Motley Moose – Archive

Good morning, Moosekind.

The common Moose, Alces alces, unlike other members of the deer family, is a solitary animal that doesn’t form herds. Not so its rarer but nearest relative, Alces purplius, the Motley Moose. Though sometimes solitary, the Motley Moose herds in ever shifting groups at the local watering hole to exchange news and just pass the time.

I want to rock the porch, and the pond,  with music today, on the last Tuesday of Women’s History Month 2014, and can’t find a better way to do it, than to celebrate with the sounds of our Sister Aretha Franklin, on her birthday.

I feel like every period of my life, from my high school years till now, has had her voice as part of the soundtrack.  

Aretha Louise Franklin was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on March 25, 1942. She was the  daughter of Barbara Siggers and Clarence LaVaughn Franklin, better known as Rev. C.L Franklin, who founded Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit Michigan, when he and his daughters relocated there in 1948.

Today the Supreme Court will hear arguments in the Sebelius v Hobby Lobby Stores case, a matter that may decide whether of not the religious beliefs of the shareholders of a corporation allow the corporation itself protection from the provisions of federal statutes.

Hobby Lobby is a for-profit corporation, employing over 16,000 people, which is claiming an Affordable Care Act exemption that protects religious organizations from having to provide contraception as part of its employer-based health insurance plan.

The laws of incorporation are generally in place to protect the shareholders from personal liability and in this case, the Green family is seeking to claw back their personal right to impose their religious beliefs on their employees while leaving the other protections of incorporation intact.

The hearing will start at 10am Eastern and will include 2 hours of arguments, expanded from the normal 90 minutes.

The lawyer for Hobby Lobby is Paul D. Clement and the lawyer for the United States government is Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli, Jr. Over 2 dozen briefs have been filed in support of the government’s position and over 5 dozen in support of Hobby Lobby and the other party, Conestoga Wood Specialties. Two additional briefs were filed that take no side but which discuss the constitutional issues involved.

UPDATE: Transcript  13-354. Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. (PDF)

From Lyle Denniston at the SCOTUSblog:

For the first time since the broad new federal health care law partially survived its most sweeping constitutional challenge in the Supreme Court nearly two years ago, the Affordable Care Act comes up for a new test before the Justices.  This time, the Court will be examining whether the government may enforce against private businesses owned by religiously devout owners the requirement that employee health plans provide no-cost coverage for women’s pregnancy-related services, including birth control.

More …

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Good (in a relative way) Morning, Monday!!

I post a weekly diary of historical notes, arts & science items, foreign news (often receiving little notice in the US) and whimsical pieces from the outside world that I often feature in “Cheers & Jeers”.  

OK, you’ve been warned – here is this week’s tomfoolery material that I posted.

On March 23, 2010, President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law. For over 60 years, Democrats had been trying to pass a law that finally and firmly declared that health care was a right and not a privilege.

This historic piece of legislation was possible because we had Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress and a Democratic president.

It is why Elections Matter … and why all the rest is noise.

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The President’s Weekly Address post is also the Weekend Open News Thread. Feel free to share other news stories in the comments.

From the White House – Weekly Address

In this week’s address, President Obama highlights the importance of making sure our economy rewards the hard work of every American – including America’s women.

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