There was no announcement today from the Supreme Court on the constitutionality of Obamacare, but, as has been written here and elsewhere, it doesn't look good. A neutral observer would have to wonder how even Scalia could strike down Obamacare, given his views of an expansive view of the Commerce Clause, articulated as recently as 2005 in his opinion … Read More
Who Has Got The Heavy Burden?
In the most recent New Yorker, Jeffrey Toobin takes Supreme Court Justice Kennedy to task: It’s well known by now that Donald Verrilli, Jr., the Solicitor General, had an off day at the Supreme Court last Tuesday, when he was called on to defend the constitutionality of the individual mandate, the part of the Affordable Care Act which requires people … Read More
Another Day, Another Abomination Against Women
Now, from Georgia: After an emotional 14-hour workday that included fist-fights between lobbyists and a walk-out by women Democrats, the Georgia House passed a Senate-approved bill Thursday night that criminalizes abortion after 20 weeks. The bill, which does not contain rape or incest exemptions, is expected to receive a signature from Republican Gov. Nathan Deal. Commonly referred to as the … Read More
So What If The Mandate Fails
If the Supreme Court decides it doesn't like the individual mandate, what happens to the rest of Obamacare? The Supreme Court can go three ways: (1) If the mandate falls, the rest of the law stands. The outcome: The narrowest ruling the Supreme Court could issue would be one where the individual mandate falls by itself but leaves the rest of … Read More
What’s Being Argued Today — A Summary for Layman
At the heart of health care reform lies the individual mandate, which makes it so that individuals must purchase health insurance or else face a fine assessed by the government. The question before the Court will be whether Congress has the power under the Commerce Clause to require that individuals purchase health insurance. The Commerce Clause states that “the Congress shall have … Read More
Supreme Court Starts Hearing Arguments in the “Obamacare” Case
Is the Affordable Care Act consitutional? The lower courts are divided, and today the Supreme Court beings three days of oral arguments on the matter. Somewhat oddly, the most controversial part of the legislation — the individual mandate which requires everyone to purchase health insurance (or pay a fine if they don't) — is only slotted for 90 minutes of … Read More
How’s Susan Komen Foundation Doing? — A Look Back
After their public relations debacle back in February, when Komen attempted to defund Planned Parenthood, things looked really bleak for the womens cancer foundation. But it eventually tried to amend its wrongdoing, the story fell off the front page, and the nation's attention went elsewhere. So has the Komen Foundation recovered? Hardly, according to the Washington Post: Fallout from the Planned … Read More
And Netflix Makes Thirty
Moments ago, Netflix emailed a statement to the tech website Boing Boing indicating that the company will ensure that its ads never appear on Rush Limbaugh’s radio show again: Spotted your tweets and wanted to let you know that Netflix has not purchased and does not purchase advertising on the Rush Limbaugh show. We do buy network radio advertising and have confirmed … Read More
Full Circle
Wow. Saint Vincent's Hospital in Connecticut, a Catholic medical center, is withdrawing its advertising from Rush Limbaugh, according to the hospital's Twitter feed. Remember, this all started because Catholic insitutions were upset and having to "pay for" contraception coverage. Apparently, Rush stunk up his side so badly that even his allies are distancing themselves.
Limbaugh’s Non-Apology
Posted on his website Saturday: "For over 20 years, I have illustrated the absurd with absurdity, three hours a day, five days a week. In this instance, I chose the wrong words in my analogy of the situation. I did not mean a personal attack on Ms. Fluke. I think it is absolutely absurd that during these very serious political … Read More
The Right’s Sex Obsession Explained
Shorter Aaron Worthing: Rush Limbaugh was wrong to call Sandra Fluke a slut. As for me, I would prefer not to inquire into whether women in college are sluts or not, but Obamacare is forcing me to ask.
White House To Cave On The Contraception Thing
It's an election year, and Obama doesn't want a culture war… even if he IS on the winning side of it, and most people support him on it. The White House will announce some sort of compromise later today. Wooses. And by the way, don't expect the "compromise" to satisfy the right. UPDATE — per a fact sheet being … Read More
What’s Good For The Goose…
This is pretty badass and hilarious. The Virginia legislature is trying to pass a bill that would require women to undergo an ultrasound for having an abortion. According to CBS: The legislation would require all women seeking abortions to have an ultrasound image taken to determine the gestational age of the fetus. It says each patient must be given the opportunity … Read More
Mass Hysteria Starts With Cheerleaders
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the strange situation in upstate New York, where twelve girls in the same junior-senior high school have developed strange tics, not unlike Tourette's, and nobody knows why. It's now 14 girls, and possibly one boy, who have developed the strange behaviors. One of them is posting her ordeal on YouTube. It's still … Read More