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In a surprising turn of events, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled in favor of Catholic Social Services (CSS) and against the City of Philadelphia. Upon learning that the Catholic agency would not place children with same-sex couples as a part of its foster care work, the city did not renew its contract with CSS, citing antidiscrimination laws. Philadelphia argued that when hiring independent contractors, the city may include any provisions it wishes in the contract.
Article by Antón Chamberlin from Mises.
CSS lawyers argued that the agency’s only desire was to be able to continue the work it has done for centuries and that requiring it to endorse same-sex couples as foster parents would violate its religious teachings on marriage, and thus is a violation of the First Amendment. In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of the United States sided with Catholic Social Services. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote:
The refusal of Philadelphia to contract with CSS for the provision of foster care services unless CSS agrees to certify same-sex couples as foster parents violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.
Roberts also added:
CSS seeks only an accommodation that will allow it to continue serving the children of Philadelphia in a manner consistent with its religious beliefs; it does not seek to impose those beliefs on anyone else.
The decision, however, was made in such a way as not to challenge Employment Division v. Smith, where the court ruled that “when the government has a ‘generally applicable’ law or regulation and enforces it neutrally, the government’s action is presumptively legitimate, even if it has some ‘incidental’ adverse impact on some citizens.”
Not all those on the bench were satisfied with this strict ruling. Justice Amy Coney Barrett called arguments in favor of overturning Smith “serious” and “compelling,” and Justice Neil Gorsuch pointed out that cases like this will keep coming up until the court “musters the fortitude” to overturn Smith. Joining Justices Barrett and Gorsuch, Justice Samuel Alito was “disappointed” the court failed to uphold the First Amendment by making this decision so limited.
This decision brings to the forefront the absolute absurdity of our current foster system. Given our knowledge of the dangers of monopolies and the inherent unaccountability of the state, it is astounding that the government has a monopoly on foster kids, in any city whatsoever. The fact that Catholic Social Services even needs Philadelphia’s permission to take care of children, like the church has for two millennia, should infuriate everyone of goodwill.
What is also frustrating is the fact that even though no gay couple has ever approached CSS for fostering, it is apparently not sufficient for gay couples to go to the other twenty-nine agencies contracted by the city (even though CSS stated that if a gay couple were to approach them, they would simply redirect them to one of the other, again, twenty-nine foster agencies in the city). No, the city decided it would try to use the coercion of the government to force the Catholic agency to act in contradiction of its faith.
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Conservative justices do not have a great track record. Indeed, history shows them to be largely useless (case in point, its recent decision to maintain the so-called Affordable Care Act). But sometimes the useless counteracts the stupid. While it certainly can be argued that the Supreme Court has no constitutional authorization to involve itself in municipal adoption laws, it can at least be celebrated that the city’s asinine law will not be imposed upon CSS. Nonetheless, victories should be celebrated as they come. With any luck, Employment Decision v. Smith will be overturned in the near future. Most germanely though, Catholic Social Services will be able to continue practicing its faith in the city of Philadelphia for the foreseeable future.
The Catholic Church served children for two millennia before the state usurped that power, and she will serve the poor, and needy long after the state withers away, God willing.
New Conservative Network Seeks Crowdfunding Help
They say we have to go big or go home. We’re trying to go big and bring the patriotic truth the the nation, but we need help.
Readers may or may not realize that over the past year, we’ve been bringing more conservative news and opinion outlets under our wing. Don’t take our expansion as a sign of riches; all of the “acquisitions” have been through sweat and promises of greater things to come for all involved. As a result, we’ve been able to bring together several independent media sites under a unified vision of preventing America from succumbing to the progressive, “woke,” Neo-Marxist ideologies that are spreading like wildfire across America.
The slow and steady reopening of America is revealing there was a lot more economic hardship brought about from the Covd-19 lockdowns than most realize. While we continue to hope advertising dollars on the sites go up, it’s simply not enough to do things the right way. We are currently experiencing a gap between revenue and expenses that cannot be overcome by click-ads and MyPillow promos alone (promo code “NOQ” by the way).
To overcome our revenue gap and keep these sites running, our needs fluctuate between $3000-$7000 per month. In other words, we’re in the red and hemorrhaging.
The best way you can help us grow and continue to bring the truth to the people is by donating. We appreciate everything, whether a dollar or $10,000. Anything brings us closer to a point of stability when we can hire writers, editors, and support staff to make the America First message louder. Our Giving Fuel page makes it easy to donate one-time or monthly. Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal as well.
As the world spirals towards radical progressivism, the need for truthful journalism has never been greater. But in these times, we need as many conservative media voices as possible. Please help keep NOQ Report and the other sites in the network going.
We don’t allow Google ads here. We won’t post foot fungus treatments or soft-porn ads like other conservative news outlets. We WILL support MyPillow because they love America. You can support them and me by using promo code “JDR” at checkout.
Thank you and God Bless,
JD Rucker
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Will America-First News Outlets Make it to 2023?
Things are looking grim for conservative and populist news sites.
There’s something happening behind the scenes at several popular conservative news outlets. 2021 was bad, but 2022 is proving to be disastrous for news sites that aren’t “playing ball” with the corporate media narrative. It’s being said that advertisers are cracking down, forcing some of the biggest ad networks like Google and Yahoo to pull their inventory from conservative outlets. This has had two major effects. First, it has cooled most conservative outlets from discussing “taboo” topics like Pandemic Panic Theater, voter fraud, or The Great Reset. Second, it has isolated those ad networks that aren’t playing ball.
Certain topics are anathema for most ad networks. Speaking out against vaccines or vaccine mandates is a certain path to being demonetized. Highlighting voter fraud in the 2020 and future elections is another instant advertising death penalty. Throw in truthful stories about climate change hysteria, Critical Race Theory, and the border crisis and it’s easy to understand how difficult it is for America-First news outlets to spread the facts, share conservative opinions, and still pay the bills.
Without naming names, I have been told of several news outlets who have been forced to either consolidate with larger organizations or who have backed down on covering certain topics out of fear of being “canceled” by the ad networks. I get it. This is a business for many of us and it’s not very profitable. Those of us who do this for a living are often barely squeaking by, so loss of additional revenue can often mean being forced to make cuts. That means not being able to cover the topics properly. Its a Catch-22: Tell the truth and lose the money necessary to keep telling the truth, or avoid the truth and make enough money to survive. Those who have chosen survival simply aren’t able to spread the truth properly.
We will never avoid the truth. The Lord will provide if it is His will. Our job is simply to share the facts, spread the Gospel, and educate as many Americans as possible while exposing the forces of evil.
To those who have the means, we ask that you please donate. We have options available now, but there is no telling when those options will cancel us. We just launched a new GiveSendGo page. We also have our GivingFuel page. There have been many who have been canceled by PayPal, but for now it’s still an option. Your generosity is what keeps these sites running and allows us to get the truth to the masses. We’ve had great success in growing but we know we can do more with your assistance.
Thank you, and God Bless!
JD Rucker
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