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Europe's Show Palace
London has Buckingham Palace, Paris has Versailles. The highlight in Berlin is … Friedrichstadt-Palast. And it isn't filled with dusty memories of the nobility, but is instead the home of Europe's show palace. On the largest theatre stage in the world, the hottest (and biggest) show in the capital is celebrated: More than 100 of the best soloists, dancers, musicians and artists make a trip to Friedrichstadt-Palast an absolute must-see for every Berlin resident and visitor. It's no coincidence that with 700,000 visitors annually, it is by far Berlin's No. 1 stage.
Berlin's most spectacular stage is centrally located on Friedrichstraße in the East End Theatre District. Friedrichstadt-Palast is the last large historic landmark building from the GDR. Its history dates back to 1919 when theatre genius Max Reinhardt opened the Great Theatre. In the 1920s with revues by Erik Charell, the theatre set the pace for the Roaring Twenties. Legendary Marlene Dietrich and later American divas like Shirley Bassey and Liza Minnelli stood on stage here. Because the old building had structural problems, the revue theatre was rebuilt at Friedrichstraße 107 and inaugurated in April 1984 with spectacular revues, variety theatre and cabaret. Up to the fall of the Berlin Wall, Friedrichstadt-Palast was in fact the theatre to go to in the East Bloc.
After the fall of the Wall, 'the Palace' established itself as the first address in reunified Germany for extravagant and spectacular show entertainment and has been one of Berlin's hottest major attractions ever since. To this day, it offers technical marvels and abounds with superlatives of all types and world records. Friedrichstadt-Palast lights up Berlin-Mitte and is also where major galas and events take place, including the Berlinale and the German Film Awards. Familiar faces have always passed through the theatre's door, ranging from politicians including Michail Gorbatschow, George Bush Sr., Helmut Kohl and Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, to Hollywood stars such as Colin Firth, Leonardo Di Caprio, Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway.
If you would like to experience something extraordinary in Berlin, something that is unique in the world and visually stunning, then Friedrichstadt-Palast in Berlin's "East End" is your first choice.
International Show
With 14 million guests over the course of three decades, the Palast is Germany's most-visited
entertainment stage. Shows have been performed here for over 100 years, and with great success. They are also well-suited to guests without knowledge of the German language.
THE WYLD – Out of this world
With 14 million guests over the course of three decades, the Palast is Germany's most-visited
entertainment stage. In 1919, the theatre was founded by Max Reinhardt under the name 'Großes
Schauspielhaus' (Great Playhouse). In 1984, it reopened in a new building at Friedrichstraße 107.
Shows have been performed here for over 100 years, and with great success. In common with all revue shows at the Palast, the Grand Show THE WYLD doesn't have a continuous storyline. The succession of grandiose numbers is held together by a common thread: a declaration of love for Berlin, a city that is as strange as it is wonderful. For THE WYLD, the star avant-garde Parisian designer Manfred Thierry Mugler and Roland Welke designed breathtaking show scenes that will turn our world upside down.
Before becoming a haute couture designer, Mugler was himself a ballet dancer. He also created worldfamous perfumes such as 'Angel' and 'Alien', was one of the makers of 'Zumanity', a Cirque du Soleil revue that has been running in Las Vegas for over 10 years, and was artistic director for (Beyoncé) on her 'I am…World Tour'. He recently took modern cabaret to Paris with his 'Mugler Follies'.
Ten choreographers worked on the current show, which features 60 male and female dancers. It is the world's largest continuous show ballet company. In conjunction with the lighting designs created by the French designer Alain Lonchampt, a visually breathtaking synthesis of the arts, comprising stage set, video and light installations, has come into being. With a production budget of over ten million euros, the largest in the Palast's history, THE WYLD is the most expensively produced show outside Las Vegas. Shows presented by the Palast are also well-suited to guests without knowledge of the German language.
On the world's largest theatre stage, Berlin's new Grand Show combines extraordinary characters, breathtaking artistry and the legendary row of showgirls, all presented in opulent scenes. With over 100 artists, THE WYLD is the most lavishly produced show outside Las Vegas. Experience a truly cosmic love story. Supernaturally beautiful and out of this world.
The Grand Show THE WYLD celebrated its world premiere on 23 October 2014. Now running until mid-July 2016: THE WYLD – OUT OF THIS WORLD.
Children shows
Especially younger pupils, kids, and adolescents are enthused by the children shows of Friedrichstadt-Palast's Young Ensemble. Each year, more than 1.000 children apply to become a member of the Young Ensemble, which, with its more than 250 kids and young people from more than 20 nations, is Europe's largest youth ensemble.
During three months of the year, the Young Ensemble regularly performs in front of capacity crowds in impressive show. And be assured: the show will also knock the kids out of their chair.
Distributors can book tickets at attractive prices and conditions. Our services include the flexible block booking of tickets and in-house catering. Contact us and we will be happy to provide you with more information.
The following group discounts are available for advance booking:
10 % for groups of more than 9 persons paying full price in price categories 1 – 4.
15 % for groups of more than 14 persons paying full price in price categories 1 – 4 (not for children's shows).
Discounts for school and student groups are available upon inquiry (fixed price plus system fee).
There are no discounts for VIP and premium seats, tickets in price category 5, tickets for special shows (e. g., premieres), shows with special pricing (e. g., New Year's Eve) and shows on the three days of Christmas (December 24, 25 and 26).
Friedrichstadt-Palast has 4 wheelchair seats. In addition, wheelchair users, who can be moved, may take a seat in the row 3 (VIP row).
An induction loop in the hall can help hearing-impaired people hear the show more clearly.
How do you reach us?
As a wheelchair user, barrier-free access to the Friedrichstadt-Palast foyer is available using the theatre's side entrance on Johannisstraße (off of Friedrichstraße). Directly from there, a lift takes you to all floors of the theatre and to the hall. Admission via the side entrance starts at the earliest one hour before the show begins.
When you arrive at the side entrance, simply use the bell which is easy to reach for wheelchair users and located to the right of the door. Our service personnel will then open the glass door. Upon request, our service personnel can look after you and take you from the door to your seat. You can also move completely independently in the foyer. But mobility in the hall is strongly limited by steps. On show days starting at 5 p.m. (until the end of the show), our theatre staff would also be happy to answer any questions you might have by telephone and can be reached at +49 30 2326 2646.
Easy parking
We would be happy to arrange for disabled parking when you order tickets for wheelchair users at our theatre box office or by telephone at +49 30 2326 2326. When you order your tickets, you will immediately receive the service telephone number you need to call for the special arrangements for parking.
Parking places should be ordered two weeks before attending the show. They are located in the immediate vicinity of our barrier-free side entrance.
Friedrichstadt-Palast - A modern legend
Welcome to Europe's most modern show palace with the world's biggest theatre stage.The productions of the house are enormous. The main hall seats 1,895 visitors and includes main, side, front and back stages, a water basin and podiums. Opulent scenery and simply stunning. Breathtaking female and male bodies, energy-packed music and brilliant artistic achievements embedded in a whirl of magnificent costumes and unique light effects. Always the splendid highlight and very sexy: the chorus line of girls with their 64 beautiful legs.
Tickets for all shows can be purchased by phone over our hotline, in person at the box office in Berlin or online on our tickets page: http://www.palast.berlin/en/
Ticket hotline: +49 30 2326 2326
Ticket fax: +49 30 2326 2323
Ticket email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone operating hours: daily 9am - 8pm
Box Office
Our theater box office is located 20 meters to the right of the main entrance of Friedrichstadt-Palast.Opening hours:
daily 10am - 6:30pm
The evening box office opens 1 hour before the show starts (only for events on the same day).
To avoid unnecessary waiting time, our guests can already order drinks and meals at one of the attractively lit bars before the show starts and be served during intermission at a reserved table of their choice.
Ticket prices for the children show range from 8.90 € to 41.90 €, depending on the chosen show date and price category. Ticket fees are not included.
Ticket prices for the THE WYLD range from 16.90 € to 114.90 €, depending on the chosen show date and price category. Ticket fees are not included.
Prices for the Wall Sky Lounge range from 199,90 € to 229,90 €, depending on the chosen show date. Ticket fees are not included.- The airberlin magazine writes about the world's first Sky Lounge in a theatre: "You can sit back and watch the performance in 5-star luxury. Only six guests at a time can enjoy this top-notch treatment in the Wall Sky Lounge of Berlin's Friedrichstadt-Palast." And the renowned gourmet critic Heinz Hormann states in DIE WELT: "The term indulgence does not do it justice, this is pure luxury."
A theatre visit simply does not get any more luxurious than this. The separate lounge Wall Sky Lounge offers a spectacular bird's eye view of the action in the auditorium and on stage. Optional extra: Access via a side entrance and reserved parking right outside the door.
Ticket fees
There is a €2 system fee for each ticket. Additionally, there is an advance booking fee of 15% of the ticket price, and 10% of the ticket price for children's shows. Tickets in price category 5 and tickets bought on the day of the show are not subject to an advance booking fee.
Information for trade partners
Resellers can book tickets from us at attractive prices and conditions. Our service includes long-term allotment and in-house catering. We also offer an affortable combination (minimum 20 people) including show tickets, overnights and many other programme items. Contact us and we will be happy to provide you with more information.
Sales Team contact details:
Monday to Friday from 09.00 am to 18.00 pm.
Phone: +49 30 2326 2330
Fax: +49 30 2326 2229
E-Mail: email@example.com
That's Europe´s Show Palace:
Press comments:
Europe's Show Palace
Friedrichstr. 107
10117 Berlin
Phone operating hours:
daily 9am - 8pm
Tickets for all shows can be purchased by phone over our hotline, in person at the box office in Berlin or online on our tickets page.
Ticket hotline: +49 30 2326 2326
Ticket fax: +49 30 2326 2323
Ticket email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Our theater box office is located 20 meters to the right of the main entrance of Friedrichstadt-Palast.
Opening hours: daily 10am - 6:30pm
The evening box office opens 1 hour before the show starts (only for events on the same day).
daily 10am - 6:30pm
The evening box office opens 1 hour before the show starts (only for events on the same day).
The Friedrichstadt-Palast can be easily reached by public transport. Metro and tram stop are literally right outside the main entrance and the train stations Oranienburger Strasse and Friedrichstrasse are only a five minute walk away. Opposite of the Palace is a taxi rank. If you arrive by car you can park just 'around the corner'.
Line U6, directly at U Oranienburger Tor
Friedrichstraße station (S-Bahn and regional rail transport),
Oranienburger Straße station (S-Bahn), 5 minutes by foot
Line 147, get off at the U Oranienburger Tor stop
Line 142, get off at Torstr./U Oranienburger Tor
Lines M1, M6 and 12, get off at U Oranienburger Tor
Line M6, get off at S Oranienburger Straße, 5 minutes by foot
Parking Lots
There is no free parking near the Show Palace. On Johannisstraße, a car park is available around the clock (€4 for 3h, €1 per add. hour). However, there may be long lines at the pay station after the show. This parking lot is not run by Friedrichstadt-Palast.


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Main Content
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Special event items are produced by manufacturers only after the outcome of a game or event. These are advanced sale items and will ship immediately after they are received in our warehouse.
Manufacturer direct items are shipped directly from the manufacturer. These items are not available for international or expedited shipping.
Customized items can be personalized with options such as your name, your favorite number, and/or designs. Some options may be limited by league rules.

subset: commoncrawl


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I'm looking to improve my ability to edit and correct my own writing. What are some techniques I can use to help me with this?
Here are a few editing tips that I use when going through manuscript for publishers:
Using these four tips should really help tighten up your manuscript.
Finish your draft. File it away. Walk away. Do something else for at least three months. The less time you leave the manuscript the more important it is that you do something else that's different.
When you have thoroughly re-programmed that part of your brain (HINT: Writing a sequel to the novel you're hoping to edit is not different enough.) you have some chance of re-reading the manuscript at one remove.
I am currently editing something I wrote in 2006/2007 in between I have written three more novels and three role playing systems. It's not a perfect system but I have no other editor to rely on.
One thing that's good, but probably only down to my own temperament, is that I am a very mean editor but I always take my own notes (heh).
Don't overuse adverbs. They're often unnecessary. Mark Twain has a famous quote about the use of the adverb very:
A terrific approach is to practice one key element of writing at a time.
Here are some exercises for focusing on one element at a time:
For fiction, some additional "one element at a time" exercises are:
Here are a few "tie one hand behind your back" exercises. Draft a scene or section of about 500 words. Then do one of these:
The idea here isn't that modifiers and "to be" verbs are evil. The idea is to:
My writing group did one of these exercises per month for a year. We found the experience far more difficult than we expected, and worth every moment of the struggle. Everyone's writing improved markedly and immediately.
There are many more pointers, hope these help in your quest to become a better writer.
An old trick is to read it out loud, and I have found having the computer read it for you works just as well and doesn't wear out your voice. Just make sure to pay attention and not get distracted by something else.
A weird technique that I use is to change the font that I write in when I edit.
I started doing this because I was always finding that I'd catch annoying issues with my work when it was at the galley proof stage (when it's really too late to change anything that isn't a total, clear ERROR). I tried to figure out why I saw the problems then rather than at any of the many times I'd read my work through the rest of the process, and I decided that part of it was the time gap, but part of it was the appearance. Once it looked like a real book, I read it differently.
So now I try to do a read-through of my MS at a larger font, and a different one than the font I write in. It sounds stupid, but it somehow makes my brain see the words differently, and I catch things that I didn't catch at the old font.
From my experience, the first thing you need to consider is WHEN to edit your own work. I find it more productive to write until I'm done, always going forward in my writing, instead of stopping every now and then to edit.
Why? because editing takes you back. You edit, revise, add, edit, revise again, and after a week you find that you are still writing the first chapter...
So, my advice is: edit when you're done writing. Shelving your work for a couple of days before editing it also helps to get a "fresh" look on things.
I edit on paper, rather than in the word processor. I print it out. Then I make my edits with the classic blue pen, using proofreader's marks. Then I go back and make the changes in the word processor. I can't really explain why, but it helps me take off the Writer hat and put on the Editor hat, and I find the edits come more quickly and more effectively when I use this technique.
Here are the four steps I follow when reviewing my work:
1. Read it backwards. Start at the last sentence in your piece and continue by reading the preceding sentences all the way back up to the beginning of your piece. You'll notice errors more easily because reading it out of order prevents your brain from filling in the gaps.
2. Read it out loud. This one speaks for itself. You'll be able to quickly spot issues with word choice and faulty sentence structures.
3. Read it in print. Most of us write and edit on our computers, and we get used to what our copy looks like on screen. Reading it printed on paper will give you a fresh look at your work.
4. Read it later. Put it aside and let your thoughts shift to something else. When you come back, you'll look at it with fresh eyes. The length of time depends on the size and deadline of your project. For magazine articles, I try to give myself a day's break.
These tips are based off of an article I read years ago, probably in Copyediting newsletter.
Automattic wrote a great tool called After the Deadline that helps style, grammar, and spelling. It's not a silver bullet, but it will definitely catch things that are easy to miss, like clichés, passive voice, and redundant phrases. It won't replace a good editor or any of the techniques mentioned here, but it helps.
Ultimately, a professional document should never be self-edited. The theory is that it is impossible to edit your own work. At minimum two sets of (human) eyes must edit a document before it is published. This is standard in publishing.
However, most of what we write is not for a mass-produced ad-campaign, a label going onto 100 million widgits or a New York Times editorial. Most of it is email, how important the editing is depends on the audience. Who is it for?
To answer, I'll assume the audience is "an important person we must be clear and error-free with." An executive or an A+ client.
The best-practice in editing theory is to ALWAYS PRINT OUT THE MATERIAL OUT IN HARD COPY.
The human-eye has only been reading B&W text off an electrically-charged projection (the movie-screen, the cathode-ray tubes, LCD, etc...) for 100 years, even less if we confine ourselves to the common format - a laptop screen. LED and LCD displays project artificial light AT our eyes. We are far more prone to error when attempting to edit this way.
The human eye is most comfortable reading black serif text, at least 12pt. on white parchment in natural and ambient light. So copy-editing, proofreading or self-editing....if it HAS to be as right as you can possibly make it without an editor, print it, take it under a skylight or open-spaced awning (during the day, obviously) and check your work there. If it is impossible to obtain a hard-copy, or time-sensitive, the best you can do is edit on-screen, accept the fact that you are vastly handicapped, try not to waste the day re-reading and editing. Then hit send.


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Discussion in 'Fantasy / Horror' started by Hemingway, May 2, 2003.
What Horror novels do you recommend?
The Stand- Stephen King (pet semetary and the shining are also worth reading)
Have a look though the HP lovecraft tales (depends on the anthology you pick up as to which ones occur in which volume)- quite a few pretty good ones - try and find one with montains of madness in it to start with
Best Ghost Stories of Algernon Blackwood- Algernon Blackwood (is an antholgy edited by Bleiler
I am Legend - Matheson (sp?)
Frankenstein- Shelly
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - R.L. Stevenson
The Exorcist- Blatty
Something Wicked This Way Comes- Ray Bradbury
Hungry Moon- Ramsey Campbell (good luck finding it though)
Rosemary's Baby- Ira Levin
Imajica- Clive Barker
Sineater- Massie
Relic- Preston
Sacrifice- Vachss
The Between - Tananarive Due
Lost Souls - Brite
[on the edit]
Ah- found the list I was using to decide what to read when I got back into the genre last yr:
(it's been updated with winners of the Stoker awards- oh surprise surprise- american gods won last year)
fluffy bunny, At the Mountains of Madness is my favorite HPL story.
Extremely powerful story. HPL has never been better. I had to grab a blanket while reading it -- did anything like that happen with you?
I'd like to read it again, but re-reads are often a disappointment, and I don't want to ruin the memories of that story.
It's easy to forget how much tension one author can pack into such a relatively small number of pages. I think my sanity was preserved by reading it in 2 sittings rather than one due to time, but I was gripped nonetheless.
Loved the style Lovecraft writes in- MoM hooked me from the start. 'I am forced into speech because men of science have refused to follow my advice without knowing why. It is altogether against my will that I tell my reasons for opposing this contemplated invasion of the antarctic - with its vast fossil hunt and its wholesale boring of the ancient ice caps. And I am all the more reluctant because my warning may be in vain.' From there, it starts off benign enough, but it builds and builds. Genius.
I find that the short stories of Lovecraft are best read between big novels of genres based in normality rather than all in one big chunk. Keeps you on your toes, looking over your shoulder. Something is out there brewing in the background of normailty, and the quest to find it has driven many people insane. Conspiracy lovers would thrive on it. In one go, I'd imagine Lovecraft loses some of his impact.
Fluffy, I think you must be right, about interspersing HPL with normal reading.
Did you ever think that the Necronomicon might actually exist? That HPL knew something we didn't, that his "fictional" stories were the only way he could tell us about The Old Ones?
At the least, did you ever think that HPL believed what he was writing? I sure do, uh, er, did.
There lies madness. Now I'm freaking myself out.
Most recently, I enjoyed "Sumer of Night" and "A Winter Haunting" by Dan Simmons very much.
SWAN SONG by Robert McCammon
IT by Stephen King
Good horror short stories by Rob't McCammon in BLUE WORLD
Of course, there is a book that came out years ago purporting to be "the real" Necronomicon. I read through it, and it appeared to be the mediocre result of an attempt to sell books through marketing, but hey, you may want to take a look at it.
The foreward, which includes some hilarious accounts of "tragedies" and "odd events" coinciding with the publishing of the book is worth reading, just for laughs.
Gravity's End, I think I've heard of that one. Yeah, it's not the real thing, of course, and by now I realize that the real thing doesn't exist.
But it was fun, back in the late 70's, calling bookstores and asking did they have this book, and then having to spell it for them.
Does Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door count as horror? I'd say so. There were some pretty horrible scenes, that's for sure.
diabolus -- The Girl Next Door probably counts as horror but without the supernatural aspect. Or is there a supernatural aspect? I haven't read it -- it's a psycho killer story, isn't it?
Summer of Night! I loved that book. I also recommend it.
Read The List of Seven by Mark Frost.
No, really. Go. Right now. Buy it. Read it. Fear it.
I finished "The Fallen" by Dale Bailey and am in the middle of his next book "House of Bones".
I usually don't read horror, but I've really liked his books so far.
The Fallen..any relation to the movie w/ denzel Washington and John Goodman, where the detective finds this demon that passes through people by touch? Love that movie!
I remember that movie. But no, it is not related to the book. The book is about a man who left his hometown in W.Va long ago and has to return because his father committed suicide. There is something that scared him away from the town when he was a young man, something he's forgotten, but it hasn't forgotten him. And it's waiting for him.
The House of Bones I actually like better. It is about a housing project in Chicago called Dreamland that is rumored to be haunted. A very wealthy billionaire invites a group of strangers to spend two weeks with him in this place for reasons of his own. All of them have a past that they'd rather forget, and some are tied to Dreamland by that past.
It was reminiscent of the Shining.
Here's a link to amazon with what some other readers have said.
Has anyone read Dan Simmons? I though the Hyperion Cantos was one of the very best series of all time, though sci-fi. I'm wondering how his other horror novels rate?
Roland, he's kinda wordy, but worth it, I think. But Hyperion was kinda wordy too, and you liked it, so you'd probably like his more straightforward horror too.
I like everything he's done. Summer of Night might be just about everybody's favorite. Song of Kali is very good too.
That's good to hear. I went down and bought "Summer of Night" last week and then decided to ask about his work. I'll have to check out Song of Kali also.
The ghost stories of M. R. James are really good too.
Separate names with a comma.


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Enemies such as The Tomb Guardian will summon skeletons during battle. Do these minions give XP when they are killed?
Yes, Skeletons summoned by the Tomb Guardian give both XP and can also drop items and gold.
It's a nice bonus, to be sure, but given the slow rate it takes for Tomb Guardians to summon more of their friends, you'll have better gold and XP rates if you just kill them and press on.
As far as I'm aware (and in my own experience), all summoned monsters give xp. Most summoned monsters can drop loot too, with the exception of boss adds (or if they do, it gets added to the boss' loot).
Most summoned creatures now give no exp. Mainly just the first summoned wave will give exp and then the rest will give no exp or loot.
However, when new encounters are added you will find where this is broken sometimes. Usually it is hot fixed shortly after the exploit/bug is found.


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COOKEVILLE — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking public input on a proposal to list two Tennessee plants as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. They are the Short's bladderpod and whorled sunflower.
Short's bladderpod is a mustard plant with several stems and yellow flowers that is found in parts of Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee.
The whorled sunflower is a perennial with whorls of leaves on its stems that is found in parts of Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee.
The Service is seeking all available information on the plants, including their distribution, status and population size.
The Service also proposes to designate critical habitat for these species within which area they could receive special protection.
Comments can be submitted by mail or electronically, but they must be received by Oct. 1.


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5 Of The Greatest Escape Artists Ever (Were Animals)
#2. The Bear and the Improvised Canoe
If Steve McQueen was a bear, he would be called Juan and he would live in a zoo in Berlin. In August 2004, Juan decided he'd had enough of life inside his enclosure and made the headlines for his impressive bid for freedom.
Maybe he just wanted a stiff beer and some bratwurst?
The combination of a moat and wall was supposed to make for an impassable barrier around Juan's home. What his keepers didn't take into account were the decorative logs floating around the moat. The adventurous bear looked out and saw what he thought of as a flotilla of rafts. Boarding one of the logs, he proceeded to paddle his way across the moat.
Security camera footage of the escape.
At that point it was just a matter of scaling up a wall, over a fence and heading for freedom. And by "freedom" we mean he headed right towards the kids' playground located near the bear exhibit. Hey, good job putting the merry-go-round next to the bears, zoo planners!
"Next, we'll put in a glass-bottom daycare right above the crocodile tank."
This led to one of two reactions from the parents: blind panic in an effort to remove their children from the vicinity of the bear, or ignoring their offspring completely while they snapped away trying to get the perfect shot of the intrepid escapee on their cell phones. Yes, that happened.
"Oh, and I got this video of the bear gnawing on little Hansel's skull. It's in 720p!"
Thirteen children were mauled to death. Ha, no, not really. This wouldn't be all that lighthearted of a story if so. Thanks to his mainly vegetarian menu, Juan found no temptation in the little children McNuggets running around the playground. Besides, he was too busy planning out the next phase of his escape.
What would that involve? Well, let's just say that this is not a Photoshop:
Sadly, keepers closed in and shot him full of tranquilizer darts before he could figure out how to work the pedals. The 242-pound bear was returned safely to his enclosure and they fished all of the logs out of his moat so he couldn't try it again. It was reported that a book of matches, a ball of string and a set of falsified documents were found hidden in his fur coat.
OK, that last part might be a lie.
#1. Ken Allen the Orangutan is Smarter Than All of Us
Despite sounding like the manager of your local grocery store, Ken Allen is in fact the closest thing to a superstar the orangutan kingdom has to offer. The orangutan minders knew they would have their work cut out for them right from the start, as Ken kept them on their toes by repeatedly unscrewing every nut and bolt he could find in the nursery. As Ken grew older, the zookeepers did their best to ensure his exhibit was escape proof.
However on June 13, 1985, the teenager showed them who the wiser primate was when he made his first successful bid for freedom and was found mingling happily with the crowd on the wrong side of his enclosure.
The keepers were baffled as to how he had gotten out. They knew he was good--he had previously been seen climbing a freaking ladder made from random materials found in his exhibit--but there was no evidence that any such device had been used this time.
So the zoo took every precaution they could think of--higher walls, smoother surfaces--to ensure there were no handholds available. They even introduced new females into the enclosure, hoping to turn his wanderlust into plain old dong-driven lust. But to no avail. With each new barrier placed in his way, Ken still managed to find his way out again and again.
Perhaps if the females had been orangutans...
They eventually put extra surveillance on him to try to figure out his method, but the smart bastard always knew when they were watching him (somehow). Staff actually had to go undercover, disguising themselves as tourists, hoping a gaudy shirt and wig would be enough to convince the orangutan that it was safe to make a break for it. Nothing doing. He always knew to wait until they were gone.
Once, he even used the surveillance to his advantage, when he enlisted the help of fellow orangutan Vicki after workmen left a crow bar in the exhibit. He looked over the tool, and threw it off to the side, as if disinterested. While the keepers had their eyes on him, Vicki picked up the crow bar and got busy prying open the molding between two glass panels.
A newly installed electric fence did keep him from getting all the way out, and staff figured this was the end of their escaping orangutan problems. Then, one day, they were doing work around the enclosure that meant they had to shut down the power. Somehow, Ken Allen knew. He went for it and, despite the wider moat and smoother walls built to contain him in such an event, he had no problems finding his way out--for the fifth time.
Life finds a way.
His escape attempts led to him becoming the zoo's most famous ape, with his own range of merchandise carried by the zoo shop. Great job by marketing spinning the "our animals are desperate to escape the hell that is our zoo" thing into a positive.
For more animals that need to be closely monitored, check out 5 Diabolical Animals That Out-Witted Humans. Or check out some humans that rival these animals, in 6 Insane Prison Escapes That Actually Happened.
And stop by Linkstorm (Updated 08.25.10) to see videos of Brockway trying to escape his dog cage.
Do you have an idea in mind that would make a great article? Then sign up for our writers workshop! Know way too much about a random topic? Create a topic page and you could be on the front page of Cracked.com tomorrow!
And don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter to get sexy, sexy jokes sent straight to your news feed.


text:
The August 2007 issue of Health Care News features a two-page centerspread highlighting the advantages of free markets over socialism in providing health care services. On page 1:
- Under a law signed by Gov. Charlie Crist, Florida elementary schoolchildren will participate in 150 minutes of physical education each week.
- In May, the U.S. Senate approved a bill that would permit the importation of foreign prescription drugs if the U.S. Health and Human Services Department certifies them safe.
- In early May, the Illinois State Medical Society announced it will lobby for state and federal laws to monitor retail health clinics.
- Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell signed into law a measure that will require hospitals to provide emergency contraception, even if doing so violates their religious principles.
Also in this issue: HPV vaccine, Alzheimer's Disease, midwifery, retail health clinics, malaria, price transparency, HSAs, a two-part primer for health reform, regulation prescription drugs, evidence-based medicine, and more. Dr. John Dale Dunn reviews Crisis of Abundance--Rethinking How We Pay for Health Care, which he notes "offers sensible analysis and proposals for solutions."
Newspaper Articles in this Issue
No matching newspaper articles


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There are lots of openings in various Companies for PHP, J2ME etc in Cochin which is developing rapidly.
HR - http://synergyinfotech.net/
HR - http://synergyinfotech.net/
Originally Posted by anjaneshtechkerala - wrong thread - this is not even related to jobs ! Its webhosting info that you've psoted - STOP spamming !
Originally Posted by imrantechithere is another site named shredskerala you can try this
Originally Posted by imrantechithis site offers jobs only for freshers


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6 Insane Sports Stories That Will Make You Believe In Curses
#3. Cleveland and the Curse of Jim Brown
The Cause:
So your team is called the Browns, and you have the best player in the game and he also happens to be named Brown. Holy crap, the posters design themselves! What could go wrong?
Well for almost a decade, nothing at all. Jim Brown tore up the field and hapless tacklers alike, easily becoming the NFL's leading rusher for each one of his nine seasons, earning three NFL MVP awards during his career, and helping the Cleveland Browns to a championship in 1964. And oh, by the way, even with his truncated nine-year career, and even though the NFL played a shorter season back then, Brown still dominates the Browns team rushing records more than four decades later.
But like many athletes, Jim Brown fancied himself as an actor. And he managed to land a role in the upcoming film The Dirty Dozen, no doubt based purely on his acting ability and having nothing to do with being the biggest football star in the country.
While filming during the 1965 off-season, Art Modell, the owner of the Browns demanded that Jim drop everything, cancel shooting and report to training camp to prepare for the upcoming season. Jim responded by one-upping Modell's dick move with an even better dick move, by retiring from professional football completely, at the prime of his career, inciting a hex on the names Cleveland and Browns in the process.
The Effect:
These days Cleveland has the dubious honor of being called the "most tortured sports city" in the United States, due to championship droughts from all of their teams. But the Browns seem to have gotten the worst of it. They haven't won or even appeared in another championship game since their last win in 1964 with Jim Brown, and worse, have only managed to win six playoff games in 44 years.
Still Not Convinced?
In 1996, the Cleveland Browns franchise moved to Baltimore, but through an agreement with the NFL were only permitted to take the current players and staff to create an entirely new team (the Baltimore Ravens). In other words, the name "Browns" didn't go with them. A new replacement Cleveland Browns team would then be created in Cleveland and would retain the Browns' name, colors, history, records, awards, archives and even curses.
The newly minted Baltimore Ravens, free from the city and the "Browns" name, immediately won a Super Bowl in 2000. On the other hand, last year the Browns went 4-12.
And let's not forget that Jim Brown blazed a path for athletes to star in action movies to this day, to the benefit of all.
OK, maybe not.
#2. The Australian Soccer Team and the Witch Doctor Curse
The Cause:
On the one hand, many of you don't care about soccer. On the other, this might be the most awesome of all the world's sports curses.
So the Australian national team that competes in the FIFA World Cup every four years is called The Socceroos (an odd nickname, considering the rest of the world, including Australia, calls the sport "football"). They started participating in the World Cup in 1966, but failed to qualify that year. Becoming frustrated and impatient, members of the Socceroos took advantage of the African setting of the 1970 Cup qualifiers and enlisted the help of a real live, local, Voodoo witch doctor, complete with novelty-sized bone nose ring.
According to one player's autobiography, after reaching an agreement with the team, the witch doctor set about applying a curse on any team that would oppose the Socceroos. He did this by burying bones near each goal-post on the field that was to be used, and performed the spell or whatever. It worked; the Socceroos then subsequently beat their first opponent, Rhodesia, to advance further into the qualifying rounds and celebrated the power of the curse.
But then the witch doctor, satisfied with his work, delivered the bill for his services; a cool £1,000. Not having their WAM (Walking Around Money) with them, the players were unable to pay the bill, so the witch doctor justifiably reversed the hex onto the Socceroos themselves and bid them adieu.
The Effect:
No longer having the curse working for them, the Socceroos lost to Israel--mostly due to three players suddenly falling ill during the match. Since the witch doctor incident in 1970 and being unable to score even one goal in the 1974 World Cup campaign, the Australian national team has failed to qualify for the subsequent seven World Cup tournaments spanning 32 years.
The curse is thought to have most obviously manifested during the 1998 Cup qualifiers when the Roos held a two-goal lead over Iran in the final minutes of the game, and looked sure to qualify for the first time in 24 years. However, Iran quickly scored two goals of their own to force a draw, thus knocking the Socceroos out of their sure spot in the tournament and into their usual spot on the sidelines.
Still Not Convinced?
In 2004, Australian documentarian and comedian John Safran read Johnny Warren's aforementioned autobiography that described the witch doctor's hex firsthand and was inspired to travel to Africa to do a story about it for his TV show.
Witch doctor. Or maybe Screwface, from Marked for Death. Whatever.
Upon arriving, he found that the original witch doctor who had placed the curse was dead, but was able to enlist another who promised he could reverse the old jinx completely. He did so by going to the same field in Rhodesia where it all started, channeled the dead witch doctor, killed a chicken (seriously) and splattered the blood all over Safran (that part was just for fun). The following year, the Socceroos finally qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the first time in 32 years.
Not only did they qualify, but advanced into the second round, far and away the best result the little team from the little continent down under had ever achieved, making Safran a hero overnight, and confirming Voodoo as the one true religion.
#1. The Cubs and the Curse of the Billy Goat
The Cause:
Come on, who else but the Cubs could take the top spot?
All William Sianis wanted to do was take his pet goat Murphy to see the Chicago Cubs play in the 1945 World Series. He even bought an extra ticket for the goat to use that cost $7.20 each because they were box seats; a lot of money to spend on a goat-date. Despite some difficulty getting into Wrigley Field with the goat, they were eventually allowed in and sat down to enjoy some championship baseball.
In the seventh inning, however, Cubs owner Philip Wrigley personally had Sianis and Murphy ejected from the stadium, for some trivial reason involving the goat's incredible stench making people nauseous. Furious, Sianis declared that "The Cubs ain't gonna win no more," and according to Sianis's family, he even sent a telegram to Wrigley explaining his curse in detail; that the Cubs would never again appear in a World Series, let alone win one, all because Wrigley had insulted his goat.
William Sianis and Murphy on their wedding night
The Effect:
Before the incident with Sianis in 1945 (heretoforth referred to as "Goatgate"), the Cubs enjoyed a rich winning tradition. Although their last World Series win was back in 1908, they'd appeared in the World Series seven times since 1910. They were the winningest baseball team in the country at the time, having achieved 51 winning seasons out of 70 prior to Goatgate.
After the curse, well, you probably know. The Cubs immediately lost the 1945 World Series despite being only two games away from winning it, encouraging Sianis to send another telegram to Wrigley which simply read, "Who stinks now?"
The Cubs haven't been to the World Series since.
Still Not Convinced?
The Cubs have gotten close twice. In 1984 they made their first playoff appearance since Goatgate. So, curse over, right? It was a five-game series, and the Cubs leaped out to a quick two games to none advantage. One more win, and they'd be back in the World Series. So, they start the third game, go up 3-0, their best pitcher is on the mound...
An error allowed a single Padres runner to score. Suddenly the dark, goat-shaped clouds formed over Wrigley, and the Padres not only went on to win that game, but the next two after that, to knock the Cubs out of the playoffs.
But that's okay, they'd get close again just, uh, 19 years later, in 2003. This time they won the first round of the playoffs, against the Braves. Ah, so now the curse is gone. Right?
The next series was against the Florida Marlins. In the best-of-seven series, they went up three games to one. That's more like it! Just one more win, and it's a World Series, baby! Nothing can go wrong, now! Hell, one win in three remaining games? You could do that on accident.
The Cubs lose Game Five. Then, in Game Six, ahead 3-0 in the 8th inning, just five outs away from a World Series...
Praying to the Goat God is futile. The curse stays.
A Marlins player get a hit, a double. The next guy hits a ball right into the first row of the stands. The Cubs player goes over to catch it for the out... and a fan knocks it away. A Cubs fan. His name was Steve Bartman, and he would get actual death threats in the ensuing months and years. That batter, still alive thanks to the missed catch, walked. They got another hit, and next batter hit into what would have been an inning-ending double play... had the Cubs shortstop--best fielding shortstop in the game--not dropped the ball.
The next batter tied it and the Marlins of course went on to win that game, and the next, and that was that.
Numerous attempts at to lift curse have been staged throughout Chicago, including William Sianis's son marching a goat onto the field, press conferences being held at the Billy Goat Tavern in Chicago, once owned by William and even fans hanging a goat's carcass from the Harry Caray statue in Chicago, all to no avail.
Try as they might, this gesture did surprisingly little to help appease the goat gods.
And check out some sports that don't need curses, in 6 Insane Sports That Could Be in the Next Olympics. Or find out about some mascots that brought shame to their teams, in 6 Heinous Criminal Acts From the World of Sports (Mascots).
Or, visit Cracked.com's Top Picks because we keep a witch doctor on payroll in case people disobey us.


text:
Porthole Barometer, 5 1/2" - High Shine
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Port Hole Barometer - High Shine
Port Hole Barometer features a brass precision barometer in a solid brass tarnish-proof porthole case. Its movements are calibrated for altitudes to …
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text:
Franciscan University of Steubenville served as the host of the annual Martin Luther King Association prayer breakfast Nov. 10 where approximately 100 people gathered in the St. Joseph Center on the campus.
The breakfast marks the start of the MLK celebration that will culminate in January.
James Baber, president of the organization, expressed his gratitude to the Rev. Richard Davis, TOR, vice president for community relations at the university, for hosting the event.
Other participants in the program included Delores Wiggins, minister of music; the Rev. Maurice Lawson; the Rev. Vaughn Foster; the Rev. Alfred Hunt; soloist Linda Spencer of Weirton; Marie Jones of Greater Zion Temple Church; Anthony Mougianis, representing Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church; Sharon Kirtdoll, who introduced keynote speaker the Rev. Ashley Steele, executive director of Urban Mission Ministries; and Carol Ann Simmons.
Simmons previewed January events for the association which will include the children's program on Jan. 19 at the MLK Center with Duane Jennings as the chairperson; the ecumenical service on Jan. 20, with Baber as its chair; and the Jan. 21 memorial march and program which includes the essay contest co-chaired by Angela Kirtdoll-Suggs and Anita Jackson. Times and locations will be announced in December.
Lucas Gallabrese, a student volunteer from Catholic Central High School, was the registration chair for the event, assisted by his mother, by Mary Sue Gallabrese. Jackson, director of community relations at the university and member of the MLK Association, coordinated the breakfast for Franciscan.


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I'm playing in my first savage worlds next week, and I have no idea what the system is like. What should I know going in?
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closed as too broad by doppelgreener, Tritium21, Miniman, Thomas Jacobs, Tynam Aug 18 '15 at 12:08
There are either too many possible answers, or good answers would be too long for this format. Please add details to narrow the answer set or to isolate an issue that can be answered in a few paragraphs.If this question can be reworded to fit the rules in the help center, please edit the question.
Having recently ended my first turn as a Savage Worlds GM, I think I have some insight:
Make sure you know what the GM expects in terms of play style - I gave out Bennies left and right for Firefly-esque dialog in my game. Another GM will want something else. The way I see it, Bennies are your reward for creating awesome. So you should know what the GM thinks that is.
If the game is going to be combat-heavy, players should have a copy of the one-page Savage Worlds Combat Survival Guide handy. Players new to the system usually overlook the combat options that aren't straight-up "attack" since the bonuses they give seem so small. But they're not! The ganging-up bonuses (most often used by monsters) are not to be underestimated, nor are the bonuses from Tricks, Intimidation, Taunts, Aiming, and Wild Attacks.
The Combat Survival Guide provides a handy reference for the effects of these combat options, as well as advice for what tactical situations they are best suited to. It's not as good as having play experience with the tactical options, but it is an excellent guide to what features of the combat system players should try to exploit and become familiar with when they're wondering why they're not wounding a tough enemy.
Materials Needed
Normals and Wild Cards
Trait Checks
Reward Cycles
Bennies have many uses, but can't be saved session to session (each remaining at end of game is a 1/3 chance of an Experience Point...) They are awarded when someone makes the gme fun for the GM, advances the story, risks their character, roleplays well, or does cool stuff (SW Rev, p.115). The uses for them include rerolling any trait roll (but damage rolls and table rolls are not trait rolls, while skills are... see p.58)
One can tailor advancement rates by how bennies are being used. If players horde them, and the GM awards a lot, advancement speeds up. If players spend them like water, and the GM awards few, advancement is slowed.
Standard advancement is 1-3 experience per session, plus any rolled on unused bennies.
It's also extremely useful to know that the design ethic is to modify the rules in setting books to fit the genre, rather than the genre to fit the rules. Also, most setting books require a core book. At least one, however, is a standalone with adjusted core rules. Many setting books add other requisite props; One setting book adds custom plot cards (bound in), while Deadlands Reloaded needs a box of poker chips (the standard $5 box of cheapies works, provided you paint a few whites to make a 4th color...).
Success Chances
PC - With Wild Die - Percent chance of success TN 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 d4 95.8 83.3 62.5 50.0 32.3 27.1 19.3 16.7 12.6 8.5 4.3 4.3 3.5 2.6 1.8 1.3 0.8 0.7 0.5 0.4 0.3 d6 97.2 88.9 75.0 55.6 30.6 30.6 25.8 21.0 16.0 10.8 5.5 5.5 4.6 3.7 2.8 1.8 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.6 0.5 d8 97.9 91.7 81.3 66.7 47.9 37.5 24.7 22.2 18.4 14.4 10.4 8.9 6.9 4.9 2.9 2.5 1.8 1.6 1.4 1.1 0.8 d10 98.3 93.3 85.0 73.3 58.3 50.0 39.7 28.9 17.5 15.0 11.5 10.6 9.2 7.7 6.3 4.9 3.4 2.5 1.4 1.3 1.1 d12 98.6 94.4 87.5 77.8 65.3 58.3 49.8 40.7 31.3 21.3 10.9 10.9 9.8 8.7 7.6 6.4 5.3 4.6 3.8 3.1 2.3 NPC - No Wild Die - Percent chance of success TN 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 d4 75.0 50.0 25.0 25.0 18.8 12.5 6.3 6.3 4.7 3.1 1.6 1.6 1.2 0.8 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 d6 83.3 66.7 50.0 33.3 16.7 16.7 13.9 11.1 8.3 5.6 2.8 2.8 2.3 1.9 1.4 0.9 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 d8 87.5 75.0 62.5 50.0 37.5 25.0 12.5 12.5 10.9 9.4 7.8 6.3 4.7 3.1 1.6 1.6 1.4 1.2 1.0 0.8 0.6 d10 90.0 80.0 70.0 60.0 50.0 40.0 30.0 20.0 10.0 10.0 9.0 8.0 7.0 6.0 5.0 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 1.0 0.9 d12 91.7 83.3 75.0 66.7 58.3 50.0 41.7 33.3 25.0 16.7 8.3 8.3 7.6 6.9 6.3 5.6 4.9 4.2 3.5 2.8 2.1
The core rules are freely available in one 16 page (8 pages of rules) PDF which you can download from Pinnacle's website.
A quick read should get you going with the basic terminology.
The most important thing to remember is that all Player Characters are Wildcards, so you always roll your Wild Die (normally d6) for every trait roll (but not damage). If you Ace (that is get the maximum, Explode) on either your Trait Die or Wild Die you re-roll that die and add the result to the previous rolls. If you roll an Ace again you keep rolling and adding. Once you have finished rolling Aces, compare the two totals. The highest result from your Trait Die and your Wild Die is your roll. You then add or subtract any modifiers.
A Traits Roll is a common term that refers to both Attribute and Skill Rolls.
If you don't have a Skill then you default to d4-2. This means you roll a d4 and your Wild Die d6. Once you have the select the highest after Aces you then take away the 2.
The base system is you need to roll 4 or better. Every 4 higher than this is called a Raise, and the number of raises determines the quality of your success. Most Tests use a difficultly system where you add or subtract a modifier. For example Driving-2, this means roll your Driving Skill and then subtract 2. If you get 4 or more your succeed, 8 or more your get one Raise, 12 or more two Raises and so on.
Combat is slightly different. Once you have rolled your attack this is compared to the target's defense. If this is a Melee Attack then this will be Parry (usually 2+half fighting die). If it is Ranged Attack then the target's defense depends on how far away the target is. If your roll is equal to or greater than the defense then you have hit. If you have hit by more than four then you have a Raise and do an additional d6 damage. Only one raise matters, and you do not get more damage for additional raises.
You then roll your Damage, this tends to be Strength + some die for melee attacks. For example, if you attack with a knife you roll Strength+d4. If your Strength is d8, you roll d8+d4 your roll this and an additional d6 if you got a Raise on your attack roll. Damage rolls do Ace. You add all the dice and this is your Damage score.
Compare the Damage Score to the targets Toughness (2+ half Vigor + armor). If you get a success (ie Greater than Toughness but not a Raise) and the target is not Shaken then they are Shaken. If they are already Shaken then they are now Wounded. If it is a Raise then they are Shaken and get that many Wounds. For example say you damage with two raises, and the target is shaken, they then get two wounds. Shaken characters can only take free actions (earlier versions of the rules were more restrictive, only allowing Shaken characters to move half their pace). You can try to remove your Shaken statuswith a Spirit roll. Wild Cards can also spend a bennie to Soak Wounds they receive, which allows them to make a Vigor to try to remove them.
A Wild Card character may have up to three wounds, Extras have none (they are out of combat as soon as wounded). This means that in combat the GM has to deal with less maths. Normally there will be lots of Mooks (Extras), and only one Wild Card NPC in any encounter. The Mooks are either, in the action, shaken or dead (I have the shaken Mooks figures on their side and remove dead ones).
Because of the Wild Die the probabilities are very much skewed in the favor of the player characters. Savage World tends to balanced this out by having a lot more Mooks that would see in most games.


text:
Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania
Last Modified: December 4, 2006
Patient Resources
ASTRO (American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology)
This professional society's website has patient educational materials and a tool to help you find a specialist in your area.
American Brachytherapy Society
This professional society's website has information about brachytherapy and a list of physician members listed by state.
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Radiation Therapy Oncology Group
This clinical trial group website includes general information about clinical trials and open studies.
Radiation Therapy and You: A Guide to Self-Help During Cancer Treatment
NCI booklet
Professional Resources
ASTRO (American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology)
An Introduction to IMRT
Professional overview of IMRT
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy for Radiation Necrosis
Siemens User Meeting at ASTRO 2003
Siemens-Hosted Clinical Symposium at AAPM 2003
State of the Art in the Treatment of Medulloblastoma/Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumors with Radiation Therapy
February 29th is Rare Disease Dayby Christina Bach, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C
February 26, 2016
3 Great Reasons To Have Gratitude On Your Cancer Teamby Marlys Johnson
July 25, 2016


text:
Explain pair trading to a layman. What is it, why would you want to do it, and what are the risks? Provide a real life example.
Pair trading is a market neutral bet. Instead of saying the market in general is going higher, you say one investment under/overvalued relative to another, typically similar, investment. The bet is that the spread between the two will widen or narrow depending on how you set it up.
For instance, say I feel GM is going to outperform Ford over the next year. I will buy GM's stock and short Ford's stock. By doing this the market is taken out of the picture, and I make money if the difference between GM's stock and Ford's is greater than it was when I undertook the investment.
Quantitative pair trading (as we are on the quantitative finance forum) is based on cointegration.
Two stocks are said to be cointegrated if they move together, which means that they share the same long term trend.
Precisely: It exists a linear relationship between the price of the 2 stocks so that is mean reverting. (for instance the difference between the 2 is mean reverting). But it can be another relation.
Once you have a mean reverting basket, you can study this mean reversion (average, speed to come back to the mean, etc...) And it exists optimal strategies to trade this basket.
Don't forget that past behavior is not always a good indicator of future behavior. A cointegration relationship can evolve/break. Then:
1/ Think also about the exit/stop loss strategies. 2/ Try to make all your coefficients time varying
"Quantitative Trading", Ernie Chan's book is a good starting point to learn pairs trading.


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The Wichita Crime Commission once again will be participating in the 2012 Holiday Drive for DUI Victims. The annual event is a project of the DUI Victim Center of Kansas and the Wichita Crime Commission and is designed to draw public attention to the crime of drunk driving.
"This year, law enforcement agencies in Sedgwick County and other parts of Kansas will participate in the 2012 Holiday Drive for DUI Victims," said Crime Commission Executive Director Gordon Bassham. "This is the second year the project has spread beyond Wichita."
El Dorado Police Department and Butler County Sheriff's Department are among those who will be taking part this year. Others include the police departments in Andover, Bel Aire, Derby, Dodge City, Haysville, Maize, Park City, Salina, Valley Center, Wellington and Wichita. Other sheriff's offices include Ford County, Saline County, Sedgwick County and Sumner County and Wichita State University police departments and McConnell Air Force Base will also take part. Volunteers of the DUI Victim Center and St. George Greek Orthodox Church assisted with the preparations of the event.
"Each year between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day we see an increase in drunk driving," said DUI Victim Center of Kansas Interim Chief Executive Officer Jan Davis. "As in past years, law enforcement officers will be aggressively looking for impaired drivers. We also want to raise public awareness of the problem of drunk driving and encourage citizens to report those who have had too much to drink then get behind the wheel."
On Tuesday, volunteers from the DUI Victim Center of Kansas visited the participating law enforcement agencies to thank officers, deputies and troopers for their work in making area streets and highways safe from drunk drivers. As part of the "thank you," volunteers from the DUI Victim Center of Kansas provided the officers with snacks for the Thanksgiving holiday week. In addition, they tied special red ribbons each bearing the name of a DUI victim on law enforcement patrol cars. The tying of the ribbons on law enforcement vehicles is being provided by volunteers from the DUI Victim Center of Kansas.
"Each ribbon signifies the person driving that vehicle will be driving for victims of a senseless crime that often takes the life of an innocent person," said Davis. "Every time you see a red ribbon on a car you should be reminded to be on the lookout for drunk drivers."
Most of the food for the law enforcement officers in the Wichita area is being prepared by DUI Victim Center volunteers Rebecca Baker Franklin, Jolyn Apsey and Priscilla Taggart. In some of the smaller surrounding towns, food is being donated by Subway. All the food costs are being donated by St. George Christian Cathedral. Preparation for the event was handled by volunteers from St. George's.
Location, ST | website.com


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Hobby Lobby: A victory for religious liberty?
Among those who celebrated the Supreme Court's decision in favor of Hobby Lobby (which Grant Gallicho covered here) was the USCCB. "We welcome the Supreme Court's decision to recognize that Americans can continue to follow their faith when they run a family business," the bishops conference said in a statement June 30. "Now is the time to redouble our efforts to build a culture that fully respects religious freedom."
How much will the Hobby Lobby decision help to advance that goal? After all, as Cathleen Kaveny writes in her analysis for Commonweal, Supreme Court decisions "are not only or primarily about the named plaintiffs. Their purpose is to set the normative framework" that will decide similar disputes. And Kaveny sees reason for concern: "what the Court has done in the Hobby Lobby case is transform the Religious Freedom Restoration Act—a statute enacted by Congress to counteract a bad Supreme Court decision that harmed powerless religious minorities—into a tool for powerful minorities to resist what they believe to be dangerous social and political change."
The ruling is, on its face, a victory for religious-liberty claims. But not an unambiguous one:
While the ruling recognizes that corporations have free exercise rights, it identifies those rights solely with the owners of the corporation. The legitimate interests of other corporate stakeholders, particularly the employees, who may not share their employer's religious views, evidently have no standing. In this instance, it seems that more money buys you more religious freedom—and more freedom to infringe on the choices of others.
Second, the opinion provides virtually no way to evaluate the strength of a plaintiff's religious-liberty claim. Although RFRA's text speaks of "substantial" burdens on a claimant's exercise of religious liberty, the ruling pulls the teeth of this requirement. According to Alito and the majority, a burden is "substantial" as long as a claimant sincerely says it is. But as Ginsburg noted, this is an invitation to run through a minefield, not a way out of one.
Read the whole thing here. And don't miss E. J. Dionne's column "After Hobby Lobby," in which he notes Justice Alito's positive assessment of the HHS contraceptive-coverage accomodation (what the USCCB refers to as the "so-called 'accomodation'") in his finding in favor of Hobby Lobby and wonders, "Will he and the other conservatives remember these friendly remarks when they rule in future litigation against the Obama contraception compromise?"
Building a culture that "fully respects religious freedom," as the bishops have called for, is a good goal (and they might just as easily have declared the moment right for redoubled efforts if the Court had decided against Hobby Lobby). The question will be whether the Hobby Lobby decision is a solid foundation for those building efforts. Kaveny and others make a strong case that the answer may be no.
About the Author
Mollie Wilson O'Reilly is an editor at large and columnist at Commonweal.
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I doubt this will be a victory for religious freedom. The conservative majority seems content to empower the already powerful with whom they share an affinity while those they don't sympathize with will be seen as frivolous and denied the new protections.
Well, we could have a complete victory for religious liberty if the Supreme Court were to decide that anyone who claimed a religious objection to anything could be exempted from it. So I suppose one could make this a two-part question. Was the Hobby Lobby decision a victory for religious liberty, and if so, was this particular victory for religious liberty beneficial to the country and our form of government?
It seems to me that had Hobby Lobby chosen to organize itself as other than a for-profit corporation, its religious liberty on this issue would have been secure. It may not be the best of analogies, but it seems to me if you have a religious objection to selling tickets to pornographic movies, you don't take a job as a cashier at a porn theater and then try to claim a religious exemption. That is extreme, of course, but it seems to me that people who want certain kinds of religious liberty in a pluralistic society have a certain obligation not to place themselves in a situation (when they have reasonable alternatives) that will generate conflict.
I think there is some truth to what Ryan Rowekamp said, as well. I get the feeling that the conservative members of the court weren't torn between constitutional principles laid down by conservatives in Employement Division v. Smith, on the one hand, and the RFRA, on the other. I don't believe Scalia said, "I would have liked to decide this case based on my opinion in Employemnt Division v. Smith, but unfortunately a statute passed by congress forces me to decide otherwise." If Employment Division v. Smith had not involved illegal drugs, would the ruling have been the same? If these kinds of things are going to be decided on a case-by-case basis, then it's going to be a matter of the judges who happen to decide the case, not some clear and consistent principle.
(I am reading Team of Rivals at the moment, and Chief Justice Roger B. Taney has just rendered his decision in Dred Scott, so I am not high on the Supreme Court at the moment.)
The legitimate interests of other corporate stakeholders, particularly the employees, who may not share their employer's religious views, evidently have no standing.
What people dont seem to get is that its not the employers responsibility to ensure that ALL the legitimate interests of its stakeholders are satisified. Employees can still access contraceptives regardless of whether they are included in the Employer designed and sponsored health insurance policy. If you dont like the policy, QUIT.
While the ruling recognizes that corporations have free exercise rights, it identifies those rights solely with the owners of the corporation.
That is the part I still don't see. The ruling is definitely a victory for the religious rights of corporations. I don't see what rights the owners have vindicated. Because: If I were to buy out the Greens, I would exercise Hobby Lobby's religious rights. They would not take with them the right either to trump the judgment of the FDA or the right to control insurance employed to Hobby Lobby employees. If I decide that contraceptive coverage is OK, but not Viagra, I guess I can at least argue it so long as I own Hobby Lobby. But if I sell, the right to make such decisions stays with the corporation. The only entity getting a right vindicated here is the legal fiction.
Point 2: The USCCB has a problem, I think, In an unscientific poll of 12 Catholic males, the bishopa are seen as opposed to Obamacare. I was under the impression there is a distinction between opposition to contraception and opposition to the whole idea of universal health care insurance. If there is, the bishops have totally failed to make it. This was a group of fairly well informed people who want to be loyal to their church and who see the Catholic position as opposition to Obamacare and support for the root-and-branch Republican opposition.
Tom - the results of the unscientific poll may partly be due to memory: the bishops really *were* opposed to Obamacare back in 2009, in a really high-profile way - in fact, they nearly succeeded in scotching the whole thing.
I'm not completely sure how they feel about it now. I did read one instance of a bishop, during the enrollment period that concluded this past spring, urging his eligible people to enroll, and even made Catholic arguments as to why it's good to have healthcare. I don't know if he's typical or an outlier, though.
Unscientific polls being what they are, mine has definitely revealed that the USCCB is held in very low esteem by many pew warmers ... and not just women.
But that's OK; as Brother Emerson said:
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. Ralph Waldo Emerson
This has the potential to go way beyond contraceptives. Back in the 1970s I worked for a company whose health insurance specifically excluded out-of-wedlock birth and also excluded the out of wedlock child of a female employee. (This was in the fine print and none of us realized it until a female employee became pregnant out of wedlock and being a devout Catholic chose life. She had to pay 100% for the costs of delivery and hastily got another job so her child would have health insurance.)
Religious objections to mental health treatment are common (and by no means confined to Scientologists). Common mental illnesses such as schizophrenia usually show up in the teens, and it is vital that a schizophrenic teenager be treated and stabilized immediately before the illness becomes hard to reverse and the person is unemployable. It would be unconscienceable for a teenager with mental illness to go untreated because the parent's employer was a conservative protestant who believed mental illness should only be treated with prayer.
And, of course, corporate lawyers and HR departments are adept at using laws creatively to maximize profit. If any employer can opt out of providing any aspect of health insurance by declaring a unverifiable religious objection, Obamacare is essentially gutted.
I have no sympathy with the UCCB in this instance because they had an easy way to preserve their religious freedom- pay the $2000 per employee tax and let the employees buy their health insurance on the exchanges.
pay the $2000 per employee tax and let the employees buy their health insurance on the exchanges.
FYI, if the Chruch followed your advice, they'd have significantly less money to support their good works and their employees would pay significantly more for the same heath insurance benefits.
This Hobby Lobby decision is becoming more obviously a mistake with each passing day. Let's hope that the US constitutional system is self-correcting enough to minimize the error. It seems that there are stirrings on Capitol Hill to engineer a congressional fix.
But don't hold your breath, the Republicans in the House will oppose anything that has even the slightest scent of the Affordable Care Act on it - you know, that odor of Kenya they so detest.
Of course, the biggest error of SCOTUS is that men like the 5 Catholic Supremes are allowed to impose their twisted world-view on the rest of us, with impunity it would seem - very Catholic ideology indeed!
The only plausible remedy available is to take back the House and either temporarily increase the number of justices on SCOTUS and/or curtail jurisdiction of the federal judiciary [Article III - also called jurisdiction or court stripping making certain legislative or executive actions unreviewable by the federal judiciary] over the ACA - a very low probablity given electoral politics these days.
I guess partisan politics really does trump the constitution especially when the 5 Catholic Supremes determine that something has contravened their narrowly prescribed world-views.
I'm still amused that Catholic hierarchs are all gung-ho about the 1st Amendment to the exclusion of the other amendments [especially given the autocratic ideology of the hierarchs], seemingly not understanding that the US Constitution is really a balance of limited rights. In this case the 14th Amendment's guarantee of "due process" and "equal treatment under the law" has always seemed to limit the 1st Amendment's religious practice guarantee.
Anne Evans,
It is sadly often the case that when given the chance to either enforce a stance of sexual purity or be pro-life, religious organizations will choose sexual purity.
Kaveny's point here is really weird:
"While the ruling recognizes that corporations have free exercise rights, it identifies those rights solely with the owners of the corporation. The legitimate interests of other corporate stakeholders, particularly the employees, who may not share their employer's religious views, evidently have no standing. In this instance, it seems that more money buys you more religious freedom—and more freedom to infringe on the choices of others."
Well, yeah. The employees aren't the ones being forced to subsidize an activity that they believe to be religiously forbidden. So their religious views aren't even relevant here. And if they don't like the views of Hobby Lobby or a few other idiosyncratic employers, they can probably find a job elsewhere. That's the beauty of freedom of choice -- no one is forced to work for Hobby Lobby, and we should be a bit more liberal than Kaveny towards people who fundamentally disagree with each other. Live and let live.
And it's not that "more money buys you more religious freedom." That's just silly. More money, as in this case, puts your religious freedom more at risk, because it's an attractive target for other people. It's like Willie Sutton's excuse for robbing banks: "because that's where the money is."
Finally, Hobby Lobby isn't "infringing on the choices of others." The women who want to purchase IUDs or Ella can just buy it for themselves using the medium of exchange that we call "money." They are no worse off than they are with regard to food or housing or anything of the other thousands of goods that they purchase in the marketplace rather than being given it for "free" by their employer.
MightBe, It is perfectly true -- and totally irrelevant -- that a Hobby Lobby employee who wants contraceptives can buy them herself or find a job elsewhere. That was the case before the ACA was enacted, and it is the case now. Likewise, I could then, and can now, pay out of pocket or buy my own insurance to cover childbirth in a hospital or to cover treatment for prostate cancer.
The problem was, not everyone could do that. Hobby Lobby's $15 an hour employees weren't going to ever be able to cover cancer treatment out of pocket, and other places' minimum-wage employees weren't going to be able to cover doctor visits. Hence, there was a hope and an effort to do what every other major industrialized country did long ago -- find a way to assure medical care for everyone who needs it. The effort we have -- the bastard child of a Republican think tank and a Democratic Congress -- defines basic health care for all, and it includes contraceptive coverage in its definition, along with childbirth and prostate cancer.
The only way to get to universal is to somehow agree on what's covered. If anyone or everyone is allowed to pick and choose we wind up back where we started, decades behind the rest of the civilized world.
Now, it can be argued that what Hobby Lobby objects to actually is abortion, not contraception. That's Lisa Fullam's thread. Or it can be argued that contraception shouldn't be covered as a medical issue. You think that's fun? Wait until we cover "medical" marijuana. But the place to argue those things is in the halls of Congress. Admittedly, that is difficult with one House run by dedicated do-nothings. But that is the only way you will get to universal coverage in a democracy without doing violence to the laws and public comity.
And, if I may, I have had contraceptive coverage for more than 30 years -- a fact I didn't know until I looked for it in my employer-paid health insurance policy when this flap began. I think no sin was committed by having it there, unused, and I am certainly not going to be a jerk and sue my former employer to have it removed for me alone.
Religious objections to mental health treatment are common (and by no means confined to Scientologists).
Hi, Anne E., If I understand all this correctly, I believe the way this particular hypothetical would be sorted out would be: Obamacare already has mental-health coverage requirements (I think), so mental health treatment for a covered employee/family member already is in-plan. If an employer lodged a religious objection, then it would eventually end up in court, and the court would need to determine whether the government has a compelling interest in treating mental health, and whether Obamacare is the least intrusive way of providing it. I hope, and even assume, that the answer would be, "Yes" to both those questions. But I'd be glad to be corrected. (Fraternally, of course :-))
Your anecdote about the non-coverage for an out-of-wedlock pregnancy and birth is pretty amazing.
My take, and I have seen very few commentators who agree I'll add, is that Hobbylobby had zero to do with religious liberty and everything to do with the politics of Obamacare. Roberts had to switch sides to avoid being further pilloried by the right as he was after upholding the Affordable Care Act. This was political payback/payoff pure and simple. Anyone who thought the Court would not decide this as it did was ignoring the anger that the earlier decison has caused among the rightists. What I don't think many expected was that the decision would be so poorly thought out. After all, the Court's opinion, written by Sam Alito basically argues that facts don't matter. Reality is irrelevant and as long as you say you "believe" something, you have a claim. Really silly and really dangerous. One has to wonder, too, what the reaction would have been, both on the Court and in the public, and particularly among rightist commentors had Hobbylobby been owned by Muslims who argued that they have a sincere rligious belief that women don't belong in the workplace. Of course that's a whole separate issue. But fundamentally, this is about a change in strategy in dismantling Obamacare. They failed to take the whole plan down both when Romney lost and then when the Court upheld the mandate, so now they are going after it piecemeal.
In her article, Cathleen Kaveny refers to Smith as "a bad Supreme Court decision". I believe that's a pretty common assessment. I understand Cathleen's argument that Hobby Lobby has expanded the scope of RFRA. Does Hobby Lobby also directly limit or attenuate Smith's effect on the "normative framework" that Cathleen describes? In other words, has Smith now been partially or even totally rolled back?
Canon law is opaque to outsiders and offers remedies in retrospect. New York Religious Corporation Law replicates the absolute power of the diocesan ordinary given by canon law: "No act or proceeding of the trustees of any such incorporated church shall be valid without the sanction of the archbishop or bishop of the diocese to which such church belongs, or in case of their absence or inability to act, without the sanction of the vicar-general or of the administrator of such diocese."
The relatively obscure case of Blaudziunas v. Egan heard by the New York State Court of Appeals and won by the Archdiocese of New York in November, 2011, was hailed by litigator Peter Johnson on Fox and Friends as a victory for religious freedom.
Independent of the issues, what collateral benefits will the Roman Catholic Church accrue from these "triumphs of religious freedom?" It seems like the Church has been made virtually omnipotent in the state of New York under civil law (RCL). Do the Supreme Court decisions have the potential to confer national omnipotence?
Jim Pauwels,
I guess it depends how much compelling government interest and substantial burden are determined by the courts. An objective set of principles broad enough to support the Hobby Lobby ruling would probably overturn Smith while a standard based on the Catholic sensibilities of the majority would probably not.
Employee compensation is not a subsidy. It is earned by the employee's labor.
Hobby Lobby claims to be paying $15 per hour, but this research does not necessarily support that claim:
Does Hobby Lobby disapprove of Viagra and other male sexual performance enhancements on religious grounds for all men - especially gays, of course - except those who are desperately trying to get their wives or girl friends pregnant?
Just trying to understand the internal logic of the 5 Catholic Supremes ...
There have been several comments to the effect of, Would you still say that about Hobby Lobby's religious rights if it were a Muslim corporation. Well, maybe for mainline Christians, it is close enough. It has the first year of its four-year Bible Study program in its local public school district now, hopes to be in 100 by 2016 and "thousands" of public and private schools the following year.
From the comments of Bible expert/author and corporate officer Steve Green, the course will be fundamentalist enough to give most of the Catholic bishops tsouris, especially when the four-year course is mandated for their little sheep. Green said the course would have to start off as elective but he hopes to see it become mandatory. Mandatory? From the Hobby Lobby? I think there's a precedent that will get our little dears out of this class.
The comment posted by "Wasting Time" is exactly right.
More fun ahead for the Supreme Court:
Hobby Lobby already provides full coverage for 16 forms of birth control, according to numerous news reports, but the court upheld the company's right to block four types of "morning after" pills and Intra-Uterine Devices that violate the Catholic belief that life begins at conception.
Mersino suggested her client believes that the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 exempts Weingartz from providing insurance coverage for any form of contraception. "My client's beliefs conform with the teachings of the Catholic church," she said.
Dan Weingartz, who could not be reached for comment, carries on a family business formed in 1945. They have 170 employees who receive health care benefits but have never received any form of insurance coverage for birth control.
Cases pending across the nation that challenge the Obamacare mandate could shape the Hobby Lobby precedent in the future because the Supreme Court justices did not define the "closely held" corporations with "sincere" religious beliefs that can avoid contraception coverage.
Thorin - Wasting Time is exactly right IF we lived in a Theocracy. We don't live in a Theocracy.
Finally, Hobby Lobby isn't "infringing on the choices of others." The women who want to purchase IUDs or Ella can just buy it for themselves using the medium of exchange that we call "money." They are no worse off than they are with regard to food or housing or anything of the other thousands of goods that they purchase in the marketplace rather than being given it for "free" by their employer.
The really weird part regarding the logic of the above idea is that the female employee can take her Hobby Lobby pay check on Friday afternoon, cash her check and buy the birth control items mentioned. So what is the difference with it being provided for her within the Health Insurance plan, that is also a part of her "salary" as an employee? (Ryan Rowekamps Employee compensation is not a subsidy. It is earned by the employee's labor.)
And finaly, I think Ms. Kavaney is speaking about the nuances of law, corporate law, Supreme Court decisions etc that are not necessarily easily understood by the average non versed lawerly types. If laws were easily understood, there would be no reason for lawyers and then we could all rejoice! :)
Philip Christopher:
What is the difference between the following two situations:
1) A Hobby Lobby employee takes part of his paycheck and, without Hobby Lobby's knowledge or involvement, spends it on an underage prostitute.
2) The government requires Hobby Lobby management to enter into a contract with underage prostitutes to provide "free" service to employees who want it. The only employee who takes advantage of this "free" deal is the same male employee from Scenario 1.
In either case, the end result is the same: a male Hobby Lobby employee ends up visiting an underage prostitute, paid for by money that came out of Hobby Lobby wages.
Yet if you were the employer, wouldn't you be a bit more upset over number 2? Perhaps if you think about it a bit, it won't seem so weird that an employer might not to be forcibly involved in such activity.
Jim, your question is rather easily answered if you think for just a moment about why some people might object to what they think are abortifacients and why Viagra isn't the same thing as an abortifacient. You might still disagree with Hobby Lobby, of course, but it's rather dimwitted to suggest that they're guilty of self-contradiction or inconsistency here.
Wasting Time: your attempted analogy is unrelated to the topic; it's the proverbial straw man. I understand your POV but the cows are coming home now. Have a good weekend.
WT: what about a vasectomy, then? That prevents in perpetuity the possibility of pregnancy.. Not exactly a good Catholic (or maybe Evangelical) moral stance. Or is that OK because it is a male thing?
Mersino suggested her client believes that the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 exempts Weingartz from providing insurance coverage for any form of contraception. "My client's beliefs conform with the teachings of the Catholic church," she said.
Some forms of contraception are not for contraception but serve other purposes. The side effect is that they prevent ovulation but that does not mean that the patient is necessarily being prescribed them for that purpose. Besides, isn't there some kind of reasonableness that needs to be applied in these matters. Very, very few Catholics are opposed to contraception. It sounds frivolous and not serious.
It would be like saying the miltary that you are a conscientious objector for religious reasons when, in fact, 85- 90%% of the adherents are snipers in the Marine Corps.
From a Catholic perspective, a vasectomy is bad. From an evangelical perspective (they don't object to birth control at all), a vasectomy is fine, because it is NOT THE SAME THING as an abortifacient.
Is it really so hard for folks to understand why there might be some people in the world who object to abortifacients but not to anything else? I mean, there are lots of religious ideas and principles that make less sense than that one, so I'm not sure why so many Commonwealers are having such difficulty and keep thinking they've caught evangelicals in a contradiction.
Philip, my analogy was quite apt. If an employer objects on religious grounds to X, it is perfectly logical for the employer to be upset at a government mandate to be directly involved in the purchase of X, as opposed to the usual situation wherein employees choose X without any employer knowledge let alone involvement.
X could be abortifacients, prostitution, heroin, automatic weapons, etc, it doesn't matter, the only point was to get you to understand why this is not a "weird" objection as you seem to think.
From a Catholic perspective, a vasectomy is bad.
Not from this Catholic's perspective it isn't. Nor is it necessarily from the Canadian bishops perspective. Perhaps Rome or the US has other views but that is for them to sort out. For many Catholics it is a completely responsible. The problem is that the US Bishops were opposed to the contraceptive mandate because it (supposedly*) went against the teaching of the Catholic church nothwithstanding the fact that hardly anybody believes, follows, or supports it.
* I say supposedly because the Winnipeg statement from the Canadian bishops clearly stated of those who opted for contraception that "whoever honestly chooses that course which seems right to him does so in good conscience". In other words no need for confession.
Don't get me wrong. I know some very good people,Catholic and non Catholic who practice NFP for a variety of reasons. It helps them stay close and is very beneficial so I am not at all criticizing the choice or logic of those who opt for that for natural reasons or religious reason. I applaud and support their choice in their relationship. I just don't think that you can make a universal ban when there is no consensus on it and I don't think it leads to acceptance of abortion on demand. Evangelicals are a good example of how this distinction can be drawn.
When you parse through all the carefully constructed comments it is easy to be led away from the realization that religious freedom is not the real issue here. It is a testing ground for acquisition of power by a wealthy minority who want only to enforce their views on those who do not embrace their religious rigor. In other words--more freedom for employers means less freedom for employees (to avail themselves of a benefit they need). Cathleen Kaveny has expressed it correctly. Affluence does not take long to become megalomanic self righteousness.
There is a very good article "Authority Never Supplants Conscience" in the National Catholic Reporter archive that nicely amplifies what you have written.
From a few days ago, Megan McArdle has a good analysis of the confusion evident in many people's analysis of Hobby Lobby, even in Kaveny's quote in the post above. http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-07-07/who-s-the-real-hobby-lo...
More common sense from McArdle: http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-07-02/answers-to-all-your-hob...
Such as:
9) Why is it any of my employer's business what birth control I use?
It's not, but once you make them pay for it, you make them a party to the transaction. You can't, on the one hand, mandate that someone pay for something, and on the other argue that it is a matter of supreme indifference to them.
9) Why is it any of my employer's business what birth control I use?
It's not, but once you make them pay for it, you make them a party to the transaction. You can't, on the one hand, mandate that someone pay for something, and on the other argue that it is a matter of supreme indifference to them.
That is, of course, an economic or legal argument. It's based on the premise that capital is necessary and labor is charity. It may even be why Justice Alito wrote what he did. But it has nothing intrinsic to do with conscience or the protection of religious liberty or the RFRA.
Found for the first time this weekend the term "theocons" to describe the 5 Catholic Supremes on the court.
Amazing how language always evolves to express the truth at heart of things?!?
Just for the record: there are six Catholics on the Supreme Court. Should we ban them all?
It would be fun if this article and comments came with an audio disclamer, 'The comments expressed herein are not necessarily those of the owners of Catholicism.' We are not talking here about the underage employees of a multinational in China paid a a few dollars a day. Moreover, culturally, there have been great strides in the direction of the penumbra of religious freedom recently in this country as exemplified by gay marriage. Considering the other side of the cultural spectrum, it would seem to me to be generous, and, in that sense, Catholic to allow the owners of Hobbly Lobby not to be ordered to pay for methods that they sincerely believe are 'first day abortions,' and that merely seems consistent with the law, not the whim of the Supreme Court.
Gay rights are not an example of religious freedom. They are simply a recognition of human rights.
Employee benefits costs, along with cash compensation, are part of the total package of remuneration for an employee's labor. That's how an employer markets what he/she spends on a given employee. It is done so to show the true cost of having an employee over and above cash compensation.
How the employee spends her/his compensation is no business of the employer's. How the employee spends vacation and holiday time off is no business of the employer. How the employee spends cash compensation is no business of the employer.
Another cost of hiring an employee is being held to account for adhering to employment mandates with respect to overtime, working conditions and general non-discrimination practices.
In exchange for all of this the employer is allowed certain tax deductions for the cost of employment.
If you don't bear the cross then don't expect to wear the crown.
Count me, a small business owner, distinctly in Jim McCrae's corner. We provide a total remuneration package to our employees that includes medical benefits. We do so because our history with our employees shows that this is a valued form of compensation that is responsive to their (and their familes') needs in Amercan society. Healthy employees, some of whom are heads of healthy families, are a distinct advantage to us in our work. As Jim M notes, we also take the legal tax deduction
I don't inquire how our employees manage *any* of their compensation because I implicitly suppose them to be free moral agents. If an employee behaved at work in a manner that were inconsistent with safety, good order, or standard of care for our business [say she were chemically impaired] I would intevene to reestablish the necessary conditions for fair and effective work. But I, as the owner, do not provide moral instruction to or evangelize my employees.
Jim Jenkins, a good response to your anti-Catholic post is this: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/07/08/the-s...
Exactly the case. And by extension the bishops have flown in the face of the Democratic social justice agenda which has been consistent with Church teaching for decades. They have also alienated a sizable part of their flock thereby exacerbating the swelling population of former Catholics. Two bullets right through the foot I'd say. So much for leadership. (And then there's the ideological snubbing of Pope Francis' messaging about rebalancing priorities between intolerant orthodoxy and helping the marginalized).
People with your enlightened views are underrepresented in comments pages.
My pastor wrote a column in our parish bulletin expressing his outrage toward the dissenters. Tells you something about local religio-politics where I live.
To Jim Dunn--many more people than you think agree with you fully as I do. They're just too disgusted and fed up with the political circus to articulate their views as clearly as you have.
@ Wasting Time: Don't you think it is long past the time when Catholics should be able to critique the misogynistic and corporatist disciples within our own community without all the defensive and narcissistic labelling?
You sound like the thinned-skinned Cardinal George who labels critics who nail him about his hypocrisy and complicity in child abuse, always screaming "anti-Catholic."
Besides, are you now setting yourself up to be the arbitor - or is it Grand Inquisitor? - of what is "Catholic" and what is not? The Catholic Church I grew up in was a world-wide, expansive, intellectually rigorous community that tolerated a wide range of views and ran the gamut of anti-communism to liberation theologians, from dictators to apostles to the poor.
My beef with the 5 Catholic Supremes is that they ignore ancient traditions of Catholic intellectual thought in service to their corportist agenda. Scalia, Thomas, Alito, and Roberts are just schilling for the corporate interests that put money in their pockets - their dancing to tune of their corporate masters who put them on the court.
Poor Kennedy keeps whipping back and forth from side to side depending on the issue when his conscience starts bothering him [a really Catholic trait!] - hopefully he'll retire soon to hang-out at the Hoover Institute [the conservative retirement community at Stanford for has-been right-wing ideologues like Condoleeza Rice].
The 5 Catholic Supremes have abandoned their catholicity IMO a long, long time ago.