Open letter to Senator Robert Casey Jr about religious liberty

I sent the below letter to Robert Casey's office about recent actions by the Obama administration that diminish 1st amendment religious rights:

Honorable Senator Robert Casey Jr.

Thank you for representing Pennsylvania in the US Senate. Some recent events in Washington DC have raised some concerns for my family and more generally our church. Recently President Obama has said that everyone, including Catholic hospitals and universities, will be required to administer contraception and some abortion pills, even though this goes against their religious beliefs.

It is or was our understanding that we have freedom of religion in this country. A person could not be compelled by the federal government to act against one’s own genuine religious beliefs. In the past, Mennonite church members have been exempted from military service, and instead served in alternate 1-w service. Also some Mennonite and Amish school children are exempted for religious reasons from high school to apprentice at family or friends small businesses.

If Catholics are now required by the Federal government to act against their religious beliefs, how can Mennonites be sure our rights will be preserved? Religious liberty was the primary reason that the Mennonites and Amish emigrated from Europe to Pennsylvania centuries ago.

Now that Obama is President, have these rights expired? More importantly, if the Mennonites fell out of favor with the President, and he declared that military service was mandatory for everyone, would we have an advocate in the US Senate? If a Catholic Senator will not speak up for Catholic religious liberty, how can we be confident that the same Senator will speak up for Mennonite religious liberties?

Thank you for your time and we look forward to your response.
Jeremy Martin
Middletown, PA

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Thoughts on the letter?

Pennsylvania candidates up for election in 2012

February 1, 2012 - This is a directory of state and federal candidates up for election in 2012.

Important dates

Last day to register before Primary: March 26, 2012
Primary election: Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Last day to register before General election: October 9, 2012
General election: Tuesday, November 6, 2012


Offices - PA Statewide:

PA ATTORNEY GENERAL - (my pick is David Freed)

David Freed (R) - Cumberland County District Attorney
Kathleen Granahan Kane (D) - Ex-Assistant District Attorney & Community Activist
Patrick Murphy (D) - Ex-Congressman, Attorney & Iraq War Veteran


PA AUDITOR GENERAL (my pick is John Maher)

John Maher (R) - State Rep. & Accountant
Frank Pinto (R) - College Professor, Ex-State Legislative Aide
Devon Cade (D) - Ex-Non-Profit Group CEO & '06 State Rep. Candidate
Eugene DePasquale (D) - State Rep., Ex-State Deputy Secretary of Community Revitalization & Attorney
Jack Stollsteimer (D) - State Treasury Dept. Official, Attorney & Ex-State Safe Schools Advocate

PA TREASURER (my pick is Diana Irey-Vaughn)

Rob McCord (D)* - (Campaign Site)
Diana Irey-Vaughn (R) - Washington County Commissioner, Ex-Pittsburgh Port Commissioner & '06 US Rep. Nominee


Statewide Federal Offices

U.S. SENATOR (Steve Welch and Tom Smith are top tier candidates who I think can beat Bob Casey)

Steve Welch (R) - Biotech Corporation CEO, Mechanical Engineer
Sam Rohrer (R) - Ex-State Rep., Businessman & '10 Gov. Candidate
Marc Scaringi (R) - Attorney & Ex-Congressional Aide
Tom Smith (R) - Retired Coal Mining Company CEO & Tea Party Activist

other 2nd tier candidates
Brian Kelly (R) - Retired IT Consultant, Tea Party Activist & '10 US Rep. Candidate
David Christian (R) - Business Consultant, Vietnam War Veteran & '84/'86 US Rep. Nominee
John Kensinger (R) - Pharmacist & '10 Write-In Candidate
Robert Allen Mansfield (R) - Businessman, Iraq War Veteran & '10 Gov. Candidate

Bob Casey Jr. (D)* - (Campaign Site) <--- Loser who votes with Obama 98% of the time


US House of Representative (Congress) - incomplete as of 2-1-2012
* Incumbent

District 16: (Lancaster & Berks counties)
Joe Pitts (R)* - (Campaign Site)
Aryanna Strader (D) - Software Consultant & Iraq War Veteran

District 17:
Tim Holden (D)* - (Campaign Site)
Matt Cartwright (D) - Attorney
Steve Urban (D) - Luzerne County Councilman, Retired Army Officer & Frequent Candidate
Laureen Cummings (R) - Home Health Care Company Owner, Nurse & Tea Party Activist


Source of candidate List: PA Department of State 2012 Primary Candidate list in ballot order. This is a list of ALL candidates in PA. To be useful, you need to know the State Senate, state assembly district, and US House District you are in.

Voter Information - Who represents me?

February 11, 2012

The PA primary is on Tuesday, April 24, 2012.

List of elected state & federal offices in PA

You can confirm that your voter registration status. All you need is your name, birthday, and county of residence.

If live in Pennsylvania, and you want to know who is representing you at the state and federal level, enter your zip code, and address in the links below:

State Level
Who is my PA Senator & Representative by Zip

Federal Level
Who are my US Senators by State

Who is my US Representative by ZIP

General information about voting and important dates
New Voter Information (PA)

Pro-family organizations with info about legislation, and rate politicians

PA Family Institute


Pro-liberty organizations and politician scorecards

Heritage Action Scorecard

2012 Election do or die time for liberty & Obamacare

1/16/2012 - Those of us who want the economy free of the economic impact of obamacare should focus on electing pro-liberty constitutional representatives in 2012. Many including Ronald Reagan have spoken against socialized medicine, and it's devastating impact on the free economy and liberty. In other words, if we want to preserve religious and economic liberty, Obamacare MUST be defeated and repealed.

Some have put their faith in the US Supreme Court striking down the individual mandate, a core part of Obamacare. While the Supreme Court has agreed to consider the multi-state lawsuit challenging Obamacare, it is very unlikely to strike down the entire law. Analyists from diverse political opionions from the left leaning Politico to the right leaning National Review have said the real verdict on Obamacare is in November 2012, not at the Supreme Court.

Many conservatives have serious reservations about Mitt Romney, and his history with socialized medicine in Massachusetts. In fact, every Republican Presidential candidate, including Mitt Romney, has promised to repeal Obamacare.

If we want the economy to recover from this recession, anti-economy policies must be repealed, and that starts with electing the right people. For those who cannot bear to vote for Romney should instead focus on replacing pro-Obamacare politicians like Senator Bob Casey with ANYONE else, along with every other state office. In other words, no matter what happens with the Republican Presidential primary, there are dozens of others running for office. This November is do or die time for religious and economic liberty.

2011 Municipal Election Results & reasons to vote

11/10/2011 - The 2011 PA Municipal election results are in, and for the most part, the right people won! In Dauphin County, Jeff Haste and Mike Pries won re-election as Commissioners, and Ed Marsico won as District Attorney. In statewide judicial elections, unfortunately Democrat David Wecht beat Republican Vic Stabile to win a seat at the Superior Court. But Republican Anne Covey beat Boockvar for Commonwealth Court. So that's 1 out of 2 for state courts.

So, how many people voted? I compared the total votes with the total population compiled in the 2010 census. Statewide about 15% voted in the Superior Court race, so those who voted chose a judge for the other 85%. Voters are the tiny blue slice below:



People tend to forget about municipal and school board elections. But if you think about it, your vote has a lot more influence when only 15% vote, especially for local or county elections.

PA Federal Judge rules insurance mandate unconstitutional

9/13/2011 - A Pennsylvania Federal Judge ruled the insurance mandate in Obamacare. Judge Conner said "The federal government, is one of limited enumerated powers, and Congress's efforts to remedy the ailing health care and health insurance markets must fit squarely within the boundaries of those powers." The power to regulate interstate commerce, Conner wrote, does not include the power to dictate a lifetime of buying health insurance.

The plantiff's are a married couple who dropped insurance coverage when the premium's exceeded their mortgage payments. Instead they decided to pay health care costs out of pocket.

This decision will likely be appealed to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. Last week the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals threw out Virginia's challenge on technical grounds. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the insurance mandate unconstitutional while the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the mandate constitutional.

Related Links:
Full Text Goudy-Bachman, et al. v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, et al. (pdf)
Philadelphia Inquirer - Pa federal judge rules against insurance mandate

Appeals Court rules Health Insurance Mandate Unconstitutional

8/2/2011

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the Health Insurance Mandate in Obamacare is unconstitutional. Twenty-six States together argued that the Federal Government exceeded its power imposing the mandate. The Obama administration argued that the Federal Government has the power to require individuals to buy insurance under the Commerce Clause. The three judge panel split 2 to 1 on the decision. The majority opinion was jointly written by Judges Joel Dubina, appointed by President George H.W. Bush, and Frank Hull, appointed by President Bill Clinton, a Democrat.

This decision conflicts with the decision by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld the mandate, 2 to 1. The 4th Circuit has not yet ruled Virginia's separate challenge to the law. These conflicting decisions by appellate courts virtually guarantees one of the cases will go to the Supreme Court.

Eleventh Circuit’s Mandate Decision

Full text of Florida v. U.S. Dept. of HHS (pdf)

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Update as of 8/12/2011 on status of State action preserving freedom/resisting Obamacare

The Governors of Florida and Alaska have decided to not enforce any mandates, taxes, or implement anything in Obamacare. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Nine States have passed Healthcare Freedom Amendments or laws to prohibit governments from forcing citizens to buy health insurance.

Ohio and Florida Citizens will vote this fall (November 2011) on Healthcare Freedom Amendments. *Many more states are in various stages of passing their own Healthcare Freedom laws. The Tenth Amendment Center has Healthcare Freedom Act Legislative Tracking. The National Conference of State Legislatures also compiled state actions challenging Obamacare.

Nov 2011 Update: Two thirds of Ohio voters voted FOR the Healthcare Freedom Amendment, which forbids the Obamacare Individual Mandate. The Florida Amendment to ban the Obamacare individual mandate will be voted on Nov 2012.

Twenty-seven states have joined in challenging Obamacare in the Federal Courts.