Daily Archives: May 16, 2008

. . . But this week a House Republican said publicly what many say privately, that there is another truth. “Members and pundits . . . fail to understand the deep seated antipathy toward the president, the war, gas prices, the economy, foreclosures,” said Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia in a 20-page memo to House GOP leaders . . . .

Forty-six percent of health insurance plans in the U.S. cover abortions, according to The Heritage Foundation. Some states even require it . . .

FA’s Randy Sharp says his organization was told by McDonald’s vice president Jack Daly that the company did indeed make a $20,000 donation to the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, and that its vice president of communications, who is homosexual and a member of the Chamber board, approved the donation.

National Review has posted this excerpt: “Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, a professor of the humanities and history at Emory, died in early 2007. She left behind one last book, however, on marriage — advocating for it and its protection. Marriage: The Dream …

The AP reports: “A New Hampshire man has been handed a 41-month prison sentence after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court in Bangor to possessing child pornography on his computer.” He faced up to 20 years.

Concerned Women for America has issued this media advisory regarding an upcoming press conference that begins: Pornography continues to pollute our nation, filling the shelves of “adult” stores with raunchy DVDs and videos, and saturating our TVs and the Internet …

Hugh Hewitt reports: A constitutional amendment to the California Constitution will almost certainly qualify to be on the ballot in November as more than a million signatures had already been turned in even prior to the Caluifornia Surpreme Court’s putsch …

Michael Foust reports on Baptist Press: “Six state supreme courts within the past five years have ruled on the issue of “gay marriage.” Following is a timeline of those decisions . . . ”

Gambling in Macon County continued to paralyze the Alabama Senate last week and block consideration of other bills, including the state budget.

CNA reports: “Dana Perino, President Bush’s press secretary, responded to news of ruling . . . ‘It’s unfortunate when activist judges continue to seek to redefine marriage by court order – without regard for the will of the people.’”

nflated accounts of how many Muslims are converting to Christianity are putting the lives of these vulnerable followers of Jesus Christ at risk, warns an expert on Islam and Christianity.

Opponents of same-sex marriage could try to inject Thursday’s California ruling into the presidential race by pointing to Sen. Barack Obama’s unambiguous support for fully repealing the federal Defense of Marriage Act DOMA.

Ed Whalen has this post on National Review Bench Memos blog: Discussing the California marriage ruling on Slate, Dahlia Lithwick argues, inconsistently, both that “judicial activism” is “an empty label” and that there’s a “difference between judicial activism and judicial …

The American Constitution Society has posted video of their April conference on Lawrence v. Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court opinion that struck down Texas law prohibiting sodomy.

Ever the conservative gadfly, attorney and political activist Phyllis Schlafly, didn’t hesitate to say what she thought when law professors, among others, complained about a planned award of an honorary degree to her today by Washington University in St. Louis.

By unanimous consent and with no discussion, Holmen Village Board members agreed at their May 8 meeting to sell the structure to the Holmen Lions Club for $600. A village-ordered appraisal of the patch of land on which the cross/star sits valued the property at $100.

The Transcript and audio recordings of the PBS News Hour interview is here.  Here is an excerpt: JEFFREY BROWN: Well, that’s what I was going to ask you. We are, of course, in a very heated election campaign. How do …

“After almost 18 years of distinguished service as President of the American Civil Liberties Union, Nadine Strossen has announced that she will step down this year.”

The Wall Street Journal reports: Gavin Carney, an Australian nephrologist, held a press conference in Canberra recently to urge that people be allowed to sell their kidneys. “The current system isn’t working,” he was quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald. …

Pope Benedict, speaking a day after a California court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage, firmly restated on Friday the Roman Catholic Church’s position that only unions between a man and a woman are moral.

“A Texas nurse has lost her long-running court battle for custody of the three embryos created from her ova and the sperm of her estranged husband.”

LifeSiteNews.com reports: “The Capilano College Heartbeat Club and the Capilano Students Union (CSU) have reached an agreement that will see the pro-life Heartbeat Club achieve CSU club recognition, pending they submit an application in the fall. “

“In the face of possible lawsuits by the Amish community over building code enforcement against them, the town board of Conewango, New York yesterday voted to opt out of code enforcement and turn enforcement over to state authorities . . .”

“Next, week, an Ohio House committee will vote on a bill that will help stop women from being pressured or forced into a decision to have an abortion.”

“Ten states now offer some form of legal recognition to same-sex couples, while 26 states have approved constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage, and three more may be considering such bans in November.”

How Appealing links to the story and the mp3 recording of an interview with Judge Posner.

And so, the future and freedom of this state’s families have come to rest, finally, where they always should have – squarely on the shoulders of the citizens themselves . . .

Here is the deep analytic flaw in the court’s assertion: behavior (ethics) is being confused with status (metaphysics) . . .

A digest of news and commentary coverage the day after . . .

“On Monday, House Bill 829 will either be passed by the Alabama Senate or it will die. If passed, it will expand the definition of hate crimes in Alabama to include sexual identity.”

iberty Counsel intends to file a motion on behalf of CCF, asking the court to stay its opinion pending the outcome of a vote in November on a state constitutional amendment that could preserve marriage as the union of one man and one woman and overturn the Court’s opinion.