Posts from McClatchy reporters and editors covering Washington, Jerusalem, Afghanistan and beyond.
Go to http://blogs.mcclatchydc.com
Rubio on Obama: 'I don't know where he got his law degree from'
Planet Washington
Posted by Erika Bolstad
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has emerged as one of the leading spokesman for the newest cultural war: Repealing the Obama administration's plan to make some religious institutions, such as hospitals and universities, comply with federal law requiring all health plans to provide contraceptives without a co-pay.
Rubio introduced legislation last week that would repeal the federal health care requirement. His bill has the backing of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, on Thursday called the requirement unconstitutional. So did Rubio, in an interview with talk show host Laura Ingraham. Rubio said he hopes President Barack Obama's administration would "realize that they have made a big, big mistake here."
"I don't know where he got his law degree from because one of the most cherished constitutional principles, in fact, one of the cornerstone ones when this country was founded and framed through the Constitution, was the issue of religious freedom," Rubio said. "And the notion that somehow the government of the United States could come in and not just force you to do it but, more importantly, force a religious organization to pay for something that religion teaches is immoral would be so beyond anything the framers could have imagined. And it's exactly the kind of thing they wanted to prevent when they enshrined that protection in the Constitution." … (Obama went to Harvard.)
Rubio called his legislation "a common sense bill that simply says the government can't force religious organizations to abandon the fundamental tenets of their faith because the government says so."
Occupy DC fails to forestall eviction
Suits & Sentences
Posted by Mike Doyle
Occupy DC failed to convince a judge that the Constitution protects the demonstrators from eviction by the National Park Service.
Rather than arguing about the First Amendment free-speech protections, the Occupy DC demonstrators claimed the Fourth Amendment and Fifth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure should give the park service pause.
In a 16-page decision, U.S. District Judge James Boasberg concluded that the demonstrators "have not shown any imminent actual injury that threatens their tents and as any future closing of (McPherson) Square remains too hypothetical for the Court to address."
Iran says 'Hola' with new Spanish-language TV station
Inside South America
Posted by Jim Wyss
Iran's charm offensive in Latin America now has its own channel.
On Tuesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad officially launched HispanTV, a Spanish-language satellite TV network that is available throughout the region.
Featuring an eclectic mix of movies, news and cultural programs, Ahmadinejad said the station would help end the West's "hegemony" of the airwaves.
"Today, a selfish and bullying minority is paving the ground for its domination over the nations by means of the media," Ahmadinejad said, according to Iran's Fars News Agency.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "Report Abuse" link below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.