Since it is Friday it is time once again for yet another snowy edition of the AWMD Friday Free For All. This is the only time of the week when our arguewithmydad.com readers can control the topic(s) for discussion. All you have to do is get someone else to respond to your suggested topic and then the floor is yours. Don’t be shy and don’t hesitate. Get busy and be sure to let us know your views and arguments so everyone can read and react to them. Right here on arguewithmydad.com. I will make a couple of suggestions for possible topics, but they are only suggestions. Today is Friday so only you can be the decider. But you need to tell us what you want to discuss. So, what is on your mind today? With all that is going on, how can you not speak your mind? Let’s hear from you!

The first suggested topic for discussion involves an announcement made by the Obama Administration. “Today, in a huge victory for women’s health, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that most employers will be required to cover contraception in their health plans, along with other preventive services, with no cost-sharing such as co-pays or deductibles. This means that after years of trying to get birth control covered to the same extent that health plans cover Viagra, our country will finally have nearly universal coverage of contraception.”  Think Progress     It is about time that women’s health is taken seriously by the Federal government.  Mandating that insurance companies include coverage for contraception services puts women at a more equal standing with men, when it comes to health insurance.

Of course, the religious organizations don’t like it.  “The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is promising a legal challenge to federal rules the Obama administration reaffirmed Friday requiring health insurers to provide women with a range of preventive health services, including birth control, without charging a co-payment, co-insurance or deductible.  The Department of Health and Human Services made no changes to a rule released in August that exempted some religious organizations, like those that employ or serve people who follow its religion, from the requirement. But religious organizations that do not meet those qualifications would be required to provide contraceptive coverage to employees. While churches are exempt, for example, religious universities and hospitals are not.  The rule goes into effect Aug. 1. Religious institutions that aren’t exempt get an additional year, until August 1, 2013, to comply with the regulation.”  Kaiser Health News

Of course, it is interesting that the Catholic Church wants to sue the Government even though the HHS gave religious organizations an exemption for its employees.  I guess the Catholic Bishops of America want to push their religion on the entire country.  Note, we are not talking about abortion here.  Merely contraceptive services.  Did the Bishops sue the Government when Viagara was included on insurance plans for men?   What do you think?

The second suggested topic for discussion is related to one of our old friends, Newt Gingrich.  It seems that he is continually making sure that hypocrisy is one of his main campaign themes.  At the recent Teapublican Presidential Candidate debate, he chided Mitt Romney for not making his tax returns public immediately.  He also wanted everyone to know that he paid his taxes at a rate of more than 30 percent!  Politico  What Newt didn’t stress was that in his newly issued tax plan he would reduce his own tax rate from 31 per cent down to less than 15 percent!  “Seeking to overhaul the U.S. tax code, Gingrich announced his plan last month to introduce a new, parallel tax system with what he calls a “flat” 15 percent rate. But as the Tax Policy Center notes, that plan would mean that millionaires would actually pay much lower tax rates than those below them on the income scale — millionaires like Newt Gingrich.  According to calculations by Center for American Progress Action Fund’s Seth Hanlon, Gingrich’s own tax plan would slash his effective tax rate from 31.6 percent down to 14.6 percent, right around where Romney sits comfortably under the existing code. That amounts to a $536,000 tax cut that Gingrich is proposing to give himself.”  Think Progress

Newt is making sure that he keeps up with the Romneys with his tax proposal.  Of course, that $536,000 tax cut that Gingrich would get had nothing to do with his flat tax proposal.  It is just a coincidence that he makes out like a bandit!  How do you spell Hypocrisy?  N-E-W-T!  What do you think of Newts lucky tax plan?

Let’s hear what You think about my posting. The sky is the limit and I will be anxiously waiting to see what issue You want to talk about. It is time to get busy and let everyone know what you are thinking about. Let’s hear from all of You! Don’t be shy and do not delay in telling us what you think. These are important issues that all of our readers should have an opinion on. It won’t hurt to let us know what You think. As a reminder, you check out my Guest Blog articles on the weekend at Prof. Jonathan Turley’s blog site.