Under his eye

[Scooter]

Sessions announces 'religious liberty task force'

Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Monday that the Department of Justice is creating a "religious liberty task force."

Sessions said the task force, co-chaired by Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio and the assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Office of Legal Policy, Beth Williams, will help the department fully implement the religious liberty guidance it issued last year.

The guidance was a byproduct of President Trump's executive order directing agencies to respect and protect religious liberty and political speech.

Sessions said on Monday that the task force will "ensure all Justice Department components are upholding that guidance in the cases they bring and defend, the arguments they make in court, the policies and regulations they adopt, and how we conduct our operations."

The announcement came during the department's religious liberty summit.

Sessions said the cultural climate in this country —and in the West more generally — has become less hospitable to people of faith in recent years, and as a result many Americans have felt their freedom to practice their faith has been under attack.

"We've seen nuns ordered to buy contraceptives. We've seen U.S. senators ask judicial and executive branch nominees about dogma — even though the Constitution explicitly forbids a religious test for public office. We've all seen the ordeal faced so bravely by Jack Phillips," he said, referring to the Colorado baker who took his case to the Supreme Court after he was found to have violated the state's anti-discrimination laws for refusing to make a cake for a same-sex wedding.

Sessions said the guidance he issued in October lays out 20 fundamental principles for the executive branch to follow, including the principles that free exercise means a right to act — or to abstain from action — and that government shouldn't impugn people's motives or beliefs.

"In short, we have not only the freedom to worship — but the right to exercise our faith. The Constitution's protections don't end at the parish parking lot nor can our freedoms be confined to our basements," he said, according to his prepared remarks.

Sessions said the federal government under the Trump administration is not just reacting but is actively seeking to accommodate people of faith.

"Religious Americans are no longer an afterthought," he said.

Complete twaddle. The goal is to allow Christians (and maybe Jews), but certainly not Muslims, Hindus or Wiccans, to be given licence to persecute and discriminate against anyone they believe to be "sinners".

[Big RR]

We've seen nuns ordered to buy contraceptives

Somehow I doubt that. this guy is a loon.

And FWIW, this is complete bullshit; no one is prevented from exercising their faith, unless it interferes with someone else's right to practice their faith, or lack thereof. Anyone who wants to can picket an abortion clinic and try to dissuade people from having abortions, but they cannot firebomb the clinic--I guess this idiot believes it's wrong to prevent the latter.

[Burning Petard]

Nun's ordered to buy contraceptives? I thought the essence of Roman Catholic (assuming that was the religion of the referenced Nun) theology of sin was the attitude, motive, desire, when doing the act, not the act itself. And was the Nun under orders to USE the contraceptives?

smells like an urban legend to me.

snailgate

[Scooter]

I'm guessing that it's something about an organization run/staffed by nuns required under the ACA to provide employee health coverage that includes contraceptives. But even that would have been dealt with already by the Hobby Lobby decision.

[Crackpot]

I think the tortured logic he is usin is if insurance must cover contraception and you must have insurance you are being forced to buy contraception.

[Big RR]

Well my health insurance covers people who want to use Christian Science practitioners (at least it did last time I checked), so by the same idiotic logic I am forced to buy those services.

But maybe the nuns had to buy them for the altar boys, so they could give them to the abusive priests?

Or maybe to hold back the coming of the lord?

[Big RR]

scooter--Hobby Lobby settled it for private for profit companies, but the original ACA had outs for purely religious organizations (like orders of nuns) as well as religiously owned nonprofits with a certification that the mandate would violate the beliefs of the religious-based owners. I recall there was some claim by the EC church that filing this was an infringement on religious liberties, but I have never heard of a religious group or nonprofit (who filed the certification) being forced to fund contraception--Hobby Lobby was the last asinine nail in that coffin.

[Scooter]

Of course if you had universal single payer coverage, no private entity would be forced to provide any sort of coverage they didn't want to, and this "problem" could never exist. But until you reach that utopia....

[ex-khobar Andy]

Or maybe to hold back the coming of the lord?

I think you're going to hell for that comment, Big RR.

[Lord Jim]

I found this bit interesting:

We've seen U.S. senators ask judicial and executive branch nominees about dogma — even though the Constitution explicitly forbids a religious test for public office.

In the context in which he made that comment, is Sessions suggesting that he's going to have his "task force" start investigating and possibly charging members of Congress for possible illegality in the way they pursue their oversight function of the Executive branch?

If so, I really suggest that Jeff sic his investigators on some members that have been abusing their Congressional authority and using congressional hearings for the purpose of obstructing justice...

I've got a whole list of names I can send him...

[Guinevere]

I'm just going to post this everywhere:

Hobby Lobby does not get enough credit for being one of the worst Supreme Court decisions of the last 50 years. It is a huge step away from the protections of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

[Big RR]

I think you're going to hell for that comment, Big RR.

Trump is president. I'm there already.


Guin---


A 21 Thumb salute

[wesw]

yep. 21.

I counted.

trust but verify.

lawyers...

nuff said.


(you guys better watch out, jim might lynch your sorry asses for daring to think that the supreme court could be wrong, and even stupid and biased...., could never be, right?)

ps..... fuck off jim.... correct punctuation isn t really necessary is it, my point being clear.

...and meade, I don t really care if you like me anymore, I ve decided that I don t like you. I am prepared to forgive you tho, if you are truly sorry for being such a superior minded ass...

love , wes

[BoSoxGal]

Blessed be the fruit . . .

I'll be off to the Colonies myself . . .

[wesw]

...and the resident nutter chimes in.

[Scooter]

May the Lord open . . .

[Lord Jim]

"you guys better watch out, jim might lynch your sorry asses for daring to think that the supreme court could be wrong, and even stupid and biased...., could never be, right?"

...and the resident nutter chimes in.

Says the guy nutty enough to believe Donald Trump has never told a lie...

[Scooter]

[rubato]

Well my health insurance covers people who want to use Christian Science practitioners (at least it did last time I checked), so by the same idiotic logic I am forced to buy those services.

But maybe the nuns had to buy them for the altar boys, so they could give them to the abusive priests?

Or maybe to hold back the coming of the lord?

Christian Science, Homeopathy, Prayer, and "healing touch" are all equally effective in the eyes of the Lord. And science.


yrs,
rubato

[Scooter]