Free Republic

**SNIP** She supports construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, a project that many Democrats oppose because of its potential climate impact. Ms. Landrieu is also pushing revenue-sharing legislation that directs more money generated from offshore energy production to coastal states like hers. Oil and natural gas fill the veins of Louisiana's economy and culture. Second only to Texas in natural-gas production and refining capacity, the state is home to the Henry Hub, a place where more than a dozen major pipelines come together and that serves as the official delivery location for futures contracts on the New York Mercantile...

It should come as no surprise The New York Times would bury news of a conservative victory over President Obama on page eight. The lead paragraph said it all: Senate Democrats, bowing to united House Republican opposition, dropped reforms of International Monetary Fund governance from a Ukraine aid package on Tuesday. The real question is whether this was merely a moment in time or a seminal shift in how congressional Republicans will approach future showdowns. And to be clear, future showdowns are inevitable if we are to achieve any conservative policy victories. Before going further, it is important to explain...

Ted Cruz has argued nine cases before the U.S. Supreme Court in his lifetime, more than any other current member of Congress. Today, as a U.S. senator from Texas, Cruz is making a different kind of argument—one in the court of public opinion.On his Facebook page and in a statement released by his office, Cruz has declared his support for the families who own Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialties in their First Amendment challenge of an Obamacare mandate.Oral arguments in both cases take place today at the Supreme Court.>>> Q&A: Tough Questions on Religious Freedom, Abortion Drugs“The Supreme Court...

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, surprised freezing religious freedom activists who had spent the morning rallying in support of Hobby Lobby's Supreme Court appeal."God bless you for being here today!" Cruz said Tuesday, after wading into the crowd and stepping up to the podium.Activists cheered Cruz's arrival after spending several hours standing in the snow in front of the court during oral arguments inside."Thank you for being here in this beautiful weather from God," Cruz added as the crowd laughed.Cruz reminded activists that the United States was founded by people who fled religious oppression and enshrined religious freedom in the Constitution."There...

In an argument that touched on medical science and moral philosophy, the Supreme Court on Tuesday wrestled with whether corporations may refuse to provide insurance coverage for contraception to their workers based on the religious beliefs of the corporations’ owners. --snip-- Hobby Lobby told the justices that it had no problem offering coverage for many forms of contraception, including condoms, diaphragms, sponges, several kinds of birth control pills and sterilization surgery. But drugs and devices that may prevent embryos from implanting in the womb are another matter, the company said; its owners believe those would make the company complicit in...

The Democratic Party wants the 2014 elections to be about anything and everything except ObamaCare. The depths of Hope and Change were plumbed in 2008, the War on Women was exhausted in 2012 and that leaves only the Koch Brothers. Senator Harry Reid, facing the end of his time as Senate Majority Leader, has decided to bet the farm on the Koch Brothers. His Senate Majority PAC (formerly Commonsense Ten, really “Keep Harry Reid Majority Leader”) is trying to protect Senate Democrats who are hated in their own states for voting to drive up the price of health insurance while...

During oral arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday which focused on whether the contraceptive mandate in the Affordable Care Act violates the free exercise of religion, Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan suggested employers who have moral objections to birth control should not provide health care coverage for their employees Chief Justice Roberts interjected that this was in opposition to what Hobby Lobby presented in its lawsuit. “I thought – I thought that part of the religious commitment of the owners was to provide health care for its employees,” Roberts said and Clements agreed. “Well, if they want...

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) will begin hearing oral arguments in two high profile cases regarding the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare. The two cases are Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Conestoga Wood Specialties Corp. v. Sebelius. These two cases deal with the religious freedom aspects of the ACA and how it applies to individual businesses. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) issued a statement obtained by Breitbart Texas offering his continuing support for the two companies who have taken the federal government to court. "The Supreme Court has the opportunity to affirm our...

http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/03/24/hobby-lobby-obamacare-contraception-supreme-court-column/6838853/

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court appeared poised on Tuesday to open the door to companies' religious-based objections to government regulations as justices weighed whether business owners can object to part of President Barack Obama's healthcare law. It was unclear whether the companies objecting to the regulation requiring them to provide insurance coverage that includes contraception would win overall, but a majority of the nine justices seemed ready to rule that companies had the same religious rights to object as individuals do. In one of the biggest cases of the year, the court heard an extended 90-minute oral argument,...

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi boasted at last Thursday's weekly House Democrat News Conference that Obamacare was indeed a winning issue for Democrats, but Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu’s actions that same day indicated otherwise. While leader Pelosi was trying to convince reporters that Obamacare was actually affordable, Senator Landrieu refuse to appear with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who was in New Orleans to promote Obamacare as the March 31st deadline fast approaches. Both the Times-Picayune and Bayou Buzz pointed out that Senator Landrieu was not mentioned on the official schedule sent out by HHS, while Senator Landrieu’s...

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority PAC, a group that supports Democratic Senate candidates, is preparing a $3 million advertising campaign against Charles G. Koch and David H. Koch, the libertarian-minded billionaire brothers who support conservative causes and have already poured millions of dollars into the 2014 midterm elections. The group’s effort will last for roughly two weeks and span five states — Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Michigan and North Carolina. In an attempt to combat the Koch brothers’ influence, the $3 million buy will nearly match what Senate Majority PAC has spent on all of its other television ads so far this...

**SNIP** Guess who decided to skip out on the event? Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA), even though the Senate was not in session and no committee meetings were on the books, according to the chamber calendar. Bayou Buzz pointed out that Landrieu wasn’t mentioned on the official schedule sent out by HHS, nor was there any mention of her in The Times-Picayune’s coverage of the event.

<p>BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A proposal to add new regulations for abortion providers in Louisiana has received the unanimous support of the House health care committee.</p> <p>The bill by Rep. Katrina Jackson, a Democrat from Monroe, would require doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. It's similar to a controversial restriction recently passed in Texas.</p>

Irrepressible and a new father at age 86, having served time for extortion, former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards is seeking a comeback by running for an open seat in Congress. Edwards has not lost a step. “I did not vote for Obama: Where I was there were no voting machines,” said the conservative Democrat, who was in federal prison at the time. Edwards was accompanied by his 35-year-old third wife, Tina, and infant child. “There’s a guy in Florida 101 years old running, and by the time I am his age I’ll be in my seventh term,” said Edwards, who...

(CNN) - Former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards said Monday he's running for the state's 6th Congressional district. Edwards, who was released from federal prison three years ago after serving nearly a decade on charges of racketeering, conspiracy and extortion, made the announcement at a Press Club meeting in Baton Rouge. "I acknowledge that there are good reasons why I should not run. I know that, but there are better reasons why I should and good reasons have to give way to better reasons and therefore, I will be a candidate for congress in the sixth congressional district this year," Edwards...

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) has been near the top of the list of the most vulnerable senators facing reelection since day one of the 2014 election cycle. But notable developments in recent weeks suggest her seat is increasingly at risk of falling into Republican hands. Republican groups have blitzed Landrieu over the airwaves while she has gotten limited cover from Democratic allies; polls show she is locked in a close race against Rep. Bill Cassidy (R); and now, Landrieu is reserving $2.6 million in airtime between April and June, an apparent recognition that the cascade of opposition ads has forced...

Louisiana-based horizontal driller Ranger Field Service lowers pipe for a 2.1-mile line that runs across the Texas-Louisiana border and under the Sabine River. Some are speculating that the drill is the longest horizontal length that has ever been drilled on land and under a river, one of the biggest obstacles Mother Nature can throw at a pipeline drill. - - - - A private drilling company in Louisiana said this week it has drilled a 2.1-mile horizontal length under the Sabine River and across the Texas-Louisiana border. The 11,065-foot span is raising speculation that it was the longest horizontal length...

Most people — especially Texans — know propane as the fuel source that allows them to fire up a backyard barbecue in seconds. Now it’s also heating up as an alternative motor fuel, as companies with vehicle fleets embrace its lower costs and smaller environmental footprint relative to gasoline or diesel. Shipping company UPS announced plans this month to spend $70 million on 1,000 propane-fueled vehicles and 50 refueling stations in the United States, where the company operates about 77,000 ground vehicles. Other big companies also have added propane to their fuel mix. Airport transportation service SuperShuttle touted its propane...

As I’ve mentioned before, Mary Landrieu has taken a dive in the polls last year. PPP ran two polls, one last February and one in August, both showing her up +10. PPP usually gives very, very pro-Democratic results a ways out from an election, but only goes very Democratic when you get closer to an election. Last month, a year out from their original +10 results, another PPP poll showed her only up +1.5 Another Democratic firm, Hickman Analytics, ran a poll at the beginning of March, with results that should absolutely terrify her. The Democratic-heavy sample of 404 breaks...