Mother Jones today reported that Hobby Lobby, that bastion of corporate Christianity, is up to its eyeballs in … uh … hypocrisy.
Hobby Lobby’s owners, the Green family, last week presented to the Supreme Court its argument that the company should not have to pay for employee health insurance that includes contraceptives, which it considers to be abortifacients despite scientific evidence to the contrary, and thus a violation of its religious freedom. No mention of their employees’ freedoms.
Well, funniest thing, it seems the Hobby Lobby retirement plan includes mutual funds with investments in several companies that manufacture emergency contraceptives, intrauterine devices, and drugs used in abortions. Mother Jones notes:
Several of the mutual funds in Hobby Lobby’s retirement plan have holdings in companies that manufacture the specific drugs and devices that the Green family, which owns Hobby Lobby, is fighting to keep out of Hobby Lobby’s health care policies: the emergency contraceptive pills Plan B and Ella, and copper and hormonal intrauterine devices.
This comes after an earlier revelation that Hobby Lobby, prior to filing its lawsuit against the ACA regulations, actually had been covering the very drugs the suit objects to covering.
The Greens can’t be all that concerned about their religious beliefs and those evil contraceptives if they didn’t even know they were already paying for them before they filed their suit and, three months later, still haven’t bothered to divest themselves of investments in those contraceptives.
This whole Hobby Lobby lawsuit is a pile of … hypocrisy. Let’s hope the court that declared corporations are people has more sense this time.
Between this and the whole “made in China, land of abortions on demand” thing, I’m feeling less liable to darken their door. Sadly, hypocrites never seem to recognize their hypocrisy.
Hadn’t even thought about the China angle. The Greens are going overboard on that “do as I say, not as I do” thing, aren’t they?
It sorta makes me think of kids making up a distraction (in this case, a lawsuit) so that the adults don’t notice they’ve set the house on fire.
I think the court case is bogus; their business is not to spread religion, but to make a profit on craft material. That’s completely different from churches that legitimately get an exemption. Kagan and Sotomayor are right: No one is forcing them to provide health insurance, so they can just pay the tax (which is cheaper), pay employees a bit more to make up for it, and let them join the exchange. But then, that doesn’t fit whatever narrative they’re trying to forward.
Works for me. At least there’s one sensible judge on the bench. And did Hobby Lobby indicate why that rather obvious solution wasn’t possible?
They apparently hemmed and hawed before finally saying they felt it was their “Christian duty” to provide health insurance. Dubious …
Hrumph. I hope they get slapped down as hard as they deserve to be. Provide the coverage as required by law. Or don’t, and pay the penalty. It doesn’t take the Supreme Court to figure that out.
Which is why I believe it’s just a ploy to distract from the men behind the curtain pulling the strings on this crap. And now since the court has struck down a key part of the campaign finance laws, it’s just gonna get worse. Must be why my cat just climbed up; he must sense I need fuzzy-belly time.
The Supreme Court has gutted our election system. Tragic what they’ve done. Just tragic.
You bring up a very good point about China and Hobby Lobby, blooper. My wife and I like to shop at Hobby Lobby around the holidays and when we need to give a gift simply because the store does carry good quality decorative stuff, and especially glassware. It compares very well in creativity to things we’ve seen in museum and tourist gift shops, but at much lower prices. And in all our shopping I can’t remember seeing a single thing that wasn’t made in a third world country, usually China. Hence, as you say, hypocrisy. The McCutcheon lawsuit wasn’t about religion, it was about shoring up plutocracy.
Very true. If they were more like Mardel and the bulk of what they sold was religious material, they MIGHT (but only might) have a smidgeon of an argument. But as a for-profit crafts business whose owners happen to be staunchly Christian, they don’t have a case.
However, the horrible decision on campaign finance is making me a little paranoid, so anything could happen. I have to hope that common sense and established law will prevail.
May I say it for you, Susan ? No …? – you really don’t want that kind of language on your blog ? OK: I say it on mine. In fact, I’m sure it’s there already, somewhere. 😀
Ah, but you see, by not saying it, I drew attention to it … 😉
And drew your skirts up at the same time … 😎
This is just one more battle in what has become open political warfare between the two parties. It’s like the coach said: “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”
BTW, I got my personal letter and GOP questionnaire from John Boehner yesterday morning. Hard to believe, I know, but it seems the RNC is a little short of cash and want to know if I could spare some. The last two options to check were something like this (paraphrased):
c. I can’t spare several hundred bucks right now but here’s a token $15 just to show I’m with you.
d. No I don’t want to give to the RNC, I want Obama to continue to take over and ruin the country.
I checked c., but crossed out the second part of the sentence, and mailed it in. I figure Sheldon Adelson will likely take care of the shortfall.
Thanks for exposing this hypocrisy, PT.
The public records clearly show I’m an unaffiliated voter. Both parties should take that to mean, “No, I won’t donate to your cause. I don’t like you.” The result will probably be something like the flyer that was hung on my front door yesterday, not two inches from a red “No Soliciting” sign.
I think this case has very little to do with women, contraception or religious beliefs; it has everything to do with ego and a family who doesn’t want to be told what it must do.
I haven’t followed it closely enough to know, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Greens were encouraged by some political group to file this case. They just don’t seem all that concerned about the issue, based on their own activities and knowledge.
They close on Sunday.
People are not forced to work there.
Employees could make a statement: leave with media recording it. (Oh, but it’s such a great place to work? Really?)
Most people don’t have a clue where/with whom their money is invested – especially people wealthy enough to have “people” for that. (Yawn)
Hobby Lobby can do what it wants. I don’t care.
There are several big name stores that start each day by holding hands and praying/thought for the day. I find that overbearing and offensive, but whatever. I wouldn’t work there.
I find stores like Walmart just as bad as they browbeat their employees (I’ve seen out of work neighbors weeping while working – their bosses know they must have that job), tell employees to get on food stamps, and then run ads on TV about how “good and wonderful” they are.
Hobby Lobby? Eventually, the chain will go the way of Globe and Sage stores.
I can and do shop elsewhere…when I actually need that sort of junk.
Support small local stores. Or just don’t buy stuff.
No customers? Hasta, baby.
Or maybe people will overlook a store’s policies or beliefs, or their own feeling about their own stand about the controversy because they just have to have some stuff.
I wandered in to one of their stores years ago, looking for craft supplies, because they were the nearest such store. Left in a hurry. I saw virtually no craft supplies but there was a ton of cheesy, cheap religious bric a brac. I felt like I was in some local church’s bookstore.
shiver. just shiver. Close escape.
😆