Sara Annie

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Posts by Sara Annie

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  40

  California Supreme Court and Religious Freedom

  by Yerusalyim in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

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  monday the california supreme court ruled that private religious charities with employees must offer birth control along with their medical prescription benefits, even though doing so violates religious principle.

  comments on free exercise?

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  Sara Annie

  5 says they go with a medical savings account for drug benefits

  Interestingly, you can use your FBP medical savings account for any approved health care related cost--and those are federal regulations, not company specific. I have birth control coverage in my health plan as well as a voluntary FBP account that I can then use to pay for my prescription co-pay. I save even more money that way, with copay coverage for my birth control as well as being able to use pre-tax dollars to pay that same copay.

  Companies that don't offer managed FBP (medical and dependent care) are way behind the times. If I were in the market for a new job and was looking at two equal positions where the availability of FBP was present in only one, I'd take that one. With the inclusion of over the counter medical remedies to the list of approved expenditures, anyone who isn't using it is a certified idiot.
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  119

  Escape THIS !

  by Simon in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  took me best part of an hour, quite good though.

  .

  http://server-admin.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/motas/mystery/testgame.htm

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  Sara Annie

  Well, that was an absolutely delightful way to lower my work day productivity! I do regret having to admit that little toe's link to the solution for the green wall was the one 'cheat' item I had to use. I spent 2 hours (1 last night, 1 this morning) doing nothing but frustrating myself and the lowest number of non-green lights I could get down to was 6!

  After that, enjoyable and smooth sailing with a little stop to scratch my head once or twice.

  My favorite element was the smiley code pad. Very fun!

  Thanks, Simon, that was a great link.
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  119

  Escape THIS !

  by Simon in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  took me best part of an hour, quite good though.

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  http://server-admin.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/motas/mystery/testgame.htm

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  Sara Annie

  I had to quit at level 12 and it let me pick right back up and continue when I got back to it.
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  119

  Escape THIS !

  by Simon in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  took me best part of an hour, quite good though.

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  http://server-admin.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/motas/mystery/testgame.htm

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  Sara Annie

  I loved that smiley one--very cool.
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  33

  Bill Maher on Larry King last night

  by Mulan in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  because you'd think these people would notice that jesus christ never said one word about homosexuality.

  maher: i do have faith.

  i believe there is a god.

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  Sara Annie

  Right on. I agree with every thing he said--that's exactly how I feel about religion and God and the nature of faith.

  Bill Maher is a smart man whom I happen to disagree with occasionally politically. I like him.
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  74

  Why does it have to be gay "marriage?"

  by spiritwalker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i know this a hot topic, but i had some thinking on it i wanted to discuss.

  to begin, i have nothing against a gay man or lesbian woman and consider many to be friends.

  i would also like to express from the beginning in plain thought, "i think gay unions should be legal and do not see why it matters.".

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  Sara Annie

  Honestly, I'm with Yeru on this one. I don't think we need to redefine marriage and allow same sex couples to enter into them. I don't think we need a unique, separate title for homosexual unions either.

  Since marriage is, at it's root, a religious institution (it's been around far longer than the paperwork that made it 'legal') I think they should legalize a civil union of some sort (call it a civil union, call it a partnership, call it a dancing banana for all I care) that affords the same legal protections that marriage does. Then same sex couples, as well as heterosexual couples could enter into these unions free of any religious trappings marriage includes. Those forming these unions must be law-abiding, consenting adults who wish to have the legal protections marriage provides applied to their partnerships. Since it isn't truly separate, no one gets to cry inequality. Problem solved.

  The parties and circumstances surrounding the actual ceremony can be as elaborate as they want, the protections would be the same, but the name wouldn't be. Big deal.
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  37

  I dont pray anymore.

  by Stefanie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i havent prayed in years.

  i quit praying while i was still going to meetings.

  i stopped praying when my elder ex would pack the kids in the car and say if i didnt go to the meeting then i wouldnt see them again.

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  Sara Annie

  Let's just assume for a minute that there is a God. There is an all powerful, all knowing, loving creator of the universe who knows your very heart and mind and loves you deeply as his precious child and creation, who wants you to be happy and fulfilled.

  Do you really think that the fact that you don't stop and actively direct your thoughts toward him at specific times of day using scripted words and repetitive phrases is noted with anger or sadness? Do you think that the God who knows your every desire, your every thought, your every feeling--the god who made you in his image--is really bothered by this?

  Be gentle with yourself as you examine and reform your beliefs. A very good friend of mine (who happens to be a nun) once said to me that she takes comfort in the thought that the desire to pray, or thought about prayer, is a prayer in and of itself.
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  28

  Just plain rude!

  by Stefanie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we went to a chinese restaraunt this weekend.

  the whole experience started off bad.

  the minute we walked in, the waitreses looked me up and down and started talking chinese loudly to each other.

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  Sara Annie

  I've always thought that there would be a great business in teaching 'foreigners' the cultural ropes in dealing with Americans - something very simple like giving out extra napkins without making a big deal about it....

  This made me laugh so hard I think coffee came out of my nose--I have noticed how napkin stinginess is a common trait in the asian restaurants we frequent. As is the policy of paying for soft-drink refills. It's an ill-conceived attempt to manage costs, but those two items are such a small percentage of total expenses that it's silly to keep such a tight hold on them.

  It's interesting that people who have a good experience at a food-service establishment will generally tell 1-3 people about it, but those who have a bad experience will tell 10-12 people about it on average. Good service has it's PR rewards, but they pale in comparison to the reputation damage that can be done for bad service.

  Bad experiences in the food service industry can be mitigated, almost always, by proper handling by management along with a sincere attempt to correct the situation to the customer's satisfaction. Customers are 5 times more likely to return to an establishment where they had a bad experience if they are handled graciously and generously afterwards.

  (Wow. I'm the most boring woman on earth. My degree in Hospitality Management still comes in handy sometimes, I guess.)
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  4

  Speaking of scams...

  by Jim_TX in

  1. social
  2. humour

  this morning at coffee, my friend sheri was telling me how she recieved one of those e-mails... you know the ones... where the person is in some foreign country (i.e.

  nigeria), and in need of your help to assist them in getting the large sum of money out of the country.. well, she then went on telling me how she replied to a couple of them.. with her permission - i am pasting them below.

  i thought that they were very funny - and i hope that you do too.

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  Sara Annie

  It never ceases to amaze me how many people actually fall for this crap--I mean, how ridiculously naive and/or stupid do you have to be to think these offers are legitimate? While I feel bad for people who lose all their money in these scams, my sympathy is mitigated by my incredulity that someone could be so thick as to actually give out personal information to someone as a result of an unsolicited email.

  The responses were funny, and I hope some catharsis was achieved by sending them--nothing else will be.
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  30

  Any fun plans this weekend??

  by Sassy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  with it being friday and i am itching to get off work and have a couple days off... .

  i was wondering if anyone had anything fun planned?

  right now i don't even know what i am going to do.. but i am in the mood for some fun.. any ideas??

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  Sara Annie

  Coasting=Sledding?