Constitution Protects "Religious Kooks"

This is a recent comment on Freedom of Religion by a typically tolerant liberal: “You should be thrilled if you religious kooks are afforded any freedom whatsoever, after all the atrocities and crimes you've been responsible for.”

The Bill of Rights contains Freedom of Religion. It specifically includes all of us religious kooks. By the way, I go to church once a year for Easter. Does that make me a religious kook, or is it my tolerance of other folks' religious beliefs that is the problem? Further, these rights are not from the government, according to the Declaration of Independence. They are God given rights. Where in the Constitution is a woman's right to free contraceptives? Where in the Constitution does it say that Freedom of Religion requires that the government approve of an individual's religious beliefs before he or she has any rights? 

Free Market Best Way to Unravel Obamacare

Recently, Byron York wrote a piece on the difficulties of unwinding Obamacare.  I think the free market can easily adjust to Obamacare repeal.  I believe ACA repeal should be coupled with regulations that open the market for both medical insurance and medical care. The Republican consensus seems to be an interstate insurance market, tort reform, high risk pools and making private medical insurance payments deductible to individuals. We also need to require transparent pricing from healthcare providers. By transparent pricing, I mean that the hospitals and doctors need to publish price lists showing at least the asking price for common procedures. This would allow healthcare consumers to shop around. All of these feature together would bring beneficial changes very quickly. They should be implemented cold turkey, with no bureaucratic "transition period" which would likely be extended indefinitely. I think the speed with which the mess will be cleaned up will be a pleasant surprise. 

http://washingtonexaminer.com/gop-finds-unwinding-obamacare-vexing-now-that-its-taken-root/article/2546213

Is There a Constitutional Right to Free Contraceptives?

Freedom of Religion is in the Bill of Rights.  Every woman's right to free contraception is not.  It's not even a penumbra.  The pills we are talking about are relatively cheap.  Why can't Sandra Fluke buy her own contraception?  I think the real issue here is the Liberal/Progressive Democrat Party's desire for absolute governmental power.  This article gives the real motive away by making a slippery slope argument that once businesses can resist government orders on religious grounds, there's no end to the other government orders that might be resisted.  Sandra Fluke wants everyone to be forced to do the government's bidding no matter how arbitrary the rules are and no matter how often and capriciously they change.  Just to be totally clear, there is no desire on the part of the businesses involved to outlaw contraception.  They just don't want to have to pay for it.  If people think free contraception is a desirable outcome, they can set up charities to fund it.  Why does government coercion have come into the picture?  It's clear to me that private enterprise is a check on government power, and that's why enforcing arbitrary regulations is so important to Sandra Fluke and friends.  They want an all-powerful government. 

I don't understand why the government has to force businesses to pay for things. If government wants women to have free contraception, the government should pay for it directly. If the government chooses not to pay for contraception, then private charities can be organized to do this. Contraceptives are available for purchase legally at every corner drugstore. The folks who are forcing things down throats are the Big Government Democrats trying to coerce others to pay for things because the Feds are too broke to buy it themselves. Nobody is advocating making contraception illegal. The argument is about who has to pay. 

The left wants to claim more and more power for the central government. They will lie, cheat and steal to achieve their goal. Contraception is cheap and available at every corner drugstore. Why is the contraception mandate the only thing our Dear Leader won't change about Obamacare?  The reason is the left wants unquestioned obedience to government edicts. The level of outrage liberals are expressing towards religion in particular and diverse beliefs in general, is a measure of how badly they want to crush any resistance to any government edict. I think they object to the resistance to government edicts much more than to the specifics of this case. This is about removing any private organizational checks on the exercise of governmental power. The specifics are just a smokescreen. 

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/2014/03/25/a_women039s_rights_catastrophe_328428.html

Sochi Olympics Was a Cover Story for Crimea Invasion Preparations

This invasion was planned way in advance. Ironically, all that Russian bragging about how there were 40,000 troops guarding Sochi for the Olympics shows that Sochi was the cover story for concentrating Russian troops within striking distance of the Crimea. I remember several comments on military sites and also in the TV coverage that the Russians were over reacting and 10,000 should have been enough. It's possible that the Russians advanced Sochi as a site in the first place with a Crimean invasion in mind. Remember, Putin is a chess player who thinks many moves ahead. The One We Weren't Really Waiting For doesn't even think about his next move. The Community Organizer in Chief makes it up as he goes along. Our Dear Leader is sending food rations to the Ukraine so as not to upset Putin. LOL. Welcome to the second coming of Jimmy Carter.