Published today in the E-R

Three members of the larger Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals have ruled, by a vote of 2-1, that Proposition 8 "serves no purpose and has no effect." That is because nothing prevents people of the same sex from forming a union under the auspices of some entity they respect, for instance, a religious institution, even calling it marriage if the celebrant deems it appropriate. The court has [thus] observed that constitutionality is not the issue.

What is a constitutional issue, however, and an action which is clearly unconstitutional, is the Obama administration's rule that would require health insurance plans -- including even those offered by Roman Catholic universities and charities -- to offer birth control to women free of charge.

This is so obviously contrary to the First Amendment that it has prompted Senate Minority Leader Mitch Mc Connell to pronounce that "No one in the United States of America should ever be compelled by their government to choose between violating their religious beliefs or be penalized for refusing." Speaker John Boehner has further vowed that this attack on religious freedom will not stand in the House.

If this primary principle upon which the nation was founded is perverted, it is going to begin to look like Germany starting in 1933, when churches were closed and the "enemies of the state" began to disappear.

FYI: Our clever breeder has managed to name one of our horses Nicolas Cajun -- a son of Tizbud out of She's Cajun.