UPDATE

Some other little known facts regarding the Greens of Hobby Lobby fame. First, selling religion through crafts. Then using religion to discriminate. Lastly, pushing their view of history and the Bible in YOUR schools. (Not to mention  the Museum of the bible in DC.)

http://tinyurl.com/k479nc7

In case there are any of you out there that still believe that the SCOTUS's decision was strictly (or "narrowly", as they have said) on certain women's health/reproduction options……..think again.

Their "Founding Fathers and Freedom of Religion" schtick is beginning to crumble and be exposed for exactly what is it: an inroads to a sort of fundamentalist taliban. (I am not even going to dignify them with capital letters.)

The originators of such things as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were a varied bunch, with differing views on religion and its role beyond personal belief. One quick source on the subject is http://www.archives.gov/nhprc/annotation/2002/2002-mar.pdf.

"As mentioned previously, most of the Founders were associated with and/or attended Christian  churches.  But the Founders were a product of not only Christianity, but also the political ideologies of the Enlightenment.  They read scripture, but they also read the philosophies of John Locke, Voltaire, and Montesquieu. As Frazer says in his book The Religious Beliefs of America’s Founders, theistic rationalism was “a belief system for the educated elite.”  Educated elite describes not only founders such as Jefferson, Adams, and Madison, but also many of the Revolutionary Era’s preachers and seminary professors." http://greatamericanhistory.net/blog/the-religious-beliefs-of-americas-founding-fathers-christians-or-deists/

Nowhere in the list of the religious affiliations of these men is Baptist or Pentecostal or Fundamentalist even listed…these were later incarnations of Protestantism. (Notice the base word here….) Is it too far a stretch to see the beginnings of "free market" take root in some of these later denominations?  I apologize in advance for offending anyone. But, there used to be an old canard that went along the lines….."The missionaries went out there to do good, and they did very well."

And don't forget the Green's attempt at getting a Bible-based view of history pushed in our public school system.
" I am skeptical, however, that the scholars that Green has assembled for this job — a group that tilts like a listing ship toward evangelicals working at evangelical institutions — are capable of producing a textbook beholden to facts rather than faith." http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/05/11/green-hobby-lobby-bible-course-textbook-column/8974511/

But Hobby Lobby's latest win (or stunt) isn't being hailed as a success by all on the religious Right. http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2014/07/03/3456438/religious-exemption-letter-pushback/

You will notice that no large corporations jumped on the bandwagon in support of this. (And it is NOT only about contraception.) There is a reason for that:

"After all, incorporation’s basic purpose is to create a distinct legal entity, with legal rights, obligations, powers, and privileges different from those of the natural individuals who created it, who own it, or whom it employs.

That separation is what legal and business scholars call the "corporate veil," and it's fundamental to the entire operation."

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2014/07/hobby-lobbys-other-problem

So let's get down to the real nitty-gritty of what's going on here:

“Because I’m a man, number one and it’s really none of my business what women do,” Potter said. So, then, why bother suing? “Because I don’t care if the federal government is telling me to buy my employees Jack Daniel’s or birth control. What gives them the right to tell me that I have to do that? That’s my issue, that’s what I object to, and that’s the beginning and end of the story.” 

http://www.salon.com/2013/04/15/eden_foods_ceo_digs_himself_deeper_in_birth_control_outrage/

And it's all about sticking it to the "arrogant" President…the one that is actually getting things done in spite of their hatred for him and those on the left. I do not think they have thought the consequences of this move through very well……as Justice Ginsberg has so eloquently stated.

Republicans of the Female Variety are In a Quandary

UPDATE
Wow…it seems like the GOP is starting to get the idea that women just aren't that into them. So they have a new strategy:

"Women process information differently than men," [Republican ad maker Ashley] O'Connor says. "So much of political advertising focuses on conflict, and facts and figures, and I think that we're already starting to see, when reaching women voters, there's just new techniques that need to be used, and a different tone, and more storytelling."
http://tinyurl.com/kwoszw8

There, I'm sure that will fix it….

When Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) was asked Monday by The St. Louis Post-Dispatch why Republicans have lagged in recruiting women, she answered, “I don’t know.”

She is the head of a project to remedy this situation, since Republican men are too busy walking around with their feet in their mouths, I guess….
Project Grow

http://www.nrcc.org/project_grow/

Of course, all you learn from this link is DONATE HERE.

Maybe I can give them a little insight as to the problem. For some reason most intelligent women don't take to kindly to: 

You want birth control? YOU'RE A SLUT!

Women who pay for her date's meals are disgusting!

"If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways of shutting that whole thing down"

Or maybe it's the patronizing:

 “Forgive me because you and I both know Senator Feinstein. I have the highest regard for her. You’re saying you think she was emotional in these conclusions?”  http://www.msnbc.com/all/hayden-feinstein-too-emotional-over-report

It could be the demeaning:

“The fact that she’s also going to be a grandma will help to humanize her,”

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2014/04/28/expert-becoming-a-grandmother-will-help-to-humanize-hillary-clinton/

Then there is the condescension:

 “men are more motivated by money than women are.” 

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/04/24/3430462/women-make-less-risk/

It is pretty bad when women even get into the act:

Women are being told to go to college…to find a mate.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-patton/why-i-told-female-princeton-students-to-find-a-husband_b_2988154.html

After all that, Repubs have shown that MONEY is more important than actual  people, of either sex.

"... it has been shown that lower-income Republicans feel that preserving benefits is far more important than higher-income Republicans seem to. Higher-income Republicans tend to believe that it is more important to focus on steps to reduce the budget deficit than it is to preserve entitlements such as social security. Democratic beliefs on Social Security are not divided by income."

http://www.republicanviews.org/republican-views-on-social-security/

You will notice I didn't even get into LGBT issues, climate change, single mothers, democracy or oligarchy, environment, education, immigration, job opportunities, homelessness, the place of religion in politics, the art of war, unions, healthcare……or are these "unwomanly?"

Personally, if I lived in Michigan,  I think I'd rather be more interested in this

Project Grow - Ann Arbor, MI - Community Organization ...https://www.facebook.com/ProjectGrowGardens

"Pay For Your Own Birth Control....

vasectomies, eye surgeries, maternity care, flu shots, hernia operations, emergency room visits, knee surgeries, back surgeries, pediatric visits, tonsillectomies, torn ACL treatments, broken bones, allergy treatments, mental health visits, carpal tunnel surgery, Viagra, antibiotics, Cialis, Lyrica, Lipitor, Restasis, Vesicare.......anything advertised on television "you should ask your doctor about." After all, I have NO USE for these particular healthcare services, therefore I am under no social, moral, or "religious" obligation to pay any of MY hard-earned money to provide them for YOU. "

If you've heard as much of that lately as I have, you are about ready to scream!

What has happened to us as a compassionate, caring, understanding, sensible country? When has it become acceptable to demean and humiliate on national television or radio, a private citizen/student simply stating her views on a highly debated "political subject"........one that is being thrown about simply to stir the pot anyway? And THEN to keep on with this same denigrating tone for three days, just to get ratings I assume. When did it become OK for MEN, usually of the old white variety, to make decisions on a personal female reproductive matter, since this matter is NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS, and settled years before anyway?

"Let everybody pay for their own healthcare needs or wants" seems to be the mantra these days. That's the ONE thing the Right seems to agree on as a "freedom" for everybody else. Sounds good in theory to them. EXCEPT for the fact that being in an insurance pool, whether through an employer or HEALTHCARE EXCHANGE brings the cost down for EVERYBODY. (I'm sure the insurance companies, drug companies, medical facilities, and third party administrators aren't happily anticipating this either.) If those with good comprehensive insurance had any idea of what the services for THEMSELVES really cost, they couldn't probably afford it either! NOBODY will TOTALLY pay for another's insurance....everyone will pay according to their ability/need...but by spreading the anticipated costs among a larger number of people, the costs are easier for everyone to bear. Especially if those before-mentioned companies have to play by the rules set up for them in the market place. (Well, hopefully, better than Wall Street.)

But back to the fake "religious controversy" being played out today...it's simply one more example of the Extreme Right's rhetoric that alienates one more of group......a very LARGE  group.....of today's voters. (But it does bother me that no Republican women have voiced any opinion on this...) The talking-in-circles about such matters tells me that the GOP has NO clue what they are doing, and really do not care what we think, either. It's all lies and bluster, a puffing of chests, finger pointing, behind the scenes maneuvering, and one-up-man-ship to practice for the BIG DAY: the presidential campaign this fall......when they can "get that guy out of OUR White House."
 UPDATE: In addition, the Republican party’s increasingly hostile stance towards contraception and women’s health drew a response from the National Federation of Republican Women, who urged Republicans to move the debate back into a “legitimate discussion” and reaffirmed, “The NFRW is not opposed to contraception.”

So, until then......plug your ears, take your BP meds, and make friends with the manager of your neighborhood wine and spirits store.

Religious Freedom, Republican Style

Darrell Issa and his fake GOP hearing on religious freedom is enough to make anyone vomit. Especially any woman. He's rounded up a bunch of elderly, white conservative men to push forth an agenda that has already been settled in previous decades. Other presidents (including Bush) and other politicians (Romney, who is making...clawing, scratching, reinventing....his way to the White House) have already made the same decision President Obama has done. http://www.latimes.com/health/la-na-gop-contraceptives-20120216,0,3392996.story

Since the GOP has NO plans for creating jobs, NO plans for a reasonable budget in which there are sensible cuts and EVERYBODY takes some kind of hit (called "shared sacrifice"), NO intention of addressing the problems our global environment and economy faces,and can only push their outrage against "those leeching unemployed poor people and selfish seniors" so far......they do what they can: stir up a hornet's nest BOUND to rile and outrage their base (whatever that is). Not totally satisfied with the results with their Koch-fuelled agenda against abortion across the country, they are moving on to contraception.

HEY, FOOLS: BIRTH CONTROL PREVENTS THE NEED FOR ABORTIONS.

But, as my comment on a network news site earlier today:

The Repubs have NOTHING ELSE. They are on the wrong side of history. They do not care about women, children, the poor, gays, jobs, people without jobs, the environment, the economy (unless it affects their bottom line), healthcare (anybody else's), the rest of the world, seniors.............the ONLY thing that matters to them is GET THAT BLACK GUY OUT OF THE WHITE HOUSE. and they are NOW using the Catholic church to hopefully achieve that end. (They will dump the bishops too, If and WHEN they accomplish this. But don't hold your breath on THAT outcome......)

I have to stop now..........I feel a migraine coming on.