Pirate's Cove

Obama Reinforces Stance On Unconstitutional Contraceptive Mandate

By William Teach February 9, 2012 – 8:46 am

It boggles the mind why Obama would want to pick this fight with Catholics, which also means Conservatives, Tea Party members, Republicans, and the 60+% of Americans who oppose ObamaCare get riled up again, in an election year. Democrats, including Obama, avoided mentioning ObamaCare during the 2010 mid-term elections in the same manner people avoid discussions of their grandparents having sex. They avoided mentioning it during 2011. Obama avoided it during the 2011 and 2012 State of the Union campaign speeches. Why bring it up now?

But, Obama is not giving up on forcing his views on American’s, reducing their freedom (via Hot Air)

(ABC News) President Obama “reinforced” his stance on the controversial contraception mandate while speaking at the Democrats’ annual retreat at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. today, Senate Democrats said.

The retreat was closed to media.

Following President Obama’s speech at the retreat, a small group of Senate Democrats, mostly women, left the retreat early in order to hold a news conference on Capitol Hill to counter the Republicans’ news conference today at which they called for the mandate to be overturned.

Democrats said they will “fight strongly” to keep the mandate in place.

“It is our clear understanding from the administration that the president believes as we do, and the vast majority of the American women should have access to birth control,” Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., said pointing out that 15 percent of women use birth control for medical issues. “It’s medicine, and women deserve their medicine.”

Yet, they do have access to contraception, regardless of whether their health insurance offers it or not. They can get a prescription from a doctor and pick up birth control pills. No one is stopping them. They can go down to the local pharmacy and buy condoms! Amazing, eh? And easy! They’re even available at grocery stores and small places like 7/11, WaWa, Kangaroo, and so on. By this same argument the Democrats are making, every plan should include, say, laser eye surgery. For free. No co-pays. Yet, most don’t even include a small discount. Government is not mandating. But, 1 in 4 American’s will need some sort of corrective eye implements by age 40.

“The power to decide whether or not to use contraception lies with a woman – not her boss,” said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. “What is more intrusive than trying to allow an employer to make medical decisions for someone who works for them?”

As Allahpundit wrote Anyone want to field that question from ObamaCare supporter Kirsten Gillibrand? What about the Central Government’s power to decide? But, neither is deciding whether or not to use contraception, they are deciding whether it is in the health insurance plans. Government is mandating over the specific religious objections of Catholics, a clear violation of the 1st Amendment, along with the liberals own talking points about a “separation of Church and State.”

This is not a bug, though, nor a by-product. This is intentional. When you dig into ObamaCare, you see that one of the main points is to make sure private sector employers who offer health insurance drop their coverages. Central government would much rather have the private sector pay the $2,000 fine to the Central Government, rather than pay the $6-12 thousand per year per employee they are paying now, with the employees then joining the government health insurance exchange. With each company that ends up dropping their offers, the Democrats can demonize them and says “look how mean private sector companies are!”

If just one employee obtains insurance through the exchange, their company is responsible for paying the fine for every employee. In retail, there can be, roughly, 25% of the employees being part-time. Some companies offer insurance for them, but, none take it, because it is much more expensive. Some do not even offer to part time. Companies will not take the chance that just one obtains insurance through the exchange. They will drop their plans. And that’s beside the notion that the fine is cheaper than the out-lays.

Let’s not forget this from the other day

“Unless this rule is overturned, we Catholics will be compelled to either violate our consciences or drop health care coverage for our employees (and suffer the penalties for doing so),” according to a letter from Archbishop Joseph Naumann of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.

“Drop health care coverage.” That’s the point. But, why Obama would want to pick this fight in a presidential election year is strange. Perhaps he thinks that no matter how shabbily he treats Catholics, they’ll still vote for him. Democrats treat lots of voter blocks poorly, and, yes, they are dumb enough to vote Democrats. Will this time be different? Perhaps Obama was trying to change the narrative, which is that he is incompetent, has no clue how to deal with the economy, and is against creating private sector jobs. Move the conversation away from Keystone XL, Solyndra and other failed “green” companies, the waste of Stimulus, and Fast and Furious. Or, perhaps, he just doesn’t know better, and made a whopper of a mistake in green lighting this agenda.

More: The Lonely Conservative: To hear them talk you’d think Republicans are trying to outlaw birth control. Kirsten Gillibrand even said a woman’s boss shouldn’t be the one to decide whether she uses birth control. This isn’t about choosing to use contraception, it’s about who pays for it, and the government has no business forcing people to pay for it when it violates their beliefs.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

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Posted in 1st Amendment, Barry Obama, Democrats, Healthcare | 7 Comments |

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Professional Warmists Shocked No Ice Melt In Himalayas, Still Say We’re Doomed

By William Teach February 9, 2012 – 8:11 am

We’ve already had confirmation on massive errors in the UN IPCC’s “science”, and know that the errors were used intentionally to scaremonger. We know that the data came from an unfounded report which had no scientific data, written by a grad student who did no field research, like so much of the 2007 IPCC assessment. And now we find

(UK Guardian) The world’s greatest snow-capped peaks, which run in a chain from the Himalayas to Tian Shan on the border of China and Kyrgyzstan, have lost no ice over the last decade, new research shows.

Let that sink in for a second: actual scientific research has shown that there was no ice lost in the past 10 years, the decade the Warmist say is the hottest in Earth’s 4.5 billion year history.

The discovery has stunned scientists, who had believed that around 50bn tonnes of meltwater were being shed each year and not being replaced by new snowfall.

The study is the first to survey all the world’s icecaps and glaciers and was made possible by the use of satellite data. Overall, the contribution of melting ice outside the two largest caps – Greenland and Antarctica – is much less then previously estimated, with the lack of ice loss in the Himalayas and the other high peaks of Asia responsible for most of the discrepancy.

Oh, so Warmist are and were wrong on Greenland and Antarctica, too?

The melting of Himalayan glaciers caused controversy in 2009 when a report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change mistakenly stated that they would disappear by 2035, instead of 2350. However, the scientist who led the new work is clear that while greater uncertainty has been discovered in Asia’s highest mountains, the melting of ice caps and glaciers around the world remains a serious concern.

This begs the question, why is it a concern? This happens over and over during the warm periods over the last 10,000 years, and, geez, what about the melt from the end of the last glacial period? It also begs the question, why are some glaciers growing and some shrinking? Quite a bit seems to be localized, and doesn’t seem to support the ~~theory hypothesis~~ crystal ball view of anthropogenic global warming, which should mean the entire globe is warming. Which is why the Warmists have latched on to the phrase “climate change”, in order to cover their tracks for their original prognostications, and enfold everything that happens into their cult-like beliefs.

Don Surber: I do not doubt that over time glaciers retreat, or advance. Surface temperatures may even rise. But if man’s production of CO2 were to blame, the glacial meltdown would accelerate, not stop, as the CO2 levels are on the rise (as measured by proponents of the global warming theory). Instead the melt appears to have stopped.

Vox Popoli: Scientists spend an awful lot of time being stunned because they are some of the most naive, credulous, and easily manipulated beings on the planet. That’s why they tend to inordinately fall for every nonsensical philosophical and political ideology that crosses their paths. The average reader of The National Enquirer probably has a better and more-developed sense of skepticism than the average scientist.

Anthony Watts has the graphic of where glaciers are growing based on the Grace data.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

Read: Professional Warmists Shocked No Ice Melt In Himalayas, Still Say We’re Doomed »

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Island Nations Look To Sue In International Court

By William Teach February 8, 2012 – 3:43 pm

Why am I not shocked?

(LA Times) If the globe keeps warming and the seas keep rising, the country of Palau could be wiped off the map. So the Pacific island is teaming up with other small island nations to fight the threat of climate change — in court.

The countries want the International Court of Justice to offer an opinion on whether countries that pollute have a responsibility to other countries that get hurt by that pollution. Ecological damage that crosses borders could be seen as a violation of international law, a legal cudgel against climate change.

“It is not an exaggeration to say that climate change is, for us, a matter of life and death,” Sprent Dabwido, president of the Pacific state of Nauru, said at a climate change conference in December.

Well, choosing to live on an island which is mostly not that high above sea level is not a particularly wise idea. And, how did those islands tend to be created? Corals. Which have to be under water to live. So, they create reefs, and when oceans subside, islands can slowly come into being. Wait, what was that part about being under water in the past? Anyhow

If current emission trends continue, the small island nations are likely to be submerged eventually; it will take a major international effort to prevent that from happening, though the time may be extended.

If current emissions go down, the islands can go under water again, just like has happened many times in the past. Warmists seem not to understand that Earth changes.

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If All You See…

By William Teach February 8, 2012 – 1:00 pm

…is an evil dog killing Gaia with CO2, you might just be a Warmist

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An Obama Compromise On ObamaCare Contraception Requirement?

By William Teach February 8, 2012 – 9:35 am

Let’s start off with this from LauraW at Ace Of Spades

Did Catholic organizations support Obamacare because they either assumed or were told that they would get an exception based on their religious beliefs?

Because if that is true, then essentially they agreed to support an infringement on others’ freedoms just so long as their own would be preserved. How did they think that would eventually work out?

Now, don’t get me wrong; of course I am delighted that Catholics are angry with the Obama administration.

However, I’m not exactly freaking out that they didn’t get what they bargained for, after they* gleefully endorsed curtailing your and my freedoms.

That’s a heck of a good point. Many of the Catholic organizations did support ObamaCare, though so many practicing Catholics did not. Much of the Catholic leadership has tended to lean Democrat over the past 20 or so years. Did they think, like so many liberals do, that any Central Government intrusion in the lives of Americans would only apply to That Guy and not themselves? That said, there are a lot of stories going around that Obama might cave, at least to some degree. Michael Gerson discusses

David Axelrod is now signaling that there “may be compromises that can be reached” on the Obama administration’s contraceptive mandate. Or maybe he is just proposing a longer “grace period or time period in order to work this thing through.” I’m sure he would welcome a grace period extended just beyond the November election.

In either case, the Obama administration is clearly growing less confident in its current position — a requirement that religious hospitals, charities and universities provide insurance coverage that includes contraceptives and drugs that can cause early abortions. “We want to resolve it in an appropriate way,” says Axelrod.

Yet Axelrod still refuses to concede anything on the central issue of the debate. He maintains that “extended, affiliated institutions like hospitals and universities” should be regulated like an Apple Store or 7-11, since all employ and serve non-members. This represents a deep misunderstanding of religion itself. Catholics serve non-Catholics precisely because that is the calling of Catholicism. Christians serve non-Christians because that is one of their defining missions in the world. There is nothing “extended” or “affiliated” about a Catholic shelter for abused women or the homeless. Such institutions are Catholic in motivation, Catholic in inspiration, Catholic through and through.

Alexrod is still insisting on the forced secularization of religious institutions. He wants compromise without the inconvenience of making concessions.

Many people rightfully point out that many Catholic hospitals, businesses, and organizations already offer contraception and sterilization in their insurance plans. Yes, they do. But, those who offer this defense miss the greater point: it was the choice of those hospitals, businesses, and organizations to offer those health plans, not the governments. That is the point: the American federal government, and, to a degree, the state and local governments, should stop mandating everything. Liberals like to talk about government staying out of our bedrooms, then they pass laws that invade our lives at all levels (let’s not forget, Republicans can do this too.)

With each little law passed, citizens lose the freedom to make their own decisions. Thomas Jefferson was adamant about including term limits in the Constitution for Congress (and the President), so that we would have citizen legislators who would serve a few terms and then go back into the private sector and live under the laws they passed. Right now, legislators pass laws and do not have to actually live under them. We have idiot Democrat Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper saying she wouldn’t have voted for ObamaCare had she known what was in it. That’s why you read the bill, chump. And when a law is so broad that it doesn’t actually define most things, but gives the Sec Of Health the power to make it up as she goes along, we have a major problem.

BTW, liberals, remember, if a Republican wins in 2012 (or beyond), he/she will get to appoint a new Sec. Of Health, who can than make up their own rules.

The freedom to make your own choices is what made America great. Congress doesn’t want that.

Anyhow, the Constitution specifically says that “Congress shall pass no law….that denies the free practice thereof (of religion)”. ObamaCare is that law.

Show Me More Inline, Matey >

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Posted in 1st Amendment, Barry Obama, Constitution, Democrats, Healthcare | 2 Comments |

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If Climate Change Is So Bad, Why Is The Flu So Mild?

By William Teach February 8, 2012 – 8:59 am

How many times have we been told that global warming climate change is going to be bad for humans? Disease and stuff will kill hundreds of millions, turning people into zombies….well, not really, they haven’t gotten to that jumping shark moment. Yet. Though, the Warmists have done “Zombie Walks for Climate change“. But, what is the reality as we go through a mild winter here in North America?

(Fox News) The flu virus is thought to thrive in cold weather, so it’s no surprise that during this unseasonably warm winter, we’ve had an equally mild flu season. Doctor visits for the flu have been below average this winter, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

But don’t think you’re in the free and clear.

Typically, flu season peaks in February or March, so it still has time to ramp up—meaning you still have time to get a flu shot—the kingpin of prevention—if you haven’t already.

There’s still time for the flu to ramp up, but, not much so far. I haven’t gotten the flu. Parents, not so much. Friends and co-workers, not so much. Even in South Dakota, the flu is almost nowhere to be seen. There has been a marked decrease in the purchase of flu medicine in Canada.

(Daily Press in Virginia) We’re into February, traditionally when flu season peaks, and there’s been barely a hint of the illness on the Peninsula, statewide or even across the country. “We really haven’t seen much flu yet. I think the important word is yet,” says David Trump, director of the Peninsula Health District.

Trump received the first lab confirmation of a local flu case on Tuesday. “We may be at the very beginning of it finally,” he adds.

As we get into the coldest month of the year, we are seeing a slight increase in flu outbreaks, but, so far, world wide the flu season has been a bust. So, is a warming world really that bad? At the beginning of the Little Ice Age, the Black Death ran rampant, killing 75 million from Europe to Asia. And like today’s warm period, the LIA was natural. Things will happen, some good, some bad. People have still been getting colds this fall/winter, but most have been mild. This mild winter could (there’s that word again, very scientific) cause more Lyme Disease this year. For the Warmists, though, hot cold wet dry is a cause for apoplexy and force 10 moonbattery. They are true Flat Earthers, thinking that nothing should ever change, that the climate and weather should always be the same and entirely predictable.

Tom Nelson asks a good question: I’m not a climatologist, so questions like this confuse me: If the Maldives is described as “paradise” and averages 40 degrees F. warmer than Minneapolis, why should I be afraid that Minneapolis might warm by a couple of degrees? Warmists? Any answer?

Read: If Climate Change Is So Bad, Why Is The Flu So Mild? »

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And It’s Santorum For The Hat Trick

By William Teach February 8, 2012 – 8:29 am

Tuesday night was all Rick (for the non-hockey fans, first, shame on you, and second, a hat trick is scoring 3 goals, after which people throw their hats on the ice. Not easy to score a hat trick)

(Washington Post) Rick Santorum had a breakthrough night Tuesday, winning GOP presidential contests in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado, all of which is expected to breathe life into his struggling campaign and slow Mitt Romney’s march to the Republican presidential nomination.

The Santorum triumphs promise to, at least temporarily, alter the face of the campaign going into the crucial “Super Tuesday” contests, as the caustic tone of the primaries is expected to continue and intensify. Romney and his allies have signaled that they will use their financial advantage to launch stepped-up attacks on Santorum and on former House speaker Newt Gingrich, the other main challenger.

Santorum solidly defeated Romney in Minnesota and Missouri, and he narrowly edged the former Massachusetts governor in Colorado, according to state GOP officials.

The breakdowns

Colorado: Santorum 40.2%, Mitt 34.9%, Gingrich 12.8%, Paul 11.8%
Minnesota: S 44.8%, P 27.2%, R 16.9%, G 10.7%
Missouri: S 55.2, R 25.3%, P 12.2%

In Missouri, Gingrich wasn’t on the ballot, and, interestingly, received no write in votes. Even K. Drummond received 162 write ins. That creates an interesting situation: Without Newt, Santorum apparently jumps high in support, and if Newt can’t even get some write in votes, how deep is his campaign enthusiasm?

Maggie Haberman offers up 7 takeaways from last nights beauty contest, most focusing on Romney. She also notices that Gingrich is pretty much out of money, and has only the South Carolina primary to Santorum’s 4 wins. She mentions that Ron Paul is “in it for the delegates.” Apparently, Ron Paul no longer wants to be president, just mess the whole nomination process up, helping the GOP lose in 2012.

One thing that surely helped Rick was coming out strong against ObamaCare forcing Catholics, and other religious groups, to offer insurance that includes free contraceptives, sterilizations, and morning after pills.

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.

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Posted in Elections, GOP | 5 Comments |

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Bummer: CO2 Rises Despite Warmist Policies

By William Teach February 7, 2012 – 4:55 pm

I’m shocked, shocked I tell you! Who woulda thunk that all the Big Central Government means of saving Gaia from evil CO2 would fail miserably?

(UK Telegraph) The latest figures from the Department of Energy and Climate change show emissions rose by more than 3 per cent in 2010, the first increase since 2003.

The rise in carbon dioxide and other gases comes despite a swathe of Government policies to cut emissions, such as building wind farms and installing solar panels.

Ed Davey, the new Energy and Climate Change Secretary, said it was just a blip in the long term goal to halve emissions by 2025.

“One year won’t knock the UK off meeting its long-term emission reduction targets, but it serves to underline the importance of the coalition’s policies for insulating homes to cut bills and emissions and moving to greener alternative forms of energy,” he said.

In other words, expect more Big Central Government programs which take away liberties.

The rise in emissions was blamed largely on the UK coming out of a recession and the increase in gas use for heating homes in the face of cold weather at the beginning and the end of the year.

Wait, what? Heating their homes from harsh winters? Isn’t CO2 supposed to make things warm? Hmm, it’s not like Europe is going through yet another cold winter or something.

Read: Bummer: CO2 Rises Despite Warmist Policies »

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If All You See…

By William Teach February 7, 2012 – 1:00 pm

…is an evil fossil fueled airplane, you might just be a warmist

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HuffPo: Catholics Need To Just Forget 2,000 Years Of Church Doctrine Because People Have Sex!

By William Teach February 7, 2012 – 9:08 am

Liberals will rationalize anything for the sake of abortion on demand

(Marjorie Clifton at HuffPo) I am the product of 14 years of Catholic school and am a practicing Catholic, actively involved in the church all of my life. As a woman with a career in politics and women’s leadership, I have quietly worked within the church to make change and have cautiously offered my voice only when I felt it was essential. But, I can be quiet no longer.

You are welcome to speak out. It’s your Constitutional right. You are not free to push your beliefs on others by government law. That is against everything this country was founded on. Oh, and violates the portion of that same 1st Amendment regarding religion

Recently, the Catholic leadership came out in opposition to the mandate in our new healthcare law that all health insurance providers offer coverage for prescribed birth control, even for employees in some Catholic Institutions. But, let’s be clear about what the real issue is here. It is not about government controls, and it is not about infringement of our religious beliefs. It is about a church that has lost touch with reality. The leadership of the Catholic Church either is ignoring or is unaware of the disconnect between Catholic teaching and Catholic reality.

No, it is about government, and using the out of control force of government to make Catholic institutions, and other religious institutions, offer birth control. Also, sterilizations and the morning after pill. Ms. Clifton rationalizes this as “well, Catholics have sex, so, their health insurance provider should be not only forced to offer this products, but do so with a zero deductible.” So, the church is left with the choice of either offering the health insurance which violates their beliefs or dropping coverage.

Essentially, it boils down to people forcing their beliefs on other people. This is America. The religious institutions have the right, and the constitutional right, to offer insurance that adheres to their beliefs. The people who work for them have the freedom to go out and get their own insurance if they want free birth control and morning after pills. Liberals do not want anyone to have a choice. It’s their way or no way. They aren’t very tolerant of opposing viewpoints.

One has to wonder how the Obama admin. and liberals would react if the Muslim leaders came out against this decree.

Of course, these mandates are not direct: they require insurance carriers to offer the measures, but, then the religious institutions won’t have choice themselves. All are forced to offer birth control, sterilization, and abortion pills.

“Unless this rule is overturned, we Catholics will be compelled to either violate our consciences or drop health care coverage for our employees (and suffer the penalties for doing so),” according to a letter from Archbishop Joseph Naumann of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.

He and other church prelates asked that the message be read from pulpits over the weekend.

“We cannot — we will not — comply with this unjust law,” Naumann’s letter stated.

An Obama appointee muzzled Army chaplains from reading the letter over the weekend, a clear violation of the 1st Amendment.

Liberals constantly tell us about this mythical separation of church and state. Funny how all of a sudden the State is allowed to dictate to the church.

Read: HuffPo: Catholics Need To Just Forget 2,000 Years Of Church Doctrine Because People Have Sex! »