Monthly Archives: August 2012

Citizen's Council for Health Freedom Says Medicare Needs Replacement, Not Rescue

Posted: August 31, 2012 at 4:21 pm

ST. PAUL, MN--(Marketwire -08/31/12)- Much talk has ensued about Congressman and Vice Presidential candidate Paul Ryan regarding his Medicare reform program. While the plan takes important steps toward fixing the ills of an expensive, unfunded liability, the Citizens' Council for Health Freedom says an exit path to move away from Medicare completely to a more efficient, effective and individually maintained plan is necessary to meet the care and coverage needs of the coming generations of seniors.

The Ryan plan proposes repealing Obamacare and its rationing board, the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). However, it proposes the implementation of a government "exchange for Medicare plans" which would act very much like the exchanges in the Affordable Care Act, with many of the same cost and privacy intrusion pitfalls.

"While the Ryan plan makes some important strides by recognizing the coming Medicare crisis, it needs to go a step further and create a substitute for the rising generations of seniors who have paid into a program that is expected to be bankrupt in the very near future," said Twila Brase, President on the Citizens' Council for Health Freedom. "While Ryan's plan wisely moves Medicare to a 'premium support'-defined contribution program, it is still a government entitlement program for all citizens age 65 and older. We envision a future where citizens buy their own life-long insurance policies free of political agendas, beltway bureaucracy, and Congressional budget constraints. Once Obamacare is repealed, free-market health insurance programs will provide the best opportunity to meet the needs of future senior citizens without the inefficiency and high cost of government involvement."

The Citizens' Council for Health Freedom applauds Congressman Ryan for opening a national dialogue about the critical precipice that Medicare is on. But in order to make meaningful strides in creating a program that supports high-quality care and suits the needs of each individual, the Citizens' Council for Health Freedom asserts that the free market offers the best way to achieve those goals.

Twila Brase is president and co-founder of the Citizens' Council for Health Freedom. She has been called one of the "100 Most Powerful People in Health Care" and one of "Minnesota's 100 Most Influential Health Care Leaders." The Council's efforts have stopped government-issued treatment directives, added informed consent requirements for access to patient data and defeated a proposed Health Insurance Exchange. Brase's daily radio commentary, Health Freedom Minute, is a 60-second radio address on pressing health care issues. She has been interviewed by CNN, Fox News, Minnesota Public Radio, NBC Nightly News, NBC's Today Show, NPR, New York Public Radio, the Associated Press, Modern Healthcare, TIME, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The Washington Times, among others.

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Citizen's Council for Health Freedom Says Medicare Needs Replacement, Not Rescue

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Jacquot's Single Wins It for Freedom

Posted: at 6:18 am

August 30, 2012 - Frontier League (FL) Florence Freedom Normal, IL - Jim Jacquot's RBI single in the top of the ninth proved to be the game winner for the Florence Freedom(54-39) as they defeated the Normal CornBelters(28-65) Thursday night 1-0.

With the Freedom's win and the Schaumburg Boomers 9-1 loss to Southern Illinois, the Freedom will enter their final regular season series Friday against Evansville in sole possession of the final wild card spot.

Freedom starter Andres Caceres took a no decision for a fifth straight game as he went 6.2 innings allowing 5 hits with 5 walks and 6 strikeouts.

Brent Choban(3-1) earned the win out of the bullpen pitching .2 innings with a strikeout. Jorge Marban collected his 15th save working a 1-2-3 ninth.

Jacquot paced the Freedom offense by going 2-4 with the game winning RBI.

The game was scoreless until the ninth inning. Eddie Rodriguez led off with a single. Kyle Bluestein then pinch ran and stole second while Drew Rundle struck out at the plate. Jacquot then lined a pitch into right field scoring Bluestein on his 52nd RBI of the season.

The Freedom continue their six game road trip Friday night in Evansville, Indiana against the Otters.

RHP Andy Clark(1-1, 2.55) takes the mound for Florence while Evansville will have LHP Matt Zielinski(7-6, 3.93) on the hill. The game can be heard starting at 7:20 pm with Steve Jarnicki on Real Talk 1160 AM and realtalk1160.com.

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At RNC, Dolan prays for freedom, just government

Posted: at 6:18 am

New York archbishop Cardinal Timothy Dolan delivered the benediction Thursday night at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., minutes after former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney accepted the party's nomination for president of the United States.

Appearing on stage beside only Speaker of the House Rep. John Boehner, and after hundreds of red, white and blue balloons fell from the ceiling of the Tampa Bay Times Forum, Dolan began his prayer by asking for God's "continued blessings on this sanctuary of freedom, and on all of those who proudly call America home" and "upon those yet to be born and on those who are about to see you at the end of this life."

The archbishop continued, asking God's guidance for Romney, vice-president candidate Rep. Paul Ryan, those in and seeking public office to "remember that the only just government is the government that serves its citizens instead of itself."

The prayer, lasting just over four minutes, was much anticipated by Catholics and other observers, eager to hear what Dolan would say and if his words would suggest any partisan leaning.

Much debate followed the archbishop's acceptance Aug. 23 of the GOP's invitation to pray with their delegates in Tampa, with many questioning whether Dolan, the president of the U.S. bishops' conference, by his presence would signal support of one party over another.

Some of the uproar subsided Tuesday when it was announced Dolan would also lead the final benediction of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.

In his benediction, broadcasted live by only a few networks, Dolan focused a significant portion of his prayer on freedom, saying, "Almighty God, who gives us the sacred and inalienable gift of life, we thank you as well for the singular gift of liberty.

"Renew in all of our people a respect for religious freedom in full, that first most cherished freedom. Make us truly free by tethering freedom to truth and ordering freedom to goodness.

Help us live our freedom in faith, hope and love, prudently and with justice, courageously and in a spirit of moderation, and kindle in our hearts a new sense of responsibility for freedoms cause and make us ever grateful for all those for who for more than two centuries have given their lives in freedoms defense."

Below is Dolan's benediction in full:

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At RNC, Dolan prays for freedom, just government

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Liberty University preview capsule

Posted: at 6:18 am

LYNCHBURG, Va. --

The skinny

Coach: Turner Gill (first season at Liberty, 25-49 in six seasons overall)

2011: 7-4, 5-1 Big South

Offense: Gill's first task is a formidable one: replace Mike Brown, arguably the most prolific dual-threat quarterback in Big South Conference history. Junior Brian Hudson and redshirt freshman Josh Woodrum are first in line for the job. Gone, too, is standout wide receiver Chris Summers. The Flames return abundant experience at running back. Senior wideout Pat Kelly caught 40 passes for 591 yards last year. He likely will become the new QB's primary downfield target.

Defense: Liberty's shift from a three-man front to a 4-3 will add emphasis upon defensive-line play. Three experienced linemen return, but quality depth is a question. Depth at linebacker, on the other hand, is plentiful. It begins with sophomore Nick Sigmon (60 tackles, 30 solo, in 2011). Cornerbacks Kevin Fogg, a senior; Walt Aikens, a junior; and junior safety Chris Mayo lead a solid secondary.

Special teams: The departures of kicker Matt Bevins and punter Mike Larsson represent a substantial problem. Sophomore kicker Aaron Sassaman and junior punter Grant Bowden, a transfer from Virginia Tech, are regarded as likely replacements. Fogg is a first-rate kickoff/punt returner.

Quotable: "Mental errors we're trying to make sure that's something we can control. We want to minimize (lapses of awareness). That's the quickest way to lose a football game not doing the small things, the detail things, right." Gill, on his team's area of greatest emphasis at the conclusion of preseason training camp

Outlook: The success of Liberty's season depends on two periods of adjustment the team to Gill and the offense to its new quarterback. The Flames likely will not match last year's 35.9-point offensive average. The defense, which allowed an average of 34.5 points in last season's four losses, must quickly become surly if Liberty is to challenge preseason favorite Stony Brook for the Big South championship.

Bottom line: 8-3, 5-1 (second in the Big South)

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Catchings, Douglas lead Fever past Liberty 76-63

Posted: at 6:18 am

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- After a sluggish first half for both teams, Indiana picked up its play in the third quarter. When New York nearly got even early in the fourth, the Fever again ran away from the Liberty.

Tamika Catchings scored 22 points and Katie Douglas had 15 to lead Indiana to a 76-63 victory over New York on Thursday night. Shavonte Zellous added 11 points to help the Fever (16-8) win their fourth straight and sixth in seven games since the league's monthlong Olympic break.

''This was a game we needed to win,'' Catchings said. ''We came out really focused and determined to do a good job. I don't think we started the game off the way that we should've and are capable of. The third quarter in the first couple of minutes, we got the rhythm getting up and down the court.''

The Fever remained 2 1/2 games behind first-place Connecticut in the Eastern Conference with 10 games remaining. Atlanta, which has eight left, is four games behind Indiana.

''My goal for this team is to continue to get better and not really focus where we stand in the playoff (race),'' Catchings said. ''Just be concerned every single game with who we're playing. ... Coming back from the break into the second half we wanted to focus and get a sense of urgency and I feel we're starting to play with that. ... We have to continue to build off that.''

Cappie Pondexter and Essence Carson had 18 points each, and Nicole Powell added 12 for New York (9-16), which lost its third straight and fifth of its last seven.

Trailing by 10 about midway through the third quarter, the Liberty used a 12-3 run over a 4:10 stretch, capped by 3-pointers from Powell and Carson to cut the deficit to 43-42 with 1:15 left in the third.

Zellous made a 3 for Indiana 26 seconds later to push the margin back to four, and the Fever took a 49-46 lead into the fourth. Pondexter and Carson sandwiched layups for New York around a jumper by Jessica Davenport to pull the Liberty to 51-50 with 9:10 remaining in the game.

However, Indiana scored the next 12 points to regain a double-digit lead. Catchings had two free throws, Douglas made a 3-pointer, Davenport had two layups and Jeanette Pohlen added a 3 to push the Fever's lead to 63-50 with 6:10 to go.

The Liberty made one more run, scoring five consecutive points, capped by a layup from Carson to cut the deficit to 65-58 about 2 1/2 minutes later. But that was as close as they got.

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Ukrainian press freedom in the spotlight

Posted: August 30, 2012 at 10:13 pm

Freedom of the press is restricted in Ukraine. But the World Newspaper Conference begins there next weekend. Can Ukrainian media gain more rights through the event?

From Michael Golden, vice chairman of the New York Times Company, to Rainer Esser, managing director of German newspaper "Die Zeit," the list of speakers at this year's World Newspaper Congress and World Editor's Forum in Kiev, Ukraine is a who's who of global media players. But one name on the list, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, has come under growing criticism for his government's restrictions on the media.

Growing pressure on journalists

Since taking office, Yanukovych has stated on a number of occasions that press freedom is something he cares for and protects. But the reality looks somewhat different. In 2010, Yanukovych declared Kiev's media union itself "the number one enemy of the press." ON these grounds, the president's bodyguards repeatedly hindered journalists' work. Further, television reports critcial of the president were prevented from being aired.

Ukrainian journalists protest in Kiev in June 2010

International rights organization Reporters Without Borders (RWB) has reported a dramatic decrease in press freedom in Ukraine. RWB's executive director Christian Mihr said pressure on journalists has been mounting in the lead up to October general elections in the country. In RWB's latest press freedom ranking, Ukraine came in at spot 116 out of 179 countries. That was much better than their 2010 spot, but significantly worse than 2009. Under former President Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine was in spot 89 on the list.

Impetus to boycott Kiev

Against this backdrop, the question arises whether the World Newspaper Congress should even be hosted in a country like Ukraine. Wouldn't it make more sense to boycott the event? In spring 2012, a boycott by leaders including German President Joachim Gauck forced Ukrainian leaders to cancel a summit of central European countries in Yalta. The Euro 2012 soccer tournament in Ukraine in June also saw top European politicians refusing to attend in protest of Ukraine's dismantling of democracy.

Several days before the World Newspaper Congress, the general director of Ukrainian broadcaster TVi discussed a possible boycott. Mykola Knyaschyzki said holding the event in Ukraine gave the false appearance that the country has a free press.

"The Ukrainian regime is somewhat legitimized by participating in the form," he told DW.

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Gold, Copper Explorer Liberty Star Receives ZTEM Proposal for the Tombstone Super Project – Southeastern Arizona

Posted: at 10:13 pm

TUCSON, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Mineral explorer Liberty Star Uranium & Metals Corp. (Liberty Star or the Company)(LBSR: OTCQB) is pleased to announce that a proposal for a helicopter-borne ZTEM (geophysical) survey has been received from Geotech LTD (Geotech) of Ontario, Canada, covering the Hay Mountain and other lands comprising the Companys Tombstone Super Project (TSP) in southeastern Arizona. The survey will also cover other land within and around the Tombstone caldera.

Geotech proposes 1,440 flight lines investigating the geophysical response in a single block measuring survey area, results in approximately 2,430 line kilometers at 200 meter line spacing. According to Geotech, The proprietary receiver design using the advantages of modern digital electronics and signal processing delivers exceptionally low-noise levels. The result is unparalleled depth of investigation in precision electromagnetic measurements with a geophysical measurement every 8.5 meters along the lines and a penetration of approximately 6,000 feet below the land surface. Liberty Stars target elements are gold, copper, moly, silver, rare earth metals, lead and zinc, along with other byproduct metals occurring in a porphyry gold copper environment, as indicated by Liberty Stars detailed geochemical survey results (News Release 127, June 29, 2012).

James A. Briscoe James A. Briscoe, Professional Geologist, AZ CA CEO/Chief Geologist Liberty Star Uranium & Metals Corp.

About the Tombstone Super Project (TSP)

The TSP initially consisted of 33 unpatented federal lode mining claims over a projected covered porphyry copper mineral center in Cochise County, Arizona. InSeptember 2011, more claims coveringapproximately eight square miles were added after Chief Geologist James Briscoe discovered a large multimodal anomaly over a large covered porphyry copper mineral center within the larger TSP area. In 2011, SRK Consulting prepared three NI 43-101 compliant technical reports over Liberty Stars holdings. Each report recommended further exploration on the area. An extensive geochemical survey for 64 elements revealed the presence of porphyry copper, gold, silver, lead, moly, zinc and several rare earth elements. Mining throughout the region began in the late 19th century and led to the rise of legendary boomtown Tombstone, Arizona. Many of the old mining sites, and what is now Liberty Stars unmined land, reside within or adjacent to a large volcanic and intrusive geologic feature known as a caldera. These caldera structures are present throughout southern Arizona, making the region one of the richest porphyry copper areas on the planet.

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Second Amendment Limits to Gun Ownership

Posted: at 10:12 pm

The Second Amendment protects the right of all citizens to keep and bear arms but like any other legal right it has its limits.

Those limits have been clarified several times by the U.S. Supreme Court, most recently in 2008. But the development of new and more sophisticated weaponry opens up the possibility for renewed investigation.

Justice Antonin Scalia, whose decisions generally favor gun rights, recently told Fox News that Second Amendment rights are certainly limited although he didn't elaborate how. To speculate on what he might have meant, it's helpful to understand what limits already exist.

The most recent decision on Second Amendment rights, U.S. v. Heller, prohibited any kind of complete ban on a category of guns.

At issue was a D.C. law banning ownership of any handguns. That law was struck down and the decision effectively barred states from implementing similar laws.

No state can take it away your Second Amendment rights. But they can place limits on it.

The way most states regulate guns is through licensing requirements and bans on certain guns within a given class. Those kinds of limits have generally been upheld by courts and Heller doesn't stop them.

That means state assault weapon bans and restrictive license and permitting laws are generally acceptable limits on Second Amendment rights.

One of the more famous examples of highly restrictive gun laws is federal regulation of fully automatic weapons or machine guns.

Machines guns aren't banned in the U.S.; Heller likely wouldn't allow it. But they are subject to intense regulation. Under the National Firearms Act, prospective owners must apply to the U.S. Treasury Department for special permission to own machine guns.

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Freedom Outslug CornBelters

Posted: at 3:16 pm

August 30, 2012 - Frontier League (FL) Florence Freedom NORMAL, IL - The Florence Freedom bats stayed hot again Wednesday night on the road against the Normal Cornbelters, as the Freedom won 10-6.

John Malloy helped led a balanced Freedom offensive attack by going 2-4 with his 14th home run of the season. He was aided by a big offensive from designated hitter Peter Fatse who went 3-5 with two RBI.

A see-saw battle was finally put away with a three run fourth inning that included Fatse's double to score two and an RBI single by Freedom catcher Jim Jacquot.

Brent Choban (2-1) got the win for the Freedom in relief of starter Brandon Mathes who lasted just three innings. Choban tossed two innings for the Freedom and was aided by the offense in the fourth.

The Cornbelters never got within four of the Freedom after the fourth inning thanks to relief efforts by Mike Hanley, Jose Velazquez and Matt Kline.

The win moved the Freedom's record to 53-39, most every since the Freedom moved to Florence in 2003, and allowed them to keep pace with the Schaumburg Boomers for the Frontier League's final wild card spot.

The Freedom go for the sweep Thursday night in Normal. Game time 7:30 as Andres Caceres (7-3) takes the ball for Florence. Listen to the game live Thursday night on Real Talk 1160 AM with Freedom voice Steve Jarnicki. Pregame show starts at 7:15 pm.

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Christians join free speech protest

Posted: at 3:15 pm

Secularists, Christians and a gay rights campaigner have struck up an unlikely alliance in support of free speech.

Veteran gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell was joined outside the Houses of Parliament this morning by The Christian Institute's Simon Calvert and Keith Porteous Wood of the National Secular Society.

They were calling for reform of Section 5 of the 1986 Public Order Act, which outlaws "insulting words or behaviour".

The campaigners argue that Section 5 dangerously restricts freedom of speech and want to see the word "insulting" removed.

Tatchell was arrested under Section 5 whilst protesting against Iran's treatment of homosexuals.

The campaigners carried placards saying "do you know your horse is --- " in reference to an Oxford student who was arrested under Section 5 when he said to a policeman, "Excuse me, do you know your horse is gay?" Police accused the student of homophobia but he was later released after prosecutors abandoned the case.

Christians have also been affected by Section 5. Police officers warned Jamie Murray that the display of passages from the New Testament in his Christian cafe could be in breach of Section 5.

Christian hotel owners, Ben and Sharon Vogelenzang, were charged under Section 5 after a row with a Muslim guest over breakfast. Their case was eventually thrown out by a district judge but the high profile court case had a "devastating" impact on their business, which subsequently suffered an 80 per cent drop in income.

The campaign has gained cross-party support and is being led in Parliament by David Davis MP.

The Home Office is due to report on its consultation into Section 5.

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