Republicans: EPA Rule Could Ruin Fourth Of July | The Daily Caller

Republicans: EPA Rule Could Ruin Fourth Of July

10:49 PM 07/01/2014

 

 

Michael Bastasch

 

While Americans get ready for the thousands of fireworks shows that will be occurring across the country this weekend, Republicans are warning that pending federal water regulations could ruin fireworks displays next year.

The Environmental Protection Agency is trying to expand its authority under the Clean Water Act. Republicans warn that the agency’s proposal to expand the definition of “waters of the United States” could allow the EPA to regulate bodies of water on private property.

Republicans are now warning that EPA water rules could threaten fireworks by allowing environmental activists to sue and shut down shows across the country.

“If the proposed ‘waters of the United States’ rule becomes final and serves as the eventual basis for future citizen suits against those who organize fireworks shows, we fear fewer homeowners, communities, or local organizations will be able to conduct fireworks displays as they have for decades or longer,” wrote Republican Senators, including David Vitter of Louisiana and John Barrasso of Wyoming, in a letter to the EPA.

Environmentalists have already been using litigation to stop fireworks shows from happening near or over federally protected waters. In Lake Tahoe, California environmentalists sued the city, alleging their fireworks show violated the Clean Water Act.

Environmentalists said the fireworks show would result in the unpermitted discharge of pollutants into the lake. The lawsuit demanded that Lake Tahoe pay $37,500 per day in penalties for each violation of the Clean Water Act. Lake Tahoe officials nearly cancelled the show, but luckily for residents the city settled with environmentalists in April.

“By expanding federal Clean Water Act jurisdiction to include ditches, small streams, ponds, and other purely local waterbodies, EPA and the [Army Corps of Engineers] may be exposing landowners and municipalities across the country to costly citizen suit litigation if they should attempt to conduct a neighborhood fireworks show,” Republicans wrote.

“Commemorative fireworks displays have been a part of our nation’s history since its founding. However, there are individuals and groups who would like to significantly limit this tradition through heavy-handed citizen suit litigation under the Clean Water Act and other laws,” Republicans added.

In March, the EPA published its proposed “waters of the United States” rule. The agency said the rule was meant to clear up confusion surrounding two federal court decisions on the agency’s Clean Water Act authority.

But Republicans have said it’s no more than a power grab by the Obama administration. The rule could allow federal agents to regulate water on private property, they warned.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2014/07/01/republicans-epa-rule-could-ruin-fourth-of-july/#ixzz36LQVNi9B

CAIR: Muslims 'uncomfortable' in America's 'free' society | Conservative Firing LineConservative Firing Line

CAIR: Muslims 'uncomfortable' in America's 'free' society | Conservative Firing LineConservative Firing Line

CAIR: Muslims ‘uncomfortable’ in America’s ‘free’ society

Posted on July 1, 2014 by Joe Newby

Every once in a while someone says or tweets something that exposes their truly heart-felt opinion.
Such was the case Tuesday when CAIR issued a tweet saying Muslims are uncomfortable in America’s free society.

The tweet links to an article at the Asian Tribune that attempts to show just how bad Muslims have it in the United States.
The tweet didn’t sit well with most people.
Indeed.  In fact, ISIS, or what is now called the “Islamic State,” has instituted a brutal form of sharia law and now wants to spread it around the entire planet.
There’s more than a grain of truth in that statement.  A number of Muslims — including many who live in the United States — have expressed disdain for the First Amendment right to free speech and have actively campaigned to end it.
Some gave CAIR a simple solution:
Related:

Liberals call for death of Supreme Court justices, U.S., over Hobby Lobby ruling - National Policy & Issues | Examiner.com

Liberals call for death of Supreme Court justices, U.S., over Hobby Lobby ruling - National Policy & Issues

Liberals call for death of Supreme Court justices, U.S., over Hobby Lobby ruling

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 1, 2014

It's pretty much a given these days that liberals go over the top whenever something happens they don't like. As we reported Monday, a number of people called for burning down Hobby Lobby stores after the Supreme Court ruled that "closely held" companies could not be forced to pay for contraception if it violates religious views held by the owners. Some, however, went into full meltdown on Monday, calling for the murder of Supreme Court justices and death to the United States as a whole.
"So, who is going to help me kill the supreme court judges?" one person asked on Twitter.
"[M]urder the supreme court," another person added.
"Someone should be a martyr and just kill a couple of the conservative supreme court judges," added Twitter user "Marc Starvaggi."
One person suggested bombing the golf carts of white men who do not support abortion.
"[W]hat do we need to do to speed this along? can (sic) someone tap their scotch or put a bomb under their golf carts?" said Twitter user "lp."
Some weren't content to limit themselves to just those who serve on the Supreme Court. Some, Pundit Press noted, expressed a desire to see the entire country dead.
"Oh cool, I woke up sick and there was a horrible supreme court ruling. Death to America," one person said.
"Death to America. Religious terrorism wins again. Thanks supreme leaders," said Twitter user "Julia." One person responded, telling Julia he reported her tweet to law enforcement.
Some even called for revolution over free birth control. One of those calling for armed insurrection suggested members of the court be shot by firing squad.
Pundit Press also said a number of people, obviously unfamiliar with the actual ruling, falsely claimed the Supreme Court "raped" every woman in the country.
In February 2011, we first said that liberalism, at its core, is an ideology of rage and hate. On practically any given day, liberals prove that assertion correct.
Note: Joe will discuss this ruling and the reaction from the left on Tuesday, July 1, 2014, at 7:00 p.m. Pacific time with Josh Bernstein.

Read What Else Hobby Lobby Forces On Employees

Read What Else Hobby Lobby Forces On Employees

in Faith, News, Opinion, Videos / by Christy Lee Parker / on March 29, 2014 at 11:49 am /

Everyone is familiar with the current Supreme Court case involving the craft store giant, but there are many things about Hobby Lobby that are not being covered by the mainstream media. For example, did you know Hobby Lobby sets its own minimum wage, which currently exceeds the national by 93%? The facts covered here will shock you.
With the company being regularly vilified in the news due to their religious views and current conflict with the Affordable Care Act mandate for birth control, it’s time to set the record straight and give this company some of the positive publicity it deserves. In the brief article to follow are some details about Hobby Lobby and its founders that you probably haven’t heard on the news.
First, while the media continuously states Hobby Lobby does not want to offer birth control through its insurance plan, this is completely inaccurate. As previously reported, the company already covers 16 of the mandated 20 drugs under Obamacare. The controversy started when Hobby Lobby owners claimed it would be a “violation of conscience” to provide the remaining 4 drugs that cause “end of life” rather than standard contraception. Hobby Lobby doesn’t object to covering all contraception, only the emergency contraceptive pills Plan B and Ella and intrauterine devices (IUDs), which they believe are abortifacients. These abortifacient drugs are not what would typically come to mind when most people hear the words “birth control.”
What’s most amusing about the case and protests are that those most up in arms about Hobby Lobby contesting the mandate are not their employees. Hobby Lobby was founded by David Green on August 3, 1972, and as of August 2012 the chain has 561 stores nationwide. The Green’s founded and grew the company on Christian principles, which have been long standing. These principles were not an issue until the Obamacare mandate. This is not a movement of protest by the employees, as evidenced by the video at the end of this article. As a matter of fact, at this time the company has 4 out of 5 stars for employee satisfaction on indeed.com.
While reading the reviews on indeed.com, you will find that some of the benefits of employment at Hobby Lobby cited by their employees are those that are in place due to the Green’s Christian principles, such as Sunday’s off. The Green family are unarguably devout Christians who run the company based on biblical principles. Besides closing their stores on Sundays, other principles include starting staff meetings with Bible readings, paying above minimum wage, and using a Christian-based mediation practice to resolve employee disputes. With these practices and policies in place and long standing, the Christian-based values that the company was founded on and continues to run on are no secret to the employees, who choose to work there.
Let’s touch on the pay Hobby Lobby offers. While the news has been inundated with Hobby Lobby’s issue with the “birth control” mandate, why wasn’t their recent hike in wages equally reported? I think it would surprise most to know that in 2013, Hobby Lobby raised their minimum wage for full-time employees to $14. According to Charisma News in 2013:

Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc ….  announced … a minimum-wage increase to $14 per hour for full-time hourly employees … The company also announced a minimum wage increase for all part-time employees to $9.50 per hour.
This is the fifth year in a row that the company has raised wages for full-time hourly employees, who earned a minimum of $13 per hour in 2012. It’s the fourth year in a row for the company to increase the minimum wage for its part-time hourly employees, up from a minimum of $9 in 2012.
This increase for full-time hourly and part-time hourly employees will raise the pay of more than 17,726 employees nationwide. Hobby Lobby’s new minimum wage for full-time hourly employees is 93 percent above the national minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
In 2013, Hobby Lobby projects continued growth and plans to open 33 additional stores, which will create an additional 1,200 jobs across the country.

It’s safe to say that Hobby Lobby employees, who made 93% above the minimum wage paid at similar jobs would be able to afford to pay for the abortifacient drugs with the generous pay they receive should that need and desire arise for an individual. Arguably, Hobby  Lobby gives their employees 93% more choices by providing them with stellar pay that they can spend as they choose.
Another interesting fact about the Greens is that they are even attempting to build a Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC. The Green Collection, assembled by the Green family, is the world’s largest private collection of rare biblical texts and artifacts. It is a compilation of more than 40,000 biblical antiquities currently featured via the worldwide traveling exhibition Passages and will eventually form the core of a permanent, national, non-sectarian Bible museum in Washington, D.C. This is just more evidence of the Green’s generosity and passion for the Word of God. Instead of keeping the private collection to themselves, they are making attempts to share it with the world.
The video below is evidence of the unfair propaganda that is being spread by the left. It’s time to set the record straight and share these facts that the left don’t want you to know. Give Hobby Lobby the publicity it deserves by making its contributions to its employees and community known through sharing this article.
While those in the video would have you believe corporations are not people (persons), under US Code they are:

26 U.S. Code § 7701
1) Person
The term “person” shall be construed to mean and include an individual, a trust, estate, partnership, association, company or corporation.”

It’s time to stop this kind of misinformation.  Don’t forget to share!

Want birth control? Go buy it. Nobody is stopping you.

Want birth control? Go buy it. Nobody is stopping you.

Matt Walsh

Look, I’m going to be diplomatic about this: every moment, modern American liberalism continues to plunge deeper and deeper into a state that can be charitably described as a dark and hellish insanity.
If I was in a bad mood, I’d be blunt. But I’m tentatively and partially satisfied today, after the Supreme Court extended its unprecedented week-long streak of getting things mostly right. This morning came the news that the Robed Ones concur, at least to a degree, with Hobby Lobby. ‘Closely held’ companies can opt out of Obama’s contraception mandate, if they have strong religious objections.
Of course, it’s worth noting that Hobby Lobby has no problem with contraception — it already provides birth control. The company only took issue with abortion-inducing drugs, like the Morning After Pill.
This ruling is a limited victory for freedom and sanity, but it doesn’t go nearly far enough. The justices could have issued a sweeping decision fortifying every person’s right to run their lives and their companies according to the dictates of their conscience, rather than the dictates of an authoritarian government bureaucracy. Instead, they focused the issue down to the specifics of Hobby Lobby’s particular situation, meaning that other companies, businesses, and corporations will still be subject to Orwellian speech infringements.
It’s good news, but don’t get too comfortable.
And don’t use social media or watch the news for the next few days if you wish to avoid a sudden and intense migraine. Progressives have reacted to the ruling in their typically reasonable way, calling for Hobby Lobby to be burned to the ground, marking the first time in recorded history that anyone has made terroristic threats against an arts and crafts chain. Jo-Ann Fabrics better start beefing up its security.
The Huffington Post screeched in its headline that the Supreme Court has ‘gone after women,’ while legions of other liberals threw hysterical temper tantrums over Hobby Lobby’s ‘intrusion into a woman’s uterus.’ Mother Jones decided that the Supremes hadn’t only waged a war against women, but against science as well.

Read more at http://themattwalshblog.com/2014/06/30/want-birth-control-go-buy/#jLxK8wViCd4OAUce.99

Tell Everyone You Know Who's Upset About Hobby Lobby How Much They Pay Their Employees! | The Federalist Papers

Tell Everyone You Know Who's Upset About Hobby Lobby How Much They Pay Their Employees!

Tell Everyone You Know Who’s Upset About Hobby Lobby How Much They Pay Their Employees!

By Steve Straub On June 30, 2014 · 406 Comments · In US

The left has gone nuts over the Hobby Lobby decision. Yet the bottom line is no-one is without birth control!

Via the Young Conservatives:

The evil folks at Hobby Lobby pay their full-time employees a minimum of $14 an hour. That is nearly double the national average for minimum wage. The hourly wage for part-time employees is also $9.50.
“We are very fortunate to be able to increase hourly wages for our employees, because we know our company would not be successful without the great work they do each day in our stores across the nation,” said the CEO and founder David Green.
A full-time employee there can by their own birth control for $9 a month. Not that it matters though because Hobby Lobby covers 16 out of 20 contraceptions (never hear liberals mention that either).

You won’t hear this from the liberal media because it would destroy their narrative!

Did Hobby Lobby once provide the birth control coverage it sued the Obama administration over? | PunditFact

Did Hobby Lobby once provide the birth control coverage it sued the Obama administration over? 

Did Hobby Lobby once provide the birth control coverage it sued the Obama administration over?

Hobby Lobby’s Supreme Court victory over the federal government’s contraception rule set off a fast-breaking wave of punditry on national TV. CNN brought in liberal pundit and contributor Sally Kohn, who panned the court’s 5-4 decision as disastrous and Hobby Lobby’s intentions as disingenuous.
"Hobby Lobby provided this coverage before they decided to drop it to file suit, which was politically motivated," she said.
We can’t determine if politics motivated the company, but we did wonder whether Hobby Lobby covered the types of birth control at issue in its lawsuit but dropped the coverage before filing its complaint.
The short answer: Yes.
The Green family, which founded Hobby Lobby in Oklahoma City in 1972, said as much in its original complaint.
The Greens re-examined the company’s health insurance policy back in 2012, shortly before filing the lawsuit. A Wall Street Journal story says they looked into their plan after being approached by an attorney from the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty about possible legal action over the federal government’s contraceptives requirement.
That was when, according to the company’s complaint, they were surprised to learn their prescription drug policy included two drugs, Plan B and ella, which are emergency contraceptive pills that reduce the chance of pregnancy in the days after unprotected sex. The government does not consider morning-after pills as abortifacients because they are used to prevent eggs from being fertilized (not to induce abortions once a woman is pregnant). This is not, however, what the Green family believes, which is that life begins at conception and these drugs impede the survival of fertilized eggs.
At any rate, Hobby Lobby stopped covering those drugs in its plan and took the health care contraceptive mandate to court, represented by the Becket Fund.
The only caveat here is Hobby Lobby said it didn’t know it was covering the drugs.
"Coverage of these drugs was not included knowingly or deliberately by the Green family. Such coverage is out of step with the rest of the Hobby Lobby’s policies, which explicitly exclude abortion-causing contraceptive devices and pregnancy-terminating drugs," the company stated in its court filing.
Of note, company leaders do not have religious problems with other forms of birth control, such as the pill, condoms, diaphragms and sterilization, according to the family’s legal representation, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.
Our ruling
On CNN, Kohn said, "Hobby Lobby provided this coverage before they decided to drop it to file suit."
The Christian-owned company did previously offer insurance plans that included coverage of a few contraceptives at issue in the case, namely morning-after pills, but reports suggest owners weren't aware they offered that coverage.
When the company found out -- in the wake of the contraceptive requirements that came out after the health care law -- the company stopped offering the drugs and took the contraceptive mandate to court.
Kohn’s statement is accurate but leaves out that Hobby Lobby says it unwittingly offered this kind of birth control coverage. We rate the claim Mostly True.