Live Blog from the Anchor Desk 11/12/09
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Tonight new details on the suspected Fort Hood gunman. New suggestions his problems were overlooked and he was promoted due to political correctness. We're keeping them honest. Plus, new data on the number of swine flu deaths. Plus, Anderson and Erica chat with Oscar the Grouch.
Want to know what else we're covering? Read EVENING BUZZ
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@Isabel it also saddens me as a catholic myslef it's sad when it's everyothing you believe in is turned upside down .
Great interview, Gary T.
FYI – Federal Election Commission Records show the RNC purchases its insurance from Cigna. Two sales agents for the company said that the RNC’s policy covers elective abortion. Just a little hypocrisy....
Contradiction alert! The Catholic Church is ready to excommunicate congressmen who vote for pro-choice oriented legislation, but they won't do the same to a priest who fathered a child? The irony is thick...
The church hides these criminals. I wonder how the parishioners feel about paying for these priests' sins?
They keep saying that periest should be alloweed to marry and that this wouldn't happen if they were allowed to
@David Gergen,
It annoys me that women's health and reproductive issues are so offensive to the conservatives, but I also don't want to see health care legislation held up because of it. Of course it'll cover Viagra and other ED treatments for men! Because apparently men have the right to have sex. The underlying message is that men have a right to sex while women are punished for it.
However, I don't think this is the right time for this fight. Get health care passed and address these inequities later.
@ David Gergen
I think that women and our rights should stop being the political football for people in Congress that profess that they want government to stay out of our lives, but then proceed to pass amendments like these. While I do not think that federal funds should be used for abortions, I also think that to prohibit the language for abortion to be covered even with private funds in the insurance exchange is wrong. Just say that if your coverage is publicly funded abortion is not covered, deny it. However if I pay for the plan on my own , it's my private decision. Asking women to buy a separate rider is an insult because it feeds into the stereotype that women plan to have abortions. It is insulting to our intelligence and our ability to make our own decisions.
The church needs to examine the word celebant. I think it reads celebrate not celebant. 🙂 I am sorry for the sad and tragic story. Celebancy is not working!
It is never good to keep secret.
"But there is nothing carefully concealed that will not be revealed, and cecret that will not become known." Luke 12:2
I hope the child get better, and the child gets the help he needs.
I'm Catholic and I'm aware that such stories are not rare, but that story impresses and saddens me because it goes against everything I learned in Church.
@David Gergen, there are so many means of birth control available that there is no need to fund abortions. The vast majority of abortions are just after the fact birth control. Let those who want a 'choice' make a choice for responsible sex.
She was wrong to believe that the church would give her money .They would only want her to go away and not cause further scandal .
This woman should not have had any invlovement with preist . My heart breaks for her son it's very sad .
@ Isabel Siaba (Brazil),
I agree with you completely!
And she really thought that the Church would be there for her, after 'signing' them both away?
absolutely absurd!
Greetings everyone from rain-soaked NC. The priest’s secret son story is both sad and troubling.
How many people die each year of the regular flu?
Gary is right, the church should have thrown him out and told him to support his kid.
How many people have died as result of swine flu ? The numbers seem to be growing despite the vaccine being availabe .Is only certain numbers of people getting this vaccine now or is it avaible to everyone ?
The church will give out hush money for molestation but they won't pay for this? This is sad.
"A Priest's Secret Son" – what a tragic story. My heart goes out to the mother and her son.
Hello everyone - thanks for tuning in tonight. The Stupak amendment in health care says that if a woman buys health insurance in one of the new exchanges and her insurance is partially paid for by the federal government, the insurance plan could not cover abortion. She would have to buy a separate "rider".
Pro-choice groups say that few poor women would buy such riders because (a) they wouldn't have the money; (b) a woman would not buy an insurance plan for an unplanned abortion, and (c) no one can be certain that insurance companies will actually offer such riders. So, the argument goes, many women who might otherwise get insurance for abortion will not get it - and that will hit poor women the hardest.
What do you think?
The church has left their own priest in rooms to die alone, why would they not do the same to a "secret" son?
HI Erica nice to have you on blog tonight .
@ Gail
Thanks for the comments – You have raised some important things to check about the health care bill; I'll have to read the Stupak amendment for myself.
Swine flew has now killed about 4,000 according to the CDC. That's 3X the deaths from Katrina, and about the same as the Iraq war or 9/11. Where is the outrage at the Administration over the lack of a vaccine?
Yet again , the Catholic church is hiding secrets yet earlier saw a priest excoriating Rep. Kennedy for his vote on Stupak. What hypocrites some have been in this church.
This story is so absurd, surreal and so antithetical to everything the Church preaches!
"A Priest's Secret Son"
this story is so sick to me....how could she have a child with a priest?!
as a devoted Catholic. she should not have ANYTHING to do with a priest, sexually, etc.
This woman was married at the time? She is not innocent either.
@ Emily
"Here! Here!'
Hi Erica
Hello Anderson ,Erica and bloggers
I have missed live blog for awhile nice to see you all again !
Such a debate on healthcare and abortion .
I have served as an airforce psychiatrist. Failure to respond to bizarre or inappropriate behavior by anyone in the military is iin itself inappropriate. The result of an all volunteer military force is that fear of retaliation or not being promoted for speaking out effects everyone and in this case did interfere with an appropriate action to at least effectively review the doctor's actions in his clinical work. This case touches on signficant issues when doctors worry more about the chaim of command then clinical care . In this case it led to the death of 13 individuals.
With reference to the Swine Flu. Deaths are piling up across the country and there is still no availability for the vaccine. We can't even find a local site that is offering the seasonal vaccine – not even our grandchildren's pediatrician's office.
It's a national disgrace!
Anderson,
Hi!
I was kind of interested in her book at first, but now it just seems like Sarah Palin never left campaigning.
Wow! More people died due swine shot, That is so terrible sad. How many people died total?
People who have not served or who serve in the military in the military are quick to point the finger at the military. Hindsight is 20/20 after an incident you can monday morning quaterback everyone who had contact with Hassan.
@dbrown:
Some health care plans cover abortion, some don't. Some insurance companies offer identical policies – one offering abortion coverage and one that doesn't. There's usually very little difference in price, it's just an opt-in, opt-out thing.
When times are bad, there seems to be more and more people out there trying to extort money from the rich & famous!
Robby has stated the obvious. Religious groups are now crossing the line when it comes to their political agendas. If they want to wield their power of the masses then they do not deserve to do so while not paying taxes.
Hi Erica! Always glad to see you on the blog.
From what Major Hasan said in class, it would not have been politically incorrect for his colleagues to have spoken out in concern... He was vocal about some very extremist views, not ones typical of muslims in America.
I am pro-choice, but I don't see why this addition is such a big deal. Are there really that many women out there wanting state funded abortions? There is no funding now, so why not add the pro life stipulation and get us at least basic health care.
I hope the women' rights group are not expecting tax payers to pay for abortions outside of rape and the threatened health of a pregnant woman. There are far too many preventative measures that can be taken to avoid pregnancy-period. And regarding the Catholic Church and abortions, they had better keep quiet and stay out of politics because they live in glass houses.
Very sad in Pakistan!
Thomas Kenniff is 'spot on'. I'm a clinical social worker, who just left active duty. I worked 3 years at Walter Reed and was there when Hasan was there. The Ft. Hood incident could have been avoided. But this is just the tip of the iceburg. Too much tolerance is something that's going to strangle the very life out of our nation.
@Mike, formerly from Syracuse, You have a point, but when it has to do with people with disabilities I would have to disagree.
Our right of free speech in this country is not to protect popular views as much as unpopular ones. Those with unpopular views generally don't go on shooting sprees. That's called psychosis.
I just don't see that the Stupak amendment curtails private purchase of insurance for abortions, nor does it curtail state funded purchase in those states that have purchased their own insurance for abortions. Is it perfect? No, but at least it does not eliminate it.
It is SO frustrating that this issue always becomes the sticking point for everything. It is especially frustrating when the more conservative a group is about their "freedoms" and keeping out government the more those same people want to regulate women's health care and their choices. SO frustrating.