Hobby Lobby

Typically, I stay out of politics on this blog.  But, I did minor in Philosophy and especially in logic and epistemology.  From a purely logical standpoint, this is a moronic statement.  Also, I [redacted] hate nihilism, and this comes awfully close.

Tester is fighting back with a Constitutional amendment that would clarify that corporations are not people and therefore not protected by the same Constitutional rights as individual Americans. His amendment has seen increased support since the Hobby Lobby decision, which allows corporations to hold religious-based objections to providing insurance coverage for certain medical care. 

"The First Amendment was meant to protect individuals' religious freedoms, not those of corporations," Tester said. "Now, the religious beliefs of corporations will dictate the health care options of people. Where does it end?"

A religious decision is inherently a moral one.  With the exception of some strains of atheism, no religion denies the presence of a conscience.  Frankly, most sane persons prefer others to have a conscience.  The alternative is the neighborhood of sociopathy and psychopathy.

Back in 2001, many people complained when Walmart started selling gas.  They used their other goods to subsidize the gas, allowing them to undercut the competition by selling gas below cost.  Once the surrounding gas stations had closed, they raised the prices back to standard.  It was a dirty trick.  It’s what sociopathic business looks like.

Americans fought back.  Laws were scrambled to halt Walmart’s progress.  They were forced to raise their prices by bans on sub-cost gas pricing.  They were forced to stay away from interstates.  They were restricted to miles away from gas stations.

Now, many of the same Americans who wanted to legislate a conscience into the managers of Walmart when it came to the 2001 gas war are trying to legislate the conscience out of the managers of Hobby Lobby.

This is why we need a “Bad Logic Buzzer” at every political debate.

One of my annual complaints is the Online Learning Modules I have to complete every year.  Why I need to be refreshed every year on proper lifting techniques is beyond me.  By far my least favorite one, though, is ethics.  I think it is an exercise in nihilistic denial of morality.  The question asked is not, “Is this behavior ethical?” but rather, “Is this behavior legal?”  Or to put it another way, “What can we get away with doing?”

Example.  At one of my former employees, it was routine for surgeons to order that packed red blood cells be transfused on patients where it was not only not indicated, but contraindicated.  They risked patients’ lives in the interest of charging them for blood they didn't need.  Meanwhile, I could never find a pen, because the same politicians that think you are allowed to try to kill your patients to make money as long as a doctor's signature is on the form also think that pharmaceutical reps are evil mind manipulators.

Lesson learned:  anytime you are letting a politician decide what is ethical behavior, you are [redacted] [redacted] [redacted].

The creepiest thing I ever read was an essay be Friedrich  Nietzsche.  It was creepy for two reasons.  The first was that people took the guy seriously despite the fact that he self-contradicted in less than one page.  He criticizes the whole field of linguistic philosophy as boring and worthless (I agree to the boring part, by the way), but then goes on to engage in linguistic philosophy for the rest of the essay.  I mean, honestly, am I the only person who spotted that?

Secondly, in his linguistic philosophical ramblings, he declares that the ideas of “good” and “bad” character qualities were determined by the qualities exhibited by people in power.  By extension, the actions of those people constituted “right.”  Since, per Freddy's reading of history, the people most often in power were Aryans, whatever they decided was right was.  And this is how we got Hitler.

I can certainly see where politicians, widely regarded as the most morally compromised class of individuals, would enjoy a world where the powerful get to determine what is and is not good and right.  That lets them not only do whatever they want to do, but to make everyone else do what they want them to do.

But my senator was not content to stop with one inane statement.  Oh, no, he had to make another:

"It's no longer just about our democracy - it's also about keeping corporations out of our private lives, out of our bedrooms, and out of our own religious decisions," Tester said. "It's an even bigger fight now."

No one is telling anyone what they can and cannot do in their bedrooms.  They are simply saying that if you want birth control, you can spring your own $7 a month.  Much like my objection to the number of applications the Shieldmaiden had to fill out for…ah…marital aids (and the fact that Medicare paid for them), if you need something to be happy at home, buy it yourself.   Honestly, Hobby Lobby pays pretty well, as relatives of mine can attest to.  If you can’t skip a McDonald’s meal a month in the interest of not having another mouth to feed, you are doing something wrong with your money.

And on a side note, Medicare paid $360 apiece for the aforementioned “vacuum erection systems.”  I really have no idea if that is an industry standard price, but I somehow doubt that this is the one place in US history where the Federal government has managed to not get overcharged.  Perhaps they are that expensive, though, making it cost-prohibitive for some people, necessitating—apparently—me paying for it.  But if I’m having to spring for your sexual well-being, I’d just as soon dig through my spam folder and find you some fly-by-night online pharmacy that sells little blue pills for $3 apiece.

Back to the issue at hand, though, it is worth remembering that people do crazy things for conscience.  Almost as crazy as for love.  Actually, sometimes even crazier.  I mean, the Roman Catholic Church is the one that has managed to not only be burned at the stake for their faith, but has also burned other people at the stake for it.  Several Catholic bishops swore to shut down the entire Catholic hospital system—some 40% of American hospitals—if the current administration had not backed down on the removal of religious objection to providing certain services.  No one should think for a second that the owners of Hobby Lobby would not shut down all their stores.  Then any employees complaining about having to pay for birth control out of their own pocket will also have the slight issue of finding some other way to pay for housing… and utilities… and food…

All this reminds me of one of my favorite lines from one of my favorite books:

"My dear young lady," said the Professor, suddenly looking up with a very sharp expression at both of them, "there is one plan which no one has yet suggested and which is well worth trying."

"What's that?" said Susan.

"We might all try minding our own business," said he.

Senator Tester, Hobby Lobby is staying out of people's bedrooms.  Perhaps you should do the same.