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Stuff From the Mind of Dr. Barry Kolb

+ Vision + Mission + Passion + - Stuff From the Mind of Dr. Barry Kolb

Daily Archives: July 2, 2012

LCMS Response to “Obamacare”

In response to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling today to largely let stand the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, president of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, issued the following statement:

“In light of today’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), we remain opposed to the controversial birth control mandate, which is one of the requirements included in the law.

“The Court’s decision today guarantees that we will continue to bring awareness to the threat to religious liberty represented by the birth control mandate, which requires virtually all health plans, including those of religious organizations, to cover birth control drugs and products that could cause the death of the unborn. We are opposed to the birth control mandate because it runs counter to the biblical truth of the sanctity of human life and creates a conflict of conscience for religious employers and insurers, who face steep penalties for non-compliance based upon their religious convictions.

“We will continue to stand with those who have filed suit in the many religious freedom cases pending against the birth control mandate.  Through education and civic advocacy, we will continue to educate the public about the vital necessity of protecting our First Amendment right to act according to the tenets of our faith.  We remain steadfast in our opposition to the birth control mandate and will continue working to ensure our right to refrain from paying for products and services that conflict with our doctrine about the sanctity of all human life. 

“And, regardless of the Court’s decision on the health care reform law, we in the LCMS will continue to uphold the sanctity of all human life while we care for the sick and work to restore the health and well-being of people in our communities and around the world.”

When Sportswriting was SportsWRITING

THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN BY BRIAN CHRISTOPHERSON OF THE LINCOLN (NE) JOURNAL STAR … THERE IS WRITING AND THEN THERE IS OLD-TIME SPORTS WRITING …

You say we’re a little overly dramatic in writing about football at times?

Guilty as charged.

But probably not as much as those men puffing on their cigars in the press box back in 1925.

There is writing, and then there is old-time sports writing. Try to find something more entertaining than that.

Especially on days such as when the Huskers toppled Red Grange. As the Lincoln Star’s Cy Sherman wrote: “An aggregation of Nebraska’s sturdy sons humbled the protégés of Bob Zuppke, wizard mentor of the Illini. Twice did the Cornhusker warriors plant the pigskin spheroid back of the Illinois goal line.”

The one and only Grantland Rice offered up this: “Thousands turned out to see Red Grange, but in the Nebraska line was another gentleman, known in his hometown as Ed Weir … and though it might sound presumptuous to say that Mr. Grange had met his match, it can be said safely that when Mr. Grange had gone five yards he had made his run.”

The Associated Press described the scene this way: “Grange, unable to pierce the magnificent Nebraska defense and thwarted in his efforts to circle the ends, was taken out of the game a few seconds after the start of the fourth period broken and crushed. As the noted player, covered with mud from head to foot, walked to the sidelines, tears gathered in his eyes and he fell into the waiting arms of his comrades.”

That the reporter was able to witness all this is quite incredible, considering the Lincoln Star noted that the press box at the Illinois stadium “towered” above the field “from such a distance the newspaper scribes covering the game were hard put to figure out numbers on the players’ backs.”

But it’s assumed the box score is correct in that it was Nebraska’s Frank Dailey who intercepted a Grange pass and returned it for a touchdown in the first quarter.

Whether Dailey’s return was 33, 35, 40, 45 or 55 yards depends on which newspaper’s description you happen to be reading.

The Nebraska athletic department has listed it as a 45-yard touchdown, and so that’s how we’ll recognize it here.

While the writers of yesteryear part ways when it comes to those pesky details, they all paint the picture of a miserable day for Grange.

He threw two interceptions, completed just one pass, and had no more than 62 yards rushing, depending on which account you read.

It was a train ride home for the victors, which included a midnight stop in Chicago. “The Cornhusker special is due to arrive in Lincoln Sunday afternoon at 3:30,” the Lincoln Star reported. “Presumably, the Huskers will be given an uproarious reception at the Burlington station.”

Reach Brian Christopherson at bchristopherson@journalstar.com or 402-473-7439. You can follow him on Twitter @HuskerExtraBC.