politics

BREAKING: The birth control case that is WORSE than Hobby Lobby

On Thursday, even as their horrible Hobby Lobby decision continued to send shockwaves around the nation, the Supreme Court actually made things worse. It issued a short, unsigned opinion that says Wheaton College, a small Christian college in Illinois, doesn’t have to provide birth control coverage to female students if they don’t want to – and they don’t even have to fill out a religious-exemption form so someone else could provide it. Because apparently filling out paperwork saying, “We’re not going to pay for this, but someone else can,” was for Wheaton College the same thing as committing an abortion themselves.

In a blistering dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that the ruling contradicts what the conservative majority said in the Hobby Lobby case just a few days ago – that a way to fix the religious opt-out would be to have the government pay for the contraceptives, and that the Hobby Lobby decision was narrow:

“Those who are bound by our decisions usually believe they can take us at our word. Not so today. After expressly relying on the availability of the religious-nonprofit accommodation to hold that the contraceptive coverage requirement violates [the Religious Freedom Restoration Act] as applied to closely held for-profit corporations, the Court now, as the dissent in Hobby Lobby feared it might, retreats from that position,” Justice Sotomayor said.

We here at BNR have spent most of the week telling you about why this ruling is bad, how it hurts women, how it makes a decision based on a belief and not science. We’ve told you about the companies now saying that want to be allowed to discriminate against LGBT workers because they don’t believe they should have to abide by equal protection. In the end, we as women must understand that this country’s institutions no longer prioritize our individual rights over the rights of a corporation. If you have not incorporated yourself, I urge you to do so quickly.

Sorry. Your beliefs do not trump science, reality, or personal liberty

To every church or religious person everywhere: Just because you believe something is true does not make it true. I’m sorry to break this to you, but your faith doesn’t trump facts. If you firmly believe that the Earth is flat, it doesn’t mean the Earth is flat and that NASA is part of a government conspiracy. Yet Hobby Lobby believes that certain kinds of birth control cause abortions, and the Supreme Court agreed, even though it’s not true. The Plan B pill, intrauterine devices (IUDs) and other forms of contraception Hobby Lobby can now ban, in fact, don’t cause abortions. The science is irrefutable. Doctors, pharmacists and other experts agree. And no religious belief can ever change it.

Here is the real science behind Plan B, IUDs, and similar types of birth controls that do not abort anything.

If a corporation wants to oppose birth control because it prevents pregnancy, that’s an entirely different issue. If that’s the case, then Hobby Lobby should not pay for male employees to have vasectomies – which they currently do. But again: it should never trump someone else’s personal liberty. Or the facts.

7 Awesome Photos Assembling The Statue of Liberty

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” the Statue of Liberty’s plaque reads. Nothing could be more American than that.

The tablet she holds is inscribed JULY IV MDCCLXXVI – Roman numerals for July 4, 1776, Independence Day, when our founding fathers signed paperwork declaring that the King of England could suck it. Nearly three centuries before anyone had heard of “freedom fries,” the colonist rebels and the French fought side-by-side against the King’s men; years after American independence had been won, a birthday present arrived from Paris. Sculpted by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, she stands 151 feet high. She’s survived terrorist threats and climate change as well as supernatural beings (Ghostbusters) floods and freeze (The Day After Tomorrow) on film. But 149 years ago we began what could be considered the Ikea project of all time. These are the photos:

1. What would Freud Say?: The face of Lady Liberty was modeled after the sculptor’s mother, Charlotte Beysser Bartholdi.

Liberty2

2. The crown was originally supposed to be a weird-looking cone modeled after the one given to emancipated slaves in ancient Rome. Instead, Jefferson Davis nixed it so as not to give American slaves the wild idea that the statue represented freedom and equality for everyone. So it was changed.

Liberty1

3. Many of the workers who helped build the base of the Statue of Liberty, and assemble her, were immigrants.

PedestalConstruction

4. On December 26, 1971, 15 anti-Vietnam war veterans staged a dramatic sit-in inside the statue, flying a US flag upside-down from her crown. They left two days later to comply with a federal court order.

statue-of-liberty-paris-2

5. At the feet of the Statue lie broken shackles, representing the destruction of oppression and tyranny. They convinced Jefferson Davis it was jewelry (ha – just kidding about that last part).

LibertyFeet

6. There was an old legend that the concept of the birthday present came from French law professor and politician Édouard René de Laboulaye, who, in mid-1865, said over dinner with friends: “If a monument should rise in the United States, as a memorial to their independence, I should think it only natural if it were built by united effort—a common work of both our nations.” But the sculptor later wrote the comment wasn’t meant as the idea, but as inspiration while Bartholdi was working on her. (Below is the initial sculpture construction in France)

FrenchConstruction

7. The Statue of Liberty is huge, and space was hard to come by during construction in France. A well-known French engineer and architect, Gustav Eiffel – yeah, that guy – was contacted for help. He had room in his Paris shop, and he had the talent to help. Just three years after the completion of the statue project, the Eiffel Tower went up.

French-statue-liberty

BONUS

Here’s the scene from Ghostbusters II, in which Dan Aykroyd and the late Harold Ramis originally had the idea of bringing the Statue of Liberty to life as a force of evil used by Vigo. Out of respect to her, it was decided Libby would be the one to rally the city of New York, bring them together, and help the Ghostbusters save the day. Bill Murray admitted in an issue of Cinefex magazine back in 1989 that he got a little nauseous when filming it.

The Best Use of a Drone is During the Forth of July

There are terrible ways in which our country has used drones to hurt people, but here’s a brilliant way to watch a fireworks show like you’ve never seen before:

You’ve got to see what Stephen Colbert said about the SCOTUS Hobby Lobby case

After Monday’s ruling by five white men who don’t like women’s access to birth control, one place we can turn to for solace is our comedians. Thankfully, we here at BNR have Lizz Winstead, who recalls a bygone era when people were people and corporations were corporations. And then there’s a prophetic Stephen Colbert, who in 2011 told us Obamacare must be repealed so the country can “go back to the way things were – when [health] insurance only had to cover boner pills.”

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,The Colbert Report on Facebook,Video Archive

John Oliver: Paying for things you don’t like is part of being a person

Once again, John Oliver nailed it on Sunday night. He had some choice words for Hobby Lobby before Monday’s Supreme Court ruling and the idea that a corporation can have religious beliefs. This is all you need to know:

“If you really want to be treated like a person, Corporations, then guess what? Paying for things you don’t like is what it feels like to be one. If corporations want to be people, they should have to take the rough with the smooth. Corporations should have the lifespan of a person. 79 years – 75 if they’re based in Mississippi. Oh and female companies, you only get to make 83 cents on the dollar. Sorry Wendy! I guess it’s just that Burger King must have worked harder!”

He’s making a great joke, of course, but he’s on to something. As Lizz Winstead points out “Remember when people used to be people? #Nostalgia.” Boy… those were the good old days, huh? When do you suppose we can become a corporation so we can have more rights?

Obama: I’m beginning a new effort to fix as much of our immigration system on my own

Congress isn’t going to pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform. The US Senate has, with enormous bipartisan support, but the House has stalled and republicans are freaking out because Eric Cantor lost in an election where immigration reform was an issue. The problem is, polling after the Cantor loss shows it wasn’t immigration reform. In fact, his district wants immigration reform. So Congress being spineless for political reasons is just an excuse to hurt people.

The President has been controversial around immigration reform for his large number of deportations, but as young children have begun streaming over the boarder without their families things have become more complicated.

President Obama said today in a speech in the Rose Garden:

“There are enough Republicans and Democrats in the House to pass an immigration bill, today. I would sign it into law today. And Washington would solve a problem in a bipartisan way. But for more than a year Republicans in the House have refused to allow an up or down vote or any bill that would fix our broken immigration system. I held off on pressuring them for a long time to give Speaker Boehner the space he needed to get his fellow Republicans on board.”

According to a statement from White House, the President will direct Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson to take the lead on increasing border security.

“Protecting public safety is and will remain a top priority, and we will continue to focus on removing those who have committed serious crimes from our interior,” the statement said. “But we will redirect other resources to make sure we keep doing what it takes to keep our border secure.

In a letter sent to Congress on Monday, the President called on Congress to help the Office of the President build a much more “aggressive deterrence strategy” while children are continuing to stream in over the border.

Vanden Heuvel to Kristol: “If you want war, then you should enlist in the Iraqi Army”

Wow… If you missed this morning’s episode of This Week with George Stephanopoulos it was a doozy! Katrina vanden Heuvel held Bill Kristol’s feet to the fire about the recklessness of so-called “armchair warriors.” Alluding to the ease of the Beltway conservative media to talk about going back into Iraq because it sure ain’t gonna be them fighting and dying for the catastrophe that was started by the Bush Administration. That’s right, it’s going to be my generation.

So she said it flat out, “If you want war, then you should enlist in the Iraqi Army.” And his natural response was to belittled her by saying it was a “very cute line.” Classy, Bill Kristol. Classy.

ABC US News | World News

“Rep. Frank D. Lucas is no longer alive and has been displayed by a look alike”

Just when you think you’ve heard every reason for a teabagger to challenge the results of an election….here’s one more.

Back home, candidate Timothy Ray Murray challenged U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas (OK-03) in the GOP primary June 24th. He lost. He lost by a lot. But that’s not the end of Timothy Ray Murphy.

He’s not quitting now! Why, you may ask?

A press release (emphasis mine) on Timothy Ray Murray’s website reads:

“The election for U.S. House for Oklahoma’s 3rd District will be contested by the Candidate, Timothy Ray Murray. I will be stating that his votes are switched with Rep. Lucas votes, because it is widely known Rep. Frank D. Lucas is no longer alive and has been displayed by a look alike. Rep. Lucas’ look alike was depicted as sentenced on a white stage in southern Ukraine on or about Jan. 11, 2011.”

Here – I did a screen shot just in case it finds it’s way to being deleted.

In other news the teabagger in Mississippi is contesting the GOP election for Sen. Thad Cochran. In so doing he may also invalidate his own vote

UPDATE: in an article by the Tulsa World, Capitol Hill reporter Barbara Hoberock writes “Lucas could not immediately be reached for comment.” We can only assume this is because Rep. Lucas is no longer alive and has been displayed by a look alike. Come on Barbara, shouldn’t it read “The being alleging to be Lucas could not immediately be reached for comment.”

Historic perspective on Executive Orders shows double standard for Boehner

So it turns out that when Republicans do something, it’s ok, but when Democrats do something similar it isn’t ok. House Speaker John Boehner is suing (or at least will try to sue) President Obama and the Office of the President of the United States for signing a series of Executive Orders that he feels are illegal and excessive.

The real facts? It turns out if you compare President Obama to other presidents his number is among the lowest. Oops.
Here’s a fun meme I caught online about it

Here’s a helpful timeline of Executive Orders per day via the MaddowBlog

And here’s the data that proves the point:

Executive Orders: Washington – Obama via The American Presidency Project

President	Term	Total Orders¹	Average / Year	EO Number Range

George Washington	Total	8	1.00	unnumbered

John Adams	Total	1	0.25	unnumbered

Thomas Jefferson	Total	4	0.50	unnumbered

James Madison	Total	1	0.13	unnumbered

James Monroe	Total	1	0.13	unnumbered

John Quincy Adams	Total	3	0.75	unnumbered

Andrew Jackson	Total	12	1.50	unnumbered

Martin van Buren	Total	10	2.50	unnumbered

William Henry Harrison	Total	0	0	unnumbered

John Tyler	Total	17	4.34	unnumbered

James K. Polk	Total	18	4.50	unnumbered

Zachary Taylor	Total	5	3.71	unnumbered

Millard Fillmore	Total	12	4.52	unnumbered

Franklin Pierce	Total	35	8.75	unnumbered

James Buchanan	Total	16	4.00	unnumbered

Abraham Lincoln	Total	48	11.66	unnumbered

Andrew Johnson	Total	79	20.32	unnumbered

Ulysses S. Grant	Total	217	27.13	unnumbered

Rutherford B. Hayes	Total	92	23.00	unnumbered

James Garfield	Total	6	11.00	unnumbered

Chester Arthur	Total	96	27.77	unnumbered

Grover Cleveland – I	Total	113	28.25	unnumbered

Benjamin Harrison	Total	143	35.75	unnumbered

Grover Cleveland – II	Total	140	35.00	unnumbered

William McKinley	Total	185	40.83	unnumbered

Theodore Roosevelt	Total	1,081	144.64

William Howard Taft	Total	724	181.00

Woodrow Wilson	Total	1,803	225.38

Warren G. Harding	Total	522	216.27

Calvin Coolidge	Total	1,203	215.14

Herbert Hoover	Total	968	242.00	5075 – 6070

Franklin D. Roosevelt	Total	3,522	290.71	6071 – 9537

Harry S. Truman	Total	907	116.57	9538 – 10431
	I	504	133.40	9538 – 10029
	II	403	100.75	10030 – 10431

Dwight D. Eisenhower	Total	484	60.50	10432 – 10913
	I	266	66.50	10432 – 10695-A
	II	218	54.50	10696 – 10913

John F. Kennedy	Total	214	75.40	10914 – 11127

Lyndon B. Johnson	Total	325	62.90	11128 – 11451

Richard Nixon	Total	346	62.30	11452 – 11797
	I	247	61.75	11452 – 11698
	II	99	63.87	11699 – 11797

Gerald R. Ford	Total	169	68.92	11798 – 11966

Jimmy Carter	Total	320	80.00	11967 – 12286

Ronald Reagan	Total	381	47.63	12287 – 12667
	I	213	53.25	12287 – 12499
	II	168	42.00	12500 – 12667

George Bush	Total	166	41.50	12668 – 12833

William J. Clinton	Total	364	45.50	12834 – 13197
	I	200	50.00	12834 – 13033
	II	164	41.00	13034 – 13197

George W. Bush	Total	291	36.38	13198 – 13488
	I	173	43.25	13198 – 13370
	II	118	29.50	13371 – 13488

Barack Obama	Total	182	33.58	13489 – 13670…
	I	147	36.75	13489 – 13635
	II	35	24.65	13636 – 13670…

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