Thought I’d share this little post from Joan just for the hand-tip. You’ll note the “Guns” tag isn’t used on this one. She does find her way into the gun issue but not before dropping this.
Yesterday a panel of guys came to a House hearing, led by Republican Darrell Issa, entitled, ” “Lines Crossed: Separation of Church and State. Has the Obama Administration Trampled on Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Conscience?”” Really? No bias there. So whose freedoms are being trampled here? This panel of guys were going to let the country know about why some women should be prevented from getting the health care most women will now be getting under the Affordable Care Act. This, of course, if you have been paying attention, involves free access to birth control bills and other forms of contraception. Last Friday, a compromise was struck that should have ended this kerfuffle. But, of course, the Republican extremists are not letting it go. Like bulldogs, they have refused to let a controversial issue die. This is not a winning issue for the Republicans. 99% of women have used contraception at some point in their lives. Even 98% of Catholic women have used contraception even though the Catholic church doesn’t condone it. The majority of Americans think this controversy is bunk. But never mind, the guys have proceeded down a path leading to the cliff.
Now of course this whole controversy is that Obamacare would force healthcare providers such as ones run by the Catholic Church and other religious groups to fund and administer birth control and abortion.
I’m not Christian, and while I’m very much against abortion (I personally take a libertarian stance in that while the mother may be choosing to have a procedure on her own body, its done without the consent of her living child who is killed in the process.) until recently I was an avid consumer of contraception. I also enjoy alcohol caffeine, tobacco, pork, shellfish, and many other religious taboos.
That being said I have nothing but support and respect to people who avoid such taboos in the name of practice and piety of their religion. Its their right to do that as much as my right to not be confined by the teachings of religions I’m not a member of.
The above issue of Obamacare is a blatant violation of the 1st Amendment freedom of religion. A Catholic hospital or healthcare provider sees it as a sin to administer or supply abortion or contraception, there is ZERO reason why they should be forced at government gunpoint to commit a taboo.
While they mostly focus on guns, there isn’t a right in the Bill of Rights that these lunatics hold sacred, at least in the context of people or political classes that aren’t them. Also Joan likes to pretend that she is somehow speaking for a majority of Americans when she gives her anti-freedom screeds, but you’ll see consistently across the gun control ranks that these are only the further of left-wing Democrats. A Fraction of a fraction if you will.
Just thought it was a telling lesson.
I’m very happy that the guys in my life are not like the guys I have described in this blog post. Change is coming. Women are speaking out and claiming their place in the important debates of our time.
You are so right, Joan, but you are completely unaware of what changes are coming!
As someone somewhere else said (sorry, can’t remember who or where…), this whole thing is like telling Muslims that they have to give out bacon to everyone who comes in their mosque, and when they get upset about it, saying “BUT WHO COULD GET UPSET ABOUT BACON WHY DON’T YOU LIKE BACON BACON IS GOOD!”
Changing the argument.
I always joke to my Jewish and Muslim friends: “How can you believe in a kind, compassionate, and caring God who won’t let you eat bacon???”
Of course I respect their faith, but nobody is safe from good-natured ribbing! 8)
A priest and a rabbi are seated together on an airplane. The priest asks, “When are you going to break down and enjoy a ham sandwich, Rabbi?” The rabbi answers, “At your wedding, Father.”
My favorite version of that Joke (shortened for blog’s sake) was the Rabbi admitted once to having a ham sandwich when he was young, and that it tasted really good…the Priest admits to sleeping with a woman when he was young and admits it was really good. The Rabi notes that sex is a LOT better than ham. *rimshot*
Its a killer with some build-up, and if you can do an Easter European Yiddish accent!
I got into this with one of the “progressive” people that I occasionally converse with. Religiously, I believe he is some form of protestant christian. I am roughly a pagan and don’t have a dog in the fight other than I believe in liberty and constitutionally protected rights (meaning ALL of them, not just the ones I like).
He tried to make the argument that Obama could do this because many (most) Catholic women use birth control at some time in their life, and therefore have given up their rights in that regard, and that “The Church” is not a person, so therefore doesn’t have rights the same way a person would.
There was no talking him out of this opinion, even when I made the argument that it was just like if the government decided that PORN was a human right and tried to force HIS church to provide it. See, most men (and probably women) have looked at some form of pornogrophy at some time in their lives, so by his argument that would mean that they have given up their religous right to not be forced to provide porn, and also by his argument, his church wouldn’t have the right to refuse… cause it’s not… you know… a person.
Didn’t work… I got the blank stare and then he changed the subject. The progressive denial is strong with this one.
s
Another analogy — everyone has gone naked at some point in their lives, so can the government force everyone to walk around naked?
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I wonder what your friend would say about the number of Catholic Priests who engaged in homosexual rape.
Doesn’t matter HOW many people do or don’t commit sin XYZ, its still a sin.
I know a ton of Jews who eat pork and shelfish. I know Hindus who eat Beef. I know more Muslims who drink alcohol than don’t.
And this all means exactly DICK when it comes to religious freedom.
Around here we have a LOT of liberal Catholic Churches, and I’ve heard some say their Priest doesn’t get concerned about birth control or abortion etc.
Doesn’t mean the Church in the next town doesn’t take them seriously, or shouldn’t have the right to.
The Planned Parenthood crowd are feeling their oats after the SG Komen kerfuffle. A cynic might think the whole thing was planned….
I do enjoy the media saying “these are not the rights you are looking for” while dismissing the first amendment implications of the birth control mandate.
My moral compass demands I state two obvious, but uncomfortable facts. It does not expect you be of any particular religious persuasion. Merely, a decent human being.
Sperm+Ovum=conception=the new beginning of a unique life. Anyone who has had basic 5th grade biology can understand this medical/biological fact. Before conception you do not have a new life. After conception, if there is no miscarriage, and if you do not terminate it, you will have a baby being born.
Second, the intentional taking of an innocent life is murder. What else can it be?
Please stop with this non-sense that it is a woman’s right to choose. It would be the same as the Nazi’s right to choose to gas the Jews. Such a “right” does not exist.
Had a bit of a go-round on this with some people because
Apparently the hearing was ACTUALLY(in their minds) about women having access to contraceptives, and the EVIL, DIRTY REPUBLICANS AND CONSERVATIVES!!! wouldn’t even let a woman speak!
I committed the horrible act of pointing out “The hearing wasn’t ABOUT contraceptives, it was about the 1st Amendment matters involved in Obama’s diktat(which way of putting it probably didn’t help).
I was then informed that ‘Conservatives(used in the manner I would in calling someone a communist, national socialist or rapist) despise women and lie!!!’, etc. Oh, and the hearing was actually about the Misogynist Boys Club Keeping Womyn From Their Rights. And so on.
I’m not sure if I’m more amused or disgusted that they want this to be “Women don’t have access to the stuff unless someone else has to pay for it”. Which makes me wonder if they realize how friggin’ helpless and useless they seem to think women are(“They can’t buy pills or condoms or get to Planned Parenthood unless we make someone else pay for it!” and so forth)?