Today on "Kresta in the Afternoon" - September 24

Talking about the "things that matter most" on Sept. 24

4:00 – Why Do Celebrities Seem to Have More Substance Abuse Issues?
From Whitney Houston’s death last year to Rodney King’s recent death, we continue to face the reality that celebrities are very susceptible to substance abuse. This raises the question of why celebrities have a higher rate of substance abuse. Michael Vasquez of the St. Gregory Center for Drug and Alcohol Rehab is here to answer that question.

4:40 – Leading Pro-Life Democrat Speaks Out On 2012 Elections
Former Massachusetts Governor Michael S. Dukakis, in his famously blunt speaking style, labeled Mitt Romney a “fraud” as governor, said that Elizabeth Warren’s US Senate ads have been disappointing and will be changed, and declared that Raymond L. Flynn had abandoned his political past by endorsing Scott Brown. The former governor added: “The Ray Flynn that I worked with then, and I knew and respected, wouldn’t have given Scott Brown the time of day. … Tax cuts for the rich? Repealing Obamacare? Are you kidding me? Flynn? I don’t know what’s happened to him. … Change of life, I don’t know.” Former Ambassador and Boston Mayor Ray Flynn is here to respond.

5:00 – Kresta Comments

5:20 – Who's Counting Your Vote?
The 2012 election will be one of the hardest-fought in U.S. history. It is also likely to be one of the closest, a fact that brings concerns about voter fraud and bureaucratic incompetence in the conduct of elections front and center. If we don't take notice, we could see another debacle like the Bush-Gore Florida recount of 2000 in which courts and lawyers intervened in what should have involved only voters. John Fund is here to focus attention on many problems of our election system, ranging from voter fraud to a slipshod system of vote counting that noted political scientist Walter Dean Burnham calls “the most careless of the developed world.”

5:40 – What are the Options for Non-exempt Employers under “Obamacare”?
On February 15, 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) promulgated the Final Rule concerning what is known as the contraception mandate. Employers who offer group health insurance in a business of any size must comply for all employee health plan years beginning on or after August 1, 2012. The mandate requires that all non-grandfathered group health plans (including student health insurance plans) and health insurance issuers provide the full range of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved contraceptive methods, patient education, and counseling as “preventive services” for women, as specified under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). So what are the moral options for non-exempt employers? Dr. John Haas of the National Catholic Bioethics Center is here to explain it.