Tom Shillue hosts and welcomes guests Kennedy and Joe DeVito.
Michigan Businessman Applauds Court Ruling for Religious Liberty
Catholic businessman and plaintiff John Kennedy applauded the Supreme Court for their ruling in the Hobby Lobby/Conestoga Wood religious liberty cases.
"We are deeply grateful that the Supreme Court ruled in favor of those business owners whose sincerely held religious beliefs prohibit them from complying with the HHS Mandate. We anticipate that the court will follow its usual practice of remanding our case for reconsideration in light of its decision.
"Based on today's decision and the compelling facts in our case, we trust that we will be permitted to conduct business in a manner that is true to our sincerely held religious beliefs while continuing to provide generous wages and award-winning health benefits to our employees," said Kennedy.
Kennedy is the Founder/CEO of Autocam, a leading precision manufacturer for both the automotive and medical industries based in Grand Rapids, MI. Kennedy's challenge to the mandate was held by the Supreme Court pending the outcome of their decision in the Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Corporation cases.
Brian Burch, President of CatholicVote.org Legal Defense Fund, which is representing Kennedy, said:
"The First Amendment protections of speech, free assembly, and religious liberty are cherished principles which unite all Americans. We are reviewing this lengthy opinion. For now, we are happy to see the United States Supreme Court affirm these critical freedoms and has put an end to an unnecessary and highly divisive attack on the First Amendment.
"Women who wish to purchase these drugs can now do so without having to first demand permission or funding from their bosses, while employers can remain faithful to their consciences and sincerely held moral convictions. It's truly a win-win for health care freedom and religious liberty."
Also read: 'Fuck you:' Left-wingers want to 'burn down' Hobby Lobby after SCOTUS win
EWTN News Nightly's Brian Patrick discusses the day's news. Jason Calvi and Laura Cole report live from the Supreme Court and the White House with reaction to the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision. Brian is joined by Carrie Severino of the Judicial Crisis Network and James Capretta of the Ethics and Public Policy Center to discuss the ruling. Wyatt Goolsby talks to Brent Bozell, founder of the Media Research Center about freedom and contraception. President Obama makes announcements about immigration and a new head of Veterans Affairs. Alan Holdren reports on what Pope Francis did for the Feasts of Saints Peter and Paul.
EWTN Granted Emergency Relief From HHS Contraception Mandate
The EWTN Global Catholic Network has secured temporary emergency relief against the federal contraception mandate one day before it would have gone into effect.
"We are thankful that the 11th Circuit protected our right to religious freedom while we pursue our case in court," said Michael Warsaw, chairman and CEO of EWTN, the parent company of the Register and Catholic News Agency. "We want to continue to practice the same Catholic faith that we preach to the world every day."
Without the injunction to protect against the mandate, EWTN would have been forced to comply with its demands starting July 1 or face potential fines of more than $35,000 per day in penalties for refusing to do so.
Issued under the Affordable Care Act, the federal mandate requires most employers to either provide or facilitate employee insurance coverage for contraception, sterilization and some drugs that can cause early abortions.
As an organization founded to uphold the Catholic faith, EWTN objects to providing or facilitating these products and practices, which violate Church teaching.
The injunction was granted just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Hobby Lobby and other closely held corporations cannot be required to abide by the mandate if their owners have religious objections to it.
Warsaw noted that "it remains unclear" whether the Supreme Court's decision will address concerns over the "accommodation" for nonprofit religious groups.
"On the same day as the Hobby Lobby decision, the 11th Circuit protected religious ministries challenging the same government mandate," said Lori Windham, senior counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the nonprofit, public interest law firm that is defending EWTN in court.
Established 33 years ago, EWTN is the largest religious media network in the world, reaching more than 230 million television households in more than 140 countries and territories.
The network includes television, radio and a publishing arm, along with a website and both electronic and print news services.
"It's time for the government to stop fighting ministries like EWTN and the Little Sisters of the Poor and start respecting religious freedom," Windham said.
Also read:
Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Hobby Lobby, Conestoga Wood in 5-4 Decision
Religious Liberty Prevails in 'Burwell v. Hobby Lobby'
Jim and Greg discuss today's big Supreme Court decisions, Nancy Pelosi's insanity on the border, and bizarre accusations over a House seat in Oklahoma.
Hobby Lobby attorney: We'd be thrilled to stay out of employees' birth-control choices
With progressives having a meltdown over the relatively narrow result of Hobby Lobby this morning, the attorney for the winning side provided a little reality check outside the court. Lori Windham represented Hobby Lobby's owners in the court case, and CNN caught up with her outside shortly after the ruling was announced. Windham proclaimed this "a great day for religious freedom," but when the CNN reporter offered the argument that the ruling allowed employers to get between a woman and her doctor on birth control, Windham bristled:
CNN: We heard the demonstrators today saying, "Look, the employers should stay out of our business," that this decision will now essentially bring the employer into what should be a very private decision-making process between a woman and her doctor, now that the justices ruled that Hobby Lobby no longer has to cover four types of contraception. What do you have to say to the other side?
WINDHAM: Hobby Lobby would love to stay out of this, and leave this decision to a woman and her doctor. It's the federal government that told them that they had to be involved and cover these things, even though they violated the Green family's faith.
No kidding. Windham expertly skewers the "keep your rosaries off of my ovaries" argument in connection with the HHS mandate, which argues simultaneously that birth control is a private choice but that employers should directly foot the bill for it. A truly private choice would be between a woman and her doctor with the woman paying for whatever choice she makes. And that is still the case now, even post-Hobby Lobby, since this case has nothing to do with access to contraception — merely who pays the bill.
The Supreme Court ruling has some interesting language in it, mainly regarding the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) that passed on an overwhelmingly bipartisan Senate vote (97-3) and was signed into law by Bill Clinton. HHS had argued that it didn't apply to corporations, especially for-profit corporations, but the court rejected that argument.
Also read:
5 Major Takeaways From The Hobby Lobby Decision
6 Stupid Arguments About Hobby Lobby From Dumb Liberals
TV's Andy Levy hosts and welcomes guests Buck Sexton, Lauren Sivan and Sam Morril.
Huffington Post Has Seen the Face of Evil: The Bacon Cheeseburger
The Middle East in chaos driven by ISIS jihadists, the southern border of the U.S. overrun by a tsunami of illegal immigrants carrying contagious diseases and threatening our sovereignty, the Balkans endangered by a reinvigorated imperialist Russia: all are fountainheads of danger for Americans. But then comes the cheeseburger.
On Friday, the main headline on the Huffington Post posited the theory that vegetarianism reduces your carbon footprint (please excuse the technical terminology) a "ridiculous amount." The progressive website offers a helpful solution to one of the great evils of the day: "As the economic, political and personal costs of doing nothing to mitigate climate change skyrocket, there's one lifestyle change that slashes dietary greenhouse gas emissions in half: Veganism."
Breitbart News has reported on a number of scientists who claim the climate hasn't warmed in 16 years and that some call global warming an unsubstantiated hypothesis. HuffPo has cited a survey that alleges climate change is costing the U.S. billions of dollars and poses a growing national security threat. "Reducing the intake of meat and other animal based products can make a valuable contribution to climate change mitigation," the report argues.
A study by the Environmental Working Group claims that, if all Americans went vegan, it would be equivalent to removing 46 million cars from the road. However, this would only provide a "moderate dent in overall carbon emissions."
Also read: Al Gore sells his soul to Big Carbon - again...
EWTN News Nightly's Brian Patrick discusses the day's news. Ukraine has signed a historic agreement with the European Union -- Wyatt Goolsby reports with the latest. Pope Francis cancels his trip to a hospital last moment today -- Rome correspondent, Alan Holdren, updates us with details. Brian is joined by Catholic University of America's Dr. Melissa Moschella to discuss a convicted Catholic archbishop, results from a Church questionnaire, and a look-ahead at the Supreme Court ruling on the HHS mandate case. Laura Cole wraps up this week in the White House. Plus, Jason Calvi has a story on Jason Bach Cartoons -- combining art with theology.
National Review's Patrick Brennan joins Greg Corombos to discuss Hillary's disastrous book tour, Obama's plan to support "moderate" Syrian jihadists, and Denver EPA employees who need to be told where not to relieve themselves.
Chait: How Hillary Became Marie Antoinette
New York Magazine's Jonathan Chait lays out how, in just 6 short years, likely-2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton went from being an economic populist looking out for the working class to Marie Antoinette.
It was, Chait writes, "Hillary Clinton who quaffed beers with white working-class Democrats in her 2008 campaign against the abstract, yuppified idealism of Barack Obama. And it was Bill Clinton who, in a 2012 Democratic National Convention speech, folksily explained the party’s economic philosophy more concretely than Obama himself had ever managed."
Chait isn't wrong but he is missing one important factor: The mainstream media want Elizabeth Warren to run, which is why they are giving Hillary such a hard time. For now at least, the media have turned against Hillary in the same way they did Romney. It was more intense and dishonest with Romney, but the media's goal is the same: prep the battlefield to put a hardcore Statist in office.
Should Warren become a pipe dream if and when it becomes clear Clinton will win the nomination, the media will immediately cease vetting and holding her accountable for everything. The celebration of The Woman will begin and the media will allow Hillary to be whatever she needs to be to defeat the evil sexist Republican.
Also read:
Obama Announces Plan to Fight Al Qaeda...by Arming Al Qaeda
Poor Little Rich Liberals
