Romney says Michigan win would hand him presidency

(AP)  Mitt Romney is coming home  —  this time as the likely Republican presidential nominee.


"I think Michigan's a state I can win," a relaxed, jovial Romney told reporters on his campaign plane as he left Iowa en route to his home state, the final stop on a five-day, six-state Midwestern tour.


Asked if carrying the state in November would carry special meaning, Romney said, "If I win in Michigan, then I become the president, and that would mean a lot to me personally."


Romney is the former governor of Massachusetts, but he was born in Michigan and raised in the suburbs outside Detroit. His father, George Romney, ran a car company -- American Motors Corp. -- and went on to run the state as governor.


In 1968, George Romney tried -- and failed -- to win the Republican presidential nomination, a prize his son is set to be officially awarded at the Republican National Convention in August. It's been a long journey that began nearly six years ago, when Mitt Romney launched his unsuccessful bid for the 2008 GOP nod.


Michigan is one of several states that could make the difference in November. It's not on his campaign's list of top targets -- that's reserved for what the campaign sees as traditionally Republican states like Virginia and North Carolina and swing states like Ohio and Florida.


But it's one of a number of Rust Belt states President Barack Obama won in 2008 where Romney's campaign team sees an opportunity.


"There's another level of states that are all states that Obama won last time," said deputy campaign manager Katie Packer Gage, a Michigan native. "And he won't win if he doesn't win them again."


Romney faces an uphill climb in Michigan: There's a strong Democratic base in Detroit, and he's already struggling to explain his opposition to the federal bailout that saved General Motors and Chrysler.


He has three campaign stops in Michigan on Tuesday.


Romney's 2012 campaign has been filled with regular reminders of his Michigan roots. George Romney's photo was tacked to the wall in the campaign bus through the primary. Supporters come to campaign rallies armed with Romney `68 memorabilia and stories about volunteering on his father's presidential campaign.


Romney has talked about his love for Vernors, a distinctive ginger ale that's popular in Michigan and has strong carbonation that sometimes prompts sneezing. When he campaigned here during the primary, Romney was ridiculed for affectionately saying that in Michigan, "the trees are the right height."


And then there are the cars -- the product of the industry that's driven Michigan's culture and economy. Romney loves them, and easily recalls exactly what he was driving during memorable moments in his life. On the campaign trail, he frequently mentions the Rambler, the car his father seized on as a way to revive a struggling American Motors.


In Troy, Ohio, on Sunday, Romney climbed into the front seat of an immaculately maintained 1961 Rambler owned by 20-year-old Michael Scheib. "I've got a `63, but it's not in as good condition," Romney told Scheib as the young man took his burger order at the local hamburger shop.


"Brings back memories," he told reporters afterward.


Still, cars caused Romney some problems before the Feb. 28 Michigan primary. During one event, Romney mentioned that Ann drives "a couple of Cadillacs," a comment that helped paint him as out of touch with Americans struggling in a bad economy.


And while Romney's opposition to federal support for General Motors and Chrysler wasn't a big issue in the GOP primary, Democrats are already criticizing him for it. Romney has struggled to clarify his position, saying that he supported the managed bankruptcy that eventually structured GM. Still, he was opposed to facilitating it with the federal money that the Obama administration sent, and Romney attacked the bailouts during the primary campaign.


There are already signs he plans to soften his tone. "He's going to acknowledge, as he has, that President Obama and he ultimately shared the same goal, which was to see the auto industry survive and thrive," said Gage, the deputy campaign manager. "They just had different ways of going about it. He's pleased to see that he does seem to be getting stronger."

Ship 'carrying attack helicopters to Syria' halted off Scotland heads for Russia

(BBC News) The UK has made moves to stop a cargo vessel allegedly carrying refurbished Russian-made attack helicopters from completing its journey to Syria.


The MV Alaed had its insurance withdrawn by The Standard Club in London while it was about 50 miles (80.4km) off Scotland's north coast.


Withdrawal of insurance prevents the MV Alaed from sailing until its owner could secure new cover.


UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said the ship was returning to Russia.


It was thought that the vessel had stopped for a time off the Western Isles.


The Russian embassy in London has not yet commented.


The UK and US have raised concerns with Russia about shipments of weapons to Syria, which is subject to a European Union arms embargo.


In a statement, the FCO said: "We are aware of a ship carrying a consignment of refurbished Russian-made attack helicopters heading to Syria.


"The foreign secretary made clear to Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov when they met on 14 June that all defence shipments to Syria must stop.


"We are working closely with international partners to ensure that we are doing all we can to stop the Syrian regime's ability to slaughter civilians being reinforced through assistance from other countries."


'Carrying weapons'
The Standard Club said it believed the MV Alaed had been off the coast of the Western Isles when insurance was withdrawn.


It said the cover was withdrawn because the owners of the ship had "broken internal rules" of the club - a mutual insurance association - and not on the instructions of the UK government.


The club said it had sought more information on the boat's cargo.


In a statement, it said: "We were informed on Friday evening that the ship might be carrying weapons, in particular attack helicopters, missiles and non-specific munitions, and we are making inquiries to establish what their side of the story is.


"There are exclusion clauses in our cover and, for anyone involved in improper or unlawful trade, we can cancel cover.


"We are investigating whether or not to do so in this case."


In December last year, Russian warships and support vessels believed to have been headed for Syria took shelter in Scotland's Moray Firth during bad weather.


HMS York tracked aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, a destroyer, two frigates, an ocean-going tug and three oil tankers until the task group left and heading into the Atlantic.

Photo sparks global outrage over China's one-child policy

(EWTN) — Hundreds of thousands of people worldwide have used social networks to protest China's one-child policy after a photo surfaced of an unconscious mother lying next to her seven-month old aborted fetus.


Chinese officials said they are investigating the case which occurred in the northern province of Shaanxi, where police forced Feng Jianmei to undergo an abortion after she was unable to pay the $6,200 fine levied by the government against those who wish to have more than one child.


Feng’s husband posted a photo of the dead baby boy on a popular social network in China. The baby had been given a lethal injection directly into his head, while his mother was strapped to the bed by force.


More than half a million Chinese posted comments expressing outrage at the incident, and news of the forced abortion eventually spread to Facebook, Twitter and the international media.


In the 1970s China established its one-child per family police, which includes forced abortion and sterilizations. Those who violate the law and have more children are at risk of losing their jobs and paying heavy fines.


According to Carlos Polo of the Latin American Office of the Population Research Institute, publicizing these incidents is “the first step towards their eradication.”


“Since the first visit to China in 1979 by our president, Steve Mosher, the PRI has sent numerous teams to research the application of the one-child policy,” Polo told EWTN News.


In 2009, the PRI sent a field research team to six countries where the UN Population Fund helped China to apply the policy. Evidence of exorbitant fines, reprisals against families, persecution, forced late-abortions of babies was sent to officials in Washington, D.C. with the recommendation that financing for this population control organization be cut off. 


“Our work helped to cut millions of dollars in funding which unfortunately the Obama administration has reinstated,” Polo said.

Administration mulls pared health law

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Covering all the bases ahead of a momentous Supreme Court ruling, the Obama administration plans to move ahead with major parts of the president's health care law if its most controversial provision does not survive, according to veteran Democrats closely involved with the legislation.


Even if the requirement that nearly every U.S. resident have health insurance is declared unconstitutional, the remaining parts of the law would have far-reaching impact, putting coverage within reach of millions of uninsured people, laying new obligations on insurers and employers, and improving Medicare benefits even as payments to many service providers get scaled back.


The White House says President Barack Obama is confident the whole law will be upheld when the court issues its ruling in the next week or two, but officials will be ready for any outcome.


"We do believe it's constitutional, and we ... hope and expect that's the decision the court will render," senior adviser David Plouffe said Sunday on ABC. "We obviously will be prepared for whatever decision the court renders." Administration officials have not wanted to discuss contingency plans to avoid creating the impression that the president is preparing for a high court rebuke.


Nevertheless, the Obama administration will move ahead to implement major elements of the law if the individual coverage requirement is struck down, two senior Democrats told The Associated Press. One is a leading Democrat familiar with the administration's thinking, the other a high-level Capitol Hill staffer. The two Democrats spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid appearing to be out of step with the administration's public stance.


Because the law's main coverage expansion does not begin until 2014, there would be time to try to fix serious problems that losing the individual coverage requirement may cause for the health insurance industry.


Surviving parts of the law would "absolutely" move ahead, said the congressional official. A Congress mired in partisan trench warfare would be unable to repeal or amend what's left of the law, allowing the administration to advance. Much of the money for covering the uninsured was already provided in the law itself.


"Legislatively we can't do a thing, and we are going to move full speed ahead (with implementation)," the official said.


How the Supreme Court will decide is unclear. It may uphold the law, strike it down entirely or do something in between. Skeptical questioning by the court's conservative justices during oral arguments this spring has fueled speculation that the court may invalidate the so-called individual mandate.


Opponents say the requirement that individuals have coverage is unconstitutional, that the federal government can't tell people to obtain particular goods or services.


Supporters say the mandate is a necessary component of a broader scheme to regulate health insurance, which is well within the powers of Congress. By requiring people to carry health insurance or pay a fine, the law seeks to broaden the pool of people with coverage, helping to keep premiums affordable.


If the mandate is struck down, that would still leave in place a major expansion of Medicaid, the federal-state safety net program for low-income people.


The Medicaid expansion was originally estimated to account for about half the more than 30 million people slated to get coverage under the law. Without a mandate, the number would be smaller but still significant.


Federal tax credits to help middle-class people buy private health coverage would also survive, as would new state-based insurance markets.


Such subsidies have never previously been available, and millions are expected to take advantage of them, whether or not insurance is required by law. Still, it could be tricky to salvage the law's full blueprint for helping middle-class uninsured people.


Overturning the mandate would have harmful consequences for the private insurance market. Under the law, insurers would still have to accept all applicants regardless of health problems, and they would be limited in what they can charge older, sicker customers.


As a result, premiums for people who directly buy their own coverage would jump by 15 percent to 20 percent, the Congressional Budget Office estimates. Older, sicker people would flock to get health insurance but younger, healthier ones would hold back.


To forestall such a problem, the administration asked the court - if it declares the mandate unconstitutional - to also strike down certain consumer protections, including the requirement on insurers to cover people with pre-existing health problems. That would mitigate a damaging spike in premiums.


Whether or not the court goes along with that request, more work would be needed to find alternatives to a federal mandate. That could provide an opening for state officials, as well as major insurance companies, to join in finding workable substitutes for the mandate. Congressional approval would likely be needed.


Without the individual requirement, some 14 million people would still get coverage, budget office estimates suggest. Supporters of the law point out that's still a lot of people.

Prosecutors want damning Sandusky interview footage NBC didn't air

 

If Sandusky were a Catholic priest, do you think NBC would have found the time in their busy schedule to air these incriminating comments?

 Fox News: Accused Penn State pedophile Jerry Sandusky came off a lot creepier in that exclusive sitdown with NBC last November than anyone knew, but the Peacock Network oddly chose not to air what sounds a lot like an admission of guilt -- and now prosecutors want the whole transcript.
"I didn't go around seeking out every young person for sexual needs that I've helped," Sandusky told Costas in footage that never made the November airing.
The disturbing answer first came to light when NBC's "Today" show aired previously unseen transcripts last Tuesday. That prompted prosecutors from the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office to contact NBC lawyers on Friday to request that the network turn over and authenticate the entire transcript from the interview that was used to tape the segment that aired on the news program, “Rock Center with Brian Williams.”
The unaired segment includes a back-and-forth between Costas and Sandusky about his work with young people through his charity for troubled kids, the Second Mile.
"I'm a very passionate person in terms of trying to make a difference in the lives of some young people," Sandusky said. “I worked very hard to try to connect with them. To make them feel good about themselves. To be something significant in their lives. Maybe this gets misinterpreted, has gotten depending on. … I know a lot of young people where it hasn't. I have worked with many, many young people where there has been no misinterpretation of my actions and I have made a very significant difference in their lives.”
Costas then challenged Joe Paterno's one-time defensive coordinator, saying: "But isn't what you're just describing the classic MO of many pedophiles? And that is that they gain the trust of young people, they don't necessarily abuse every young person. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of young boys you came into contact with, but there are allegations that at least eight of them were victimized. Many people believe there are more to come.”
“So it's entirely possible that you could've helped young boy A in some way that was not objectionable while horribly taking advantage of young boy B, C, D and E. Isn't that possible?” Costas asked Sandusky during the interview.
Sandusky gave an unusual reply.
"Well -- you might think that. I don't know. In terms of -- my relationship with so many, many young people. I would -- I would guess that there are many young people who would come forward. Many more young people who would come forward and say that my methods and -- and what I had done for them made a very positive impact on their life.”
“And I didn't go around seeking out every young person for sexual needs that I've helped. There are many that I didn't have -- I hardly had any contact with who I have helped in many, many ways," he added.
The comments could prove damning to Sandusky, who is expected to take the stand this week, even if they weren't deemed newsworthy by the network.
“There were a lot of compelling comments in the original interview, but we did not have time to include them all,” an executive at NBC news, who asked that her identity be withheld.

Cost of Raising a Child Increases by $8K

Who spends this kind of money on children? Do you think this kind of article serves to scare folks away from having children? ... but check out the last paragraph!

TLC parentables
Any parent can tell you that raising a child isn't cheap. From diapers and childcare to clothing and housing to extracurricular activities and continuing education, it all costs a bundle. But just how much does it all add up to over the years? Well, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the cost of raising a child born in 2011 from birth through age 17 is going to be $234,900, an $8,000 increase over the previous year's estimate. But why such the big jump in cost?
The increase in spending comes primarily from increases in child care, education, transportation, and food costs, but there were also increases in health care, clothing, and housing costs. Housing costs are the largest expense when it comes to child rearing and account for 30 percent of the cost of raising a child. Childcare and education and food account for the next largest portion of the spending ranging from 16 to 18 percent of the total spending.
Now, of course not all families will spend the same amount on child rearing. Lower income families (earning less than $54,000 annually) are expected to spend only $169,000 while upper income families (earning more than $102,000) are expected to spend more than $389,000 which is quite a difference. Mind you, these estimates do not account for inflation so the chances that parents will be spending much more are pretty much inevitable.
However, if you want to spend less on your child, have more children. Families with three children spend 22 percent less per child than families with two children because of their ability to hand down clothes and toys, share bedrooms, and buy food in more economical bulk quantities. Of course you'll still be spending more overall than if you only have one child. Bottom line, raising kids costs a pretty penny.

Interscholastic Activities Opened to Homeschoolers

South Carolina joins the 25-some states which allow equal access to interscholastic activities, including sports, for homeschoolers. It's about time!

 Home School Legal Defense Association
On June 7, 2012, Governor Nikki Haley signed into law Senate Bill 149, thereby creating the Equal Access to Interscholastic Activities Act applicable to charter school students, Governor’s school students, and homeschool students.
As it relates to homeschool students, the new law permits those who have been homeschooled for a full academic year to participate in interscholastic activities at their local public school. These activities include, but are not limited to, athletics, music, speech, and other extracurricular activities. The law went into effect on the date of the governor’s approval, in time for the upcoming 2012–13 school year.

Study suggests risks from same-sex parenting

Washington Times
Two studies released Sunday may act like brakes on popular social-science assertions that gay parents are the same as — or maybe better than — married mother-father parents.
“The empirical claim that no notable differences exist must go,” University of Texas sociology professor Mark Regnerus said in his study in Social Science Research.
Using a “gold standard” data set of nearly 3,000 randomly selected American young adults, Mr. Regnerus looked at their lives on 40 measures of social, emotional and relationship outcomes.
He found that, when compared with adults raised in married, mother-father families, adults raised by lesbian mothers had negative outcomes in 24 of 40 categories, while adults raised by gay fathers had negative outcomes in 19 categories.
Findings like these contradict claims that there are no differences between gay parenting and heterosexual, married parents, said Mr. Regnerus, who helped develop the New Family Structures Study at the University of Texas.

Instead, “[C]hildren appear most apt to succeed well as adults when they spend their entire childhood with their married mother and father, and especially when the parents remain married to the present day,” he wrote.

Mr. Regnerus‘ study of 2,988 people ages 18 to 39 — including 175 adults raised by lesbian mothers and 73 adults raised by gay fathers — marks the first research from the new data set, which initially included some 15,000 people.
The second study, also in Social Science Research, takes a critical look at the basis of an oft-cited American Psychological Association report on gay parenting.
The APA brief says, “Not a single study has found children of lesbian or gay parents to be disadvantaged in any significant respect relative to children of heterosexual parents.”
After looking at the 59 studies that undergird this assertion, however, “The jury is still out,” said Loren Marks, an associate professor at the School of Human Ecology at Louisiana State University. “The lack of high-quality data leaves the most significant questions [about gay parenting] unaddressed and unanswered.”
Problems with the APA-cited studies were their small size; dependence on wealthy, white, well-educated lesbian mothers; and failure to examine common outcomes for children, such as their education, employment and risks for poverty, criminality, early childbearing, substance abuse and suicide. Instead, the APA studies often looked at children’s gender-role behaviors, emotional functioning and sexual identities.
An APA spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment. Mr. Marks‘ findings, though, have been presented in gay-marriage lawsuits on behalf of those arguing in favor of traditional marriage. Critics noted that Mr. Marks‘ paper had not been published yet and that he was not an expert on gay families.

Pope calls for continued renewal amid liturgical abuses

(EWTN) At the conclusion of the 50th Eucharistic Congress in Ireland, Pope Benedict urged ongoing liturgical renewal – as outlined by the Second Vatican Council – amid current misunderstandings and abuses.


“At our distance today from the Council Fathers' expressed desires regarding liturgical renewal, and in the light of the universal Church’s experience in the intervening period, it is clear that a great deal has been achieved; but it is equally clear that there have been many misunderstandings and irregularities,” he said in a video message to over 75,000 pilgrims in Dublin’s Croke Park Stadium on June 17.


“Not infrequently,” he added, “the revision of liturgical forms has remained at an external level, and 'active participation' has been confused with external activity. Hence much still remains to be done on the path of real liturgical renewal.”


Although the liturgy should be “celebrated with great joy and simplicity,” it should also be conducted “as worthily and reverently as possible,” he said.


In his eight and a half minute address, the Pope explained to that the Council Fathers had wanted to renew the external forms of the Mass so as to “make it easier to enter into the inner depth of the mystery,” and therefore “lead people to a personal encounter with the Lord, present in the Eucharist.”


Croke Park is the home of Ireland’s traditional Gaelic sports, and is also the largest stadium in the country. Gathered within it were the tens of thousands of pilgrims who had come from worldwide to pray and learn more about the Eucharist during the week-long event June 10-17.


The main celebrant at the concluding Mass was the Papal Legate to the Congress, Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet. Also present were the Irish President, Michael D. Higgins, and its Prime Minister, Enda Kenny.


“Ireland has been shaped by the Mass at the deepest level for centuries,” said the Pope, “and by its power and grace generations of monks, martyrs and missionaries have heroically lived the faith at home and spread the Good News of God’s love and forgiveness well beyond your shores.”


The Pope told the Irish people that they are “the heirs to a Church that has been a mighty force for good in the world” and which has “given a profound and enduring love of Christ and his blessed Mother to many, many others.” This legacy was “surely perfected and nourished” by the Mass he suggested.


Touching upon the troubled recent history of the Church in Ireland, the Pope said the “mystery” as to why some clerics would abuse those in their care can perhaps be explained by the fact that “their Christianity was no longer nourished by joyful encounter with Jesus Christ: it had become merely a matter of habit.”


This was precisely the attitude, he said, that the Council had wanted to overcome so as to “rediscover the faith as a deep personal friendship with the goodness of Jesus Christ.”


Pope Benedict concluded by announcing that the city of Cebu in the Philippines will host the next International Eucharistic Congress in 2016 before imparting his apostolic blessing and commending the Irish people to “ to the loving protection of Mary, Mother of God, and to Saint Patrick, the great patron of Ireland.”

Relief from Greek election likely to be fleeting

ATHENS (AP) — Greece's election result has eased fears of an imminent financial disaster for Europe, but the region's indebted governments remain under heavy pressure. Spain and Italy are fighting to keep their borrowing costs down and European leaders are struggling to find agreement on how best to fix the shared currency's deeper problems.


As cleanup crews swept Athens' central Syntagma Square and took down election posters, Greeks waited anxiously for the formation of a new government, seeing it as the last step to ending at least the acute phase of the current political crisis.


The New Democracy party, which supports keeping Greece's bailout deal with its European government creditors, was moving to form a coalition government Monday morning after securing a narrow victory over anti-austerity Syriza and its old socialist rival PASOK.


"We'll breathe easier when there's a government in place," said George Moutafidis, who runs a sandwich shop in the Syntagma Square.


"Yesterday's result is somewhat positive, but we need a government in place to start making decisions. You need to just do it. That's it."


A New Democracy-led government could lead the way to talks with international creditors on getting it more time to fix its broken finances. European officials are signaling a willingness to talk — and avoid an aid cutoff that could force Greece out of the euro. A euro exit by Greece could have further destabilized the 17-country single currency union and rocked the world economy.


Any hope that news out of Greece might have eased concern over the state of Europe's finances were quickly dashed Monday morning.


"The crisis is far from over," Commerzbank analyst Christoph Weill in a note to investors. "A sovereign default by Greece and the country's exit from the monetary union have probably been avoided for the time being. "


Spain's borrowing costs spiraled higher in a sign markets remained deeply skeptical about Europe's chances to contain and end the crisis. Interest rates, or yields, on 10-year government bonds — a key indicator of how bad the crisis is — spiked to just over 7 percent. That is a new high since Spain joined the euro in 1999 and indicates increasing doubt that the country will be able to manage without a bailout like the ones received by Greece, Ireland and Portugal.


Yet Spain is bigger than the three bailout countries combined, and would stretch the eurozone's €500 billion bailout fund if help were needed. The country has already asked for €100 billion to bailout its banking system, weighed down with heavy losses on bad real estate loans.


Italy has also been caught up in concerns that it might soon be able to keep a lid on its debt without help. Its economy is the third largest in Europe, after Germany and France, but it has a massive amount of debt. The worry is that if Italy's economy continues to slow, it won't be able to maintain its debt. Italian bond yields Monday rose to 6.07 percent.


One reason for the market's wariness over Europe is there is still a lot of work to be done in Greece before it can consider itself out of the immediate danger of full-blown economic collapse and possible exit from the euro.


New Democracy, which still has to reach agreement this week with another party to have enough seats to govern, favors continuing with the €240 billion bailout deal from other eurozone governments and the International Monetary Fund on which the country has survived for more than two years.


Continued bailout money hinges on keeping to an agreement to cut spending and make Greece's bureaucracy-choked economy more business friendly so it can grow out of its troubles in the long term. Yet Greece's plummeting economy is making it harder for it to reduce its budget deficit by the required about. Failure to keep to the bailout deal could result in an aid cutoff, leaving the government unable to repay its remaining debt.


The previous government said the government would run out of money July 20 if more funds are not received. Greece's economy is teetering over the abyss, with businesses struggling to pay suppliers and depositors steadily pulling money out of already troubled banks. The shrinking economy lowers tax receipts and makes the debt burden larger by comparison.


European finances ministers said the "troika" officials from the European Union's executive commission, the IMF and the European Central Bank will visit Athens as soon as a government is formed "to exchange views with the new government on the way forward."


Germany's Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said late Sunday that Greece had to implement all agreed reforms but that "I can well imagine talking again about timelines."


The country was originally supposed to identify €11.5 billion in budget cuts for the next two years year by the end of this month. That deadline has probably slipped, and the new government may seek to make the cuts over a longer period.


However, many analysts think Greece may still wind up leaving the euro, either to improve its economy's competitiveness through introducing a weaker currency, or because it may needs to print its own money to bailout banks or pay salaries.


Meanwhile, Europe's governments are struggling to agree on measures to put new foundation under the euro. Without agreement on bold new steps, a June 28-29 summit of European leaders may fall short of expectations and lead to even more market tension — as such several such summits have typically done in the past.


"Lending money is all about confidence, and that is shot to bits right now," said Gary Jenkins, managing director of the Swordfish Research Ltd.


There are also concerns that because Greece has agreed to stick with the bailout, this might alleviate pressure on politicians to act quickly. Expectations for a substantial response from governments are high for a summit gathering of European leaders such as Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and France's President Francois Hollande next week.


European leaders have conceded the euro's foundations were flawed when it was introduced in 1999. Rules against big deficits failed to keep governments from running up too much debt through overspending, as in Greece, or needing to bail out banks, as in Ireland and Spain. Proposals could include some form of common borrowing, tighter central EU control of individual countries' spending and debt, and centralized supervision and bailouts of weak banks.


Yet all proposals are controversial because they involve countries giving up authority over their finances, and Germany, the biggest eurozone member and in relatively good shape, opposed to being put on the hook for other people's debts.

Catholic Health Association for change on HHS contraceptive mandate

To learn more about the HHS Mandate, visit www.stophhs.com

(Catholic Culture) — The Catholic Health Association (CHA) is calling upon the Obama administration to broaden the religious exemption to the HHS mandate to include Catholic hospitals. The public demand marked a dramatic turn by the CHA, which had parted company with the US bishops by supporting passage of the "Obamacare" health mandate, and had not previously voiced opposition to the legislation. The CHA represents most of the Catholic hospitals in the US. The CHA indicated that it could be satisfied by an amendment that would broaden the definition of a "religious employer." However, the CHA seemed to be recommending compromise language that the US bishops' conference has already rejected, and that would leave many Catholic institutions still covered by the contraceptive mandate. “CHA has long insisted on and worked for the right of everyone to affordable, accessible health care,” the CHA stated in its comments. “We welcomed the enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), and support the ACA’s requirement that certain preventive services be available at no cost to the individual. We remain deeply concerned, however, with the approach the Administration has taken with respect to contraceptive services, especially abortifacient drugs and sterilization.” The CHA statement recalled that the administration has proposed “to create an exemption to the contraceptive coverage requirement for certain religious employers, defining the term ‘religious employer’ so narrowly as to exclude Catholic hospitals and health care organizations as well as other religious institutional employers. CHA objected strenuously to the inappropriately narrow definition in its comment letter date September 22, 2011 and objected again when it was announced in January 2012 that the Administration would not make any changes to the definition.” The statement continued:

The final rule released on February 10, 2012 implemented the narrow religious exemption as proposed, but also indicated the Administration’s intent to propose additional rules to implement the contraceptive coverage requirement in a way that would accommodate the concerns of nonexempt religious employers with objections to providing, paying for or referring for contraceptive coverage. While this new development seemed at the time to be a good first step, our examination and study of the proposal as outlined then and in the ANPRM [Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking] has not relieved our initial concerns. Accordingly, for the reasons set forth below, we continue to believe that it is imperative for the Administration to abandon the narrow definition of “religious employer” and instead use an expanded definition to exempt from the contraceptive mandate not only churches, but also Catholic hospitals, health care organizations and other ministries of the Church.

“If the government insists that all employees have access to contraceptive coverage without cost sharing, then it should provide and pay for these services directly,” the CHA statement emphasized.

Iran, world powers begin new round of nuclear talks

MOSCOW (LA Times) — Representatives of six world powers met here with Iranian officials for more than two hours Monday morning, discussing the Tehran regime's nuclear program, but the Iranians criticized the group and spoke gloomily about prospects for the talks.


In the third such meeting this year, the world powers -- Britain, France, Russia, China, Germany and the United States -- again sought Iran's reaction to a proposal aimed at halting the most worrisome part of Iran's controversial nuclear program. But the Iranians complained that the world powers had not done enough to prepare for the meeting, and demanded again that the group recognize what the Iranians view as their right to enrich uranium.


An Iranian official told reporters that chances for progress at the talks appeared to be "minimal."


In another worrisome sign, the senior Iranian negotiator, Saeed Jalili, told representatives of the six powers that he needed to break off the talks at 6 p.m. local time to dine with Russian officials. Past meetings have usually gone later.


The morning session, taking place at a Moscow hotel, broke after 1 p.m. for lunch, with plans to resume for another session later in the afternoon.


Iran's complaints may be an attempt to deflect blame if the talks grind to a halt, or they could be no more than a negotiating maneuver. Iranian diplomats seemed ready to bargain at the first meeting this year, but turned sour at the second meeting when the six powers gave no ground on their demands.


A Western diplomat said the six hoped to create a "continuing process" of negotiations at the meeting and didn't expect either a breakdown or a breakthrough.


A senior European official said the six powers would add no sweeteners to their proposal. But another Western diplomat said there would be a new emphasis in their presentation concerning what they can do for Iran's sputtering economy.


The meetings come less than two weeks before the scheduled effective date for new sanctions against Iran from the United States and the European Union.


Western officials say it remains unclear whether the Iranian regime is willing to accept a damaged economy as the price of a nuclear weapons capability.

GOOD NEWS IS NO NEWS

(Catholic League)  Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments as follows:
 
In 2002, the bishops assembled in Dallas amidst a media frenzy to consider reforms to combat the sexual abuse of minors. Today the bishops are meeting in Atlanta to assess them. But there is no media frenzy this time around. That’s because the reforms worked.
 
Over the past week, not a single media outlet provided an in-depth assessment of the ten-year anniversary of the reforms, and the few that mentioned it at all were mostly flawed. The Boston Globe won a Pulitzer Prize for its work exposing the scandal in the Archdiocese of Boston in 2002, but in today’s newspaper its entire coverage amounts to one sentence. And even that is factually inaccurate: it mentions the problem of “pedophile priests.” Ten years ago it correctly noted that nearly 8 in 10 victims were “post-pubescent” males. Which, of course, means we are dealing with homosexuality, not pedophilia. The cover-up is striking.
 
Similarly, Susan Hogan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s editorial board writes of “Catholic priests raping children.” This is also factually incorrect: most of the victims were not children—they were adolescents—and the most common infraction was “inappropriate touching,” not rape. David Gibson’s piece on the anniversary, written for the Religion News Service, leaves the reader straining to find a single good thing about the reforms. The CBS affiliate in Chicago uncritically cites an Illinois judge, Ann Burke, to the effect that the scandal continues to this day: not only is Burke factually incorrect, she is on record opposing civil liberties for accused priests.
 
We don’t expect the media to cheer whenever the Catholic Church, or any organization, does good. But when an institution is put under the microscope for wrongdoing, and subsequently makes yeoman reforms, it smacks of bias not to report it. And it smacks of politics to pretend that while most gay priests are not molesters, most of the molesters have been gay. 

Michigan religious order criticizes the LCWR

(Catholic World Report) The Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma, Michigan have released what is, to the best of my knowledge, the first statement by an American order of women religious that openly criticizes the response of the LCWR to the Vatican’s recent doctrinal assessment.

The Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma (founded in 1973) are “dedicated to the Spiritual and Corporal works of Mercy” and operate Sacred Heart Mercy Healthcare Center, which, according to its website, “provides care for the whole person, working to heal those who are suffering from physical, psychological, intellectual, and spiritual woundedness.”

The statement touching on the recent actions of the LCWR is from those members of the Religious Sisters of Mercy who are physicians and physicians-in-training, and presents the community’s “vision of the religious woman in medicine” in addition to taking issue with the statements of the LCWR that “have created confusion, polarization, and false representations about the beliefs, activities, and priorities of a significant number of women religious in the United States.”

The doctrinal assessment from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) regarding the LCWR is in the language of faith. The responses of opposition are being expressed using the language of politics. There is no basis for authentic dialogue between these two languages.

…

The language of politics arises from the social marketplace. The Sisters who use political language in their responses to the magisterial Church reflect the poverty of their education and formation in the faith.

The sisters’ statement describes a call to the religious life as “a gift from God, not a right,” and emphasizes, “A woman religious…cannot separate her work from the Church.”

We praise the generosity and service of religious women who have gone before us. We see great hope for the future of religious life within the Church and for a continuation of its health care mission in the service of all people. This hope lies in remaining within the deposit of faith and the hierarchical structure of the Church. We cannot separate ourselves from sacred Tradition or claim to advance beyond the Church.

Catholic News Agency’s article on the order’s statement includes an interview with Sr. Jane Mary Firestone, RSM, one of the sisters involved in drafting the statement:

“[The LCWR has] taken this into the public political arena and it no longer stays in the dialogue of faith. Representation is always possible, dialogue is always possible, but it’s with the reverence towards the hierarchical Church.”

…

Sr. Firestone said that while Catholics do not believe the bishops are canonized saints, they are “not just ‘a bunch of men.’”

Those who live as religious women should, “live in the dimension of faith all the time” and recognize when they fail to do so, she said.

The Religious Sisters of Mercy belong to the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious, a Vatican-approved congregation of women religious superiors established as an alternative to the LCWR in 1992.

Today on "Kresta in the Afternoon" - June 14, 2012

Talking about the "things that matter most" on June 14

4:00 – Michael Novak: A Life
We sit down with American Catholic philosopher, journalist, novelist, and diplomat Michael Novak. He gives us a retrospective of his friendship with Blessed John Paul II, his reporting on Vatican II, his time as US Ambassador to the Vatican, the worldwide impact of his book The Spirit of Democratic Capitalism, his most significant influences, and so much more.

5:00 – Tensions in American Conservatism
It is often claimed that “social conservatism” with its concerns for social issues such as life, marriage, and religious liberty, is at odds with the “fiscal conservative” commitment to limited government and individual liberty. Jay Richards argues that both streams of modern conservatism flow from the same philosophical sources, and underscores the underlying unity of social and economic issues. He joins us.

5:30 – It Takes a Family
At a point in history in which we have to defend the most basic building block of society – marriage – we need the leadership, boldness, and intelligence of people like Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse. Dr. Morse is here to discuss the history of marriage, the economics of marriage, and the common sense approach to convincing your family, friends and coworkers that a marriage between a man and a woman open to new life is best for society, children, and the future.

Pope explains how to let God work wonders

(CNA) Pope Benedict XVI says that the life of St. Paul shows that God can work wonders through those who grow ever closer to him in prayer.


“As our union with the Lord grows and our prayer becomes more intense, we too come to focus on the essential and to understand that it is not the power of our own means that creates the Kingdom of God, but God who works miracles through our very weakness,” the Pope said during the June 13 general audience in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall.


Continuing his recent weekly exploration of the lessons taught by the prayer life of St. Paul, Pope Benedict turned to the apostle’s experience of contemplative prayer as recorded in his Second Letter to the Corinthians.


He noted that in “defending the legitimacy of his apostolate, Paul appeals above all to his profound closeness to the Lord in prayer, marked by moments of ecstasy, visions and revelations,” and yet, at the same time, he also “willingly boasts of his weakness, in order that the power of Christ might dwell in him.”


St. Paul uses this approach because he is eager for his readers to understand how “all the difficulties we meet in following Christ,” including “suffering, difficulty and persecution,” can be overcome “by opening ourselves trustingly to the action of the Lord,” the Pope said.

The example of his life and trials should remind all Christians that it is “at the moment we feel our own weakness that the power of God becomes manifest.”


Thus, “in a world in which we risk relying only on the power of human means,” St. Paul calls us to “rediscover and bear witness to the power of prayer, through which we grow day by day as our lives are conformed to that of Christ.”


Pope Benedict recalled that the Protestant theologian and 1952 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Albert Schweitzer described St. Paul as “a mystic and nothing more than a mystic,” since the Apostle was a man so “truly enamored of Christ and so united to him as to be able to say: Christ lives in me.”


The lesson for our own lives, suggested the Pope, is to follow his example and “remain constant and faithful in our relationship with God, especially in moments of aridity, difficulty and suffering.”

Only then will we be able to face difficulties as St. Paul did, “in the conviction that we can do all things through him who gives us strength.”

The Pope added that by giving more room to prayer “we will see our lives transformed and animated by the real power of God's love.”

He observed that this was the experience of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta who in her contemplation of Jesus “discovered the ultimate reason and incredible strength to recognize him in the poor and abandoned, despite her fragile figure.”

This is because, contrary to the suggestion of some, contemplation of Jesus Christ in prayer “does not distance us from reality” but “makes us ever more involved in human affairs” because the Lord draws us to himself in prayer, enabling us “to remain close to all our brothers and sisters in his love.”

Bishop Fellay, doctrinal officials meet for discussions at Vatican

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior general of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, met for more than two hours with officials of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith June 13.


The Vatican did not immediately issue a statement on the meeting, part of ongoing talks aimed at reconciling the breakaway group with the Catholic Church. The society's founder, the late French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who rejected some teachings of the Second Vatican Council and the modernizing reforms instituted in its wake, was excommunicated for ordaining Bishop Fellay and three other bishops without papal permission in 1988. 


In April, Bishop Fellay submitted to the Vatican his second official response to a "doctrinal preamble" outlining what the Vatican said were "some doctrinal principles and criteria for the interpretation of Catholic doctrine necessary to guarantee fidelity" to the formal teaching of the church, presumably including the teachings of the Second Vatican Council.


The bishop's reply was studied by the cardinal-members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and, ultimately, by Pope Benedict XVI.


The cardinals and the pope had studied Bishop Fellay's first response, which was submitted in January, and later issued a statement saying his position "is not sufficient to overcome the doctrinal problems that are at the basis of the fracture between the Holy See and the society."


While Bishop Fellay has been generally positive about the possibility of reconciliation with Rome, leaked letters show that the society's three other bishops have had serious reservations about the process.


In May, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said, "In consideration of the positions taken by the three other bishops of the Society of St. Pius, their situation will have to be treated separately and individually" from the effort to reconcile with the SSPX as a whole and with Bishop Fellay.


"It is not that this is a process that necessarily will reach a solution that embraces all the positions" found among all the SSPX members, Father Lombardi said in May.


Pope Benedict's latest efforts to bring about reconciliation with the traditionalist group began when he lifted the excommunications incurred by Bishop Fellay and the other SSPX bishops after they were ordained without papal permission. The pope also established a Vatican committee for doctrinal talks with society representatives in 2009 and drafted the "doctrinal preamble" to explain the "minimal, essential" elements on which the society would have to agree for full reconciliation, Father Lombardi had said.


When the Vatican's doctrinal discussions with the society began in 2009, both sides said the key issues to be discussed included the concept of tradition in general, as well as the Second Vatican Council's teaching on the liturgy, the unity of the church, ecumenism, interreligious dialogue and religious freedom.

Rubio defends Florida voter roll purge

(USA Today) Florida Sen. Marco Rubio on Tuesday defended controversial efforts by Florida Gov. Rick Scott to purge the Sunshine State's voter rolls, denying it has targeted Hispanics.


"I wouldn't characterize it as an effort to purge Latinos from the voting rolls," Rubio told reporters at a breakfast hosted by Bloomberg News. "I think there's the goal of ensuring that everyone who votes in Florida is qualified to vote. If you're not a citizen of the United States, you shouldn't be voting. That's the law."


Rubio, the highest-ranking Hispanic official in Florida, is seen as a potential pick by likely GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney as a running mate. Scott is also a Republican.


The Justice Department on Tuesday filed suit against the state to stop the voter purge, arguing in part that it violates a federal law that bans such steps within 90 days of a federal election. (Florida's primary is Aug. 14.) The ACLU of Florida also has filed a lawsuit, saying the effort violates the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which protects minority groups.


The civil liberties organization says Hispanics make up 14% of the Florida electorate but are 61% of several thousand registered voters who have been told to provide proof of citizenship or lose their right to vote.


Meanwhile, Florida is suing the federal Department of Homeland Security to get access to a database the state says could help identify non-citizens on the voter rolls. So far, state officials say 96 ineligible voters have been identified.


Rubio said there could be "a legitimate debate" about how to carry out the purge, but he called it a worthwhile effort.


"We know that there are at least 80 to 90 names on the list that don't belong," he said. "We should be concerned about that. We should be concerned about people that are registered in multiple states. And we should be concerned about our list that includes the names of people who have passed away, because I think that could lend itself to mayhem and madness."

Federal deficit totals $844.5B through 8 months

WASHINGTON (AP) – The federal budget deficit is approaching $1 trillion for a fourth straight year even though the government is collecting more tax revenue than last year.


The Treasury Department said Tuesday that the deficit grew by $124.6 billion in May. That put the deficit through the first eight months of the budget year at $844.5 billion, or 8.9% below last year's imbalance for the same period.


Still, the Congressional Budget office forecasts that the deficit for the entire 2012 budget year, which ends Sept. 30, will total $1.17 trillion. That's only a slight improvement from the $1.3 trillion deficit recorded in fiscal 2011. And it is certain to keep the federal budget near the center of the presidential campaign.
So far this year, government receipts are running 5.3% higher than a year ago. A better job market and modest economic growth have led to higher tax revenue.


Receipts in May totaled $180.7 billion, the second-largest tax take for the month of May.


Rising tax collections have also helped state governments. U.S. states expect to collect higher tax revenue in the coming budget year that combined will top the collections being received before the recession, according to the findings of a survey released Tuesday by the National Governors Association and the National Association of State Budget Officers.


The extra tax revenue hasn't cooled the budget debate in Washington.


President Obama and Republicans remain at odds over how much to spend, where to cut and whether they tax increases should be on the table.


Obama submitted a budget to Congress in February that calls for $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade through a combination of spending cuts and tax hikes on the wealthy.


Republicans have rejected the tax increases and want deeper cuts in government programs. The GOP-controlled House has approved a budget that calls for deep cuts in Medicare and other programs and a new round of tax cuts that would favor wealthy Americans.


The House-approved spending plan has no chance of winning approval in the Senate, where Democrats hold a slim majority. That sets the stage for gridlock until after the November elections when lawmakers will be faced with a number of end-of-the-year deadlines.


Mitt Romney, the Republican presidential nominee, has proposed broad but largely unspecified spending cuts. Romney also wants to cut taxes further.


Tax cuts approved during President George W. Bush's administration are scheduled to expire at the end of December. In addition, a set of automatic spending cuts totaling about $1.2 trillion over 10 years are scheduled to kick in. Both parties oppose the automatic spending reductions because they include deep cuts in defense.


However, they have been unable to reach an agreement so far on alternate spending cuts or tax increases that would prevent the automatic to keep the automatic cuts from taking effect.
The government last recorded an annual budget surplus in 2001. Deficits returned after Bush won approval for the broad tax cuts, pushed a major drug benefit program for seniors and launched wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.


The deficit grew further under Obama. The Great Recession shrank tax revenue as unemployment rose and income fell. The deficits have topped $1 trillion in each of Obama's first three years in office.

Sex-Selection in America: Part 4 - Undercover in Hawaii

Two new expose’ videos reveal the Hawaii-based Planned Parenthood abortion business selling taxpayer-funded abortions to women posing as potential customers seeking an abortion for purposes of sex-selection.

Live Action released new undercover footage today showing two Planned Parenthood clinics, in Maui and Honolulu, advising undercover investigators on how to procure a sex-selective abortion of her baby girl because she wants a boy instead. Officials with the group say Planned Parenthood claims publicly to condemn sex-selective abortion but continues to provide them to women who request them.

The Planned Parenthood Maui Clinic worker counsels Live Action’s undercover journalist to wait for a late-term abortion to double-check that the baby is actually a girl before killing her. Then, another worker at Planned Parenthood Honolulu makes sure the woman signs up for QUEST, Hawaii’s taxpayer-funded insurance, which will pay for her elective, late-term, sex-selective abortion.