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Several areas near Vaucluse Road are under a "boil water" advisory until 4 p.m. today, according to the Aiken Department of Public Safety.
The advisory stems from a water main rupture on Vaucluse Road earlier on Tuesday.
The affected areas are: Vaucluse Road between Church Street and Richland Avenue; Linden Street between Vaucluse Road and Richland Avenue; Richland Avenue between Lancaster Street and Vaucluse Road; and Church Street between Vaucluse Road and Edgefield Avenue.
Resident were advised Tuesday to boil water prior to consumption for 24 hours. That is expected to end at 4 p.m. today.
Additionally, Variety Restaurant on York Street experienced a break in the waterline, which was identified on Monday and resolved by Aiken City crews on Tuesday afternoon.
Lanes were closed on York Street as they worked to locate the leak and fix the problem.
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subset: commoncrawl


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UFC returns to Japan with UFC on FUEL TV 8 on March 2, 2013 - MMAmania.com
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has announced that it will return to Japan early next year, with a presumably stacked card that will take place inside the renowned Saitama Super Arena.
FUEL TV's "UFC Tonight" brought word that UFC on Fuel TV 8 will officially take place in Saitama, Japan, on March 2, 2013. Currently, no fighters or match ups have been confirmed for the Asian-inspired card.
Mixed martial arts (MMA) fans will recall the last time the UFC set foot in Saitama, when UFC 144 sold out every seat in the arena on Feb. 26, 2012.
The main event featured a title bout between UFC Lightweight champion Ben Henderson and Frankie Edgar, in a fight that saw the belt change hands when "Bendo" was able to notch a very entertaining (and controversial to some) unanimous decision victory.
It also featured MMA legends and PRIDE veterans Quinton Jackson and Mark Hunt taking part in fights versus separate opponents, as well as Japanese fighters Yoshihiro Akiyama, Yushin Okami, Hatsu Hioki, Takanori Gomi, along with five other compatriot combatants in action.
The UFC on FUEL TV 8 card is likely to follow suit and feature as many homegrown products as possible. Currently, Gomi, Akiyama and Takeya Mizugaki are all without scheduled opponents, and could possibly be given the nod as repeat performers in Saitama.


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Has West Virginia sunk so badly into right-wing "red state" status that major Democrats won't even try to retain Jay Rockefeller's U.S. Senate seat next year?
Former Gov. Gaston Caperton says he won't file to succeed Rockefeller in 2014. So does Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va. So does former U.S. Sen. Carte Goodwin. So does his cousin, U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin. So does state Supreme Court Justice Robin Davis.
Do they all assume that Republican Shelley Capito is sure to grab the vacant Senate seat, so they won't waste time and money challenging her?
So far, the only significant Democrats still considered possible candidates are Secretary of State Natalie Tennant and retired Adjutant Gen. Allen Tackett, this newspaper's 2010 West Virginian of the Year. Either would be a commendable challenger. And we hope other well-known West Virginia Democrats also contemplate the race.
For decades, a strong majority of West Virginians supported Democratic Party values, which help average working families instead of the wealthy elite. …
Part of the problem is that most West Virginia Democratic leaders won't stand up for the party's beliefs. Last year, the state party headquarters did virtually nothing for President Obama and his agenda for a more humane America. …
We concur. In response, party chairman Larry Puccio said West Virginia's Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate will be decided mostly by Washington party committees, which rally money and support behind the strongest aspirant.
One way or another, we hope a bold, strong, forceful Democrat makes the plunge when the filing period arrives next January.
— Charleston Gazette


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Women's Volleyball Opens With Win
- Release Date:
- September 1, 2012
- Contact:
- The Office of Sports Information
- (716) 649-7900 ext. 333
BUFFALO, NY - Freshman middle Allegra Johnson was credited with 10 kills and six digs while junior Shannon Memminger passed for 22 set-assists en route to Hilbert's 3-0 victory over Morrisville in the NEAC vs. AMCC Challenge September 1. Keuka grabbed a 3-1 victory over the Hawks in the night-cap knocking Hilbert down a notch to 1-1 as they start their 2012 season.
The Hawks (AMCC) took each set quickly (25-13, 25-16, 25-13) against Morrisville (NEAC) giving Hilbert their first win of the season. Sophomore Jordan Botsford finished with one block and six digs in addition to Memminger's six service aces.
Keuka split the first two sets with Hilbert (25-19, 20-25) before they finished the match off (25-18, 25-20) to take a 3-1 win. Botsford led with 14 digs while Johnson finished with 7 kills and Memminger assisted 18 times. Coach Logue indicated that the Storm played great defense which prevented Hilbert from winning the match. on a positive note, the Hawks have scored more points in their first two matches this season than they have in previous years.
Hilbert hosts Geneseo in their home opener Wednesday, September 5 at 7pm.
Hilbert College, located in suburban Hamburg, N.Y., south of Buffalo, is a private four-year college founded in 1957 in the Catholic Franciscan tradition. With nearly 1,100 students, Hilbert is a dynamic Western New York college that offers career-focused majors, including one of the top criminal justice programs in the region, and more than 50 minors and concentrations. The college's engaging, student-centered campus community offers numerous leadership, internship, and service learning opportunities from which students launch successful careers while making positive changes in their communities. The Hilbert Blueprint promotes a well-rounded student experience over four years – starting with the Foundations Seminar in the freshman year, followed by Sophomore Service, Junior Symposium, and culminating with the Senior Capstone. Hilbert has expanded its academic offerings with the college's first graduate programs and new Accelerated Degree Programs geared to adult learners.
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CRESTVIEW—First United Methodist Church's youth program had a welcome problem. In less than three years, it grew from about 10 kids to more than 90. The youth house across Texas Parkway from the church was bursting at the seams. Now the ministry has brand new facilities and equipment, and participation is higher than ever.
Finding the associate/youth pastor, the Rev. Brandon Dasinger, among the hubbub of Wednesday youth nights isn't always easy. His boyish countenance makes him easily mistakable for one of the many teens shooting pool, playing foosball or pingpong, or just hanging out. The kids say it's appealing that Dasinger easily blends in among his flock.
"He's so nice and easy to relate to," 16-year-old Matthew Slayton said. "And he's young."
"He's cool. It's easy to forget he's a pastor," Taylor Ruschmeier, 17, said.
"Brandon does a good job of getting the kids involved," parent Jody Woodward said.
Dasinger, however, credits Woodward, his fellow adult volunteers and an initial handful of kids for the success of the program.
"It was really a team of adults and a nucleus of kids that got excited about this and about God," Dasinger said. "They invited their friends to come along. We didn't have cool facilities, and we didn't have the greatest band, we didn't have any sound system. There was no reason for our growth. There is no way of explaining it except it's what God wanted."
Though First United Methodist runs the program, not all o participants are Methodists.
"The one thing I think is unique about our youth group is their families go to different churches on Sunday, but this is where the kids come on Wednesday," Taylor's mom, Kari Ruschmeier, said.
"There's something for everyone," Matthew said. "Nobody cares what church you go to."
"I've never brought anybody here that didn't fit in," Taylor said.
Around 6:30, the ruckus in the Big Room of the church's new family life center settles down and the kids take seats for midweek worship. Quiet prayer precedes praise singing led by a student band. As student leaders take over the service, Dasinger quietly steps aside.
The youth ministry isn't just about fun, games and Wednesday night worship, however. In addition to counseling kids about typical adolescent anxieties ranging from relationships to peer pressure, Dasinger also stresses the importance of serving the community.
"Our youth serve in our church's soup kitchen several times a year, where they prepare and serve a meal for those in our community," he said. "They also assist in cleaning our church's cold night shelter."
Participating in the countywide Mission Okaloosa, First United Methodist's kids helped build bunk beds for the Children in Crisis shelter. During a 30-hour fast, they collected pledges to support the World Vision hunger program. Operation Christmas Child is a favorite cause.
"We get shoeboxes and we fill them with toys and stuff for needy kids," Taylor said. "We had a fun packing party!"
The group also undertakes an annual summer mission trip. Last year they ventured into inner city Nashville, Tenn., and helped fix up the homes of underprivileged families.
"When the girls had to use an outhouse for the first time, it was like, wow!" Kari Ruschmeier said. "It was an eye-opener."
Matthew was part of a team that built a new roof on one of the houses.
"It was pretty good," he said. "I didn't know I could do that."
"Next summer, our senior high students will be traveling to Haiti to assist an orphanage," Dasinger said. "The middle school students will be doing local service projects here in Crestview."
The kids said that performing community outreach projects is satisfying.
"Last summer, we dug trench lines for pipes, (and) then we went inside the building and built bunk beds," Matthew said. "It was hot but it is definitely rewarding."
And the kids aren't the only ones who benefit.
"Sometimes, when you get to helping youth, you don't get as much adult spiritual growth, but Brandon takes care of us as well," Kari Ruschmeier said.


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The cramping of Catholic moral reasoning.
Grant Gallicho March 8, 2012 - 4:15pm
The Catholic Diocese of Sacramento recently announced that it will no longer provide grants to a local nonprofit that serves the homeless. Why? Was it financial scandal? No. Egregious incompetence? No. The diocese decided to defund the group, which it had been working with for over two decades, because the agency's new director has publicly supported abortion rights and gay marriage. The Sacramento Bee reports:
"I have never represented any of those positions on behalf of Francis House," said Whitmore, formerly the senior pastor at St. Mark's United Methodist Church. "I was speaking as an individual. So for me, this came out of the blue."[...]In its letter to Whitmore, the Sacramento Diocese said it respects the work Francis House does and cannot expect every organization it supports financially to "actively promote Catholic teaching.""We can expect, however, that they or their leaders not publicly oppose Catholic teaching and that, unfortunately, is the situation in which we find ourselves," the letter reads.
Diocesan spokesman Kevin Eckery said the decision to drop Francis House as a beneficiary of the pastoral center's annual fundraising appeal stemmed in part from public confusion about the agency's affiliation with the church. Although Francis House was born at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic parish in Sacramento, it has long been nondenominational and no longer is part of the church.However, "a lot of people still think Francis House is a Catholic charity," he said, and some are concerned that Whitmore's views are a reflection of those of the church.Eckery said he was unsure whether the diocese had received complaints about its donations to Whitmore's agency. "But if we haven't had one yet, we would get one," he said. "We like to get out in front of these things."
But in its zeal to avoid confusing "a lot of people," the diocese has gotten so far in front of the issue that it may be in danger of leaving behind its own moral tradition. In what universe should one expect that providing a grant to an agency whose director holds public-policy views at odds with Catholic teaching (for the moment, leave aside the question of whether the church's teaching on marriage requires Catholics to oppose legalizing gay marriage) suggests support for such views, especially when they have nothing to do with the services the agency provides? We're talking about a homeless shelter. It does not provide abortions. It does not marry gay people. It feeds, houses, and clothes the homeless. Funding such an organization communicates nothing more than the church's traditional concern for the poor. Maybe you've heard of it.What does this decision mean? That the Diocese of Sacramento will begin screening its partner agencies to make sure their employees have not publicly disagreed with policy positions endorsed by the bishop, or the bishops? As Fr. Tom Reese told the Bee, "If the bishops are going to defund every organization headed by someone who disagrees with their views on gay marriage, birth control and abortion, they are going to find very few agencies to fund." Why stop there? Why not find out whether partner agencies have employees in leadership positions who are divorced? Or have attended civil unions of gay people? Or have publicly supported the Affordable Care Act?Here's one reason: the Catholic moral tradition is not kidding about original sin.Let me explain. Early this week I had an interesting e-mail exchange with a friend who expressed his frustration with certain aspects of the contraception-mandate debate. Why are so many people confused about the way insurance works? He wrote:
The fact that insurance itself requires premiums to be pooled tells me that any theory that an employer group is not paying for contraception when it is available in the wider pool of the insured is at best a polite fiction. The desire to maintain polite fictions is part of the problem with society in general and the church in particular. It comes from morality being thought of in legalistic terms and is purely and simply a means for one to avoid responsibility for things while appearing rigorously responsible. Maybe someone should address that.
Of course, the Catholic Church has never been above employing legalistic moral reasoning to justify morally questionable actions. But legalism cuts two ways. And when it comes to casuistry, I replied, I'm pro. It may seem absurdly legalistic to work with categories of cooperation to help us figure out whether our actions are morally permissible, but they were developed to acknowledge a crucial point of Christian theology: original sin. As the contraception-mandate debate has unfolded, I worry that some arguments coming from the bishops conference and its defenders skate too close to a Manichean view of moral acts. It's as though some have forgotten that the Catholic tradition acknowledges how difficult it is to engage in morally pure acts in a fallen world. The categories of cooperation force us to think about our responsibility as moral agents -- as people whose decisions have consequences, and a lineage, always tainted by structural sin. And, when properly used, that framework acts as a bulwark against sectarianism.Now, I agree that the accommodation could be called a polite fiction. But that doesn't make it a useless fiction, because it does something important, from the standpoint of Catholic moral thought: It permits Catholic institutions to avoid explicitly contracting for services they deem inimical to church teaching. Obviously, anyone who pays insurance companies -- whether Taco Bell owners, employees, or bishops -- is to some extent subsidizing medical services the church rejects. But whether you explicitly consent is not inconsequential.How many bishops are thinking that way right now? How many are thinking like the Amish? The Catholic tradition provides a wealth of resources to help us think through these sorts of problems. Why haven't bishops used this moment to make a Catholic argument in defense of their position that even the accommodation threatens to trample the religious freedom of Catholic institutions? It's bizarre.
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The Catholic Manichaeans will simply run their own Catholic agencies (e.g., shelters for the homeless).As to the insurance debate, perhaps the Catholic bishops can start a nation-wide Catholic insurance company for Catholics and Catholic institutions.
Maybe all the Church's charity will simply have to happen in the third world, a kind of outsourcing. Because it's not really the Church's business to accommodate its rules to the world's structures of sin, but to act in truth and charity in spite of them.
I grow more and more intolerant of intolerance. The Puritan streak that has taken root in American Catholic moral theology will prbably have to run its course -- maybe like it did with Father Couglin and Father Feeney... or maybe there will a straw to break it all when the Mother of a some cardinal comes out as pro-choice on contraception and there is movement to take back his hat for having such a mother!
When societal norms shift as radically as they have over the past few decades, it may appear that the Church has become intolerant because our relative difference from society has increased. It's an optical illusion. We're just where we've always been, and that's no longer tolerated by society. Too bad, because we've been doing a lot of good, and it will be missed.
JFK was wrong as Santorum notes. As soon as the bishops are in charge they will drive the Protestants out.
Grant, If the head of Francis House had voiced anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim or homophobic sentiments (which, of course, would be highly unlikely) and the diocese had severed its relationship with the organization and its funding because of this, would you find that equally troubling? In the interest of consistency, I am assume you would.Thanks,A
Mighty big of you to assume that, Anthony. Next time you can save your keystrokes for something you're not already sure of.
Maybe I am a little slow today and not catching the sarcasm (which is so out of character for you :)). But I take that as a yes? I am over 40 now and starting to lose brain cells
Kathy makes a good point above (3/8, 5:21 pm) about how societal norms have shifted in recent decades. For those of us who support civil marriage being available to same-sex couples, it's important to keep in mind.Nonetheless, I still have not heard a persuasive argument for why the Church's opposition to this change in civil marriage is so different from the Church's position on civil recognition of many other kinds of marriage (e.g., between Protestants, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, interfaith, agnostics, atheists, etc.). None of those are sacramental marriage as we Catholics understand it---and yet we seem to live with them.
Luke, although they are not sacramental marriages they are valid marriages and recognized as such by the Church.
Just like that Cathy jettisoned the Pauline Privilege.
Why are so many people confused about the way insurance works? He wrote:The fact that insurance itself requires premiums to be pooled tells me that any theory that an employer group is not paying for contraception when it is available in the wider pool of the insured is at best a polite fiction. He is confused about how insurance works. When you purchase an insurance policy, you are not entering into an agreement to share the losses of other people in a pool. You are paying the insurance company a fixed amount to take the risk off of your hands. If the insurance company pays out more money than it takes in, it takes the loss - it cannot collect more money from you. The insurance company pools risks - you do not.
Bill, not at all. The Pauline Privilege dissolves a valid marriage.
Without knowing how much money is involved, it is clear enough the Francis House director has stated publically that he is pro-choice and favors gay marriage and Bishop Jaime Soto decides not to keep sending diocesan money (i.e. money of Catholics) to that charity.So what? Does Bishop Soto not have the right to determine where this money is spent?Surely the opinions of the director of any organization tend to affect how he or she runs that organization. That is what PP and others on the Left wailed about the Komen for Cure director they forced to resign.Do you think Bishop Soto perpetuate a scandal by giving the public impression that the Catholic Church somehow is Ok with the Francis Houses directors views? What would you have the bishop do?BTW - While someone can support the notion of gay marriage, the phrase "supported abortion rights" is nonsensical. People have rights; abortions do not have "rights". It is better to say "supported the view that women have a right to have an abortion". This may sound tedious, but when discussing important matters, it is best to use accurate, correct language.
And David P. - In American society anyway, "Liberal" is not synonymous with tolerance. If fact I know some self-described liberals who are not very tolerant of opposing views at all. I suspect this might be the same in other western countries as well.
If I lived in that diocese the decision as to where I would direct a decent portion of my non insubstantial charitable contributions would have been made for me.Ken: that you for not saying "Does Bishop Soto not have the right to determine where HIS money is spent?"More and more Catholics that I know are careful to ensure that any church contributions they make are NOT accessible by any bishop. Parish-based directed giving is the way to go.
And so the director of the Francis House could not help from publically endorsing things he knows go very much against the Catholic faith (abortion and gay marriage) and he (and some on this blog) think the Catholic Church for the sake of the poor - is just supposed to lay back, accept all that, and keep handing his organization money?And then try to lay the blame on the Church? Give me a break. The Roman Catholic Church is the largest charitable organization on the planet. If Francis house director and those here who agree/sympathize with him were really worried about the poor, he (and they) might think twice before taking these sorts of actions.
Thanks, Grant - interesting story and twist given some of the recent posts and clamor around HHS accomodation, USCCB reaction, etc. Thought it would be helpful to try to ignore the Pauline Privilege & Kathy's off the subject comments, and transition back to what you posted.As you state well, so much of this complex debate is looking at the degrees of moral causitry, the difficult balancing act in understanding the full concept of separation of church and state; and the issues around governmental decisions for the common good (public policy) that might impact moral theology.This is an excellent article by a Jesuit student who works in Public Health:http://thejesuitpost.org/site/2012/03/mandated-reporting/Key points by Mr. Rozier: "The application of moral theology in public policy is almost always a matter of prudential judgment rather than doctrine. This means faithful people who are fully informed can come to different conclusions.""Theres a lot going on here. This is a religious liberty issue. It is an issue of cooperation with evil. It is a womens health issue. It is an issue of the common goods connection to contraception. It is an issue of forming individual consciences. Its an issue of the participation of religious institutions in public life.""Contraception is not classified as a preventive health measure because people believe it is like cancer. The Catholic position is that couples should not prevent pregnancy by technological means. But those who hold this position shouldnt assume that those who choose to prevent pregnancy are doing so because they think that pregnancy is a disease.""For the faithful Christian perhaps the real issue is how to live in a morally compromised world. Should you be a judge if you have to preside over divorce cases? Should you work an IT help desk if your work provides access to pornography? Should you pay taxes if your money funds executions? Should you buy an iPad if its was produced in unjust conditions?""But the right to religious liberty, like almost all rights, is not absolute. The government of the United States should not impose burdens on the practice of religion, and can do so only if the burden is vital to achieving an essential element of the common good that cannot be obtained otherwise.""we must be able to say, you are violating my religious liberty unnecessarily without sufficient cause. And this simple word, this unnecessarily, is not a propositional argument for which there is one right answer, it is a persuasive case that must be made.And persuasion gets adjudicated in the public square. The common good, and threats to it, must be argued for. So we should all stop yelling either about religious liberty or about womens health and start trying to persuade one another."I am also reminded of the numerous recent statements from B16 that acknowledge the fact that public policy is set by government; not the church. The church can influence this development but the church and government are not the same. In fact, this policy advocated by the Bee actually appears to violate religious liberty and more - well, a few people's religious liberty.
Obviously, anyone who pays insurance companies whether Taco Bell owners, employees, or bishops is to some extent subsidizing medical services the church rejects. That is not only not obvious, it is untrue, unless you make the heroic leap of assuming that insurance companies are systematically overcharging for policies that exclude contraception/abortion/etc., while systematically undercharging for policies that include contraception/abortion/etc. If they're doing that, then yes, people who buy policies that exclude those services are paying not just for their own set of risks but are cross-subsidizing the services for which the insurance company is not fully charging. But what evidence do you have that that is happening?
It's kind of an odd story. FWIW, here is another excerpt from the Bee story that may provide some clues:"Whitmore, a United Methodist minister, took over leadership of Francis House in April after the sudden death of longtime executive director Gregory Bunker. Within her own denomination, she has been a strong advocate of same-sex marriage. In 2008, during a short period in which gay marriage was legal in California, Whitmore openly defied church law by marrying same-sex couples. She has said publicly that she supports a woman's right to obtain an abortion."If I were told the set of facts in this snippet, and told that the diocese had cut off funding to her organization, I would immediately assume, "Someone complained." Unless/until we learn otherwise, that's going to be my assumption.
Note: paying into a common pool does NOT mean that you are "subsidizing" anything that is paid out of the pool. The term "subsidizing" does not refer to the fungibility of money; subsidization exists only if you are overpaying for your own services while someone else is underpaying.
The core problem of the contraception-insurance debate is too simple to need complicated moral reasoning. The bishops and those who support their position understand that. It's the other side that needs to work at justifications.Both sides realize that in a pluralistic society with a strong and meddlesome central government with a strong secular bent a compromise is needed. The opponents to the bishops' position simply surrendered far too soon.
Luke Hill 03/08/2012 - 5:44 pmNonetheless, I still have not heard a persuasive argument for why the Churchs opposition to this change in civil marriage is so different from the Churchs position on civil recognition of many other kinds of marriage (e.g., between Protestants, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, interfaith, agnostics, atheists, etc.). None of those are sacramental marriage as we Catholics understand itand yet we seem to live with them.
Might it have something to do with being fruitful and multiplying, having natural patents in the same house as the progeny, and so forth? Just a guess.
One decision by the secular government to tax the bishops would keep them quiet forever. They are certainly asking for it by politicking with donations and extremely partisan to boot.
David and Luke,I think it has to do with the natural law.
Yes, and, unfortunately at one time the magisterium interpreted "natural law" to include rights to own slaves because slaves were not fully human.So, we are back to trying to "persuade"....as the earlier post about the HHS decision, HV, birth control - there were some excellent documentation showing how the final decision on HV was really not based upon the merits of the question but on defending infallibility, the authority of the church, etc. Some of that documentation indicated that, even back in 1968, the committee and experts were suggesting that there were questions that needed much more investigation - one of the key questions was the meaning, understanding, and interpretation of "natural law".It is now 45 years since HV and its concept of natural law - obviously, we know much more about genetics, more about reproduction and the physical process, etc. To just knee jerk to "natural law" without considering recent medical/genetic advances weakens one's ability to persuade and appears to be a repeat of the HV errors - appealing to authority with little evidence, etc.
Is it really a matter of science, Bill? Isn't it more that society norms have changed in these ways? There is no societal restraint of the sexual instinct. Sex is perceived as consequence-free. Sexual partnerships are at-will, ad hoc. All brought to you by birth control.What is very troubling, beyond these ways adults are with one another, is the effect on our societal view of children.
Thank you for giving a name to this phenomenon, which is everywhere today: The cramping of moral reasoning. Where is it coming from? This judgmentalism against anybody who doesn't share their exact reasoning on abortion? (Does it apply to any other moral issue...besides contraception, which they now equate with abortion?) I may be slow, but I first noticed this attitutde during the 2008 presidential campaign when a prominent Catholic for Obama actually had to write a book explaining why it would be OK for a Catholic to vote for the Democrat in that campaign. As if. And then a priest denied him Communion for his trouble! And then, of course, there was that amazingly rude treatment afforded the President of the United States by prominent conservative Catholics when Notre Dame tried to honor him. Again, as if. Their cramped moral reasoning: That no one, not even a US President, who doesn't share Catholic moral reasoning on the issue of abortion is worthy of honor! That was shameful. Where does it end?
"If I were told the set of facts in this snippet, and told that the diocese had cut off funding to her organization, I would immediately assume, Someone complained. Unless/until we learn otherwise, thats going to be my assumption."Well, undoubtedly, somebody complained. They heard about her views somewhere. But the question is why is it impossible to support a good cause, help for the hungry, simply because the person directing it disagrees with you on abortion (and same-sex marriage)? Why the litmus tests for making common cause....and respecting people who disagree with you?
You can watch a news interview with the director of Fracis House here .... http://www.news10.net/video/default.aspx?bctid=1496197640001&odyssey=mod|tvideo|article ... in which she says she supports Planned Parenthood because of the help they provide poor women - not that she's a supporter of abortion - and that she had a pastoral reason for supporting same-sex marraige as a Methodist minister. The amount the Catholic Church contributes to Francis House is very small - about 2% of their budget. Tthe reason given by the church for defunding them is that the money comes from parishioners who wouldn't want to contribute anymore .... I think that's pretty disingenuous ...if the church allowed parishioners to choose for themselves where the money they give should go. I'd bet many of them would still want to help the homeless through Francis house. But then, of course, the church couldn't have as much to spend dooming the rights of women and gays.
I appreciate the responses to my earlier comment. I still don't find them persuasive. (E.g., plenty of opposite-sex couples get married under civil law with no intent or possibility of having children---with little or no objection from Catholic bishops. So why---other than its "newness"---the vigorous objections to civil same-sex marriage?)
I don't think there needs to be another reason besides "newness," Luke. When things come up, you deal with them. This is something that has never, ever, come up before. Marriage has always been male-female.
@Kathy (3/9, 8:29 am) Thanks for the reply. You're not saying that "newness" is a sufficient reason for Catholics to object to or to condemn something, are you?
Of course not, Luke. Your question was about what has given rise to the "vigorous objections" by the Church. The Church is often painted as the aggressor in all of these situations, but the fact is we're just responding to "the signs of the times," these ascendant structures of sin that are trying to orchestrate a societal buy-in of the most aberrant norms. When these strikes against human dignity keep appearing, the Church has to stand as itself, with its understanding of human nature, as well as its self-understanding, intact.
Kathy - your response on above exhibits a one sided view of US society. To state that birth control allows for a "consequence-free and sexual partnership at will" is a gross exaggeration. Sorry, but science & accurate social studies/trends based upon medical data are a part of any discussion in terms of natural law, artificial birth control, whether Ella is or causes abortions, etc. I linked to an article above by Rozier who works in public health. One example he illustrates is the approach to pregnancy - it is not a disease but it is a medical condition that can impact lives, families, costs, insurance costs, etc. if not properly managed (so, part of preventive care). Part of the HHS accomodation connected to the PPACA is to address the fact that pregnancy in the US is a costly affair impacting many aspects of US society. Thus, it can be the role of government to seek the common good by prudent implementation of policies that address and manage this condition. (yes, good people can disagree on the approaches but to demonize the accomodation and dismiss it because pregnancy is not a disease is misleading and game playing). Example - your last comment using phrases such as "strikes against human dignity" or "ascendant structures of sin" or "aberrant norms" are judgments and not balanced discussion of common values that require persuasion and reasoned debate to arrive at the best course to achieve the common good in a diverse/public society. In fact, to ignore the reality that pregnancy can be costly to society; that 50% of pregnancies happen to single parents which impacts society; etc. and then, using your approach which I would characterize as "just say no", ignores the "signs of the times." There are many questions and issues going on here - to simply reduce everything to birth control is the reason is naive and simplistic and does nothing to contribute to the effort to persuade. (in fact, an argument could be made about why the USCCB is not addressing single parenthood as much as they are addressing the birth control issue?)Your approach strips theology from its proper role to investigate (scientifically) to support and enhance any church pronouncements. Using your approach, theology, biblical studies, moral theology become apologetics.Again, the key is Persuasion....apologetics is not persuasion and US society rejects apologetics - that is Grant's point.
One of the "common ground" factors that we can begin with would be our common human experience of the inherent value of children. I see a real disconnect between the way children are seen in real life--on the ground, at the basic level of subsidiarity--and the way they are considered in the current debates. When you or your friends look at your children and grandchildren, I am sure that you do not see them primarily in financial terms. Of course there are expenses, but that is not what you see. You see a human being and beauty and potential. You care and love and desire to protect and nurture. Well you should, and well should they be valued as such by our societal consciousness. The difference between the HHS mandate and everyday human values could not be greater on this point of the valuation of children.
Exactly Kathy. As society moves away from natural law, some say the church should follow society. However the Church will follow the truth and truth does not change. An analogy is that while it seems like the Church has moved to the right (traditional), in fact the Church has not moved at all, objective truth and natural law have not changed, but society has moved to the left.
@Kathy (3/9, 8:50 am) Thanks again for your reply. (I'm glad "newness" is off the table.) Now we're back to civil recognition of various kinds of marriages, and what the Church's response is or should be. Again, we've got (and have had for centuries) couples getting married (civilly) every day who don't see marriage as a sacrament, and don't agree with or accept the norms for marriage that the Catholic Church sets out. And, for the most part, Catholics are okay with that, are tolerant of it.And we have numerous historical examples of societies in which same-sex marriages (or their cultural equivalents) were recognized, acknowledged and/or tolerated. We also have the Church's own experience over the centuries and across the continents of having a wide range of responses both to indigenous marriage customs, to sexuality in general and to homosexuality in particular.Given all that, it certainly seems that there are a broad range of responses Catholics can legitimately have to civil recognition of same-sex marriage. No? (Witness Bishop Malone who has, for whatever mix of reasons, decided that the diocese of Portland will respond differently to the this year's Maine ballot question than it did to the last ballot question on this issue.)
Ken,It's moved to the left, and more importantly towards an economic, utilitarian valuation of the human person. The Church's idea of the human person has much more in common with our everyday view of our children and our friends than HHS has. No one wants to be a figure on a budget sheet. No one thinks of their friends or children that way. Why should we accept this as our societal view? Certainly "because the current administration mandates it" cannot be a sufficient impetus to make us lose our human moorings entirely.
Sorry, Kathy, you are entitled to your opinion but you have no facts to support your belief that the HHS accomodation is so far from supporting children, etc.Today, John Allen was writing about a different issue but one of his bullet points summarizes well part of this debate and things such as this dismissal in California or Prof. Kaveny's post using the letter by Marshall:"Evangelical Catholicism, meaning a powerful thrust to recover an unapologetic and uncompromising form of Catholic identity, rooted in traditional markers of Catholic thought, speech and practice. The effort to foster a "thick" Catholic identity is the clear ide fixe of the church's leadership class today""To be sure, not all secularists have such a chip on their shoulders. In principle, "secularism" can simply mean church/state separation, a level playing field for both religious and nonreligious actors, and protection of minority rights. In such a milieu, religious people and groups are free to bring their values to public life just like anyone else. Yet there are currents in the West with a more fundamentalist reading of the secularist creed, which seek to muzzle public expressions of faith. To steer Western societies away from that extremist position, some heavy intellectual and political lifting will need to be done....."Also, Fr. K's quote from Richard Hofstadter about movements and cycles in American History in terms of religious extremists and movements" there is a style of mind that is far from new, and that is not necessarily right-wing. I call it the paranoid style, simply because no other word adequately evokes the sense of heated exaggeration, suspiciousness, and conspiratorial fantasy that I have in mind. Let me finish by stating a casual observation found in some left wing places - that some pro-life folks are very extreme in protecting life until after it is born; then they disappear from the scene.
Given all that, it certainly seems that there are a broad range of responses Catholics can legitimately have to civil recognition of same-sex marriage. No?
Can have, sure. Should have - depends on your brand of Catholicism, Luke. You and Kathy seem to belong to different Catholic churches. Not much point in your arguing about things like this - nobody can win - except to take advantage of the opportunity to articulate your feelings.Just out of curiosity, Luke, where would you draw limits on who can marry? I can think of many possibilities beyond two gays or lesbians. That's not a sarcastic question - I think the answer might be instructive for many of us. Is marriage appropriately whatever the civil authorities say it is?
Sorry, Kathy, you are entitled to your opinion but you have no facts to support your belief
Wouldn't it be pleasant if we could refrain from this sort of speech?
" Wouldnt it be pleasant if we could refrain from this sort of speech? "Are you disputing the truth of his statement, or just uncomfortable with a statement with which you don't agree?
Uncomfortable with the insult, Jimmy. "You have no facts to support your beliefs" is calling the person addressed a liar or a mental incompetent.
David S. -- Basic logic translated from the Latin: Freely asserted, freely denied.
where would you draw limits on who can marryWe humans were made for love and made for freedom. And it is truth which sets us free. Freedom is necessarily dependent and contingent upon truth. Authentic love is equally dependent upon truth. Genuine love implies truth because love seeks what is good and true for the other, and the fullness of authentic love is also dynamic and open to bearing fruit. Thus, the ability to engage in something contrary to truth, as one might want to do, is not love or freedom at all.The limitation on the freedom to marry is necessarily limited by truth. To legislate or decree as a lawful marriage that which is ontologically impossible, then, would not be freedom at all because it would not be true, it would be merely a counterfeit marriage.What is the truth of the nature of marriage? What is the truth of the nature of the human person, male and female?What does the body of a male and the body of a female reveal to us with respect to the truth of their respective natures? That each is complementary of the other, and their bodies were made for joinder with each other, that is, the exclusively male part is made to marry (join with) the exclusively female part.But surely marrying (joining) the exclusively male part to the digestive tract of another male is just as good? Surely it is the functional and moral equivilent of a male-female joinder? Surely such a joining is just as fruitful and creative? Surely the digestive organ is complementary of the reproductive organ?Or maybe not.It is not human law which hinders or limits who can marry. It is the truth of reality itself that imposes those limits. These are the facts -- whatever is in Ripley's book is irrelevant.
Bender ==What you're saying just amounts to saying that homosexual love is immoral because it isn't heterosexual love. That's like saying Beethoven's music is no good because it isn't Mozart's.To establish homosexual love as *intrinsically* immoral you have to show that it is destructive of something good or prevents some good that ought to be. (REmember: the Church advises all people to marry only persons t which they are strongly attracted. Such attraction doesn't happen with gays, so they, according to current rules, shouldn't marry.) Neither you, the Church, Brett, nor several other on this blog ever get around to telling us what is intrinsically destructive or inhibiting of flourishing about homosexual love.So what does homosexual marriage destroy? Which due good does it prevent?
OOps -- "such attraction doesn't happen with gays" should have been "such attraction to persons of the opposite sex doesn't happen with gays"
I've been watching videos of young priests and laymen like Michael Voris raging and ranting against contraception, Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger etc. I don't like this crusading Catholicism -- we tried it in Ireland, and it flopped -- I don't see a future for it.Dialogue may be the way forward, beginning with dialogue with the majority of US Catholics, who are supposed to approve of contraception and gay marriage.
This is the kind of thing I mean: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptzi4ZrkiJE&feature=player_embedded


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So I was watching the Tyra show today and it gave me an idea. There was a commercial about if you want to be on the Tyra show or have an idea for the show to contact them. Well I'm not sure if anyone else is a fan of Tyra Banks or watches her show but I think it would be an amazing idea if we could all get together and get Tyra to do an awareness show about pregnancy complications and how the need to raise awareness is very important. Tyra does a lot of shows about raising awareness and helping a lot of people. I think this would be great for the foundation, the health of pregnant women, and the health of babies to be born in the future. It would be so cool if we could get such a positive famous figure to show the world that this is a serious subject and more people need to know about this. If anyone else has any ideas or anything about how we can all get together to get our voices heard please feel free to e-mail me about this at anytime. I will be checking my e-mail frequently. I also think that we should try contacting more shows about getting this subject out there and getting more people aware of these serious problems that can occur in any women in any pregnancy regardless of how healthy they are or what precautions they take. I am really passionate about getting this started so if you are interested or have any ideas just e-mail me at firstname.lastname@example.com. Thanks for you support and ideas!!!
God Bless


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Melinda Rogers
Melinda Rogers is the Director of the Executive Development Center. She has over 15 years of experience in a variety of HR roles with Fortune 500 companies Qualcomm and Hewlett-Packard. Most recently she held the position of Vice President of Enterprise Learning at Knowledge Universe, the world's largest privately held early childhood education company, where she was responsible for leading company-wide initiatives such as employee culture and employee brand. She has extensive experience with cultural change leadership, transition management, organizational development, succession planning, and linking HR strategy to business results.
In addition to supporting the development of business plans and strategies, she has served as an executive coach and worked closely to develop corporate staff and executive teams. Before beginning her career in Human Resources Melinda spent 10 years in line management positions in sales, engineering and supply chain. These experiences allow her to quickly build credibility with line managers and develop practical solutions that are directly tied to business objectives.
- B.A., Bryant University
Professional Activities
Board member, Portland Children's Museum
Professional Affiliations
Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Human Resources People & Strategy (HRPS)
Awards and Distinctions
Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) Certified through 2014
Performance Dimensions International 360 certified
Lohminger International certified
VitalSmarts Crucial Conversations Gold Certified Trainer
Dalton Pen Award recipient for Employee Communications
MarCom Creative Award recipient for development and design of Employee Newsletter
High Performance Management Development process cited as best practice by Corporate Executive Board, 2005 Edition of Realizing the Full Potential of Rising Talent (Volume II)
Personal Interests
Melinda enjoys reading, hiking, gardening and playing the piano as well as spending time with her husband, Peter, her daughter, Dana.


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Top Deals The most popular deal threads on CAG right now
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From the Community Blogs A featured blog post from the community.Video Recap: The Deer God, Rive, Citizens of Earth, and More!
Rather than post a new blog for each video, I figured I would hold off and offer up a recap of my most recent videos covering a variety of games. Covered below are Citizens of Earth, The Deer God, Halo 5 Guardians' MP Beta, Rive, and Trials Fusion.
I checked out the Halo 5 Guardians Beta and found out that I'm still not good at Halo MP, but still had fun... Read More
I checked out the Halo 5 Guardians Beta and found out that I'm still not good at Halo MP, but still had fun... Read More
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Never far in thought...
God delivers generous love. Psalm 57:3 The Message
...always close at heart.
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CHAPMANVILLE, W.Va. — Mr. Carroll B. Barker, 71, of Garretts Fork of Chapmanville, was born January 18, 1941, at Barkers Fork of Chapmanville, a son of the late Sidney M. and Arizona Hill Barker. He went home to be with the Lord Thursday, November 15, 2012, at his residence.
Mr. Barker was a part owner in the family's business Barker's Dairy, attended the Mill Creek Church of God and served in the US Army during the Vietnam Conflict from 1966 to 1968.
Also preceding him in death was his brother, Mack.
Survivors include his wife of 49 years, Sue Nida Barker; aunt, Mabel Ferrell of Hubert Hill Road; brothers, Bill (Betty) and Mack's spouse, Janice, all of Garretts Fork, and Sidney (Patty) and John (Brenda), all of Barkers Fork; sisters, Eunice (Roger) Beckett of Hurricane and Joann (Wendell) Samson of Winfield; godchild, Kody Chattin of Poca; special niece, Stephanie Nida; brothers-in-law, Glen (Billie) Nida and Steve (Rhonda) Nida, both of Crooked Creek; sisters-in-law, Mary (Frank) Vance of Man and Jane (Curtis) Gibson of Garretts Fork, and many nieces, nephews, other family members and friends.
Services will be conducted at 2 p.m. Saturday, November 17, at the Evans Funeral Home and Cremation Services at Chapmanville with Minister Bishop Trent Belford officiating. Burial will follow in the Forest Lawn Cemetery at Pecks Mill with Military Graveside Rites.
His nephews, Kevin Bucher, Jim Marcum, Tommy Vance, Glen Nida Jr., Frank Marcum, Travis Samson, Wendell Samson and Gavin Barker will serve as pallbearers.
Visitation will begin one hour prior to services Saturday at the funeral home.
The family wishes to express a special thank you to Dignity Hospice.
Evans Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Chapmanville is in charge of the arrangements.


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The good news is that Gmail has finally added support for searching inside attachments. I've just tested this feature for .pdf files, .doc documents, .ppt presentations and it works, even though some old attachments may not be indexed yet.
To find messages that have attachments, search for has:attachment and add some keywords to your query. To restrict your search to PDF files, search for has:attachment filename:pdf.
As you can see from the screenshot, Gmail found a message with no text in the body and no subject. Obviously, Gmail indexed the PowerPoint attachment.
{ Thanks, Kenny. }


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|136 posts found
Apprentice Member
Joined: 12/27/07
Originally posted by Zezda
Yeah, you can tell they didn't put too much deep thought into this, like I said..it is cheap and insulting to us paying subscribers.
Originally posted by Arskaaa
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Joined: 9/11/12
Pretty much solo players and farmers hate it,but people who like to group up and do group things are loving it especially those altaholics out there actually see people running around the only thing I have against it is I will most certainly never EVER have a chance at the Time-Lost Proto Drake now:P
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Joined: 10/01/09
I'll add my 2 cents, which I originally posted as a reply to this article.
I haven't played WoW in about 2 and a half years, so I have no idea what the community vibe is like, but I do know 2 things. First, the vocal portion of gaming communities are critical first and foremost. There is a tremendous inclination to hone in on the cons of a system while disregarding the pros. Game companies tend to know this and thus weather the storm of initial backlash, after which said features become generally accepted and well-received. I'm sure it's a real challenge on the developer's part to discern true critical feedback from hasty mob hyperbole. From the objective outsider's perspective, there is some easily identifiable hyperbole in your own post, such as saying, "CRZ solves none of the problems of a low population server while introducing the overcrowding of a high pop server." The goal is obviously not to overcrowd underpopulated zones, but to populate them. If some zones do feel a bit crowded, the level of population can always be tweaked until it reaches a healthy level.
Second, from the objective outsider's perspective, this system does undeniably have some real benefits. For one, it can help put the "massive" back into the MMO during the leveling experience. Last I Played, even on a high pop server, I would run into one person every 10 levels or so. Combined with phasing, leveling in WoW became a very solo experience. This can help alleviate that. This is also a *step* toward making the leveling experience more social. If you wish to enjoy a quiet time questing alone without talking to anyone, you should still be able to do so, but it will no longer be forced upon those who would prefer otherwise.
I think concerns about negative community behavior are originated from many of WoW's other competition-oriented systems, not the CRZ. Though it's likely true that the increased population of each zone due to the CRZs has made the social griefing problems inherent in WoW's other systems more prevalent. WoW's node system allows for stealing. Mob kills are only credited to the person who first tags them. Open world PvP allows higher level players in all their increased statistical might to venture through low level zones and prey upon helpless lowbies. Every one of these can be made more user friendly on their own. Nodes can be individually spawned instead of shared and stealable. Players can be encouraged to help other players kill mobs already tagged by being rewarded for those kills themselves with credit. This can extend to quest mobs that have quest drops. Make quest drops individual instead of shared and split among group members (one mob drops a quest reward, everyone can loot it.) This way instead of thinking, "Oh man, I'll never get this quest done..." when you see a bunch of *friendly* players at your quest hub, you'll start to think, "Nice, this will be a breeze with all these players around!" And lastly, I'd personally suggest a down-leveling/down-scaling feature when higher level players enter lower level zones. I love open world PvP. I love when the adrenaline gets pumping when you see a member of the opposite faction questing alongside you. And I love when those fair fights break out. Same-level ganks and counter ganks. Coordination and communication with other players questing through the zone to help combat the enemy faction can provide an intriguing mini-game and be a nice change of pace from the standard quest grind. But having high levels come in and one-shot camp lowbies does nothing to increase the fun and thrill of open world pvp for anyone, in my opinion. If someone can enlighten me, please do so!
Until these problems grounded in player competition are converted into cooperation, I'd expect to see more of the griefing people are talking about. The CRZ does nothing to promote this kind of griefing (I don't even think the concern about added anonymity is apt--players could always act however they please during the leveling process, certain they would never run into anyone they encounter again, especially concerning lowbie camping); it just makes it more prevalent due to consistently more player encounters.
Of the criticisms of the CRZ, the one that does strike me as plausible is the lack of *meaningful* community building. Surrounding you with players that you cannot befriend and group up with again or join guilds with may actually discourage communication. This is a criticism I had for the dungeon finder as well, or at least the cross realm grouping aspect of it. I got along quite well with some of my initial group members, but that was that. We were doomed to never see each other again. I think players quickly realized this and stopped caring about trying to form positive relationships in groups. All that was left were the asshats who reveled in making people miserable. Instead of randomized positive and negative player interactions, almost all positive interactions vanished while the negative ones remained. Soon, if you were lucky, you'd get that neutral silent group who didn't give anyone shit. Very unfortunate.
I think back to moments where I've made some of my greatest MMO friends and joined my favorite guilds, and I can confidently say that in today's WoW environment, those moments would never have came to pass. And that's sad. I do think there are ways WoW can promote community building and friendly player interactions in cross realm dungeons and zones, but they would involve some sacrifices on Blizzard's part.
Elite Member
Joined: 11/12/07
Crosby P. Jenkins
Originally posted by FelixMajor
I came back under a Res Scroll, went out to Hjyal on my space goat mage to herb, realized I was in a bird aviary with all the druids and left the game.
Novice Member
Joined: 2/23/06
Originally posted by FelixMajor
Since the implementation of the CRZ, prizes at my server (EU-Stormreaver) of the basic materials (ore, leather and cloth) haven't deviated much from before the CRZ. Low level materials are still overpriced and fluctuate daily. The high level materials don't even matter, because Pandaria isn't included in the CRZ.
Asides from the bugs, the CRZ is a good thing. Low level zones feel more populated, plus I like it to group up with strangers. To the people who say that grouping isn't necessary because the content is "way to easy", what do you think that I did before 2.3 (when leveling was made easier)? I followed a guide, called "Jame's Horde/Alliance leveling guide". It was pretty much the best solo leveling guide from 1-70. No need for grouping, because those quests were skipped. Grouping was never necessary, only if you wanted to do specific quests.
Hard Core Member
Joined: 7/29/10
Magic Propels my Rolly Chair.
Your argument or "education" has a whole paragraph that is not factually correct, or cannot be validated. I'm sorry you cant mix fact and fiction and say "Im going to educate you".
How can i validate the integrity on other points if the point in question not grounded in fact?
Advanced Member
Joined: 2/21/06
Did they enabled this feature in US alone or something?
Haven't noticed anything on my EU server AT ALL with this whole CSZ thing.
All the zones are deserted as ever.... even the new Pandaren starter zone.
Novice Member
Joined: 1/10/06
lol so wacoa you post it here. You dont like it dont play it. Dont tell others what YOU dont like. You see what you want. This is like watching YOUTUBE for REAL news.
I really dont like threads like this. Nothing more then one persons cry thread with no proof. The panda is to fat to tall to short dances funny ..omg DONT COME BACK
Novice Member
Joined: 5/20/06
"Only the dead have seen the end of war" Plato
How can other servers grief you on the starter zone even on a pvp server, if the zone is not contested you still need to flag to get killed.
I call shenanigans on the OP.
If the problem is people dueling outside stormwind or orgrimmar, ohh well not a problem.
Novice Member
Joined: 8/19/12
My fiance and I were going to come back to WoW. I played on and off since launch. We decided play around with GW2 a bit, and see what people thought of the WoW pre-expansion patch and the expansion itself before putting down any money on it. We are saving up money to get married so can't be just throwing money around
Fast forward now to present day... Simply put, CRZ by itself keeps us both from returning to WoW. I don't really have nothing else to add but there are loyal former subscribers like ourselves (like I said from launch) who aren't coming back simply because this is just too big of a change for us. Everyone always comes back to WoW, and I am living proof of that. I can assure everyone that after such a long break... Unless they add ability to turn of CRZ or do away with it entirely we won't be back ever again. I don't doubt there are many just like us. It's a feature that has without a doubt hurt the game much more than it has helped.
Looking toward future. Sticking with GW2 and going to be playing RIft at same time. If Rift expansion stinks for some reason I'll find some other mmorpg. CRZ=WoW is no longer an option.
I'm not sure how it works, but on mine I only ever see people in Dalaran.
I flew around this morning for a couple hours watching television and saw three other people from between Blasted Lands and Netherstorm.
Not really worth while.
Isnt CRZ just a good way for Blizzard to earn some extra bucks? Like there isnt the same need of hardware when they can smack 5 servers into one single shard?
Novice Member
Joined: 2/23/06
Somehow everyone and his dog has been playing WoW since release. "Loyal former subscribers" sounds pretty silly too. Lastly, you don't even say what is bugging you with the CRZ. Concerning CRZ, nothing much has changed. Except the fact that empty zones are filled up again. There are some bugs (I got dismounted from my Brewfest mount yesterday -_-), but I can't imagine that those are gamebreaking. I was questing in Hellfire yesterday, when I heard people whine that there're no veins and that a lot of people were mining. Struck me as a bit weird, because that's how it's supposed to be. The zones are supposed to be filled with people, not empty as a year ago.
I haven't been in Netherstorm yet, but the Blasted Lands and Hellfire were both filled, with gankers and questers alike. Silithus was the same, a bit quieter though.
It's a different problem than of combining empty servers to fill them up again. Take for example my own server, EU-Stormreaver. It's been full since the launch, because it was one of the starting servers. The lower level zones are pretty much empty, plus the Horde outnumbers the Alliance. Most players hang in the main cities or in Pandaria. From what I've read this is pretty much the same on all servers. What CRZ does is combining the lower level zones, but not Pandaria. Hence most zones feel more alive. Personally I don't get the complaints about the more social aspects of the CRZ. Zones are intended to be filled with people. Of course there's more ganking on PvP servers, of course there's more grieving. Yes, it's harder to farm for materials or camp rare spawns. But like it or not, that's how it's supposed to be. When I was leveling in Vanilla, I both loved and hated the Barrens. You had the awful chat (Makrik's fucking wife and Echeyakee) repeating itself every five minutes, everyone was killing the same mobs for the same loot that almost never dropped (fucking zebra hooves) and lastly, everyone was rushing for that one Tin Vein or Briarthorn that spawned.
When I was leveling my Shaman in Cataclysm I almost had the zones for myself, disregarding the people who came there for Archeology. The zones felt empty and abadonned. I'm glad that they're filled with people again. I know that some people have a lot of problems with bugs (like two people leveling together) and those are legitimate reasons to feel pissed of. But the other aspects aren't.
Novice Member
Joined: 8/19/12
I totally agree with you it does seem everyone says they started at launch. I actually did start in Vanilla and started playing mmorpgs as a whole after EQ had been out for about 3 months. Bought my first computer for it!
This thread is long enough with valid complaints and I don't really see any point in adding my own as they are pretty much exactly the same as others.
My only point I am making on CRZ is that for sure it is keeping some from coming back and is causing accounts to be canceled. If one would look at my post history I posted not too long ago on advice on which game to return to (Rift/WoW or go with GW2). I would have went with WoW if not for CRZ.
Rather if one agrees with the complaints shown by others on this thread or not. The fact remains it is indeed not helping the game in a positive way numbers wise. I won't write a novel why I don't like it because as I said its pretty much dead on with what others have said. Look at my previous post history. I planned on returning to WoW before CRZ launched. CRZ launched, and now we aren't returning. We aren't alone in this either otherwise this thread wouldn't be so long with so many complaints.
Nor would the official forums have thread after thread after thread hundreds of pages long of people wanting option to opt out of CRZ. Agree with us or not. It is effecting players coming back to game or staying.
Also by saying I am a loyal fan isn't absurd... I have been loyal fan to WoW. I played game for going eight years and enjoyed it vastly. After spending thousands of dollars on the game I think I can safely say I earned that title. 30 dollars a month for two accounts over 7 years, full retail price box sales, character server transfers, and faction changes really add up. I don't want to see WoW go belly up or become part of anti-WoW crowd. I want WoW to do good. Even if I am not playing it.
Originally posted by MikkelB
I do see the advantage with CRZ. Filling zones that have been empety with players is a good thing in a mmo. But I did wonder if this isnt just a good way for Blizzard to earn more money that has in someway backlashed on the community? And I do like that companies earns it buck, Im not comlaing about that :)
Novice Member
Joined: 10/20/10
Or you join Battlebots a totaly awesome feature where you queue up for a battleground with 10 bots to assist your epic pvp moments.
Or a chair dance world pvp zone where you zerg a flag while the other team try's to capture your previous flag faster then you can cap !!
Or you can now roll a serious kung fu panda and start your epic yourney !!!
Or you can catch em all with a pokemon style pet battles !!!
Or you can try to level up your professions and try ti mine agaist those 500 bots on auto pilot !!!
cwutididthar ?
Dont even try to compare Hello Kitty Island 4.0 to GW2 bro :)


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Scott Moir Gossip
Scott Moir gossip, latest news, photos, and video.
Best of 2014: Girl Sh-t, Figure Skating Edition
That is not a typo. It's what to look forward to next year… The Olympics. All of it. But ESPECIALLY the figure skating. And in figure skating, probably the most intense battle will be between American dance champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White and Canadian champions – and reigning gold medallists – Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir…who train at the same facility. Full Story
Dear Gossips,
As mentioned yesterday, the only time I've turned on the TV this week is for figure skating. In figure staking, if they Twi-Hard for anyone, they Twi-Hard for Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. But come ON, why can't those two be in love for reals? Virtue and Moir took back the World title last night in Nice. You know what's great about figure skating? Some of the athletes have a really hard time hiding their bitchface. There's nothing quite like the drama that goes down in figure skating. Between the wife swapping, homewrecking, sabotaging, backstabbing, and tears, maybe that's the reality show they should be pitching. A scripted drama would work too if you can get away with lowering the quality of the actual skating. It's the frivolousness of Gossip Girl + the cutthroat of Game Of Thrones.
Game Of Thrones!
You ready for winter and war?
By request, we'll be recapping the show every Monday. Read Full Intro
Best of 2010: Virtue & Moir Vancouver 2010
Not sure where you are but here, in Canada, the Olympics were a big deal in 2010, an even bigger deal in Vancouver, where I live. Every Games produces darlings. There were several Canadian darlings. Among them Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir who took gold in Ice Dance. And they did it with a f-cking statement. Full Story


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Boro, who are managerless after sacking Tony Mowbray on Monday, tried to sign Ayala in the summer but a deal failed to materialise.
With the Championship club struggling with injuries in defence they have rekindled their interest and snapped him up on loan until January.
Ayala is now in line to make his debut against Doncaster Rovers on Friday evening, a game which you can see live on Sky Sports 1HD.
The former Liverpool defender joined Norwich in 2011 but injuries have hampered his stay at Carrow Road and he spent part of last season at Nottingham Forest.
Ayala will join former Norwich team-mates Jacob Butterfield and Kei Kamara at the Riverside.
Middlesbrough v Doncaster is on Sky Sports 1 on Friday night from 7.30pm


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Well, it's Tuesday. I'm tired from working until 1 am last night and dealing with the last minute shoppers. I have a nice cough going with the cold weather and my asthma. I'm tickled to be working again tonight, NOT, but it's money to help pay the bills, I cannot complain. I am actually happy to be employed and still able to work. I do worry about the baby and make sure I am not working myself to death with this. Poor little girl this morning was tired but fought a nap like you would not believe. She got all of 15 minutes rest I think and is up going again. I've fed her and given her more to drink and hope she will drop off to a full nap around 2pm. Pray she does! I've sent my husband out to run errands today, isn't that nice of me? lol ..
Well, I should go and do some baking today before I run out of energy in total. I feel like making our old family recipe of true Scottish shortbread and maybe some banana bread with the ripe bananas in my kitchen. I have a recipe for Choc chip orange bread that sounds interesting. Who knows what I will make up. And if anyone wants a piece at work, maybe I could charge $0.50 a slice to gain funds for PF. :-)
Write again soon,


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If you have questions about zipper use, zipper repairs or anything else zipper-related, please give us a call. And if you need a replacement zipper or slider to fix any Aerostich garment, let us know and we will send at no charge.


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The land located across the street from Food Lion in Yadkinville will be developed into a free standing Family Dollar store.
Paul Lowe, Yadkinville's Director of Planning and Development, confirmed at the Jan. 9 Yadkinville Downtown Business Association meeting that the dollar discount store will be opening a new location in the area.
Family Dollar currently has a store in the Yadkin Plaza Shopping Center located off south State Street.
According to Bobby Todd, Yadkin County Chamber of Commerce Director, the current location will be up for sale and several chain businesses are looking into the property.
Bryn Winburn, Public Relations Manager for Family Dollar, stated that there was no updated information regarding the new store in an email.
Family Dollar is Fortune 300 Company that has been in the business of selling a variety of food and home products and apparel. The company has been in business for 50 years and has over 7,000 locations in 44 states.


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