Posted on 02/15/2012 9:21:20 AM PST by Kaslin
In October 2009, I published a column titled, "Can Obama and Congress Order You to Buy Broccoli?"
Now I need to ask a follow-up: Can Obama order grocers to give away bread?
I wrote the broccoli column after Sen. Orrin Hatch raised serious questions in the Senate Finance Committee about the constitutionality of President Obama's proposal to force people to buy health insurance.
"If we have the power simply to order Americans to buy certain products, why did we need a cash-for-clunkers program or the upcoming program providing rebates for purchasing energy appliances?" Hatch said. "We could simply require Americans to buy certain cars, dishwashers or refrigerators."
Inspired by Hatch's argument, I wrote in my column: "This is not a question about nutrition. It is not a question about whether broccoli is good for you or about the relative merits of broccoli versus other foods. It is a question about the constitutional limits on the power of the federal government. It is a question about freedom.
"Can President Obama and Congress enact legislation that orders Americans to buy health insurance?" I asked. "They might as well order Americans to buy broccoli. They have no legitimate authority to do either."
I later interviewed Hatch about the issue. "If that is held constitutional -- for them to be able to tell us we have to purchase health insurance -- then there is literally nothing that the federal government can't force us to do" Hatch said. "Nothing."
Orrin Hatch spoke prophetically. Yet Obama's escalating attacks on American liberty in the post-Obamacare era are nonetheless shocking -- for they reveal a president full of zeal in trampling God-given rights.
Last August, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius issued a proposed regulation that would force virtually all health care plans to cover sterilizations and all Food and Drug Administration-approved contraceptives, including those that cause abortion.
Because Obamacare mandates that all Americans must purchase health insurance, this regulation would require Catholics -- whose church teaches that sterilization, artificial contraception and abortion are wrong -- to act against the teachings of their faith.
Obama was unambiguously attacking the First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion.
America's Catholic bishops quickly denounced Obama's regulation as "an unprecedented attack on religious liberty." They called on Catholics to speak out against it and urged the administration to rescind it in its entirety.
On Jan. 20, Sebelius announced that the final regulation would take effect for individuals and business owners this Aug. 1, and for Catholic hospitals, universities and charities next Aug. 1. Thus, the government was giving Catholic individuals and business owners seven months, and Catholic institutions 19, to submit to a federal edict that they act against their faith.
The bishops responded by asking their priests to read letters from the pulpit at Sunday masses. Most of these letters boldly stated: "We cannot -- we will not -- comply with this unjust law."
On Friday, Obama announced what he called a "solution:" The federal government will still order all health insurance plans to cover sterilizations, contraceptives and abortifacients without any fees or co-pay. But insurance plans covering workers at religious institutions that object to these services will be required to provide sterilizations, contraceptives and abortifacients to those workers "free of charge."
Thus, Obama is still ordering Catholic institutions to provide insurance plans that cover sterilizations, contraceptives and abortifacients. And he is still ordering Catholic employees, private business owners, and private insurers to buy and/or provide these things, even if means they must act against their faith.
Obama's "solution" escalates his attack on freedom: He is now ordering private companies (in this case insurers) to provide a product for free -- even if they find it morally objectionable.
If Obama had the constitutional authority to tell insurance companies they must provide contraceptives and abortifacients for free, he could also tell grocers they must provide meat and bread for free.
He could tell doctors they must provide abortions for free and drug companies they must manufacture and distribute contraceptives for free.
Of course, Obama won't order these last two things because he wants to retain a national supply of doctors who will do abortions and drug companies that will manufacture contraceptives. His acts of tyranny are strategically targeted.
In a powerful column published last month, Roman Catholic Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles pointed out that the Catholic Church is unique among American religious groups in its teaching against artificial contraception.
"So it is hard to escape the conclusion that the government is singling out the church with this new mandate," he wrote.
"But the issues here go far beyond contraception and far beyond the liberties of the Catholic Church," the archbishop concluded. "They go to the heart of our national identity and our historic understanding of our democratic form of government."
Today, Obama is especially attacking the liberty of Catholics. But, in doing so, he has attacked liberty itself.
Blood?
Bread, not blood.
Lol...
Same difference.
Will someone please change the title of this post...to read...Bread, rather than Blood! LOL Although I know Obama is bleeding this country to death I doubt anyone wants blood from their neighborhood supermarket. Sometimes typos are just funny. You are excused!
I just checked in Creators.com. It says Bread, so it must have been the stupid editor in Townhall.com who changed it
Yes, of course blood. Forced to buy health care, why not forced to give blood? Soon we will be forced to donate kidneys and other organs to the unhealthy ruling elite and Hollywood stars.
Even RINO Sen. Hatch understands that if 0bamacare stands, there is NOTHING that will be off limits.
We will legally become wards of Obama’s estate. Many will fall for the Marxist trap especially if he is successful in redistributing sexual relations. The State owns your body.
(My body will likely be used for scrap ... or maybe Soylent Green :)
Or, can Obama require people to give blood, or donate organs?
Or, can Obama require people to give blood, or donate organs?
The grocers are rich, why shouldn’t have to give blood?
Townhall.com title reads “Bread.” Guess they have changed it. Hope our Mods now do the same. LOL
Obama “solution” = Or else
Hatch’s comments beg this question: (Gonna get LOUD NOW!)
WHY THE HELL AREN’T THESE PUBBIES IN THE SENATE DOING A NON-STOP FILABUSTER EVERY TIME OBOZO GOES UNCONSTITUTIONAL?
Possible reasons:
* Never having actually READ the Consitution, they don’t know what is or isn’t constitutional.
* They all have allowed to take root here a welfare system that has put so many constitutionally illiterate Obozobots on the welfare — and VOTER — rolls that they’d run the risk of losing the cushiest job they’ve ever had.
* Many of them believe that if they just sit down, shut up and lick a few boots, they’ll be the princes in the coming totalitarian regime. That said, I recall one Ernst Rohm and cohorts who went well beyond the boot licking stage and ultimately had their participation and loyalty to Hitler repaid in bullets. Ditto Stalin, Mao, Castro, etc.
I said all of that to offer this: If ANY of those points are correct, this country is FUBAR and we are in for some very bad times.
“Soon we will be forced to donate kidneys and other organs to the unhealthy ruling elite and Hollywood stars.”
Talk show host Mike Gallagher believes everyone should be forced to sign up as organ donors and the needed body parts harvested upon death.
I’m more than willing to send Obama a stool sample.
To answer your question: My opinion is that the Republican Party is at least a co-conspirator with obama. They not only approve, they aid and abet him at every opportunity.
I remarked to our host, a Saudi national, on how generous the restaurant was with bread. This wasn't ordinary bread and rolls either. it was a nice variety which included white, wheat, pumpernickel, bread sticks, sesame, the whole nine yards.
Our host explained that it was part of Saudi law to ensure even the poorest patrons who could only afford the cheapest meal on the menu would have their hunger satiated.
So maybe all Obummer is trying do is impose a little Sharia law so we all get used to the idea.
Pig's blood?
Blood sausage?
What?
Sample? Hell, I’d like to drop the whole load on him.
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