Missouri schools will be encouraged to teach first-graders a gun safety course sponsored by the National Rifle Association as a result of legislation signed Friday by Gov. Jay Nixon.
Tag Archives: Jay Nixon
Recognizing Stan Musial Is More Than Just A Christian Act
I am a devout Major League Baseball fan. I love the game. My son has played Little League since he was four years old, and I used to live very close to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
I think I own most all of the great baseball movies: Bull Durham, For Love of the Game, Major League, The Sandlot, and The Rookie.
Being a devoted fan, I understand the value of the streak, baseball rituals, and what makes great players exceptional in the Major Leagues. Part of that is the ritual itself.
Stan Musial is in an elite group of baseball greats elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. His passing this January was a huge blow to the City of St. Louis and his fans nationwide.
Musial, a devout Christian, was remembered recently by a grounds keeper at the St. Louis stadium who etched a cross and Musial’s #6 onto pitcher’s mound before every game. Apparently one fan complained:
“Stan the Man,” a deeply spiritual and devout Christian, passed away in January. As a tribute to Musial, a few weeks ago a grounds-crew member began etching the cross and Musial’s number, 6, onto the pitcher’s mound before every game. (One fan complained that the “6″ too closely resembled the Christian icthys symbol.)
Last week, Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak ordered that the markings be removed, explaining that he learned of the practice from a newspaper story. Mozeliak told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “It’s just not club policy to be putting religious symbols on the playing field or throughout the ballpark. I didn’t ask for the reason behind it. I just asked for it to stop.”
Read the rest here.
Interestingly, the St. Louis Cardinals held their “Christian Day” bringing together people of faith last week on July 6th.
In my mind, St. Louis Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak went too far in appeasing one fan in the name of “political correctness”. What’s wrong with a groundskeeper remembering his boyhood hero? And why take action the same week that your franchise is recognizing Christians?
In contrast, today in St. Louis, the “Stan Musial Memorial Bridge” became official when Gov. Jay Nixon signed legislation approving it.
Since the bridge is shared between the States of Illinois and Missouri, federal legislation is pending signature by the President which would rename the bridge the “Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge” to honor our military. This was the result of a bipartisan compromise byIllinois Congressman Rodney Davis (R-IL) and several other Members of Congress.
Seeing all of these acts in the same week made me think that being “PC” (as in “politically correct”) has definitely made otherwise smart people go a little bonkers as they try to appease finger-pointers who are religiously intolerant.
This is what Dr. Ben Carson, now a Washington Times columnist, said in this article about submitting to “political correctness” –
“We should stop …read more
Storms Pummel Dozens of Homes in Missouri, Arkansas
By Matt Cantor 
From: http://www.newser.com/story/166047/storms-pummel-dozens-of-homes-in-missouri-arkansas.html
Judge overturns Mo. law on birth control coverage
A federal judge has struck down a Missouri law exempting moral objectors from mandatory birth control coverage because it conflicts with an insurance requirement under President Barrack Obama‘s health care law.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Audrey Fleissig cites a provision in the U.S. Constitution declaring that federal laws take precedence over contradictory state laws. But Fleissig emphasized that she was taking no position on the merits of the Obama administration policy, which requires insurers to cover contraception at no additional cost to women.
Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster did not say on Monday whether he would appeal the ruling, which was dated Thursday but not publicized.
The anti-abortion group Campaign Life Missouri distributed an email Monday denouncing the ruling as “a radical departure from America’s tradition of religious freedom” and imploring people to contact Koster’s office in support of an appeal. Some backers of Missouri’s law said the court ruling could result in churches and other religious organizations having to accept insurance policies that include contraception coverage.
The Missouri law requires insurers to issue policies without contraception coverage if individuals or employers assert that the use of birth control violates their “moral, ethical or religious beliefs.” The state’s Republican-led Legislature overrode the veto of Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon last September to enact the law, which appeared to be the first in the nation to directly rebut the Obama administration’s contraception policy.
Fleissig had issued a temporary restraining order against Missouri’s law last December. The law had been challenged by insurance providers, who feared they could be caught in legal quagmire by the differing federal and state requirements.
In her ruling, Fleissig wrote that the state law “is in conflict with, and pre-empted by, existing federal law” and “could force health insurers to risk fines and penalties by choosing between compliance with state or federal law.”
The judge noted that the federal law includes penalties of $100 per day per employee and an annual tax surcharge of $2,000 per employee for violations of its provisions. The state insurance department already issued orders seeking civil penalties against two insurers for not offering plans excluding contraception coverage as required by the Missouri law.
The ruling “clears up what law they have to write the policies under, and that’s all we were asking,” said Brent Butler, the government affairs director for the Missouri Insurance Coalition, an industry …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News