01 Jan 2014 News of Interest: State of the Union Edition, January 29, 2014

Health Care Policy Analyst David Hogberg has an analysis of the new health care reform proposal released January 27 by Republican Senators Orrin Hatch (UT), Richard Burr (NC) and Tom Coburn (OK). He’s also got the latest on ObamaCare enrollment numbers, Target’s decision to discontinue health insurance for part-time employees due to ObamaCare, the ObamaCare ‘Risk Corridors’ being an insurance company bailout, HealthCare.gov’s cybersecurity woes, how well ObamaCare is getting insurance to the uninsured, and much, much more on health care.  For his recent writing on these and other health care topics, go here.

On SOTU, I Don’t Trust President Obama to Mean What He Says

National Center Chairman Amy Ridenour writes that, based on President Obama’s record of not following up on his State of the Union priorities from past years, she doesn’t believe he really means what he said this year, either. Full story here.

National Center Asks Washington Post Executives to Improve Coverage of Annual March for Life — and They Do!

Executive Director David Almasi went to the Washington Post’s last shareholder meeting in May 2013 on behalf of the National Center’s Free Enterprise Project and had a serious talk with Post Chairman and CEO Donald Graham and Publisher Katherine Weymouth about the Post’s abysmal coverage of the annual March for Life over the past two decades.  Apparently, they were listening.  Read our press release from after that shareholder meeting here; read his blog post analyzing the Post’s coverage of this month’s March for Life here.

Group Releases “Hitler Learns ObamaCare’s Contraception Mandate Could Be Struck Down” Parody Video to Help Illustrate Issues in the Contraception Mandate Legal Cases

“ObamaCare’s HHS early abortion drug and contraception mandate is unfair, unconstitutional and unnecessary,” says Amy Ridenour, chairman of the National Center for Public Policy Research in a press release. “Its intent is to force individuals, charities and businesses to fund abortion and contraception even if the individuals involved believe either or both are morally wrong.” The press release about this and the National Center’s parody video is here; a link to a National Center op-ed that appeared in over 30 newspapers nationwide is here.

National Center takes on Anti-GMO Activists at Monsanto Shareholder Meeting and Elsewhere

Free Enterprise Project Justin Danhof spent Tuesday at Monsanto’s shareholder meeting speaking against government-mandated labels for genetically-modified foods and suggesting to the company that it try to book its scientists on talk radio shows to take questions and answers from the public.  Risk Analysis Division chief Jeff Stier has spoken out against a proposal by four liberal lawmakers and a coalition of environmental groups and organic food producers to impose federal GM labeling requirements on the food industry, saying mandatory labeling of GM foods fails every justification for requiring them: scientific, economic, legal, and most of all, common sense.  Stier says mandatory labeling laws would make healthy food more expensive. Read about the Monsanto meeting here and here; about the effort by liberal Senators and green groups here.

Project 21 Members Speak out on Grammy Awards; NAACP Attack on Black Senator

Project 21’s Council Nedd II, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Missionary Church, doesn’t think highly of holding same-sex weddings during the Grammy Awards or the comparison of gay rights campaigners to black civil rights activists.  “Gay,” he says, “is not the new black.” Meanwhile, Project 21’s Stacy Swimp is defending South Carolina U.S. Senator Tim Scott, a black man, against attacks by the NAACP.  For Bishop Nedd’s comments, go here and here; for Stacy Swimp’s, go here.

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