The Eight "I'd Really Rather You Didn'ts" | Facebook

I have plenty of "faith" in the Constitution. It recognizes that humans are flawed ;and realizes that if you concentrate power into the hands of a few ,that tyranny follows.

But I think our system requires a vigilant populace because of those who would test it out. That populace is also required to love the liberty of our system more than the freebies a powerful centralized government can promise. I quote Alexis de Tocqueville
In my signature and believe it. Democracies have fallen before for such .Greece has gone full circle and we are not far behind .

NK you are free to worship the flying spaghetti monster if you choose.
Make sure you say 'Ramen' at the end of all your prayers .

I do! :-)

Hi Tom,

Sure, but in the end the ones who need to be most vigilant are those who have the final say in the judiciary. Without getting into a discussion about oligarchs, that's just the way your system works.

As far as I can see your Constitution caters very nicely for peoples religious beliefs. It does so as far as reasonably possible and 'strict scrutiny' will protect these freedoms.

But in the end religious freedom is not absolute and the Constitution recognizes this. If such freedoms were absolute then you would be living in a theocracy, not a democracy.

Tut

Of course . In the name of religion I can't commit an honor killing or a human sacrifice. We should stipulate that no rights are absolute .
There are also great abuses of religious freedom already . Ex brought up drug use in "sacramental rites" . I am pretty sure that sacramental wine was not banned during prohibition. Mormons are wrongly (in my view) prohibitted from the practice bigamy . There are constant battles over the display of religious symbols in the public square.

But those are restrictions . I can't recall a case where the government compelled a religion to do something against it's canon.

The President stepped into it big time ,and I am almost positive there will be a backing out in the next week or so.

They aren't - they are telling insurance companies to make certain services available. The person has to ASK for the services. Since it's against its canon then those services will never be asked for, problem solved.

Wrong answer . They are requiring the religious institution to pay for that service. You are aware that the employer pays a substantial part of the insurance coverage don't you ? The church is unwilling to be forced to pay for it because it is against it's doctrine .

The answer is very simple if the President wasn't being such a hard head .
Hawaii... his home state.. has the religious exemption . Then if the employee wants contraception coverage it cost them no more out of pocket to self insure that part of it than it would if the employers insurance policy was covering it.
Problem solved .

Hello again, tom:

Nahhh... It's the RIGHT answer if you understand that a hospital is NOT a church...

Let me ask you this... In the guise of religious freedom, could a priest run for president and CLAIM the donations to his campaign are TAX DEDUCTIBLE??

excon

I see a lot of hypocrisy crying about something they already do, and have done for decades.

Single payer would solve the problem of being held hostage by a religion, or an employer. LOL, but if the federal government backs down, then you think they will go crying to the states who have this law in place??

Actually the law as is gives churches exemptions they DON'T have in some states now. But it illustrates how a catholic ayetollah shouldn't be in the White House at this time. Mabe its not good to tell religion what to do. But I think its wrong for religion to tell ME what to do! Your freedom stops where mine begin.

And they are going to pay insurance premiums any way, so what's the big deal? Isn't that between your doctor and you? Does/ should religion get between you and your doctor?

G'morning, tal:

We kind of kid around about that because we BELIEVE that that relationship is SOOO personal, and the privacy of it is SOOO ingrained in our American culture, that we scoff about any change in it becoming a reality...

Just like I did when that NUT in Florida said he was going to drug test welfare recipients. Well, he's DOING that.. Just YESTERDAY, these right wing fascists proposed, in the US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, that we drug test welfare recipients NATIONWIDE!

DO NOT LET THESE NUTS GET THEIR HANDS ON THE LEVERS AND BUTTONS OF GOVERNMENT!! DON'T DO THAT!

excon

Ex the hospitals are part of their ministries .

Hello again, tom:

You can CALL a hospital a ministry, but it's a HOSPITAL. I thought you wingers didn't like PC.

If the feds have no business interfering in how a Catholic hospital operates, do you think they have the right to serve UN-INSPECTED food? Do they have the right to pay their janitors $2.50/hr? Can they hire CHILDREN to be the janitors?? Can they refuse to hire gay people?

excon

Fine shut them down then... But before you do that take a look at the phone directory and see how many hospitals shelters and other services around the country start with the name Saint...

I do get it... you and tal want every service provided in the country with the name 'Uncle Sam' because you think they are so good at it . This is just a stepping stone to that end .Tal admitted it with his single payer comment .

Hello again, tom:

Single payer WOULD solve this problem.. That's just so..

But, I'm no lefty commie pinko. If the Catholic hospitals want to pick up their blocks and go home, I'm sure there's a PRIVATE company who'll buy them...

By the way, with single payer, private hospitals will STILL exist. You didn't buy the "government takeover", crap did you?? I think you DID.

excon

It's essentially a take over if they are violating their 1st amendment religious rights.. . and they are... and you know this mandate is a violation.

I hear as early as today Obama is going to back down.

Like I said and like the Gerson column I linked to affirmed, you aren't going to like it when the church gets forced out of their ministries. It's not just the hospitals which the church has provided for ages - it's homeless shelters, feeding centers, prison ministries, after school programs, day care, women's shelters, adoptions, orphanages, jobs programs, addiction recovery - you name it, the church pretty much does it.

WE ARE our brother's keeper unlike that deceptive power grabbing, freedom destroying BS Obama preaches.

from socialist Canada! :-)

Anyone who wants single payer can go the Canada with my blessing .

Now that President Alinsky sort of caved on this, ( because he gets what he wants anyway with all of us have to pay for condums and abortion pills)... The fight to get rid of the mandate part of Obamacare is with SCOTUS . That in itself is unconstitutional ;but I have less confidence in that getting overturned than his attempt to trample on religious rights .