Adrienne's Corner

Memorial Day Weekend...

noreply@blogger.com (Adrienne) — Sat, 26 May 2012 13:39:00 +0000

time to be with family and friends and thank the people that died to keep us free.

May God bless them...

I'll be taking the rest of the weekend off. See you Monday...

Joining up with some blogger buddies...

noreply@blogger.com (Adrienne) — Sat, 26 May 2012 08:00:00 +0000

at Left Coast Resistance.

I'll still be here but will also be teaming up with some of the finest bloggers in the blogosphere.

Here's the line-up:

The War Planner
Randy-g
Woodsterman (Odie)
Christopher - Conservative Perspective
Adrienne
Supi

Here's the ---> link <--- Come and visit...

Time for some Friday night cute...

noreply@blogger.com (Adrienne) — Sat, 26 May 2012 03:44:00 +0000

to kick off the weekend.

Don't forget to enjoy one of these:

Blog about Brett Kimberlin Day w/ Updates NB: Additional updates will not be visible in a reader ie: Google Reader.

noreply@blogger.com (Adrienne) — Fri, 25 May 2012 18:44:00 +0000

will be updated throughout the day.

Last Update: I am completely overwhelmed by the response to the "Blog about Brett Kimberlin Day." I don't have anyway to know for sure, but when I Googled either Patterico or Brett Kimberlin the number of hits that came up was staggering.

Glenn Beck interviewed Patrick Frey (Patterico) and Aaron Walker on his radio show. Since I'm in the Pacific time zone his program airs at 3PM here so many of you heard it before I did.

If you haven't - here they are:

The first one is Patrick and the second one is Aaron

Update (11:52 PDT): Breitbart: Kimberlin Funders Stunned to Discover they Fund Kimberlin

My previous post links to Patterico's Pontifications and his ordeal. I consider it the must read of the day.

Radio Patriot has a list of participating blogs - and we thank him. I'm sure he'll forgive me for swiping the list.

There's probably more by now. If you want to be on the list, let me know...

The republican Mother has a list of all the contributors to this scum bag. Good work!

Ooops. I don't see Stacy McCain or Chris Wysocki.

Adding on: McNorman's Weblog

Welcome: Subvet, Shout First - Ask Questions Later, Capitalist Preservation, Israel Matza, and Valleetrails

and

our very own Agnes Bullock who has post after post.

Gateway Pundit

Three Beers Later

Carol, Christian Soldier

And here's the "Discussion" links from Memeorandom (gleefully stolen since they never link to me anymore.) Radio Patriot's links below...

Simple Justice, The Moderate Voice, protein wisdom, The Jawa Report, NoOneOfAnyImport, Villainous Company, Catholic Bandita, Riehl World View, Conservative Commune, Rick's Rants, The Trenches, Me and My SoldierMan, The Write Side of My Brain, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Wake up America, EBL, All American Blogger, Long Time Gone, The Diary of Daedalus, The Radio Patriot, Twitchy, Bookworm Room, The PJ Tatler, RedState, Allergic to Bull, The Camp Of The Saints, beatcanvas.com, FilmLadd Blogs, Datechguy's Blog, Full Frontal Nerdery, Pundit & Pundette, WyBlog, Popehat, The Political Commentator, 'Cause I Said So, National Review, Politicaljunkie Mom, HillBuzz.org, The American Catholic, Cold Fury, Nice Deb, Pull My Chain, The Coalition Of The Swilling, Rhymes With Right, American Power, Hit & Run, The Lonely Conservative, That Mr. G Guy's Blog, FreeSpeech.com, Bob Owens, doubleplusundead, Truth Before Dishonor, Moe Lane, hogewash, The New Editor, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and LEE STRANAHAN dot COM

Blog about Brett Kimberlin day... Updates will not be visible on a reader

noreply@blogger.com (Adrienne) — Fri, 25 May 2012 16:21:00 +0000

will be updated throughout the day.

My previous post links to Patterico's Pontifications and his ordeal. I consider it the must read of the day.

Radio Patriot has a list of participating blogs - and we thank him. I'm sure he'll forgive me for swiping the list.

There's probably more by now. If you want to be on the list, let me know...

Ooops. I don't see Stacy McCain or Chris Wysocki.

Adding on: McNorman's Weblog

And here's the "Discussion" links from Memeorandom (gleefully stolen since they never link to me anymore.) Radio Patriot's links below...

Simple Justice, The Moderate Voice, protein wisdom, The Jawa Report, NoOneOfAnyImport, Villainous Company, Catholic Bandita, Riehl World View, Conservative Commune, Rick's Rants, The Trenches, Me and My SoldierMan, The Write Side of My Brain, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Wake up America, EBL, All American Blogger, Long Time Gone, The Diary of Daedalus, The Radio Patriot, Twitchy, Bookworm Room, The PJ Tatler, RedState, Allergic to Bull, The Camp Of The Saints, beatcanvas.com, FilmLadd Blogs, Datechguy's Blog, Full Frontal Nerdery, Pundit & Pundette, WyBlog, Popehat, The Political Commentator, 'Cause I Said So, National Review, Politicaljunkie Mom, HillBuzz.org, The American Catholic, Cold Fury, Nice Deb, Pull My Chain, The Coalition Of The Swilling, Rhymes With Right, American Power, Hit & Run, The Lonely Conservative, That Mr. G Guy's Blog, FreeSpeech.com, Bob Owens, doubleplusundead, Truth Before Dishonor, Moe Lane, hogewash, The New Editor, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and LEE STRANAHAN dot COM

Patterico speaks out about Brett Kimberlin...

noreply@blogger.com (Adrienne) — Fri, 25 May 2012 14:49:00 +0000

and it's pretty darn chilling.

If you read nothing else today - read this post. It's long, but to quote Patterico,

"What happened to me could literally happen to anyone. It could happen to you.

If you take nothing else from this post, remember that. It could happen to you."

Convicted Bomber Brett Kimberlin, Neal Rauhauser, Ron Brynaert, and Their Campaign of Political Terrorism

You’re about to listen to one of the most bone-chilling pieces of audio you will ever hear. At least, it was to me when I first heard it.

It’s a phone call that could have gotten me killed.

In this post you will hear that audio clip. You will also read about a months-long campaign of harassment carried out by at least three individuals: Ron Brynaert, Neal Rauhauser, and Brett Kimberlin — much of it directed at critics of Brett Kimberlin. This harassment includes repeated references to critics’ family members, workplace complaints, publication of personal information such as home addresses and pictures of residences, bogus allegations of criminal activity, whisper campaigns, frivolous legal actions, and frivolous State Bar complaints.

And finally, you will hear a comparison of one of those men’s voices to that of the man who made the call that sent police to my home. And you’ll read a declaration from a forensic audio expert comparing those two voices. read the rest

Tomorrow is let's all dump on Brett Kimberlin day...

noreply@blogger.com (Adrienne) — Fri, 25 May 2012 06:30:00 +0000

and I'm the least informed. Really!

However - The Lonely Conservative has done a masterful post of ingenious information to bring everyone up to date. I'm impressed!

Speedway Bomber Brett Kimberlin Poked a Bees Nest

Brett Kimberlin, aka The Speedway Bomber, is not a nice man. He’s on a mission to go after any blogger who dares to speak the truth about him. He doesn’t want anyone writing about his sordid past, or his ties to liberal groups and “charitable” foundations that send his “non-profit” businesses money.

What he probably didn’t realize is that conservative bloggers don’t take kindly to attacks on our friends. An attack on one is an attack on all. He wanted to quietly terrorize anyone who wrote about his evil ways through “lawfare.” Little did he know is that he had kicked a bees nest. The Army of Davids has answered the call. read the rest

Ballet dancers...

noreply@blogger.com (Adrienne) — Fri, 25 May 2012 05:59:00 +0000

so beautiful.

S.E. Cupp, Hustler Magazine, and...

noreply@blogger.com (Adrienne) — Fri, 25 May 2012 03:54:00 +0000

"that picture."

Short form: Hustler magazine Photoshops a picture of S.E. Cupp, a political commentator and employee of Glenn Beck, with a penis in her mouth. The right blogosphere lights up with outrage. People demand action. S.E. Cupp gets tons of free publicity, and appears on The View. Hustler's online hits soar into the stratosphere - whooo hoooo! Everyone is waiting for NOW to defend her, which they won't do, and who cares? Bloggers get something to write about, which I guess I'm also doing. My apologies.

Thing is - who the hell reads Hustler, a low-class semi-pornographic rag? You can't even find it in the grocery store magazine area. You have to make a special trip to a Hastings book store to find it.

Oh wait, I just made a quick trip to Hustler online. Scratch the "semi"-pornographic label. Awful!

The left damn themselves with their actions. Why give them more attention?

Liberals tout the party line of compassion and caring. They love to slop soup into a bowl at a soup kitchen one Saturday a month and stop off at Starbucks for a coffee and pastry on the way home. Is there a bit of disconnect there? Yet they are the first ones to insult and denigrate anyone who doesn't buy into the falsehoods of their "thinking." Is it compassionate and caring to objectify women and insult the intelligence of men who, I might add, abdicated their role as protectors of women's honor long ago?

This is all just an indication of how far our culture has succumbed to the "female as nothing more than a sexual toy" meme. Women are as guilty of this as men. Ever look at a Cosmopolitan magazine cover lately? If you don't like what's going on, don't support what these lowlifes do. Don't read their trash, go to their websites, and ignore their rancid TV shows.

It's up to us to set the standards.

More:

The Blaze: Judge Andrew Napolitano Says S.E. Cupp Likely Doesn’t Have a Case Against Hustler: ‘Protected Satire’

A little face to make your heart sing...

noreply@blogger.com (Adrienne) — Thu, 24 May 2012 21:00:00 +0000

indeed!

I used to love Target...

noreply@blogger.com (Adrienne) — Thu, 24 May 2012 17:24:00 +0000

until about 15 years ago when they they tried to turn the store into some pretend elitist high-end store for the soy latte drinking crowd.

The clothes are cheaply made and the typical "sale" price is more than the item should have cost in the first place. The home decor items are ridiculously overpriced. Our Target is spitting distance to Ross where I can buy the same stuff for 1/4 of the price.

Now I have another reason not to like them.

From Moonbattery:

How anyone could take pride in spreading ghastly, lethal diseases through extremely disgusting forms of sexual depravity is beyond my comprehension, but the suits at Target seem to get it:

Check out what they're selling now.

Target Pushes Homosexual Agenda

Monte Cristo sandwich...

noreply@blogger.com (Adrienne) — Thu, 24 May 2012 15:48:00 +0000

deep fry or not?

I prefer the deep fried version. The Monte Cristo sandwich (which was an offshoot of the croque monsieur), traditionally did not have turkey along with the ham and Swiss cheese. I like the addition of turkey and I even bumped into a recipe that added a couple of slices of bacon. What could go wrong with that?

Minnesota taxpayers take it in the shorts...

noreply@blogger.com (Adrienne) — Thu, 24 May 2012 09:30:00 +0000

again.

Hey, they voted Mark Dayton into office as governor and now they're shocked, shocked I tell you, that he's passing out tubes of K-Y and telling them to bend over. When will the lefties ever learn?

I'm sure I have lots of relatives (who all think I'm nuts), who voted for this pig Dayton and swoon at the mention of Obama's name. I'm so glad I live in Idaho now...

Public Financing of Vikings Stadium a Bad Deal for Fans, Taxpayers

The collusion between big business and big government that fleeces the rest of us has struck again — Tim Carney, iMessage your office – this time in the sports world.

Minnesota governor Mark Dayton recently signed the midnight deal that state lawmakers struck with the owners of the state’s football team, the Minnesota Vikings, to build the team a new stadium. This caused plenty of celebration in Minneapolis and elsewhere across the Gopher State. Alas, the hangover is about to come for taxpayers regardless of their gridiron allegiance or level of fandom. read the rest at Cato @ Liberty

Creepy ad claims little girl's dreams are being subverted...

noreply@blogger.com (Adrienne) — Thu, 24 May 2012 03:56:00 +0000

if the taxpayers don't pay for their birth control and eventually their abortions.

First of all, this woman appears to be fully capable of buying birth control for her daughters if that's her wish. She is also free to drive one or the other of the girls to an abortion clinic to have her grandchild sliced and diced when and if they are "punished" with a baby. She can even start a monthly budget entry for saving up for getting rid of inconvenient grandchildren.

What decent mother assumes that her daughters will, at the earliest age possible, rut like little feral animals? I remember when little girls dreamed of being mommies.

H/T Creative Minority Report

Homosexual persons ARE different...

noreply@blogger.com (Adrienne) — Wed, 23 May 2012 19:22:00 +0000

but in one way many people might not have thought about very much.

H/T Terry at Abbey-Roads

Who is Brett Kimberlin...

noreply@blogger.com (Adrienne) — Wed, 23 May 2012 16:31:00 +0000

and what is he up to?

I'm very cautious about any story that seems to pop up out of nowhere and then goes viral. In this case, since I have not had much time to do needed research, I'll leave it up to my readers to reach their own conclusions.

The "popping up out of nowhere" is not exactly the reality as it appears this rogue of a guy has been around awhile. Michelle Malkin has a story up that seems to be a powerhouse of links and information. And this morning an American Thinker article gives us even more input.

It is pointless for me to reinvent the wheel - not to mention I don't have enough information about this to even hazard an opinion. In the interests of not wasting your time, allow me to direct you to the best sources.

Brett Kimberlin appears to be a very dangerously unhinged man. Make no mistake, "unhinged" does not always equate with stupid. If he is targeting conservative bloggers with violence and mayhem he should be stopped.

Michelle Malkin:

Free speech blogburst: Show solidarity for targeted conservative bloggers

American Thinker:

The Left and Con Men

This is a list of links that Michelle has put together - and we thank her. I think under the circumstances she won't mind my swiping them.

Instapundit Glenn Reynolds
iowntheworld.com
The American Thinker
Walter Olson at Overlawyered
Blazing Cat Fur
Donald Douglas at American Power
The American Catholic
The Lonely Conservative
Kathy Shaidle at Five Feet of Fury
Nice Deb
Sundries Shack
PJMedia Tatler
Dan Riehl
Film Ladd
The Coalition of the Swilling
DaTechGuy
Richard Fernandez
Legal Insurrection
Doubleplusundead
Daley Gator
The Camp of the Saints
Wake Up America
Darth Chipmunk
Zilla of the Resistance
Lady Liberty 1885
Goldfish and Clowns
Small Dead Animals
Hillbuzz
Yid with Lid
Evil Blogger Lady
Israel Matzav
Lisa Graas
Bob Owens asks a central question: Why are Maryland Democrats letting the “Speedway Bomber” get away with terrorism?

People pecking at their little screens...

noreply@blogger.com (Adrienne) — Tue, 22 May 2012 22:30:00 +0000

while the world passes them by.

When I attended our primary election night party last Tuesday night, I was having a conversation with someone who, after receiving a text message or two, proceeded to start pecking at their little phone screen. In what world does this constitute polite behavior?

Or how about the family out to dinner, with all members intent on staring and pecking at their screens, while completely ignoring the others at the table? I see friends out for coffee - you got it - pecking at their screens.

I think the misuse of technology is rampant. Notice I said "misuse" since I am obviously not adverse to technology. I love my computer to the point where I definitely spend too much time on it.

Since I work at home, I have no need for a fancy phone and recently even ditched my antiquated flip phone in favor of a Tracfone, thereby saving me about $350.00 a year. The new little phone does accommodate texting, but I have no desire to do so.

Twitter? The way it's being used most of the time renders it boring and silly (IMO.) Emergencies and such? Great! The rest of what goes on is no more than being able to sound really stupid in 140 characters or less. Again - just my opinion.

The number of people who disagree with me are legion. There are, however, plenty of others who do agree with me.

Here's an interview with Dr. Larry D. Rosen about his book on tech addictions, including how to recognize them, and how to lessen any unhealthy dependency that we may have on technology here

And then there's the classic by Jane M. Healy, Ph.D., that examines how television, video games, and other components of popular culture compromise our children's ability to concentrate and to absorb and analyze information. Drawing on neuropsychological research, and on an analysis of current educational practices, Healy presents in clear, understandable language:

-- How growing brains are physically shaped by experience.

-- Why television programs -- even supposedly educational shows like Sesame Street -- develop "habits of mind" that place children at a disadvantage in school.

-- Why increasing numbers of children are diagnosed with attention deficit disorder.

-- How parents and teachers can make a critical difference by making children good learners from the day they are born.

More:

The Time-Wasting Network

Facebook's 'dark side': study finds link to socially aggressive narcissism

Take a Guess — How Many Texts Does the Average Teen Send Each Day?

It's Tuesday...

noreply@blogger.com (Adrienne) — Tue, 22 May 2012 19:10:00 +0000

what's going on.

First of all, I am now a proud member of the Rat Bastard Blogging Society headed up by the formidable Jerry Wilson. Click on the clever widget to the left (of my newly widened page) and it will, through the magic of the linking god, take you to his blog, Goldfish and Clowns. He is also featured in my Blog of the Day, which my regular readers know will last until I get a hair up my rear patoot at 3am on some sleepless night and decide to change it. Blog housekeeping is not my thing.

Always On Watch:   Countering Obama

Capitalist Preservation:   The Economic Illiteracy of Barack Obama

The Examiner: By 2-to-1 Americans are worse off under Obama

Questions and Observations:   US economic policy – point fingers and hope the other guy gets blamed

Religious Liberty in the News:

Bread Upon the Water: Liberals are Suckers: Notre Dame Edition

Tenth Crusade:   Catholics Suing Obama

Sancte Peter:   The Catholic Church has declared war on Obamacare. This could spell the end of Obama

Romney

Pundette:   Don't let Romney be Romney

Something to think about:

Reaganite Republican:   DHS Insider: Obama, Agency Plan to Stage Fake Presidential Assassination Attempt Bringing Widespread Race Riots, Martial Law, and Cancelled Elections

In other important news:

Odie, the Woodsterman turns three today.

Happy Blogoversary, Odie

Donald Driver Freestyle...

noreply@blogger.com (Adrienne) — Tue, 22 May 2012 18:25:00 +0000

very nice, indeed.

Spring....

noreply@blogger.com (Adrienne) — Tue, 22 May 2012 04:58:00 +0000

makes us all wake up.

Blogger help...w/ Update

noreply@blogger.com (Adrienne) — Tue, 22 May 2012 02:35:00 +0000

cause I'm a disinterested idiot who hates messing with the nuts and bolts of a blog.

While trying to figure out the width of my sidebar for my soon to come brand new awesome widget (it's a surprise), I discovered I could make my blog post area wider. The skinny area really bugged me.

So.........................................the question is: Did I make it too wide for most monitors?

Update: What size monitor do you have?

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers: a voice of reason in Spokane...

noreply@blogger.com (Adrienne) — Mon, 21 May 2012 23:31:00 +0000

discusses the "war on women."

The following clip from the John King show demonstrates how this whole phony "war on women" should be an insult to any woman who considers herself brighter than a 15W light bulb. While McMorris is focused on the economy, the liberal democrat (might I add "black" without being called racist?) Rep. Donna Edwards from Maryland is babbling about Romney wanting to deny contraception to women.

Has it ever occurred to these mental midgets that women have been paying for their contraception for 52 years since it's unveiling in 1960, and have experienced no hardships in doing so? Now suddenly, there's a "war on women" because people are resisting the mandate stating that insurance companies must cover the full cost without even a copay. Now, we all know insurance companies are not in the business to provide anything free to anyone, so the cost will be borne by the entirety of policy holders.

Let's talk about the real war on women that began with the availability of birth control pills. The real war is the one that has convinced women that simply by ingesting a daily hormonal stew in the form of a little pill, they would be able to attain the nirvana of sexual freedom. Not really, ladies. It's really freedom to be used for the sexual pleasure of men. Freedom to be demeaned and objectified. And if something goes wrong with your form of birth control, in all likelihood, you will be the one paying to have your child ripped from your womb. And there's a pretty good chance that baby will be a girl. Oh well, it's a war and we need to expect some battlefield deaths.

Maybe Ms Edwards thinks women can't afford birth control since, as she says, women make less than men. Sorry, Ms Edwards, that little canard has been proven to be a myth. Adjusting for hours worked, in most cases women earn the same as men.

The real issue affecting women is not birth control. The real issue is the economy.

More:

Conservative Hideout 2.0: 324,000 Women Dropped out of Work Force: NOW Silent

While the GOP and Conservatives have been accused of a mythical “war on womyn,”the Obama administration has been waging a very real one. read the rest

42 others join Notre Dame in suing Obama's HHS department...

noreply@blogger.com (Adrienne) — Mon, 21 May 2012 21:52:00 +0000

in a dozen different jurisdictions around the country.

I guess its not just Father Jenkins of Notre Dame who has lost that lovin' feeling.

This isn't just a Catholic issue. This is an issue that affects everyone of faith in this country.

From George Weigel's article in today's National Review Online:

[...]This is not an argument about birth control, nor is it part of some “War on Women” waged by misogynistic clerics and their political allies from the fever swamps of the Right. The mandate is being legally challenged, in twelve different federal district courts, on the grounds that it violates the provisions of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the First Amendment’s guarantee of the free exercise of religion. If those legal protections mean anything, they must mean that neither religious institutions nor individuals can be compelled to provide “services” that are readily available through means other than coercing religiously informed consciences. Contraceptives are more readily available in the United States in 2012 than either cigarettes or beer. There is no compelling public need to dragoon institutions and individuals who conscientiously object to providing them into doing so — with the threat of ruinous financial penalties if they do not.

Read the entire article at NRO:

The Mandate War

As of 11:30 AM (EDT) the list includes:

1. D.D.C. Lawsuit
o Archdiocese of Washington
o Consortium of Catholic Academies
o Archbishop Carroll High School
o Catholic Charities of D.C.
o The Catholic University of America

2. E.D.N.Y. Lawsuit
o Diocese of Rockville Centre
o Catholic Health Services of Long Island
o Catholic Charities of Rockville Centre
o Archdiocese of N.Y.
o ArchCare

3. W.D.Pa. (Erie Div.) Lawsuit
o Diocese of Erie
o St. Martin Center
o Prince of Peace Center

4. W.D.Pa. (Pitt. Div.) Lawsuit
o Diocese of Pittsburgh
o Catholic Charities of Diocese of Pittsburgh
o Catholic Cemeteries Association of Diocese of Pittsburgh

5. N.D.Tex. (Dallas Div.) Lawsuit
o Diocese of Dallas

6. N.D.Tex. (Fort Worth Div.) Lawsuit
o Diocese of Fort Worth

7. S.D. Ohio (Columbus Div.) Lawsuit
o Franciscan University of Steubenville
o Michigan Catholic Conference

8. S.D.Miss. (Gulfport Div.) Lawsuit
o Diocese of Jackson
o Catholic Charities of Jackson
o Vicksburg Catholic School
o St. Joseph’s Catholic School
o Diocese of Biloxi
o De l’Epee Deaf Center Inc.
o Catholic Social & Community Services Inc.
o Resurrection Catholic School
o Sacred Heart Catholic School
o St. Dominic Health Services

9. N.D.Ind. (South Bend Div.) Lawsuit
o The University of Notre Dame

10. N.D. Ind. (Fort Wayne Div.) Lawsuit
o Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend
o Catholic Charities of Fort Wayne-South Bend
o St. Anne Home
o Franciscan Alliance
o Our Sunday Visitor
o University of St. Francis

11. N.D.Ill. Lawsuit
o Diocese of Joliet
o Catholic Charities of Joliet
o Diocese of Springfield
o Catholic Charities of Springfield

12. E.D.Mo. (St. Louis Div.)
o Archdiocese of St. Louis
o Catholic Charities of St. Louis

H/T Father Z

Think Progress article title is not just misleading - it's a lie...

noreply@blogger.com (Adrienne) — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:57:00 +0000

not paying for someone's birth control is not denying access.

Yet...........take a gander at this title:

Missouri Legislature Approves Bill Allowing Employers To Deny Access To Birth Control

NO. IT. DOESN'T!

It does not deny access. It simply says you cannot force someone to pay for your birth control.

Please tell me women are not so dumb that they would believe this crapola!

Make no mistake about this war on women meme that is being shouted from the roof top of every radical lefty. It is really about what's headed our way, which is publicly funded abortion.

Father Jenkins of Notre Dame sues his BFF Obama over contraception mandate...

noreply@blogger.com (Adrienne) — Mon, 21 May 2012 16:15:00 +0000

uh oh!

What happened to the proud priest who was so honored to have the most pro-abortion president in the history of this country speak at Notre Dame? How many times must we remind peeps about rolling around in the mud and thinking they're not going to get dirty?

May 21, 2012

A Message from Father John Jenkins, C.S.C.,
President, University of Notre Dame

Today the University of Notre Dame filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana regarding a recent mandate from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). That mandate requires Notre Dame and similar religious organizations to provide in their insurance plans abortion-inducing drugs, contraceptives and sterilization procedures, which are contrary to Catholic teaching. The decision to file this lawsuit came after much deliberation, discussion and efforts to find a solution acceptable to the various parties.

Let me say very clearly what this lawsuit is not about: it is not about preventing women from having access to contraception, nor even about preventing the Government from providing such services. Many of our faculty, staff and students -- both Catholic and non-Catholic -- have made conscientious decisions to use contraceptives. As we assert the right to follow our conscience, we respect their right to follow theirs. And we believe that, if the Government wishes to provide such services, means are available that do not compel religious organizations to serve as its agents. We do not seek to impose our religious beliefs on others; we simply ask that the Government not impose its values on the University when those values conflict with our religious teachings. We have engaged in conversations to find a resolution that respects the consciences of all and we will continue to do so.

This filing is about the freedom of a religious organization to live its mission, and its significance goes well beyond any debate about contraceptives. For if we concede that the Government can decide which religious organizations are sufficiently religious to be awarded the freedom to follow the principles that define their mission, then we have begun to walk down a path that ultimately leads to the undermining of those institutions. For if one Presidential Administration can override our religious purpose and use religious organizations to advance policies that undercut our values, then surely another Administration will do the same for another very different set of policies, each time invoking some concept of popular will or the public good, with the result these religious organizations become mere tools for the exercise of government power, morally subservient to the state, and not free from its infringements. If that happens, it will be the end of genuinely religious organizations in all but name.

The details of the process that led to the mandate are publicly known. In an Interim Final Ruling issued August 3, 2011, the federal government required employers to provide the objectionable services. A narrow exemption was given to religious institutions that serve and employ primarily members of their own faith, but, departing from a long tradition in federal law, organizations like Notre Dame—schools, universities, hospitals and charitable organizations that serve and employ people of all faiths and none—were granted no exemption, but instead were made subject to the law to the same extent as any secular organization. On September 28, I submitted a formal comment encouraging the Administration to follow precedent and adopt a broader exemption.

Despite some positive indications, the Administration announced on January 20, 2012, that its interim rule would be adopted as final without change. After an outcry from across the political spectrum, President Obama announced on February 10 that his Administration would attempt to accommodate the concerns of religious organizations. We were encouraged by this announcement and have engaged in conversations with Administration officials to find an acceptable resolution. Although I do not question the good intentions and sincerity of all involved in these discussions, progress has not been encouraging and an announcement seeking comments on how to structure any accommodation (HHS Advanced Notification of Proposed Rule Making on preventative services policy, March 16, 2012) provides little in the way of a specific, substantive proposal or a definite timeline for resolution. Moreover, the process laid out in this announcement will last months, making it impossible for us to plan for and implement any changes to our health plans by the government-mandated deadlines. We will continue in earnest our discussions with Administration officials in an effort to find a resolution, but, after much deliberation, we have concluded that we have no option but to appeal to the courts regarding the fundamental issue of religious freedom.

It is for these reasons that we have filed this lawsuit neither lightly nor gladly, but with sober determination.

The university's complaint can be read in full here