http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/01/white-house-caves-on-birth-control-coverage Comments On: White House Caves on Birth Control Coverage by Cienna Madrid en-us Copyright 2013 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:01 -0700 Wed, 22 May 2013 15:15:00 -0700 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Posted by J from Oregon]]> Sat, 02 Feb 2013 13:56:11 -0800 The Stranger
It seems like everyone is suddenly shocked that in fact religious groups do discriminate in all aspects of their businesses, yes including discrimination against us homos (who they just won't hire at all if they are against them), and as long as that discrimination has something to do with their direct religious beliefs then they are protected by the 1st Amendment in doing so. I get the outrage, but the President is not the one who deserves it here. This was prudent and intelligent, everything the religious nut bags are not.
Posted by ace9415]]> Sat, 02 Feb 2013 11:07:30 -0800 The Stranger Posted by ConstitionalChick]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2013 21:11:49 -0800 The Stranger
I don't see many losing much over all this. I keep in mind that Obama's done more for LGBT rights than any Prez in history and I cut the guy a little slack. It really looks like he's only giving a little here. I think compromise in general is a good thing. If nothing else it shows you're the one on the reasonable side of the table. Biggest thing that got me about anti-president Bush (beyond his illegitimacy) was his die hard my way or the highwayism.

So I say give him this. He got Obamacare through. He got DADT and Girl-blocking dis-established from our military. Nixon-(Ford)-Reagan-Bush-(Cheney)-Bush fucked up this poor country so bad, Carter & Clinton barely stemmed a touch of the shit-tide. Obama's got to play everything really strategically if he wants to top their legacies.
Posted by The Max]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2013 19:40:38 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Catalina Vel-DuRay]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2013 18:22:38 -0800 The Stranger
I want my money back...
...I'll spend it on gay abortion pot.


Posted by NotSean]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2013 15:43:29 -0800 The Stranger Posted by ScrawnyKayaker]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2013 15:26:41 -0800 The Stranger
Once they get pregnant, they'll stop working for the religious group, show up in an emergency room, and we'll all have to pay for it.


Posted by Will in Seattle]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2013 14:38:35 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Catalina Vel-DuRay]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2013 13:55:54 -0800 The Stranger
Posted by ScrawnyKayaker]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2013 13:38:08 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Catalina Vel-DuRay]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2013 13:35:50 -0800 The Stranger Posted by schmacky]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2013 13:21:56 -0800 The Stranger http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/201…
Posted by schmacky]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2013 13:21:23 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Westlake, son!]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2013 13:19:49 -0800 The Stranger
...even if it means being a worse president to the majority.

The math on this policy simply doesn't pan out. Letting the conservatives religious assholes win AGAIN even after a clear majority of voters reject their plans is not being a better president for all of us, it's being a better president for the assholes and encouraging them to be even bigger assholes in the future.
Posted by dwightmoodyforgetsthings]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2013 13:14:27 -0800 The Stranger Posted by searunner]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2013 13:00:11 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Bonzer Terriffic]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2013 12:58:03 -0800 The Stranger
First off, this won't cost the taxpayers anything. The contraceptive plans are paid for by fees the insurance companies pay. The insurance companies will pay for those fees by raising rates, which are paid by employers. Thus, employers will still be paying for this coverage, not taxpayers. There's just an extra step in there to make whiny employers feel better.

Second, this isn't craven appeasement, it's just good politics. First, Obama riled up the GOP's crazy religious wing, which got him a bunch of votes and further emphasized the right's extremism in the last election. Now, he's throwing them a bone that costs him nothing, but makes him look like the responsible adult who's willing to compromise. Sure, plenty of GOP talking heads will screech about how this doesn't change anything, but all that does is make them look worse and Obama look better.

He got the guaranteed coverage that liberals wanted, and on the way he made his team look better and the other team look worse. You're angry because you wanted to see him get a slam dunk to rile up his fans, but you're ignoring the fact that instead he stayed back and nailed a 3-pointer.
Posted by Rex Manning Day]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2013 12:40:05 -0800 The Stranger
Apparently you didn't notice, but many challenges to the free contraception requirement have been clogging up the court system of late. Your "unforced appeasement" comment is therefore inaccurate. Perhaps the Obama administration didn't want to risk the courts giving religious organizations carte blanche to flout the law. I could easily see the current SCOTUS trying to pull that shit.
Posted by keshmeshi]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2013 12:35:46 -0800 The Stranger
It's like some kind of sick commie plot. Oooo, I hate those commies. I hate 'em, I hate 'em, I hate 'em.
Posted by GermanSausage]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2013 12:34:03 -0800 The Stranger
Voted for him in 2008 and voted for Jill Stein in 2012. Obama has no backbone..shocked people thought he was going to grow one in his second term. Especially since Democrats go TO THE RIGHT in their second terms..Johnson, Clinton, Truman, even FDR moved to the right in the second term.
Posted by Cato the Younger Younger]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2013 12:33:05 -0800 The Stranger
Do you want to pay higher premiums or taxes so that churches can discriminate against women?

To be fair, as the end of the quote suggests, it is unclear how this will be paid for, but the original plan was that the government would essentially pay the insurance companies for the extra coverage the employer is not paying for. That's taxpayer money.
Posted by Theodore Gorath]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2013 12:20:02 -0800 The Stranger
Center that you can believe in.
Posted by neo-realist]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2013 12:13:48 -0800 The Stranger Posted by searunner]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2013 12:09:49 -0800 The Stranger
Eventually SCOTUS will have to rule on it. By that time there will no doubt be some new justices on the court. SCOTUS has already voiced its affirmative stance on healthcare. It will likely be decided in favor of the administration and the president won't have to be involved. Know where to fight your fights...
Posted by Perry]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2013 12:08:44 -0800 The Stranger