Because companies can bundle many peoples' plans together and get lower rates from insurance companies. If you bought your insurance plan separately, you'd have zero power to haggle terms with the insurance company and would be forced to take what insurance companies offered. Until recently (with ACA), this meant you could have a horrible insurance plan. At least now it means your plan would need to meet some minimal standards. It would still be more expensive than the corporate-bargained ones, though.
90% of businesses have a "closely knit ownership structure." This also doesn't mean "a few owners" as trusts can count as individuals. It's not as narrow a ruling as you think.
There should be a "menu" of religious beliefs. With the right donation to the Church, you get a certificate validating your religious belief. Corporations donating millions get an extra "blessing" certificate. Whoever does this would quickly be rich.
I guess that shortly Islamic owned businesses will be free to deny service to Jews.
I'm actually waiting for this. I remember recently that some lawmakers in the South (Texas maybe) made a law that let religious institutions do X. They then acted shocked that an Islamic organization was using the law. Apparently, they thought that "religious institutions" meant only "Christian institutions." Once an Islamic organization used it, they turned from supporters of the law to opponents. (I wish I could remember the details. Anyone?)
I can see those in favor of the Hobby Lobby verdict reacting the same if an Islamic organization declares that it is their religious belief that all female employees must wear burkas while at work.
Unfortunately, the Supreme Court retroactively turned it into being about abortificants. Because Hobby Lobby (really, the owners) believe that these drugs are abortificants, then they "are" abortificants as far as the case goes and therefore Hobby Lobby can't be compelled to provide them.
The slippery slope here just had a ton of grease applied to it. All a "closely held corporation" (90% of all corporations) needs to do is "believe" that X is true and the government will need to act as if that is true regardless of the facts. Is a company dumping toxic waste in rivers? They hold a religious belief that said waste will be removed by God. Is a company polluting the air? They hold a religious belief that says those chemicals won't hurt anyone. Is a company firing all non-heterosexual employees? They hold a religious belief that those employees are evil sinners.
I wish we could stop going to Hobby Lobby, but we already had refused to shop there because of the owners' religious views. Kind of hard to double-boycott a place.;-)
Michael's and Joann's are very good alternatives. Much better than Hobby Lobby, in fact.
Or because you go to the "wrong Church." Or because you (*shudder*) don't go to Church at all!
Or perhaps you won't be fired but will merely be "incentivized" to attend Church. All employees who attend Church (the "correct" Church) will receive their annual raises. Also, no promotions may be issued to employees who don't attend. It's not discrimination, it's "religious freedom!"
And one of those types are IUDs. My wife has one of those to regulate endometriosis which can be quite painful to deal with. Her doctors recommended using it instead of the normal birth control pills (which she has tried in the past) and it works. The fact that this works as birth control is a side benefit. (We already have 2 kids and don't want/can't afford any more.) However, this ruling would give an employer the right to say "we object to this because of 'religious reasons' so we're not going to cover it in your employer provided health care." Then, if we wanted this device to manage my wife's medical condition, we'd be forced to pay full cost out of pocket.
However, if I needed "little blue pills" and was employed at Hobby Lobby, they would be more than happy to provide them to me. They also see nothing wrong in investing in the contraception companies in their 401K. Apparently, making money off of "godless abortion pills" is perfectly fine religiously.
The way to prevent their resources being used for things they disagree with is to lobby for political change, just like any other individual.
Hobby Lobby's owners find it religiously objectionable to provide health care to its female employees that includes birth control. However, they apparently have no religious objections to investing 401K money in companies that make birth control. Making money off birth control = religiously fine. Providing access to birth control = sinful and must be stopped!
I'm not an Apple fan (use Android devices, not iOS ones), but I've got to agree. Apple would be at the bottom of the heap (if even still around) if Steve Jobs had a Microsoft-like sense of what consumers wanted. Dictating to customers what they want is a very risky proposition. You'll either succeed fantastically (ala Steve Jobs) or fail miserably (ala Windows 8). In fact, I'd be willing to bet that the latter group is the more common one. Nobody should just assume that they will succeed at dictating to customers what they really want because someone else did that and succeeded.
I think many of us are upset because Classic Shell fixes Windows 8's problems so easily that Microsoft should have been able to integrate similar functionality in a service pack. You could even keep the Metro/Start Screen interface and give people the ability to choose to load a classic desktop instead. Instead, they chose to ditch the classic desktop entirely and when they finally did listen to the outcry, they are only going to restore it for users upgrading to Windows 9, versus making it a "Windows 8.2" free upgrade.
Whenever I hear people citing the age-old "Jews run the world" idiocy, I think just one thing: I'm Jewish and nobody told me this! Why am I being left out, here?!!
Well I got my free healthcare so sucks to be you! haha!
Don't worry, the Supreme Court has just ruled that companies have "freedom of religion" and so can refuse some health care if they are religiously opposed to it.
On the bright side, Rastafarian-owned companies will have a ton of applicants.
*Normal Phone lock screen.* Officer: "Give me that phone so I can see what's on it!" You: "I do not consent to a search of this device." *Non consent lock screen enabled*
Good to know. I've been unable to plant anything because a local rabbit (or family of rabbits) will constantly chew up anything I try planting. Does dill work on chipmunks too? (And, if so, can I sprinkle some dried dill into a chipmunk hole to encourage them to leave?)
Basically, IIRC, the best models that we have to explain the Universe say the Universe should have X amount of matter in it. When we look at the Universe, though, we see only 15% of X existing. So either our models are wildly off or there is a type of matter out there that we can't currently detect (so-called "dark matter" because we can't see it). In the case of the former, it's possible, but that would toss other theories - with more firm proof for them - out as well. In the case of the latter, it's completely possible that there is sort of a self-selection bias in play. We see normal matter regularly so our detection methods have been geared towards normal matter and miss the dark stuff.
I would think that it should since the ruling should since the Supreme Court said the police could search the device for physical threats but not the data on the device. So the TSA could make sure that your laptop wasn't somehow hiding a knife but couldn't look through your computer to see who you e-mailed recently. Of course, this is in theory. Applying it in practice is another matter. You can point out Supreme Court rulings until you are blue in the face and the TSA will force you to decide between 1) submitting to their practices to make your flight, 2) being kicked out of the airport and missing your flight, or 3) being arrested and missing your flight.
That's why I used them. I'd play the original SimCity, Civilization, and Warcraft (before "World of") and I quite honestly stunk at them. Complex resource management in a game just felt like work to me. So I'd cheat. I'd build a city in SimCity, give myself a ton of cash, toss a few disasters through my city, and then rebuild. For Civilization, I'd give myself unlimited money and buy everything up. (At the time, I called it the "Bill Gates Strategy.") I'd use diplomats to buy other civilizations' cities and troops until only their home city was left. Then, I'd either crush them or keep them around so the game wouldn't end. In Warcraft, I'd make it a "good day to die" and send one peon wood-cutting orc against an army of humans. The humans would be blasting him like crazy, but he's just slowly work his way through them until they were all dead. Did I ruin the point of the games? Sure. Still, it turned them from past times that would have frustrated me until I tossed them aside to games I kept playing over and over.
So what you're saying is that the packages should be loaded into the missiles. Coming soon: Amazon Prime Missile! When you order your product, it will be loaded into a missile and aimed right for your front door. Time from "shipment" to "delivery" should be mere minutes.
Slashdot Mirror
I think I'm going to convert to Improvism. They let you make up the religious rules as you go along.
Because companies can bundle many peoples' plans together and get lower rates from insurance companies. If you bought your insurance plan separately, you'd have zero power to haggle terms with the insurance company and would be forced to take what insurance companies offered. Until recently (with ACA), this meant you could have a horrible insurance plan. At least now it means your plan would need to meet some minimal standards. It would still be more expensive than the corporate-bargained ones, though.
90% of businesses have a "closely knit ownership structure." This also doesn't mean "a few owners" as trusts can count as individuals. It's not as narrow a ruling as you think.
There should be a "menu" of religious beliefs. With the right donation to the Church, you get a certificate validating your religious belief. Corporations donating millions get an extra "blessing" certificate. Whoever does this would quickly be rich.
I'm actually waiting for this. I remember recently that some lawmakers in the South (Texas maybe) made a law that let religious institutions do X. They then acted shocked that an Islamic organization was using the law. Apparently, they thought that "religious institutions" meant only "Christian institutions." Once an Islamic organization used it, they turned from supporters of the law to opponents. (I wish I could remember the details. Anyone?)
I can see those in favor of the Hobby Lobby verdict reacting the same if an Islamic organization declares that it is their religious belief that all female employees must wear burkas while at work.
Unfortunately, the Supreme Court retroactively turned it into being about abortificants. Because Hobby Lobby (really, the owners) believe that these drugs are abortificants, then they "are" abortificants as far as the case goes and therefore Hobby Lobby can't be compelled to provide them.
The slippery slope here just had a ton of grease applied to it. All a "closely held corporation" (90% of all corporations) needs to do is "believe" that X is true and the government will need to act as if that is true regardless of the facts. Is a company dumping toxic waste in rivers? They hold a religious belief that said waste will be removed by God. Is a company polluting the air? They hold a religious belief that says those chemicals won't hurt anyone. Is a company firing all non-heterosexual employees? They hold a religious belief that those employees are evil sinners.
I wish we could stop going to Hobby Lobby, but we already had refused to shop there because of the owners' religious views. Kind of hard to double-boycott a place. ;-)
Michael's and Joann's are very good alternatives. Much better than Hobby Lobby, in fact.
Or because you go to the "wrong Church." Or because you (*shudder*) don't go to Church at all!
Or perhaps you won't be fired but will merely be "incentivized" to attend Church. All employees who attend Church (the "correct" Church) will receive their annual raises. Also, no promotions may be issued to employees who don't attend. It's not discrimination, it's "religious freedom!"
And one of those types are IUDs. My wife has one of those to regulate endometriosis which can be quite painful to deal with. Her doctors recommended using it instead of the normal birth control pills (which she has tried in the past) and it works. The fact that this works as birth control is a side benefit. (We already have 2 kids and don't want/can't afford any more.) However, this ruling would give an employer the right to say "we object to this because of 'religious reasons' so we're not going to cover it in your employer provided health care." Then, if we wanted this device to manage my wife's medical condition, we'd be forced to pay full cost out of pocket.
However, if I needed "little blue pills" and was employed at Hobby Lobby, they would be more than happy to provide them to me. They also see nothing wrong in investing in the contraception companies in their 401K. Apparently, making money off of "godless abortion pills" is perfectly fine religiously.
Hobby Lobby's owners find it religiously objectionable to provide health care to its female employees that includes birth control. However, they apparently have no religious objections to investing 401K money in companies that make birth control. Making money off birth control = religiously fine. Providing access to birth control = sinful and must be stopped!
I'm not an Apple fan (use Android devices, not iOS ones), but I've got to agree. Apple would be at the bottom of the heap (if even still around) if Steve Jobs had a Microsoft-like sense of what consumers wanted. Dictating to customers what they want is a very risky proposition. You'll either succeed fantastically (ala Steve Jobs) or fail miserably (ala Windows 8). In fact, I'd be willing to bet that the latter group is the more common one. Nobody should just assume that they will succeed at dictating to customers what they really want because someone else did that and succeeded.
I think many of us are upset because Classic Shell fixes Windows 8's problems so easily that Microsoft should have been able to integrate similar functionality in a service pack. You could even keep the Metro/Start Screen interface and give people the ability to choose to load a classic desktop instead. Instead, they chose to ditch the classic desktop entirely and when they finally did listen to the outcry, they are only going to restore it for users upgrading to Windows 9, versus making it a "Windows 8.2" free upgrade.
Not for me it isn't.
Classic Shell to the rescue!
The return of Clippy? "I see you've bolded some words. Would you like to share this action on Facebook?"
Whenever I hear people citing the age-old "Jews run the world" idiocy, I think just one thing: I'm Jewish and nobody told me this! Why am I being left out, here?!!
Wait... You're saying the last Republican president *WASN'T* Elmer Fudd?
Don't worry, the Supreme Court has just ruled that companies have "freedom of religion" and so can refuse some health care if they are religiously opposed to it.
On the bright side, Rastafarian-owned companies will have a ton of applicants.
Us Lefties are the only ones in our right mind!
Bonus points if it is voice activated.
*Normal Phone lock screen.*
Officer: "Give me that phone so I can see what's on it!"
You: "I do not consent to a search of this device."
*Non consent lock screen enabled*
Good to know. I've been unable to plant anything because a local rabbit (or family of rabbits) will constantly chew up anything I try planting. Does dill work on chipmunks too? (And, if so, can I sprinkle some dried dill into a chipmunk hole to encourage them to leave?)
The world's largest pool party?
Basically, IIRC, the best models that we have to explain the Universe say the Universe should have X amount of matter in it. When we look at the Universe, though, we see only 15% of X existing. So either our models are wildly off or there is a type of matter out there that we can't currently detect (so-called "dark matter" because we can't see it). In the case of the former, it's possible, but that would toss other theories - with more firm proof for them - out as well. In the case of the latter, it's completely possible that there is sort of a self-selection bias in play. We see normal matter regularly so our detection methods have been geared towards normal matter and miss the dark stuff.
I would think that it should since the ruling should since the Supreme Court said the police could search the device for physical threats but not the data on the device. So the TSA could make sure that your laptop wasn't somehow hiding a knife but couldn't look through your computer to see who you e-mailed recently. Of course, this is in theory. Applying it in practice is another matter. You can point out Supreme Court rulings until you are blue in the face and the TSA will force you to decide between 1) submitting to their practices to make your flight, 2) being kicked out of the airport and missing your flight, or 3) being arrested and missing your flight.
That's why I used them. I'd play the original SimCity, Civilization, and Warcraft (before "World of") and I quite honestly stunk at them. Complex resource management in a game just felt like work to me. So I'd cheat. I'd build a city in SimCity, give myself a ton of cash, toss a few disasters through my city, and then rebuild. For Civilization, I'd give myself unlimited money and buy everything up. (At the time, I called it the "Bill Gates Strategy.") I'd use diplomats to buy other civilizations' cities and troops until only their home city was left. Then, I'd either crush them or keep them around so the game wouldn't end. In Warcraft, I'd make it a "good day to die" and send one peon wood-cutting orc against an army of humans. The humans would be blasting him like crazy, but he's just slowly work his way through them until they were all dead. Did I ruin the point of the games? Sure. Still, it turned them from past times that would have frustrated me until I tossed them aside to games I kept playing over and over.
So what you're saying is that the packages should be loaded into the missiles. Coming soon: Amazon Prime Missile! When you order your product, it will be loaded into a missile and aimed right for your front door. Time from "shipment" to "delivery" should be mere minutes.