yep. As if we really needed confirmation. This guy was a brainwashed zombie sheep of the Randall Terry/Alan Keyes set. This clearly shows that religious fanaticism is DANGEROUS. I wish there was some way to punish the sick, hate spewing movement that gave birth to this degenerate monster. I wouldn’t be surprised if the faithful thought this KOOK was going to Heaven to be with 69 virgin boys and girls. In reality, he is going to rot in the same place that Hitler and Specter are.

Man charged in death of Kansas abortion provider

WICHITA, Kan. – An activist abortion opponent was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder in the death of late-term abortion provider Dr. George Tiller, and the prosecutor said the evidence in the case ruled out the death penalty. Scott Roeder, 51, was shown via a video link from the Sedgwick County Jail. He fiddled with the charging documents on a podium in front of him, and said “OK” three times as Judge Ben Burgess read the charges and explained the court process. Burgess ordered Roeder to be held without bond and said he was not allowed to communicate with Tiller’s family or two witnesses he allegedly assaulted. The judge told Roeder that he would be assigned a public defender. “And I’ll obviously be hearing from one of those lawyers between now — or do you know how long it will be before I hear from one of those lawyers?” Roeder said. Within two days, the judge answered to Roeder’s only question in the brief appearance. A preliminary hearing is set for June 16. If convicted on the murder charge, Roeder would face a mandatory life sentence and would not be eligible for parole for at least 25 years. Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston would not release any details of the crime at a news conference after the hearing, but said evidence against Roeder ruled out the death penalty.

Roeder is accused of shooting Tiller to death Sunday at the doctor’s Lutheran church in Wichita as he was serving as an usher. Roeder also was charged with aggravated assault for allegedly threatening two people who tried to stop him. Roeder was arrested about three hours after the shooting near Gardner, about 170 miles northeast of Wichita. His last known address is in Kansas City, Mo. Roeder’s family life began unraveling more than a decade ago when he got involved with anti-government groups, and then became “very religious in an Old Testament, eye-for-an-eye way,” his former wife, Lindsey Roeder, told The Associated Press. “The anti-tax stuff came first, and then it grew and grew. He became very anti-abortion,” said Lindsey Roeder, who was married to Scott Roeder for 10 years but “strongly disagrees with his beliefs.” They divorced in 1996 and have one son, now 22.

Roeder’s brother, David, also said he suffered from mental illness at various times in his life. Someone using the name Scott Roeder posted comments about Tiller on anti-abortion Web sites, including one that referred to the doctor as the “concentration camp Mengele of our day” — a reference to the Nazi doctor who performed ghastly medical experiments on Jews and others at Auschwitz. The posting said Tiller “needs to be stopped before he and those who protect him bring judgment upon our nation.” Tiller’s death has focused attention on the availability of third-trimester abortions, as the few remaining providers age with little interest from new doctors to offer such services. Tiller’s family says there were no plans yet to reopen his Wichita clinic, despite earlier comments from Dr. LeRoy Carhart, one of four physicians who worked at the clinic. Funeral services for Tiller are planned for 10 a.m. Saturday at College Hill United Methodist Church.

written by admin

Jun 02

The article below summarizes the need for health care reform in the USA. I wish the conservatives would take a look at it and realize how wrong they are to oppose such legislation. I honestly don’t think the bible thumpers think much about their ‘opinions’ before voicing them. They are so behind the times. They oppose HC reform because they think it will lead to Socialism/Communism. They oppose stem cell research because they think it is a form of abortion. These people are insane, IMHO.

Op-Ed Contributor: Health care reform is an economic necessity
By Christina Romer

Washington, DC – Health care reform is more than a social imperative – it is an economic necessity. A new study by the President’s Council of Economic Advisers demonstrates that the current American health care system is on an unsustainable path. Without health care reform, American workers and families will continue to experience eroding health care benefits and stagnating wages caused by the pressure of escalating health insurance premiums. And without reform, rising spending on Medicare and Medicaid will lead to massive and unsustainable Federal budget deficits.

Years of diagnosis on the ills of the U.S. health system have produced no cure. Health care expenditures in this country are currently 18 percent of GDP and, without change, will keep rising, until they account for nearly one-third of our total output by 2040. Even with this exorbitant bill, about 46 million Americans lack health insurance coverage today, and this number is predicted to rise to 72 million over the next three decades.

The President has articulated his goal of health care reform that slows the growth rate of health care costs, preserves choice of doctors and plans, and assures quality, affordable health care for all Americans. Over the long term, heeding President Obama’s call for change will lead to faster economic growth, higher take-home pay for workers, greater employment opportunities, a more level playing field between small and large businesses, and deficit control.

The administration and health industry leaders have pledged to work toward a goal of reducing health care cost growth by 1.5 percentage points per year. And, the Administration is committed to working toward ensuring that all Americans have access to health insurance coverage. If we can achieve and sustain this ambitious rate of cost containment and expand coverage, the results would be significant.

For example:

Impact on income: For a typical family of four, income would be higher than it otherwise would have been by approximately $2,600 in 2020 (in 2009 dollars) and by nearly $10,000 in 2030.

Impact on GDP: Real GDP would be 2 percent higher in 2020 than it otherwise would have been, nearly 8 percent higher in 2030, and nearly 16 percent higher in 2040. The key source of this improved growth would be increased efficiency in the health sector and increased investment stimulated by a reduction in the government budget deficit.

Impact on the budget deficit: CEA estimates that slowing the growth of health care costs by 1.5 percentage points would reduce the budget deficit in 2030 by 3 percent of GDP relative to the no-reform baseline.

Impact on unemployment: Controlling health care cost growth would allow lower unemployment in the short and medium run, without putting pressure on inflation. Employment could be 500,000 higher for a number of years.

Improvements in economic well-being from greater coverage: We use the best estimates available to quantify the costs and benefits of expanding coverage. Among the benefits we attempt to put a dollar value on are the increased life expectancy that results from access to health care and the decreased chance of financial ruin from high medical bills. We find that the net benefits – the benefits minus the costs – are on the order of $100 billion each year.

Labor market improvements: By increasing access to insurance coverage and removing limitations on coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, health care reform is likely to increase the labor supply and make it easier for workers to switch jobs and feel confident of their coverage no matter what happens. It will also improve the competitiveness of small businesses by lessening the disadvantage they face in competing with large firms that have lower insurance costs.

As we know from past failures, the process of achieving comprehensive health care reform will not be easy. Controlling cost growth cannot just be a lofty goal, it must become a hard reality. To do this, we will need reforms that emphasize quality over quantity, patient involvement, and reward prevention and wellness. The evidence suggests that up to 30 percent of health care costs, or about 5 percent of GDP, could be saved without compromising health outcomes in the United States.

The bottom line of the CEA report is that doing health care reform right is incredibly important. If we can put in place reforms that slow cost growth significantly and expand coverage, the benefits to American families, firms, and government budgets would be enormous. To put it simply, good health care reform is good economic policy.

written by admin

Jun 01

This is what I would call bad luck. It reminds me of an experience I had a few years ago when I was setting up at baseball card shows. In the morning, while driving to the show, I had a blowout. I replaced the tire and went to the show. It was on a weekend so I figured I would get a new spare on Monday. On the way home, however, I had ANOTHER blowout. With no spare, I was forced to call my dad at 11:00 PM and have him drive 20+ miles to pick me up. Not a good weekend to say the least.

Car loses all four wheels on highway
Mon Jun 1, 10:10 am ET

ZURICH (Reuters) – A car traveling on a motorway in Switzerland lost all four wheels simultaneously, coming to an immediate halt in the middle of the highway, police said on Saturday. The car had just stopped and the passengers had changed from winter to summer wheels themselves, a common task in Switzerland where there is plenty of snow in winter, but used the wrong nuts when mounting the new set. “When they then drove back on to the motorway, all of the wheels disconnected,” St Gallen cantonal police said in a statement. “Luckily, no one was injured and no other vehicle was damaged.”

written by admin