Daily Archives: November 3, 2008

The Washington Post reports: “New research suggests that teens who spend the most time watching sexually charged television shows are twice as likely to become pregnant or impregnate someone else.” More from the New York Times: The study only shows …

“A lawsuit alleging election law violations filed against leaders of the coalition backing Amendment 2, the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment, was dismissed late Monday by a Miami judge.”

The Christian Institute reports: “The Government will come under pressure to act on the issue of lap-dancing clubs tomorrow as campaigners gather at Westminster to call for stricter rules.”  

BayNews9.com reports: “According to reports, 26-year-old John William Larry was thrown out of the Fantasy Doll’s club after he started arguing with one of the dancers. Deputies said that, while he was in the parking lot, he got into an …

The Family Voice Blog of the Family Policy Council of West Virginia has this post that concludes: Look, the lack of healthcare that may or may not be rampant in the United States, the poverty that is rampant throughout the …

The Christian Post reports:  Pope Benedict XVI opened a five-day Vatican meeting on evolution Friday morning by affirming that the world did not emerge out of chaos but was intentionally created by “the First Being.” “In order to develop and evolve, the …

The Christian Post reports: “On Nov. 4, voters will have to bring their religious and ethical convictions to the polls as they grapple with a number moral issues on state ballots. Americans will consider 153 proposals on ballots in 36 states, …

The Mercury News reports: “The sponsors of a ballot initiative that would make same-sex marriage illegal in California are using quotes by Barack Obama to drum up support for Proposition 8, even though Obama opposes the measure.”

The San Francisco Chronicle reports:  . . . While it’s Barb Young’s name that appears on the checks, she made it clear in a statement issued today through Equality California that the contributions are a family affair. “We believe ALL families matter …

Margaret Datiles of Americans U. for Life has this post in the Washington Times. She writes:  Oregon soon may not be the only state saving money by denying coverage for lifesaving medications and encouraging suicide. The State of Washington is …

CBS reports:  Abortion] is being used for birth control and South Dakotans do not like that,” Unruh said. They haven’t been willing to ban it outright. Two years ago, when the state tried to outlaw nearly all abortions with no exceptions …

The Guardian reports: “Council leaders in Oxford have decided to ban the word Christmas from this year’s festive celebrations to make them more ‘inclusive’. But the decision to rename the series of events the ‘Winter Light Festival’ has been criticised …

The Daily Times reports:  Hundreds of people attended an anti-abortion rally Sunday afternoon in front of a clinic connected to other clinics that provide abortions. Organizers counted about 375 people who marched at Planned Parenthood in Farmington as part of …

LifeSiteNews.com reports: “A Scottish Catholic prelate defended his comments from criticism late last week after legislators reacted against being compared with Nazis for their support for the Human Fertilisation and Embryology bill. Keith Cardinal O’Brien, the archbishop of Edinburgh had …

Reuters has this report that begins: Gay couples are not hiding any more and that has made all the difference, said health care administrator Linda Merkens before Tuesday’s vote in California that will decide the legality of same-sex marriage there. …

This post appears on the ACLU Blog. It contends: “The forcible removal of a woman’s hijab should be just as unacceptable as the compulsory removal of a woman’s shirt and bra.”

The ACLU has issued this press release that reports: San Bernardino County agreed today to institute policies that accommodate the First Amendment right to wear religious head scarves in jail. The agreement was reached after the American Civil Liberties Union …

LifeNews.com reports: “A ballot measure in Michigan that would allow the destruction of days-old human beings for research enjoys a small lead according to a new poll. A telephone poll for the Detroit Free Press and WDIV-TV 51 percent backing …

The AP carries this report that begins: “As California voters prepare to decide Tuesday whether to eliminate the marriage rights same-sex couples won five months ago, gays and their allies have been encouraged to tell co-workers and neighbors why legalizing …

National Review has posted this editorial: Upsides, Down the Ballot. It discusses ballot initiatives in various states.

Press.co.nz reports: “‘Anti-smacking’ legislation is making parents reluctant to strike their children, the first results of a major study into child discipline show.”

The Tennessean reports: All along, developers have said a multimillion-dollar Bible-themed park proposed for Middle Tennessee will focus on the book’s history, not its message. But as the project nears fruition and Wilson County leaders consider millions in tax incentives …

On the difficult moral issues confronting the judiciary today, a long overlooked bit of guidance is provided in the Declaration of Independence, natural law.

This decision effectively denies the Supreme Court the opportunity to resolve the split between the 5th and 11th Circuits over the application of Lawrence v. Texas 539 U.S. 558 (2003).

In 1841, the American jurist Joseph Story noted that marriage is something more than a mere contract. Justice Story’s writings embody an American common law refrain, namely that marriage is at once a contract and something more. This Article details the historical roots of that common law tradition.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: “More than 50 years ago, Vera Black refused to renounce her religious belief in polygamy – giving in only after Utah prepared to place seven of her children with adoptive families. Now, those children have …

This paper critically examines three key recent cases of superior courts concerning restrictions on religious symbols…

Originalists are sometimes divided into textualists and intentionalists, with the former insisting that subjective states of mind cannot be allowed to override the Constitution’s words. But words do not define themselves, singly, or in phrases, or in documents, so even self-styled textualists necessarily face an abundance of choices.

Thus, on one day, a mother merely terminates her pregnancy by obtaining an abortion; on the next, she takes a life by killing her child. Immersed in the grey areas between abortion and infanticide, manslaughter and murder, the examples above compel each person to draw legal, ethical, and moral lines.

The AP reports: “On the final Sunday before Election Day, volunteers for both presidential candidates fanned out to churches in competitive states, congregations bused worshippers to polls to vote early and a battle of wills erupted in church parking lots …

OneNewsNow.com reports: A South Dakota ballot campaign is designed to stop government officials from using tax dollars for lobbying or political campaigns that go against Christian faith and values. Attorney Stephen Wesolick, who is affiliated with the Alliance Defense Fund, has …

The Democratic party has issued this “PRIDE Proclamation”: “Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean today joined Massachusetts Democratic Representative Barney Frank and Wisconsin Democratic Representative Tammy Baldwin in issuing the following Proclamation marking PRIDE Month . . . “

Tony Mauro has this report on Law.com discussing his recent interview with Justice Alito.  He writes: . . . Moving to Supreme Court-related subjects, Alito was asked about his decision last summer to jump out of the “cert pool,” the …

Bishop Robert W. Finn of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas-St. Joseph appeared on the Mike Gallagher show and spoke out very strongly against pro-abortion politicians and voters who support them. Audio of the interview is here. This audio recording also …

NewOrleansCityBusiness.com reports on efforts in the state legislature to regulate strip clubs. It includes this: . . . The “they” Martiny refers to is the Louisiana Family Forum, a religious lobbying group whose growing influence has put the fear of …

http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4733 ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND MEDIA ADVISORY November 3, 2008 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS:  (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom ADF attorney available to media after hearing on abortion clinic standards ADF attorneys defending state law that requires Planned …

The Florida Baptist Witness reports: “A lawsuit alleging election law violations filed against leaders of the coalition backing Amendment 2, the Florida Marriage Protection Amendment, is a ‘frivolous’ attempt to keep voters from having the opportunity to protect marriage from …

The AP carries this “state-by-state review of the race for the White House as well as key congressional and gubernatorial campaigns.”

S. Michael Craven has this post on the Center for Christ & Culture.  He writes: “Unbridled by true religion and the moral knowledge that follows, the current political season reveals that the majority of Americans may have finally succumbed to …

The London Transgender Film Festival 2008 takes place in Brixton next month.

The Sentinel reports: Shippensburg University earned two thumbs up from the Alliance Defense Fund last week when the school agreed to dismantle its controversial speech codes that ultimately had a chilling effect on religious expression on campus. The lawsuit arose …

. . . voters on Nov. 4 will be deciding much more than who is our next president. We’ll be deciding what life is like in our community, in our state, across this nation…not just for the next two, four, or six years, but for decades. Maybe centuries . . .

Some people opposing marriage amendments claim that amendment supporters mindlessly cling to a “stupid,” intellectually unsupported position. Which side of the marriage debate actually rests its argument on intellectual quicksand? . . .

Among the most important recent questions under the Religion Clauses has been whether and when government programs that support private activities, such as education or social services, may exclude religious institutions or activities that include religious content.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has named Mike Johnson to the Commission on Marriage and Family.  Johnson is senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund.  BayouBuzz offers the complete list of appointments and offers this description of the commission: The …

The Detroit Free Press report: “On one side is Chief Justice Clifford Taylor, a Republican who has been on the court since his appointment by former governor John Engler in 1997. On the other, Wayne County Circuit Judge Diane Hathaway, …

The Dayton Daily News carries this report discussing ADF’s Pulpit Initiative and the activities of a United Church of Christ Pastor who supports Obama and hosts a house party in his capacity as “friend.” The article concludes: “Asked last week …

Finally, the article demonstrates that abortion or fetucide is not considered either murder or even killing of another human by most traditions, and that the penal status of abortion as sin, rather than crime, should be left to religions determination rather than governmental intervention.

http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/news/story.aspx?cid=4731 ALLIANCE DEFENSE FUND MEDIA ADVISORY November 3, 2008 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT ADF MEDIA RELATIONS: (480) 444-0020 or www.telladf.org/pressroom ADF attorney available to media after hearing on ‘annoying’ religious speech La. man threatened with arrest for sharing “offensive” …