Fox News Bias - Religions Must Cover Birth Control?

[웃 910]

[luckytxn 2,265]

Obama picked the wrong battle here. He will back off or a deal made.

On Obama's Unwinnable Battle Against Religious Liberty

What a crazy week it has been, between the Obamacare/HHS mandate, over 150 bishops speaking out against it, and the battle between Susan G. Komen and Planned Parenthood.

A great many people are visiting this site today because of my comments on the Komen situation — my most recent thoughts on that can be foundhere (ongoing updates can be found at my twitter page @AmericanPapist — the story is very fast moving and complex).

But I don't want to lose track of the "bigger" story – Obama's war against religious liberty in this country and the Catholic effort to win this war definitively.

Peggy Noonan calls this a "battle the President can't win" in her syndicated column today for the Wall Street Journal and says "President Obama just may have lost the election" because, in going after the religious liberty of Catholics, he has "awakened a sleeping giant":

If [Catholics] stay strong and fight, they will win. This is in fact a potentially unifying moment for American Catholics, long split left, right and center. Catholic conservatives will immediately and fully oppose the administration's decision. But Catholic liberals, who feel embarrassed and undercut, have also come out in opposition.

The church is split on many things. But do Catholics in the pews want the government telling their church to contravene its beliefs? A president affronting the leadership of the church, and blithely threatening its great institutions? No, they don't want that. They will unite against that.

I hope and pray she is exactly right.

Stephen White (a valued CV contributor) writes in National Review about the brazen politics behind Obama's decision — exploding the myth that this was about helping women. It wasn't. It was about asserting the raw power of the state over people and institutions of faith:

Perhaps the most telling moment in the [White House briefing] call came when one official conceded that the administration has no idea how many people this exemption is expected to "help." In other words, in all HHS's "careful considerations," there was no comparison of the "benefit" (however marginal) of this exemption versus possible alternatives.

It mattered not at all whether this narrow exemption, when compared to a more robust exemption, expanded coverage to one more woman or one million more women. Coverage simply had to be expanded as a matter of principle. Whoever meets the requirements of the narrow exemption, and decides to take advantage of it, should be grateful they are allowed even that.

… Overall, the administration's defense of the HHS mandate has been an exercise in condescension. In their eyes, the "religious exemption" wasn't carved out so the government could protect constitutional rights while it addressed what it saw as a compelling interest — those rights, we are told, are not even at issue. In the eyes of this administration, the "exemption" is a benevolent, even gratuitous, concession. HHS even allows a whole year for certain cultural laggards (read: Catholics) to bring their "religious beliefs" up to speed. Is that not generous?

No kidding.

Luckily, a rising chorus of voices (in addition to all those I have already cited over this past week) are speaking out. Radio pundit Hugh Hewitt writes a "memo" to the U.S. Bishops:

It may have taken a few days to sink in, but by now you should all have realized that President Obama has opened a massive assault on the Roman Catholic Church in America the likes of which none of you have ever experienced and for which few of you have prepared.

He goes on to interview Presidential candidate Rick Santorum, who says he has condemned the Obama/HHS decision "in every speech I've given today." And that Catholics should respond to the law with "civil disobedience."

GOP Presidential candidate Mitt Romney has published an op-ed in the Washington Times on the subject of standing up for Catholics and religious liberty:

I stand with the Catholic Bishops and all religious organizations in their strenuous objection to this liberty- and conscience-stifling regulation. I am committed to overturning Obamacare root and branch. If I am elected President, on day one of my administration I will issue an executive order directing my Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue a waiver from its requirements to all 50 states. And on day one I will eliminate the Obama administration rule that compels religious institutions to violate the tenets of their own faith.

Imagine that: we have the possibility of electing in November a President who will respect the constitutional right of American citizens to be, to live, Catholic.

That's a battle worth winning. Let's not forget it.

[lostinblue 1,989]

This “compromise” is nothing of the sort. It allows religious organizations to not fund contraception, but then requires insurance companies, which are funded by religious organizations, to fund contraception. The long and short of it is, religious organizations will still be required to fund contraception.

Southern Baptist Convention President Rejects Obama’s Contraceptive ‘Accommodation,’ Calls it ‘Lipstick on a Pig’

DR. LAND: Does he think he can put lipstick on a pig and we’re gonna think it’s anything other than lipstick on a pig? … In the case of Southern Baptists, we have self-funded insurance through GuideStone, which has been around since 1918 and covers over 200,000 missionaries, social workers, pastors, church employees, nurses, doctors, et cetera. And I just talked to the head of Guidestone and he said “We can’t do this. This violates our conscience because we’re the insurance company, and we’re not gonna be forced to pay for that which we find unconscionable.”

Dr. Land added that the president’s “accommodation” totally ignores this self-funding aspect of many religious institutions’ insurance, and suggested that the Hawaii compromise would have been more acceptable.

The Southern Baptist Convention is home to some 15 million Americans, including your humble blogger.

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2012/02/10/audio-southern-baptist-convention-president-rejects-obamas-contraceptive-accommodation-calls-it-lipstick-on-a-pig/

[ready4ONE 5,400]

Gosh the contrived controversy is shown to be exactly that, yet the arguing continues based on the demonstrably false premise of the Faux News bleeting. Guess some folks will believe anything!

[Leatherneck 693]

Gosh the contrived controversy is shown to be exactly that, yet the arguing continues based on the demonstrably false premise of the Faux News bleeting. Guess some folks will believe anything!

Shown by whom?

Yeap, no controversy when the government mandates religious organizations engage in actions that violate their religious convictions. Guess some folks will believe anything the government tells them!

[xebec 195]

Shown by whom?

Yeap, no controversy when the government mandates religious organizations engage in actions that violate their religious convictions. Guess some folks will believe anything the government tells them!

Edited February 11, 2012 by xebec

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Unfortunately, Fox News and their outraged "conservative" ilk only care about Constitutional rights for certain preferred religions, evidenced by their support for GOP presidential candidates who propose denying religious freedom to American Muslims. Screw them all.

[luckytxn 2,265]

Unfortunately, Fox News and their outraged "conservative" ilk only care about Constitutional rights for certain preferred religions, evidenced by their support for GOP presidential candidates who propose denying religious freedom to American Muslims. Screw them all.

What religious freedoms are being Constitutionally denied to or any GOP candidates propose denying to American Muslims?

Edited February 12, 2012 by luckytxn

[Sofiyya 1,687]

What religious freedoms are being Constitutionally denied to or any GOP candidates propose denying to American Muslims?

Posted at 10:57 AM ET, 07/18/2011

Herman Cain strives for new levels of anti-Muslim buffoonery

Singling Out Islam: Newt Gingrich's Pandering Attacks, JAN 31 2012, 6:06 PM ET

Herman Cain and the annals of cultural sensitivity

Newt Gingrich: A Catholic Running Against Islam?

Mitt Romney Appoints anti-Muslim Militiaman Walid Phares, Posted on 12 October 2011

Anti-Muslim rhetoric by the Republican presidential hopefuls

Christian Religious Identity vs. Muslims, December 7, 2011

Herman Cain's Go-To Historian on the Muslim World: Destroy Islam(he was also a McCain and Perry adviser)

Rick Santorum’s Islamophobia Problem

GOP Debate: Newt Gingrich's Comparison of Muslims and Nazis Sparks Outrage

FROM MACACAS TO TURBAN TOPPERS

[Dakine10 5,452]

Fox news is a farce. With the death of the sitcom, it's really one of the funniest shows left on TV. I am kind of surprised though, to learn there are people out there that actually take it seriously.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Obama had a rubber stamp congress for two years that was all in favor of national health care and what do we get? This mess where they cannot even decide who will pay for birth control pills. Our good Senator Sanders proposed a single payer plan that would have solved this nonsense but NO, that would not do and he was thrown out from consideration. Instead we get an abortion of a bill, pardon the intended pun.

The majoity in the house and the filibuster proof majority in the Senate SHOULD have passed single payer health care before Obama took office. Instead they fought among themselves for two years and gave us this piece of trash which will never actually go into effect.

Fortunately Vermont passed a single payer health bill and you can all pound sand.

[luckytxn 2,265]

Posted at 10:57 AM ET, 07/18/2011

Herman Cain strives for new levels of anti-Muslim buffoonery

Singling Out Islam: Newt Gingrich's Pandering Attacks, JAN 31 2012, 6:06 PM ET

Herman Cain and the annals of cultural sensitivity

Newt Gingrich: A Catholic Running Against Islam?

Mitt Romney Appoints anti-Muslim Militiaman Walid Phares, Posted on 12 October 2011

Anti-Muslim rhetoric by the Republican presidential hopefuls

Christian Religious Identity vs. Muslims, December 7, 2011

Herman Cain's Go-To Historian on the Muslim World: Destroy Islam(he was also a McCain and Perry adviser)

Rick Santorum's Islamophobia Problem

GOP Debate: Newt Gingrich's Comparison of Muslims and Nazis Sparks Outrage

FROM MACACAS TO TURBAN TOPPERS

Was this man links really needed?

[Sofiyya 1,687]

Was this man links really needed?

[Leatherneck 693]

Fox news is a farce. With the death of the sitcom, it's really one of the funniest shows left on TV. I am kind of surprised though, to learn there are people out there that actually take it seriously.

Actually those other networks that decide what is news and when they have no choice by to report (mention it in some cases) it are the real farces.

Regarding the latest dust up over Obama's first amendment attack. It took CBS 10 days to report the controversy, it took NBC and ABC about 17 days to report the controversy and CNN barely a mention on CNN.

You refer to FNC as a "farce." Maybe you're right, they must be a farce if you like your news stories served to you late, sliced-n-diced and with a good dose of spin.

[Dan J 277]

This whole thing is an issue only because employers commonly provide health insurance. Why should your employer care about what kind of health care you receive any why?