The Founding Father's Real Reason for the Second Amendment
And remember the words of Thomas Jefferson "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." See Video of Suzanna Gratia-Hupp’s Congressional Testimony: What the Second Amendment is REALLY For, below (u-tube HERE).
The Leaders Are Here... Palin, Cruz, Lee, Paul, Chaffetz....
T'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
Can You Really Still Believe That None of These People Would Have Done a Better Job???
The Daily Caller: The Obama administration is waiving the deadline for states to establish a health insurance exchange in accordance with Obamacare, reports The New York Times. But it should not be taken as a sign of deference to the states, or a willingness to be flexible; it should be taken as a sign of desperation.
The announcement is in fact an attempt by the administration to shore up the health care law’s inherent weaknesses and to cajole states into enacting a federal scheme. Contrary to what the feds now claim, the latest and most glaring weakness of Obamacare is that it was crafted to depend on states to establish health insurance exchanges. These exchanges are meant to be the vehicles for the distribution of tax credits and subsidies to buy qualified health insurance plans.
If a state refuses to set up an exchange, and so far 25 have refused,the federal government must step in and create one. However, the law does not authorize tax credits and subsidies to flow through federally created exchanges, only those created by states. An Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rule issued in May 2012 attempted to fix this problem — initially dismissed as a “drafting error” — by extending credits and subsidies to federal exchanges and so-called “partnership exchanges,” which a number of states have indicated they will adopt.
But the law’s plain meaning, and Congress’ intent, cannot be swept aside by a rule issued by the IRS. Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt is challenging the IRS in federal court over the rule and the case will likely end up before the U.S. Supreme Court. It has huge implications. If federal exchanges cannot facilitate tax credits and subsidies, they also cannot be used to impose penalties on employers that fail to comply with the law’s “employer mandate” — a fine of $2,000 per employee per year. States that refuse to set up an exchange could therefore shield thousands of their residents and small businesses from onerous federal taxes and penalties.
The Cato Institute’s Michael Cannon has made this argument forcefully and in great detail, and it seems to be gaining ground. Cannon, along with Jonathan Adler, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University, have authored what will likely be the definitive argument against the legality of the IRS rule in a forthcoming Health Matrix article.
They argue that once it became clear that a significant number of states were not going to set up exchanges, the IRS sought to fix the problem by regulatory decree. However, by stipulating that tax credits and subsidies would be available only through state-created exchanges, Congress sought to create an incentive for states to set up their own exchanges — because it could not simply order states to create them without overstepping constitutional boundaries. It seems that it did not occur to Obamacare’s authors that many states would simply refuse, or that offering tax credits and subsidies would not be sufficient inducement for them to comply. It was a gross miscalculation, and could mean the undoing of Obamacare.
Seen in this light, this week’s announcement by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius looks more like a plea to recalcitrant states to cooperate and set up exchanges so the feds won’t have to. Sebelius was supposed to determine by January 1 whether states were prepared to run an exchange, but she knew as far back as Nov. 15 that Texas, at least, would not establish one.
Waiving the deadline isn’t a deferential gesture by HHS to the states; it is the latest attempt by the federal government to deputize states into implementing federal policy, and a desperate attempt at that.
Texas and other states should remain steadfast in their resolve not to become tools for Washington, D.C. If the feds want Obamacare exchanges, let them set up those exchanges themselves. Americans would be much better off with weak federal exchanges than they would with the state-based exchanges Congress first envisioned in the law.
KISSING OBAMACARE GOODBYE - Part 2: The State Battlefield
By: AJ - Hat Tip: MJ
We are going to end Obamacare at the state level by using the KISS principle - Keep It Simple, Stupid, so let’s get it started!
Using simplicity and common sense, we Americans can take this into our own hands and do what we need to do to prove that Obamacare is irrelevant and unnecessary at the state level. All we need is a simple solution, which this article provides, and one state that will pursue this by doing a little homework.
Let me start by telling you what this is NOT… this solution is not reliant on the politicians who foisted this upon us or the spineless politicians doing nothing to end it. It is not dependent upon repeal, courts, nullification, state-wide voting, Constitutional amendments, petitions or polls.
Now let me tell you what this is… it is about picking one or more states that will do some simple homework to prove beyond doubt that the Obamacare law is not applicable in their state. If we do this, we can proactively take control of the narrative to announce that Obamacare is irrelevant because the state is already compliant.
BACKGROUND:
First, Obama and his comrades established that the fundamental basis of Obamacare is to ensure that everyone has healthcare. They claimed that 12 to 30 million people are going without healthcare and these people have a right to it. Has anyone challenged this with actual data that shows who these people really are? Read on and you will find out.
Second, Obama and his comrades claim that the 12 to 30 million phantom people are our poor and disadvantaged. This enables a powerful narrative that the media and left-wing talking heads can push onto the uninformed and ignorant 26% who support Obamacare. Is anyone challenging this narrative with actual truth? Not yet. That’s why, when we convey facts and even show sections of the actual legislation to uninformed people, their bottom line response is, “Well I think everyone should have healthcare”. Again, the false narrative wins the day, the uninformed remain ignorant and they actually believe that these phantom people who want healthcare cannot get it.
Third, the Obama narrative has now advanced to “States need to expand the Medicaid rolls” and some GOP Governors are flatly saying “No”. What these Governors fail to see is where this narrative is going. Medicaid is for the poor and disabled, so the spin masters are setting the stage for their next assertion; “Republicans won’t expand the Medicaid rolls because they want poor and disabled people to die.” When are these GOP Governors going to flatly say that the poor and disabled are ALREADY covered by Medicaid? And tell the truth that expanding the Medicaid rolls is a false narrative.
GOP Governors are playing checkers while Obama and his comrades are playing chess and are a few moves away from checkmate. Instead of responding to Obama’s narrative and falling into his trap, do some homework and speak boldly to create a completely different narrative. In other words, expose the truth.
SIMPLE SOLUTION:
States can take control of the narrative by defining a clear, true and concise narrative that lets people know that, from our poor to our elderly and everyone in between, all who want healthcare can already get it without Obamacare.
Can a state prove this? Yes. I contend that all a state needs to do is gather totals… the total number of people served by each of the categories delineated below. Every provider, insurer and program know how many people they serve in a given state.
Get the totals, add them up and then compare that number with the total population of the state to see how many people are not receiving healthcare from any of these categories. The number will either be zero or a very small percentage of the state population. Then, just a little more homework will reveal that the vast majority of this small segment of the state’s population is actually young, healthy people who choose not to spend their money on it because they don’t need it, they don’t use it and they don’t want it.
Take a very close look at all these programs and healthcare-delivery vehicles (below) that have been in place without Obamacare and before Obama took the Presidency. Look at all the people covered in these categories. A majority of working Americans who already have healthcare plans actually have no idea that all these programs exist and, unfortunately, Obama’s lies sound believable to them when no one counters him with the truth.
Medicare: for everyone aged 65 and older.
Medicaid and/or SCHIP (e.g. CA has MediCal and Healthy Families): for everyone who is poor and disabled.
TRICARE: for service members, retirees and their families.
Veterans Administration: for Veterans.
Employer-based: for individuals and families covered through their employer.
University-based: for University/College attendees (e.g. CA has a mandatory fee that all students must pay which provides healthcare coverage whether they want it or not).
COBRA: for individuals and families who are in-between jobs/left their job for whatever reason. If they are unable to find new employment and their income remains low (e.g. unemployment), they become eligible for Medicaid, Hospital/Doctor Financial Waivers, and they can go to clinics or even private providers. One size doesn’t fit all and these people have choices.
Tribes: for individuals and families who are members of an Indian Tribe.
Clinics: for individuals and families who receive healthcare from community-based/free clinics.
Private Provider: for individuals and families who choose to pay for their own healthcare through private providers.
Religious Exemption: for individuals and families who choose to be exempt for religious reasons, which includes people such as the Amish, Muslims, Mennonites and Hutterites (because purchasing insurance violates their religious beliefs).
Hospital/Doctor Financial Waiver: for individuals who receive free healthcare directly from doctors/hospitals because they submitted a ‘financial hardship’ form.
Don’t forget that Obama and his comrades gave the states another category:
Obama/HHS Waiver: for millions of Obama’s lobbyists/special-interest friends/campaign contributors who received an Obamacare waiver directly from Obama’s HHS secretary.
After a state gathers the grand total of all the above categories and subtracts it from the state population, the state can create their own waiver in order to protect young peoples’ right to choose and once they are in this new category, everyone is accounted for in terms of healthcare and Obamacare is proven irrelevant and unnecessary because the state is already compliant. Everyone who wants healthcare already has it.
*Freedom-of-Choice Waiver: this is a new category (if needed) for the majority of young people who seek to exercise their unalienable Right, as granted by our Declaration and Constitution, to choose not to spend their hard-earned money on healthcare because they do not use, want or need it while they’re young and healthy. The Freedom-of-Choice Waiver accomplishes the exact same thing as the waiver granted at the Federal level by Obama – it exempts people who want exemption; therefore, it is completely consistent with Federal precedence.
Take control of the narrative Governors! Do your homework! Don’t fall into the latest trap. Expanding Medicaid rolls is a false flag. Our poor and disabled are already on Medicaid and, in fact, many who are not poor and can afford healthcare are on the Medicaid rolls already. We don’t have $100 million a year in Medicaid fraud, waste and abuse by accident. So don’t take the bait! Medicaid rolls don’t need expanding because our poor and disabled already have Medicaid. So get out there and spread the truth!
While we’re on the subject of going on offense and getting the truth out there, notice that Obama’s campaign rhetoric includes sound-bites that give the false impression that Obamacare will give people whatever healthcare they want – for free – and up to now, his lies remain unchallenged.
Know this… Obamacare does not address the quantity or quality of healthcare; it merely asserts that once the federal government controls our healthcare, a 15-member panel and about 159 new government agencies will decide the quantity, quality and location of treatment IF they allow you to have it.
Who is challenging Obama about the federally controlled Medicare program that, by far, denies more claims for the people it serves than any other form of healthcare coverage? Quantity or quality is not even part of the debate when talking about Obamacare because Medicare already shows us what happens when the federal government controls healthcare. Get out there and spread the truth about this!
Make no mistake, Obamacare does not make healthcare a “right”, it takes away our right to choose and it forces our young people to pay into a monstrous system that destroys the best healthcare system in the world, transforms citizens into serfs, creates another massive redistributive system that seizes the fruits of our labor and gives the federal government control of our finances and our lives. As Mark Levin says, it forever changes the relationship between government and citizen.
So… which states will remain on defense and constrain their public responses to the false narratives and clichés thrown at them by Obama and his comrades?
And… which states will do their homework, gather the totals and create the media firestorm that will stop Obamacare dead in its tracks?
Which state will be the first to prove that Obamacare is irrelevant in their state because they are already compliant and everyone who wants healthcare already has it?
Which state is ready to go on offense and protect individuals and businesses in their state from Obamacare?
Let’s get it started! If states do their homework, take control of the narrative and spread the truth, we’ll be kissing Obamacare goodbye in short order.
Eric Holder is a busy man. When President Obama’s chief law enforcement officer isn’t tied up selling guns to Mexican drug cartels, refusing to prosecute self-serving cases of voter intimidation or ignoring “wanted dead or alive” bounties placed by black militants on the heads of private citizens, he’s busy conspiring with pro-abortion extremists to bring the full weight of the federal government down upon innocent pro-life advocates.
So much tyranny, so little time.
Eric Holder is much more than just incompetent. He’s an extremist pro-abortion activist who shares his boss’s goal of “fundamentally transforming America” to reflect both men’s secular-socialist self-image.
The most recent and obvious example of this administration’s serial abuse of power in furtherance of a radical pro-abortion agenda came when the Department of Health and Human Services mandated, in contravention of the First Amendment, that all religious organizations provide contraception, sterilization and various forms of abortion to employees. This may be the single greatest violation of our constitutionally safeguarded religious liberties in our lifetimes. The mandate remains in place to this day.
But individual citizens haven’t escaped a forced fiduciary tie to abortion homicide. A few weeks later HHS arbitrarily attached a “final rule” to Obamacare requiring that every American, pro-life or otherwise, pay one dollar per month earmarked expressly for an abortion services pool. This validates pro-life forewarnings that the president was simply lying when he issued a toothless executive order supposedly banning federal dollars for abortion. (What do we call someone who chronically lies?)
Still, every once in a while the good guys win one.
For several months now the Obama administration has been abusing our judicial system through a concerted political intimidation campaign via the federal courts. Obama has instructed the Justice Department to sue a number of pro-life counselors and volunteers for allegedly violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrance (FACE) Act.
You won’t hear it from the mainstream media, but the Justice Department has just faced an embarrassing smack down on the highest profile of these cases. It has dropped an appeal in Holder v. Pine against pro-life sidewalk counselor Mary “Susan” Pine, who is represented by the civil rights firm Liberty Counsel. The DOJ has agreed to pay $120,000 for this frivolous lawsuit which, as the evidence indicated, was intended to intimidate Ms. Pine and send a shot over the bow of pro-lifers around the country.
Mr. Holder unsuccessfully sought thousands of dollars in fines against Ms. Pine, as well as a permanent injunction banning her from counseling women on the public sidewalk outside the Presidential Women’s Center (PWC) abortion mill (or any other “reproductive services” clinic).
After 18 months of litigation, the DOJ’s case was thrown out of federal court, and the department was chastised in a scathing ruling by U.S. District Judge Kenneth Ryskamp for filing a case with no evidence.
Judge Ryskamp wrote that Holder’s complete failure to present any evidence of wrongdoing, coupled with the DOJ’s cozy relationship with PWC and their apparent joint decision to destroy video surveillance footage of the alleged “obstruction,” caused the court to suspect a conspiracy at the highest levels of the Obama administration. “The Court is at a loss as to why the Government chose to prosecute this particular case in the first place,” wrote Judge Ryskamp. “The Court can only wonder whether this action was the product of a concerted effort between the Government and PWC, which began well before the date of the incident at issue, to quell Ms. Pine’s activities rather than to vindicate the rights of those allegedly aggrieved by Ms. Pine’s conduct.”
After the ruling the DOJ appealed on the last day possible and gave indication that President Obama had personally ordered the appeal. A little over a week later, the president apparently decided to cut his losses and reversed course.
Harry Mihet, senior counsel for Liberty Counsel, said of the judge’s ruling: “It’s not every day that a federal judge accuses the Justice Department of a full-blown conspiracy.”
Ironically, this past December, in the midst of the case, Ms. Pine actually counseled a woman outside of PWC and convinced her not to have an abortion, thus saving the life of the child and possibly the mother as well. Her email to Liberty Counsel read simply: “We saved a life today.”
Mathew Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, pulled no punches:
It is irresponsible for the U.S. Department of Justice to place politics above principle when deciding to prosecute, and thus attempt to silence, a pro-life sidewalk counselor without any evidence of wrongdoing.
When the nation’s highest law enforcement officer files suit against any citizen, the suit must be based on the law coupled with compelling evidence. Anything less is an abuse of the high office. Susan Pine will not be silenced or detoured from her mission to save the lives of innocent children.
Indeed, “politics above principle,” intimidation of private citizens and jaw-dropping abuses of power are but a few hallmarks of this Obama administration.
History will be no more kind to this president than he has been to the citizens he was sworn, and failed, to honorably serve.
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sibelius answered questions in Congress this week about the left framed ‘contraception compromise’ or the ‘first amendment un-compromise’ as framed by the right.
Sibelius essentially said that the decision has been made and this mandate along with many other surprises for those who did not follow the ObamaCare fight on in August 2013… PERIOD! The decision has been made and will go into affect regardless of the Constitution, religious freedom or what the American people want.
Remember what Nancy Pelosi said… “We have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in the bill!” Well, you are beginning to find out.
So why is this so important to progressives? Rush Limbaugh keeps saying that "abortion is the sacrament of liberalism." What makes this so? Let's ask Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, In her book "Women and the New Race", Sanger explains the purpose of birth control:(Page 229)
Birth control itself, often denounced as a violation of natural law, is nothing more or less than the facilitation of the process of weeding out the unfit, of preventing the birth of defectives or of those who will become defectives. So, in compliance with nature’s working plan, we must permit womanhood its full development before we can expect of it efficient motherhood. If we are to make racial progress, this development of womanhood must precede motherhood in every individual woman. Then and then only can the mother cease to be an incubator and be a mother indeed. Then only can she transmit to her sons and daughters the qualities which make strong individuals and, collectively, a strong race.
President Obama himself said that he had done the same thing when he was a community organizer. He got leftist priests and nuns in Chicago to compromise the values of the church.
The backlash over Sibelius' interpretation of the mandate built to a crescendo last week. Obama went to the podium and announced a "compromise." It was nocompromise at all ... In reality, Obama’s contraception mandate tramples religious freedom.
This is not an issue that will go away and may haunt the president through the 2012 Election cycle. It is a huge power grab and the first of many frightening realities of the what is really in the ObamaCare Bill. It should be a flag to all concerned Americans that each us needs to read that bill and insist that our Congressman and Senators read it immediately… and act. It should also be a flag to all Americans about the ideology of the President and his team and what is in our future if Obama survives this and is re-elected.
Socialized Medicine, which ObamaCare is, is he crown jewel of socialism… progressivism. It gives the government the control over one sixth of the U.S. Economy and decisions over who get care and who doesn’t, who lives and who dies, and this fight in addition to being a fight over religious freedom and the first amendment, not contraception, is also a fight over what the government can make each of us buy and pay for from here on out.
One of the best explanations of this fight I’ve heard is:
If you are against murder and someone says, “Okay, you don’t have to kill anyone yourself. We will hire someone to kill them for you.”, there is no resolution to the issue. It goes against your values, against God and against everything you stand for. That is exactly what is happening with the birth control mandate being forced on the Catholic Church by the administration and ObamaCare.
Beck Announces ‘We Are All Catholics Now’ Movement to Stand Up for Religious Freedom
The controversy over the Obama administration’s contraception mandate is at a boiling point, as many Catholic leaders continue to view the president’s so-called “accommodation” as a failure to protect religious liberty.
Now, Glenn Beck is coming forward with a new movement called “We Are All Catholics Now.” The main goal of the initiative is to ask Americans to reach out to Congressional leaders (at the moment, Senators) to encourage the passage of legislation that would protect religious groups’ conscience rights.
Watch Beck discuss the effort on his radio show this morning:
The main push, Beck says, is to support the highway transportation bill, which will likely be voted upon this week. It will include an amendment – Blunt Conscience Protection Amendment – from Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) that would protect religious conscience rights. In the House, Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) is working on companion legislation, though it may not be voted on for a few weeks.
Beck is encouraging individuals to get involved by calling their Senators and letting them know that “we are all Catholics now.” The issue at hand is not about contraception as it has been framed by many media outlets, he says. Instead, it is a religious freedom issue that hinges upon the separation of church and state’s mandate that the government not force churches to violate their values and principles.
Here are his directions for getting involved and making an impact:
Call the Capitol and speak with your Senator. The numbers are: 202.224.3121; 202.225.3121; the toll free numbers for the Capitol Switchboard include: 1-866-220-0044 1-877-851-6437, 1-800-833-6354, 1-888-355-3588, 1-866-808-0065, 1-877-762-8762, 1-800-862-5530.
Call the switchboard, ask to be connected to a Senator from your specific state (it will take two calls, one for each Senator).
Whoever answers:
1. Tell them that you want to tell the Senator to vote for the Blunt conscience protection amendment. 2. Ask them if they know how the Senator will vote on that amendment 3. Tell them you want to be contacted back about how he voted (be sure to ask for accountability — they hate it, but it makes them call you back). 4. When you call, be sure to tell them “We are all Catholics now”. This key phrase will let them know you are part of a larger, organized movement working in support of religious freedom.
You can read more about the movement at GlennBeck.com.
Sitting in yesterday at GBTV was the co-author for Indivisible talking about the importance of his book as well as Glenn’s book Being George Washington during this pivotal times.
He spoke on the importance of uniting and turning back to God for divine intervention was our only chance to turn our country around.
This is the time to stand-up and choose your side.
Governor Palin appeared on On the Record calling this mandate an ‘Un-American Act’
Add this fight to the expected rise in unemployment (even with the job number game) and possible $5 gas prices at the pump… and this might end up being Obama’s Waterloo! Some believe the timing of this fight is an answer to the prayers for intervention being said daily by many Americans.
This is not a fight over contraception and who will pay for it. It is a fight over religious freedom vs. secularism, a fight over the Constitution vs. Progressivism, a fight over limiting the powers of the commerce clause vs. the government being able to force us to purchase and pay for anything they choose, and the fight over the ideology that will control this country. This is not a fight that anyone can afford to sit out.
(If you are not up on this issue… follow the thread here from the bottom up)
Update: Religious organizations are already saying that the Obama’s announced compromise is hollow. Catholic Bishops and other religious organizations are moving forward with their protests. The political fallout from this issue could be huge in the 2012 Election among religious groups and Independents. Remember Obama carried the Catholic vote in 2008.
RUSH: Everybody's reporting that Obama's caving on this mandate that the Catholic services provide abortion and all. There's not a cave here! There may be an accommodation, but there's no big cave-in here. It's still the government mandating this stuff happen. They're just changing the provider. It's not done by the church. He says he gave them a way out of it by mandating the insurance companies do it, but that's not the point here.
Snip
So everywhere I'm reading that Obama is caving on the mandate in Obamacare that Catholic churches -- well, not churches, but the schools and hospitals are mandated to provide contraceptives and abortion-related services that they religiously disagree with. "What's happened here is that Obama's caved! He has seen, he has heard, and now he's gonna shift that burden to the insurance companies!"
Snip
Obama is not doing what he's doing to make Barbara Boxer happy or the pro-abortion crowd happy or the Democrat Senate Caucus happy. He knows that's gonna happen. What he's doing is violating the Constitution. He is coalescing extra-constitutional power. He is making a power grab here that is unprecedented in the history of the presidency. (interruption)
Thomas Edsall, that's right. Thomas Edsall wrote that piece in the Nuev Orc Times, former Washington Post columnist. So I don't think... This has been my if you then argument with the Republican establishment from the get-go with Obama. I don't think this is traditional politics at all. I don't think traditional politics has anything to do with why Obama's doing this. This is about fundamentally transforming this country from a representative republic to a pure, straight democracy with the president assuming he's the majority and therefore can do whatever he wants to do. We're not dealing with the average, "Okay, the Democrats won the White House. They're gonna have it for four or eight years. We gotta try to stop 'em however we can and we'll get power back."
There's something unprecedented going on here.
Woodrow Wilson dreamed of this.
FDR dreamed of this.
Obama is doing this.
The White House will force insurance companies to offer the drugs free of charge to all women!!!
BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Everybody's reporting that Obama's caving on this mandate that the Catholic services provide abortion and all. There's not a cave here! There may be an accommodation, but there's no big cave-in here. It's still the government mandating this stuff happen. They're just changing the provider. It's not done by the church. He says he gave them a way out of it by mandating the insurance companies do it, but that's not the point here. Great to have you. It's Friday. Let's go to! JOHNNY DONOVAN: Live from the Left Coast at our satellite studios in Los Angeles,...
WASHINGTON, February 10, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The White House announced today that, instead of forcing religious employers to pay for birth control, it will force insurance companies to offer the drugs free of charge to all women, no matter where they work. The plan, touted as a concession to freedom of religion and conscience, was immediately denounced by pro-life Rep. Chris Smith. “The so-called new policy is the discredited old policy, dressed up to look like something else,. said Smith. .It remains a serious violation of religious freedom. Only the most naï or gullible would accept this as a change...
UPDATE, 12:14p: More evidence the “compromise” stinks: Planned Parenthood likes it. UPDATE, 12:02p: From a House source: This “new policy” is a distinction without a difference. The services the religious organization opposes won’t be listed in the contract, but the insurance companies will give it the employees anyway. Insurance companies will justify providing the coverage that the religious charity opposes by swearing that birth control coverage doesn’t actually cost anything because it’s cheaper than pregnancy services, so it’s just a free perk. The administration will argue that people of faith should be fine with this arrangement, because they can tell...
(Reuters) - U.S. health insurers said on Friday they feared President Barack Obama had set a new precedent by making them responsible for providing free birth control to employees of religious groups as he sought to defuse an election-year landmine. "We are concerned about the precedent this proposed rule would set," said Robert Zirkelbach, spokesman for America's Health Insurance Plans, the industry's trade group. "As we learn more about how this rule would be operationalized, we will provide comments through the regulatory process." Zirkelbach said insurers "have long offered contraceptive coverage to employers as part of comprehensive, preventive benefits that...
With regards to government intervention into religion, the First Amendment to the US Constitution states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” First, Congress is the Constitutional body that has the authority to make laws for the United States of America. Second, it is to steer clear of anything pertaining to freedom of religion.
WASHINGTON (The Blaze/AP) — The Blaze has covered the religious freedom issues surrounding the Obama administration’s contraceptive mandate extensively. President Barack Obama will announce a plan to accommodate religious employers outraged by a rule that would require them to cover birth control for women free of charge, according to a person familiar with the decision.
Obama was expected to make the announcement at the White House Friday. ABC has more regarding what sources are saying the president is poised to present:
The move, based on state models, will almost certainly not satisfy bishops and other religious leaders since it will preserve the goal of women employees having their birth control fully covered by health insurance. [...]
One source familiar with the decision described the accommodation as “Hawaii-plus,” insisting that it’s better than the Hawaii plan — for both sides.
In Hawaii the employer is responsible for referring employees to places where they can obtain the contraception; Catholic leaders call that material cooperation with evil. But what the White House will likely announce later today is that the relationship between the religious employer and the insurance company will not need to have any component involving contraception.
The exact nature of the clarification remains unclear, but any accommodation could largely follow what exists in a majority of states, like in Illinois where DePaul University, the largest Catholic university in the country, offers an employee health plan that does cover contraception. Georgetown University offers a similar plan.
The shift is aimed at containing the political firestorm that erupted after Obama announced in January that religious-affiliated employers had to cover birth control as preventative care for women. Churches and houses of worship were exempt, but all other affiliated organizations were ordered to comply by Aug. 2013.
Republican leaders and religious groups, especially Roman Catholics, responded with intense outrage, saying the requirement would force them to violate church teachings and long-held beliefs against contraception.
The issue also pushed social issues to the forefront in an election year that had been dominated by the economy. Abortion, contraception and any of the requirements of Obama‘s health care overhaul law have the potential to galvanize the Republicans’ conservative base, critical to voter turnout in the presidential and congressional races.
Republicans vowed to reverse the president’s policy, with House Speaker John Boehner accusing the administration of violating First Amendment rights and undermining some of the country’s most vital institutions, such as Catholic charities, schools and hospitals.
The measure also sparked an internal debate at the White House. Vice President Joe Biden, then-chief of staff Bill Daley and deputy national security adviser Denis McDonough, all Catholics, raised concerns about how the administration proceeded on the policy. On the other side, senior White House advisers Nancy-Ann DeParle, Pete Rouse and David Plouffe argued for the need to ensure coverage for all without exception, as a matter of women’s health and fairness.
The Obama administration clearly underestimated the response it would receive from Catholics and non-Catholics, alike, after implementing a universal mandate on health plans that requires coverage of contraceptives, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs.
As the Blaze has extensively documented, the response has been swift and hard-hitting. Many liberals who traditionally support these options for women have been jumping ship to side with Catholic leadership in agreement that the administration has overstepped its bounds — an event that so rarely happens in theological and political circles.
But it’s important to note that, despite very boisterous outcries, Obama does have support from some liberals on this issue; many of them are pointing to the fact that nearly all Catholic women use contraceptives as a defense. Using this argument, those who favor the mandate claim that the Church is out of touch and not accurately speaking for its followers on this important women’s health issue.
But is this the proper lens through which to view the issue? Free and religious speech advocates would argue that usage has little to do with views on government intervention in church affairs. In the end, it’s a complicated scenario with political capital for whichever side wins the public over. At the moment, the situation may not be as favorable for Obama as he would like. In an article published on Wednesday, Religion News Service’s David Gibson provides five reasons that the president may be losing the battle.
First, the debate, despite what the mandate’s supporters say, is about religious freedom — not contraception. Regardless of where one stands, the main issue at hand is whether the government has the right to interfere in church affairs and dictate what will be covered in health care plans. Gibson writes:
The bishops don’t have as much credibility with the laity as they used to, thanks to the clergy sex abuse scandal, among other things. But Catholics are still a potent tribe, and if outsiders are seen as attacking the church, Catholics can get defensive – and they can get even.
Then there’s the fact, as mentioned, that some liberal Catholics have abandoned the president on the issue. Regardless of where these individuals stand on use of these health care options, forcing Catholic institutions (among other faith-based groups) to violate their conscience just isn’t sitting right.
Now, let’s talk about those other faith groups. Many times, people of different religious traditions have a tough time coalescing, but on this issue, individuals with varying theological ideals are coming together. After all, it’s one thing to sit back and watch an attack on a rival faith group unfold, but when considering what could happen, should this mandate go unchecked, many religious people are fearful: “What’s next?,” they’re wondering. Gibson continues:
Even though evangelicals and other conservative Protestants generally don’t have religious objections to contraception, they do have a big problem with “big government” and with perceived infringements on religious freedom. Evangelicals – both their leaders and their troops – have never been big Barack Obama supporters anyway, so they were happy to provide any electoral and rhetorical muscle the Catholic hierarchy could not muster.
The fourth reason Gibson highlights is the fact that the “attack on religion” frame the issue is being explored through is an appealing one for Republicans. While many conservatives are wondering why Obama would approach this subject in an election year to begin with, others are noticing just how effective religious freedom rhetoric will be for the GOP nominee.
The rhetoric is already ratcheting up. “This attack by the federal government on religious freedom in our country cannot stand, and will not stand,” House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said earlier this week.
And, of course, there’s the overwhelming fact that the president will need to secure the Catholic vote to ensure re-election. “While Obama won the overall Catholic vote 54 percent to 46 percent in 2008, he lost the white Catholic vote, 47 percent to 53 percent,” Gibson writes. It‘s hard to imagine the president won’t lose a portion of this important cohort as a result of his refusal, thus far, to compromise.
As GOP Presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum have both said, “Obama has shown his hand and if he is re-elected, even if they walk this back now, this is the road that his administration will go down!”
Sure, he’s shown “openness” to the ideal of coming up with a viable solution that appeases both sides, but to those so staunchly opposed, such a notion isn’t good enough. The president will need to admit wrongdoing and back away from the mandate, should he wish to appease many of those individuals who feel wronged by the government’s newfound regulations. So far, there’s no evidence that he will take such a course.
Is the Timing of the War With Obama Over Mandatory Birth Control Payments… Another ObamaCare Revelation, God’s Answer to Prayers for Intervention by Many Americans?
The present issue of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) requiring (through ObamaCare) that all private insurers, including Catholic charities and hospitals, cover the cost in full for contraception, sterilization procedures, and the “week-after“ pill ”ella” that can induce early abortions is being framed as a fight over contraception. It is not an issue of contraception! It is an issue of religious liberty and an assault on the Freedom of Religion guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.
No politicians ever go after the Roman Catholic Church… Why? Because it is suicidal. Also, with everyone salivating to get the Hispanic voting block, who are almost all Catholics, this recent news of anti-religious freedom in ObamaCare resulting in a battle with the Catholic church could be Obama’s Waterloo.
Jews, Protestants, Evangelicals, Mormons, a coalition of people of faith and even Atheists are standing with the Catholics on this matter. 90% of all Americans identify themselves as being related to some religion, even if not practicing.
So the question is, is the timing of this realization of one of the coming horrors in ObamaCare a huge mistake by Team Obama and perhaps an intervention by God in answer to all the prayers for help and guidance being said by God fearing Americans daily? Or is the primary focus of the left more about creating division and chaos to fundamentally transform America than getting elected… or re-elected?
Take a good look back at the famous ‘Fabian’ Window… the group the Progressives stem from. The Fabian Window is a view into the Heart of the New World Order Agenda, and yes that is former Prime Minister of Great Britain, Tony Blair standing by that sinister Window!
The founders of the Fabian Society are depicted in the famous stained-glass Fabian Window[1] designed by George Bernard Shaw. The window was stolen in 1978 and reappeared at Sotheby's in 2005. It was restored to display in the Shaw Library at the London School of Economics in 2006 at a ceremony over which Tony Blair presided.
—Obama denigrates religion, covers up religious symbols when he speaks in churches, and proclaims that we are not a “Christian” nation. In fact, we are a Christian nation, but not exclusively so, and far more tolerant of all believers and disbelievers than the Arab countries from whom he courts favor. In those countries you may be maimed, banished or killed if you are not Muslim. Freedom of religion in those countries is but an empty phrase in constitutions that exalt Islam over all other religions. Is Obama remolding our religious heritage? …Taken from CFP’s Beware the Obama Fabian Window. Many feel that Obama is Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing on the Fabian Window Coat of Arms.
Remember, Obama’s weakness is religious people. He doesn’t have the churches and true Bible reading/God fearing Americans behind him. So they are poking us to get us worked up to standup as a focus point making us the fringe and bringing us head to head with the left… the unions, OWS, avowed Progressives, etc.
Below are just a few of the article and perspective on this subject:
Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who leads the Roman Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services, wrote a letter to be read at all Sunday Masses for U.S. military personnel around the world that said that a regulation issued by the Obama Administration under the new federal health care law was “a blow” to a freedom that U.S. troops have not only fought to defend but for which some have recently died in battle. “It is a blow to a freedom that you have fought to defend and for which you have seen your buddies fall in battle,” the archbishop wrote.
Updated: *167* Bishops (More Than 90% of Dioceses) Have Spoken Out Against Obama/HHS Mandate by Thomas Peters7 days ago In the past I’ve compiled a list of all the bishops speaking out on a particular controversial issue (for instance, over Notre Dame’s invitation to President Obama) — here are the bishops who have spoken out against the Obama/HHS mandate.[See my ongoing coverage of Obama/HHS's war against religious liberty here, here, here and most recently here. I'm also tweeting more updates @AmericanPapist.] If I have missed anyone please let me know in the comments! And please double-check that your bishop really is not there...
If the federal government can succeed in forcing people to violate their faith, it will have the power to force anyone to do anything. It is therefore sad but not surprising that Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius took to USA Today this week to spin rather than explain her boss’s decision to force people and entities all over the country to fund abortifacients, contraception, and sterilization against their consciences.
However, one of the most startling comments came from former Democrat Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper who said that she would have never voted for the health care bill had she known that the Department of Health and Human Services would require all private insurers, including Catholic charities and hospitals, to cover the cost in full for contraception, sterilization procedures, and the “week-after“ pill ”ella” that can induce early abortions.
For those of us who have followed and fought against the passing of ObamaCare that knew about every ugly detail that has come to light since its passing… and there are many more to come, the amazement about its content keeps creating amazement for us. Government-run healthcare is the crown jewel of socialism and the ugliness contained within has only begun to surface. How dare an elected official who voted on this type of freedom changing bill say, “If I had known….” Read the bills, pay readers, have your staff read it. There really should be a penalty to pay by these people. Election 2012 or the Supreme Court Ruling will be our only chance(s) to rid ourselves of ObamaCare!!
This is not a matter that will just blow over, even though the White House is starting to back peddle on this issue for now; but this is a glimmer into our future if Barack Obama is re-elected. Those in the trenches know that any and all of the compromises we see during this election year will be rescinded as soon as Obama is re-elected.
This fight is much larger than this single issue… As Father Morris stated on Hannity the other night and again today on The Factor… “This is the fight over Freedom of Religion”, the very issue that America was founded on! The Left’s siege on churches has begun!!
Senator Rand Paul stood-up and blasted the HHS mandate as ‘authoritarian’ and ‘totalitarian; “Gloves are off”, he said! Similar remarks from Speaker Boehner, Senator Marco Rubio and congressional politicians from both sides of the aisle.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius speaks in Seattle on Feb. 9, 2011. (AP Photo)
(CNSNews.com) – Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told CNSNews.com on Wednesday that the administration's new $500 million early learning initiative is designed to deal with children from birth onward to prevent such problems as 5-year olds who "can't sit still" in a kindergarten classroom.
“You really need to look at the range of issues, because if a 5-year-old can’t sit still, it is unlikely that they can do well in a kindergarten class, and it has to be the whole range of issues that go into healthy child development,” Sebelius said during a telephone news conference on Wednesday to announce the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge.
Sebelius and Education Secretary Arne Duncan jointly announced the $500-million program, which will provide competitive grants to states to address issues affecting educational outcomes for children from birth to age 5. (The actual question needs to be why aren’t we helping mom’s be home with their young children; why aren’t more people home-schooling or moving their children to Christian schools and why would you want these people to have anymore effect on your children than they already do? They have already proven that under the Progressive watch, education and knowledge is at an all time low and instilled propaganda against America, free-market Capitalism, religion and their parents is at an all time high!)
On the conference call, CNSNews.com asked: “What were the current problems that were found with the health, social and emotional development for children ages birth to 5?”
Sebelius, adding on to comments from Asst. Education Secretary Joan Lombardi, pointed to studies done in her home state of Kansas, where she served as governor. “When we looked at 5-year olds--and we tested about half the 5-year-olds in a relatively homogeneous state like Kansas -- and found that about half of them were not ready for kindergarten at age 5," Sebelius said.
"And some of those skills were missing: readiness for their math or reading," she said. "A number of children were missing the social and developmental skills which would allow them to sit in a classroom or play with others or listen to a teacher for any period of time. So I think it was an indicator that you couldn’t just test curriculum readiness.”
According to the U.S. Department of Education, awards in Race to the Top will go to “states that are leading the way with ambitious yet achievable plans for implementing coherent, compelling, and comprehensive early learning education reform.”
The “candy cane case” may have serious implications for the First Amendment rights of elementary school children. This creatively-dubbed legal battle started back in 2003 when an elementary school in Plano, Texas, refused to allow children to distribute religious materials.
Jonathon Morgan, a third-grade student at the time, brought candy cane-shaped pens to share with his class. Administrators at the Plano Independent School District refused to allow him to distribute the pens, because they had religious messages attached. Back in 2001, another student’s party favors (pencils that said “Jesus is the reason for the season”) were also confiscated. Read Full Article Here
If you would like to know what the White House really thinks of Obamacare, there’s an easy way. Look past its press releases. Ignore its promises. Forget its talking points. Instead, simply witness for yourself the outrageous way the White House protects its best friends from Obamacare.
Last year, we learned that the Department of Health and Human Services(HHS) had granted 111 waivers to protect a lucky few from the onerous regulations of the new national health care overhaul. That number quickly and quietly climbed to 222, and last week we learned that the number of Obamacare privileged escapes has skyrocketed to 733.
Among the fortunate is a who’s who list of unions, businesses and even several cities and four states (Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio and Tennessee) but none of the friends of Barack feature as prominently as the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
How can you get your own free pass from Obamacare? Maybe you can just donate $27 million to President Obama‘s campaign efforts. That’s what Andy Stern did as president of SEIU in 2008. He has been the most frequent guest at Mr. Obama‘s White House.
Backroom deals have become par for the course for proponents of Obamacare. Senators were greased with special favors, like Nebraska Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson and his Cornhusker Kickback and Louisiana Democrat Sen. Mary L. Landrieu and her Louisiana Purchase. Even the American Medical Association was brought in line under threat of losing its exclusive and lucrative medical coding contracts with the government.
Not only are the payoffs an affront to our democracy and an outright assault on our taxpayers, the timing itself of the latest release makes a mockery of this administration’s transparency promises. More than 500 of the 733 waivers, we now know, were granted in December but kept conveniently under wraps until the day after the president’s State of the Union address. HHS is no stranger to covering up bad news; in fact, this is becoming a disturbing pattern. Last year, Secretary Kathleen Sebelius hid from Congress until after the Obamacare vote a damning report from the Medicare and Medicaid Office of the Actuary showing Obamacare would cost $311 billion more than promised and would displace 14 million Americans from their current insurance.
For this administration, transparency promises last only until the teleprompter is unplugged.
Backroom deals and cover-ups may be business as usual for Washington, but understanding why the Obama administration protects its friends from Obamacare offers special insight into what the purveyors of the mandate themselves think about their own law. This is key: The waivers aren’t meant to protect victims from unintended consequences of Obamacare; they are meant to exempt them from the very intentional increased costs of health insurance that the law causes. Under Section 2711 of the Public Health Service Act, Obamacare increases the annual cap of insurance benefits, which sounds great - as does everything else in big government - until the bill comes due, in this case, in the form of higher insurance premiums.
In short, the administration has decided that you will face increased health insurance premiums, but special friends in the unions will not. Look closely, and you’ll see not only the White House‘s duplicity but also what the Obama administration really thinks of its crown jewel, Obamacare. White House words say that the annual insurance benefit cap is a feature of the program, but its actions say that it’s a bug.
The question remains: If Obamacare is such a great law, why does the White House keep protecting its best friends from it?
Our democracy cannot allow a president to exercise the unholy power of picking and choosing winners and losers, of choosing who must follow his flawed laws and who gets a free pass. If any American deserves a waiver from Obamacare, then all Americans do.
It was Mr. Obama himself who infamously said, "We're gonna punish our enemies and we're gonna reward our friends." This president speaks anything but softly, and Obamacare is his big stick.
It's time to give every American his own waiver: Repeal Obamacare.
Dr. Milton R. Wolf is a board-certified diagnostic radiologist, medical director and cousin of President Obama. He blogs daily at miltonwolf.com.
This is news that normally would find those in the know jumping up and down for joy. But as we are living in times where you constantly need to be questioning everything and always watching the other hand, we need to be asking ourselves why?!?
By William Kearney
January 10, 2011 - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced a federal proposal to reduce the recommended level of fluoride in drinking water to prevent a discoloration and pitting of the teeth known as dental fluorosis. The proposal is based in part on EPA assessments that were prompted by a 2006 National Research Council report, which recommended that EPA reconsider its fluoride standards to take into account health effects such as dental fluorosis and consider all sources, including toothpaste and mouthwash, of fluoride exposure.
One of the side affects of fluoride is making people docile. It was used by Stalin and Hitler to control the masses. So why would the HHS reduce the fluoride in the water now; something that those in the know have been lobbying for, for years, to deaf ears and no avail? Watch the other hand… just as many progressives in power are calling for revolution, clear out of the blue HHS decides to lower the levels of fluoride?!? It is almost as if they want to incite unrest?
thecommunists, I remained silent; I was not a communist.
Then they locked up the social democrats, I remained silent; I was not a social democrat.
Then they came for the trade unionists, I did not protest; I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics, I did not protest; I was a Protestant.
Then they came for the Jews, I did not speak out; I was not a Jew.
When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.
Election 2014 - What Is Really At Stake
Help Stop Voter Fraud!! Stand for the Constitution and God
Time to remember that: "We Surround Them", not the other way!
Stand Up Against Voter Fraud... Demand Re-Counts and Verification Until It is Right!! A Little Ink Goes a Long Way Toward Honesty... 1 Person 1 Vote... No More Mickey Mouse or Dead People Voting
"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about IT! --Albert Einstein
Call Congress Today and Tell Them To Vote Against Cap and Trade
The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis, maintain their neutrality -- Dante Alighieri / Often Quoted by Mark Twain
Thanks for calling the Congressional switchboard. Keep up the pressure: "NO on Cap and Trade"!!! "NO Vote on Obamacare", NO on another Stimulus Bill, NO to the never ending parade of "Power Grab Bills", and ABSOLUTELY NO on the Climate Change Treaty in Copenhagen!!
"No" on Cap and Trade and "No" on Government Controlled Healthcare!!! And Keep up the good fight! Keep up the Pressure on both the House and Senate! These are 2-fights the American People cannot afford to lose!!!
If you choose not to go this route… call and fax your Senator and as many of them on the list yourself, but don’t sit idly by!!
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We apologize in advance for any Videos or links that are not functioning in these or other older posts. Internet information... like 'true' history in our student's textbooks are under constant attack by the Progressive Movement and even more so under the present administration. Try to save what you can to your own computer.
"...there comes a time, ladies and gentlemen, when ideology can cause death. I am so tired, so tired, of zealots, primarily on the left, putting their insane personal agendas above the safety of fellow Americans. Do you think the brave soldiers and Marines operating in dangerous areas right now want [unreleased photos of alleged abuse of prisoners] all over al-Jazeera and the terror websites? So let's look out for the military, OK? Nancy Pelosi has an obligation to get the loons in her party under control. If the Speaker can't do that, she doesn't deserve her position." ... Bill O'Reilly
Updated:If you'd like to contact Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, here's the contact information that you'll need.
Attention, Catholics, Protestants, and everyone who cares about the causes of life, religious freedom, and freedom of conscience!
