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Goshen - A small northern Indiana college has decided to stop playing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at sporting events after starting to do so for the first time last year. Goshen College's board of directors says it will find an alternative that honors the country and the Mennonite Church-affiliated school's pacifist traditions. The 1,000-student college has been playing an instrumental version of the national anthem, followed by a peace prayer, before games and other events. Some were upset with the school's decision last year because the song's lyrics contain references to using war and military might to defend the country.

I had not planned to write about the Super Bowl or its entertainment, but after seeing and hearing it, I’m going to do it; so forgive me a small, but intermediate, critique of the lousy state of modern “music” and culture. We were getting ready to go to our next-door neighbors’ house to watch the Super Bowl, and we had our radio tuned to the National Football League broadcast of the pre-game. So, here comes the National Anthem, sung by Christina Aguilera. First of all, I have long hated the trend of singers nowadays to do these wild vocal gymnastics...

With the release of Kid Rock’s terrific pro-freedom and pro-American anthem “Born Free,” and the latest installment of John Ondrasik’s "For the Troops" compilation, I got to thinking about songs that go against the so-called liberal grain of pop culture and espouse either a pro-military, pro-American, or just pro-liberty theme.Some are overtly topical to the political or cultural situation in their time or even battle cries. Others are merely personal anthems that project an American sense of independence, self-reliance or willingness to fight for what is right. They are alike in their timeless appeal. Here are my Top 10, with...

The Eli Young Band has performed at countless venues across the country, including at a music Festival that can draw up to 70,000 fans per day. So singing the National Anthem before the Kansas City Chiefs game shouldn't have been too out of the ordinary for the band's singer, Mike Eli. But, oh, it was. And let's just say the Chiefs fans didn't shower Mr. Eli with that Midwestern hospitality for which they're known after he forgot what comes after "twilight's last gleaming"

Anthem Blue Cross is committed to offering a broad range of products and services that meet customer needs in the changing health insurance market, and to implementing the new health care reform legislation in a way that benefits our customers and members. We have reviewed the rules regarding the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordability Care Act (PPACA) limiting the application of pre-existing condition exclusions for children under 19. Unfortunately, there remains a great deal of uncertainty as to how the rules will be implemented and what the impacts might be on participating insurers. While some carriers may continue...

In 1939, the Daughters of the American Revolution refused to let Marian Anderson perform before an integrated audience at Constitution Hall. The Board of Education of the then-segregated District also refused to let her perform in the auditorium of a white public high school. So Anderson turned to a symbol of freedom: the Lincoln Memorial.That April, Anderson held an open-air concert on the steps of the monument to the end of slavery and the ideals of the Republic.

A group of high school students attending a conservative leadership conference in Washington, D.C. said they were ordered by a security guard to stop singing the national anthem during a June 25 visit to the Lincoln Memorial. “They told them to stop singing,” said Evan Gassman, a spokesman for the Young America’s Foundation. “I was taken aback. You wouldn’t expect a display of national patriotism to be censored." ... “If their idea of civil disobedience is singing the national anthem, then so be it,” Gassman said. “Let them disobey.” The crime was "singing it loudly".

A group of high school students attending a conservative leadership conference in Washington, D.C. said they were ordered by a security guard to stop singing the national anthem during a June 25 visit to the Lincoln Memorial.

"Roger Waters" NEW YORK – The Pink Floyd rock music classic "Another Brick in the Wall" has been transformed by a Canadian band to reflect dissent young Iranians have for their government. The song replaces the teacher reference with "Hey, Ayatollah, leave those kids alone!" It's performed by a Toronto-based rock band fronted by two Iranian brothers called Blurred Vision. It's been seen by more than 160,000 viewers on YouTube. Pink Floyd founder Roger Waters gave Blurred Vision

“The Star-Spangled Banner” is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from “Defence of Fort McHenry”, a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships in Chesapeake Bay during the Battle of Fort McHenry in the War of 1812 (“Defence” proper spelling for time period). Most people can recite the first verse of the poem, as it is the verse our National Anthem is based on. However, at a recent Tea Party event, a man began singing the...

Tea Party Member Stuns Crowd! Asked a question by Herman Cain ...and responds by bursting into song! http://youtu.be/f9_bP219ehQ

... Since 1993, Maine has required sellers of individual health-insurance policies to accept all applicants—foreshadowing a key provision of the national overhaul that will fully take effect in 2014. ... Anthem says these requirements, along with the state's high medical costs, have helped push up expenses, with 1% of individual policyholders in Maine driving 50% of claims costs. As premiums then rise, it says, they give healthy people incentives to forgo insurance in Maine, which has had no requirement that everyone be insured. "As those younger, healthier folks choose not to participate in the risk pool, the average costs per...

Incredible Vvdeo from the '08 campaign.

VIA EMAIL AND OVERNIGHT DELIVERY Assembly Member Dave Jones Chair, Assembly Health Committee State of California Assembly 915 L Street, Suite 110 Sacramento, CA 95814 Dear Chairman Jones: Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you and the members of your Assembly Health Committee last Tuesday. Committee members’ questions were, by and large, thoughtful, appropriate and aimed at getting to an understanding of the drivers of escalating premium costs. I am sorry I was not better able to answer questions regarding the Individual market; however, I am assured you will receive responses to your questions on those issues in...

Retreats, Million-Dollar Salaries Paid For As Anthem Blue Cross Sought Rate Hike Rob Hotakainen WASHINGTON - While Anthem Blue Cross proposed a 39 percent rate increase on thousands of its California customers, its parent company paid 39 of its executives more than $1 million each and spent more than $27 million on 103 lavish executive retreats, congressional investigators say. "One question we asked is where does all of this money go?" Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman of Los Angeles said at a House subcommittee hearing today. "Corporate executives at WellPoint are thriving, while its policyholders are paying the price." In response...

California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner says the insurer failed to pay medical claims on time and misrepresented policies from 2006 to 2009. The firm faces up to $7 million in fines. California's largest for-profit health insurer violated state law more than 700 times over a three-year period by failing to pay medical claims on time and misrepresenting policies to customers, the state's insurance commissioner said Monday. Anthem Blue Cross could face fines of up to $7 million stemming from the alleged violations from 2006 to 2009. Commissioner Steve Poizner said that the insurer repeatedly failed to respond to state regulators...

'Oh, Say, Can You See, by the...Um...Help!' They can ski down steep slopes at lightning speeds, perform quad spins on ice and do backflips on halfpipes, so how's this for a new, novel Olympic challenge: Singing your country's national anthem on the medal stand. A scant 21.2% of gold-medal winners in these Games actually sang their entire national anthem, with an additional 18.2% mustering bits and pieces while mumbling or entirely missing other parts, according to a Wall Street Journal study of 33 winners through Thursday's events. Six Americans were part of this assessment and only one, snowboarder Seth Wescott,...

Following the White House’s lead, “Good Morning America” criticized insurance companies on Feb. 17 going so far as to insinuate they might be breaking the law by raising premiums. “Now to the outrage over skyrocketing health insurance premiums, some Americans covered by Anthem Blue Cross were recently hit by a whopping 39 percent rate increase. President Obama called out Anthem and a congressional hearing on this big rate hike is coming next week, but in the mean time regulators are trying to determine if rate hikes like this are even legal,” George Stephanopoulos said. Those rate hikes averaging around 24...

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following statement is being issued today by Consumer Watchdog -- Anthem Blue Cross's announcement today that it will temporarily suspend a premium increase of up to 39% or more should not deter the California Legislature from taking immediate action to regulate health insurance premium increases, said Consumer Watchdog.

An unofficial anthem for Tea Partiers??An awesome song