Author: Ring of Fire Staff

By Alisha Mims February 13th, 2013 It seems that Republicans are continuing to wage war on women. This month, Republicans in Michigan are pushing a bill that would force women to have an invasive ultrasound at least two hours before an abortion is performed. Rep. Joel Johnson (R) introduced the bill, and said that “a state is permitted to enact ‘persuasive’ measures that favor childbirth over abortion, even if those measures do not further a health interest.” Meanwhile in Alabama, state Senator Shadrack McGill made some interesting remarks about his upcoming personhood bill, including comparing abortion to destroying an...

Pope Benedict XVI will be the first pope in nearly 600 years to resign from the papacy. Given the alternatives, retirement seems an attractive option. Resignation last occurred in 1415 with Pope Gregory XII.  That was quite a while back—the year Henry V defeated the French at Agincourt; back when Catholic Church still murdered “heretics” like the Czech reformer Jan Hus, who was excommunicated and then burned at the stake (July 6, 1415) in connection with the so-called Western Schism involving three claimants to the papal office, which was resolved in part by Pope Gregory XII’s voluntary departure from...

A complaint seeking class-action status was filed Tuesday in US District Court in Boston alleging that Fidelity Management and Research (Fidelity) mishandled interest earned on clients’ retirement accounts, using some of the money to pay unauthorized fees to itself.  The suit was filed by a former participant in 401(k) plans of Hewlett-Packard Co., Avanade Inc. (a subsidiary of Accenture), and by a current participant in the Delta Air Lines Inc. 401(k) plan. The practice alleged by plaintiffs in the lawsuit as a violation of the Employee Retirement Income Securities Act (ERISA) involves Fidelity depositing certain 401(k) plan assets “on...

On the eve of trial, a settlement between a highly respected physician and a top U. S. hospital has apparently been reached to resolve claims the physician brought in 2008.  Dr. Carol A. Warfield contended that she was unfairly forced out of her position at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess, a Harvard-affiliated hospital, due to complaining about mistreatment by another physician. Dr. Warfield is board certified in anesthesia and sub-boarded in pain management and serves as the Distinguished Lowenstein Professor of Anesthesiology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Warfield had served as chief of anesthesia at the well known facility when...

In the unending quest for provocative sound bites on the part of pundits, politicians and Fox News, South Carolina’s Republican Senator Lindsey Graham hit a home run this past week with his caustic comments following Hillary Clinton’s testimony regarding the Benghazi attack.  He told Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren that Mrs. Clinton “got away with murder.”   His remarks drew a firestorm of criticism from administration and Clinton supporters, while an unrepentant Graham held fast to his words. Is Graham’s characterization of Mrs. Clinton’s acts as “murder” fair or appropriate?  If so, does it mean that we should more closely...