Government Mandated Contraception Vs. Religious Liberty 

As Chief Justice John Roberts reminded us in upholding Obamacare two years ago, it is always risky to try to predict the outcome of a Supreme Court case based on oral arguments. But multiple reports suggest a clear majority of justices today were hostile to the government's defense of Obamacare's contraception mandate, which would force religious business owners to pay for abortion-inducing drugs and sterilizations. 

From CNN came this headline: "Court Majority Harshly Critical Of Obamacare Contraception Mandate." And there was this headline from the Los Angeles Times: "Justices Sound Ready To Reject Contraceptives Mandate Under Obamacare." 

Justice Anthony Kennedy, often the swing vote in major cases, seemed particularly critical. At one point, Kennedy said to Solicitor General Donald Verrilli, "Your reasoning would permit requiring profit-making corporations to pay for abortions." 

There are reports that even liberal Justice Stephen Breyer seemed to be searching for a way to roll back the mandate, perhaps resulting in a 6-to-3 ruling. A decision is not expected until summer. 

Please keep this decision and the justices in your prayers. And do not forget the Hobby Lobby case when discussing Obamacare with your friends and relatives. If they lose this case, Hobby Lobby's owners are facing fines in excess of $1 million a day if they refuse to violate their deeply held values. 

The left is constantly assaulting our fundamental freedoms. Men and women of faith cannot remain on the sidelines in America's culture war. Religious liberty hangs in the balance. 

Taxpayer-Funded Subsidies Challenged, Too 

Meanwhile, there was another high-profile challenge to Obamacare heard today in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. In that case, the plaintiffs were challenging the Obama Administration for refusing to follow the plain language of the law.

As written by the Congress in 2010, Obamacare does not allow subsidies for the federal exchange. The subsidies were offered as an incentive for states to set up their own exchanges. But since most states opted against doing so, the outcome of this case could have major ramifications. You can read more here. 

The Religion of Peace? 

While the Obama Administration continues to pressure Israel to make concessions for peace with its Palestinian neighbors, some Palestinians don't seem all that interested in peace. Consider these excerpts from a recent address by Yunis Al-Astal, which aired on Al-Aqsa TV in Gaza: 
 

"In today's show, we will discuss the demand that the Palestinian people recognize [Israel] as a Jewish state… I would like to begin by quoting what Allah said about them: 'The worst of beasts in the sight of Allah are those who disbelieve. They are the ones with whom you made a covenant, but they break their covenant every time.' … Allah added: 'If you gain mastery over them in a war, use them to disperse those who follow them that they may remember.' 

"This indicates that we must massacre them, in order to break them down and prevent them from sowing corruption in the world. …We must restore them to the state of humiliation imposed upon them. They should be dhimmi citizens. This status must be imposed upon them by war. They must pay the jizya security tax while they live in our midst."

What makes Al-Astal's comments even more notable is that he is not just your average anti-Semitic Palestinian cleric. He is also a Hamas member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, or what would be the parliament of the Palestinian state. Evidently, Yunis Al-Astal didn't get the memo about Islam being a "religion of peace." 

Here's more evidence of the animosity Israel faces on a daily basis. After wrapping up his trip to The Hague to reassure our nervous European allies worried about a resurgent Russia, President Obama is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia, where he hopes to repair the damage caused by his repeated outreach to Iran. (It must be noted here that these are not isolated situations -- when it comes to Iran's nuclear program, Russia and Iran are on the same side.) 

News broke today that the Saudis rejected the visa application of Michael Wilner, one of the journalists who covers President Obama for the Jerusalem Post. Wilner is Jewish, but he is an American citizen, not an Israeli citizen, and has never lived in Israel. Yet in spite of U.S. protests, the Saudi government is refusing to budge.