As reported by scotusblog, the Supreme Court unanimously granted the Little Sisters, catholic nuns, a stay on the contraception mandate of the ACA. Oh wait, did I say the contraception mandate; I meant the requirement to file a form 700 with the government. Because in this case the government doesn't dispute the fact that they are a qualifying religious organization exempt from the mandate. But how is the government supposed to know they are exempt if they don't tell them you might ask.
Well in a decision that can only be described as kabuki theater at its most sublime, SCOTUS has decided that in lieu of the form the nuns can submit a formal written declaration that they should be exempt. It is not clear what form this declaration should take, but I would assume form 700 would be a good reference for how exactly it should look. The SCOTUS is very good at kabuki theater. They are the ones that claim their decisions are released as soon as they are done; it is just a coincidence that for major cases this always seems to be the last week of the session.
I've never understood why buying insurance isn't like having cable TV. I might not want FOX News or A&E, but it comes with everything else that I do want just because it is easier. And it wouldn't really be any cheaper if I didn't get it, because than the channels I do want would be more expensive as other people didn't want them. And if one day I want to watch one of them, well they are there just in case. No need to make a federal case out of the fact that Fox News shows up on my cable.
