Judge Rules Obamacare Unconstitutional

by David Gardner

President Obama suffered massive blow yesterday after a judge ruled that a cornerstone of his controversial health reforms is unconstitutional.

Judge Henry Hudson insisted the U.S. government does not have the power to demand that every citizen must have health insurance.

Despite the outcry it caused among many conservatives, Mr Obama hailed his sweeping health overhaul passed in March as the proudest achievement of his first two years in office.

But today’s setback triggered celebrations among Republicans who are portraying it as a vital first step towards dismantling the reforms.

Read More...

He Sold His Soul to the Devil: Then God Stepped In

The story behind the "Star Spangled Banner"

Envy: the Root of Socialism and Economic Justice

by Aneel Aranha

St. Thomas Aquinas defines envy as "sorrow or sadness over another's good because that good is regarded as something withheld or taken away from the envious person's excellence or reputation." The CCC (Catechism of the Catholic Church) puts it more simply: "It refers to the sadness at the sight of another's goods and the immoderate desire to acquire them for oneself, even unjustly. When it wishes grave harm to a neighbor, it is a mortal sin."

Do you sometimes think as you drive: "Why does my neighbor get to drive that lovely Mercedes, while I am saddled with this tin can?"

That's envy. And it's deadly. Like Basilea Schlink said, envy is like "a poisonous root in our soul that can kill others, and ourselves." Or, if you prefer Scriptural quotations, here's one from the Book of Proverbs: "A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones" (Proverbs 4:30 NIV).

Read More...

King County to Ban Electronic Cigarettes in Public

by Vanessa Ho

Five years after Washington residents voted to ban smoking cigarettes, cigars and pipes in public places, King County wants to add one more thing to the list: Electronic cigarettes.

The 2006 state law banned smoking in bars and restaurants on the basis that second-hand smoke causes cancer and other diseases. But King County's rationale for adding e-cigarettes - also known as battery-powered nicotine-delivery devices - to the list of forbidden acts is a little different.

The fake cigs, from which users inhale vaporized nicotine, don't emit smoke. Rather, they produce a less-smelly, combustion-free mist.

But public health officials say they're so similar to the real thing that they make tobacco enforcement difficult and often prompt smokers to think it's OK to light up in public. And that leads to second-hand smoke, health officials reason.

Read More...