Lawmakers File Amicus With Court in Hobby Lobby Case: Corporations CAN Refuse Obamacare on Religious Grounds

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; despite “Constitutional Scholar” Obama’s claims to the contrary, you don’t give up your Rights just because you own a business:

For-Profit Businesses Have Right to Religious Liberty Too, Lawmakers Tell Court in Hobby Lobby Case

By Penny Starr

(CNSNews.com) – Republican members of Congress have weighed in on the legal battle being waged over the Obamacare mandate requiring employers to provide contraceptives and abortion-inducing drugs to employees.

Eleven senators and congressmen filed an amicus brief, also known as a friend-of-the-court brief, with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit on Tuesday in support of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., a Christian-owned and operated corporation that opposes the mandate based on its owners’ religious beliefs. Hobby Lobby filed suit against Health and Human Services and Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

Rep. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) was one of the lead sponsors of the Religious Freedom Reformation Act of 1993, which he said was designed to protect the religious liberty of all Americans, even those who own corporations or other for-profit businesses.

“As one of the lead sponsors of RFRA, it’s deeply troubling to see this White House trample on the religious freedom the law seeks to protect,” Hatch said in a written statement.

The brief states: “Amici are federal legislators who were part of the broad, bipartisan coalition that enacted the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (“RFRA”). Amici designed and passed RFRA to establish a blanket default rule that would insulate religious liberty from the shifting fortunes of interest-group politics.

“Defendants have ordered that certain employers’ insurance plans must cover all FDA-approved contraceptives without cost-sharing (the “HHS mandate”), but have refused to exempt many employers with sincere religious objections. Amici have an interest in vindicating RFRA’s blanket protections against the selective and stingy approach adopted by Defendants.”

In addition to Hatch, the brief was signed by Sens. Dan Coats (R-Ind.), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), and Reps. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), and Frank Wolf (R-Va.).

Dearbornistan: Federal Judge Rules Christians Can Sue Muslim Festival Organizers

Now that Christians have won this ruling, they need to go not only after the organizers but, they need to go after the city of Dearborn itself for bowing to Islam!:

Judge: Christian evangelists can sue Muslims
Arab Chamber of Commerce runs festival where faithful arrested
WND

A federal judge has ruled that Christian evangelists who were arrested at a Dearborn, Mich., festival sponsored by the Arab Chamber of Commerce can sue the business organization.

“The court finds that plaintiffs do properly allege a civil conspiracy among defendants, including the AACC, to deprive plaintiffs of their constitutional rights sufficient to survive a motion to dismiss,” the court’s ruling said.

It came in a case brought by the American Freedom Law Center on behalf of the Christians. David Yerushalmi, AFLC co-founder and senior counsel, said: “The detailed allegations of our 100-page civil rights complaint sets out a pattern of misconduct that had the purpose and effect of depriving our clients of their fundamental constitutional rights.”

The judge, Stephen J. Murphy III, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, granted the AFLC’s request to amend its complaint on behalf of the missionaries “unlawfully arrested for preaching the Gospel to Muslims at the 2010 Arab International Festival.”

Added to list of defendants was the American Arab Chamber of Commerce, the organization responsible for the Dearborn Arab Festival.

It was on June 18, 2010, when four Christian missionaries, Dr. Nabeel Qureshi, David Wood, Paul Rezkalla, and Negeen Mayel, were thrown in jail by Dearborn police officers for peacefully preaching to Muslims at that year’s annual event.

The four were accused of “breach of the peace.” They were ordered to trial, but, represented by Robert Muise, AFLC co-founder and senior counsel, they were acquitted.

Then Yerushalmi and Muise brought the civil rights action against the city, mayor John B. O’Reilly, police chief Ronald Haddad, 17 police officers and others.

It accuses sheriff’s officers of siding “with the Muslim mob intent on suppressing the Christians’ speech.”

The situation since then only has deteriorated, the evidence suggests. A video was made during the 2012 events indicating hundreds of angry Muslims threw chunks of concrete and eggs at a team of Christians, spraying them with urine and cursing at them – all while police stood by and then threatened the victims with “disorderly conduct.”

The video explains authorities not only failed to protect the Christians, they ordered them to leave the Arab Festival under threat of arrest for “disorderly conduct.”

However, not one Muslim was arrested for the attack that left several members of the Christian group bloodied, it says.

[…]

Victory! (For Now): Obama Administration Withdraws Proposed Child Labor Laws for Farm Families

How much you want to bet that if Obama gets reelected, this issue is coming right back?:

Labor Dept. withdraws farm child labor rule after Daily Caller report goes viral
Daily Caller

Under pressure from farming advocates in rural communities, and following a report by The Daily Caller, the Obama administration withdrew a proposed rule Thursday that would have applied child labor laws to family farms.

Critics complained that the regulation would have drastically changed the extent to which children could work on farms owned by family members. The U.S. Department of Labor cited public outcry as the reason for withdrawing the rule.

“The decision to withdraw this rule — including provisions to define the ‘parental exemption’ — was made in response to thousands of comments expressing concerns about the effect of the proposed rules on small family-owned farms,” the Department said in a press release Thursday evening. “To be clear, this regulation will not be pursued for the duration of the Obama administration.”

Interesting verbiage…  To be clear, what they are really saying is that this WILL come up again after the election unless Obama and his fellow communist psychophants are booted out of the government.

The rule would have dramatically changed what types of chores children under the age of 16 could perform on and around American farms. It would have prohibited them from working with tobacco, operating almost all types of power-driven equipment and being employed to work with raw farm materials.

[…]

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/26/amid-nationwide-outcry-labor-dept-withdraws-farm-child-labor-rule/#ixzz1tG3mbcTd

U.S. Most Charitable Nation in the World

Just thought I’d throw this out there.  Who knows?  You can always use it as ammunition when sparring with some anti-American idiot on the web:

U.S. jumps to top of charity index

By Lauren Markoe| Religion News Service – WaPo

WASHINGTON — Americans: the most generous people in the world. In this season of giving, that’s no idle gloat.

According to a new study, the United States tops a massive global charity survey, rising from fifth place in 2010.

The “World Giving Index,” based on 150,000 interviews with citizens of 153 nations, ranks the U.S. highest on a scale that weighed monetary donations, volunteer work, and willingness to help out a stranger.

“In spite of economic hardships and uncertainty in the future, the American spirit is caring and strong, as these survey findings clearly show,” said David Venne, interim CEO of CAFAmerica, the Virginia-based charities consultant that released the results of the index.

[…]

Anonymous donors pay off Kmart layaway accounts

I thought it was about time that we ran some good news. Stories like this are more common than people think. America is special because American’s are special. This story will remind you of what is really important in life.

For the last few years, I have dropped off Cash at area Churches and asked the pastor to give it to whoever needs it most. I never place limits on it, as much as I see the need to give Christmas to kids, I would be equally happy if it helped pay a bill or buy a nice meal. The idea is simple, help someone and just look for the opportunity to perform a random act of kindness.

Margery A. Beck, 15 Dec 2011, (AP)
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The young father stood in line at the Kmart layaway counter, wearing dirty clothes and worn-out boots. With him were three small children.

-My normal dress is dirty clothes and worn-out boots but don’t be sending old Ronin any gifts. I do encourage everyone to help someone. Pay a bill for them, hire someone to do a chore (or do it yourself) a chore they cannot afford or just do not have the time to do.

He asked to pay something on his bill because he knew he wouldn’t be able to afford it all before Christmas. Then a mysterious woman stepped up to the counter.

“She told him, ‘No, I’m paying for it,'” recalled Edna Deppe, assistant manager at the store in Indianapolis. “He just stood there and looked at her and then looked at me and asked if it was a joke. I told him it wasn’t, and that she was going to pay for him. And he just busted out in tears.”

At Kmart stores across the country, Santa seems to be getting some help: Anonymous donors are paying off strangers’ layaway accounts, buying the Christmas gifts other families couldn’t afford, especially toys and children’s clothes set aside by impoverished parents.

Before she left the store Tuesday evening, the Indianapolis woman in her mid-40s had paid the layaway orders for as many as 50 people. On the way out, she handed out $50 bills and paid for two carts of toys for a woman in line at the cash register.

“She was doing it in the memory of her husband who had just died, and she said she wasn’t going to be able to spend it and wanted to make people happy with it,” Deppe said. The woman did not identify herself and only asked people to “remember Ben,” an apparent reference to her husband.

-Rest in Peace Ben, your wife is one special woman and her love for you has helped encourage entire families. God Bless her.

Deepe, who said she’s worked in retail for 40 years, had never seen anything like it.
“It was like an angel fell out of the sky and appeared in our store,” she said.
Most of the donors have done their giving secretly.

Dona Bremser, an Omaha nurse, was at work when a Kmart employee called to tell her that someone had paid off the $70 balance of her layaway account, which held nearly $200 in toys for her 4-year-old son.

-I do not know many people with the resources to do this sort of thing but some of you can do other smaller random acts of kindness. Help someone this weekend. If you cannot pay off a bill, leave a Christmas card with just kind words on their door. Call on a elderly neighbor and bring a nice pie with you. People need encouragement, especially in this economy.

Barney “the Gay Dinosaur” Frank Drops Out of 2012 Re-Election Bid

Probably the only other thing he’s ever dropped is a bar of soap:

Rep. Frank won’t run for reelection

– The Hill

Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) will announce Monday that he is not seeking re-election, ending a 32-year career in the House.

Frank, 71, is the top Democrat on the Financial Services Committee and the architect, with former Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), of the sweeping Wall Street regulatory reform law enacted in 2010.

He is scheduled to hold a press conference at 1 p.m. in his district, according to a spokesman, who said the congressman would announce at that time the reason for his decision. His retirement will deprive the House of one of its most colorful characters, a man known for his quick and often caustic wit.

[…]

Nope.  The article doesn’t mention his pot smoking nor his homosexual lover at Fannie Mae, Herb Moses.  Instead, we are treated to this:

His legislative legacy is likely to be the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill that passed in 2010 in the wake of the Wall Street meltdown that sent the economy into a tailspin in 2008. Hailed by the Obama administration, the law has drawn sharp criticism in the Republican presidential nomination fight, and one leading contender, former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), even suggested that Frank be jailed, along with Dodd, for their support of the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the lead-up to the financial crisis.

[…]

And, which financial institutions responsible for the 2008 crash were exempted from Barney’s Dodd-Frank Financial Deform Legislation?  Fannie & Freddie, that’s who!

Good News: Geert Wilders Aquitted. Bad News: Muzzies to Move Case to the U.N.

I doubt any Muzzies will be paying for all those legal fees Mr. Wilders has been forced to endure over this ridiculous witch hunt:

Dutch populist Geert Wilders acquitted of hate speech

(Reuters) – Dutch populist politician Geert Wilders was acquitted of inciting hatred of Muslims in a court ruling on Thursday that may strengthen his political influence and exacerbate tensions over immigration policy.

The case was seen by some as a test of free speech in a country which has a long tradition of tolerance and blunt talk, but where opposition to immigration, particularly from Muslim or predominantly Muslim countries, is on the rise.

Instantly recognizable by his mane of dyed blond hair, Wilders, 47, is one of the most outspoken critics of Islam and immigration in the Netherlands.

His Freedom Party is now the third-largest in parliament, a measure of support for its anti-immigrant stance, and is the minority government’s chief ally. But many of Wilders’ comments — such as likening Islam to Nazism — are socially divisive.

The presiding judge said Wilders’s remarks were sometimes “hurtful,” “shocking” or “offensive,” but that they were made in the context of a public debate about Muslim integration and multi-culturalism, and therefore not a criminal act.

“I am extremely pleased and happy,” Wilders told reporters after the ruling. “This is not so much a win for myself, but a victory for freedom of speech. Fortunately you can criticize Islam and not be gagged in public debate.”

[…]

Minorities groups said they would now take the case to the United Nations Human Rights Committee, arguing the ruling meant the Netherlands had failed to protect ethnic minorities from discrimination.

“The acquittal means that the right of minorities to remain free of hate speech has been breached. We are going to claim our rights at the U.N.,” said Mohamed Rabbae of the National Council for Moroccans.

Wilders, who has received numerous death threats and has to live under 24-hour guard, argued that he was exercising his right to freedom of speech when criticizing Islam.

[…]

Texting Saves Baby Boy’s Life

Reading the following, I couldn’t help but think:  “Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.”  – Proverbs 17:6 (ESV)

Meet Manuel, a Baby Saved from Coerced Abortion by Texting
OperationRescue.org

Albuquerque, NM – A teen mother, who was saved from a coerced abortion last October after a sidewalk counselor texted her while she was inside the clinic, has given birth to a beautiful, healthy boy named Manuel.

The little boy was born on May 10 weighing 7 pounds. The following week, his mother proudly graduated from high school.

Tara Shaver, a former intern for Operation Rescue, was sidewalk counseling outside Planned Parenthood in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when she received a call from a woman who told her that her grandson’s girlfriend was being forced to get an abortion that she did not want. The woman told Tara that her grandson, the baby’s father, also wanted to keep the baby. They were desperate, because the girl was only 17 and her mother was insisting on the abortion against the girl’s will. The grandmother gave Tara the teen’s cell phone number.

Tara began a text-message conversation with the teen, who we will call “Jane,” while she was inside the abortion clinic. Jane was six weeks pregnant and was interested in seeing an ultrasound of her baby, but still did not want to go through with the abortion. She told Tara that her mom would not allow her to leave the clinic.

Tara continued to encourage her and even texted Jane a photo of a pre-born baby at six weeks, the same age as her baby. Texting keep their conversation private where a phone call would have alerted the mother or the abortion clinic staff to Tara’s efforts to help Jane.

Finally, Jane came out of Planned Parenthood and spoke with Tara, and before long, Jane’s father came to the clinic to pick her up and take her safely home.

Tara’s last text to the Jane that day was loving word of encouragement.

“We are so proud of u! You are my hero, your baby is so proud too!”

Tara continued to follow up with her new friend, and shared in her joy at the birth of her baby and her accomplishment of graduating with her class.

[…]

Read the rest of this over at OperationRescue.org

Under Congressional Pressure, Navy Shelves Plan for Queer Marriages

Don’t you worry your pretty little head none; I’m sure Obama will implement another one of his backdoor solutions in the near future:

Navy halts move to allow gay unions by chaplains

May 11, 2011 – By LOLITA C. BALDOR

WASHINGTON (AP) – Under pressure from more than five dozen House lawmakers, the Navy late Tuesday abruptly reversed its decision that would have allowed chaplains to perform same-sex unions if the Pentagon decides to recognize openly gay military service later this year.

In a one-sentence memo obtained by The Associated Press, Rear Adm. Mark Tidd, chief of Navy chaplains, said his earlier decision has been “suspended until further notice pending additional legal and policy review and interdepartmental coordination.”

The Navy said its lawyers wanted to do a more thorough review of the legal decision that allowed Navy chaplains to receive training to perform civil unions on military bases, but only in states where same-sex unions are legal.

[…]

House members wrote to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to object to the Navy’s initial ruling, saying the service was violating the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act by appearing to recognize and support same-sex marriages.

[…]

“We find it unconscionable that the United States Navy, a federal entity sworn to preserve and protect the Constitution of the United States, believes it is their place alone to train and direct service members to violate federal law,” said the lawmakers’ letter, which was signed by 63 House members.

The lawmakers asked Mabus to direct the Navy to defend the Constitution, adding that individuals should not be allowed to pick and choose the laws they will follow.

[…]

The military dust-up comes against the backdrop of the Obama administration’s decision in February to no longer defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act. Attorney General Eric Holder said at the time that President Barack Obama concluded that the law was unconstitutional.

[…]

Osama Bin Laden Has Been Killed!

Great news!  I knew we were close.  There had been a lot of chatter recently about OBL and his whereabouts.  It seems that when the situation in Libya picked up, OBL had come out of hiding and there was a big al-Qaeda meeting a few weeks ago.  When I heard that, I knew OBL had screwed up!  From the March 25, 2011 issue of Asia Times : 

Bin Laden sets alarm bells ringing
By Syed Saleem Shahzad

ISLAMABAD – After a prolonged lull, the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has launched a series of covert operations in the rugged Hindu Kush mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan following strong tip-offs that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has been criss-crossing the area in the past few weeks for high-profile meetings in militant redoubts.

[…]Officials are said to be “stunned” by the visibility of Bin Laden’s movements, and their frequency, in a matter of a few weeks in the outlawed terrain of Pakistan and Afghanistan, the most unprecedented reports about him since he evaded the US in the Tora Bora mountains in Afghanistan in 2001.

[…]

Thank you, PB-in-AL for giving us the heads up!

Osama bin Laden killed by U.S. missile strike

Osama bin Laden was reportedly killed.

President Barack Obama is scheduled to address the nation at approximately 8:15 p.m. PT.

According to ABC News sources, al-Qaida mastermind Osama bin Laden was killed in Afghanistan sometime last week. The attack was reportedly a U.S. military or intelligence missile strike.

American forces reportedly have possession of bin Laden’s body.