Friday, November 14, 2014

Bighorn Sheep/ Contraception/ Helath Care/ Coal Mine CEO Indictment




Missoulian: Challenge to Obamacare on contraceptives rejected
13-5368 Priests For Life v. HHS
“The contraceptive coverage opt-out mechanism substantially burdens Plaintiffs’ religious exercise, Plaintiffs contend, by failing to extricate them from providing, paying for, or facilitating access to contraception. In particular, they assert that the notice they submit in requesting accommodation is a “trigger” that activates substitute coverage, and that the government will “hijack” their health plans and use them as “conduits” for providing contraceptive coverage to their employees and students. Plaintiffs dispute that the government has any compelling interest in obliging them to give notice of their wish to take advantage of the accommodation. And they argue that the government has failed to show that the notice requirement is the least restrictive means of serving any such interest.
…The accommodation requires as little as it can from the objectors while still serving the government’s compelling interests. Because the regulatory opt-out mechanism is the least restrictive means to serve compelling governmental interests, it is fully consistent with Plaintiffs’ rights under RFRA. We also find no merit in Plaintiffs’ additional claims under the Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act.”

H.R.2 - American Energy Solutions for Lower Costs and More American Jobs Act
“American Energy Solutions for Lower Costs and More American Jobs Act - Division A: Energy and Commerce - Title I: Modernizing Infrastructure - Subtitle A: Northern Route Approval - Northern Route Approval Act - (Sec. 103) Declares that a presidential permit shall not be required for the pipeline described in the application filed on May 4, 2012, by TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, L.P. to the Department of State for the Keystone XL pipeline, including the Nebraska reroute evaluated in the Final Evaluation Report issued by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality in January 2013 and approved by the Nebraska governor.”

Missoulian: Ex-coal mine chief joins small club: charged CEOs
Former Massey Energy CEO Indicted
“The indictment alleges that from about January 1, 2008, through about April 9, 2010, Blankenship conspired to commit and cause routine, willful violations of mandatory federal mine safety and health standards at Massey Energy’s Upper Big Branch mine, located in Raleigh County, West Virginia. The indictment alleges that during this same period of time, Blankenship was part of a conspiracy to impede and hinder federal mine safety officials from carrying out their duties at Upper Big Branch by providing advance warning of federal mine safety inspection activities, so their underground operations could conceal and cover up safety violations that they routinely committed.”



Thursday, November 13, 2014

Water Rule/ MBRCT/ FWP Plan/ Native American Schools/ Nazi Social Security Benefits



“The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) are publishing for public comment a proposed rule defining the scope of waters protected under the Clean Water Act (CWA), in light of the U.S. Supreme Court cases in U.S. v. Riverside Bayview, Rapanos v. United States, and Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (SWANCC), and Rapanos v. United States (Rapanos). This proposal would enhance protection for the nation's public health and aquatic resources, and increase CWA program predictability and consistency by increasing clarity as to the scope of “waters of the United States” protected under the Act.”







Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Montana Quake/ Ebola FUnding/ US-China Climate Change




Missoulian: Ebola workers ask Congress for help
Chairwoman Mikulski Statement on Funding Request from White House to Fight Ebola Here and Abroad

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), Chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today issued the following statement on the President’s request for emergency supplemental funding to address the Ebola outbreak:
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Chairwoman Mikulski Announces Full Committee Hearing on the U.S. Government Response to Ebola Outbreak
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Wednesday, November 12, 2014, at 2:00 p.m., U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), Chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, will hold a Full Committee hearing on the U.S. Government response to the Ebola outbreak.
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Missoulian: US-China climate deal aims to prod others to act
Climate Change And President Obama's Action Plan
“The latest report tells us that those who deny climate change are playing with fire. And all of the evidence that has been predicted for the last 20 or 30 years is not just coming back the way it was predicted; it’s coming back faster and it’s coming back with bigger consequences than were predicted.
For anybody in public life, the warning is clear. It means the precautionary principle has to be applied, and you need to take steps to deal with them. Scientists now predict that by the end of the century, the sea could rise by a full meter. Now a meter, 39 inches, may not seem like a lot to everybody here, but I got news for you: It is enough to displace hundreds of millions of people, and it is enough to throw a multi-billion dollar monkey wrench into the global economy.”