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- Anping Anxin Wire Mesh Co.,Ltd
China Manufacturer with main products:Stainless steel wire mesh ,Galvanized wire mesh ,Mesh fence ,Hexagonal wire mesh ,Welded wire mesh ,Perforated metal sheet ,Expanded metal sheet ,Galvanized wire ,Black wire ,Stainless steel wire ,Nails
Home>Products>Wire Mesh Fence>Commercial 48 Inch Wire Fence Wire Mesh Fence Heavy Gauge Welded Wire Fence
Commercial 48 Inch Wire Fence Wire Mesh Fence Heavy Gauge Welded Wire Fence
- Negotiable |Get Latest Price
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Product Description
Surface treatment:
1.electric/hot dipped galvanized after welding
2.galvanized then pvc/powder coated
|Wire Mesh Fence
|Panel dimensions LxHmm.
|Pole height mm.
|Distance between poles mm.
|Number of ribs
|Modular Fencing system
Fencing Mesh
Material: Low carbon steel wire, stainless steel wire, aluminum alloy wire.
Weaving: Woven diamond pattern provides strong, durable and flexible construction. The closely spaced diamond mesh construction gives your fence linear strength and springy texture to protect horses from injury and prevent predators from entering paddocks and pastures.
1.wire dia: 3.5mm-8mm
2.Apurture:50x200, 100*50mm or as request
3.surface treatment:PVC Powder coated
Credit member
About Anping Anxin Wire Mesh Co., Ltd.
Anping Anxin Wire Mesh Co., Ltd. which is located in "Chinese Mesh and Netting County"—Anping which is professionally engaged in the production and sale of all kinds of meshes and nettings. Our corporation has gotten the believes and supports of clients at home and abroad since it was founded over ten years ago ."Providing the fine mesh and netting, creating the famous brand of the line" is our invariable aim.
Our company has owned all kinds of weaving netting machines of over 160 sets and staff members of over 100 at present and developed metal wire mesh products of "Anxin" brand series through the management and development of many years.
" Anxin " has become the famous brand of Chinese metal wire mesh and one of the largest exporters in Chinese mesh and netting circle . Our products sell well to more than 30 provinces in China and also export to Europe, America, East Asia, South Asia, Middle East and Africa etc more than 20 countries and regions.
Our company is mainly engaged in the production and sale of mesh and netting products including the stainless steel wire mesh & cloth , brass wire mesh, square wire mesh , welded wire mesh , hexagonal wire netting, fencing mesh, iron wire and window screening. We'll build and develop the co-operation relations of new and old friends at home and abroad continuously for " Anxin Mesh and Netting" being deeply remembered by users by our multifunction and all-sided service system.
You may refer to the introduction of the following about the main item and the detailed data of products.
View more
Contact Us
- Anping Anxin Wire Mesh Co.,Ltd
- ContactAllen Huang
- Phone86-0318-7530111
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Description of 122 Rutledge Avenue, Charleston, SC 29401
UNDER CONTRACT WITH A KICKOUT CLAUSE subject to buyers selling!! This grand Victorian residence built in 1893 by James S. Simons, a businessman, features Queen Anne style details: an extending gable, a double-tiered bay, a corner turret, encircled fluted-columned piazzas, and a pedimented entry. Built facing Cannon Park, a lovely entrance hall leads to grand formal living and dining study with fireplace all with 13 foot ceilings, plus a powder room with laundry area. A new professionally designed and constructed kitchen with breakfast area opens out to a piazza with pergola for outside entertaining. Guest quarters with a bedroom and bath are at the rear. An elegant staircase with stained glass windows leads to the second level where one finds a master suite filled with sunlight composed grand master bedroom with curved glass bay windows and a new bath. Also a sunlit library with fireplace, and two additional bedrooms with hall bath complete this level with its 12 foot ceilings . A second staircase goes from the first to the third level which has extensive storage and living space, air conditioning,and electricity with an additional guest bedroom. Also behind distinctive wooden gates and fencing that encloses the property are a luscious garden with pond and a carriage house at the rear of the estate which includes two one-bedroom apartments( 1121) additional square feet). A two-car garage and work area complete this distinctive estate with parking galore.All is located in historic Harleston Village, one of Charleston's best neighborhoods!
Property Features of 122 Rutledge Avenue, Charleston, SC 29401
Single Family Detached
Harleston Village
Peninsula Charleston Inside of Crosstown
|Elementary school: Memminger
|Middle school: Courtenay
|High school: Burke
|Fireplace in dining room
|Fireplace in family room
|Fireplace in living room
|Central air
|Wood exterior
|Lot acreage is: 0.32
|Lot size: 70 x 200
|Subdivision: Harleston Village
|Eat-in kitchen
|Kitchen island
|Separate dining room
|Metal roof
|Slate roof
Rooms & Dimensions
|Family Room

subset: commoncrawl


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Dates: Sun 28th June - Sat 11th July
Ages: 14 - 18
Price: £4195£3595 - apply before 30th September
There is no better place to gain an introduction to university-level mathematics than at Cambridge – a home to numerous Fields Medal winners. The Reach Cambridge Mathematics course provides
students with the unique opportunity to engage with advanced concepts in mathematics in a
rigorous academic setting.
By studying topics such as polynomials, differentiation, integration, matrices, probability,
statistics, and game theory, they have a chance to enhance their theoretical understanding of
the subject matter, build their confidence in their computational skills, and apply their abilities to
real-world applications of maths in various fields. Students are also encouraged to think critically
about equity in maths and science education around the world.
This course will encourage students to explore the diverse forms that mathematics can take and to
think about both abstract theoretical approaches and practical applications. With expert support
from our experienced teaching staff, students will be able to realise their mathematical potential!
Hear from our past students:
Introduction to Coding (£395 surcharge)
Creative Writing (£395 surcharge)
Introduction to Data Analysis (£395 surcharge)
Introduction to Economics (£395 surcharge)
International Espionage (£395 surcharge)
Introduction to Filmmaking (£395 surcharge)
Emergency Medicine (£395 surcharge)
Introduction to Architecture (£395 surcharge)
Music Composition (£395 surcharge)
Introduction to Robotics (£395 surcharge)
University Visits (£250 surcharge)
Young Leaders Program (£395 surcharge)
The following room upgrades are also available for this Program:
Single Room Guarantee (£395 surcharge)
Coming to Reach has been one of the highlights of my life. The blend of excursions, learning, and meeting new people is a really great idea brought to life.
Reach was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life since it enhanced, and escalated, my knowledge in different paths.
I learned so much from this class and am now interested in pursuing a job related to Computer Science someday in the future.
The course was rigorous and challenging in the best possible way.
I expanded my technical knowledge, but I also gained a better understanding of what Computer Science at university actually involves… Due to the small class size, we could all get a lot of one-on-one help which allowed us to progress with programming quite quickly.
See below for an example day on each of our programs. Please note, these are only intended as a rough guide and are subject to change at any time.
A typical Summer Program
|Excursion Day
|Subject classes
|Full day excursion
|Lunch-free time
|Past excursions have included:
|Evening lecture
|Own arrangements
|Evening activities
|Evening activities
All Reach Cambridge courses are open to students aged between 14-18 years old.
All courses are taught in English. In order to get the most out of the learning experience, students are advised to have a level of English conducive to understanding sophisticated academic language and to converse with other students and staff in English at all times.
We do offer English as Second Language courses if you, or we, feel that this is more appropriate. Your personal statement will help indicate to us your level of English. We will also ask for a copy of your latest school transcript to help us assess the teaching level of the courses.
All our students reside in one of the colleges of Cambridge University, or in our central Cambridge headquarters 'Reach Hall', and have ample opportunity to interact with present undergraduates and post-graduates. Our teachers are academics and researchers from Cambridge and other top UK universities, as well as including professionals where relevant for the course (e.g. barristers for the Law course, journalists for the Journalism & Media course). All courses take place either in college buildings, Cambridge University Department buildings, or buildings in central Cambridge.
The program fee includes the following:
- Accommodation in rooms at a Cambridge University college or in our central Cambridge headquarters, 'Reach Hall'
- Half board meals
- All tuition
- Excursions to local areas of interest in Cambridge, and further afield; in the past we have visited London, Brighton, Oxford and Shakespeare's birthplace Stratford-upon-Avon
- Extra-curricular activities in the college and around Cambridge e.g. sport, drama and arts
- Lecture and Workshop series
The program fee excludes the following:
- Flights
- One meal (either lunch or dinner) a day (students can either visit tea-rooms, cafés, or restaurants in Cambridge.)
- Additional excursions or activities in time off such as the cinema
- Souvenirs, phone calls home etc.
Note: this is not an exhaustive list of inclusions and exclusions, but indicates the main items.
Evening Lectures
All Reach Cambridge students come together in the evenings for thought-provoking lectures from inspiring people. Students invariably say that the evening lecture series is one of the highlights of the course.
Our lecturers speak on subjects that fall under three categories: British Culture, International Social Responsibility and Inspiring Life Stories. Highlights have included lectures on Climate Change, Britain in Music, Community Outreach, Journalism and International Criminal Justice.
Always interactive and engaging, the lectures include ample time for questions – students always enjoy asking speakers tough questions after listening to their talks!
The majority of our staff are Cambridge undergraduates, graduates or post-graduates, and are the ideal port of call for students who have any queries about Cambridge University or life at university more generally. Alongside daily contact with our staff team, students can also benefit from the excellent University Life workshops and lectures that we run during our courses.
These range from the practicalities of making a good university application to coping with the issues students invariably encounter once they have commenced their studies. Students can work on their CVs (resumés) or personal statements with the help of staff, and develop their interview skills by attending a mock university or job interview with our supervisor team.
Whilst of course we cannot guarantee that Reach Cambridge courses will get you a place at university, many former Reach Cambridge students have gone on to top universities and have remarked on how helpful their experience at Reach Cambridge was for deciding which types of institution and courses are right for them.
Work hard and play hard. Every spare moment, when students are not in class or at meals, our Cambridge Supervisors organize a smorgasbord of activities for our students to enjoy.
There are activities to match everybody's interests: from photography groups to ghost tours, from sports tournaments to cake decorating, every student is catered for.
Sporting activities are available in the college grounds, including football (soccer), ultimate frisbee, tennis, basketball, volleyball and the Reach Olympics! There are also drama, music and art sessions as well as an opportunity to try punting down the River Cam!
A highlight of the extra-curricular aspect of the Reach Cambridge program is the World Fair, a special event during which students share their cultures and learn about one another's countries, making the most of the program's international environment. Students will also have plenty of time to explore Cambridge with their new friends in a safe and supervised environment.
Reach Cambridge programs involve experiencing more than just Cambridge and academic life – they also provide an opportunity to visit some of the most celebrated historic and cultural sites in England.
We run excursions to some of the country's most famous places; in the past, these have included London, Oxford, Brighton, Warwick and Shakespeare's birthplace Stratford-upon-Avon. Taken to see the best that these places have to offer whilst also given supervised free time to explore, there's no better way to experience this endlessly fascinating country!
Reach Cambridge students also have plenty of time to explore the inspiring and beautiful city of Cambridge.
The city is home to a number of impressive art galleries and museums that cater to all interests, whether you're into Archaeology and Anthropology or the Visual Arts. Students also have the opportunity to try their hand at punting along the River Cam, a Cambridge tradition which offers views of famous Cambridge landmarks such as the Bridge of Sighs and King's College Chapel.
Where better to enjoy the dramatic arts than in the country that produced the world's greatest playwright?
Generally, many students will get the chance to see some sort of performance during the summer. Past students have watched Shakespeare's plays in the Globe Theatre in London or the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's birthplace. These productions have included: Much Ado About Nothing, Julius Caesar, Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice, Othello, Macbeth, Richard III, Anthony & Cleopatra, The Tempest and Romeo & Juliet. England is world-renowned for its theatre, and on Reach Cambridge programs you will be able to see why!
The safety of our students is our number one priority. Reach Cambridge staff are on hand 24 hours a day to supervise and assist students, however students are given a certain amount of freedom and independence, and it is up to them to spend this time wisely. Cambridge, being a university town, is a very safe environment. We issue all students with an emergency contact card that displays contact numbers for both Reach Cambridge senior staff and the emergency services. It is compulsory for students to carry this card with them at all times.
In order to ensure that they enjoy their free time safely, students are given:
- geographical parameters
- a curfew for their return to accommodation
- instructions that they must remain with at least one other person from the program at all times when off campus
- contact phone numbers for Reach Cambridge staff
Any actions that are perceived by Reach Cambridge staff to endanger a student will result in the student involved being repatriated. Please see our Terms & Conditions for further details.


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After years of trying to collect reenlistment bonuses from California National Guard members and mounting pressure from the VFW, Congress and other VSOs, the Department of Defense (DOD) suspended its collection efforts in October of 2016. VFW National Commander Brian Duffy said at the time that he "welcomes the defense secretary's decision to suspend the collections efforts, but that the decision doesn't go deep enough. A comprehensive program needs to be immediately created to help make these Guard members whole again. They signed and fulfilled a contract, and whether they were authorized to receive a bonus is the fault of a system, not of any recipient. Aside from stopping collection, the government should also restore those monies already collected." Earlier this week, DOD Secretary Ash Carter ordered the repayment of those bonuses that had been collected. DOD is also tasked with exploring ways to assist those veterans who may have gone into debt or lost their homes because of the recoupment of their bonuses.
There is Equal Opportunity for the Appearance of Political, Product or Service Advertising on this Network. Advertising is for Informational Purposes Only and Should Not Be Construed as an Endorsement.
Department Calendar


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|This is the path between our sleeping cabin and the sewing/dining room.
|Rocking chairs on porches seem to represent the South. These were on our back porch.
|Bonnie, Tina and I stayed an extra day with Mary in Tennessee. We went to a couple of antique shops and found some amazing old quilts! Tina came home with this top.
|And this quilt.
|I bought this Rocky Road to Kansas top.
|And this top.
|And this quilt, all made of silky fabrics.


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|Unidentified Friend, St. Joseph's Day, 19 March 1917
(Digital Images. Photographs Privately Held By Cynthia Shenette; Photographs and Text, Copyright (c) 2013 Cynthia Shenette) These photographs of my grandfather, Adolf Szerejko, and his friend crack me up. Clearly they are celebrating St. Joseph's Day--they even took the time to make a sign. Maybe his friend's name was Joseph, and they were celebrating the friend's name day big time.
My grandmother told me my grandfather wasn't much of a drinker. My guess is he and his friend were goofing around with the camera taking pictures to impress (or not impress, depending on your point of view) their respective girlfriends. Given the number of bottles on the table and in the bags they'd either be in the hospital or dead if they drank all that.
|Adolf Szerejko, Ordering Another...
|Unidentified Friend, Sleeping it Off
Other Posts You Might Like:
(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: A Couple of Swells
Little Kid, Big Bunny - Wordless Wednesday
Niagara Honeymoon - Wordless Wednesday
Meditation: The Strength of Ordinary Women


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Applicants for competitive discretionary grants must apply through Grants.gov. Grants.gov requires applicants to complete a three step registration process which can take up to 5 days to complete. Additional information regarding the registration process can be found at www.grants.gov.
Existing or continuing discretionary grantees will continue to use the Office of Justice Program's Grants Management System (GMS) to apply, as will applicants for formula grants.
Review the specific announcement for the designated application process.
Stay connected with OJJDP to receive notices of future opportunities as well as other funding news.
USA.gov | Privacy | Policies & Disclaimers | FOIA | Site Map | Contact Us | Stay Connected
A component of the Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice


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I tie my neck to my shoulders
with silk and cloth,
argyle and tartan,
an inexplicable knot
of Gordian proportions.
I wear a lapelled jacket
to frame my tie,
accentuate it.
Black or blue,
because I have to.
And buy my pants
to match my jacket,
to tuck my shirt,
to frame my tie,
hide my penis,
and cover my ass.
I buy black socks
for no real reason.
Maybe I'm just compelled to,
but my shiny shoes
are designed to attract women,
protect my red painted toenails,
hide my practical socks,
and protect my ankles
when dogs nip at my heels.
My cuff links
link my cuffs.
My tie pin
pins my tie.
And all are designed
to attract your eye
to my wonderful tie,
which I can't live without.
I must tie my neck down,
to keep my head on straight .
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Neck. Tie.
I tie my neck to my shoulders
Posted by Unknown at 11:40 PM 1 comments
Labels: Ben Holbrook, brooklyn, clothing, neck tie, Poetry, suit
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Whimsical Judgement
to rouse the spirit!


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Pipework insulation: criteria for ETL inclusion
Eligibility criteria for products in this category to be included on the Energy Technology List.
The Energy Technology List comprises the technologies that qualify for the UK government's energy-saving Enhanced Capital Allowance (ECA) scheme and their energy-saving eligibility criteria.
See the Energy Technology Product List for the eligible products in this category, listed by brand name.
Published 31 July 2013


text:
Belle Jackson Design focuses on affordable website solutions for artists, small businesses, and non-profit organizations.
Our services range from the setup of simple websites to the construction and maintenance of robust e-commerce enabled sites.
The secret of getting that "wow" reaction from a client is an equal mix of creative vision and technical execution.
What comes between is that intangible ingredient in the design process, the ability to listen, determine the client's needs, and then adapt.
A lot of work goes into developing a functional, intuitive website with a unique look and feel. But that doesn't mean quality work should cost a fortune.
Whether you're looking for clean minimalist design or an intricate, many-layered site packed with content, we'll work with you to deliver the quality product you deserve at a price you can afford.
We build our sites in WordPress, an easy to use platform that enables our clients to keep their site moving forward.
Working with a dynamic Content Management System (CMS) such as WordPress allows even an inexperienced user to continue developing content.
We provide a range of services to give our clients the right options for website development.
And because we're building our business, you'll find our introductory rates modest and our service robust.
What's all the buzz about?
Find out what people are saying about our site designs, whether that's in reviews of our sites or testimonials from our clients.
What is a blog if not scribbles on a digital wall?
We typically post on web design, including behind the scenes peeks at our work, but you'll also find posts about things that interest us, like books and art, as well.


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Battery in time for Christmas festivities (4th December) Amazon.co.uk has announced a sort of leterary
version of The Wizard Collection. Thus, this case - which will be published only 3000 copies worldwide
- contain 8 books to understand the magic of Harry Potter film. Behind the scenes, in short everything
you always wanted to know about almost everything from the Potter world.
Worthy of a vault at Gringotts, this amazing limited edition collection features never-before-published
art and text chronicling the making of the Harry Potter films. The set is limited to just 3,000 copies
Five volumes focus on the filmmaking, showing how the team designed locations, graphics, costumes,
creatures, and special effects. Inside you'll find a deluxe book of the paintings of Hogwarts along with
a keepsake book chronicling the lasting relationships between cast and crew. The final volume is a
cloth-bound edition of the New York Times Best-seller, Harry Potter: Page to Screen. Completing the library
is a scale prop replica of The Monster Book of Monsters, along with a gilded, oversized portfolio with five
frame-able prints of concept art. All of these precious objects are housed in a collectible box that looks
like it came from Diagon Alley. Arriving at your doorstep with a numbered certificate of authenticity, this
limited edition is the ultimate collectible for any wizard of Muggle.
Product Features:
• A deluxe cloth-covered case, styled to look like a box from a shop in Diagon Alley
• A replica of The Monster Book of Monsters film prop
• A gilded portfolio of five frame-able prints of original Harry Potter concept art.
• A cloth-bound edition of Harry Potter: Page to Screen
• 7 additional volumes detailing the Harry Potter creative team's ten years of extensive efforts:
* The Creature Shop Compendium: Flora and Fauna from the Harry Potter Films
* Environments Envisioned: Building Fantastic Sets and Scouting Dramatic Locations
* A Guide to the Graphic Arts Department: Posters, Prints, and Publications from the Harry Potter Films
* Movie Magic: Practical Props and Exciting Effects
* The Paintings of Hogwarts: Masterpieces from the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry Sets
* Ten Years Later: Life on Set with the Harry Potter Cast and Crew
* Wizard Wear and Muggle Attire: Costuming the World of Harry Potter
The small downside of this outstanding collection besides its limitation, is its price: £552
If you want to pre-order it it's here : http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1612185916/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=1612185916&linkCode=as2&tag=danradclico02-21


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The LORD bless you and keep you!
The LORD let his face shine upon
you, and be gracious to you!
The LORD look upon you kindly and
give you peace! (Numbers 6:24-26)
The Catholic Key Blog will return to regular postings on January 6.
The LORD bless you and keep you!
The LORD let his face shine upon
you, and be gracious to you!
The LORD look upon you kindly and
give you peace! (Numbers 6:24-26)
The Catholic Key Blog will return to regular postings on January 6.
The Nativity Prayer of St Bernard of Clairvaux
Let Your goodness Lord appear to us, that we
made in your image, conform ourselves to it.
In our own strength
we cannot imitate Your majesty, power, and wonder
nor is it fitting for us to try.
But Your mercy reaches from the heavens
through the clouds to the earth below.
You have come to us as a small child,
but you have brought us the greatest of all gifts,
the gift of eternal love
Caress us with Your tiny hands,
embrace us with Your tiny arms
and pierce our hearts with Your soft, sweet cries.
Yesterday, having digested the contents of Senator Reid's manager's amendment to the Senate health care reform bill, the U.S. Bishops wrote the Senate urging them "not to move [the] current health care reform bill forward without incorporating essential
changes." The bishops insist the bill fails to incorporate current federal restrictions on abortion funding, unfairly excludes immigrants and falls far short of providing universal and affordable coverage.
Trying to get a handle on what the manager's amendment does with regard to abortion funding would be a full time job, and for anyone not in the know, was impossible until the language was made public yesterday. Many well informed commentators have had evolving positions on the language because of the grossly opaque manner in which it has been presented and approved. The bishops themselves said they had to study it further earlier this week. The bishops' current analysis below on this subject is very good.
I would add one further caution. Even the insufficient abortion funding restrictions in the bill are made contingent upon the current restrictions on funding of abortion by the Department of Health and Human Services. According to the manager's amendment:
The services described in this clause are abortions for which the expenditure of Federal funds appropriated for the Department of Health and Human Services is not permitted, based on the law as in effect as of the date that is 6 months before the beginning of the plan year involved.
In other words, if a future Congress decides to alter the type of abortions HHS may pay for, the restrictions in the current bill will no longer apply for such abortions. That will make the annual reauthorization of the Hyde Amendment a major annual abortion battle.
There is still a bit of time to let the Senate know you oppose the current bill. Follow this link to send a note to your Senator. It's easy and quick and may make a difference.
On an unrelated note – Apologies to regular readers here for the spotty posting recently. Unfortunately, posting will continue to be spotty through the New Year.
Here's the bishops' letter:
December 22, 2009
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator:
On behalf of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), we strongly urge the
Senate not to move its current health care reform bill forward without incorporating essential
changes to ensure that needed health care reform legislation truly protects the life, dignity,
consciences and health of all.
The Catholic bishops of the United States have long supported adequate and affordable health
care for all, and insisted that providing health care that clearly reflects these fundamental
principles is a public good, moral imperative and urgent national priority. In our letter of
November 20 we urged the Senate to act as the House has in the following respects:
• keep in place current federal law on abortion funding and conscience protections on
• protect the access to health care that immigrants currently have and remove current
barriers to access; and
• include strong provisions for adequate affordability and coverage standards.
Disappointingly, the legislative proposal now advancing to final approval in the Senate does not
meet these moral criteria. Specifically, it violates the longstanding federal policy against the use
of federal funds for elective abortions and health plans that include such abortions -- a policy
upheld in all health programs covered by the Hyde Amendment as well as in the Children's
Health Insurance Program, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program -- and now in the
House-passed "Affordable Health Care for America Act." We believe legislation that fails to
comply with this policy and precedent is not true health care reform and should be opposed until
this fundamental problem is remedied.
Protecting Human Life and Conscience
Despite claims to the contrary, the House-passed provision on abortion keeps in place the
longstanding and widely supported federal policy against government funding of elective
abortions and plans that include elective abortions. It does not restrict abortion, or prevent people
from buying insurance covering abortion with their own funds. It simply ensures that where
federal funds are involved, people are not required to pay for other people's abortions. The
public consensus on this point is borne out by many opinion surveys, including the new
Quinnipiac University survey of December 22 showing 72 percent opposed to public funding of
abortion in health care reform legislation.
The abortion provisions in the Manager's Amendment to the Senate bill do not maintain this
commitment to the legal status quo on abortion funding. Federal funds will help subsidize, and
in some cases a federal agency will facilitate and promote, health plans that cover elective
abortions. All purchasers of such plans will be required to pay for other people's abortions in a
very direct and explicit way, through a separate premium payment designed solely to pay for
abortion. There is no provision for individuals to opt out of this abortion payment in federally
subsidized plans, so people will be required by law to pay for other people's abortions. States
may opt out of this system only by passing legislation to prohibit abortion coverage. In this way
the longstanding and current federal policy universally reflected in all federal health programs,
including the program for providing health coverage to Senators and other federal employees,
will be reversed. That policy will only prevail in states that take the initiative of passing their
own legislation to maintain it.
This bill also continues to fall short of the House-passed bill in preventing governmental
discrimination against health care providers that decline involvement in abortion (Sec. 259 of
H.R. 3962), and includes no conscience protection allowing Catholic and other institutions to
provide and purchase health coverage consistent with their moral and religious convictions on
other procedures.
Immigrants and Health Care Coverage
We support the inclusion of all immigrants, regardless of status, in the insurance exchange. The
Senate bill forbids undocumented immigrants from purchasing health care coverage in the
exchange. Undocumented immigrants should not be barred from purchasing a health insurance
plan with their own money. Without such access, many immigrant families would be unable to
receive primary care and be compelled to rely on emergency room care. This would harm not
only immigrants and their families, but also the general public health. Moreover, the financial
burden on the American public would be higher, as Americans would pay for uncompensated
medical care through the federal budget or higher insurance rates.
We also support the removal of the five-year ban on legal immigrants accessing federal health
benefit programs, such as Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and Medicare. An
amendment authored by Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), which would give states the option to
remove this ban, should be included in the bill.
Accessible and Affordable Health Care
The Catholic bishops have advocated for decades for affordable and accessible health care for
all, especially the poor and marginalized. The Senate bill makes great progress in covering
people in our nation. However, the Senate bill would still leave over 23 million people in our
nation without health insurance. This falls far short of what is needed in both policy and moral
The bishops support expanding Medicaid eligibility minimally for people living at 133 percent or
lower of the federal poverty level. The bill does not burden states with excessive Medicaid
matching rates. The affordability credits will help lower-income families purchase insurance
coverage through the Health Insurance Exchange. However, the Senate bill would still leave
low-income families earning between 133 and 250 percent of the federal poverty level
financially vulnerable to health care costs, while it does provide more adequate subsidies for
households 250 percent over the federal poverty level. Overall, the average subsidy provided for
in the Senate bill is $1,300 less than the average subsidy in the House bill. We urge that the best
elements of both bills be included.
For many months, our bishops' conference has worked with members of Congress, the
Administration and others to fashion health care reform legislation that truly protects the life,
dignity, health and consciences of all. Our message has been clear and consistent throughout.
We regret to say that in all the areas of our moral concern, the Senate health care reform bill is
deficient. On the issue of respect for unborn human life, the bill not only falls short of the
House's standard but violates longstanding precedent in all other federal health programs.
Therefore we believe the Senate should not move this bill forward at this time but continue to
discuss and approve changes that could make it morally acceptable. Until these fundamental
flaws are remedied the bill should be opposed.
Regardless of the outcome in the Senate, we will work vigorously to incorporate into the final
legislation our priorities for upholding conscience rights and longstanding current prohibitions
on abortion funding; ensuring affordability and access; and including immigrants. We hope and
pray that the Congress and the country will come together around genuine reform.
Bishop William F. Murphy
Diocese of Rockville Centre
Committee on Domestic
Justice and Human
Cardinal Daniel DiNardo
Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
Committee on Pro-life Activities
Bishop John Wester
Diocese of Salt Lake City
Committee on Migration
Too busy this weekend to comment on Senator Nelson's late night conversion, but I didn't want to leave my last post up top either. Suffice it to say, the National Right to Life Committee will score a vote for cloture on the Reid health care bill as a vote against life. Here's the statement from NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson:
The manager's amendment is light years removed from the Stupak-Pitts Amendment that was approved by the House of Representatives on November 8 by a bipartisan vote of 240-194. The new abortion language solves none of the fundamental abortion-related problems with the Senate bill, and it actually creates some new abortion-related problems.
NRLC will score the upcoming roll call votes on cloture on the Reid manager's amendment, and on the underlying bill, as votes in favor of legislation to allow the federal government to subsidize private insurance plans that cover abortion on demand, to oversee multi-state plans that cover elective abortions, and to empower federal officials to mandate that private health plans cover abortions even if they do not accept subsidized enrollees, among other problems.
In addition, if the final bill produced by a House-Senate conference committee does not contain the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, NRLC will score the House and Senate votes on the conference report as votes to allow federal mandates and subsidies for coverage of elective abortion. Unless the Stupak-Pitts Amendment is included in the final bill, and the new pro-abortion provisions dropped, a significant number of House members who voted for H.R. 3962 will not vote to pass the final legislation.
I hope Johnson is right on his last point.
Cardinal DiNardo today thanked Senator Robert Casey (D-PA) for his "good-faith effort to improve" the Senate's health bill, but reiterated the position of the U.S. Bishops that the bill remains "morally unacceptable". Casey's intervention, though laudable in many respects, does "not change the fundamental problem with the Senate bill," the cardinal said, "Despite repeated claims to the contrary, it does not comply with longstanding Hyde restrictions on federal funding of elective abortions and health plans that include them."
While a number of "Catholic" groups allied with the administration are putting pressure on Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) to sign on to the Casey compromise and support the bill, the actual bishops of the Church are thanking him for standing firm against watering down current restrictions on abortion funding.
Senator Nelson should be encouraged by the extraordinary commendation Cardinal DiNardo has given him and Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI), "who have placed their votes and reputation on the line to stand up for unborn children."
The full text of today's release from the USCCB is below:
'Compromise' would make citizens pay for others' abortions
Senate should mirror House of Representative's Hyde amendment language
Bill doesn't meet goals of affordability, fairness to legal immigrants, protection of life
WASHINGTON—Responding to reports of a new "compromise" proposal on abortion in the U.S. Senate's health care reform bill, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo today reaffirmed the position of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops that the legislation will be morally unacceptable "unless and until" it complies with longstanding current laws on abortion funding such as the Hyde amendment. Cardinal DiNardo is Archbishop of Galveston-Houston and Chairman of the Conference's Committee on Pro-Life Activities.
The Cardinal commented on efforts by Senator Robert Casey (D-PA) to improve the Senate bill's treatment of abortion.
"Senator Casey's good-faith effort to allow individuals to 'opt out' of abortion coverage actually underscores how radically the underlying Senate bill would change abortion policy. Excluding elective abortions from overall health plans is not a privilege that individuals should have to seek as the exception to the norm. In all other federal health programs, excluding abortion coverage is the norm. And numerous opinion polls show that the great majority of Americans do not want abortion coverage."
"I welcome Senator Casey's good-faith effort to improve this bill," said Cardinal DiNardo. "In particular he has sought to improve protection for conscience rights, and to include programs of support for pregnant women and adoptive parents that we favor in their own right. However, these improvements do not change the fundamental problem with the Senate bill: Despite repeated claims to the contrary, it does not comply with longstanding Hyde restrictions on federal funding of elective abortions and health plans that include them."
Cardinal DiNardo had written to the Senate on December 14, saying that "the Catholic bishops of the United States strongly support authentic reform of our ailing health care system." His letter cited "three moral criteria for reform: respect for life and conscience; affordability for the poor; and access to much-needed basic health care for immigrants," noting that so far the Senate bill "has fallen short of the example set by the House version of this legislation in each of these areas."
On abortion funding, the Cardinal urged the Senate to "incorporate into this bill the longstanding and widely supported policies of current law, acknowledged and reaffirmed by the Senate itself" when it approved the Consolidated Appropriations Act for the new fiscal year on December 13. This Act reaffirmed the Hyde amendment and other laws that exclude elective abortions from health plans receiving federal funds -- including the plans that cover the Senators themselves and all other federal employees. The Senate so far has failed to reflect this same policy in its health care bill as the House has done, he said [see www.usccb.org/healthcare/DiNardo_1214_letter.pdf].
Cardinal DiNardo said December 18: "We continue to oppose and urge others to oppose the Senate bill unless and until this fundamental failure is remedied. And whatever the immediate outcome in the Senate, we will continue to work for health care reform which truly protects the life, dignity, conscience and health of all. As the bishops have said many times, 'providing affordable and accessible health care that clearly reflects these fundamental principles is a public good, moral imperative and urgent national priority.' In particular we will work vigorously to ensure that the substance of the House's provision on abortion funding is included in final legislation. A special debt of gratitude is owed to House and Senate members, especially Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) and Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), who have placed their votes and reputation on the line to stand up for unborn children. Making this legislation consistent with longstanding federal law on abortion will not threaten needed authentic reform, but will help ensure its passage."
It is not the garbage I thought it was, per our reviewer Santiago Ramos, who scolded me for refusing to see the movie. I refused to see the movie because the director refused to read the book. Ramos has convinced me to see it nonetheless with this review that appears in the next issue of The Catholic Key:
Two Unlikely Christmas Favorites
Part Two of a Two-Part Series (Part One is Here)
By Santiago Ramos
Children of Men (2006). Directed by Alfonso Cuarón. Starring Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Claire-Hope Ashitey.
About the strange, glass-encased artwork by Marcel Duchamp titled The Bride Stripped Bare By Her Bachelors, Even, I once heard an artist say: "If art had ceased to exist, and it was then recreated, this is what it would look like." How unexpectedly wonderful life can be, when a pretentious echo from the gallery becomes useful in a different context! This is, indeed, the best way I can describe Alfonso Cuarón's film Children of Men: If Christianity ceased to exist, and was then recreated, this is what it would look like. Understood in this way, it makes for a great Christmas film—for recapturing, to use the popular cliché, the meaning of Christmas.
I hear your objections. The brilliant Cuarón completely changes—he even bragged about not having read—P.D. James' novel by the same name, which was the source for the film. James' novel was a Christian allegory; Cuarón consciously strips the story free of any Christian references. What is left is a story completely played out on the natural, immanent stage of our finite Earth. But this is not an angry secular attack on Christianity that Glenn Beck can get worked up about (though he probably did, anyhow). Instead, Cuarón leaves us with a skeletal description of the shape of hope, and the way in which hope enters human history. That is, not through political revolution, not through pious discourse, but through a person—a baby.
The England of 2027, wherein the story begins, is a dying world. Women—due to genetic experimentation, pollution, or some other mysterious reason—have lost their ability to give birth. The problem is fundamentally physiological, not moral; it is a condition that we must be rescued from. The story begins with mourning: all of London weeps over the death of the youngest person left in the world, an 18 year old Argentine named Diego. An apathetic government bureaucrat named Theo (Clive Owen), can't bear the pathetic, though understandable, weeping all around him, and decides to leave and visit a friend. Before he'll get there, however, there will be a random terrorist bombing in a coffee shop, seconds after he leaves it—a common occurrence, blamed on a pro-immigrant terrorist group called the Fishes.
The Fishes are fighting against a fascist government in England, which has imposed order through martial law, secret police, and regularly rounds up immigrants—"fugees," in the slang of the film's universe—to send them to concentration camps in the south of the country. Out of the Fishes emerges Julian (Julianne Moore), a character something like John the Baptist, and also Theo's ex-wife. Julian sends some Fishes to kidnap Theo, to drag him back to her hideout so she can ask him a favor. Theo, who has contacts in the government, is to obtain an official pass through government checkpoints so that the Fishes can smuggle a fugee girl named Kee (Claire-Hope Ashitey) to the southern coast, where she will be met by an organization named the Human Project. Eventually, Theo discovers why Kee is to be protected: she is bearing a child, and thus, the hope of the world. The Human Project—which is a merely a symbol in the story, and doesn't need to be anything more than that—is to discover through her how to help everyone else have babies, too.
After Julian's death early in the film, however, Theo slowly discovers that the Fishes are no more innocuous with regard to Kee and her child than the government is. The Fishes who travel with Theo and Kee are actually going to betray both once they reach the south. They want to use the baby as a trigger for the revolution which will overthrow the fascist government and change society. The government forces, which are ruthlessly hunting down all Fishes, find out about Theo and Kee and hunt them, too—the hope of the world cannot come from the belly of a fugee.
The climactic battle between the Fishes and the government troops at the end of the film—after we've seen the decadence of the powerful, the sadness of mute immigrants being shuffled into concentration camps, and the birth of the new child, a scene in which Cuarón forces the viewer to endure the pangs of birth without the respite of a cut or a shift in camera angle—is the battle between two forces who believe in power more than they believe in the baby. They both wish to use the baby for their own plans for salvation.
Theo (and Cuarón) is humbler than they. The baby himself is the hope, because he is the sign that fundamentally changes our condition, and rescues us from our chaos. Only a new presence can pacify the violence, can generate, can give birth. Hope is flesh and blood. Cuarón's story is a purgation which helps us to remember this truth.
Santiago Ramos is a graduate of Rockhurst University in Kansas City and has written for First Things (online), Commonweal, The Pitch, Traces, Image Journal and various blogs. He is currently studying toward a Ph.D. in Philosophy at Boston College.
According to a Senate aide, the White House is now threatening to put Nebraska's Offutt Air Force Base on the BRAC list if Nelson doesn't fall into line. . .
. . .As our source put it, this is a "naked effort by Rahm Emanuel and the White House to extort Nelson's vote." They are "threatening to close a base vital to national security for what?" asked the Senate staffer.
Litany of St. Thomas More,
Martyr and Patron Saint of Statesmen, Politicians and Lawyers
V. Lord, have mercy
R. Lord have mercy
V. Christ, have mercy
R. Christ have mercy
V. Lord, have mercy
R. Lord have mercy
V. Christ hear us
R. Christ, graciously hear us
V. St. Thomas More, Saint and Martyr,
R. Pray for us (Repeat after each invocation)
St. Thomas More, Patron of Statesmen, Politicians and Lawyers
St. Thomas More, Patron of Justices, Judges and Magistrates
St. Thomas More, Model of Integrity and Virtue in Public and Private Life
St. Thomas More, Servant of the Word of God and the Body and Blood of Christ
St. Thomas More, Model of Holiness in the Sacrament of Marriage
St. Thomas More, Teacher of his Children in the Catholic Faith
St. Thomas More, Defender of the Weak and the Poor
St. Thomas More, Promoter of Human Life and Dignity
V. Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world
R. Spare us O Lord
V. Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world
R. Graciously hear us O Lord
V. Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world
R. Have mercy on us
Let us pray:
O Glorious St. Thomas More, Patron of Statesmen, Politicians, Judges and Lawyers, your life of prayer and penance and your zeal for justice, integrity and firm principle in public and family life led you to the path of martyrdom and sainthood. Intercede for our Statesmen, Politicians, Judges and Lawyers, that they may be courageous and effective in their defense and promotion of the sanctity of human life - the foundation of all other human rights. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.
This letter comes to The Catholic Key from Missouri Right to Life President Pam Fichter. As negotiations continue in the Senate on health care reform, it is important to keep this important issue in the forefront even as many are occupied preparing fro Christmas:
Will Senator McCaskill Keep Her Promise?
With her vote against the Nelson-Hatch amendment, Senator Claire McCaskill has broken her promise to Missouri citizens. Senator McCaskill promised that she would not support legislation that included federal funding for abortions. The Nelson-Hatch amendment would have prevented funding for abortions in any new public option for health care and prevented federal subsidies for any plan that included abortion. Her vote against this amendment allows Senator Reid's health care proposal to retain such funding.
Senator McCaskill excuses her vote by saying that the Hyde Amendment already prevents such funding, and that the Nelson-Hatch amendment prevented women using their own money to purchase abortion coverage. Both statements are false.
The Hyde Amendment only prevents funding for abortion through the annual appropriations to the Dept. of Health and Human Services. Cong. Hyde proposed this amendment in l977 in order to prevent taxpayer funded abortions through Medicaid. Prior to this amendment, over 300,000 abortions were performed each year through Medicaid. However, the Reid bill creates new streams of funding that would not flow through the DHHS so they would not be covered by the Hyde restriction.
The Nelson-Hatch amendment would not prevent women from purchasing coverage of abortion with their own money as long as no federal subsidies were also used to purchase that coverage.
Missouri taxpayers do not want to pay for abortion. We call on Senator McCaskill to keep her promise.
Pam Fichter
President, Missouri Right to Life
Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) was one of 16 Catholics in the Senate who joined in tabling the Nelson – Hatch Amendment last night. Mike Hoey, interim director of the Missouri Catholic Conference said of McCaskill's vote, "This amounts to a broken promise. The promise Senator McCaskill made this summer was to keep federally funded abortions out of healthcare reform. The Nelson-Hatch amendment would have done that."
Hoey's comments were made in an article which will appear in the Catholic Missourian, newspaper of the Diocese of Jefferson City, MO, which is posted below. For the record, other Catholics in the Senate effectively voting to fund abortion in health care reform were: Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Jack Reed (D-RI), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), John Kerry (D-MA), Paul Kirk (D-MA), Mark Begich (D-AK), Christopher Dodd (D-CN), Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Tom Harkin (D-IA).
Here's the report from Jefferson City:
By Jay Nies
Jefferson City - The U.S. Senate on Tuesday walked away from an opportunity to keep federally funded abortion out of a proposed reform to the nation's healthcare system.
By a 54-45 vote while debating the health care reform bill, the Senate ended discussion on a pro-life amendment offered by U.S. Senators Benjamin Nelson of Nebraska and Orrin Hatch of Utah.
The amendment would have prevented any government-operated or federally subsidized insurance plan from covering abortions except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother.
Sen. Christopher S. "Kit" Bond of Missouri voted against a motion to end discussion on the Nelson-Hatch pro-life amendment.
Sen. Claire McCaskill, who stated this summer that she would not vote for a healthcare bill that uses taxpayer money to pay for elective abortions, voted in favor of ending the discussion on the Nelson-Hatch amendment, effectively killing the amendment.
"This amounts to a broken promise," said Mike Hoey, interim director of the Missouri Catholic Conference (MCC), the public-policy agency of the state's Roman Catholic bishops. "The promise Sen. McCaskill made this summer was to keep federally funded abortions out of healthcare reform. The Nelson-Hatch amendment would have done that."
The Nelson-Hatch amendment prohibited any public or private health insurance plan that accepts federal subsidies from covering elective abortions. People wishing to have abortion coverage would have had to pay separately for that coverage with their own money.
"The amendment would not interfere with individuals who want to buy abortion coverage," said Mr. Hoey. "It's very consistent with federal policies as they already exist. For example, Medicaid does not pay for elective abortions."
Sen. McCaskill said she believes the current language in the Senate's version of healthcare reform would keep taxpayer money from subsidizing abortion.
"That simply isn't true," said Mr. Hoey. "By failing to adopt the Nelson-Hatch amendment, this health care reform bill provides tax payer dollars to subsidize elective abortions, something the overwhelming majority of Americans oppose."
Mr. Hoey said Tuesday that although the outcome of the vote is disappointing, "we're not through fighting for this yet."
He said the Senate might take up the amendment again if the sponsors of the proposed health care legislation can't get enough votes to pass it without pro-life support from senators like Senator Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska).
Also, even if the Senate passes health care reform legislation their version will have to be reconciled with the House version. The House version includes a pro-life amendment, sponsored by Bart Stupak (D-Michigan), barring taxpayer money from subsidizing abortions.
"In a conference committee, you have to negotiate the differences between the two versions," Hoey said. "It's possible that the Senate conferees would agree to the House position on the matter, and allow the pro-life (Stupak) amendment to stay in the bill."
A spokesperson for the Susan B. Anthony List pro-life organization, in a Dec. 8 statement, asserted that without the Nelson-Hatch amendment, the Senate version of healthcare reform "explicitly authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to include abortion coverage in the public option" and "also allows the use of government subsidies to purchase insurance policies that include elective abortion coverage."
Mr. Hoey reiterated that the Catholic Church has consistently supported ensuring that all Americans have access to affordable healthcare.
"We continue to support that goal," he said. "But it's got to be done in a way that respects the sanctity of all human life, and that includes keeping federally funded abortions out of healthcare."
He said he hopes Sen. McCaskill and the other senators who voted against keeping abortion out of healthcare will have a change of heart and will get another chance to vote on the Nelson-Hatch amendment.
"We certainly hope and pray that that happens," he said.
Those wishing to better understand the provisions of the Nelson - Hatch amendment may visit the Web site of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.
"What does the Nelson-Hatch-Casey Amendment Really Do?" http://usccb.org/healthcare/nelsondo.pdf
Sen. McCaskill can be reached at (202) 224-6154 or by visiting her website at http://mccaskill.senate.gov/contact/.
Sen. Bond can be reached at (202) 224-5721 or by visiting http://bond.senate.gov/public/.
Our own Santiago Ramos takes a look at a couple of unlikely Christmas favorites. The first is a Twilight Zone episode from 1961 that Ramos finds more on point for Christmas than Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol'. Check back next Monday to read about another unlikely Christmas favorite. From the upcoming edition of The Catholic Key:
Two Unlikely Christmas Favorites
Part One of a Two-Part Series
By Santiago Ramos
"Five Characters in Search of an Exit."
Twilight Zone, 1961.
Christmas is not about giving; it is about receiving. This must be distinctly understood, or nothing wonderful can come out of the story I am about to relate. It's inarguable that, for most people, serving soup for someone else is ultimately more satisfying than receiving a new sweater; but it is also true that, A Christmas Carol notwithstanding, Christmas has to do less with giving than with receiving something which we desperately need and which we are helpless to attain by our own wits and ability. Tiny Tim feels better after Scrooge surrenders his pride and learns the value of generosity; but Tiny Tim will one day become an old man, and then his soul will desire things that no mortal will be able to give him - not even Scrooge, who will, by then, just like his decaying partner Marley, be as dead as a doornail.
That seemingly unreachable gift of complete happiness; that disproportional desire for life that survives childhood; helplessness and rescue; these are the themes of Advent. Our reception of the One who fulfills the disproportionate desire; who makes the ultimate happiness possible; this is Christmas. That an episode of The Twilight Zone captures all of this better than any of the 127 or so variations on Dickens' novel is not something I feel the need to apologize for.
In season three of that show, three days before Christmas in 1961, host Rod Serling introduced the episode "Five Characters in Search of an Exit." The episode deals with five people thrust into a world of which they know nothing. They also know nothing about their past or where they come from. They all want to leave, but only one of them - an Army Major, the last one to arrive - does not give up hope about actually doing so. Serling's introduction sets the scene:
Clown. Hobo. Ballet Dancer. Bagpiper. And an Army Major. A collection of question marks. Five improbable entities stuck together into a pit of darkness. No logic, no reason, no explanation. Just a prolonged nightmare in which fear, loneliness, and the unexplainable walk hand in hand through the shadows. In a moment, we'll start collecting clues as to the whys, the whats, and the wheres. We will not end the nightmare, we'll only explain it, because this is the Twilight Zone.
A collection of question marks, indeed - but only the Army Major is courageous enough to admit his own, questioning nature. Everyone else has already given in to resignation and boredom. The Major, on the other hand, questions relentlessly, impatiently, and, ultimately, loudly. He bellows. His befuddlement slowly transforms into panic with every ten paces he traces within his featureless, dark container. None of his companions in darkness have any answers, only pity.
None of them, that is, except the Clown. Unlike the others, the Clown gives positive force to his resignation; his jadedness is a judgment against hope. He is the foil to the Major's searching spirit. The best lines in the show come in the dialogue between them. In the first few minutes, the Major says: "A couple of important items seem to have eluded me - like, who am I?"
"You said you were a Major," responds the Clown. The Clown knows that the answer is not the answer the Major is looking for. Later on, to the tune of "Auld Lang Syne," he will mockingly sing his credo at the Major's unhappy face: "We're here because we're here because we're here because we're here!"
The other characters also speculate as to why they are where they are. The Hobo thinks they reside in Purgatory. The Ballet Dancer is more insightful: "Perhaps…we are…the unloved." The Major caves into despair: This is Hell.
In spite of that awful thought, the Major continues to beat against the walls, and to try to climb up the walls, to find a way out of his cage. Eventually, he even gets the Clown to cooperate, and to concede that "We all want out of here." At the beginning of the show, the camera reveals a bright white circle of light, within a larger black circle, high above the floor where the characters are standing. The Major devises a plan to climb towards that light.
It's impossible to explain the show's Christmas meaning without relating the ending; anyway, knowing the ending does not make it any less worth watching. The audience finds out the answer to the Major's questions: they are all toys within a large basket bearing the sign "17th Annual Christmas Drive." A lady ringing a bell next to it says that the toys are "For the orphans."
Serling finishes the show with, "In the arms of children, there can be nothing but love." And in the arms of one certain child, there is an infinite embrace. Christmas.
"Five Characters in Search of an Exit" will more likely be broadcast during one of the end-of-the-year Twilight Zone marathons on the SyFy Channel. If you want to watch it sooner than that, the first three seasons of The Twilight Zone are available for free at www.cbs.com/classics.
Santiago Ramos is a graduate of Rockhurst University in Kansas City and has written for First Things (online), Commonweal, The Pitch, Traces, Image Journal and various blogs. He is currently studying toward a Ph.D. in Philosophy at Boston College.
The USCCB sent out this action alert today asking Catholics to contact their Senators and urge them to support the Hatch-Nelson Amendment to the proposed health care bill. Without this amendment which would maintain current restrictions on federal funding of abortions, the bishops maintain "the current legislation should be opposed."
I like how the bishops note here that the Senate Bill is actually a sneaky "gut and amend" of an already passed, unrelated House Bill. The actual name of the bill they're working on is called "Service Members Home Ownership Tax Act of 2009".
Please contact your senators and if you're in Missouri, see State-specific information below this action item:
Support the Hatch-Nelson Amendment to Stop Abortion Funding in Health Care Reform!
The full Senate is considering their health care reform bill. The bishops are strongly urging the Senate to incorporate essential changes to the Senate's health care reform bill to ensure that needed health care reform legislation truly protects the life, dignity, consciences and health of all. The amendment to maintain the prohibition on federal funding of abortion could be voted on as early as Monday, December 7. Please contact your Senators today!
Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ben Nelson (D-NE) have submitted an amendment that like the Stupak amendment that was included in the final House bill, prevents this legislation from mandating abortion coverage or providing federal funds for coverage that includes elective abortions. Those wishing to purchase abortion coverage may continue to do so with their own private funds, but not in the government-run health care plan ("community health insurance option") or with the help of federal subsidies.
Senate: On November 18, Senate leadership unveiled its health care reform bill, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This bill has been brought to the floor by inserting its text into H.R. 3590, an unrelated House-passed tax measure. Debate and votes have begun and may continue until the Christmas recess.
In a November 20 letter to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. bishops urged essential changes in the Senate bill:
to retain federal policy on abortion funding and conscience protection; to protect access to health care for immigrants; and to provide for adequate affordability and coverage standards. The bishops said:
"Sadly, the legislative proposal recently unveiled in the Senate does not meet these moral criteria." The bishops specifically said that if the bill's serious defects on abortion are not corrected, "the current legislation should be opposed."
ACTION: Contact Members now through e-mail, phone calls or FAX letters. 1) Send an e-mail at www.usccb.org/action. 2) Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at: 202-224-3121, or call your Members'
local offices. Full contact info can be found on Members' Web sites at www.house.gov and www.senate.gov.
MESSAGE—SENATE: "Please support the Hatch-Nelson Amendment to uphold longstanding policies against abortion funding, and please protect conscience rights in health care reform.
WHEN: Senate floor debate on the amendment may begin the week of December 7.
WATCH FOR ADDITIONAL ACTION ALERTS! As the Senate continues to consider amendments to the health care bill on abortion funding, conscience protections, improving affordability and coverage and protecting immigrants' health care, the USCCB will send Action Alerts to update you on advocacy needed to support health care legislation that protects the life and dignity of all people from conception until natural death.
For more information, please visit www.usccb.org/healthcare. Thank you for your advocacy!
For Missouri residents, this alert comes from the Missouri Catholic Conference:
Urge McCaskill to Support the Hatch - Nelson
Amendment to Health care reform
Senator Claire McCaskill will be a pivotal vote in keeping abortion out of health care reform. Even if you have already contacted her, please contact her again using the contact information below.
Claire McCaskill
United State Senate
Hart Senate Office Building SH-717
Washington D.C., 20510
(202) 224-6154
Contact Form
Here are some talking points you can use to convey your message to Senator McCaskill:
1. Support the Hatch - Nelson Amendment. Keep abortion out of health care reform.
2. Missourians overwhelmingly oppose using their tax dollars or insurance premiums to subsidize abortions or abortion insurance coverage.
3. The Hatch- Nelson Amendment allows people to pay for abortion insurance coverage only with their own money.
4. It is not good enough to depend upon adopting the Hyde Amendment every year through appropriation bills. Instead, the Hyde Amendment language should be made permanent law in health care reform (the Hyde language restricts abortion to rape, incest or threat to the life of the mother).
For more information contact the Missouri Catholic Conference, www.mocatholic.com, 573.635.7239.
*The U.S House has already adopted a strong, pro-life amendment similar to the one being proposed by Senators Hatch and Nelson.
**If we can obtain passage of the Hatch - Nelson Amendment, then the pro-life provisions will likely be more secure when the House and Senate negotiate their differences in finalizing the health care reform legislation.
Salt Lake City Bishop John C. Wester has a guest column today at Politics Daily urging President Obama and the Senate to follow the House' lead and allow undocumented immigrants to purchase coverage in the proposed new health exchanges. Bishop Wester also serves as chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Migration.
As I post this, his article has only been up a couple of hours at Politics Daily and has already received more than 120 mostly negative comments from people who mostly did not read what he actually said. Bishop Wester, who I've known for decades as a good and holy, solidly pro-life and orthodox pastor, is not pulling something out of left-field here. He is asking only that undocumented immigrants be allowed to purchase coverage with their own money, and he has some very good moral and policy reasons for making that argument.
Politics Daily has given permission to the USCCB for diocesan sites to post the column in its entirety. Here it is:
The Truth About Immigrants and Health Care
By Bishop John Wester
Representative Joe Wilson's now infamous "you lie" shout out to President Obama during his health care speech to Congress was featured in the press as an unprecedented breach of protocol.
Much less has been reported about the subject of the rant: keeping undocumented persons from accessing health care.
With the passage of health care legislation, a majority of the House of Representatives shouted back. The House bill permits undocumented persons to use their own money to purchase coverage in the new health care exchange.
This is contrary to the stated positions of not only Rep. Wilson, but also the U.S. Senate and the Obama administration. A closer examination of the merits of the House position should convince them that, in this case, sound public policy should trump divisive politics.
With 12 million undocumented persons in the country, someone is going to need a doctor. While close to 4 million already have health care through employer-based plans, millions of others are dependent upon community clinics, emergency rooms, and the generosity of medical personnel who believe health care is a human right, not a privilege.
Although uninsured immigrants use emergency rooms much less than U.S. citizens, the cost of their care ultimately falls upon American taxpayers, either through higher insurance rates or tax money paid directly to providers. Permitting the undocumented to use their own money to purchase coverage would help alleviate some of this fiscal and financial burden on Americans.
It also would help Americans afford their own coverage. A study by the Kaiser Foundation concluded that immigrants are younger and healthier than average Americans and are less likely to access health care and drive up costs, keeping prices lower for everyone. By letting the undocumented buy into the exchange, the risks and costs of the new health care system would be spread out among more participants.
Given a chance, they will participate. The reality is that undocumented immigrants want to pay their way, as they do with taxes, Social Security payments, and health care contributions. Why not let them? A recent study found that 84 percent of undocumented Mexican immigrants in California offered employer-based coverage accepted it and paid for a portion of the costs.
Even for legal immigrants, Congress has yet to write the right prescription. Both the Senate and House bills fail to lift the ban, imposed in the welfare reform legislation of 1996, which prevents working but poor legal immigrants from enrolling in Medicaid for five years. Legal immigrants, who are on a path to become U.S. citizens, should be eligible for programs for which they pay taxes.
Including immigrants in health care reform would help make health care affordable to all and make us a healthier nation. It also would make coverage accessible to the most vulnerable among us. Is that not the point of health care reform? To their credit, a majority of the U.S. House of Representatives thinks so.
In the end, the debate over immigrants and health care is really a debate about another affliction ailing our nation: the broken U.S. immigration system. In truth, without a legalization program and other reforms, our elected officials will continue to be faced with policy choices that treat U.S. citizens and immigrants differently but weaken the nation as a whole.
President Obama and Congress would be wise to include immigrants in health care reform and then enact immigration reform legislation, so that we are finally rid of the vitriolic immigration debates which have sullied our public discourse and confused our public policy decisions.
Until that time, breaches of protocol and political gamesmanship may continue to define the issue of immigration, to the detriment of all Americans. And immigrants could be left standing in the waiting room, asking for a doctor's appointment that may never come.
The writer is the Catholic bishop of Salt Lake City, Utah, and chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Migration.
The Senate is now debating amendments to its version of a health care reform bill and Lifenews reports that a Stupak-type amendment may be debated and voted on as early as Friday. The amendment will be offered by pro-life Democrat Ben Nelson (D-NE) and co-sponsored by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT).
Chances for passage of the Nelson Amendment appear slim. If it fails, the Senate bill will not only provide massive federal funding for abortion, but could potentially mandate elective abortion coverage in all medical insurance plans. That's because an amendment by pro-abortion Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), which passed today, leaves it to the Department of Health and Human Services to define which "preventive" services for women will be required care in all health plans.
Senator Nelson understands this and has promised to filibuster the final bill if it does not contain an amendment substantially similar to the House's Stupak Amendment. Nelson's filibuster would kill the final bill if he was joined by every Republican Senator – but that is too much to expect. A pro-abortion Republican like Olympia Snowe (R-ME) could be convinced to vote for cloture on the final bill if she got her way on other amendments.
What is needed is the support of additional Democrats for the Nelson Amendment. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) describes himself as pro-life and has made some strong pro-life moves. He needs to support the Nelson Amendment and to join in promising to filibuster the final bill if the Nelson language is not included. Democratic leadership is not particularly concerned about a Nelson filibuster at the moment. If Casey joined Nelson, leadership would be forced to incorporate pro-life concerns if they wanted a final bill.
So far, Casey's intentions seem opaque. Please call Senator Casey now at (202) 224-6324 or contact him here and urge him to support the Nelson Amendment AND oppose the final bill if Nelson fails.
Missouri residents should also contact Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO). McCaskill has never voted pro-life, but she did promise in town hall meetings in Missouri that she would oppose abortion funding in health care reform. The Senator should be held accountable for the promises she's made her constituents. Please call Senator McCaskill at (202) 224-6154 or contact her here and let her know that her vote in favor of the Nelson Amendment is essential to keeping her promise to oppose abortion funding in health care.
NCR reported last week that "The vast majority of U.S. women religious are not complying with a Vatican request to answer questions in a document of inquiry that is part of a three-year study of the congregations." I'm inclined to think and hope that is an exaggeration.
To make their case, NCR quotes an anonymous sister who asserts "There's been almost universal resistance" to answering the questions posed by the Apostolic Visitation of U.S. Women Religious. Another anonymous characterizes the questions and the Vatican itself as violent and abusive. Yet another anonymous says women religious "are asking if there is a 'Ghandian or Martin Luther King way' to deal with violence they felt is being done to them."
People who use the language of violence and abuse to characterize questions like:
Do your sisters participate in the Eucharistic Liturgy according to approved liturgical norms?
How is spiritual and human development of sisters fostered in community?
Seem more in need of a Psychiatric Visitation than anything else and can't possibly reflect the thinking of the majority of very balanced, committed and intelligent women religious in the United States.
But as to the question of how to respond to a Visitation that you do not want and find unfair, Canon Law has an answer:
Can. 628 §3. Members are to act with trust toward a visitator, to whose legitimate questioning they are bound to respond according to the truth in charity. Moreover, it is not permitted for anyone in any way to divert members from this obligation or otherwise to impede the scope of the visitation.
That canon regards the visitation of a diocesan bishop or religious superior to a religious institute. It seems a similar attitude would apply to a visitation ordered by the Pope, of which the Second Vatican Council dogmatically declared:
The pope's power of primacy over all, both pastors and faithful, remains whole and intact. In virtue of his office, that is as Vicar of Christ and pastor of the whole Church, the Roman Pontiff has full, supreme and universal power over the Church. And he is always free to exercise this power. (Lumen Gentium 22)
Assuming there are some congregations not complying with the Apostolic Visitation, their actions imply a rejection of truth, charity, obedience, canon law and the Second Vatican Council. It's doubtful a congregation could reveal as much about itself by simply answering the questions. As Jeff Miller commented the other day, "Not sure how no answer is going to do anything other than to show exactly why the Apostolic Visitation was needed in the first place."
The City of San Francisco is hard up for cash, so they've decided to steal it from the Archdiocese of San Francisco because they can – nakedly, in broad daylight, without the slightest plausible legal pretense. The Church is openly hated and condemned in San Francisco for its support of Proposition 8 and its defense of human sexual morality in general. The City can steal from the Archdiocese because the City needs the money and because it makes the citizenry happy to stick it to the evil Catholic Church.
Here's some backstory from a previous post:
When you sell a piece of property in many California jurisdictions, including San Francisco, the seller must pay a rather exhorbitant tax for the privilege which is based upon the value of the property. It is akin to a sales tax on a home or commercial property.
The San Francisco Archdiocese owns hundreds of lots in San Mateo, Marin and San Francisco counties. The exceedingly vast majority of these properties are the lots which make up a parish plant, i.e., church, school, parish hall, parking lot, rectory. . .
The Archdiocese has historically held title to these properties under two names - The Roman Catholic Welfare Corporation and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Francisco, a Corporation Sole.
In December, 2007, San Francisco Archbishop George Niederauer announced a corporate restructuring within the archdiocese and by May 2008, almost all properties in question had been consolidated under the title of the Archdiocese of San Francisco Parish and School Juridic Persons Juridic Property Support Corp.
Since this is not a sale or transfer to a different organization or person, no transfer tax is invoked and no transfer tax has ever been invoked in the history of the state for such a transaction.
That is, until City Assessor Phil Ting gauged the likely public reaction to an outright theft from the Prop. 8 supporting Catholic Church and realized it would not only be profitable, but popular. Last year Ting, unlike assessors in Marin and San Mateo Counties, decided to charge the Archdiocese a transfer tax on all Archdiocesan properties in San Francisco. This includes properties such as Mission Dolores, which have been owned by the Church since before there was a State of California or a taxing authority in San Francisco.
They are still owned by the Church. No money changed hands. Yet, the City is charging the Archdiocese the second largest real estate transfer tax in history, as if the Archdiocese were a real estate investor selling a profitable high-rise office building.
The Archdiocese appealed Ting's decision to an appeal board which yesterday agreed to take $14.4 million from the Church. The Archdiocese will now take the issue to court. Archdiocesan spokesperson Maury Healy told the San Francisco Chronicle:
"The board members, all of whom are City Hall administrators rather than members of the judiciary, apparently faced tremendous pressure in view of the city's desperate need for revenue . . . We are glad that having exhausted the required administrative process we can finally proceed to a formal, neutral civil court forum . . . We trust that the civil court will carefully consider the applicable law, devoid of the sensationalism and politics that the archdiocese thus far has faced."
Pray for the persecuted Church in San Francisco. This is just one of many assaults the Church has suffered there recently. Hat Tip to A Shepherd's Voice who has more background here and especially here.


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Collapsible Corporations—Probems and Pitfalls
by EGERTON W. DUNCAN Principal, Executive Office
Presented before the Haskins & Sells Annual Tax Conference, Washington, D.C.—October 1962
THE EVOLUTION of Code section 341, the present Collapsible Corpora-tion statute, can best be described as the story of what happens when Congress does too thorough a job of closing a loophole. Subsections
(a) through (d) of the statute constitute the embodiment of provisions in three separate revenue acts—1950, 1951 and 1954— intended to forestall practices that seriously threatened the revenue. Subsection (e), which was added by the Revenue Act of 1958, represents
the opposite—a strenuous attempt to mitigate penalties that turned out to be harsher than intended, without reopening the loophole.
Subsection (e) sets some sort of a record for verbosity and complexity,
and in sheer volume of printed pages outweighs the rest of the statute by more than two to one. Fortunately for me, Mr. Reinhardt has agreed to tackle subsection (e), and I might add that he is welcome to it. I can, therefore, limit myself to the less abstruse parts of the statute which deal with its basic loophole-closing aspects.
I realize most of you are familiar with the type of tax avoidance that section 341 was designed to correct and, therefore, I shall not dwell at any great length on the background that gave rise to the enactment of this statute. Suffice it to say the tax avoidance with which Congress was concerned was the conversion to capital gain, by means of a corporate liquidation or sale of stock, of what would otherwise
have been ordinary income in the form of rentals, compensation for personal services, or profits from sale of stock in trade. The principal penalty imposed by section 341 consists of a denial of long-term capital gain treatment on liquidation of, or sale of stock in, a corporation formed or availed of for this type of tax avoidance.
I am not here overly concerned with the application of section 341 to corporations engaged in construction, real estate development, or motion picture production. All of us are at least aware of the possibility
of having collapsible corporation sanctions imposed against such corporations and their shareholders. In fact the taxpayers them-


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As climate change escalates, the world is increasingly looking to engineered solutions to reduce carbon emissions and provide sustainable energy. Recently the focus has turned on deserts and how they can be used to supply large amounts of renewable energy which is causing some concern among environmentalists.
After many years on the drawing board, in July this year, a large scale solar power project for the Sahara desert in North Africa was launched. The plan is to install solar panels across thousands of square kilometres and transmit the electricity to Europe. The project is being developed by the Desertec Foundation, under the auspices of the Club of Rome and the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation.
Supporters say that the project will keep Europe at the forefront of the fight against climate change, meet a significant portion of Europe's electricity demand and generate thousands of jobs. Critics say that Europe would become too dependent on the geopolitics of North Africa and that there is a greater need for electricity in Africa where almost a quarter of people lack access to it. There are also concerns about the amount of water needed to clean the solar panels and for turbine coolant and the additional stress on local populations who already face severe water shortages.
Amid the debate, IUCN is anxious that environmental and social concerns are taken into account by the project developers at an early stage. Climate change is one of the greatest threats to biodiversity and the provision of sustainable energy is essential to future societal development. It hopes that Desertec will bring much needed economic opportunities to North Africa but it is also concerned about the areas where the development will occur.
"The environmental community is keen to support the development of renewable energy but no renewable energy solution is biodiversity neutral," says Margarita Astrálaga, Director of the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation. "The Mediterranean dryland ecosystems and the communities that depend on them are among the most threatened in the world. It is important that the project recognises and addresses the environmental and social risks. Deserts are not homogenous ecosystems and there is critical biodiversity in these areas with particular adaptation mechanisms that need to be considered."
IUCN is exploring the option of collaborating with the Desertec team. Through its extensive networks of staff, members and experts in the region, the Union is well placed to offer guidance on how to address potential threats as well as opportunities to biodiversity and local livelihoods. It can also ensure that the project complies with international standards on impact assessment and mitigation.


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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Apple Inc.'s shares have begun to bounce back from a brutal selloff over the past two months, but some on Wall Street, believing that the company's profit margins may be peaking, are adopting a cooler view of the stock.
By Monday afternoon, Apple shares AAPL, +0.36% had jumped more than 2.6% at $586.77. The stock is up about 11% from its closing price before the Thanksgiving week, though it remains about 16% below its peak, slightly above the $700 mark, on Sept. 21 — the day the iPhone 5 went on sale.
Wall Street's analysts remain overwhelmingly bullish on Apple, with 88% of the covering brokers rating the shares as a buy.
However, more are beginning to moderate their views on the company's outlook, with concerns that the popular iPhone may be at its peak profit margin and that growing sales of the iPad with the launch of a smaller version will crimp the company's overall gross margin, which Apple has been able to keep above the 40% line for several quarters.
"We assert that Apple's share of the smartphone market is at risk from low-end smartphones and competition from other ecosystems," a team of Citigroup analysts wrote in a note Monday morning. "We see upside from tablets, but this negatively impacts [gross margins]."
The Citi team initiated the stock with a buy rating but added a $675 price target that is about 12% below the current median target on Wall Street, "reflecting our perception that risks for Apple are increasingly coming into focus."
Another broker, Pacific Crest Securities, also lowered its target on Apple on Monday. Analyst Andy Hargreaves trimmed his target to $645 from $670, citing his belief that higher costs of goods sold, or COGS, for the iPhone 5 will push Apple's overall gross margin to 38.8% from 40% for the December quarter.
"Declining gross profit dollars per iPhone and volume sales of iPad are driving lower gross profit per unit of Apple product sold," Hargreaves wrote in a research note, adding that "exceptional unit volume is required to maintain growth at Apple."


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It was "a weird match with a weird ending" but all Eugenie Bouchard cared about was the split-second in which she saw Simona Halep's lunging service return spinning into the net.
It was the moment that confirmed her 7-6(5) 6-2 victory over the Romanian third seed at Wimbledon on Thursday.
More importantly, it was the moment that had been 15 years in the making as she became the first Canadian - man or woman - to reach a grand slam final.
The fact that she had set a final date with 2011 champion Petra Kvitova in an arena she calls the "Temple of Tennis" should have sparked some joyous celebrations.
But there were no tears, no leaps of joy and no sinking to the knees. She briefly raised her arms, blew some kisses and then strode out with the air of a champion-in-waiting who knew her "job was not done yet".
"It's not a surprise for me. I expect good results like this. I totally feel like I belong. But I still have another match so it's not a full celebration yet," said the remarkably self-assured 20-year-old.
It was a sentiment shared by Kvitova after she came out on top of a semi-final between two Czechs - and two lefties - by subduing Lucie Safarova 7-6(6) 6-1.
"Still one more to come. I want to be focused on that now," said the sixth seed whose career has somewhat plateaued since her breakthrough win here three years ago.
Following the heart-pumping and nerve-jangling excitement of the previous 48 hours, when Rafael Nadal and champion Andy Murray departed after being thumped by the 'generation-next' of brazen big hitters, Thursday's two semi-finals seemed rather anticlimactic.
Neither contest scaled the heights of a Wimbledon blockbuster but that mattered little to Kvitova or Bouchard.
What Kvitova cared about was that she was now two sets away from shedding her one-hit wonder tag.
"These three years was really up and down... but I'm definitely ready for a final and I'm going to try the best," said the 24-year-old, who went from carefree wannabe to angst-ridden champion.
Since that 2011 triumph, very little has changed in Kvitova's life. One of the few luxuries she has allowed herself is to trade in the Skoda she was driving for a BMW.
Bouchard, in contrast, has been on the fast lane to success since winning the junior title at Wimbledon in 2012.
In only her second year on the professional tour, she reached the semi-finals of the Australian and French Opens and is now a win away from living up her billing as the "next Maria Sharapova".
"I see it as a compliment to be compared to someone like Sharapova who has won five slams. She's a great champion," said Bouchard, who is seeded 13th this year, just like the Russian was when she captured hearts with her 2004 triumph.
"But I'm my own person. I don't want to be the next someone else. I want to be the first of me."
Her steely resilience and powerful baseline game means she has more in common with her one-time idol than just long blonde hair and glamorous looks.
Her ability to put "blinders on" when things go awry was clear for all to see during Thursday's 94-minute tussle which John McEnroe described as being "a weird match with a weird ending".
Just four games into the contest, proceedings were interrupted by a medical time out taken by Halep to have her left ankle strapped after she stumbled on the grass lunging after a Bouchard winner.
Fears that the injury might force Halep to throw in the towel early proved to be unfounded as the world number three went toe-to-toe with the hard-hitting Bouchard right into the tiebreak.
But when Halep went up 3-2 with a mini-break, confusion reigned around Centre Court. French umpire Kader Nouni suddenly clambered down his chair and ran to the opposite tramlines.
He had spotted that a spectator had fallen ill in the stands and the players were forced to take another timeout as the ailing woman received medical attention before being led away.
Rather than being annoyed by the unscheduled distraction, it sharpened Bouchard's focus.
"It's pretty tough to stop in the middle of a tiebreak. It was intense, and then to just kind of not play tennis for three minutes messes up the rhythm. But I took it as a challenge," she said.
A lucky netcord allowed the Canadian to draw level at 4-4 and she then finished off the set with a brutal drive volley that left Halep swinging her racket in vain.
That appeared to take the wind out of Halep and her bid to become the first Romanian to reach a Wimbledon final since 1970s bad boy Ilie Nastase achieved the feat in '76 quickly faltered.
She did, however, save three match points on her serve at 5-1 down, one of them with an ace which Bouchard felt was unfair.
"When Simona tossed I heard someone scream in the crowd. I didn't feel prepared to return. So I put my hand up," said Bouchard.
"The umpire told me he heard it as well, but he just didn't see my hand go up. I felt like we should have replayed the point, but he said, no, it was her point.
"I took it as a challenge."
One game later, it was all over.
"It was a little crazy. I have never ended a match like that. I'm happy I kept my focus...and played well in the last game."
After such a calm and composed performance, there is only thing that she now craves.
"I'm waiting for a big moment to go nuts," she said.
As is Kvitova.
Updated Date: Jul 05, 2014 17:45:46 IST