#HobbyLobby’s fight for freedom, and how it’s being misrepresented (again) by the Media

This isn’t supposed to be how freedom works.

It’s not supposed to come down to one decision that’ll allow the Federal Government to remove our God-given rights and turn our lives upside down. Yet back in June of 2012 that’s exactly what happened, when the Affordable Care Act was given the go-ahead by the Supreme Court.

And as tragic as that day was, here we are (again) battling another aspect of the same insatiable, freedom-eviscerating law.

Commercial removes “endowed by their #Creator” from the Declaration of Independence…

This story is actually less about what happened, and more about WHY it happened. 

In case you missed it, Samuel Adams Beer® (named after one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence) decided to omit the phrase “endowed by their Creator” in a recent commercial which quoted that key line of text from the Declaration.

Now, if that’s all there was to the story, it wouldn’t be that big of a story. To be fair, there’s nothing listed anywhere that mandates someone has to quote our founding documents verbatim in a commercial. However, this is just the beginning.

Our Independence Day, or merely the 4th of July?

“…When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation…”

—-

Question:  Do YOU celebrate the 4th of July, or Independence Day?

For many, July 4th is most often noted as being a day off from work – punctuated by barbecues and fireworks. Ironically, it wasn’t until 1870, that the U.S. Congress made Independence Day an unpaid holiday for federal employees. Later, in 1938, Congress changed Independence Day to a paid federal holiday.

But BBQs, days off, and fireworks aside, why did our Founding Fathers seek independence from Great Britain?

For the gazillionth time: “Freedom OF Religion” is NOT the same thing as “Freedom FROM Religion”

The Separation of Church and State may be one of the most deliberately misrepresented and (sadly) misunderstood foundational aspects of our nation today.

All together now: there is a Sistine Chapel-sized difference between the terms “Freedom OF Religion” and “Freedom FROM Religion”. We’ve certainly talked about this subject here before, but further examples of secular intolerance keep popping up with a weed-like persistence. And since they won’t stop, neither will we.

The most recent example is courtesy of the Washington Times:

Atheists are outraged that a Bible sits right next to the mayor’s desk, inside a Pinellas Park City Council chamber, and they’re demanding its removal.

City officials, however, say that’s a no-go. The Bible’s been there for more than 30 years, and laws don’t prohibit its presence, The Blaze reported. The book was an Oct. 19, 1975, gift to council members from the Kiwanis club, and it’s been a traditional fixture ever since.

Freedom From Religion Foundation officials say they don’t care. They sent a letter to city officials, saying the Bible needs to go because it violates the principle of separation of church and state.

“It’s on display. And that certainly is improper,” said president Annie Laurie Gaylor…

Pentagon: Soldiers may be prosecuted for “Promoting their Faith”

Say goodbye to Father Mulcahy.

It seems that the remaking of our military by Obama & Company has taken a decidedly darker turn, as they are now seeking to criminalize expressions of faith.

From WeaselZippers:

The Pentagon has released a statement confirming that soldiers could be prosecuted for promoting their faith: “Religious proselytization is not permitted within the Department of Defense… Court-martials and non-judicial punishments are decided on a case-by-case basis…”. 

“Jesus Stomp” – Chapter 3: Is this FINALLY resolved?

We’ve been covering this for days now, and depending on which report you read, it’s either still ongoing or it’s finally settled.

If you are new to this discussion, you’d be advised to go HERE first, and then HERE, before reading any further.

Okay, all caught up now?

Now over the weekend (either Friday or Saturday), we’d heard the school issue a classic “non-apology” apology, which basically gave the impression they felt they’d done nothing improper by way of the course or the offensive exercise.

College kids told to “stomp on Jesus” in class…

***NOTE: This story has now been updated twice. The first update is HERE.

—–

Why am I not surprised by this stuff anymore?

From the Daily Caller:

A student at Florida Atlantic University has charged that his professor in intercultural communications class told the whole class to write the name JESUS in bold letters on a piece of paper, then drop the papers and stomp all over them.

The alleged incident happened three weeks ago on the Davie, Florida campus of FAU, according to WPEC-TV. Junior Ryan Rotela, a devout Mormon, is the student making the charge.

(…)

Obamacare “Compromise,” Moral Fiction and Snake-oil Theology

There is a very well-argued piece over at the ADF website on the shell game the Obama Administration is playing with the contraception mandate in  Obamacare. 

We’ve linked Obamacare-related posts from ADF before (here, and here), but this is probably their best yet. In it, they make a number of excellent analogies which highlight just how duplicitous this most recent alleged “compromise” is.

In fact, this is no compromise at all, unless your idea of compromise is “we lose, they win”. 

Taken in conjunction with our post from the other day (“Hey, would YOU like to be my doctor? Thanks to Obamacare, you’ll probably qualify…“), it’s apparent that the Affordable Care Act, as predicted, just keeps getting worse. 

–JTR

——

-By Matt Bowman, Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Legal Counsel

 

The Obama administration proposed a new regulation last week in its assault on religious freedom through ObamaCare, but the regulation is the same old story: the government violates religious freedom while imposing its own strange moral theological views on religious groups to tell them they should not complain.