Amendment to the Patient and Public Care Act

or, "how to step on your dork with golf shoes."


Why the Repubs in the Senate feel they need a law to enforce the First Amendment I do not know.


I suspect it is because they want to grandstand for their base just as much as the Demos want to grandstand for theirs.

Let us revisit what the First Amendment says:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

It has long been recognized that the government has the right to decide what is a "church." (If you doubt me, go visit some of the many people in prison because they decided they would become a church and thus not have to pay taxes.)

Now comes Senator Blunt with an amendment that seeks to change, PPACA, which already excludes churches from having to provide insurance ("care") for certain items they feel violate their doctrines.

Senator Blunt wants to expand the exclusion to cover individuals, institutions who purchase and companies that provide insurance. In effect, he wants to expand the First Amendment.

He is supposedly doing this in response to the Obamacare mandate that would demand that church enities, hospitals, etc., provide birth control drugs. Use of and providing of said drugs violate the church's doctrinme.

The First Amendment, magnificent in its simple language, excludes churches. I think it is plain that entities controlled and operated by the churches are, by simple extension, churches and are also excluded. And I think that argument, focused on actual churches, is correct.

But individuals, companies (both sellers and buyers) are not churches. Never have been.

Senator Blunt would do well to withdraw his bill and fight the mandate on a truly constitutional side rather than posture with an amendment that will only aid the Left and, if enacted, be declared unconstitutional.

Or even worse, put the government in the position of deciding what company or individual has the right to exercise their "morals and beliefs" and who do not.

This bill is truly a fine example of "fire, aim, ready!"


"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine

This should tell you all you need to know about why we are broke

Curse those wealthy Americans with their corporate jets and million-dollar yachts.

Well, actually, it’s not just the big-business types who own million-dollar yachts. The port of Los Angeles is the proud owner of a 73-foot luxury craft, which it purchased in 1988 and uses for public relations tours of the harbor.


You might think with the city in dire financial straits that they might sell off the yacht (which Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa insists on calling “a boat”). Instead, L.A. is “investing” $489,000 in federal taxpayer stimulus money to install new engines. Not that there is anything wrong with theold engines. Rather, it is that they run on diesel fuel (and hence fail to meet California emissions standards) and so are being swapped out for low-emission “green” hybrid motors.

Link



"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine

Breitbart at CPAC

If you missed this, take a look. It's good.

Link

Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

 “It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine

A poker ahole

We have all seen this guy. 

You've picked up an AK suited in position 4. Positions 2 and 3 have folded and you raise. Positions 5 and 6 fold and 7 calls. Positions 8 and 9 folds and 10 calls.

So far, so good.

The flop comes J 8 4. You decide you have the best hand and bet. Position 7 hesitates and finally calls. Position 10 also hesitates and then calls.

The turn pairs the board and you now see J J 8 4.

Not very encouraging, but you reason that if position 7 or 10 had a Jack they would have raised so you bet.

Again position 7 hesitates and then calls followed by position 10 doing the same.

A 3 comes on the river. Again you consider the lack of raise and the hesitation of the calls. So you bet.

Now comes the fun part.

Position 7 looks at his cards. He figets in his seat. He scratches his head, looking over at position 10.

And position 10 has picked his cards up holding them in the classic "toss into the muck" and fold grip.

Position 7 waits.

Position 10 starts to muck his hand then stops.

Position 7 calls. Position 10 folds.

And you turn over the AK and position 7 shows a T 4 and you lose.

Now you know and position 7 knows he wouldn't have called if position 10 hadn't showed the world he was folding.

You wish, briefly, you had a six gun in your holster so you could shoot position 10 secure in the knowledge that if the jury had only 1 poker player in it you would walk free.

But you don't have a weapon. So you settle for "ass hole" under your breath.


"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine

Obama and the Bill of Rights

Actually he just finished off Amendment One...

Hat tip to Dave T!

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

 “It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine

Billy Joel - We didn't start the fire!

Here's a neat video that Dave T sent me.

We didn't start the fire!

Enjoy!

"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

 “It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine

Wild Turkey and Coke

Never mix Wild Turkey and Coke. It is the ruination of two fine beverages.

Hat tip to Dave T!


"Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them." - Karl Popper

“It’s the presumption that Obama knows how all these industries ought to be operating better than people who have spent their lives in those industries, and a general cockiness going back to before he was president, and the fact that he has no experience whatever in managing anything. Only someone who has never had the responsibility for managing anything could believe he could manage just about everything.” - Thomas Sowell in Reason Magazine