Sunday, December 15, 2013

Hobby Lobby Sets a Good Example for all...



Description: cid:1.719369741@web120302.mail.ne1.yahoo.com
 When my family and I started our company 40 years ago, we were working out of a garage on a $600 bank loan, assembling miniature picture frames.  Our first retail store wasn't much bigger than most people's living rooms, but we had faith that we would succeed if we lived and worked according to God's word.
From there, Hobby Lobby has become one of the nation's largest arts and crafts retailers, with more than 500 locations in 41 states. Our children grew up into fine business leaders, and today we run Hobby Lobby together, as a family.
 We're Christians, and we run our business on Christian principles. I've always said that the first two goals of our business are (1) to run our business in harmony with God's laws, and (2) to focus on people more than money. And that's what we've tried to do. We close early so our employees can see their families at night. We keep our stores closed on Sundays, one of the week's biggest shopping days, so that our workers and their families can enjoy a day of rest.
 We believe that it is by God's grace that Hobby Lobby has endured, and he has blessed us and our employees. We've not only added jobs in a weak economy, we've raised wages for the past four years in a row. Our full-time employees start at 80% above minimum wage.
 But now, our government threatens to change all of that.
 A new government healthcare mandate says that our family business MUST provide what I believe are abortion-causing drugs as part of our health insurance.
Being Christians, we don't pay for drugs that might cause abortions, which means that we don't cover emergency contraception, the morning-after pill or the week-after pill. We believe doing so might end a life after the moment of conception, something that is contrary to our most important beliefs.
 It goes against the Biblical principles on which we have run this company since day one.
 If we refuse to comply, we could face $1.3 million PER DAY in government fines.
 Our government threatens to fine job creators in a bad economy.
 Our government threatens to fine a company that's raised wages four years running.
 Our government threatens to fine a family for running its business according to its beliefs.  It's not right.
I know people will say we ought to follow the rules; that it's the same for everybody. But that's not true.
 The government has exempted thousands of companies from this mandate, for reasons of convenience or cost. But it won't exempt them for reasons of religious belief.
So, Hobby Lobby and my family are forced to make a choice. With great reluctance, we filed a lawsuit today, represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, asking a federal court to stop this mandate before it hurts our business. We don't like to go running into court, but we no longer have a choice. We believe people are more important than the bottom line and that honoring God is more important than turning a profit.
My family has lived the American dream. We want to continue growing our company and providing great jobs for thousands of employees, but the government is going to make that much more difficult.
 The government is forcing us to choose between following our faith and following the law. I say that's a choice no American and no American business should have to make.
 The government cannot force you to follow laws that go against your fundamental religious belief. They have exempted thousands of companies but will not except Christian organizations including the Catholic church.
 Since you will not see this in the liberal media, please pass this on to all your contacts.
 Sincerely,
David Green
CEO and Founder of Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.
 

Weekly Report: Kids First, Oversight to the Last, Jobs Always

December 15, 2013 | VIEW ONLINE

Kids First:  Let’s start with some good news for a good idea.  On Wednesday, the House passed the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act, which eliminates taxpayer funding for political nominating conventions and redirects those resources to pediatric medical research.  After the vote, Speaker Boehner praised the measure as “a good bipartisan bill that will help us better understand, fight, and end the diseases and disorders that affect our children,” and called on the Senate to send it to the president’s desk in short order.

Jobs & Oversight: On Thursday, Speaker Boehner provided an end-of-year update on the Republican majority’s efforts to get people working again, pledging to continue that focus and add to the stack of jobs bills the House has passed.  He also highlighted the House’s ongoing oversight of the Obama administration: 

“When we learned that the IRS was improperly targeting conservative groups, our investigators conducted more than 50 interviews and have reviewed a half a million pages of documents related to that one investigation.  After losing four Americans in a terrorist attack in Benghazi, we launched an aggressive, ongoing, multi-committee investigation to find out what happened – and why this administration has not brought those terrorists to justice.  And in the lead up to and following the launch of the president’s health care law, we’ve been asking questions that the American people want answers to.”

#AskSebelius: On Wednesday, Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius appeared before the Energy & Commerce Committee, taking tough questions from Republicans bearing stories of the frustration and sticker shock ObamaCare is causing nationwide.  Earlier in the day, Speaker Boehner took on the president for breaking his word to the American people:

“He promised them they could keep the health plans they like - turned out not to be true.  The president promised the American people they could keep the doctor that they’ve had all these years - that’s turned out to not be true as well.   It’s time for the president to get serious about stopping this law before it wreaks any more havoc on American families, small businesses, and our economy.”

Budget Agreement a Positive Step: In October, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) claimed that “everybody” wants to “pay more” in taxes.  The budget agreement the House passed on Thursday makes sure that no one does.  It also reduces the deficit, preserves critical spending caps, and makes permanent reforms to autopilot spending programs.  The Speaker says this is a positive step, but much more needs to be done to solve Washington’s spending problem. 

National Guard: On Friday, @SpeakerBoehner asked Twitter to join him in wishing the National Guard a happy 377th birthday. 

State of the Union: On Friday, the Speaker invited President Obama to report to Congress on the State of the Union on Tuesday, January 28, 2014.  Read the letter here.  

Let It Snow: Tuesday was a snowy day in the nation’s capital, and we captured the scene from the Speaker’s Balcony for Instagram.

Behind the Scenes: On Monday, we posted new photos and videos from Speaker Boehner’s tour of the Capitol Dome and Rotunda with 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley

Has UK Lost its Way? Would Obama have US BE THIS WAY?

Inside the British university where Muslims were segregated by sex: Shocking picture shows how men were reserved front-row seats while women had to sit at the back | Mail Online
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2523787/Inside-British-university-Muslims-segregated-sex-Shocking-picture-shows-men-reserved-row-seats-women-sit-back.html

Woodward: Budget Deal Happened ‘Because Obama Wasn’t Part of the Negotiations’

 NewsBusters
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2013/12/15/woodward-budget-deal-happened-because-obama-wasn-t-part-negotiations

DHS IG: Tunnels Along U.S.-Mexico Border ‘Significant and Growing’ Threat...What Border Security???


http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/12/13/DHS-IG-Tunnels-Along-US-Mexico%20Border-Significant-and-Growing-Threat

Opinionated Socialist Shooter Attacks Arapahoe High School...

Karl Halverson Pierson, 18, injured two students at Arapahoe High School, turned gun on self | News.com.au
http://www.news.com.au/world/two-students-injured-in-arapahoe-high-school-shooting/story-fndir2ev-1226783250108

Reports of erroneous WA health exchange debits...Thank you #Obamacare

 | kgw.com Portland
http://www.kgw.com/news/Enrollees-report-erroneous-debits-by-WA-Healthplanfinder-235244701.html

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