Who Will Rid Me of This Meddlesome Priest?

Sarah Posner in Salon.com defends the undefendable by claiming Catholic bishops want "a special deal," and that Obama cannot give a conscience exception to Catholic institutions because that would "harm everybody else."  First of all, how would it harm non-Catholics for Catholics to be excepted from contraception and abortion in Obamacare?  After all, these people love the bumper sticker philosophy of "If you don't believe in abortion, don't have one."  Well, if Catholics don't believe in contraception and abortion, then why do they have to participate in them?  The first argument doesn't hold water either, because Obamacare was created through several "special deals," everything from the Cornhusker Kickback for Ben Nelson to special exemptions for companies like McDonalds, who otherwise would have been liable for health care for their employees.   According to Ms. Posner, the effort to go along and get along with religious leaders was a bad idea, and stabbing liberal bishops in the back simply good politics.

On a different subject, a new Caterpillar plant will not be located in the People's Republic of Illinois, yet another testament to the fiscal management of Governor Pat Quinn, the Chicago machine, and complacent Republican insiders. 

Tip of the petasus to Stop FOI Censorship.  The University of Victoria deestablishes its pro-life group.  Pro-lifers are public enemy one on many university campii, and my own alma mater, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did much the same thing, ironically while giving Campus for Choice their own room in the SRO complex.