Hobby Lobby's Religion: Boko Haram

House of Reps. all-male hearing on contraception, 2012

Hobby Lobby today announced that although it is a corporation, it does indeed have a religion: Boko Haram.  When its Christian owners argued before the Supreme Court to assert their right to deny insurance coverage for 4 types of birth control on the basis of the corporation's religious beliefs, Justice Sotomayor questioned "How does a corporation exercise religion?"  The Corporation itself has so far been silent on its actual religious affiliation.


"With so many of our successful practices under attack around the globe this month, we felt it was time to speak publicly in defense of our faith.  On May 6, a Boko Haram leader claimed responsibility for abducting hundreds of Nigerian school girls, planning to sell them. In the U.S., with legislation in Missouri and Louisiana aiming to strip abortion providers of their right to practice, and  proposals advancing in Congress to ban abortions after 20 weeks, when low-income women and women with medical abnormalities are most likely to need them, our staunch doctrine of assuring the long-term, structural subservience of women has been making enormous strides.


"The firing of Jill Abramson for her 'brusque' management style as NY Times editor, to be replaced by the man who had responded entirely appropriately by punching a hole in the wall at the Times, was simply more than we could have hoped for.


"This cascade of previously unimaginable successes has of course inflamed uncontrollably whiny, emotional, and humorless feminist apparatchiks around the globe, from groups like a Billion Rising, and the Trust Women/Silver Ribbon Campaign.  These modern women and their supporters would convince the US Supreme Court that it's time to set the record straight and dismiss Hobby Lobby's arguments, simply because they reflect the last gasp of the backwards, fringe mentality we represent. And frankly, the recent denunciation of Boko Haram by Al Quaeda contributed to prompting our declaration. By coming out publicly to claim our corporation's religious affiliation with Boko Haram, we intend to put all such diversions to rest."


(The corporation went  on to explain how this unique circumstance entitled it to claim its independent right to assert that Plan B should not be covered by Hobby Lobby because it is an abortifacient, which is otherwise labeled by mainstream scientific evidence as "absolutely without any foundation whatsoever.")

Stand up for Our Rights?

Here is what we are up against:

28 Republican Senators have written to protest that the HHS decision to cover contraception as a preventive health care service interferes with the constitutional right of your religious employer to dictate whether or not you use birth control. (Technically, whether it should be a covered benefit and therefore affordable.)

That’s right: these Senators are distressed because your employer, if it has a religious affiliation, should have a constitutional right to mandate your personal sexual behaviors and to trample on your reproductive health choices.

The signers include, for example, David Vitter. His known use of the public funds that pay his salary for the support of sex workers might seem to contradict his right to dictate your own behavior.

Some on our side say these loony extremist statements rile up the Republican base and turn out their vote. We should keep our powder dry and ignore them, because smart pro-choice voters are motivated more by economics and other issues. But these crackpot ideas are too often turning into crackpot laws. Seems to me it’s time to connect the dots: Our human, economic and reproductive rights are our rights, and no elected official will stand up for us until we stand up for ourselves. The extremists are attacking our economic wellbeing and our freedoms at every level. What do you think?

Johanns/Hatch letter on contraception:
In addition to Sens. Hatch and Johanns, the letter to Secretary Sebelius was signed by Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Roy Blunt (R-Missouri), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), Pat Toomey (R-Pennsylvania), Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin), Dan Coats (R-Indiana), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), Jon Kyl (R-Arizona), Jerry Moran (R-Kansas), John Cornyn (R-Texas), John McCain (R-Arizona), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), John Boozman (R-Arkansas), Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma), and Kelly Ayotte (R-New Hampshire), David Vitter (R-Louisiana), Pat Roberts (R-Kansas), Johnny Isakson (R-Georgia), John Hoeven (R-North Dakota), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), John Thune (R-South Dakota), Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), and Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma).

From Crisis to Progress: This Week In Health Care Politics

So Republicans say they will not push Medicare repeal as a condition of raising the debt ceiling, which begins to expire on May 16 and still has life through August. Turns out even those deluded by Fox News aren't buying that one just yet, even though the House voted for the Ryan budget bill for 2012 a few weeks ago that featured turning Medicare into a scantily-funded voucher program.

So what other egregious demands can we expect to issue forth from the loonies of the Right?

Well for one hint take a look at H.R. 3, and the Dems' concession in the 2011 budget fight to sacrifice abortions for poor women in DC. H.R. 3 is the bill that would strip abortion coverage from private health insurance plans, on the grounds that employers that provide these plans receive a federal tax credit for doing so. Women who receive the small number of abortions still permitted because the pregnancies were caused by rape or incest could be required to document their trauma to insurance agents or regulators to get coverage. It passed the House on Wednesday by a vote of 251 to 175, with zero R's voting No and 16 Democrats in support: Altmire, Boren, Costello, Critz, Cuellar, Donnelly (IN), Holden, Kaptur, Kildee, Lipinski, Matheson, McIntyre, Peterson, Rahall, Ross (AR), and Shuler. That's

Reproductive rights has lost majority support in the House and the Senate. The 40-plus dependable champions in the Senate can muster a filibuster, but that's still short of the majority that would reflect pro-choice opinion in the country.

Of the 33 Senate seats up in 2012, 23 are Democrats (or Independents who vote with Ds) and 10 are Republicans

So:

Come to the May 13 conference From Crisis to Progress: Health Care Reform, Public Health, and Women’s Preventive Services

Friday, May 13, 2011 ~ 8:30am to 4:00pm

Elihu Harris State Office Building at 1515 Clay Street, Oakland CA

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE

Meanwhile, in California, there is progress;

State Senator Mark Leno's state single payer bill, SB 810, moved forward from the Senate health committee this week.

And CA Assembly member Mike Feuer's AB 52 moved ahead. This bill would authorize the state Insurance Commissioner to limit excessive health insurance increases, a power now available for auto insurance but not for health care. AB 52 moved out of the Assembly Health Committee and on to the financing committee (Appropriations) . If successful in Approps, it should go to the Assembly for a vote in June. Think your health insurance costs to much? Call or write your state assembly member and senator and let them know - and send a copy to Mike.