OBAMA CARE EDITION

As a candidate for President, BHO on 09-22-08 pledged that any discussion on a health care bill will be transparent and open. It would involve doctors, nurses, members of the health care community and insurance companies. BHO also promised this process would be televised on C-SPAN so that every American would be able to watch the process. According to BHO "There will be no secrecy." (Don't believe me? Look it up)

Today, in Harry Reid's office, members of congress and members of the administration including Rahm Emanuel are meeting behind a closed door as they hammer out the details.

The White House said: "this is how things are normally done."

Talk about transparency.

What does a pledge mean to this guy?

The other day, I received an e-mail from an avid reader who forwarded an e-mail from former Senator Rick Santorum.

I keep looking for the "common ground" BHO always talks about.

From Senator Santorum:

The Obama Administration is working to erase respect for conscience from health insurance and the law in general…

… Don’t believe me?

In his address at the University of Notre Dame, Obama talked a good game about respecting conscience on abortion rights. He did the same thing when he met the Pope. But that was all it was -- talk.

The Obama Administration’s attack on Belmont Abbey College proves that.

Belmont Abbey College is a small, private, Catholic college located in North Carolina. For 130 years, it and the Benedictine monks who run it have been dedicated to handing on the Catholic faith.

But the Obama Administration is now trying to force them to abandon that faith or go out of business.

You see, the Administration at Belmont Abbey College removed contraception, abortion, and voluntary sterilization from its faculty's health care policy after discovering it had accidentally been a part of existing plans.

Employees of the school who objected to this change in policy brought a complaint against the school accusing them of “gender discrimination.”

This accusation against Belmont Abbey College couldn’t be further from the truth.

Belmont Abbey College was not discriminating against women. Unlike many “believers in name only” the college was adhering to the principles of its faith.

At first, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) found no evidence of gender discrimination by Belmont Abbey College…..

After a few weeks, the EEOC mysteriously reversed course and announced, in effect, that the college had better toe the Administration’s line, or else.

They are now demanding the school go against the very principles it exists to serve.

Don’t be fooled.

Killing or funding the killing of unborn children has nothing to do with promoting human health. And including these atrocities in every “health care” plan -- no matter how shrewdly hidden or diplomatically stated – violates the consciences of Catholics everywhere.

No Catholic college or other religious institution should ever be required by the government to violate its moral beliefs ...

Too many were silent when Obama went to Notre Dame. As a result his Administration has been emboldened to attack all Catholic institutions. Now, they are shamelessly picking on a small Catholic college – Belmont Abbey.

Tomorrow it could be your local church, the parochial school you send your kids to, it could be the Jesus bumper sticker on your car…

If Obama is given the opportunity to attack even the oldest and most respected religious establishments across the country, what will be next?

The President of Belmont Abbey College has bravely stated that he would rather close the school than go against the church’s most fundamental teachings ...

I commend him for his moral conviction, but I’m afraid for the future of religious freedom in our country.

… Think I’m overreacting?

The impact of even one Catholic college knuckling under or closing would be a catastrophe for all religious institutions.

Luckily, the Belmont Abbey College has enlisted the help of a law firm that specializes in defending against this type of travesty. It’s called the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.

The Becket Fund has a solid reputation for being the best in the business.

I know first hand how effective the Becket Fund is in preserving our freedom of religion. I’ve known them for years.

Way back in the Clinton Administration when Clinton threatened to court-martial military chaplains who followed their consciences by preaching against Clinton’s veto of the Partial Birth Abortion Ban, it was the Becket Fund that filed suit in federal court and got that gag order struck down.

And just this past week, when the Freedom from Religion Foundation sued to strike “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance, it was the Becket Fund that intervened in the case and successfully defended the Pledge.

In between they have successfully defended all sorts of believers and religious institutions.

Archbishop Chaput knows them well too. As he likes to say, “The work of The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is more than ‘good.’ It’s vital.”

Make no mistake, this will not be easy. The Obama Administration is relentless about silencing religious believers.

(Editor's Note: While the story is 100% true, I have taken out all references to contributing to the defense fund for the college. While I agree that this would be a good cause to donate to, as a journalist, I am just reporting the facts, not soliciting donations.)

If this can happen to a small college, it can happen to ANY religious entity. Our beliefs are under attack as they have always been, but it goes deeper than that.

Before under the "Conscious Act" if a doctor, nurse or pharmacist objected to providing a service that went against their religious beliefs, they were not forced to perform abortions or give drugs that would cause an abortion.

If a priest, rabbi or minister (the start of a good joke) didn't believe that same sex marriage was in accordance with their church's teachings, they could not be forced to perform the ceremony.

Now everything may be up for grabs.

The Catholic Bishops in the United States have said that if they are forced to offer "services" that go against church teaching or beliefs, they would close their hospitals rather than stay open or sell them to another entity.

That move would devastate the health care system in the United States.

Consider this, ONE THIRD of the hospitals in the United States have been founded and run by Catholic Orders. Many of these hospitals are in rural areas, or in areas where the population have no other access to medical care. If these hospitals are closed, it would have a devastating affect on the people it serves and the health care system in general.

Pay close attention to what is going on behind closed doors, it will have a major effect on you.

I am as serious as a heart attack.