World News Korner

Courtesy of Politico:

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Wheaton College doesn’t have to abide by the Obamacare contraceptive coverage requirement as long as the Christian school tells the Obama administration that it has a religious objection to providing birth control to its employees and students.

The order from a 6-3 court, and a scathing dissent, may foreshadow the second round of legal battles expected to take place in the Supreme Court later this year. On Monday, the court ruled in the Hobby Lobby case that closely held companies could be exempted from the contraception mandate if their owners had religious objections.

This did not go over too well with three of the Supreme Court Justices. Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Elena Kagen, who issued a frustrated response.

“Those who are bound by our decisions usually believe they can take us at our word. Not so today,” Sotomayor wrote. “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.”

Sotomayor also stressed the rarity of a Supreme Court emergency injunction, arguing that Wheaton’s potential for fines didn’t warrant the high court’s intervention. And she questioned whether the self-certification form that the Illinois college would fill out as part of that accommodation is a legitimate burden.

“Let me be absolutely clear: I do not doubt that Wheaton genuinely believes that signing the self-certification form is contrary to its religious beliefs,” she wrote. “But thinking one’s religious beliefs are substantially burdened — no matter how sincere or genuine that belief may be — does not make it so.”

Well it looks like Ruth Bader Ginsburg was dead right in her dissent to the Hobby Lobby ruling.

Not that any of us should be surprised.

Source

So Jennifer Steinhauer, of the New York Times wrote an article yesterday that was ostensibly about Chris McDaniel's failed bid to unseat Thad Cochran. (And of course his refusal to admit that he has lost.)

Steinhauer makes the argument that while these politicians lose their elections, sometimes multiple elections, they somehow come out winners since they are now seen as strident voices outside the beltway who are not forced to compromise their principles in order to pass legislation or get reelected.

It is an interesting premise, though not one I particularly agree with, however just as Stenhauer is making her point she flubs it with this statement:

The mother of this strategy is Sarah Palin, the failed vice-presidential candidate who jettisoned her job as governor of Alaska in favor of a personal bully pulpit and a political action committee to support conservatives candidates, who largely covet her nod.

Seriously? Did this woman do NO research into what has happened to Palin over the years since she lost the 2008 election?

Numerous failed reality shows and book tours for her and her entire family, all while becoming a national laughingstock that is only listened to by the fringeiest of the Right Wing fringe, does not a success make.

However Steinhauer seems immune to these obvious facts.

Ms. Palin has given a total of hundreds of thousands of dollars to scores of candidates over the last few cycles. Most recently, her endorsement helped push Joni Ernst past her rivals in a crowded Iowa Senate primary.

“Sarah Palin’s roaring support will help me to victory, and as a result, make ’em squeal in Washington,” Ms. Ernst said at the time.

Ben Sasse was also helped by Ms. Palin in his victory over primary competitors in a Senate race in Nebraska.

First off Palin has NOT given hundreds of thousands of dollars to "scores of candidates." I do not have time this morning to do the research and crunch the numbers but in the last five years I would be fairly surprised to learn that she gave even a hundred thousand dollars of her precious PAC money to candidates, and then it was only in stingy little dribs and drabs. And that does not take into account that she has been paid by some of these politicians to show up and stump for them, so in essence she can often make back her PAC's donation in personal financial gain and then some.

In short, it's all a scam.

And secondly Steinhauer completely ignores the large number of Palin endorsees who have flamed out and crashed into a crater of obscurity.

So yes Chris McDaniel may in fact follow in the footsteps of Sarah Palin. He may write a book that few will read, star in a reality show that nobody will want to see, get book deals for members of his family that nobody will give a shit about, and get fewer and fewer speaking gigs until finally he is standing in front of the hog exhibit at a country fair talking about taking back this country.


And if that is how failed Tea Party candidates define success, then he should be very, very happy.

After all look how happy Sarah Palin is.

On a related note it appears that not only are some Tea Party candidates following in the Mama Grizzly's footsteps, at least one of their daughters is following in Bristol's:

US Senate candidate and Baton Rouge Congressman Bill Cassidy releases a statement that says his 17-year-old unmarried daughter is pregnant as she prepares for her senior year in high school. ULM Political Science Professor Joshua Stockley says this revelation shouldn't impact his chances at defeating incumbent Mary Landrieu this fall.

"It's doubtful Senator Landrieu's campaign or any groups connected with her will find any particular reason to make this a campaign issue."

Stockley says there is political precedent, as Sarah Palin had to announce her daughter was pregnant as she ran for Vice-President.

"This really didn't have a significant impact on Sarah Palin. John McCain and Sarah Palin were defeated for very different reasons. None of which you can tie back to Bristol Palin."

That is true. McCain and Palin would have lost whether Bristol got herself knocked up or not.

Of course it didn't exactly HELP.

Wow, such a brave new political world Sarah Palin has helped create, don't you agree?

Source

Whenever anybody starts a conversation with the words "Atheists believe..." I am essentially done listening.

That indicates that they have no idea what it is to be an Atheist. And probably never will.

Source

Courtesy of Raw Story:

Police arrested a Missouri “doomsday prepper” who investigators said had been terrorizing his neighborhood for weeks.

Neighbors began complaining in May about 36-year-old Roy McCool after he allegedly assaulted a woman in Springfield home, reported the Springfield News-Leader.

Investigators said McCool forced his way into the woman’s home and punched, slapped, and choked her before firing three rounds from a handgun into her living room wall. McCool broke into the woman’s home two days later and stole a bank card and $35 in cash from her children’s piggy banks, police said. Neighbors said McCool’s behavior grew even more threatening about two weeks later, in late May, when he stood in his front yard with a gun and yelled threats toward other residents.

Apparently Mr. McCool, who has one of the most ironic names ever, has also been getting into numerous confrontations with his neighbors, hit one man in the face with a wooden stake, and has been openly displaying firearms to passersby.

When the police arrested his ass he had 10 guns consisting of one AR-15, three other rifles, four handguns, and a shotgun. Not to mention the thousands of rounds of ammunition he had just in case the "gubmint" came after him.

Despite all of that preparation it sounds as if the local police had little difficulty apprehending the suspect, who has been charged with six felonies, including three counts of burglary, two counts of unlawful use of a weapon and one count of domestic assault.

Well that is one less Sarah Palin supporter walking the streets at least.

Source

This is from January 2009, right after President Obama was sworn in and apparently before Sarah Palin decided to become a full tie Right Wing troll.

Source