Daily Archives: October 28, 2008

The AP reports: “The speaker of Australia’s Parliament has called for a public debate about whether the country’s lawmakers should end the practice of starting each session with the Lord’s Prayer.”

The ACLU Blog carries this post that indicates: Sexuality Research & Social Policy’s special issue features articles written by some of the most prominent experts in the fields of adolescent sexuality, public health, human rights, and education . . . …

Whether invocations of “Lord of Lords” or “the God of Abraham, Issac, and Mohammed” are “sectarian” is best left to theologians, not courts of law. We affirm.

The ACS Blog carries this report by James P. Rooney who writes: . . . Into this void stepped two brothers who are law professors, Akhil Amar and Vikram Amar. Because each state may choose the method by which its electors …

The South Florida Blade reports: Florida4Marriage.org, the political action committee sponsoring Amendment 2, violated state election laws by using funds from a non-profit corporation to pay for political ads, and illegally solicited anonymous donations, according to a complaint filed Tuesday …

The Yuma Sun carries this editorial that begins: “The Arizona License Plate Commission learned recently that it has less authority than it thought to decide who can have a specialty vehicle license plate. It came down to an issue of …

BlackChristianNews.com reports: “Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) has his eye on the potentially soon-to-be vacant seat held by Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich would appoint a successor if Obama is elected president.”

BlackChristianNews.com reports: “Opposition to a school for homosexuals and lesbians in Chicago is growing. The school has taken public input on setting aside the school as a safe haven for homosexuals, but Mayor Richard Daley has announced opposition to the …

The Grand Rapids Press carries this report: In much of America, the issue of gay marriage has faded as a presidential race fixed on the economy dominates headlines. But two prominent West Michigan philanthropists are writing big checks to help …

The Seattle Times reports: Take me out to the ballgame. Take me out with the crowd. And buy me a lap dance? That’s what a proposed strip club could offer just south of Safeco Field. Longtime Seattle adult-entertainment figure Roger …

KULR 8 reports: “Billings City Council members vote to further ban adult businesses from certain areas of the city, and owners of some of those businesses are outraged.”

The ABA Journal reports: “A new program at Harvard Law School that will waive third-year tuition for students who commit to five-year public interest careers is attracting more interest than expected.”

Alexandra A. Petri has this article in the Harvard Crimson that begins: The other day, a friend of mine made a heartfelt confession. I’d known it was coming, and I was prepared to offer support. I swaddled her shoulders in …

The Wall Street Journal carries this article that reports: . . . At times, Democratic leaders have been reluctant to celebrate the humanity of some of our most vulnerable members of society, lest they be thought to be starting down …

LifeSiteNews.com reports: “Lisa Miller, a former lesbian who rejected the homosexual lifestyle and returned to her belief in Christ, will face contempt of court charges today for refusing to give unsupervised visitation of her daughter to her former lesbian partner …

The Scotsman reports: SCOTLAND is to get its first private clinic specialising in “late-term” abortions because the NHS cannot cope with the hundreds of women requesting the controversial procedure . . . Most cases involved women who wanted a termination …

Zenit reports: Here is the final statement of the Christian-Muslims European Conference, which ended today in Mechelen. The conference was organized by the Conference of European Churches and the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences. The statement is titled “Being a …

Michael Booth reports in the NJ Law Journal: If any practical legal principle can be extracted from the gnarled facts of Bayne v. Johnson v. Johnson, it is probably this: You can’t get palimony if you cohabit with a married …

The ABA Journal reports: “A pole dancing instructor hopes to help women release their ‘inner goddess’ now that a legal settlement will allow her to open her dance studio.”

The ABA Journal reports: “Professor Richard Peterson appears in TV ads urging a yes vote on the proposed California Marriage Protection Act . . . “  The article also discusses contributions by other lawyers and firms involved in the battle …

Americans United for Life Action has issued an open letter to Obama on the dangers of the Freedom of Choice Act. It poses this question: “Senator Obama, why do you oppose these parental involvement laws that protect our children from …

It’s never been a more dangerous time to be a black baby. While overall rates of abortion have declined to the lowest level since 1974…Guttmacher found that black women’s abortion rates are now five times greater than those of white women.

Among older people, a host of newer drugs and treatments are making it easier to be sexual, and in some cases unfaithful — Viagra and other remedies for erectile dysfunction, estrogen and testosterone supplements to maintain women’s sex drive and vaginal health, even advances like better hip replacements.

ABC News carries this report: Obama Surge Confounds Gay Marriage: Minority Voters, Often Social Conservatives, Could Support Calif. Gay Marriage Ban. The article by Susan Donaldson James indicates: . . . “In this historic presidential election year, political observers say …

The Hartford Courant reports: And with gay couples moving closer to possible wedding dates with today’s official publication of the state Supreme Court’s decision, same-sex couples say they hope the marriage license forms they sign will accurately reflect marriage laws …

The LA Times carries this article: Dean R. Broyles says there’s a very real conflict between gay rights and 1st Amendment freedoms. Lorri L. Jean says same-sex marriage is only about treating all Californians fairly. Today’s topic: Pro-Proposition 8 ads …

The Politico reports: Sen. Ted Stevens’ push for a quick verdict in his corruption trial backfired catastrophically Monday, putting the 40-year Senate veteran on track for expulsion — if Alaska’s voters don’t toss him out of office first. The Constitution …

TIME carries this Q & A with outgoing ACLU President Nadine Strossen. Strossen mentions Jay Sekulow of the ACLJ a couple of times in the interview.

The ACLU has issued this press release: “The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture (UNSR) should review the force-feeding of inmate Bill Coleman by the Connecticut Department of Corrections (DOC), according to a letter filed today by the American Civil …

The ACLU has issued this press release that offers a “Plan Offers Guide To Recovering Freedoms Lost Under Bush.” It reports: . . . The ACLU’s 83-page document proposes actions across a wide variety of topics, including national security, human …

The Orange County Register carries this commentary by ADF attorney Glen Lavy. It begins: The democratic process is getting a black eye in California, courtesy of the proponents of a new kind of “tolerance.” And the forces behind this so-called …

LifeSiteNews.com reports: A Manhattan judge has ruled that a homosexual couple “married” in Massachusetts is eligible for a divorce in New York, despite the fact that homosexual “marriage” is still illegal in the state . . . The case marks …

LifeNews.com reports: “Although internal polling numbers show a much closer margin, a new poll from the University of Washington finds the measure that would make the state the second to legalize the grisly practice of assisted suicide leading by a …

Deal W. Hudson reports on LifeNews.com: If Obama wins on November 4 with the help of Catholic voters, the biggest factor in his favor will be the bishops’ own document and Web site, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.” I never …

LifeNews.com reports: “A leading pro-life group that works with state legislators to pass laws that reduce abortions is reminding voters that presidential candidate Barack Obama wants all of those laws overturned. Americans United for Life says Obama’s position will increase …

The Washington Post reports: The Wall Street Journal reported today that Yahoo, Microsoft and Google in combination with a group of human rights and public interest organizations have agreed upon a common set of principles to guide their business in …

PolitickerMA.com reports: “Congressman Barney Frank and Republican challenger Earl Sholley traded a somewhat testy exchange here Sunday over gay marriage . . . ” The article reports on some of the exchanges between the two.

Numerous organizations and public officials filed friend-of-the-court briefs Monday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit to defend the constitutionality of roadside memorials for fallen Utah troopers

First, the almost uniform state policy before Roe was that abortion laws targeted abortionists, not women . . . Second . . . the myth that “overturning” Roe will result in the immediate re-criminalization of abortion.

The AP reports: “A former Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice is apologizing after her signature was on an e-mail message to Jewish voters that likened a vote for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama to ignoring warning signs that led to the …

Thomas Sowell has this commentary on Townhall that begins: One of the biggest and most long-lasting “change” to expect if Barack Obama becomes President of the United States is in the kinds of federal judges he appoints. These include Supreme …

The legal left wants Americans to imagine that the federal courts are very right-wing now . . . The reality is completely different. The federal courts hang in the balance, and it is the left which is poised to capture them . . .

The Religion Clause Blog reports: “Today is the 10th anniversary of the passage of the International Religious Freedom Act. In a press release distributed by e-mail, the Institute on Religion and Public Policy uses the occasion to criticize the weakness …

The AP reports: “A woman drove her troubled 12-year-old son from Georgia to Nebraska and abandoned him under the state’s unique safe-haven law, which parents have used to leave 20 children at hospitals since the law took effect in July  …

Germany’s top diplomat in San Francisco has been actively campaigning against a measure to protect marriage that California citizens will be voting on next Tuesday . . .

This essay on the law and politics of abortion analyzes the constitutional principles governing new challenges to Roe

Often, the proffered justification for the punitive action against pregnant women is the protection of fetal health or fetal rights, and the need to protect fetuses from harm based on the mother’s drug use.

“There is a myth called the separation of church and state. What the First Amendment says is government can’t create a state church. The First Amendment was written to protect churches. It wasn’t to keep churches out of the public arena.”

Because the Court’s docket “consists almost exclusively of hard cases where the law’s meaning is genuinely in doubt,” applying the law “will require the justices to make politically controversial judgments” “in a significant number of instances.”

The Carroll County Tims reports: An anti-abortion group has filed a lawsuit against the city of Westminster in federal court, alleging the city violated the group’s right to free speech by requiring a permit to protest on public property. The …